news 2017

PA267/17 Original concerns that cloning caused early-onset osteoarthritis (OA) in Dolly the sheep are unfounded, say experts at the University of Nottingham and the University of Glasgow. The team, who published last year's Nottingham Dollies research which showed that the 8 year-old Nottingham 'Dollies' had aged normally, have now published a radiographic assessment of the skeletons of Dolly herself, Bonnie (her naturally conceived daughter) and Megan and Morag (the first two animals to be cloned from differentiated cells).

The Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association have appointed Dr William Stewart and colleagues at the University of Glasgow and the Hampden Sports Clinic to lead an independent research study into the incidence of degenerative neurocognitive disease in ex-professional footballers.

A single protein from a worm parasite may one day offer new therapeutic options for treating inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis, that avoid the potentially serious side effects of current immunosuppressant medications. The study, published today , demonstrates the discovery of a distinct new worm protein which mimics a cytokine found in humans, known as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β).

Researchers at King's College London have discovered new mechanisms of cell death, which may be involved in debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. This novel research, published today in Current Biology , could lead to new therapeutic approaches for treating or delaying the progression of neurodegenerative conditions that are currently incurable, if the findings are expanded.

Alzheimer's disease is caused by tangles in the brain made up of malfunctioning aggregated Tau proteins. Scientists at EPFL have discovered a new toxic form of Tau that forms as a result of its interaction with cell membranes. The research is published and provides novel insights into possible mechanisms by which this protein moves in the brain and kills neurons.

By reducing out-of-pocket costs for preventive treatment, the Affordable Care Act appears to have encouraged more people to have health screenings related to their cardiovascular health, a UCLA study found. Comparing figures from 2006 through 2013, researchers found that more people were screened for diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette use and high blood pressure — all risk factors for heart disease — after the ACA was implemented than before.

Research news Cardiac fibrosis involves an increase of connective tissue in the cardiac muscle, causing a loss of function. A team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now discovered that microRNA 29 (miR-29) plays an important role in the formation of tissue fibrosis. They occur less frequently when miR-29 is suppressed in cardiac muscle cells.

A cheap and widely used drug, used to treat conditions such as heartburn, gastritis and ulcers, could work against the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), according to new research from UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The study, published today in PLOS Medicine , found that people who used lansoprazole, as opposed to similar drugs omeprazole or pantoprazole, were a third less likely to develop TB.

The number of people being diagnosed with heart failure in the UK continues to grow, and the poorest people are significantly more likely to be affected by the condition, new research from The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford has found. Image credit: Shutterstock The number of people being diagnosed with heart failure in the UK continues to grow, and the poorest people are significantly more likely to be affected by the condition, new research from The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford has found.

Current processes for complaints against doctors reduce their wellbeing and cause fear-driven work practices that could compromise patient care. The General Medical Council (GMC) regulates doctors in the UK and can stop or limit their rights to practice. Around 9000 doctors a year are reported to the GMC, and around 160 are suspended or erased from the medical register.

A new simple test that helps predicts which people with type 2 diabetes will benefit most from weight loss surgery has been developed by a UCL-led team. The study, published today in Diabetic Medicine , also reports that keeping the weight off after bariatric surgery is more important than which type of weight loss operation was done.

FINDINGS A new study demonstrates that outbreaks of mosquito-borne viruses Zika and Chikungunya generally occur about three weeks after heavy rainfall. Researchers also found that Chikungunya will predominate over Zika when both circulate at the same time, because Chikungunya has a shorter incubation period — just two days, versus 10 days for Zika.

Results from the first placebo-controlled trial in shoulder surgery, suggest that decompression surgery may not be as effective as first thought. Image credit: Shutterstock The clinical treatment benefits of shoulder decompression surgery may be no more effective than no treatment at all, according to new Oxford University research.

Brittany Travers, an investigator at the UW-Madison Waisman Center, works with a study participant playing a video game designed to help youth with autism improve their balance. The game may also help improve some of their autism-related symptoms. Photo: Andy Manis Playing a video game that rewards participants for holding various "ninja" poses could help children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improve their balance, according to a recent study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Researchers from the UK and Netherlands have identified five distinct subgroups of eczema, a finding that helps explain how the condition can affect people at different stages of their lives. Doctors and patients have long known that the itchy skin condition can affect people in many different ways.

Researchers at Umeå University and Region Norrbotten have studied health trends among women and men aged 25-34 from 1990-2014. In 1990, 8.5 percent of women self-rated their health as being worse than peers in their own age group. At 2014, this trend had increased to 20 per cent of women. In contrast, a bigger part of the men self-rated their health as better at the end of the study period compared to the start.

Most people in Switzerland die in hospitals and nursing homes. Their specific needs are often not adequately met.

Mycoplasma bacteria are one of the most common causes of bacterial pneumonia in children. It is still unclear how the disease develops.

A video game that enables healthy volunteers to play with patients who have physical impairments may improve their rehabilitation, suggests study. The researchers from Imperial have designed a video game called Balloon Buddies, which is a tool that enables those recovering from conditions such as a stroke to engage and play together with healthy volunteers such as therapists and family members as a form of rehabilitation.

What began in 2012 is now entering its final stages: Europe's largest study on aging. The international research network behind the DO-HEALTH study is led by Heike Bischoff-Ferrari, Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Aging Research at the University of Zurich, and Head of the Department of Geriatrics at the UniversityHospital Zurich and the Waid City Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland.