Located at 618.9201 BEY
Tuesday 24 February 2015
Monday 23 February 2015
Friday 20 February 2015
Are you interested in biomedical research funding opportunities?
SFI, the HRB and the Wellcome Trust will co-host two information days about funding available under the SFI-HRB-Wellcome Trust Biomedical Research Partnership. They will take place on 25 March in Galway, and 26 March in Dublin
The full programme, timetable and registration details for each location are available from the links below. Please register by selecting the breakout session in your preferred location that is most relevant to your career stage. The same information will be presented in each venue by the Wellcome Trust.
Attendance is free, but you will need to register for your preferred location.
Galway Information day: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/sfi-hrb-wellcome-trust-biomedical-research-partnership-information-day-galway-tickets-15436131886
Dublin Information day: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/sfi-hrb-wellcome-trust-biomedical-research-partnership-information-day-dublin-tickets-15651599355
Queries can be e-mailed to contact(at)wellcome-ireland.com
Thursday 19 February 2015
Understanding resistance to cancer drugs
Pioneering new drug treatments are showing great promise in the treatment of many cancers.
The BBC's Panorama programme spent 18 months following a group of patients at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London on a range of treatments, many of which target specific genetic mutations which drive cancer growth.
Some patients whose cancer had spread and been given months to live have kept the disease at bay for years, and the treatments increase the chance of curing patients whose disease is caught early enough.
The trials at the Royal Marsden are part of a unique collaboration with the Institute of Cancer Research - where doctors divide their time between studying the disease in the laboratory and seeing patients in hospital.
Dr Udai Banerji works at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden.
Wednesday 18 February 2015
Former Dean of Medicine presented with Award for Outstanding Contribution to Respiratory Medicine
Professor Pat Finnegan receiving the Irish Thoracic Society Award for Outstanding Contribution to Respiratory Medicine pictured with Professor JJ Gilmartin and Professor Anthony O’Regan, President, the Irish Thoracic Society.
Professor Pat Finnegan, former Dean of Medicine at NUI Galway and retired respiratory consultant at University College Hospital Galway, was presented with the Irish Thoracic Society Award for Outstanding Contribution to Respiratory Medicine at the Society’s recent Annual Gala Dinner.
On presenting the award, friend and colleague Professor JJ Gilmartin paid tribute to Professor Finnegan and outlined the highlights of a career marked by outstanding achievements as both teacher and innovator.
A graduate of University College Galway (now NUI Galway) Professor Finnegan spent the early stages of his career in Birmingham, where he was involved in seminal work in the development of long term oxygen therapy which included use of the first prototype concentrator in the early 1970s. The safe prescription of oxygen therapy, nowadays taken for granted, owes much to those ground-breaking advances.
Tuesday 17 February 2015
Scientists identify drug that could block multiple sclerosis
Prof Luke O’Neill with
flasks of inflamed white blood cells from the immune system in a laboratory in
Trinity.
Tests reveal
remedy could also halt diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and alzheimer’s
Researchers in Dublin have led an international study
identifying a remarkable drug that may be able to block major diseases such as
multiple sclerosis (MS), alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis and most other
inflammatory conditions.
Initial tests show it could
instantly block MS and the effects of blood poisoning in mouse models. It also
halted a rare inflammatory disease called Muckle-Wells syndrome using human
blood samples as a test.
Muckle-Wells syndrome is a
disorder characterised by episodes of skin rash, fever and joint pain.
Progressive hearing loss and kidney damage also occur with this illness.
The drug, called MCC950, stops a very early trigger that
sets off the inflammatory response to infection. While inflammation is good during
infections it can cause a wide range of serious diseases if the inflammation
remains in place.
“This is exciting, one of the
biggest discoveries we have had,” said Prof Luke O’Neill, the chairman ofbiochemistry based in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute. “It is
fantastic, the thing we have been looking for for 30 years. This could be the
missing compound.”
Their main discovery is being
able to identify the pathway that allows the drug to block the action of a
pro-inflammatory substance in the body called NLRP3.
They also confirmed that
inflammatory diseases all share a common process, even though the parts of the
body becoming inflamed might differ, he said.
Trinity’s collaborators included the Universities of
Queensland, Michigan, Massachusetts and Bonn and their findings were published
on Monday in the journal Nature Medicine. He was co-senior author with Prof
Matt Cooper of Queensland, and lead author was Dr Rebecca Coll who worked with
Prof O’Neill.
Journal Reference: A small-molecule inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.Nature Medicine, 2015; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3806
FREE Public Lecture on Cancer
Date: Tuesday 17 February
Time: 7-9pm
Venue:
Bailey Allen Hall, Áras na Mac Léinn, NUI Galway
or
you can donate on the night.
All
proceeds are in aid of the following charities:
Irish
Cancer Society, Cancer Care West, NBCRI and Galway Hospice.
Monday 16 February 2015
New research to guide GP management for patients with multiple chronic illnesses
The new research
recommends providing continuity of care with one named GP where possible,
prioritising the aspects of care that matter most to patients (such as
difficulties in physical functioning), and providing regular reviews of
prescriptions. The study, recently published in the British Journal of
Medicine, was led by researchers at the HRB Centre for Primary Care Research in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
The paper entitled, ‘Managing patients with multimorbidity in primary care' can be viewed online on the BMJ website at http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h176
Current clinical guidelines,
which recommend best practice for GPs, tend to focus on single conditions which
make decision making more challenging for those patients with several
co-existing conditions.
Commenting on this
publication, Graham Love, Chief Executive at the Health Research Board said,
‘It is very important that
care for people with multimorbidity is organised and delivered based on best
research evidence in order to improve the outcomes that really matter to
patients. This review offers guidance for GPs to help support this process.’
More information is available
from the press release on the RCSI website.
Thursday 12 February 2015
New breakthrough in stroke treatment
The clot retrieval procedure known as endo-vascular treatment was examined by researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.
The study involved patients who had suffered an acute ischemic stroke, which is caused by a clot in the brain, and accounts for 80% of all strokes, and is published in the New England Journal of Medicine today.
It has been described as the most significant development in stroke treatment in the past two decades.
Positive outcomes for patients receiving the new “clot removal” treatment increased from 30% to 55%.
In many cases, instead of suffering major neurological disability, patients went home to resume their lives.
The overall mortality rate was reduced by 50%, from two in ten patients for standard treatment of care, to one in ten patients out of those who received the new treatment.
Professor David Williams, Associate Professor, one of the co-leads on the international study said: "The results of this study represent the most significant development in stroke treatment in the past 20 years and will impact stroke care in Ireland and around the world.
“More than 10,000 people in Ireland are admitted to hospital with stroke annually and many of those who survive are left with significant disabilities.
“This treatment has the potential to improve survival rates and quality of life of more than 15 million people worldwide who suffer a stroke each year.
"The involvement of RCSI and Beaumont Hospital in this ground-breaking trial demonstrates the world-class expertise of clinical researchers here in Ireland," Professor Williams said.
Does the future hold a vaccine for type 1 diabetes?
Mikael Knip (lower row, on right side)
A leading Professor of Paediatrics from Finland has suggested there is “increasing evidence” that the diabetic enterovirus may be a trigger for type 1 diabetes in children. If this is confirmed, Prof Mikael Knip of the University of Helsinki believes it may be possible to prevent about half of new cases with an anti-diabetes enterovirus vaccine.
Speaking to Irish Medical Times at the third annual 3U Partnership International Diabetes Conference, which took place at the RCSI in Dublin recently, Prof Knip accepted there was still a long way to go. “We will not have an anti-diabetic entero vaccine available within the next five to six years, but maybe within the next 10 years,” he stated.
The professor is currently the Principal Investigator for two extensive international multicentre studies on type 1 diabetes. One is TRIGR (Trial to Reduce IDDM in the Genetically at Risk) testing the hypothesis that weaning to an extensively hydrolysed formula will reduce the frequency of beta-cell autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes in children at risk. This trial is mainly funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Prof Knip addressed the 3U diabetes conference in a talk entitled ‘Current challenges in diabetes research’ on his work to date on the prevention of type 1 diabetes in children.
Wednesday 11 February 2015
'Smart' insulin hope for diabetes
Scientists are hopeful that "smart" insulins which are undergoing trials could revolutionise the way diabetes is managed.
Instead of repeated blood tests and injections throughout the day to keep blood sugar in check, a single dose of smart insulin would keep circulating in the body and turn on when needed.
Animal studies show the technology appears to work - at least in mice.
Scientists plan to move to human trials soon, PNAS journal reports.
Experts caution that it will take years of testing before treatments could become a reality for patients.
Dr Danny Chou from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been testing a smart insulin that he and his colleagues developed in the lab.
It is a chemically modified version of regular, long-acting insulin.
It has an extra set of molecules stuck on the end that binds it to proteins that circulate in the bloodstream. While it is attached to these, the smart insulin is in its switched off mode.
When blood sugar rises, the smart insulin switches on - glucose locks on to the smart insulin and tells it to get to work.
Tuesday 10 February 2015
New Nursing & Midwifery Books
Located at 618.32686 NEO
Located at 617.0231 LeM
Located at 616.10082 CAM
New rules for eye-laser surgery
New guidelines have been drawn up for eye laser surgery
amid growing concern over the use of hard-sell tactics in persuading consumers
to undergo the procedure.
The guidelines from the Irish College of Ophthalmologists are voluntary, but the college says members who do
not adhere to them will be refused membership.
Thousands of eye laser
operations are carried out every year, the vast majority successfully. However,
with complications arising in a minority of cases, the amount of litigation is
increasing. At least 21 cases have been taken by individual consumers against a
number of high street eye laser clinics since 2008.
Ophthalmologist and eye
surgeon members of the college are increasingly concerned about the tactics
used by some operators to market the procedures to customers and about the
levels of pre- and aftercare provided.
“People may be led by the advertising used to think this is a trivial
procedure with minimal complications,” says college president Billy
Power. “I’m amazed
at the number of patients who say they never met their eye surgeon before the
day of their laser operation. You wouldn’t do that with an ingrown toenail, and
you certainly shouldn’t with an operation on your eye.”
The guidelines say communications with customers must not
convey false information or omit material information, and must not “create
unjustified expectations of results”: “Information on procedures must not
trivialise the seriousness of surgery or minimise the potential risks.”
Surgeons must be registered
with the Medical Council and
have indemnity cover, and must be available for out-patient services and
emergencies.
The information document about
the surgery must be given to the patient at least 24 hours before the procedure
is undertaken, to allow the patient discuss the risks and benefits involved.
Monday 9 February 2015
Study indicates e-cigarettes harm lungs
E-cigarettes generate toxic chemicals similar to those found in tobacco and may harm the lungs and immune system, new research suggests.
The findings, from a study of mice, indicate that "vaping" is far from being a safe alternative to smoking tobacco.
In the experiments, mice exposed to e-cigarette fumes suffered mild damage to their lungs and became far more susceptible to respiratory infections.
Their immune responses to both viruses and bacteria were weakened by such an extent that some animals died.
Scientists also found that e-cigarette vapour contained "free radical" toxins similar to those found in cigarette smoke and air pollution.
Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that can damage DNA and cell membranes.
Professor Shyam Biswai, from Johns Hopkins University in the US, who led the research published in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE, said: "Our findings suggest that e-cigarettes are not neutral in terms of the effects on the lungs.
"We have observed that they increase the susceptibility to respiratory infections in the mouse models. This warrants further study in susceptible individuals, such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder) patients who have switched from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, or to new users of e-cigarettes who may have never used cigarettes."
Co-author Dr Thomas Sussan, also from Johns Hopkins, said: "E-cigarette vapour alone produced mild effects on the lungs, including inflammation and protein damage.
"However, when this exposure was followed by a bacterial or viral infection, the harmful effects of e-cigarette exposure became even more pronounced.
Click here to view article: The study is thought to be the first to investigate an animal's response to e-cigarette inhalation.
Friday 6 February 2015
Health & Human Rights Conference, 6 February 2015
Under the President’s Ethics Initiative the Irish Centre for Human Rights and the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at NUI Galway will host a one day meeting on Friday 6 February 2015 at the Aras Moyola Theatre, NUI Galway.
In the presence of President Michael D. Higgins, the meeting will examine how a human rights framework can inform ethical means to improve health and wellbeing and deliver healthcare fairly.
Click here for more information
6th Feb - International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
In Mauritania, the National Association of Midwives has publicly declared their opposition to FGM and their pledge to abandon the practice in the communities they serve. Photo credit: UNFPA Mauritania
Today is UN Zero
Tolerance of FGM Day. An estimated 140 million women and girls have suffered
FGM, an excruciating and dangerous procedure which has serious life-long health
effects.
While
most of these are in Africa, global migration has ensured Ireland is not immune
to the practice. Based on population and migration trends, it is estimated that
more than 3,700 women in Ireland have undergone FGM in their country of origin.
Yet
awareness remains low, with 65 per cent of GPs in one survey saying they were
unable to identify symptoms.
Up
to a dozen women have been treated at the first dedicated clinic for sufferers
of female genital mutilation (FGM) since it opened last year.
Most
have required surgical intervention to deal with the health problems caused by
the procedure, according to Dr Caitríona Henchion, medical director of theIrish Family Planning Association’s FGM clinic in Dublin.
View on UN website: International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation - UN
Doctors to be obliged by law to tell patients of errors
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said
it was the equivalent of a motoring “hit and run” for doctors and health
professionals to fail to make such disclosures and to live up to their duty of
candour.
“I find that [behaviour] really
appalling and it is not the type of medicine I was trained in.”
Mr Varadkar told the committee if
doctors did adhere to their duty of candour and open disclosure and informed patients
when adverse clinical outcomes had occurred, “ a lot fewer people would sue”.
The Minister said he now intended
to legislate to make open disclosure a legal requirement.
Earlier, he told the committee
the health service clearly has insufficient funding to address all areas of
concern immediately. Addressing the committee
regarding spending for this year, he said the budget available would allow for
a start to stabilising health service funding.
He claimed the health service was
now in a more stable financial position than it had been for many years.
There was “undoubtedly a strong
case for increased health funding in the years ahead”, he said. However, increased spending
without reform would not resolve the difficulties which the health service
faced.
Govt approves bill requiring calories on menus
The Cabinet has approved proposals requiring food outlets to post the information at the point where the food is ordered, whether at tables or counters.
Drafting legislation is expected to start immediately and should be ready for enactment by next year.
Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said the move is a simple but effective way of encouraging people to choose a healthier option.
"I am very concerned about levels of overweight and obesity in Ireland. Latest figures indicate that nearly two out of every three adults, and one in four children, are overweight or obese.
"This presents real risks for health and well-being and causes a high percentage of many of the chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes," Minister Varadkar said.
The proposed laws will require all menus, including boards, leaflets, digital menus or other forms, to display the amount of calories alongside the price in the same font size and colour.
View on RTE/Health here
View on RTE/Health here
Thursday 5 February 2015
NUI Galway’s 5th International Nursing and Midwifery Conference
The 5th International Nursing and Midwifery Conference, hosted by NUI Galway’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, will be held from 30-31 March. The conference is organised in partnership with the
Nursing and Midwifery Planning Development, HSE West/Mid West.
The over-arching theme of the conference, 'Building
and Promoting Excellence in Practice' highlights the importance of
strengthening nursing and midwifery practice at international, national, local
and community levels
The conference provides an opportunity for
researchers, practitioners and policy makers to get together to learn, debate
and share methods of building and promoting excellence in practice. There will
be oral and poster presentations and five different workshops that delegates
can choose to attend.
·
Evidence - Professor Neal Maskrey, Honorary
Professor of Evidence-Informed Decision Making, Keele University.
·
Compassionate Care - Professor Belinda Dewar,
Professor of Practice Improvement at the University of the West of Scotland.
·
Risk and Resilience - Professor Charlotte Clarke,
Head of the School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh.
·
Motivation - Evelyn Gilmore, Consultant Work and
Organisational Psychologist, an Accredited Psychotherapist and a Business and
Executive Coach.
To avail of the early bird reduced fees please
visit http://www.nursingmidwifery.ie/site/view/9/registration/ and
register prior to Monday, 9 February.
Irish scientists developing bowel cancer blood tests
The test, which will search for biomarkers generated when bowel cancer starts to develop, promises to be more accurate and sensitive than existing tests.
It is being developed by scientists at the DCU-based Biomedical Diagnostics Institute in partnership with biomedical company Randox Technologies.
It is expected the new test could cost as little as €25.
Because it uses a small amount of blood it is less invasive than existing bowel cancer tests, and it is therefore leading to hopes that it may encourage more people to volunteer to be screened for the disease.
The current national bowel screening programme for those aged 60-69 has had a low uptake.
This is thought to be in part because it involves testing stool samples. Such testing is also considered slow and not entirely reliable.
Survival rates from bowel cancer are higher when the disease is caught early, after a formal diagnosis involving colonoscopy.
It is hoped the new test could lead to earlier diagnosis and a reduced need to send patients for further investigation via colonoscopy.
Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in Ireland.
2,500 people are diagnosed with it each year and 1,000 die from it.
The collaboration is funded by Enterprise Ireland and Randox.
Honey and Lemon 'as good as cough mix'
THERE is no substantial evidence that expensive over-the-counter medicines are that effective in treating short-term coughs in children and adults, according to Irish researchers.
Professor Susan Smith of the Royal College of Surgeons revealed researchers found the old-fashioned remedy of honey and lemon was just as effective in giving relief. The team looked at 29 trials involving 4,835 adults and children with acute cough.
View more here
Professor Susan Smith of the Royal College of Surgeons revealed researchers found the old-fashioned remedy of honey and lemon was just as effective in giving relief. The team looked at 29 trials involving 4,835 adults and children with acute cough.
"There is a high prevalence of coughs and colds at this time of year and patients often buy over-the-counter medications to alleviate their symptoms. However, our study has found little evidence to support expenditure on these and some of these medicines can occasionally result in adverse side-effects.
"Simple remedies, such as honey and lemon, can provide effective relief for coughs at a lower cost than over-the-counter medicines."
Parents should not give honey to children under one.
"We recommend that patients talk to their pharmacist or GP for advice on low-cost, safe treatments for coughs that can be prepared at home."
Darragh O' Loughlin of the Irish Pharmacy Union said: "People should talk to their pharmacist and ask if there is something they can take which will be effective for them.
"There are strong mixtures that might not be visible on the shelf. They may be able to provide something more potent."View more here
Wednesday 4 February 2015
New Breast Cancer App - CUH
Cork University Hospital (CUH) has launched an app, FYI: Breast Cancer, to help women who are overwhelmed by medical information about cancer.
This new App explains what breast cancer is, the different types of breast cancer, what a breast cancer diagnosis means and what treatments are available.
This new App explains what breast cancer is, the different types of breast cancer, what a breast cancer diagnosis means and what treatments are available.
“As much as 90% of medical information on the internet is inaccurate or difficult to read,” says Consultant Breast Surgeon Mark Corrigan.
“To counter this, and to clearly explain the facts about breast cancer and dispel the myths, we have developed the FYI: Breast Cancer app. It has been made in a very user friendly format, and answers the most commonly asked questions.
“More and more, we see that patients attending a breast cancer clinic are using the internet for information.
“With 90% of patients using a mobile phone on a daily basis, we decided that an app would be the best way to communicate correct, easy to read information.
“We hope that the FYI: Breast Cancer app will make a major difference to the hundreds of women attending breast cancer clinics who find themselves overwhelmed by the medical information they are given.
It is hoped that the success of the app will pave the way for similar apps in other fields, such as prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and diabetes.
Communicable Diseases Update
Tuesday 3 February 2015
Lunchtime Lecture: 'Bodies of Knowledge', Wednesday 4th February, Hardiman Building
The Special Collections Lunchtime Lectures Series 2014-2015 will continue on Wednesday Feb. 4th, in Room G011 Seminar Room in the Hardiman Building at 1pm, with "Bodies of knowledge : the early days of anatomy in Galway" by Alexander Black, Anatomy, School of Medicine.
Anatomy was one of the founding departments of Queen's College Galway and was viewed at the time as a rather distasteful, if necessary, field of study, yet to be completely separated from its sibling discipline physiology. Anatomy is a visual and tactile subject, and perhaps relies on images and illustrations more than any other academic discipline. This talk will cover the early days of anatomy in Galway, and will illustrate the importance of anatomy to society, society to anatomy, and medical imaging to medicine.
A selection of anatomy material from the Old Library Collection will be on display during the talk, and all are welcome to the G011 Seminar Room in the Hardiman Building at 1pm.
The accompanying "Art of the Unseen" exhibition of anatomical illustration will run in the Special Collections Reading Room during the month of February.
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