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A universal criteria for diagnosing the blinding eye condition, optic neuritis, has been developed by a UCL-led team of researchers. Optic neuritis is inflammation in the optic nerve and is a common cause of sudden and acute vision loss, affecting around 6 in 100,000 people. It may occur at any age with vision loss typically occurring over several hours or a few days , from onset Sometimes optic neuritis is caused by multiple sclerosis (MS), but it can also be triggered by many other conditions.

Cambridge scientists have successfully trialled an artificial pancreas for use by patients living with type 2 diabetes. The device - powered by an algorithm developed at the University of Cambridge - doubled the amount of time patients were in the target range for glucose compared to standard treatment and halved the time spent experiencing high glucose levels.

The proportion of children and adolescents prescribed antipsychotics in English general practice doubled from 0.06% to 0.11% between 2000 and 2019, find researchers at The University of Manchester's Centre for Women's Mental Health. The drugs, which have a tranquillising effect, are frequently used in adults to treat major mental illness, such as schizophrenia.

A large-scale Phase 3 clinical trial to establish ambroxol's potential to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease, will start in early 2023. Ambroxol is a drug which is currently used to treat respiratory conditions. It promotes the clearance of mucus, eases coughing and has anti-inflammatory properties.

A rare variant of a protein present in nearly all human cells may hold the key to improving the effectiveness of breast cancer treatment, according to University of Manchester research funded by Breast Cancer Now. This discovery, published today (5 January 2023) in Oncogene, is the first time scientists have identified that targeting RAC1B, a variant of the RAC1 protein, could be a potential way of improving treatment for breast cancer.

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.