news 2012

Pioneering research conducted by the University of Sheffield is paving the way for new treatments which could benefit patients suffering from the fatal lung disease pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). For the first time scientists have found an antibody treatment that not only stops PAH getting worse, but also reverses the condition in mice and rats.

Researchers part-funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust have identified how particular parts of the intestinal immune system and the bacteria in the gut can interact to alter an individual's risk of developing Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). Results are published online today in Immunity .

The emergence and spread of a deadly strain of Salmonella, Salmonella  Typhimurium, in sub-Saharan Africa is linked to the HIV virus, according to researchers from the University of Liverpool. The scientists, working as part of an international team, tracked the spread of invasive Non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) in sub-Saharan Africa, where it kills one in four people who catch it.

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces far from infected patients' beds, according to University of Leeds researchers. The results of the study, which was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), may explain why, despite strict cleaning regimes and hygiene controls, some hospitals still struggle to prevent bacteria moving from patient to patient.

In a UCL-led study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, an international consortium of over 180 scientists report the identification of 21 new gene variants associated with cholesterol predictors of heart disease and metabolic disorders. The findings expand the list of potential targets for drugs and other treatments for lipid-related cardiovascular disease, a leading global cause of death and disability.

PA 283/12 Should every primary school pupil in the UK be given a hearing test and what's the most effective way of doing it? These are questions that a team of academics from Nottingham and Exeter will be tackling as part of a new study. Their research will compare screening programmes in some areas of the country, with areas where no provision currently exists and will establish whether a nationwide approach would be successful — and cost effective — in picking up hearing loss in children aged between four and six years old.

People who inject drugs (PWID) can significantly reduce their risk of HIV infection with the use of opiate substitution treatments such as methadone, as suggested by an international team of researchers in a paper published today on bmj.com. Injection drug use (IDU) is a major risk factor for the transmission of HIV and AIDS and HIV / AIDS accounts for nearly one fifth of the burden of disease among people who inject drugs.

Children in smaller families are only slightly more likely to survive childhood in high mortality environments, according to a new study of mothers and children in sub-Saharan Africa seeking to understand why women, even in the highest fertility populations in world, rarely give birth to more than eight children.

Some of the most important studies of people's lives in the UK, including the University of Bristol Children of the 90s study (ALSPAC) , will be brought together in a national centre of excellence thanks to a £5 million project launched this week by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) .

Mexiletine, a decades-old drug previously used to treat abnormal heart rhythms, has been used to alleviate the symptoms of patients with nondystrophic myotonias (NDMs), rare diseases that affect the skeletal muscle and cause functionally limiting stiffness and pain. The preliminary research, published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association , shows that taking mexiletine can improve patient-reported stiffness.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have found that regulations introduced to reduce children's exposure to junk food advertising have not had a significant impact. Emma Boyland , from the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society , compared food adverts broadcast on the 13 UK TV channels most popular with children in February 2008, with those from the same period in 2010.

A simple blood test could one day be a more accurate way to test for the early signs of breast cancer than using mammograms to spot a lump say researchers today, as Breast Cancer Awareness Month gets underway. They also hope the blood test could improve treatment by detecting whether breast cancer patients are likely to relapse and what drugs their particular type of tumour will respond to.

Breakthrough in understanding lung cancer vulnerabilities points the way to new targeted therapy More effective treatments for one of the deadliest forms of cancer are one step closer thanks to groundbreaking research from an international collaborative study. Scientists from the Universities of Sheffield and Cologne have identified the dependencies of multiple Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) types - paving the way for clinical trials of new targeted treatments which could revolutionise the current approach.

Providing therapy over the phone will not only help individuals gain much-needed access to mental health treatment, it will provide a more cost effective way of providing these services at a time when we have to be innovative and efficient." —Professor Peter Jones A new study reveals that cognitive therapy over the phone is just as effective as meeting face-to-face.

Researchers at King's College London, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified for the first time a key factor responsible for declining muscle repair during ageing, and discovered how to halt the process in mice with a common drug. Although an early study, the finding provides clues as to how muscles lose mass with age, which can result in weakness that affects mobility and may cause falls.

An Evolutionary Biologist at The University of Manchester, working with scientists in the United States, has found compelling evidence that parts of the brain can evolve independently from each other. It's hoped the findings will significantly advance our understanding of the brain. The unique 15 year study with researchers at the University of Tennessee and Harvard Medical School also identified several genetic loci that control the size of different brain parts.

Targeted health support is necessary for people with lower IQs according to new research which shows that they are unhappier and more likely to have poorer health than people with higher IQs. The study, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, is the first to demonstrate the role of socio-economic and clinical factors, providing new insight into the relationship between IQ and happiness.

Research on MDMA, the pure form of the drug ecstasy, will be the focus of a two-part programme called Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial to be shown on Channel 4 tonight and tomorrow night. The study examines how the resting brain responds to MDMA and is led by David Nutt, Edmond J Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, and Professor Val Curran from University College London.

Obesity in school-age children may be having a significant effect on the health of their hearts, an Oxford University study suggests. The researchers show that obese children and adolescents have several risk factors for heart disease - including raised blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and a thickening of the heart muscle - compared with normal weight children.

A study by Human Nutrition researchers at the University of Glasgow has revealed that Scots' waistlines have become bigger in the last 10 years. The research by Professor Mike Lean and colleagues in the School of Medicine also suggests that muscle mass is falling. The researchers compared data from the Scottish Health Surveys from 1998, 2003, 2008 and concluded that people were heavier and fatter in 2003 than in 1998, with a less marked increase between 2003 and 2008.