Author: Louise Vennells

A new study has identified three existing medications that could be repurposed to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease.  The research funded by Alzheimer’s Society and led by the University of Exeter, is published today in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy. It found that a shingles vaccine (Zostavax), is the most promising existing medicine that could be repurposed to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Viagra (sildenafil) and a drug used to treat motor neurone disease (riluzole) also showed strong promise.  …

· In young children with type 1 diabetes, nearly all insulin-producing cells are destroyed before they can mature, helping explain why the condition is more aggressive and harder to manage in early childhood · Major breakthrough could redefine how type 1 diabetes is understood and treated, refocusing research and offering new ways to stop the condition before it starts Scientists have made a major breakthrough in understanding why type 1 diabetes is more aggressive in young children, offering…

Current NHS policies designed to improve care for people taking multiple medicines may not be effective, according to new research.   In England, more than one in seven people take five or more medicines daily, leading to growing concerns over the overuse of medicines – known as polypharmacy – because of potential side effects and patient harms.   The new study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and led by the universities of Exeter…

A delegation from the University of Exeter has met with the British High Commissioner to South Africa during a visit to showcase Exeter’s research successes in the country at the prestigious Oppenheimer Research Conference. University President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lisa Roberts, headed up the Exeter contingent during a six-day visit to the country. As well as meeting the British High Commissioner to South Africa, Anthony Phillipson, she attended the Oppenheimer Research Conference, where Exeter researchers presented their work…

New research has unravelled the mystery of how microscopic cilia coordinate to move and propel marine creatures through water. Cilia are tiny, hair-like protrusions found in many organisms, including humans and many aquatic animals. Almost all marine plankton have a life stage where they have cilia, which act like microscopic oars,  fundamental to the organism’s  ability to feed, move and disperse through water, avoid predators, and select suitable habitats. Proper coordination of cilia is essential for the normal…

New research has shown, for the first time, how mixtures of commonly used medications which end up in our waterways and natural environments might increase the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. When humans or animals take medications, as much as 90 per cent can pass through the body and into natural environments, via waste water, or run-off from fields, ending up in the ocean.  In the environment, this build-up of antibiotic medicines can accumulate to a strength sufficient…

As the threat of drug‑resistant fungal infections grows into a serious global health concern, the University of Exeter is taking decisive action with groundbreaking funding to tackle antifungal resistance. With an additional £1.1 million investment in its latest funding round, the University of Exeter’s pioneering FAILSAFE project has now directed a total of over £2.8 million in just one year to support 135 researchers worldwide. This fresh funding boost is empowering researchers to develop groundbreaking solutions that could…

Advanced DNA sequencing technologies and a new model of stem cell research has enabled an international team to discover a new type of diabetes in babies. The University of Exeter Medical School worked with Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Belgium and other partners to establish that mutations in the TMEM167A gene are responsible for a rare form of neonatal diabetes. Some babies develop diabetes before the age of six months. In over 85 per cent of cases this is due genetic…

An Exeter professor presented her new report on the impact of the pandemic on children and young people’s mental health when she gave evidence to the Government’s Covid Inquiry yesterday.   Professor Tamsin Newlove-Delgado, Associate Professor in Child Public Mental Health at the University of Exeter, worked with Professor Cathy Creswell at Oxford University on the report. It was written to assist the Inquiry in understanding the impact of the pandemic on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.…