London, UK: New research has shown that the way our minds react to and process emotions such as fear can vary according to what is happening in other parts of our bodies. In two different presentations at the British Neuroscience Association Festival of Neuroscience (BNA2013) in London, researchers have shown for the first time that […]
Foetal exposure to excessive stress hormones in the womb linked to adult mood disorders
London, UK: Exposure of the developing foetus to excessive levels of stress hormones in the womb can cause mood disorders in later life and now, for the first time, researchers have found a mechanism that may underpin this process, according to research presented at the British Neuroscience Association Festival of Neuroscience (BNA2013) in London. The […]
First trial to investigate magic mushrooms as a treatment for depression delayed by UK and EU regulations
London, UK: The world’s first clinical trial to explore the use of the hallucinogenic ingredient in magic mushrooms to treat depression is being delayed due to the UK and EU rules on the use of illegal drugs in research. Professor David Nutt, president of the British Neuroscience Association and Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College […]
Fertility after ectopic pregnancy: first randomised trial finds reassuring evidence on the effect of different treatments
The first randomised trial to compare treatments for ectopic pregnancies has found no significant differences in subsequent fertility between medical treatment and conservative surgery on one hand, and conservative or radical surgery on the other. The study, which is published in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1], compared three ways of treating an […]
Insomnia is linked to increased risk of heart failure
People who suffer from insomnia appear to have an increased risk of developing heart failure, according to the largest study to investigate the link. The study, which is published in the European Heart Journal [1], followed 54,279 people between the ages of 20-89 for an average of more than 11 years, and found that those […]
Muscle, skin and gastrointestinal problems cause a quarter of patients with heart disease and strokes to stop treatment in HPS2-THRIVE trial
The largest randomised study of the vitamin niacin in patients with occlusive arterial disease (narrowing of the arteries) has shown a significant increase in adverse side-effects when it is combined with statin treatment. Results from the HPS2-THRIVE study (Heart Protection Study 2 – Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events), including the […]
Exposure to air pollution is associated with increased deaths after heart attacks
Air pollution contributes to an increased number of deaths among patients who have been admitted to hospital with heart attacks, according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal [1]. The largest study yet to investigate the links between fine air-borne particulate matter (PM) and patient survival after hospital admission for acute coronary […]
Lung cancer set to overtake breast cancer as the main cause of cancer deaths among European women
Lung cancer is likely to overtake breast cancer as the main cause of cancer death among European women by the middle of this decade, according to new research published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1]. In the UK and Poland it has already overtaken breast cancer as the main cause of cancer deaths […]
Spin and bias in published studies of breast cancer trials
Spin and bias exist in a high proportion of published studies of the outcomes and adverse side-effects of phase III clinical trials of breast cancer treatments, according to new research published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1]. In the first study to investigate how accurately outcomes and side-effects are reported in breast cancer […]
Lung cancer patients live longer if they use beta-blockers while receiving radiotherapy
Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer survive longer if they are taking beta-blockers while receiving radiotherapy, according to a study of 722 patients published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1]. Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, USA) reviewed the progress and outcomes of patients who had received radiotherapy as […]