news 2021

Implantable heart technology is being used in Manchester to assess when a patient is at high risk of dying, thanks to University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust -led research. The implantable pacemakers and defibrillators contain multiple sensors that allow continuous monitoring of a patient's heart health, 24 hours a day.

Active video games could be a motivating way for Type 1 diabetics to keep active and help manage their condition. Last updated on Wednesday 6 October 2021 Active video games have similar positive health effects on the body as traditional exercises, such as jogging on a treadmill, according to a new study.

One in seven cancer patients around the world have missed out on potentially life-saving operations during COVID-19 lockdowns, a new study reveals. Planned cancer surgery was affected by lockdowns regardless of the local COVID-19 rates at that time, with patients in lower income countries at highest risk of missing their surgery.

A campaign that urged GPs to 'think-twice' before putting a patient on opioid medicines is effective in reducing opioid prescribing in primary care, according to the findings of a major study by researchers from the University of Leeds, the University of Manchester and NHS Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Group, West Yorkshire.

As worm mothers age, they secrete a milk-like fluid through their vulva that is consumed by their offspring and supports their growth, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. Scientists say the discovery, published , shows both a selfless and sacrificial act, and helps to explain a number of mysteries about the biology of ageing in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans , widely studied to understand how organisms age.

UK leading pregnancy charity Tommy's warns that pandemic pressures can take a physical toll on mums-to-be - even if they don't personally catch Covid-19, following new research, published in the medical journal Placenta co-authored by University of Manchester scientists An international study of 115 mums who gave birth during the pandemic shows far more physical abnormalities in the placenta (baby's support system in the womb) than doctors would expect to see in a pre-2020 pregnancy.

Almost one-in-three people around the world will still be mainly using polluting cooking fuels and technologies- a major source of disease and environmental destruction and devastation - in 2030, new research warned. This rises to more than four-in-five in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of people mainly using polluting fuels is growing at an alarming rate.

Those with a recorded history of cannabis use in general practice records are at a much higher risk of developing mental ill health problems such as anxiety or depression as well as severe mental illnesses, new research shows. The findings point to the need for a public health approach to the management of people misusing cannabis, including the need to emphasise the importance of general practitioners to continue enquiring about recreational drug use.

Small mutations accumulating in DNA are unlikely to be fully responsible for the ageing process, finds a new study carried out in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. The research into the theories of ageing found that human cells and tissues can accumulate many more mutations than are normally present, without the body showing the features associated with ageing.

People who had higher pre-pandemic levels of depression or anxiety have been more severely affected by disruption to jobs and healthcare during the pandemic, according to a new study co-led by UCL researchers. The study, published in The British Journal of Psychiatry and funded by UKRI, looked at data from 59,482 people who are surveyed regularly as part of 12 ongoing longitudinal studies in England.

When people stop taking antidepressants after a long period of use, just over half (56%) experience a relapse within a year, compared to 39% of those who stay on medication, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The researchers say their findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine , can help doctors and patients to make an informed decision together on whether or not to stop their antidepressants after recovery from a depressive episode.

37% of people had at least one long-COVID symptom diagnosed in the 3-6 month period after COVID-19 infection. The most common symptoms were breathing problems, abdominal symptoms, fatigue, pain and anxiety/depression. This new study from the University of Oxford and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) investigated long-COVID in over 270,000 people recovering from COVID-19 infection, using data from the US-based TriNetX electronic health record network.

Researchers have discovered a potential advancement in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), which they hope will one day offer an improved option for treating patients with this form of blood cancer. The study- published today in Science Translational Medicine and led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with LifeArc - has discovered a potential 'autophagy inhibitor' which, when used in combination with current cancer therapies, could lead to better treatment options for CML cancer patients.

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, the R rate became well-known shorthand for the reproduction of the disease. Yet a new study suggests it's time for 'A Farewell to R' in favour of a different approach based on the growth rate of infection rather than contagiousness.

How well people adhered to restrictions during the UK's Covid-19 lockdowns varied depending on their learning and decision-making styles, finds a study led by researchers at UCL and Royal Holloway, University of London. The study, published in Scientific Reports , reveals that multiple psychological factors predicted how people responded to the first national lockdown in spring 2020.

In a large school-based survey of students from 9-18-years-old (Years 5 to 13), researchers from the University of Oxford, UCL and the University of Cambridge have discovered that the younger you are, the less likely you are to want a COVID-19 vaccination. Writing in  EClinicalMedicine , the authors present the results of the OxWell School Survey 2021, finding that 36% of 9-year-olds are willing to have a COVID-19 vaccination, compared to 51% of 13-year-olds, and 78% of 17-year-olds.

36% of 9-year-olds and 51% of 13-year-olds say they are willing to have a COVID-19 vaccination compared to 78% of 17-year-olds, finds a major study co-led by UCL, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The study, published today in EClinicalMedicine, is the only large-scale study to ask children and adolescents about their willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and found that the younger you are the less likely you are to want a COVID-19 vaccination.

Scientists discover why some individuals have stronger natural defences against SARS-COV-2 A new study has revealed key insights into the natural human antiviral defences against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The research, published and led by a team of scientists at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, sheds new light on why some people are naturally more resistant to serious SARS-CoV-2 infection - and how, in the future, the coronavirus might overcome this resistance.

Scientists have developed a new machine learning method that can accurately predict which animal viruses could go on to infect humans in the future, using only information encoded in the viral genome. Most emerging infectious diseases of humans are caused by 'zoonotic' viruses that originate from other animal species.

A UCL-led research team has identified a new gene as a cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited heart condition affecting one in 500 people. The discovery, published in the European Heart Journal , provides a new causal explanation for 1-2% of adults with the condition. (In the UK, this is approx. 1,250-2,500 people.