news 2011

Researchers from Children of the 90s at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with 22 other studies from across the world, have discovered three new genetic variants associated with the skin condition eczema, a chronic inflammatory disease that afflicts millions of patients around the world. Previous research in Europeans had only identified two major genes, so this is a significant breakthrough that will help diagnose and treat the condition in the long term.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan for coronary heart disease is better than the most commonly-used alternative, a major UK trial of heart disease patients has shown. The findings by University of Leeds researchers could change the way that people with suspected heart disease are assessed, potentially avoiding the need for tests that are invasive or use ionising radiation.

A collaboration between virologists and neuroscientists at Cambridge University has demonstrated how viruses that cross the blood/brain barrier could be exploited to slow down, or even halt, the progress of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and can reduce blood supply to the heart tissue and damage cardiac cells, resulting in heart failure. New research has investigated if nerve growth factor (NGF) gene therapy can prevent diabetic heart failure and small vascular disease in mice.

A new malaria vaccine with the potential to neutralise all strains of the most deadly species of malaria parasite has been developed by an Oxford University-led team. The scientists from the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford have shown that their vaccine induces an antibody response in animal models that is capable of neutralising all the strains they tested of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum .

20 Dec 2011 A drug that removes excess copper from people with diabetes resulting in improved function of the heart is to be tested in a national trial led by researchers in Manchester. The research team has received funding of £430,000 for the phase 2B trial from the J P Moulton Charitable Foundation, set up by entrepreneur Jon Moulton to fund non-commercial clinical trials.

Penicillin doses for children should be reviewed, say experts A team of scientists and clinicians, led by researchers at King's College London and St George's, University of London, are calling for a review of penicillin dosing guidelines for children, that have remained unchanged for nearly 50 years.

Human hairs help stop the bed bugs biting Hairy humans do not let the bed bugs bite according to research at the University of Sheffield which shows how hair helps us defend against and detect bloodthirsty invaders on our bodies. Sensitive, fine hairs which cover our bodies allow us to feel parasitic insects on our skin as well as creating a natural barrier to stop them biting us.

Patients with life-threatening heart valve disease could be helped with alternative scanning techniques that provide greater insight into the condition. University researchers used an imaging technique that could help predict which patients will need open heart surgery to replace their heart valves.

Malaria in early pregnancy significantly increases the risk of miscarriage, but taking antimalarial drugs is relatively safe and reduces this risk. That's the finding of the largest ever study to assess the effects of malaria and its treatment in the first trimester of pregnancy. Despite the risks of malaria for pregnant women, there is very little published evidence on the effects of malaria and taking antimalarial drugs during the first trimester of pregnancy.

The use of nanoparticles in medicine is ever increasing and it is important to understand the effects these particles might have on human tissues and health in general. Scientists have shown that signalling molecules that damage the DNA of cells grown underneath a barrier are transmitted only when the barrier is more than one layer thick and DNA damage and cytokine release is signalled across the barrier.

Scientists have discovered a mechanism they believe may play a key role in the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in animals. Researchers at the University of Leeds have been studying an enzyme - called 3D - which plays a vital role in the replication of the virus behind the disease. They have found that this enzyme forms fibrous structures (or fibrils) during the replication process.

The Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England is on course to cut bowel cancer deaths by 16 per cent, according to a University of Nottingham-led study of the first 1 million test results. But the survey suggests that better screening techniques should be developed because bowel cancers on the right side of the body were not as likely to be picked up as those on the left.

A rare genetic variant that appears to be directly and causally linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) has been identified by Oxford University researchers. Importantly, the mutation in the CYP27B1 gene affects a key enzyme which leads people with the variant to have lower levels of vitamin D, adding weight to the suggested link between vitamin D and MS.

New research published in The Lancet (9 December 2011) shows no consistent decrease in the maltreatment of children across several countries over the last two decades. Despite years of policy initiatives designed to achieve it, research revealed by a collaboration between Warwick Medical School and University College London Institute of Child Health (ICH) concludes that despite numerous government policy initiatives designed to achieve a reduction in child maltreatment, none has proved successful.

Three new locations for Crohn's Disease genes have been uncovered by scientists at UCL using a novel gene mapping approach. The complex genetic and environmental causes of Crohn's Disease (CD) have long been difficult to untangle. CD, a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease that affects about 100 to 150 people per 100,000 in Europe, is characterised by inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract.

Scientists at Warwick Medical School have made an important discovery about the mechanism controlling the body's 'fat switch', shedding new light on our understanding of how proteins regulate appetite control and insulin secretion. This research, led by Professor Victor Zammit, Head of Metabolic and Vascular Health at Warwick Medical School, found that the enzyme known as 'Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A' (CPT1) has a switch which is thrown depending on the composition and curvature of its cellular membrane.

A new method for measuring narrowing in the arteries of the heart may allow patients to be assessed for a stent without having to take a drug with unpleasant side effects. In England, it is estimated that one in seven men and one in 12 women over the age of 65 experience chest pain called angina caused by narrowing of the arteries in the heart.

Only 71 per cent of babies born between 32 and 36 weeks are successful in key stage 1 (KS1) tests (defined as achieving at least level 2 in reading, writing and maths), compared to 79 per cent of babies born at full term (37-41 weeks). Babies born between 32 and 36 weeks ('late-preterm') make up 82 per cent of all premature births and six per cent of all live births in the UK and are generally considered to be in the 'safe zone' of premature births.

Why some people need more sleep is in our genes, a new study suggests. A new study by University researchers finds that one in five Europeans carry a variation of a gene known as ABCC9, which is involved in sensing energy levels of cells in the body. People with the gene need almost 30 minutes more sleep each night than those who do not have it.