news 2018

General Practitioners should encourage patients with hypertension to monitor their blood pressure at home and use those readings in their day-to-day care, recommend a team of experts. Researchers from the Universities of Birmingham, Oxford and Cambridge carried out a trial which showed that when GPs base their medication adjustments on regular blood pressure readings taken by patients at home, blood pressure is significantly lower after 12 months when compared with those who are managed exclusively in the clinic.

Scientists from the University of Birmingham have discovered the link between increased male hormones and metabolic complications such as diabetes and fatty liver disease in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, shows that an enzyme that activates male hormones in the fat tissue of PCOS women drives their risk to develop other metabolic health complications.

Patients having surgery in low income countries are more likely to develop an infection than those in wealthier nations, which may be linked to drug-resistant bacteria, research led by the Universities of Birmingham, Edinburgh and Warwick suggests. Patients in low income nations also have higher antibiotic use and are more likely to be infected with bacteria that are resistant to medicines, the study found.

A study jointly led by the University of Birmingham and University of Edinburgh has revealed that a new scanning technology could almost halve the number of liver biopsies carried out on people with fatty liver disease. The authors of the study, also carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford, concluded that 458 out of every 1,000 liver biopsies could be avoided if people are first assessed using scanning technology.

Researchers have recommended changes to international guidelines used in the development of clinical trials in an effort to gain information about the impact of the treatment on participating patients and their quality of life. Protocols describe how a clinical trial will be conducted, including its objectives, design, methodology, statistical considerations and organisation, and ensures the safety of participating patients as well as the integrity of the data collected.