News 2019

Antwerp and Ghent scientists discover new drug for deadly disease. Antwerp and Ghent scientists have discovered a new drug against African 'sleeping sickness'. "This disease seems to be on its way out, but it is still very useful to have a new drug to fall back on, because we can't rule out another sudden upswing ", says Prof. Guy Caljon (UAntwerp).

Some surprise headlines need a second look, but quirky studies can often have a significant impact. From singing fish to anti-malarial soup, we take a look back at the stories which made readers do a double-take in 2019. Grandma's miracle soup In November, schoolchildren from London found their traditional family soups had antimalarial properties.

An investigational cancer drug that targets tumors caused by mutations in the KRAS gene will be evaluated in phase 2 clinical trials, following  promising safety and efficacy results  in preliminary human studies and excellent results in animal studies. The drug, developed by Amgen and currently referred to as AMG 510, is the first therapy to reach clinical trials that inhibits a mutant KRAS protein.

Taking vitamin D and calcium supplements reduces the risk of hip fractures by about one sixth, but taking vitamin D alone does not, according to a new study from the Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) at the University of Oxford. The research was led by Research Fellow Dr Pang Yao and Robert Clarke, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, at NDPH.

The risk of dying as a result of emergency surgery is significantly higher for patients living in the most deprived areas, a new UCL-led study finds. The research, published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia , examined the outcomes of nearly 59,000 patients who underwent an emergency laparotomy - one of the most commonly performed major emergency surgical procedures.

Pathogens can drive the evolution of social behaviour in insects. This is shown by researchers from Bern and Würzburg for ambrosia beetles. Ants and honeybees share nests of hundreds or thousands of individuals in a very small space. Hence the risk is high that infectious diseases may spread rapidly.

Nearly one in six deaths from prostate cancer could be prevented if targeted screening was introduced for men at a higher genetic risk of the disease, according to a new UCL-led computer modelling study. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men with around 130 new cases diagnosed in the UK every day and more than 10,000 men a year dying as a result of the disease.

Channels McGill University News and Events For years, physicians have been aware that patients carrying the apolipoprotein '4 (APOE ?4 ) gene are at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. New research from McGill University has now found the gene plays an even greater role in dementia.

A Europe-wide study conducted over three flu seasons finds that the antiviral drug, oseltamivir (Tamiflu ), can help people recover from flu-like illness about one-day sooner on average, with older, sicker patients who have been unwell for longer recovering two-to-three days sooner. Published today in The Lancet , the European Commission-funded 'ALIC4E' study was led by the Universities of Oxford (UK) and Utrecht (The Netherlands).

A new study helps to explain the mechanism by which pancreatic cells secrete high levels of insulin during the early stages of diabetes. A central question in diabetes research is why cells of the pancreas, known as beta cells, initially over-secrete insulin. The prevailing theory was that the body may be in the process of becoming "deaf" to insulin, so beta cells secrete more to compensate.

Wednesday 18 December saw the official inauguration of the Antwerp Biobank, a joint UZA/UAntwerp project. The biobank is invaluable in terms of scientific research and medical progress. The brand-new Antwerp Biobank processes and stores a wide range of high-quality human bodily material. This may be what's known as residual material, which is any bodily material that remains after a diagnostic examination or medical procedure, but most samples have been prospectively collected for research purposes.

Painful inflammatory lesions of the skin and mucous membranes may occur in children who develop bacterial pneumonia. A research group at the University Children's Hospital Zurich has recently developed a new diagnostic blood test, which reliably diagnoses bacteria as the causative pathogen at an early stage, allowing more specific treatment and prediction about prognosis.

The number of e-cigarette users who began vaping at age 14 or younger has more than tripled in the last five years, say University of Michigan researchers. Last year, 28% of e-cigarette users said they started no later than age 14, compared to about 9% in 2014. The findings are scheduled to appear online Dec.

Professor Mark Emberton, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, writes about the new UCL-led trial, which is testing to see if MRI scans could be effective at screening men for prostate cancer, in a similar way to how mammograms are used to check women for breast cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men with around 130 new cases diagnosed in the UK every day and more than 10,000 men a year dying as a result of the disease.

New deep learning algorithm DeepMACT detects the smallest metastases Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the LMU Munich have developed a new algorithm that automatically detects metastases. The new technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) and even finds single disseminated cancer cells in the body of mice.

Teenage girls who experience clinical levels of anxiety could be at greater risk of eating disorders, according to researchers at UCL and University of Bristol. The study, published today in European Eating Disorders Review , looked at anxiety disorder pathology and engagement with severe levels of fasting (not eating for an entire day) in 2,406 teenage girls of Bristol's Children of the 90s study.

A new multicentre study will investigate the link between brain inflammation and psychosis, and use artificial intelligence techniques to identify patients that might benefit most from novel treatments. The study, funded by UKRI Medical Research Council , is led by the Universities of Birmingham and Cambridge.

Teenage girls who experience clinical levels of anxiety could be at greater risk of eating disorders, according to associations identified in a study completed by researchers at the University of Bristol with UCL. Published today [18 December] in European Eating Disorders Review , the new research looked at anxiety disorder pathology and engagement with severe levels of fasting (not eating for an entire day) in 2,406 teenage girls of Bristol's Children of the 90s study.

Judging by the news stories they select to read, the nearly 40,000 readers of Stanford Report are interested in medical advances and all things Stanford. A story about a potential diagnostic tool and treatment for Parkinson's disease was first among the 10 most popular news stories for 2019. Here are the stories that garnered the most interest among Stanford Report readers: Scientists find potential diagnostic tool, treatment for Parkinson's disease , Sept.

Specialized dye, delivered along with a vaccine, could enable "on-patient" storage of vaccination history. Every year, a lack of vaccination leads to about 1.5 million preventable deaths, primarily in developing nations. One factor that makes vaccination campaigns in those nations more difficult is that there is little infrastructure for storing medical records, so there's often no easy way to determine who needs a particular vaccine.