news 2021

Severe COVID-19 and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) share some common pathogenic mechanisms, according to a new study. The observations from the study - published in JCI Insight and led by the University of Glasgow's Research into Inflammatory Arthritis Centre (RACE) in collaboration with the Fondazione A.Gemelli IRCCS in Italy - could help development of new treatment strategies for severe COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 syndrome, or Long Covid.

Drugs used to treat arthritis, known as interleukin-6 antagonists, reduce deaths and the need for mechanical ventilation among people hospitalised with Covid-19, according to a new study involving UCL which has prompted new World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. In the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , researchers analysed 27 randomised trials involving nearly 11,000 patients.

Late last year, I asked : is it safe to have more than one type of COVID-19 vaccine? A trial has now addressed that question, as well as what effect combining different vaccine types has on immunity. Most COVID-19 vaccines require two doses, and the usual strategy is to give people the same vaccine type for both.

Experts at UCL and spinout company Odin Vision working with clinicians at UCLH have used artificial intelligence (AI) to help detect early signs of oesophageal cancer. The first procedure in the world using the AI technology was performed at University College Hospital by UCLH consultant gastroenterologist Dr Rehan Haidry.

Patients with a wide range of cancers who take aspirin as part of their treatment could help to reduce their risk of death by 20%, a major review of existing research has suggested. Academics at Cardiff University carried out a systematic review of 118 published observational studies in patients with 18 different cancers.

While autistic individuals are less likely to use substances, those who do so are more likely to self-medicate for their mental health symptoms, according to new research from the University of Cambridge and published today in The Lancet Psychiatry .

Cambridge scientists have identified 200 approved drugs predicted to work against COVID-19 - of which only 40 are currently being tested in COVID-19 clinical trials. We hope this resource of potential drugs will accelerate the development of new drugs against COVID-19.

People of South Asian and African/ African Caribbean ethnicity who have type 2 diabetes are less likely to be prescribed statins than those of European ethnicity, potentially contributing to thousands of preventable heart attacks and strokes each year, finds a new UCL-led study. The study, published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine and funded by Diabetes UK, used a database of 12 million anonymised national health records to look at rates of statin prescribing for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were also eligible for statins.

A team of Cardiff researchers has won major funding of nearly half a million pounds to explore why and how prostate cancer spreads to bone. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK - and the second leading cause of death in men - and there is no cure when it spreads to bone. Dr Toby Phesse and Dr Helen Pearson, from the University's European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, have received £491,731 from the charity Prostate Cancer Research (PCR) to investigate how a specific cell signalling pathway is controlling the spread of prostate cancer to the bone.

A study led by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BRACE and RSET Rapid Evaluation Centres and undertaken by researchers at UCL, Nuffield Trust, RAND Europe and the University of Birmingham suggests that effective coordination between primary and secondary care to set up and deliver remote home monitoring models can help patients and reduce demand on hospital services during the period of COVID-19.

A One-Health review in East African countries shows that efforts to address antimicrobial resistance must go hand in hand with improved access to quality health care and antimicrobials. Led by the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, under a joint One Health PhD studentship programme, the review found that improving access to quality healthcare provision, of which antimicrobials are a major component, could help to address the risk of antimicrobial resistance in lowand middle-income countries.

A study involving virtual rather than real patients was as effective in evaluating a medical device used  to treat  brain  aneurysms, according to new research. The findings are proof of concept for  what are called  in-silico trials, where instead of recruiting people to a real-life clinical trial, researchers build digital simulations of patient groups, loosely akin to the way virtual populations are built in The Sims computer game.

People of South Asian origin are the most likely of all Britain's minority ethnic communities to agree to COVID-19 vaccination - the safest way to reach population immunity, a new study reveals. In the first survey focussing on the UK's Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population and other high-risk groups identified for priority vaccination, researchers discovered that from 4,884 respondents, 79·3% were interested in taking approved vaccines.

A new treatment approach focused on fixing cell damage, rather than fighting the virus directly, is effective against SARS-CoV-2 in lab models. If found safe for human use, this anti-viral treatment would make COVID-19 symptoms milder and speed up recovery times. When a person is infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, it invades their cells and uses them to replicate - which puts the cells under stress.

The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) has today published its review of the statistical evidence needed to assure the performance of future diagnostic tests, so we are better prepared for future pandemics. The RSS Working Group on Diagnostic Tests, which is co-chaired by University of Birmingham's Professor Jon Deeks , is calling on the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to review and revise the national licensing process for in vitro diagnostic tests, to ensure that reliable evidence about the performance of tests is available and public safety is protected.

A new Welsh study is aiming to revolutionise how clinical trials measure the impact of new brain tumour drugs on a patient's physical and emotional wellbeing, alongside assessment of their survival. Led by Professor Anthony Byrne from Cardiff University, and in collaboration with Professor Melanie Calvert from the University of Birmingham, the research will culminate in a consensus that will define the most important outcomes to measure, according to brain tumour patients, carers and professionals.

A drug used to treat people living with Type 2 diabetes could also help improve their heart function, according to new research. An estimated 3.7 million people in the UK are diagnosed with the condition which can damage the walls of the arteries and lead to a heart attack or heart failure. Researchers at the University of Leeds' School of Medicine have discovered that Empagliflozin, which is typically prescribed to help reduce blood sugar levels in patients with Type 2, could also enhance the function of their hearts.

A University of Birmingham-led study funded by the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium has found that many patients with COVID-19 produce immune responses against their body's own tissues or organs. COVID-19 has been associated with a variety of unexpected symptoms, both at the time of infection and for many months afterwards.

A University of Birmingham-led study of over a thousand dental professionals has shown their increased occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first wave of the pandemic in the UK. The observational cohort study , published today (3 June 2021), in the Journal of Dental Research, involved 1,507 Midland dental care practitioners.

A new global review has found that receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) is associated with lower risk of multiple causes of death among people with opioid dependence. The review, published in JAMA today [2 June], found that people with opioid dependence were less likely to experience overdose-related, suicide, alcohol-related, cancer, and cardiovascular-related mortality while receiving OAT.