4,683 results match your criteria: "University of Exeter College of Medicine & Health[Affiliation]"

Tobacco and COPD: presenting the World Health Organization (WHO) Tobacco Knowledge Summary.

Respir Res

September 2024

Respiratory Translational Research Group, Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Health Sciences, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Locked Bag - 1322, Newnham Drive, Launceston, TAS, 7248, Australia.

The WHO recently published a Tobacco Knowledge Summary (TKS) synthesizing current evidence on tobacco and COPD, aiming to raise awareness among a broad audience of health care professionals. Furthermore, it can be used as an advocacy tool in the fight for tobacco control and prevention of tobacco-related disease. This article builds on the evidence presented in the TKS, with a greater level of detail intended for a lung-specialist audience.

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Background: Various effective treatments for depression exist. We aimed to identify the most effective first-line treatments for new episodes of less and more severe depression (defined by depression scale cut-off scores), to update NICE guidance on the management of Depression in Adults in England.

Methods: Systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published up to June 2020 (PROSPERO registration number CRD42019151328).

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Article Synopsis
  • Weather and climate patterns significantly affect societal health, but there’s a lack of comprehensive data linking specific hazards to mortality causes, leading to uncertainty about health burdens in various countries.
  • A survey of 30 experts in the UK revealed that short-term exposure to extreme temperatures is the primary contributor to weather-related deaths, primarily through cardiovascular and respiratory issues.
  • The research highlights overlooked health impacts, such as long-term effects of weather hazards, and predicts worsening mortality rates due to climate change, emphasizing the need for expert insights to understand climate-related health issues globally.
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Introduction: Health research bodies recommend patient involvement and engagement in research and healthcare planning, although their implementation is not yet widespread. This deficiency extends to progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF), where crucial aspects remain unknown, including causal mechanisms, curative treatments and optimal symptom management. This study addresses these gaps by seeking stakeholders' perspectives to guide research and treatment directions.

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Background: The cognitive effects of sports-related concussion (SRC) have been the subject of vigorous debate but there has been little research into long-term outcomes in non-athlete populations.

Methods: This cohort study of UK community-dwelling adults (aged 50-90 years) was conducted between November 2015 and November 2020, with up to 4 years annual follow-up (n=15 214). Lifetime history of concussions was collected at baseline using the Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire.

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Background: The 2015 American College of Medical Genetics/Association of Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP) variant classification framework specifies that case-control observations can be scored as 'strong' evidence (PS4) towards pathogenicity.

Methods: We developed the PS4-likelihood ratio calculator (PS4-LRCalc) for quantitative evidence assignment based on the observed variant frequencies in cases and controls. Binomial likelihoods are computed for two models, each defined by prespecified OR thresholds.

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A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of purified anthocyanins on cognitive function in individuals at elevated risk for dementia: Analysis of inflammatory biomarkers toward personalized interventions.

Exp Gerontol

October 2024

Centre for Age-Related Medicine (SESAM), Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway; Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, London, UK.

Background: Dementia poses a significant global health challenge. Anthocyanins neutralize free radicals, modulate signaling pathways, inhibit pro-inflammatory genes, and suppress cytokine production and may thus have positive cognitive effects in people at increased risk of dementia. We aim to investigate the effects of purified anthocyanins on cognitive function in people at increased risk of dementia according to their inflammation status based on blood-based inflammatory biomarkers.

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Standard of care genetic testing has undergone significant changes in recent years. The British Gynecological Cancer Society and the British Association of Gynecological Pathologists (BGCS/BAGP) has re-assembled a multidisciplinary expert consensus group to update the previous guidance with the latest standard of care for germline and tumor testing in patients with ovarian cancer. For the first time, the BGCS/BAGP guideline group has incorporated a patient advisor at the initial consensus group meeting.

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Zibotentan in Microvascular Angina: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial.

Circulation

November 2024

British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom (A.M., N.S., P.W.M., P.W., C.B.).

Background: Microvascular angina is associated with dysregulation of the endothelin system and impairments in myocardial blood flow, exercise capacity, and health-related quality of life. The G allele of the noncoding single nucleotide polymorphism enhances expression of the endothelin-1 gene () in human vascular cells, potentially increasing circulating concentrations of Endothelin-1 (ET-1). Whether zibotentan, an oral receptor selective antagonist, is efficacious and safe for the treatment of microvascular angina is unknown.

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Background: Evidence for the effect of favipiravir treatment of acute COVID-19 on recovery, hospital admissions and longer-term outcomes in community settings is limited.

Methods: In this multicentre. open-label, multi-arm, adaptive platform randomised controlled trial participants aged ≥18 years in the community with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 and symptoms lasting ≤14 days were randomised to: usual care; usual care plus favipiravir tablets (loading dose of 3600 mg in divided doses on day one, then 800 mg twice a day for four days); or, usual care plus other interventions.

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Introduction: People with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) present motor alterations which can impact daily life tasks that require speed and/or accuracy of movement.

Objective: A sub analysis of NCT01439022, aiming to estimate the extent to which two different exercise training protocols (global and handwriting upper limb exercise training) impact reaction time, travel speed, and accuracy in PwPD.

Methods: Seventy PwPD, right-side dominant were randomised 1:1 into two six-month training protocol groups; 35 PwPD performed global exercise training and 35 performed specific training (handwriting upper limb exercise movements).

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Background: Community champions have been employed across various settings to disseminate evidence-based public health information. The Building Babies' Brains programme trains champions to work with parents in communities, equipping them with child development knowledge and parental engagement strategies. We explored what makes community champions effective in distributing information to parents, including how the champion-parent relationship and champions' personal characteristics affect information dissemination.

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DailyColors™ is a supplement made up of several phytonutrients that aims to replicate elements from the Mediterranean diet. These include fruit, berry and vegetable extracts that are rich in key phytochemicals such as Quercetin, Catechins, Phloretin, Ellagic Acid, and Anthocyanins. Here, we determined the effects of DailyColors™ on the blood biomarkers associated with the diverse mechanisms implicated in ageing and age-related diseases, including mitochondrial function, inflammation, and oxidative stress, as well as on saliva's DNA methylation pattern.

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The evolving genetic landscape of telomere biology disorder dyskeratosis congenita.

EMBO Mol Med

October 2024

Centre for Genomics and Child Health, Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Newark Street, London, E12AT, UK.

Article Synopsis
  • - Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a rare inherited condition that leads to bone marrow failure and is largely linked to mutations affecting telomere biology, with about 35% of cases having unidentified genetic causes.
  • - Research on a wide range of DC and 'DC-like' cases uncovered new pathogenic variants, including findings in the novel X-linked gene POLA1 and in known genes POT1 and ZCCHC8, enhancing the understanding of the genetic basis of these disorders.
  • - Functional studies indicated that the new variants in POLA1 and POT1 disrupt crucial protein interactions that are essential for telomere maintenance, while ZCCHC8 variants lead to inflammation in patients, thereby contributing to the understanding of
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Background: Electroencephalography (EEG) can be used in neonates to measure brain activity changes that are evoked by noxious events, such as clinically required immunisations, cannulation and heel lancing for blood tests. EEG provides an alternative approach to infer pain experience in infants compared with more commonly used behavioural and physiological pain assessments. Establishing the generalisability and construct validity of these measures will help corroborate the use of brain-derived outcomes to evaluate the efficacy of new or existing pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods to treat neonatal pain.

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Blood-based multivariate methylation risk score for cognitive impairment and dementia.

Alzheimers Dement

October 2024

Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Article Synopsis
  • Blood-derived DNA methylation shows potential for early detection of dementia risk, linking biological factors with lifestyle and environmental influences.
  • A multivariate methylation risk score (MMRS) was developed, predicting mild cognitive impairment independently of age and sex, alongside significant future risk of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
  • The study highlights the integration of machine learning and omics data to enhance dementia risk prediction at the population level.
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Blood DNA methylomic signatures associated with CSF biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in the EMIF-AD study.

Alzheimers Dement

October 2024

Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, UK.

Article Synopsis
  • The study examined DNA methylation patterns in blood samples related to 15 key biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease, focusing on neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration effects.
  • Using 885 samples from the EMIF-AD study, researchers identified significant differential methylation connected to CSF levels of YKL-40 and neurofilament light chain (NfL).
  • Findings suggest a link between YKL-40 DNA methylation and genetic variants, with implications for understanding how DNA methylation influences protein levels relevant to Alzheimer's disease.
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Outcomes of definite vs probable/presumed cardiac sarcoidosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Curr Probl Cardiol

December 2024

Royal Brompton Hospital, part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, United Kingdom; King's College London, London, United Kingdom.

Background: Diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis (CS), which can be associated with arrhythmias and heart failure, remains challenging despite multiple advances over time. The 2014 Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) consensus statement recommends an endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) to establish a definite diagnosis of CS. In the absence of a positive EMB, a diagnosis of probable or presumed CS is made on the basis of clinical and imaging criteria.

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Background: Parental domestic violence and abuse (DVA), mental ill-health (MH), and substance misuse (SU) can have a negative impact on both parents and children. However, it remains unclear if and how parental DVA, MH, and SU cluster and the impacts this clustering might have. We examined how parental DVA, MH, and SU cluster during early childhood, the demographic/contextual profiles of these clusters, and how these clusters relate to child MH trajectories.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chronic lower limb ischaemia can present in unusual ways, such as appearing like a fungal toenail infection.
  • An 82-year-old woman initially diagnosed with onychomycosis was found to actually have chronic ischaemia after further evaluation.
  • This case emphasizes the importance of considering chronic limb ischaemia as a possible cause for toenail symptoms, especially when other explanations are lacking.
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Background/aim: Genomic variants can predispose individuals to adverse drug effects (ADEs), implying the potential for personalised therapy based on genetic data to prevent them. However, existing pharmacogenomic databases lack a comprehensive list of such variants due to irregular updates and incomplete literature coverage. To facilitate the assessment of the feasibility of using pharmacogenetic testing on a larger scale and identify existing gaps in the literature, this study sought to compile a comprehensive list of genomic variants associated with ADEs, with a focus on serious ADEs.

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Objective: People with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have substantial palliative care needs, but uncertainty exists around appropriate identification of patients for palliative care referral.We conducted a Delphi study of international experts to identify consensus referral criteria for specialist outpatient palliative care for people with COPD.

Methods: Clinicians in the fields of respiratory medicine, palliative and primary care from five continents with expertise in respiratory medicine and palliative care rated 81 criteria over three Delphi rounds.

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