news 2013

26 Dec 2013 Researchers from Arthritis Research UK Centre for Genetics and Genomics at The University of Manchester have helped discover a further 42 genetic markers associated with rheumatoid arthritis in the largest international study to date on the topic. Scientists in 38 separate institutions across seven countries contributed data from their own studies so that a much more powerful single combined analysis could be performed that examined over 10 million genetic markers in over 100,000 individuals, 29,880 of whom have rheumatoid arthritis.

Highest intakes are found in regions lying along the old Silk Road - from East Asia, through Central Asia to Eastern Europe and the Middle East Dr John Powles The global average salt intake in 2010 was around 10 grams per person per day, corresponding to 4 grams per day of sodium, according to a study published today in the BMJ Open.

Scientists have taken an important step towards new malaria treatments by identifying a way to stop malaria parasites from multiplying. In a study published in Nature Chemistry , they show that blocking the activity of an enzyme called NMT in the most common malaria parasite prevents mice from showing symptoms and extends their lifespan.

20 Dec 2013 Scientists from The University of Manchester – part of Manchester Cancer Research Centre believe they have discovered a new way to make chemotherapy treatment more effective for pancreatic cancer patients. Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive cancer with poor prognosis and limited treatment options and is highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Researchers at the University of Leeds have shown that greater dietary fibre intake is associated with a lower risk of both cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Dr Victoria Burley, from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds and senior author of the study, said: “It has previously been difficult to demonstrate the long-term influence of diet on heart attacks or strokes.

A new gene mutation which will help doctors give a more accurate diagnosis of a type of brain and muscle disease in children has been discovered for the first time by University of Leeds experts. Mitochondrial myopathy, as it is known, causes muscle weakness, movement problems and learning difficulties and affects more than 70,000 people in the UK.

A group of researchers from the UK have used inkjet printing technology to successfully print cells taken from the eye for the very first time.

The 150-year-old proverb 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' stands the test of time, say Oxford University researchers. Writing in the more light-hearted Christmas edition of the BMJ medical journal, the scientists estimated how effective this Victorian health advice would be today in preventing heart disease among people over 50.

Scientists have developed a device that can take a "biopsy" of a living cell, sampling minute volumes of its contents without killing it. Much research on molecular biology is carried out on populations of cells, giving an average result that ignores the fact that every cell is different. Techniques for studying single cells usually destroy them, making it impossible to look at changes over time.

Mutations in a gene causing mixed neurological and muscular disease in children have been found for the first time. Researchers at UCL and the University of Leeds have identified an entirely novel mechanism responsible for a childhood onset neuromuscular diseases with associated brain involvement. The research identified mutations of the gene MICU1 in a group of children affected by this previously undescribed condition, and provides the first evidence that a defective MICU1 gene can cause disease 'in man'.

17 Dec 2013 A study by Manchester scientists backs preventative surgery to improve survival for women who are at greater risk of getting ovarian cancer and suggests it appears helpful for women at risk of getting breast cancer because of genetic faults. Women who carry, a fault in one of two high-risk genes known as BRCA1 or BRCA2, have an increased risk of dying from breast and/or ovarian cancer.

The full paper can be found here: http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/12/15/eurheartj.eht539.full (external site, html) Doctors are encouraging people to take advantage of Christmas gatherings with relatives to discuss family medical histories to help tackle ill-health.

As many as one in four women prisoners in England and Wales self-harm every year, with women in prison four times more likely to self-harm than men. The findings come from the largest ever study of self-harm in prisons led by Dr Seena Fazel and Professor Keith Hawton from the University of Oxford. The researchers examined the prevalence of self-harm in all prisoners in England and Wales between 2004 and 2009 and the results are published in the medical journal The Lancet .

A research team from The University of Nottingham has helped uncover a second rare genetic mutation which strongly increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life. In an international collaboration, the University's Translational Cell Sciences Human Genetics research group has pinpointed a rare coding variation in the Phospholipase D3 (PLD3) gene which is more common in people with late-onset Alzheimer's than non-sufferers.

Professor Jay Hinton: "These findings show that salmonella goes through a complex choreography of different stages while infecting different parts of our bodies” Scientists have used a new method to map the response of every salmonella gene to conditions in the human body, providing new insight into how the bacteria triggers infection.

The G8 summit has announced today the launch of a £4 million research project about improving life with dementia. This new project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and National Institute for Health Research hopes to answer some key questions: How can people with dementia be supported to live well?  What affects their ability to do this and when should support be offered to help people live well with this challenging disease?

A mechanism in the brain which controls tics in children with Tourette Syndrome (TS) has been discovered by scientists at The University of Nottingham. The study, which has been published in the British Psychological Society's Journal of Neuropsychology , could herald new non-drug therapies to help young people with TS overcome the repetitive physical movements and vocal sounds which characterise their condition.

The University of Liverpool and a team of European experts will explore the role of the neighbourhood in the everyday lives of people with dementia in a new research project announced during the G8 dementia summit. The 'Neighbourhoods and Dementia' study, led by the University of Manchester, was one of six research projects announced by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) along with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), as part of a £20 million funding boost which will significantly add to the understanding of dementia.

A 4p per day drug for high blood pressure could become the first ever treatment for one of the most common forms of dementia within a decade, say two leading charities. The widely prescribed drug amlodipine has shown promising effects in people with vascular dementia, the most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

New research has suggested men of South Asian origin may need to exercise for approximately 20 minutes a day longer than their Europeans counterparts. Current physical activity guidelines recommend that all adults take at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (equivalent to walking briskly for 30 minutes on 5 days of the week) per week.