news 2013

Patients from GP practices with low endoscopy referral rates are at increased risk of poor outcomes from oesophageal and gastric cancers, according to research at the University of Liverpool. Research, presented at Public Health England's National Cancer Intelligence Network annual conference, showed that there is a wide variation in rates of elective endoscopy between GP practices across England.

GP's and health professionals need to do more to promote support groups for men suffering with depression and anxiety according to new research published [26 June] in the journal Primary Health Care Research & Development . The assumption that men are less vulnerable to depression and anxiety than women is increasingly being questioned.

Researchers, including Professor Alastair Poole and Dr Matthew Harper from the University of Bristol's School of Physiology and Pharmacology , have uncovered a key process in understanding how blood clots form that could help pave the way for new therapies to reduce the risk of heart attacks. The research, carried out in collaboration with researchers from the Universities of Homburg and Heidelberg in Germany, the National Institutes of Health in the USA and University College London, focuses on the action of platelets in the blood clotting process.

A new tag-team approach to combating a type of skin cancer is showing early promise in the lab. The scientists in Oxford and Spain investigated a two-drug combination to better target cancer cells in melanoma. The approach uses one drug to drive melanoma cancer cells that are invasive to become sensitive to a second drug.

25 Jun 2013 Researchers in Manchester have this week launched an innovative new project working with patients and their families to better understand the causes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study, the first of its kind in the UK, will provide vital clues to the early events in the process that leads to someone developing RA and help with prevention measures.

We constantly grow new skin and slough off the old. Until now, scientists have never agreed on exactly how this works, but new research from the University of Sheffield may provide the answer. Engineers and biologists at the University have shown how a recent theory - that skin has 'sleeping' stem cells which can be woken up when required - best explains how our skin constantly regrows.

Babies born to mothers who suffer from a rare metabolic complication during pregnancy could be programmed to be overweight Babies born to mothers who suffer from a rare metabolic complication during pregnancy are programmed to be overweight, according to a study co-authored by researchers at Imperial College London.

Scientists have found a way to illuminate tiny bubbles which are used to track blood flow with medical imaging. In future such bubbles could also deliver targeted drugs in the body. Until now, researchers have been unable to accurately study the flexibility of microbubble shells, which are injected into the bloodstream as an aid to ultrasound imaging.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. Around 700 women in England with symptoms of kidney or bladder cancer are missing out on prompt diagnosis and treatment of their condition every year, reveals research involving Durham University.

A study of the experiences of cosmetic surgery tourists, led by the University of Leeds, challenges widely-held perceptions about the safety and motives of people travelling oversees for treatment. The two-year study, ‘Sun, Sea, Sand and Silicone’, is the first to use in-depth s, video and photo diaries and questionnaires to analyse cosmetic surgery tourism from the perspective of the patient’s experience.

In the largest ever study of migraines, researchers have found five genetic regions that for the first time have been linked to the onset of migraine. This study opens new doors to understanding the cause and biological triggers that underlie migraine attacks. The international team, including scientists from the Department of Twin Research at King's, identified 12 genetic regions associated with migraine susceptibility.

In the largest study of migraine ever undertaken, researchers from the UK, the USA, Australia and Europe have found five new genetic regions that, for the first time, have been linked to the onset of migraine. This discovery is a major step forward in the understanding of the causes and biological triggers of migraine attacks.

Regular exercise can strengthen the body's 'clock' and help it stay synchronised as it grows older, according to a new study. Every form of life has a 'body clock' that allows synchronisation of various bodily functions, such as sleeping and eating, to the 24-hour light-dark cycle of the day. In mammals, the clock, or suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), is located deep in the brain in the hypothalamus and is directly connected to the optic nerve.

PA 209/13 Use of antibiotics in early life may increase the risk of developing eczema by up to 40 per cent, according to a new study involving researchers from The University of Nottingham , in the British Journal of Dermatology. The research also found that each additional course of antibiotics further raised the risk of eczema by seven per cent.

By studying the development of the face scientists at King's have identified a cell movement mechanism which could shed light on how cancer cells spread through the body, providing a target for possible treatments. In collaboration with UCL, Andrea Streit, Professor of Developmental Neurobiology at King's, studied the different cells which make up the face and head during development and discovered a 'chase-and-run' mechanism by which different cells interact in order to migrate around the body.

Use of antibiotics in early life may increase the risk of developing eczema by up to 40 per cent, according to a new study led by King's College London researchers, published today in the British Journal of Dermatology . The research also found that each additional course of antibiotics further raised the risk of eczema by seven per cent.

A new virus has been identified in patients with severe brain infections in Vietnam by a team led by Oxford University researchers. Further research is needed to determine whether the virus is responsible for the symptoms of disease. The virus was found in 28 out of 644 patients with severe brain infections in the study, but not in any of the 122 patients with non-infectious brain disorders that were tested.

Using drugs to treat an infection could allow other co-existing conditions to flourish, a study at the Universities of Liverpool and Edinburgh have shown. Researchers studying wild mice - which typically carry multiple parasitic infections at once - found that when these animals were treated for one type of bug, other infections they had tended to worsen.

Epidemiology and gene sequencing technologies have been used by researchers in the UK, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the US and Canada to show that the novel Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus can spread between people in healthcare settings. The work is published in the New England Journal of Medicine today .

The first woman to have IVF treatment using a pioneering new method developed at Imperial College London has given birth to a baby boy. The new technique uses the natural hormone kisspeptin to stimulate egg development instead of the usual fertility drugs. Doctors hope using kisspeptin will give mothers a lower risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a potentially life-threatening condition that can be triggered by IVF drugs used now.