News 2019

As the decade comes to an end, we reflect on the stories that spiked your interest and topped the 'most read articles' chart this year. Ranked by page views, here are your favourite stories of 2019: 10. Mystery arthritis-linked knee bone three times more common than 100 years ago Imperial News Is it time to adjust the official number of bones in the human body? In April, researchers found that the small fabella bone, once thought to be a relic of the past, has made a comeback over the last century.

A Europe-wide study conducted over three flu seasons finds that the antiviral drug, oseltamivir (Tamiflu ), can help people recover from flu-like illness about one-day sooner on average, with older, sicker patients who have been unwell for longer recovering two-to-three days sooner. Published today in The Lancet , the European Commission-funded 'ALIC4E' study was led by the Universities of Oxford (UK) and Utrecht (The Netherlands).

A new multicentre study will investigate the link between brain inflammation and psychosis, and use artificial intelligence techniques to identify patients that might benefit most from novel treatments. The study, funded by UKRI Medical Research Council , is led by the Universities of Birmingham and Cambridge.

A major £2.4 million research project is underway at the University of Birmingham aimed at improving treatment for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS affects at least ten percent of all women and causes irregular periods and difficulties trying to conceive. Most women with PCOS have high levels of male hormones, known as androgens, in their blood which can also cause unwanted body hair growth and acne.

As much as two fifths (43 per cent) of antibiotic prescriptions in the United States could be inappropriate, warn researchers highlighted in an editorial by Professor Hay from Bristol Medical School published by The BMJ today [11 December]. Such a high degree of potentially unnecessary prescribing has important implications for antibiotic stewardship - efforts to reduce antibiotic use in response to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Researchers at Imperial have shown how the chaotic electrical signals underlying irregular heart rhythms lead to the failure of standard treatments. By modelling how electrical signals on the inside and the outside of the heart move across the muscle, researchers at Imperial College London have suggested why corrective surgery is not currently always beneficial.

A major survey of medical record keeping in the NHS has revealed critical deficiencies that could risk patients' safety. Researchers at the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) at Imperial College London, found NHS Trusts were using at least 21 different electronic medical record systems which are unable to effectively share information.

The introduction of a performance-related financial incentive scheme for GPs led to a dramatic almost five-fold rise in the number of patients whose heart rhythm condition was said to have been 'cured', say University of Birmingham researchers. Academics at the University of Birmingham's Institute of Applied Health Research, supported by NIHR ARC West Midlands, conducted a study into patients with the most common heart rhythm condition, called atrial fibrillation.

A large field study of typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) in Nepal has shown a single dose to be safe and effective in reducing typhoid in children aged 9 months to <16 years in an endemic setting. Caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, typhoid is a major cause of fever in children in lowand middle-income countries and is responsible for nearly 11 million cases and more than 116,000 deaths a year worldwide.

A single dose of radiotherapy is as "effective" as five doses for end-of-life cancer patients suffering with painful spinal canal compression, finds a large study conducted by UCL. Spinal canal compression is a common complication in cancer patients when the cancer has spread to their spine. Radiotherapy is used to control pain and alleviate symptoms.

A night time face mask can improve energy levels and vitality in people who suffer from the condition sleep apnoea. This is the finding from a new study of over 200 patients, published in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine , led by Imperial College London. We are seeing increasing cases of sleep apnoea, and in a wide range of patients.

New research highlights obesity services a patient postcode lottery A lack of consistent reporting on obesity and weight management programmes around the UK, has created a postcode lottery for patient care. Researchers from the University of Glasgow have highlighted the inconsistences in NHS weight management programmes across the UK, in a study published in Obesity Reviews.

Pharmacists based in GP practices can play an integral role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, finds new research led by the University of Birmingham. The study findings, published today in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology , support the involvement of pharmacists as healthcare providers in managing patients with hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Doctors should avoid co-prescribing benzodiazepines to opioid dependent patients who are being treated with methadone or buprenorphine, also known as opioid agonist treatment (OAT), due to a three-fold increase in risk of overdose death, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Bristol.

A one-off dose of ketamine could help heavy drinkers reduce their alcohol intake, finds a new UCL experimental study. Giving a shot of ketamine to heavy drinkers after reactivating their drinking-related memories led to a rapid decrease in urges to drink and a prolonged decrease in alcohol intake over nine months, according to the study published .

One in three UK doctors working in obstetrics and gynaecology may suffer from workplace burnout. This could affect their well-being and how they treat patients. This is the finding of new research, published in the journal BMJ Open , led by scientists at Imperial College London.

A team of Cardiff University researchers has uncovered a potential new way to treat a very rare genetic disorder that causes muscles in the arms and legs to become increasingly weak. GNE myopathy is a debilitating condition that affects young adults in their 20s or 30s, typically leaving them in a wheelchair within years.

An analysis of patients' heart data has shown that even a small increase in a protein linked to heart attacks is linked to an increased risk of death. Clinicians use troponin testing, alongside other investigations, to determine whether a patient is having a heart attack and to inform treatment choices.

Scientists from Imperial and the University of Bergen have found a new way to predict how a disease will likely progress in individual patients. This could help patients receive more targeted treatments earlier in the progress of their disease. [Our approach] is very useful for tracking disease markers, learning about biological evolution and other processes that occur over time.

The introduction of a digital alert system to monitor patients with sepsis has led to a reduction in deaths and hospital stays. Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is life threatening and accounts for an estimated 46,000 deaths in the UK each year. If diagnosed early it can be treated effectively with antibiotics but the difficulty lies in spotting sepsis before it develops, as symptoms are similar to other illnesses such as flu.