news 2018

A new £20m research centre aimed at finding effective treatments for dementia was officially opened at Cardiff University today. More than 70 scientists from around the world have been recruited to the centre with the aim of expanding the group to 100 in the near future. The Cardiff centre is one of six that together make up the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) which has been established across Britain with a total £290m investment.

People at high genetic risk of stroke can still reduce their chance of having a stroke by sticking to a healthy lifestyle, in particular stopping smoking and not being overweight, finds a study in The BMJ today. This drives home just how important a healthy lifestyle is for all of us, even those without an obvious genetic predisposition Hugh Markus Stroke is a complex disease caused by both genetic and environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle.

A recently-approved breast cancer drug could be used to target and treat a life-threatening leukaemia, new research has revealed. Experts at the Universities of Birmingham and Newcastle have identified that the drug, palbociclib, used for advanced breast cancer, can work effectively on treating acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

A team from UCL, University College London Hospitals (UCLH) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has operated on the abnormally developed spinal cords of two babies in the womb, in a medical first for the UK. The team repaired the defect in the spine of two babies with open spina bifida, in separate operations this summer.

Lack of awareness of the full services that dentists offer and an expectation of long waiting times for appointments are among the reasons that 380,000 people in the UK visited their doctor with a dental problem last year, needlessly adding to GP appointment waiting times. A new study, by Cardiff University and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, which interviewed adults across the UK, found several common reasons why people make GP appointments instead of seeing a dentist.

A 'brain training' app developed at the University of Cambridge could help people who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) manage their symptoms, which may typically include excessive handwashing and contamination fears.

Treating the prostate with radiotherapy alongside standard treatment led to an 11 per cent increase in survival for some men with advanced prostate cancer, a study at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL has found. The findings ,  published in The Lancet , come from from one of the largest ever clinical trials for the disease.

Scientists have created an artificial intelligence system that could help treat patients with sepsis. The technology, developed by researchers from Imperial College London , was found to predict the best treatment strategy for patients. Our new AI system was able to analyse a patient's data - such as blood pressure and heart rate - and decide the best treatment strategy.

Urban farmers growing vegetables to feed millions of people in Africa's ever-growing cities could unwittingly be helping to spread disease by irrigating crops with wastewater, a new study reveals. Experts discovered that wastewater collected from canals used for urban agriculture in Burkina Faso was rich in virulent human pathogens which cause gastroenteritis and diarrhoea - a major cause of death in low and middle-income countries.

A new home-based rehabilitation programme could help thousands of heart failure patients to achieve a better quality of life, research carried out in collaboration with the University of Birmingham has found. A new study has found that the Rehabilitation Enablement in CHronic Heart Failure (REACH-HF) programme , led by the University of Exeter and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS trust, significantly improved quality of life and is deliverable within NHS cost guidelines.

A popular University of Nottingham veterinary survey into the problem of itchy skin allergies in dogs is being extended to include all breeds of dog after some interesting initial results. The Itchy Dog Project is an online study that was launched at Crufts last year to help researchers examine the possible genetic and environmental causes of canine atopic dermatitis.

Providing nurse-led care for people suffering with the painful, long-term condition gout could lead to an increase in the number of patients sticking to a beneficial treatment plan, a clinical trial has revealed. The research, led by academics at The University of Nottingham and published in The Lancet , has shown that keeping patients fully informed and involving them in decisions about their care can be more successful in managing gout.

Scientists have gained new insights into how the 'master regulator' of reproduction affects men's brains. In a new study, scientists from Imperial College London investigated how a recently discovered hormone called kisspeptin alters brain activity in healthy volunteers. These insights suggest the hormone could one day be used to treat conditions such as low sex drive or depression Professor Waljit Dhillo Study author The hormone, known as the master regulator of reproduction, not only has a crucial role in sperm and egg production, but may also boost reproductive behaviours.

The world's first functional oesophagus engineered from stem cells has been grown and successfully transplanted into mice, as part of a pioneering new study led by UCL. It is hoped this research, carried out by UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (ICH), in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the Francis Crick Institute, could pave the way for clinical trials of lab-grown food pipes for children with congenital and acquired gut conditions.

The most common form of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) originated in Europe and spread to Asia, Africa and the Americas with European explorers and colonialists, reveals a new study led by UCL and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. TB takes more lives than any other infectious disease and while its global burden has slowly declined over the past decade, the rise of antibiotic resistance (ABR) presents a major obstacle to its control.

A newly discovered role for the enzyme glutamine synthetase could have important implications for developing anti-cancer drugs according to a new UCL study. An intrinsic part of tumour growth is the sprouting of blood vessels, which supply cancerous tumours with the blood and energy that they need to survive.

A new Institute where research will look into improving healing and make a difference to patients with debilitating conditions is opening today (10 October 2018) at the University of Birmingham. The Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI) will strive to advance new technologies and treatments that encourage better tissue healing, quicker detection of diseases, and better outcomes for patients.

16 October 2018 Children who are born premature may 'catch up' educationally despite lower test scores in their early education (key stage 1). University of Bristol researchers, looking at the school test data of 12,586 children in the Children of the 90s longitudinal study, wanted to assess if infants born prematurely struggle in school as they grow up.

Surgeons could soon eavesdrop on a patient's brain activity during surgery to remove their brain tumour, helping improve the accuracy of the operation and reduce the risk of impairing brain function. There's been huge progress in brain imaging and electrophysiology - our understanding of the electricity within our bodies - so why not use this information to improve brain surgery? Yaara Erez Patients with low-grade gliomas in their brains - a slow-spreading, but potentially life-threatening tumour - will usually receive surgery to have the tumour removed.

15 October 2018 Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and modifying amino acids chemically allows scientists to develop new molecules that can provide the starting point for developing new medical treatments such as antibiotics. Scientists in the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry have now invented a new way to modify amino acids by attaching a ring of carbon atoms at the very centre of the amino acid molecule.