Further Research Required!

The Director of the Child Care Law Reporting Project said that figures showing a wide variance in the number of child protection orders issued across Ireland, highlight a need for more research to examine the reasons behind the imbalance.
Dr. Coulter added that it was also important to remember the figures do not represent children in care.
The statistics from the Courts Service, which were released to the project, found applications for child protection orders in towns in the midlands were significantly lower than in towns and cities in other parts of the country.

The figures by the Courts Service, do not represent children in care

Dr. Carol Coulter said she was concerned about the way figures may have been compiled in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, where over 1,000 applications were made.
She said she feared there had been a lot of double counting in Letterkenny and explained that the same family would frequently return for order renewals.
These cases would be counted individually, but would not represent new cases.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Coulter said it was not known why the number of applications were greater in different parts of the country, but some areas could have better family support services so cases do not reach the point of children having to go into care.
Or, she said, voluntary care orders may be issued which means the cases do not go to court.
In addition she said that judges in bigger cities and towns, such as Dublin and Cork, have more time to give to these cases.
She said, however, that busy district court judges do not have the time needed to give to family cases.

New Paediatrics Facility in the Capital!

 

An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for the new children's hospital on a campus shared with St James's Hospital in Dublin.
The project will bring together the three existing children's hospitals - Temple Street Children's University Hospital, Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin and the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght.
There has been much controversy of the suitability of the site.
An Bord Pleanála has granted permission, subject to 17 conditions.
No major changes have been sought on the original planning application.

Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar has said receiving the phone call this morning that planning permission had been granted was the best phone call he ever received in politics.
Mr. Varadkar said it "will be the single biggest capital project in the history of Irish healthcare".
He added: "The new Children's Hospital will support regional hospitals across Ireland to ensure that services are provided as close to home as possible. Permission has also been granted for the research centre."
Chief executive Eilísh Hardiman of the Children's Hospital Group said: "This truly is a watershed day for children, young people and their families."

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'Breast Cancer drugs can destroy tumours in 11 days' EBCC Conference

British doctors have discovered combining two powerful breast cancer drugs could dramatically shrink or destroy tumours in just 11 days. File photograph: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

Combining two powerful breast cancer drugs could dramatically shrink or destroy tumours in just 11 days, British doctors have discovered.

Some patients with HER2 positive breast cancer may be spared chemotherapy altogether if they are given the drugs straight after diagnosis and before they have surgery.  About 15 per cent to 25 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have HER2, which tends to grow more quickly than some other types of breast cancer.

Researchers have discovered that combining the drugs Tyverb (lapatinib) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) and giving them to women before surgery could lead to tumours shrinking significantly or even disappearing.

Presenting their findings at the European Breast Cancer Conference in Amsterdam, experts described the findings as exciting.

The UK EPHOS-B trial involved 257 women with newly diagnosed HER2 positive breast cancer.

In the first part of the trial, 130 women were randomised to receive either no treatment before surgery or Herceptin and Tyverb for 11 days after diagnosis and before surgery.

According to Cancer Research UK, current treatments are effective, and women often experience a complete response after three to four months.

Nevertheless, researchers said the 11-day response was very surprising.

Prof Arnie Purushotham, senior clinical adviser at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: “These results are very promising if they stand up in the long run and could be the starting step of finding a new way to treat HER2 positive breast cancers.

About 5,300 to 8,000 women a year are diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer.

View full article on Irish Times/Health here

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New research centre launched to tackle dementia epidemic

A major new research centre was launched recently by Trinity College Dublin and the University of California to try to tackle the looming dementia epidemic.

The Global Brain Health Institute will be funded by a €138.4m donation from Atlantic Philanthropies - the biggest philanthropic donation in Irish history.

Affecting more than 48 million people around the world, dementia is fast becoming a major health challenge, with the numbers suffering from it expected to double every 20 years.

Experts say while no effective treatment has yet been found, public health measures tackling risk factors like high blood pressure, cholesterol and lifestyle issues could reduce the numbers developing the condition in the coming decades.

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have formed an alliance with colleagues at the University of California, to establish the Global Brain Health Institute.

The centre aims to tackle the growing incidence of dementia by creating a generation of leaders around the world with skills to change attitudes, policy and care and carry out research.

Over the next 15 years, the institute will give multidisciplinary training to 600 fellows and scholars from around the world.

View more here on TCD/News

€30 Million SFI Investment in Scientific Research

Dr Laoise McNamara's project on osteoporosis was one of three NUI Galway projects funded.

Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD today announced over €30 million of research funding for 23 major research projects. The Programme will provide funding over a four to five year period, for 23 research projects involving over 100 researchers. Funding for each project will range from €500,000 to €2.3 million.

Three of the projects are led by NUI Galway researchers, and in partnership with University of Limerick, are significantly involved in a fourth project. 

Two of the projects are listed below:

Dr Laoise McNamara, NUI Galway - This research project will advance understanding of mechanobiology to develop treatment approaches for bone pathologies. Tissues of the human body can adapt in response to mechanical forces by a cellular process known as mechanobiology. Although mechanobiological processes are fundamental to normal bone physiology and may play an important role in the development of osteoporosis, the role of mechanobiology in bone development and changes occurring during ageing are not yet fully understood. Moreover mechanobiological responses have not been targeted as treatments for osteoporosis, nor have they been sufficiently exploited to develop novel regenerative tissue strategies.

Dr Alan Ryder, NUI Galway - Many drugs for human health are complex biological molecules like proteins which are made in living cells on an industrial scale. Both the cell food (media) and the protein products have to be carefully analysed to make sure that they are good and safe. Both media and proteins are very complex mixtures that are difficult to analyse. Here we will build a faster, cheaper, and non-contact way of testing using light to generate chemical information from these mixtures. This information will then be analysed using advanced statistical methods (chemometrics) and the results used to improve manufacturing, and reduce drug costs.

View more information on NUIG website

University's study of eyeball link to Alzheime'rs

Researchers at Dundee University are to lead a £1.1m study into whether eye tests can reveal the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

A team from the university's school of computing will carry out the three-year study with colleagues in Edinburgh.

Evidence suggests changes to veins and arteries in the eye could be linked to diseases including stroke and cardiovascular disease.

The team will study if this could act as an "early warning" of Alzheimer's.

The new study uses specially-developed computer software to analyse high-definition images of the eye from multiple instruments to establish whether such changes in the eye could act as an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease.

Emanuele Trucco, professor of computational vision at the school of computing, is leading the project.

He said: "If you can look into someone's eyes using an inexpensive machine and discover something which may suggest a risk of developing dementia, then that's a very interesting proposition.

"There is the promise of early warning in a non-invasive way and there is also the fact that we even might be able to use the test to differentiate between different types of dementia."

View full report on BBC/Health

M-Health Research Group launched at NUI, Galway

The M-Health Research Group was established in NUI Galway in 2014.

The particular focus of this area of research, M-Health, which is led by Dr. Jane Walsh, is an abbreviation for mobile health, a term used for the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices (e.g. mobile phones, tablet computers and PDAs), for health services and information, but also to affect emotional states. M-health applications include the use of mobile devices in collecting community and clinical health data, delivery of healthcare information to practitioners, researchers, and patients, real-time monitoring of patient vital signs and direct provision of care (via mobile telemedicine).

M-health research encompasses a variety of possibilities, including increased access to healthcare and health-related information (particularly for hard-to-reach populations); improved ability to diagnose and track diseases; timelier, more actionable public health information; and expanded access to ongoing medical education and training for health workers.

View here

Benefits of New Medical Devices

Benefits of Research into Next Generation Medical Devices to Society:
Medical devices make a critical difference to quality of life for millions of people every day. From the simple bandage, to the contact lens, to the most sophisticated life-supporting products, the medical devices sector plays a crucial role in the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring and treatment of diseases to improve the lives of people suffering from illness or disability.

Pre-clinical translation of research prototypes to practice, towards delivery of next generation of implants and devices, including bio-orthopaedics, neural engineering, drug-eluting stents, implants and biomechanics. Medical devices include instruments, implants, machines or software and are central to developments in healthcare. This is especially relevant in Ireland, which is experiencing an increased incidence of chronic diseases, an ageing population and challenges to the sustainability of its healthcare system. With its strong research and manufacturing infrastructure, Ireland is well poised to take a leading role in developing next generation medical devices to take on these challenges.

Dr. Bruce Murphy of Trinity College Dublin, is researching this key topic.

Study suggests under supply in specialist dementia care

A new national survey of nursing homes suggests that there is a significant under supply in the provision of specialist care for people suffering from dementia in areas where demand will be significant in the future. 

View report: Specialist care units for people with dementia in Ireland

The survey also indicates that private nursing homes provide the bulk of specialist dementia care.

It suggested that the homes do not receive any extra funding from government to help them comply with specific criteria laid down for such care.

The study was carried out by the Dementia Services Information and Development Centre at Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital.

The research found some areas like Cavan/Monaghan, Cork, Donegal and Galway are over-supplied with SCUs for dementia patients, while in others like Dublin Carlow Wicklow there is no provision.

But despite an expected increase in the prevalence of dementia in Ireland, no significant expansion in supply is likely in the foreseeable future, the researchers found.

The study suggests significant variation in the level of therapeutic activities on offer to patients in the SCUs.

Specific dementia specific training for staff was more common in private rather than HSE or voluntary SCUs. 

It indicated that respite beds were in short supply with just 66 available across the 54 SCUs.

Based on the estimated 30,000 community-dwelling people with dementia in Ireland, this figure suggests one respite bed for every 450 people with dementia, the authors say.

Diabetic Wound Clinical Trial Led by NUI Galway and Steno Diabetes Centre

Orbsen Therapeutics proprietary stromal cell therapy (Cyndacel-M ™) has been selected to be tested in a EU Framework 7 (FP7) funded safety trial for the treatment of non-healing, ulcerating wounds in patients with diabetes. The project known by the acronym “REDDSTAR” (Repair of Diabetic Damage by Stromal Cell Administration) is being co-ordinated by Professor Timothy O’Brien, Dean of Medicine and Director of Ireland’s Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at NUI Galway.

Approximately 50 million diabetic EU citizens are using approved anti-diabetic agents to control their diabetes. However, diabetes still leads to 6 progressive complications, namely: nephropathy, retinopathy, cardiomyopathy, neuropathy and wound ulceration. In 2010, 11% of EU adult deaths (634,000) were caused by diabetic complications. The foot ulcer is a leading cause of hospital admissions for people with diabetes in the EU and is a major morbidity associated with diabetes. Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are estimated to occur in 15% of all patients with diabetes and precede 84% of all diabetes-related lower-leg amputations.

The clinical study will combine Orbsen’s Cyndacel-M ™ with an existing wound therapy called Excellagen, an FDA-cleared collagen treatment developed by US-based Cardium Therapeutics Inc. (Trading Symbol: CRXM). This transatlantic collaboration between Orsben and Cardium represents an exciting development that brings Cardium’s significant commercial expertise in the wound healing market to the REDDSTAR project.

View full Press Release here

Hi-Tech Goggles 'Detect Cancer Cells'

Hi-Tech Goggles 'Detect Cancer Cells'

Click on title above to view video

A US trial of hi-tech goggles could reduce the need for secondary operations for cancer patients.

Surgeons are not always able to tell if they have removed all the cancerous tissues and many patients face a follow-up operation to remove more.

The goggles create an augmented reality, showing cancerous cells as glowing.  This technology has been developed by Dr. Samuel Achilefu who works on new methods to detect and visualise diseases

Link to BBC/Technology

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Raising dementia awareness

An initiative is “walking the lives” of people with dementia to assess their needs and to increase public awareness of how to support people in the community with dementia and memory problems.

The three-year Elevator project aims to deliver training to 7,500 people working with the public and to develop courses for healthcare specialists and carers, according to project co-ordinator Dr Kate Irving, lecturer in mental health nursing at Dublin City University’s school of nursing and human sciences.

“We are looking to work with key organisations to improve services for and care of people with dementia,” she said.

The €2.7 million project, funded through the HSE and Atlantic Philanthropies, is initially carrying out a needs analysis that puts the person with dementia at the centre.

The Elevator project plans to develop specialist education up to Masters level for people who care for people with dementia.

View more information here

NUI Galway Researchers Discover New Risk Factor for Schizophrenia

Professor Sanbing Shen of the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at NUI Galway has led a multi-institutional study which has identified a novel rare risk factor linked with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a disorder which although many genetic risk factors have been identified, no effective treatment is available. Professor Shen and his colleagues have identified for the first time that changes in a little known gene called ULK4 were observed in individuals with schizophrenia.

Unlike many other genetic studies, Shen and colleagues have also characterised how ULK4 functions in the brain. When levels of ULK4 are decreased, neuronal (brain) cells tend to function less well, leading to reduced synaptic function and other changes which are also known as risk factors of schizophrenia.

The findings published in the Journal of Cell Science (Thursday, 30th January) were supported by genetic data provided by the International Schizophrenia Consortium, and confirmed using new data generated from other mental illness groups including autism, major depression, and bipolar disorder.

Follow up studies already underway in NUI Galway will lead to a better understanding of the disease and how drugs may be developed to target ULK4 for the treatment of mental illness.

View more information here

Recent Research on Obesity - January 2014

79% of over-50s obese are overweight - study

More than a third of over-50s in Ireland are obese, a major new report on ageing has revealed.

A further 44% are overweight, while problem drinking and reliance on multiple medications is also on the rise among older people.

Despite the obvious health risks, the over-50s generally report high levels of satisfaction with quality of life and their incomes have remained stable.

The findings are revealed in the latest report by the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (Tilda), a national survey of more than 8,000 people aged 50 and over.

The study was led by researchers in Trinity College Dublin.

Participants were interviewed between April 2012 and January 2013, during, as researchers note, a period of considerable social and economic change in Ireland.

Minister for Health James Reilly said the latest report flags up serious concerns about the health of the over-50s.

"I am encouraged by some of the findings in this report, particularly those that show that, in general, the over-50s enjoy a good quality of life and report their health as excellent or very good," he said.

"However, I am also struck by some worrying trends, particularly the levels of non-communicable diseases and their co-morbidities.

"The finding that 35% of the over-50s are obese with a further 44% overweight is another serious cause for concern."

Obesity is strongly associated with heart disease and diabetes.

The report also found about one third of the over-50s report low levels of physical activity, with more women than men reporting low exercise.

More than half of those aged 75 and over have arthritis.

Smoking among over-50s is down from just over 18% to 16.5% since participants were last interviewed in 2009 and 2010.

Problem drinking has risen for both men and women - from 17% to 22% in men and from 8% to 11% in women.

Those taking five or more medications has increased from 21% to 26%.

Key Findings

Full Report: The Over 50's in a Changing Ireland: Economic Circumstances, Health and Well-being. 2014

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