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Research carried out at the University of Aberdeen has directly resulted in a new therapy for stroke patients who have suffered partial sight loss. The sight rehabilitation device developed through the research has so far been used to treat around 300 UK stroke patients, who reported significant improvements in their quality of life. The therapy has been publicized by the UK Stroke Association and at national and international events. The research also led to commercial impacts through the creation of a spin-out company, Sight Science Ltd, which was later acquired by its only worldwide competitor, NovaVision Inc, protecting jobs and forging a long-term commercial partnership.
The specific impacts on commerce have been: substantial industrial investment in research and development, job creation and protection within UK industry, commercialisation of a new product, and long term partnership contract with industry with provisions for commercialisation of future products.
Dizziness is a common presenting symptom in general practice, neurology, ENT and old age medicine. Chronic dizziness in particular has a major impact on the individual and health service resources. Imperial College researchers have shown that the best treatment, from primary to tertiary care, is balance rehabilitation. Imperial researchers have provided the scientific basis for understanding a common form of chronic dizziness triggered by visual movement, which we labelled and is now known as "visual vertigo". We have developed an effective desensitization treatment program for this condition which is acknowledged in a Department of Health (DoH) "Good practice guide" document in 2009. The new desensitization treatment has now been adopted by rehabilitation professionals worldwide.
Up to 10% of stroke patients experience persistent hemispatial neglect, a lack of perception of space in one half of their visual field, despite their eyesight functioning properly. University of Glasgow researcher Dr. Monika Harvey has led the development of a vision rehabilitation method that was implemented by German stroke units (2011) and applied to over 60 stroke patients. In July 2011 Harvey formulated content for an advanced training module called `Vision after Stroke', a Scottish Government supported online training resource for stroke healthcare professionals provided by the Stroke Training and Awareness Resources (STARs) Project. In just eight months since launch (December 2012) the module series has had 17 473 unique visitors nationally and internationally with `Vision after Stroke' the second most popular module in Scotland. To date, 152 healthcare professionals have successfully completed the `Vision after Stroke' module certificate.
Research on Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) at the University of Sheffield has resulted in both health and commercial impacts. The research has led to a new drug treatment, Chronocort®, being developed for CAH. Chronocort® has been tested in CAH patients with the positive outcome of improved disease control.
Commercial impact arose from the creation of a spin-out company, Diurnal Ltd, in 2004 which has raised investment of £3.8M since 2008, including £0.4M from pharmaceutical industry sources, and (as an SME partner) a €5.6M Framework 7 grant to develop a paediatric treatment for CAH. Diurnal has created five new jobs and has contracts with six UK companies worth £2.7M.
Research by Dr Alex Leff at the UCL Institute of Neurology in collaboration with UCL Multimedia, has led to the development of two free online therapies for stroke patients with visual deficits. Read-Right (launched June 2010) treats patients with hemianopic alexia (the commonest acquired reading disorder) and Eye-Search (launched September 2012) treats spatial disorientation and visual search impairment. The websites contain: 1) diagnostic tests, 2) therapy, and 3) interval tests. These materials have been developed from peer-reviewed research. The websites are also research tools; patients sign an online consent form and their data are used to test whether online therapy actually works. At 31 July 2013, 657 patients were using Read-Right and 217 Eye-Search.
Congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) are inherited neuromuscular disorders caused by defects at neuromuscular junctions, which are often a result of acetylcholine receptor gene mutations. A subset of CMS patients (around 14% in the US and Europe) have limb-girdle myasthenia (LGM). This disease can be highly disabling with symptoms including increasing weakness of skeletal muscles. As a result of collaborative work between Newcastle and Oxford, it was determined that many LGM patients have a mutation of the Dok-7 gene (unrelated to the acetylholine receptor), and do not, therefore, respond to standard CMS treatments. Since then, a number of additional mutations have been discovered, and genetic testing is now available for the majority of known LGM-causative genes. Crucially, Dok-7 patients, and those with other non-receptor related mutations, can now be diagnosed accurately and treated effectively, with ephedrine and salbutamol (in the US, albuterol). This significantly improves these patients' quality of life by enabling them to walk and breathe unassisted.
Dizziness is one of the most common presenting symptoms in General Practice, Ear Nose and Throat and neurology clinics. Chronic dizziness in particular has a major impact on individual and health service resources. Researchers at King's College London (KCL) have developed an effective exercise-based rehabilitation programme incorporating optokinetic stimulation to treat a specific form of chronic dizziness, visual vertigo. This programme has been adopted by audiology and physiotherapy services across the UK and is now being adopted internationally and commercialized. The work of KCL researchers is also reflected by inclusion in information and continued educational activities with regard to visual vertigo.
Dialysis has revolutionised the management of End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD), but the benefits of this invasive, demanding treatment may not be clear-cut for elderly, frail patients with other serious comorbidities. University of Hertfordshire and East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust researchers have led the development of Conservative Management, an alternative to dialysis for some patients, providing multidisciplinary support and careful symptomatic management until death. The research shows that quality of life is maintained, survival may not be significantly compromised, and preferred place of death is more often achieved than for counterparts on dialysis. Conservative Management programmes have been adopted across the UK and elsewhere, influencing the care of many patients.
As a result of University of Sheffield research in 1995-2002, a new gold standard treatment for major bleeding on warfarin has been established, ensuring the more effective treatment of tens of thousands of patients requiring emergency anticoagulation reversal each year in the UK alone. The treatment, using prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) was demonstrated to be superior to fresh frozen plasma (FFP), the standard alternative at the time, and two PCCs have now been licensed for this indication in the UK.
UK and international guidelines now recommend PCC over FFP.
Research at UCL firmly established tacrolimus as the optimal calcineurin inhibitor to use in immunosuppressive regimens following liver transplantation. Compared to ciclosporin its use improved graft survival by 6% and patient survival by 7%. Assuming 550 liver transplants per year in the UK since 2008, we can estimate that, with 90% of patients treated with tacrolimus and 10% ciclosporin, tacrolimus-based immunosuppression has resulted in 165 grafts and 192 lives being saved during the period 2008-13.