news 2010

Science | Health 17 Nov 10 The severity of Parkinson's disease symptoms could be accurately monitored remotely through analysing a patient's speech patterns, a new study suggests. The research, by scientists from Oxford University and Denver, Colorado, examined almost 6,000 speech recordings from 42 people with Parkinson's.

A key enzyme in Mycobacterium tuberculosis that enables the microbe to reproduce rapidly could be a golden target for new drugs against tuberculosis (TB), according to a study published in Microbiology on 17 November by scientists at the University of Birmingham. The human equivalent of this enzyme has been targeted in some cancer treatments as well as in immunosuppressive chemotherapies.

A new drug could significantly reduce the risk of strokes and blood clots in patients with irregular heartbeats. A study found a new drug rivaroxaban cut the risk of blood clots and strokes by one-fifth compared with the most popular existing treatment, warfarin. The research by the University of Edinburgh and Duke University in North Carolina was carried out in 45 countries and involved 14,000 patients Irregular heart beats One in five people more than 70 years old is likely to be diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, which can lead to blood clots and cause strokes.

The diet and health of the poorest people in developing countries could benefit from cash-for-work schemes, Cambridge University research has shown for the first time. Despite previous concerns that the physical labour and long hours involved in humanitarian cash-for-work schemes could be detrimental to the health of the extreme poor, the study has provided the first clear evidence of a positive impact on enrolled households.

PA 316/10 The University of Nottingham has helped to uncover new evidence that the number of young carers in the UK is way beyond original official estimates and could be as many 700,000 — eight per cent of all children and four times more than originally thought.

Scientists have discovered the origin of a unique type of cell known for its ability to support regeneration in the central nervous system. Their findings raise the possibility of obtaining a more reliable source of these cells for use in cell transplantation therapy for spinal cord injuries. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), as the name suggests, ensheath and protect the nerve fibres in the olfactory nerve, which transmit olfactory (smell) information to the brain from receptor cells sitting in the lining of the nose.

They may help to explain why decades of study into the causes of the disease have so far failed to lead to a cure. Alzheimer's disease is widely believed to be caused by the gradual accumulation in the brain of amyloid-beta peptide which is toxic to nerve cells. Amyloid beta peptide is formed from a protein known as APP, which is found in three forms.

A dogged piece of detective work by a University professor has uncovered the truth about how one of the world's greatest playwrights died 54 years ago. Rumours have long surrounded the official version of Bertolt Brecht's death from a heart attack in 1956 in Communist East Berlin. But Professor Stephen Parker, from The University of Manchester, has now proved that the iconic German poet, playwright and theatre director suffered as a child in the early 1900s from undiagnosed rheumatic fever, then a poorly understood condition.

X-rays illuminate the mechanism used by HIV to attack human DNA Imperial scientists have made an important advance in understanding how retroviruses infect human cells. Thursday 12 November 2010 Adapted from a news release issued by Diamond Light Source. Scientists from Imperial College London have used data collected at Diamond Light Source , the UK's national synchrotron facility, to advance the understanding of how HIV and other retroviruses infect human or animal cells.

Science | Health 11 Nov 10 The computer game Tetris may have a special ability to reduce flashbacks after viewing traumatic images not shared by other types of computer game, Oxford University scientists have discovered in a series of experiments. In earlier laboratory work the Oxford team showed that playing Tetris after traumatic events could reduce memory flashbacks in healthy volunteers.

More intensive treatment using statin drugs to lower levels of bad cholesterol leads to even greater reductions in the risk of a heart attack or stroke than with regular statin doses. That's the conclusion of two Oxford University-led studies published in the medical journal  The Lancet  today. The reduction in risk is proportional to the reduction achieved in bad cholesterol levels, even in patients with already low levels.

Family behaviour helps schizophrenics avoid relapse Working to change the behaviour of family members may be an effective treatment for people with schizophrenia, according to a new study co-authored by a researcher at the University of Sheffield. The research team, which included John Rathbone from the University´s School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) reviewed the most up-to-date evidence on the subject and found that patients whose families received psychosocial interventions were less likely to relapse.

The preservation of a protein found in particular synapses in the brain plays a key role in protecting against vascular dementia after a stroke, say researchers at King's College London. The study, funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, is published in the 9 November issue of Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The largest ever clinical trial in patients hospitalised with severe malaria has concluded that the drug artesunate should now be the preferred treatment for the disease in both children and adults everywhere in the world. The study, led by Professor Nick White of Oxford University, compared treatment with artesunate, which is used in Asia to treat severe malaria, against quinine, which has been in use worldwide for over 300 years.

Scientists have found that the fat cells and tissues of morbidly obese people and animals can reach a limit in their ability to store fat appropriately. Beyond this limit several biological processes conspire to prevent further expansion of fat tissue and in the process may trigger other health problems.

Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, spoke at this month's Biomedical Forum at King's, where he discussed the vision and strategy of the Wellcome Trust in supporting translational research. Sir Mark highlighted the importance of researchers being able to demonstrate that tax payers' money is funding research that is attempting to answer important questions.

A new study by researchers from the University of Bristol, presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) conference today, has found potential new biomarkers for very early prostate cancer in men with no symptoms of the disease. The researchers, from the University's School of Social and Community Medicine , investigated levels of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) in men whose cancer had been detected through PSA screening.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge hope to revolutionise cancer therapy after discovering one of the reasons why many previous attempts to harness the immune system to treat cancerous tumours have failed. New research, published today , reveals that a type of stromal cell found in many cancers which expresses fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAP), plays a major role in suppressing the immune response in cancerous tumours - thereby restricting the use of vaccines and other therapies which rely on the body's immune system to work.

Patients who have laparoscopic or 'keyhole' surgery spend less time in hospital and recover more quickly from the operation. Now long-term follow-up data has confirmed that this way of doing surgery does not make patients with colorectal cancer more vulnerable to the disease returning, as some had feared.

Liverpool, UK - 3 November 2010: Fossil finger bones of early human ancestors suggest that Neanderthals were more promiscuous than human populations today, researchers at the universities of Liverpool and Oxford have found.