news 2023

The world's largest review on opioid medicines for cancer pain has found it is unclear whether some commonly used opioid medicines are better than a placebo and suggests that non-opioid medicines, including aspirin, may be as effective as opioids. Researchers examining the data on opioids for pain caused by cancer have found surprisingly large gaps in evidence regarding the true benefits of these medicines for cancer pain.

Researchers have discovered that misreading of therapeutic mRNAs by the cell's decoding machinery can cause an unintended immune response in the body. They have identified the sequence within the mRNA that causes this to occur and found a way to prevent 'off-target' immune responses to enable the safer design of future mRNA therapeutics.

A paper from the University of Southampton examining how best to treat psychosis has concluded that a greater range of individually targeted therapies could improve outcomes for patients. The research questions if Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBTp) for psychosis should remain the dominant treatment and suggests that, in the future, big data and artificial intelligence may help to develop a range of more bespoke therapies.

A new qualitative study from Bath psychologists suggests a lack of information and perceived necessity, as well as awkwardness, are impacting uptake of PrEP. Published on Thursday 30 November 2023 Last updated on Thursday 30 November 2023 Results of a qualitative research study into the uptake of PrEP - a drug which stops HIV infecting the body - suggests that more needs to be done to breakdown barriers to access for the potentially lifesaving medication.

Insights that pave the way for novel therapeutic approaches to tackle cancer, fibrosis, and many age-related conditions have been uncovered by a team of scientists, including researchers from UCL. The research, published in Nature Cell Biology and led by the Laboratory of Medical Sciences (MRC-LMS), identifies a new target for a class of drugs that selectively eliminate cells that are known to provoke inflammation.

Researchers from the Department of Life Sciences have developed a way of joining up the ends of proteins, making them more stable and easier to get into cells. Published on Tuesday 28 November 2023 Last updated on Wednesday 6 December 2023 Scientists at the University of Bath have used nature as inspiration in developing a new tool that will help researchers develop new pharmaceutical treatments in a cleaner, greener, and less expensive way.

An international team has shown that the injection of a type of stem cell into the brains of patients living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is safe, well tolerated and has a long-lasting effect that appears to protect the brain from further damage.

Minimally invasive focal therapies for prostate cancer are associated with a lower overall cost and improved quality of life for patients. These are the findings of a new study , published recently in the Journal of Medical Economics, and led by researchers from Imperial College London. It shows that when compared to surgery or radiotherapy, focal therapies for prostate cancer such as cryotherapy and High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) are associated with a lower overall cost and improved quality of life.

The most socioeconomically deprived groups in society are nearly twice as likely to die from sepsis within 30 days, researchers from The University of Manchester have found. The study of NHS data analysed 248,767 cases of non-COVID-19 sepsis from January 2019, to June, 2022 matched with 1,346,166 controls.

A collaboration of researchers, led by UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital, have published successful results from a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of BRAF mutated low-grade paediatric gliomas. Gliomas are cancerous brain tumours that start in glial cells - the supporting cells of the brain.

To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week , researchers supported by the Oxford Martin Programme on Antimicrobial Resistance Testing at the University of Oxford have reported advances towards a novel and rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test that can return results within as little as 30 minutes - significantly faster than current gold-standard approaches.

Cambridge scientists have grown small blood vessel-like models in the lab and used them to show how damage to the scaffolding that supports these vessels can cause them to leak, leading to conditions such as vascular dementia and stroke.

A newly-developed heart failure device and medication combination is safe and effective to use, and will allow patients to receive treatment from the comfort of their own home A newly-developed heart failure device and medication combination is safe and effective to use, and will allow patients to receive treatment from the comfort of their own home.

An oral antibiotic taken once daily for six months can substantially reduce the risk of developing multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) in both children and adults, according to two landmark clinical trials involving UCL researchers. The results were announced at the Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris.

Self-monitoring blood pressure after giving birth could help to cut new mothers' risk of future heart disease and strokes, according to new research by Oxford researchers. The study, funded by the BHF and supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) , could be the first step towards blood pressure self-monitoring becoming routinely recommended for women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy, to prevent future health problems.

Some patients with chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart may benefit from having a stent implanted, instead of chest pain medications. These are the findings of a study, led by researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which evaluated the impact of stents on reducing pain in patients with angina.

A new study led by UCL researchers reveals that numerous bacterial strains are capable of hiding in the human bladder wall, suggesting why urinary tract infections often persist after treatment. The research, published today in Science Advances , is the first to use a sophisticated human tissue model to explore the interaction between host and pathogen for six common species that cause urinary tract infections.

A cancer drug currently in the final stages of clinical trials could offer hope for the treatment of a wide range of inflammatory diseases, including gout, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and atrial fibrillation, say scientists at the University of Cambridge.

Discovery means potential protective treatments could be developed to block thrombosis from developing following vaccination. A mechanism that led some patients to experience cases of deadly clotting following some types of Covid-19 vaccination has been identified in new research.

University of Southampton researchers have played a key role in the trial of a potential new treatment for a severe eye disease. Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a rare parasitic infectious disease of the eye, most frequently affecting individuals who wear disposable contact lenses. It causes the front surface of the eye, the cornea, to become painful and inflamed due to infection by Acanthamoeba - a cyst-forming microorganism.