news 2010

Stroke patients will be helped by new funding to test the effectiveness of using brain scans to diagnose their condition. University researchers are to investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of brain imagining in patients who have suffered a mini stroke - or transient ischaemic attack.

Scientists have discovered a mechanism which raises blood pressure in pre-eclampsia, a potentially deadly condition which occurs during pregnancy. After 20 years of research, scientists from the University of Cambridge have now cracked the first step in the main process that controls blood pressure.

PA 263/10 An exciting collaboration between the Universities of Cambridge and Nottingham has resulted in new insights into the hypertension that frequently blights pregnancy. The results, published [online 6th October], describe the solving of the first step in the principal process that controls blood pressure — the release of the hormone angiotensin from its source protein, angiotensinogen.

Light drinking during pregnancy does not harm a young child's behavioural or intellectual development, according to new research led by Dr Yvonne Kelly (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) and published online today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. A previous study in 2008 by Dr Kelly and colleagues of 3 year olds drew similar conclusions, but the authors wanted to rule out possible delayed 'sleeper' effects in older children.

Scientists at King's College London have discovered that some 'free radicals' protect the heart, providing a possible reason why trials of antioxidant therapies for heart disease have so far failed. Researchers discovered that in mice, chemically-reactive molecules - normally thought to be damaging for the body - may in fact help the heart adapt to chronic stress, preventing heart failure.

A group of researchers at the University of Bristol have sequestered the potentially fatal breath holding episodes associated with the autistic-spectrum disorder Rett syndrome. Rett syndrome is a developmental disorder of the brain that affects around 1 in10,000 young girls. One of the worse clinical disorders is the intermittent episodes of breath holding, putting the patient at risk of asphyxiation and further brain damage.

A genetic trait formerly linked to some cases of female infertility is also linked to some male infertility, according to new research from UCL Institute of Child Health scientists working with the Institut Pasteur in Paris. One in seven couples worldwide has difficulty conceiving a child, and male infertility is thought to account for nearly half of those cases.

Researchers at the UCL Institute of Child Health have demonstrated for the first time in humans that feeding babies enriched milk led to statistically significant increases in body fat at age 5-8 years. The new study is published today online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . This key finding of the link between overnutrition in infancy and body fat was independent of confounding factors such as maternal Body Mass Index.

Brain chemical finding could open door to new schizophrenia drugs New research has linked psychosis with an abnormal relationship between two signalling chemicals in the brain. Thursday 30 September 2010 New research has linked psychosis with an abnormal relationship between two signalling chemicals in the brain.

The most common type of antidepressants, serotonin enhancers, alters peoples' moral judgement and leads to a reduction in aggressive behaviour, a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has found. The new research, by scientists at the University of Cambridge's Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, discovered that healthy volunteers given drugs which increase their serotonin, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), have an increased aversion to harming others, viewing such actions as morally forbidden.

Health | Science 27 Sep 10 A genetic defect that is a key cause of migraines has been identified by scientists at the University of Oxford. The new study, led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Functional Genomics Unit based at Oxford and colleagues in Canada, has identified a specific gene called TRESK.

There may be a very good reason that people naturally clutch their hand after receiving an injury. A new report shows that self-touch offers significant relief for acute pain under experimental conditions. Researchers from UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience suggest that the relief comes from a change in the brain's representation of the rest of the body.

Liverpool, UK - 23 September 2010: Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that high levels of a stress hormone in recovering alcoholics could increase the risk of relapse. The study showed that cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal gland in response to stress, is found in high levels in chronic alcoholics, as well as those recovering from the condition.

New research has found that a genetic variant which reduces the chance of contracting diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy is more prevalent in populations with long histories of urban living. The research, published in the journal Evolution, shows that in areas with a long history of urban settlements, today's inhabitants are more likely to possess the genetic variant which provides resistance to infection.

Researchers from The University of Manchester have developed a social intervention to help British Pakistani women with depression. Their 10-week programme, which was trialled in the north-west of England, helped the women feel more positive and improved their satisfaction and social functioning. The findings are published in the September issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry .

Spray-on haute couture unveiled at Science in Style Fashion Show Imperial and Fabrican Ltd celebrate design-led technology at the College - News Tuesday 21 September 2010 By Colin Smith A collection of spray-on haute couture was showcased yesterday at a fashion show at Imperial College London. More than 300 key figures from industry, academia, fashion and the media came to the College to see Dr Manel Torres , Spanish fashion designer and academic visitor at Imperial, unveil his 2011 Spring/Summer Collection at the Science in Style Fashion Show.

University of Manchester scientists have discovered a new cause of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that affects more than 50 million people worldwide and results in blindness. Professor Tony Day, at Manchester's Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research (WTCCMR), said: "There are several factors that predispose to AMD, smoking being one example.

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, with over a million new patients being diagnosed each year. In most cases, the cancer develops from tiny, slow-growing nodules on the bowel wall, known as polyps, which can be detected and removed during a 'colonoscopy' camera examination.

Neuroscientists at the University of Birmingham are working on a novel approach to ending the scourge of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) after identifying, for the first time, an organic cause for the condition. Researchers led by Dr Thelma Lovick have shown that premenstrual-like symptoms can be triggered in female rats by a change in the level of secretion of one of the female sex hormones that normally occurs towards the end of the menstrual cycle in women.

Treating patients with thigh-length surgical stockings, instead of knee-high socks, can reduce blood clots, a study says. Researchers found that knee-high stockings, which are similar to flight socks, do little in stroke patients to prevent deep vein thrombosis ( is a life threatening form of blood clot that can travel up into the heart and lungs.