The NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is supporting ‘National Walking Month’ (Walk to Work Week -13-17 May and Walk to School Week - 20-24 May). The NIHR PHR Programme, evaluates public health interventions to improve the health of public and has a number of projects currently in progress evaluating such interventions and schemes. The Programme is currently interested in receiving outline applications to the researcher-led work stream to meet recommendations in research identified in the recent NICE guidance on Walking and Cycling; the evaluation of health-related outcomes resulting from changes to local transport, including initiatives funded through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and interventions to encourage walking or cycling in both rural and/or urban settings; and the effect on different population groups and impact on health inequalities is of particular interest.

A new clinical trial is testing an ‘artificial pancreas’, with patients under the age of five, who are too young to recognise the warning signs of a drop in their blood. Using an off-the-shelf insulin pump and continuous glucose sensor, a computer algorithm controls their function in a closed-loop fashion, delivering the correct amount of insulin according to blood sugar levels. This has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of patients with Type 1 diabetes and significantly improve their quality of life. The glucose-responsive insulin delivery system has been trialled in adolescents, adults and pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes at the NIHR/ Wellcome Trust Cambridge Clinical Research Facility (CRF), and follow-on studies are on-going with these groups at home.

International Clinical Trials Day is celebrated around the world on or near 20 May each year, to commemorate the anniversary of the very first clinical trial by James Lind. As the main public funder of trials in the UK, the NIHR is undertaking a range of activities to support its trials portfolio and the researchers, clinicians and patients involved.

A paper authored by Dr Claire Packer, Beth Boddice and Dr Sue Simpson, of the NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre, titled ‘Regenerative medicine techniques in cardiovascular disease: where is the horizon?’ has been published in the journal Regenerative Medicine. The paper identifies emerging applications of regenerative techniques that have the potential to benefit patients with cardiovascular disease.

Researchers have found that after the age of 50 increasing body fat is associated with stiffer arteries in both men and women. In young people, blood vessels appear to be able to compensate for the effects of obesity. But after middle age, this adaptability is lost, and arteries become progressively stiffer as body fat rises – potentially increasing the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The research was funded by the MRC, the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, and the British Heart Foundation, and published in the journal Hypertension.

The NIHR Clinical Research Network, has launched a new service package to industry. The NIHR Clinical Research Network provides a number of services to help researchers from the commercial life-sciences industry to complete their studies successfully in the NHS in England. This includes help on site selection and feasibility, as well as patient recruitment through the Network’s large workforce of trained research nurses and clinical delivery staff based in hospitals and surgeries throughout the country. The new service has been designed to be quicker and easier to use, and has already been well received by companies that have tested it.

The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) has published ‘Our vision for research in the NHS’ alongside the findings of a survey of healthcare professionals' experiences of research in the NHS.

Working with children and young people with longstanding illness to establish consistent routines for medicine-taking, may help to overcome the barriers preventing adherence. The research, funded by the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research Programme, aimed to create a clearer picture of the reasons for non-adherence, by examining the interactions between patients, parents and practitioners. They found that a new consultation tool, the Talking About Medicines (TABS) intervention encourage children and young people to get more involved in the dialogue concerning their treatment leading them to feel more in control of their own health.

Research from King’s College London reveals the detailed mechanism behind how stress hormones reduce the number of new brain cells - a process considered to be linked to depression.  The researchers identified a key protein responsible for the long-term detrimental effect of stress on cells, and importantly, successfully used a drug compound to block this effect, offering a potential new avenue for drug discovery. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was co-funded by the NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. This novel mechanism may lead to new pharmacological treatments aimed at reducing the levels of SGK1 in depressed patients.

The Health Research Authority (HRA) has outlined plans for how it will play a leading role in ensuring clinical and other health research findings are published.

A study has found that the presence of cancer cells circulating in the blood could predict the outcome or prognosis of neuroendocrine cancer. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and supported by the NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, found that 49% of patients had at least one CTC (cells that have shed into the blood vessels from a primary tumour and circulate in the bloodstream), 42% had two or more CTCs, and 30% had five or more CTCs in 7.5 mL blood. CTC measurements are now being incorporated into trials of new therapies for neuroendocrine cancer. Additional studies are under way to characterise CTCs in terms of their mutational and gene expression profile and this may help to select the best treatment for individual patients in the future.

Teams at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded a BMJ award which recognises teams making measurable improvements in patient safety. The prestigious award was given for the Improving Medication Reconciliation at Discharge - closing the Loop (M@D) project. M@D is jointly supported by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the NIHR North West London Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care.

The Connecting People Intervention model study funded by the NIHR School for Social Care Research (SSCR), has received further funding from the Wellcome Trust and the University of York to explore the feasibility of adapting the Connecting People Intervention model for use in Sierra Leone. The new grant will fund a researcher on the NIHR SSCR-funded study to visit Sierra Leone in July 2013 to explore how social interventions can help to meet the needs of people with mental health problems. The study will use ethnographic methods to evaluate the feasibility of adapting the Connecting People Intervention model and developing a sustainable training programme.

Early-warning sensor systems that can test and track serious infectious diseases – such as major flu epidemics, MRSA and HIV – using mobile phones and the internet are being developed by a major new Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC) led by UCL and involving NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the NIHR Newcastle BRC. The new £11 million IRC, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will develop low cost, easy to use mobile phone-connected diagnostic tests based on advances in nanotechnology for use in GP surgeries, pharmacies, elderly care homes, developing countries and at home. The mobile tests aim to identify diseases with high sensitivity and specificity and give results within minutes from just a pin-prick of blood or a simple swab. Rapidly transmitting results into secure healthcare systems will alert doctors to potentially serious outbreaks with geographically linked information.

Research from King’s College London reveals the detailed mechanism behind how stress hormones reduce the number of new brain cells - a process considered to be linked to depression.  The researchers identified a key protein responsible for the long-term detrimental effect of stress on cells, and importantly, successfully used a drug compound to block this effect, offering a potential new avenue for drug discovery. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was co-funded by the NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. This discovery may lead to new pharmacological treatments aimed at reducing the levels of SGK1 in depressed patients.

Cambridge researchers have found that analysing the DNA that cancer tumours release into the bloodstream can enable the progress of cancer to be easily monitored. The DNA fingerprints can provide a quick, simple ‘liquid biopsy’ to track the progress of cancer tumours as well as the tumour’s resistance to cancer drugs. The research, which was supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, opens the door to using DNA – rather than proteins – as a much more reliable biomarker for a cancer’s growth, and could lead to better treatments.

invoDIRECT is a new online map on the INVOLVE website.  The map displays information on groups and organisations that support public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.

Visit invoDIRECT to:
• add details of your group or organisation so others can find out more about how you are supporting public involvement in research
• search for local and national UK groups and organisations
• find out about international groups and organisations supporting public involvement in research

A team of paediatricians, nurses and other staff based at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, have been shortlisted for a prestigious award in the Child Health Team of the Year category of this year’s British Medical Journal Improving Health Awards. The Award recognises important contributions to improve children’s health.

The team from Imperial College Healthcare was shortlisted for their work in leading the Itchy, Sneezy, Wheezy Project which was funded by the CLAHRC for North West London.

Exercise is not effective in reducing rates of depression among elderly care home residents, according to the findings of an National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programme study.

In a paper published in The Lancet, the research team conclude that in residential care settings alternative approaches to combatting the psychological symptoms of depression are required.

We have a number of vacancies for funding board members, panel members and panel chairs for the following health research programmes:

• Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme
• NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research (HS&DR) Programme
• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme

Applications are welcomed from people with a wide range of expertise, including clinical staff, service managers, health and public health professionals, subject experts and academics.

For further information and how to apply, please visit our vacancies page.
The closing date for applications is 1pm on 07 June 2013.

Hundreds of women with breast cancer living in England’s most deprived areas would have better survival rates if they were diagnosed at the same stage as those who lived in affluent areas. The study led by the University of Leicester, working with colleagues from Public Health England and the University of Cambridge, investigated how much of a difference late-stage diagnosis had on women from deprived areas. The research funded by Cancer Research UK and the NIHR, published in the International Journal of Cancer, highlights that important and significant improvements could be made in terms of the number of early deaths that are observed for women living in more deprived areas by concentrating on making sure these women are diagnosed earlier.

A new online tool to help UK patients manage their health by keeping track of the medicines they have been prescribed has been launched. My Medication Passport is available as either an Android or iPhone app, as well as a paper booklet, allowing patients or carers to record the names, doses, and timings for regular and as-needed medicines. Its features also allow users to add other details relevant to a patient's health, including as allergies and sensitivities, dates of vaccinations and screenings, home treatments, medication aids and hospital information. The Passport was development with patient involvement by the NIHR's Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for North West London in collaboration with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust to help facilitate the communication of medical information between patients and healthcare professionals. The project also had industry involvement from AstraZeneca, under a joint working agreement.

The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre is a £100m collaboration between Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and Oxford University to accelerate healthcare innovation. The annual open day provides an opportunity for the public to learn about the work the BRC is undertaking to tackle major healthcare challenges including stroke, cancer, diabetes, dementia and heart disease, and improve healthcare.

The NIHR Sheffield Clinical Research Facility is asking relatives of people with Type 1 Diabetes to take part in clinical research, which involves having a blood test and providing some family history, to help protect future generations from the disease. It is hoped that the finding will enable people to know if they are at risk because of a family link, before symptoms appear. The South Yorkshire TrialNet study is part of an international research programme originating from the United States, and is a partnership between Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the NIHR’s South East Midlands Diabetes Research Network and South Yorkshire Comprehensive Local Research Network.

NIHR CRN launches BrightTALK channel on clinical research
The NIHR’s Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) has launched an online channel on BrightTALK, the webinar service for professionals and their communities. Broadcasting one webinar per month, the NIHR CRN is using the BrightTALK channel at bit.ly/CRNBrightTALKChannel to present live and pre-recorded webinars on topics that promote the work carried out by the Network, both to research-industry professionals and others with an interest in clinical research. Future programmes will feature a guide to the NIHR CRN’s services as well as tutorials on gaining NHS permission and using the new research feasibility services.

One in five elderly people living in care homes may be living with undiagnosed heart failure, according to research published in the European Journal of Heart Failure. The study conducted by Durham University, Darlington Memorial Hospital and The James Cook University Hospital, and funded by the NIHR’s Research for Patient Benefit Programme suggests heart failure, and the accurate diagnosis of it, is a much bigger problem in care homes than previously believed with people’s quality of life severely affected. The researchers diagnosed heart failure in almost a quarter of the residents within the study with the vast majority of these cases previously undiagnosed. The study also found that three quarters of previously recorded cases of heart failure were misdiagnosed.

Doctors in Southampton have discovered that protecting babies from highly allergenic foods and dust mites in their first year of life can prevent the development of asthma during childhood. In a groundbreaking study, Professor Hasan Arshad|, a consultant in allergy at Southampton General Hospital, found that a child's risk of developing the condition is reduced by more than half if their contact with common triggers of allergy from birth to 12 months is controlled. The research, published in the journal Thorax undertaken by the NIHR’s Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit

Oxford University researchers have found that severe and life-threatening complications in pregnancy can have a big impact on fathers as well as mothers. The researchers spoke to couples who had been through this, to compile a new resource for the award-winning patient website www.healthtalkonline.org covering life-threatening conditions in childbirth and pregnancy. Other points that emerged from the interviews included the huge difference that little examples of thoughtful care from doctors and midwives could make to how couples coped when emergency care was needed around the time of the birth of their child.
The Oxford University researchers from the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) and the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, funded by a NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research, interviewed 35 women who experienced a life-threatening complication during childbirth, and 11 fathers or partners, to find out more about their experiences and their long-term impact.

The NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC) has a number of vacancies for funding board members, panel members and panel chairs for the following health research programmes:
• Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme
• NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research (HS&DR) Programme
• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme
Applications are welcomed from people with a wide range of expertise, including clinical staff, service managers, health and public health professionals, subject experts and academics.

The closing date for applications is 1pm on 7 June 2013.

Scientists from the University of Manchester have identified 14 new genes which could have important consequences for future treatments of childhood arthritis. This study led by the Inflammatory Arthritis in Children team at the NIHR Manchester Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit brought together an international group of scientists from around the world and is the largest investigation into the genetics of childhood arthritis to date. The research published in Nature Genetics, which looked at DNA extracted from blood and saliva samples of 2,000 children with childhood arthritis and compared these to healthy people. The discovery may help to predict which children need specific treatment earlier and allow for better control pain management, and improved quality of life and long-term outcome.