Medical Thought Leaders

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News Medical's "Thought Leaders" series is a selection of articles written by national and international experts and trusted advisers in health and medicine. All the articles are written by experts who have been invited as recognised leaders in their fields to provide a "state of the art" contribution.

Increasing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis research

IPF is an incurable lung condition with the average life expectancy following diagnosis being just three years. It’s one of the many types of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Interstitial means that the disease affects the interstitium, a lace-like network of tissue that supports the air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs.

From Asthma + Lung UK 25 Jan 2017

Advanced NMR-based methods for studying RNPs and drug design

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool widely used in chemical research to investigate the structure and dynamics of molecules.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 24 Jan 2017

Impact of IBS on patients

The report reveals a quite alarming situation about the economic impact of IBS on healthcare system, society and patients themselves. In particular, it disclosed that there are a lot of hidden costs related to the utilization of healthcare resources by means of patients, frequently not recognized as IBS...

16 Jan 2017

Could pathogen infection really lead to Alzheimer’s?

New concepts of infectious disease are evolving with the realization that pathogens are key players in the development of progressive chronic diseases that originally were not thought to be infectious. Infection is well-known to be associated with numerous neurological diseases for which...

12 Jan 2017

Childhood obesity starts in the womb?

There is incontrovertible evidence that some harmful drugs and toxins can affect lifelong health. For example, if women take certain drugs in pregnancy, such as thalidomide, there are well documented effects on lifelong health. These have obvious and dramatic effects on the child...

11 Jan 2017

Developing high field solid-state NMR for the characterization of complex targets

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is a technique used by scientists to provide valuable information in the analysis of solid materials. It provides unique and specific insights into the structure, dynamics, and reactivity of all kinds of materials.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 10 Jan 2017

Giving polycystic kidney disease the bump

We launched this campaign at the beginning of October 2016. It's the first time that we've ever had a campaign of this size and scope. It's a European campaign in multiple languages that's coordinated by six of the organizations that represent PKD patients in Europe.

5 Jan 2017

How does the brain control appetite?

Energy balance between energy intake and expenditure in our bodies is important for maintaining energy homeostasis to keep our bodies functioning properly. The appetite determines how much we eat, the energy intake, by communication between the brain and body.

4 Jan 2017

Contact dermatitis or contact eczema?

There is allergic contact dermatitis, which is mediated through an immune mechanism, this means that the person is specifically allergic to what they have come in to contact with their skin. Their body has had to go through a process whereby they have...

21 Dec 2016

How can we tackle antimicrobial resistance?

Antimicrobial resistance happens when bugs, like bacteria, fungi or viruses, change, or evolve, when they’re exposed to drugs, like antibiotics, antifungals, or antivirals. Bugs that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as ‘superbugs’.

20 Dec 2016

How to stay safe in the sun

When choosing a sunscreen, you must first consider what you will be doing when wearing it, for example if you're running, the sunscreen you choose must be able to withstand sweating.

19 Dec 2016

Childhood diarrhea from pathogens more common than previously thought?

The number of cases of childhood diarrhea, and its mortality toll of 500,000 per year, has not changed. Now, however, we can explain ~90% of the cases to specific pathogens. We can assign responsibility.

15 Dec 2016

Innovation in stroke aftercare across Europe: an interview with Professor Urs Fischer

Stroke is the epidemic disease of the twenty-first century and the second most frequent cause of death in 2011, accounting for 11% of all deaths worldwide. Stroke is also the second most important cause of permanent disability and...

13 Dec 2016

IPF diagnosis: how do patients feel about the discussion with their physician?

IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) is a difficult disease to diagnose. Many patients will experience many visits to the doctor and some may even be told they have a different respiratory condition before they finally get the correct diagnosis that...

12 Dec 2016

Detecting inflammation in diabetic patients

As well as presenting with high blood glucose, diabetic patients have chronic low-grade inflammation, which can be measured by a range of inflammatory markers such as so-called high-sensitive CRP, TNFa and IL-6 as well as a full blood cell count.

7 Dec 2016

Research unlocks potential new therapies for inflammatory diseases

Macrophages are frontline cells in our immune system. They detect microbial invaders and also tissue injury and then mount an appropriate response needed to clear the infection and repair the damaged tissue.

5 Dec 2016

Acne: when to seek help?

Acne develops due to an interplay between genetic factors (so people often have a family history) and hormonal factors that can increase the size and activity of the sebaceous or oil gland.

29 Nov 2016

Metabolomics research at the Phenome Centre Birmingham

An interview with Professor Mark Viant, University of Birmingham, UK, Executive Director of Phenome Centre Birmingham and Director of the NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 28 Nov 2016

Improving innovation uptake in the NHS

I think innovation is one of those rather slippery terms that means different things to different people. First of all, I would make a distinction between innovations that are essentially about a new, physical product and innovations that are more to do with services or processes.

24 Nov 2016

NTM lung infections

Nontuberculous mycobacteria are part of a group of bacteria called mycobacteria. The non-tuberculous mycobacteria are, as the name suggests, mycobacteria that are not tuberculosis. They're also not leprosy, but they are the other members of the bacteria group termed mycobacteria.

23 Nov 2016