news 2022

Drugs used to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in hospital have long-term benefits, according to new research. The study, published in JAMA , found that treating critically ill patients with the drugs tocilizumab and sarilumab reduced the risk of dying over six months by a quarter, compared to those who did not receive these treatments.

A new study finds that antibodies produced in the nose decline 9 months after infection, while those found in the blood last at least a year. A new study finds that antibodies produced in the nose decline nine months after COVID-19 infection, while antibodies found in the blood last at least a year.

Cambridge scientists have managed to identify and kill those breast cancer cells that evade standard treatments in a study in mice. The approach is a step towards the development of new treatments to prevent relapse in patients. Tumours are incredibly complex, made up of many different types of tumour cells - and some of these cells are able to evade standard cancer treatments Kirsty Sawicka Tumours are complex entities made up of many types of cells, including cancer cells and normal cells.

COVID-19 vaccinations that combine two or more distinct variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus could offer protection against both current and future -variants of concern-, say scientists at the University of Cambridge and Medical University of Innsbruck.

Using the new -smart contact lens- could prevent deaths caused by fungal eye infections in developing countries Currently, detecting which bacteria or fungus is present in an eye infection is an invasive and lengthy process - the new test would involve the patient wearing the special lens for an hour, with the results determined soon afterwards It will also cut down on the misprescribing of antibiotics, helping in the fight to reduce antibiotic resistance A pioneering -smart contact lens- to test for eye infections in a quick, non-invasive way is being developed.

Structural details of an attractive drug target in coronaviruses that could be used against SARS-CoV-2 and in future pandemics have been published by international teams co-led by UCL researchers. Two new studies published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences and eLife reveal pockets in an important piece of the virus' machinery that drugs could bind to in order to halt virus replication.

Research validates an imaging platform co-developed at CTI-Bath which predicts if a cancer patient would respond well to immunotherapy. In a step likely to advance personalised cancer treatment, scientists have for the first time shown in patients that levels of biomarkers are not enough to tell which patients are likely to respond best to immunotherapy.

To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has released new research using real-world antimicrobial prescription data to investigate the use of systemic antimicrobials in UK equine practice. The research, which is the first of its kind, reveals the extent to which antimicrobials are prescribed to equids and uncovers the lack of routine culture and sensitivity testing, particularly prior to the prescription of the 'last resort' Category B antimicrobials, whose efficacy needs to be preserved for the treatment of serious illnesses in human medicine.

A small increase in the number of people having two vaccines against Covid-19 was more effective in controlling the virus during Europe's fourth wave - when the Omicron variant appeared - than the rapid uptake of booster vaccines, finds a new UCL-led study. Published in the International Journal of Public Health , the study found that a 4.2% increase in the number of people having two doses (full vaccination) led to a 54% reduction in case rates across Europe - despite the detection of the highly infectious Omicron.

Europe will face a cancer epidemic in the next decade if weaknesses in cancer health systems and cancer research are not urgently addressed, say the authors of a major new report. The large-scale collaborative research project, in which the University is a key participant, warns that prioritising cancer research is crucial for European countries to deliver more affordable, higher quality, and more equitable cancer care.

A large-scale comparison of direct oral anticoagulants (blood thinners), commonly prescribed for irregular heartbeats, has identified the drug with the lowest risk of bleeding, in a new study led by UCL researchers. In the paper published in Annals of Internal Medicine , the researchers report that one of the two most common direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), apixaban, has the lowest risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, with similar performance on stroke prevention and other side effects.

Better growth during childhood (as indexed by adult height) was associated with better hearing, vision and cognition in adulthood A biologic therapy for very young children with a moderate to severe form of a common skin condition has been shown to be safe and effective in an international trial which involved University of Manchester clinical scientists working within the Clinical Trials Facility at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Statin therapies are not the cause of muscle pain in over 90% of those who experience symptoms, according to a new study led by researchers from Oxford Population Health. The results were published today in The Lancet and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress. The study demonstrated that muscle pain or weakness is common in adults, regardless of whether they take a statin tablet or not.

A medication, commonly used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, has been found to significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular death in patients with heart failure. A team of international researchers also found that the same drug was able to reduce worsening heart failure. Two linked studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Medicine, and delivered at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2022 in Barcelona, looked at the benefits of prescribing the drug dapagliflozin (Farxiga) to patients with heart failure.

A national study led by UCL researchers is investigating whether a readily available anti-sickness drug could treat dementia-related hallucinations. The Trial of Ondansetron as a Parkinson's HAllucinations Treatment, or TOP HAT study, is now recruiting volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales to evaluate whether ondansetron, an anti-sickness drug used in the NHS for cancer patients, could also be used for treating hallucinations in people with Lewy body dementia or Parkinson's disease.

Two drugs, eszopiclone and lemborexant - both not currently licenced for the treatment of insomnia in the UK - were shown to perform better than others, both in the acute and long-term treatment of insomnia in adults, according to a new Oxford study exploring the pharmacological management of insomnia.

Children in the UK and Republic of Ireland who are diagnosed with Wilms tumour - the most common children's kidney cancer - are less likely to survive without relapse than those in Germany and France due to later diagnosis, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in JCO Global Oncology , compared tumour size and stage of cancer at diagnosis with survival chances of 3,176 children with Wilms tumour.

A new study has found that a highly antibiotic-resistant strain of the superbug MRSA - methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus - has emerged in livestock in the last 50 years, probably due to widespread antibiotic use in pig farming. Cases of livestock-associated MRSA in humans are still only a small fraction of all MRSA cases in human populations, but the fact that they-re increasing is a worrying sign.

A new path to help stop the spread of antibiotic resistance has been uncovered by a team led by UCL and Birkbeck researchers, in a move that could impact the lives of millions globally. The pioneering research the structure of the transport apparatus that enables the spread of antibiotic resistant genes between bacteria.

New research co-led by scientists at UCL, found that existing drugs modifying the effect of the hormone progesterone, such as mifepristone, could reduce the risk of aggressive "triple negative" breast cancer in women with an alteration of the BRCA1 gene. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is most common in women who have a BRCA1 mutation and this type of cancer affects 13 in every 100,000 women.