RECENT NEWS

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)–based tool for estimating a newly diagnosed cancer patient’s chances for surviving long term, according to a study presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2023.

A new report published by NHS Blood and Transplant shows that an increased proportion of potential organ donors of Black and Asian heritage are showing their support by registering their decision to be a donor on the NHS Organ Donor Register, but the number of actual deceased donors fell last year (2022/23).

New analysis by the Health Foundation shows that, if current trends continue, the waiting list for routine hospital treatment (‘elective care’) in England could rise to over 8 million by next summer, regardless of whether NHS industrial action continues.

A new study predicts dementia cases in England and Wales will double to 1.7 million by 2040, exceeding previous forecasts by over 40%. The research, funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and published in The Lancet Public Health, indicates that dementia incidence decreased by 28.8% between 2002 and 2008. However, it increased again by 25.2% between 2008 and 2016.

A drug candidate, based on pioneering UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital research and currently under development by SIFI S.p.A., has been found to be highly effective in treating a rare sight-threatening eye infection in a new international clinical trial.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) annual 'State of Care' report has warned that a combination of the cost-of-living crisis and workforce pressures is risking ‘unfair care’ – where those who can afford to pay for treatment do so and those who can’t face longer waits and reduced access, with poorer outcomes for some.

Innovate UK, LifeArc, and Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) have joined forces to create PACE (Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy), a £30 million initiative supporting early-stage innovationagainst antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to save lives. PACE has announced its first funding call with up to £10 million available to support innovators developing new antimicrobials.

A landmark clinical trial has revealed promising benefits for patients with multiple chronic conditions and at elevated risk of needing urgent care, using artificial intelligence (AI) predictive models and supported through intensive nurse-led coaching.

Patients suffering slow heart rhythm in Essex are set to benefit after local surgeons implanted a new and innovative pacemaker. Staff based at the world-renowned Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC), part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, carried out the country’s first procedure to place Abbott’s Aveir VR leadless pacemaker into a patient’s heart that suffers from a slower-than-normal rate.

Nuffield Health Parkside Hospital, in Wimbledon, London, has treated its first four patients with the da Vinci Xi surgical system, a leading robotic-assisted surgical system that enables consultant surgeons to perform with greater precision, with patients likely to experience less pain and faster recoveries after the robot-assisted surgery.

A first-of-its-kind modular cardiac centre built by Darwin Group in Basingstoke has led to a 20 per cent increase in angiogram procedures in its first year, with more than 2,700 patients being seen.

Previous research has implicated fungi in chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, but there is limited understanding of how these common microbes could be involved in the development of these conditions.

A new study has shown that fluctuating blood pressure can increase the risk of dementia and vascular problems in older people. Short blood pressure (BP) fluctuations within 24 hours as well as over several days or weeks are linked with impaired cognition, say University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers who led the study.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the emergence of a variety of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, each equipped with new ways to evade the immune system, leaving the world bracing for what would come next. But what if there were a way to make predictions about new viral variants before they actually emerge?

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London’s Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PHURI) and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified the genetic causes of Raynaud’s phenomenon. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, could lead to the first effective treatments for people with Raynaud’s.

Three projects designed to build our understanding of viruses and how the immune system reacts to different challenges will share £25m in new funding from UK Research and Innovations (UKRI).

UCLH and UCL researchers and engineers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to make brain surgery safer and more effective.

The first UK participant in a portion of a study looking at a new investigational medication for COVID-19 has received their initial dose of the drug at UCLH.

The European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced a new financing partnership to address critical global health opportunities: eradicating polio and ensuring that innovations in health are more accessible to the people who need them most.

Over two million years of life are lost to cancer in the UK every year, according to a new study from Cancer Research UK, published in the British Journal of Cancer.