Melbourne researchers have made a breakthrough into how two chronic respiratory diseases in childhood affect the immune system, paving the way for better treatments. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Mucosal Immunology, has found suppurative lung disease and wheezing have the same inflammatory profiles despite their differing symptoms. MCRI Dr Melanie Neeland said while suppurative lung disease and wheezing were common in children, due to a poor understanding of the underlying mechanisms, treatment options were limited and disease recurrence wa ..read more

Protein could help detect delayed concussion recovery: Melbourne researchers have discovered a blood protein that could help detect which children will experience ongoing concussion symptoms more than two weeks after an injury. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, found the protein was a potential biomarker for delayed recovery from concussion in children. For the study, blood samples were collected from children, aged five-18 years, who presented to the emergency department at The Royal Children’s Hospital less than 48 ..read more

New insight into combatting drug-resistant prostate cancer: New research from the University of Eastern Finland sheds light on the significance of the glucocorticoid receptor in drug-resistant prostate cancer, showing that the development of drug resistance could be prevented by limiting the activity of coregulator proteins. Glucocorticoids regulate vital biological processes by affecting gene encoding through a DNA-binding transcription factor, namely the glucocorticoid receptor. The activity of the glucocorticoid receptor is made extensive use of in medicine because glucocorticoids have a s ..read more

If someone cuts themselves and it is bleeding, it is important to know how to help: What should you do? If someone is bleeding a lot, the priority is to stop the blood coming out! It is never a priority to immediately wash an injury.  If the wound is serious enough for them to need to go to hospital, the nurses will clean it there. Minor wounds can be cleaned once you have controlled the bleeding and you are somewhere you can clean it properly. You should wash your hands before you attend to the wound and ideally wear gloves. Don’t poke or First aid for bleeding and treatm ..read more

In a study examining the ageing immune system and what makes it less efficient, researchers looked at the effects of COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in older adults. They found that older adults’ weaker immune response can be attributed to their relative deficiency in a specific type of T cells. As we age, the immune system’s efficacy weakens, leading to less effective defences against new pathogens—such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus. How immunosenescence in older adults affects their immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations is poorly understood and is an active area of study. A study led by Dr Vanda ..read more

Two world-class research teams will carry out countrywide trials to identify accurate and quick blood tests that can diagnose dementia, in a bid to improve the UK’s shocking diagnosis rate. Research teams at University College London, and Dementias Platform UK based at the University of Oxford, will capitalise on recent breakthroughs in potential dementia blood tests, and generate the evidence needed for them to be validated for use in the NHS within the next 5 years. The teams make up the Blood Biomarker Challenge – a multi-million pound award given by Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Resear ..read more

Time spent on social media was associated with an increased risk of cigarette and e-cigarette use in teenagers, according to new research. The study, led by researchers at the University of Glasgow, found that teens who were on social media for more than two hours a day, were more than two and half times more likely to smoke cigarettes and more than three times more likely to use e-cigarettes, when compared to those who used social media for 1 to less than 30 minutes a day. Published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, the researchers studied the online habits Social media use lin ..read more

In the last year there have been over 50,000 recorded offences involving knives and sharp instruments in the UK. These statistics are shocking and sadly provide a compelling reason to learn first aid. Knife crime is on the rise, with more fatalities and injuries among young people than at any other time. What can we do to protect children? One practical solution is to teach first aid skills in schools, which have seen a rise in the number of violent crime in and around them. First Aid following a stabbing Always ensure the area is safe and you are not First aid following a stabbing as seen on ..read more

Revolutionizing Healthcare: How Pathway Is Paving the Way for a Healthier Future: Innovation and the development of large language models are poised to change healthcare fundamentally. Pathway leverages these technologies to redefine clinical decision support, improving care accuracy and enabling healthcare professionals to deliver enhanced patient outcomes. What is Pathway? Pathway is an online clinical decision support system designed to assist healthcare providers in making evidence-based decisions at the point of care. Developed by physicians, designers, AI scientists and engineers, it wa ..read more

Blood analysis predicts sepsis and organ failure in children: University of Queensland researchers have discovered a method to predict if a child is likely to develop sepsis and go into organ failure. Associate Professor Lachlan Coin from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience said sepsis was a life-threatening condition where a severe immune response to infection causes organ damage. “Our research involved more than 900 critically ill children in the emergency departments and intensive care units of four Queensland hospitals,” Dr Coin said. “Blood samples were taken from these patients at t ..read more