News
Toddlers in the UK obtain nearly half (47 per cent) of their calories from ultra-processed foods (UPFs), and this rises to 59 per cent by the age of seven, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, looked at data from 2,591 children born in [...]
A pill form of the drug dronabinol, a synthetic version of marijuana’s main ingredient, THC, has been found to reduce agitation by 30 per cent in patients with Alzheimer’s. The researchers say that compared to current treatments for agitation, such as antipsychotics, dronabinol produced similar calming effects without adverse results such as delirium or seizures. [...]
Hundreds of babies have begun to be tested for over 200 rare genetic conditions as part of a new study in NHS hospitals that aims to screen up to 100,000 newborns in England. The study aims to identify conditions such as metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) in babies sooner, and could enable hundreds to benefit from earlier [...]
An international team of researchers has made a promising breakthrough in the development of drugs to treat Alzheimer’s Disease. For the first time, scientists have developed a drug that works on both major aggregation-promoting ‘hotspots’ of the Tau protein - addressing a critical gap in current treatments. The drug, a peptide inhibitor called RI-AG03, was [...]
Researchers have identified a new potential risk marker for cardiovascular disease in older women. A new study shows an association between low levels of an anti-inflammatory antibody and the risk of heart attack and coronary heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men in Sweden. However, research on [...]
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Vanderbilt University are pioneering a new approach to prostate cancer surgery by combining advanced robotics and “low-field” MRI technology. The research aims to allow highly accurate, patient-tailored prostate cancer surgeries without the need for traditional incisions. This innovative research marks a major step in developing minimally invasive treatments [...]
Latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows that over the past 2 winters (October to May, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024) at least 18,000 deaths were associated with flu, despite last winter being a relatively mild flu season. While pandemic restrictions and social behaviours saw flu levels fall dramatically for a few [...]
Researchers have calculated the huge cost of fatal falls among older people in the US, with stark findings. Falls account for around one in five of all injury-related hospital admissions, and the World Health Organisation reports that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, with the over 65s especially vulnerable, highlight [...]
A study based on clinical trial data found higher risks of stroke, heart attack, and hospital admission for heart failure in older cancer survivors. In the analysis published in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, chemotherapy was also linked to elevated rates of these conditions. Although advances in treatment have led to decreased [...]
A protein called STING, previously shown to control a pathway that contributes to antiviral signaling, also plays an important role in cellular stress clearance and cell survival, a study shows. “It was quite surprising that STING has a protective function for cells to reduce stress and damage in addition to its well-known role in inflammation,” [...]
