news 2012

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 23.05
Stroke clot-buster trial shows benefits
Researchers find that stroke survivors are more able to look after themselves following treatment with rt-PA. Patients given a clot-busting drug within six hours of a stroke are more likely to make a better recovery than those who do not receive the treatment.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 23.05
The power of thinking big
Population studies on a vast scale are providing the power to provide accurate risk assessment - and intervention - into cardiovascular disease. —Professor John Danesh Scientists have learned a great deal about the risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the group of conditions that includes heart disease and stroke and which kills one in three people in the UK, through studying the health of large numbers of people.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 22.05
New clue in fight against TB in cattle
The failure of the current bovine tuberculosis (TB) eradication programme could be partly due to a parasitic worm that hinders the tests used to diagnose TB in cows, according to new research published this week.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 21.05
Asthma drug discovery
Researchers from King's College London have uncovered a new mechanism of action for a group of asthma drugs already on the market, which could enable more effective treatment for patients with a particular type of allergic asthma – between 30 to 50 per cent of sufferers.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 17.05
Fighting bacteria’s strength in numbers
Scientists at The University of Nottingham have opened the way for more accurate research into new ways to fight dangerous bacterial infections by proving a long-held theory about how bacteria communicate with each other.

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 16.05
Researchers lead world’s largest study into pre-eclampsia
PA 134/12 Researchers from The University of Nottingham are leading the largest ever international research project into the genetics of the potentially fatal condition pre-eclampsia. The research will aim to provide new insights into the prevention, prediction and treatment of the disease, which kills up to 40,000 women and almost one million babies every year worldwide.

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 15.05
Study highlights how superbug spreads
Hospitals in large cities act as breeding grounds for the superbug MRSA prior to it spreading to smaller hospitals. University researchers found evidence that shows for the first time how the superbug spreads between different hospitals throughout the country.

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 14.05
Scientists uncover potential treatment for painful side effect of diabetes
Why diabetics suffer from increased pain and temperature sensitivity is a step closer to being understood and effectively treated. Research published reveals that a multi-national collaboration between scientists from Warwick Medical School in the UK, and universities in Germany, New York, Australia and Eastern Europe, has discovered key information around one of the most distressing side effects of diabetes.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 14.05
Researchers explain different mechanisms of pain
Researchers at the University of Leeds have found a previously unknown mechanism through which pain is signalled by nerve cells. A discovery that could explain the current failings in the drug development process for painkillers and which may offer opportunities for a new approach.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 10.05
Virus ’barcodes’ offer rapid detection of mutated strains
Researchers at the University of Leeds are developing a way to 'barcode' viral diseases to rapidly test new outbreaks for potentially lethal mutations. Julian Hiscox and John Barr of the University's Faculty of Biological Sciences are working with the Health Protection Agency Porton (HPA) to build a bank of molecular signatures that will help identify the severity of virus infection from characteristic changes seen in cells.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 9.05
Blood test could show women at risk of Postnatal Depression
Researchers at Warwick Medical School have discovered a way of identifying which women are most at risk of postnatal depression (PND) by checking for specific genetic variants. The findings could lead to the development of a simple, accurate blood test which checks for the likelihood of developing the condition.

Social Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 9.05
Fall in deaths following withdrawal of pain killer
There has been a major reduction in deaths involving the pain-relief drug co-proxamol since it was withdrawn in the UK in 2005, an Oxford University-led study has found. There have been no apparent increases in poisoning deaths involving other pain killers.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 8.05
Blindness breakthrough could save millions
Scientists and patients from the University of Liverpool and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital have been at the forefront of a national medical study into the causes of blindness. Results indicate that the drug Avastin has similar effects to Lucentis in treating the commonest cause of blindness in the developed world.  Findings reveal that the study could lead to huge savings for the NHS.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 8.05
Psychopathy linked to brain abnormalities
New research provides the strongest evidence to date that psychopathy is linked to specific structural abnormalities in the brain. The study, led by researchers at King's College London Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) is the first to confirm that psychopathy is a distinct neuro-developmental sub-group of anti-social personality disorder (ASPD).

Agronomy/Food Science - Medicine/Pharmacology - 4.05
Low testosterone levels linked to diabetes
Low levels of testosterone in men could increase their risk of developing diabetes. University scientists have found that low testosterone levels are linked to a resistance to insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels.