news 2012
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Results 141 - 160 of 452.
Life Sciences - Health - 21.09.2012
New back pain gene identified
Researchers at King's College London have for the first time identified a gene linked to age-related degeneration of the intervertebral discs in the spine, a common cause of lower back pain. Costing the UK an estimated £7billion a year due to sickness leave and treatment costs, the causes of back pain are not yet fully understood.
Health - Life Sciences - 21.09.2012
Fragile X study offers new drug hope
An experimental drug can improve sociability in patients with fragile X syndrome and may be helpful as a treatment for autism, according to a study. Fragile X is a rare genetic disorder that affects about 1 in 4,000 boys and 1 in 8,000 girls. It usually results in intellectual impairment and — in many cases — some form of autism.
Life Sciences - Health - 20.09.2012
Mutant parasite could stop malaria in its tracks
University of Nottingham Malaria experts have found a way of disabling one of the many phosphatase proteins which breathe life into the malaria parasite. The result is a mutant which is unable to complete the complex life cycle crucial to its development. The discovery could help to design drugs to save thousands of lives.
Life Sciences - Health - 20.09.2012
A Solution To Reducing Inflammation
Research carried out at The University of Manchester has found further evidence that a simple solution, which is already used in IV drips, is an effective treatment for reducing inflammation. The researchers also identified that hypertonic solution, which is a solution with an elevated concentration of salt, can ease inflammation purely through bathing in it – proving the Victorians were right to visit spa towns to "take the waters” for ailments like rheumatoid arthritis.
Administration - Health - 20.09.2012
Adrift in a foreign land: major study highlights failings when older people are transferred between health and social care services
A major study of the experiences of older people moving between health and care services published today highlights significant problems in the quality of the service they received. The researchers from the University of Birmingham's Health Services Management Centre found that too often older people were excluded from decisions and carers in particular felt undervalued by statutory providers.
Life Sciences - Health - 18.09.2012
Toxic protein build-up in blood shines light on fatal brain disease
A new light-based technique for measuring levels of the toxic protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD) has been used to demonstrate that the protein builds up gradually in blood cells. Published today (17th) in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the findings shed light on how the protein causes damage in the brain, and could be useful for monitoring the progression of HD, or testing new drugs aimed at suppressing production of the harmful protein.
Health - Civil Engineering - 17.09.2012
Biggest European urban health study identifies key priorities in 26 cities
Researchers have announced the results of the largest ever health and lifestyle survey of cities and conurbations across Europe - including five British urban centres. The research examined and compared the health, life expectancy and lifestyles of the populations of 26 European cities (the Euro-26) and found major differences, not only between cities, but within individual urban areas too.
Health - 17.09.2012
New test to crack down on growth hormone misuse
A new test designed to identify growth hormone misuse in sport has been developed by scientists at King's, the University of Southampton and University of Kent at Canterbury. Used for the first time at the anti-doping laboratory for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, operated by King's, the new test was responsible for identifying two powerlifters at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, who tested positive for growth hormones and subsequently received two-year suspensions.
Health - 14.09.2012
Pan-European study confirms link between work stress and heart disease
People who have highly demanding jobs and little freedom to make decisions are 23 per cent more likely to experience a heart attack compared with their counterparts without such work stress, according to a study of nearly 200 000 people from seven European countries. Professor Mika Kivimäki from UCL Epidemiology & Public Health led the research which is published today in The Lancet.
Health - Administration - 13.09.2012
MMR and the development of UCL’s research governance framework
UCL has today published a paper - MMR and the development of a research governance framework in UCL - that sets out how the university's research governance framework has been updated to take account of institutional issues highlighted by the case of Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield was struck off the medical register by the GMC in 2010 following an investigation into allegations of serious professional misconduct relating to his research into a possible link between autism and MMR.
Life Sciences - Health - 13.09.2012
Genetic cause of insulin sensitivity offers diabetes clues
The first single gene cause of increased sensitivity to the hormone insulin has been discovered by a team of Oxford University researchers. The opposite condition - insulin resistance - is a common feature of type 2 diabetes, so finding this cause of insulin sensitivity could offer new opportunities for pursuing novel treatments for diabetes.
Life Sciences - Health - 12.09.2012
Human stem cells cure common form of deafness
A cure for deafness is a step closer after University of Sheffield scientists used human embryonic stem cells to treat a common form of hearing loss. In research funded by the Medical Research Council and leading UK research charity, Action on Hearing Loss, experts from the University's Department of Biomedical Sciences developed a method to turn human embryonic stem cells into ear cells.
Health - Life Sciences - 11.09.2012
Diet could combat adverse side-effects of quinine
Scientists at The University of Nottingham say adverse side-effects caused by the anti-parasitic drug quinine in the treatment of malaria could be controlled by what we eat. The research, carried out by Nottingham scientists on the University's campuses in the UK and Malaysia, indicates that natural variation in our levels of the amino acid, tryptophan, has a marked bearing on how we respond to quinine treatment.
Health - 11.09.2012
Hayfever vaccine study raises hopes for new allergy treatment
Researchers are developing a new vaccine for hayfever which could be more effective, less invasive for patients and less expensive than vaccines already available to patients within the NHS. Scientists at Imperial College London and King's College London have carried out a study which showed a significant reduction in skin sensitivity to grass pollen that was associated with an increase in 'blocking antibodies' in the bloodstream.
Health - Life Sciences - 11.09.2012
Study identifies flora that fights disease
Many plants used for their healing powers in traditional medicine around the world have been shown to be related to one another, despite being discovered continents and centuries apart. Scientists studied over 1,500 medicinal plants from three continents and found that time and again people were independently using closely related plants to treat the same ailments.
Health - 11.09.2012
Hayfever vaccine study raises hopes for new allergy treatment
Researchers are developing a new vaccine for hayfever which could be more effective, less invasive for patients and less expensive than vaccines already available to patients on the NHS. Scientists at Imperial College London and King's College London have carried out a study that showed a significant reduction in skin sensitivity to grass pollen that was associated with an increase in "blocking antibodies" in the bloodstream.
Health - Administration - 11.09.2012
Extent of type 2 diabetes problem in minority ethnic populations
Half of all people of South Asian, African and African Caribbean descent will develop diabetes by age 80, according to a new study published today. The study is the first to reveal the full extent of ethnic differences in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and also provides some answers about the causes of the increased risk.
Health - 07.09.2012
Omega-3 fatty acids ’could improve reading and behaviour’
A new study by the University of Oxford has shown that daily supplements of omega-3 fatty acids (Docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) improved the reading and behaviour of underperforming children in mainstream primary schools. The researchers worked with children aged between seven and nine who had underperformed in standardised reading tests.
Health - Economics - 07.09.2012
Universal health coverage improves health for all
Evidence suggests that progress towards universal health coverage generally results in substantial improvements to population health, according to a new paper from researchers at Imperial College London. The issues surrounding universal health coverage - how an adequate standard of healthcare can be provided to all people, while ensuring that use of health services does not expose people to financial hardship - have never been more controversial or politically relevant than now.
Health - 06.09.2012
New hope for thousands of women with most aggressive breast cancer
Scientists at The University of Nottingham have identified a protein which could help predict survival outcomes for women with the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Research funded by Breast Cancer Campaign could help predict survival outcomes for triple negative breast cancer and basal-like breast cancer — which affect up to 8,000 women each year in the UK.
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