news 2018

The past 12 months have provided many eye-grabbing headlines from the Imperial community, from world-leading research to incredible innovations. Before 2019 is upon us, we take a quick look back at the most popular articles on our award-winning news site (ranked by the number of page views). Here are our top 10 stories of 2018.

A new study suggests rolling out a Type 2 diabetes remission programme in the NHS could cost around £1,067 per participant in its first year - or, factoring in the likelihood of success, £2,564 for each case of remission. Researchers say findings 'make the case for shifting resources to offer remission' in the future.

Researchers recommend greater action to promote best practice as a new study reveals a rise in prescriptions of opioids for treating chronic pain rise between 1998 and 2018. A review of opioid prescribing in the UK has shown that UK doctors are prescribing more and stronger opioid drugs to patients.

An active ingredient in eye drops that were being developed by experts in Nottingham has shown promise for treating an aggressive form of blood cancer, research has shown. Researchers from the University of Nottingham worked on the research led by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Cambridge, and other collaborators which found that the compound, which targets an essential cancer gene, could kill leukaemia cells without harming non-leukemic blood cells.

Scientists at the University of Glasgow have discovered a potential combination therapy for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the most common form of leukaemia in the Western world, diagnosed in more than 3,500 people in the UK each year. The research, carried out in collaboration with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and published in Clinical Cancer Research , found that the combination of ibrutinib, a targeted treatment already in clinical use, with a new inhibitor called AZD8055, helped promote CLL cell death in a preclinical study.

There is growing evidence that lithium could be re-purposed as an anti-aging drug, and a new study from King's College London suggests that lithium's protective effects are due to a slowing down of the molecular aging process in cells. The research, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology , also finds some individuals may benefit from lithium's anti-aging properties more than others, depending on their genetics.

Patients with an abnormal heart rhythm that can leave them at a higher risk of suffering from stroke still need treatment even after their heart rhythm seems to have returned to normal, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting around 1.6 million people in the UK.

Technology from the LHC's ATLAS experiment to be used in cancer detection and treatment at UK's first high energy proton beam therapy centre Technology from the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - where the Higgs Boson was discovered - will be used in hospitals to improve cancer treatments that employ proton beam therapy.

Could a commonly-prescribed anti-sickness drug be the answer for the 1.3 million people in the UK who suffer the pain and misery of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D)? A nationwide clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Nottingham and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) will assess the medication ondansetron, which is currently used by doctors to help cancer patients cope with the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.

New recommendations, led by experts at the University of Birmingham, have been published to improve the use of liver blood tests. The recommendations, published in Gut, are aimed at helping healthcare workers diagnose patients with liver disease as well as preventing unnecessary repeat tests for people unlikely to have significant liver disease.

The well-known drug tamoxifen could exploit a weakness in the physical 'scaffolds' around tumours, according to research led by Imperial. The report's authors, led by Imperial College London, say that following further research, the drug might in future be repurposed to help treat pancreatic cancer as well.

Scientists have identified and modelled a distinct biology for paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia, one of the major causes of death in children.‌ ‌‌ The breakthrough research, from the University of Glasgow's Institute of Cancer Sciences and published , significantly advances understanding of the disease and provides potential for developing specific treatment strategies for this childhood cancer, which is currently treated with therapies extrapolated from adult practice.

Improving adherence to cholesterol-lowering treatments reduces cardiovascular risk for at risk patients. Thousands of heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular disease could be prevented by patients taking higher doses of statins and taking the drugs as advised by doctors.

E. coli , the notorious bug associated with severe food poisoning and usually caught from undercooked meat, is a common concern for anyone cooking over the festive period. While thoroughly cooking meat and washing vegetables and hands after food preparation can prevent E. coli infection, treatment for the severe stomach bug can be difficult, as antibiotics are known to make the disease worse by releasing a potent toxin into the infected person's gut.

Women who experience domestic violence and abuse (DVA) are more than twice as likely to seek emergency contraception as other women, according to a study by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded researchers at the University of Bristol and Queen Mary University of London, suggesting that requests for emergency contraception could be an important sign of abuse.

A radical new method of producing drug molecules, which uses downloadable blueprints to easily and reliably synthesise organic chemicals via a programmable 'chemputer', could be set to democratise the pharmaceutical industry, scientists say. Chemputer In a new paper published online in the journal Science today (November 29) , researchers from the University of Glasgow present for the first time how synthesis of important drug molecules can be achieved in an affordable and modular chemical-robot system they call a chemputer.

While this week marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week, experts at the University of Birmingham are carrying out pioneering research to find real world solutions to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. Each November, the World Health Organization (WHO) holds World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) , running this year from November 12th to 18th, to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.

Our bodies contain two types of fat: white fat and brown fat. While white fat stores calories, brown fat burns energy and could help us lose weight. Now, scientists at the University of Cambridge have found a way of making the white fat 'browner' and increasing the efficiency of brown fat.

Antibiotic prescribing by doctors is influenced by team dynamics and cultures within hospitals. This is the finding of a new study, led by Imperial College London, which highlights the need for understanding contextual differences in antibiotic decision making amongst medical and surgical teams.

Researchers at the University of Bristol, supported by the British Veterinary Association, the British Cattle Veterinary Association and the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance, are calling for veterinary surgeons in the UK to work together with their farmer clients to remove expired and inappropriate veterinary medicines from farms and dispose of them appropriately.