Log in
Research at the University of Manchester (UoM) has changed the landscape of medical care and research in fungal infections internationally. The impacts include: the world's first commercialised molecular diagnostic products for aspergillosis and Pneumocystis pneumonia (£10m investment); pivotal contributions to the preclinical development (£35m investment), clinical developments and registrations of 3 new antifungals with combined market share of ~$2 billion; one (voriconazole, 2012 sales >$750m worldwide) now first line therapy for invasive aspergillosis with improved survival of 15-20%; and internationally validated methods to detect azole resistance in Aspergillus (an emerging problem partly related to environmental spraying of azole fungicides for crop protection).
Falls are a common (30-40% >65 year olds fall each year) and important age-related health problem costing the NHS and social care >£5.6m each day. University of Manchester research has contributed to reducing the burden of falls worldwide.
We demonstrated that falls are better predictors of fracture than bone mineral density. We developed an effective intervention, reducing falls amongst older people by 30%; identified barriers to service use, and approaches to increasing uptake and adherence; and developed a fear of falling instrument (FES-I), now translated into 30+ languages and widely used in clinical practice.
By 2012, 54% NHS Trusts used training programmes based on our research. It moulded service provision nationally and internationally, changing the emphasis of how falls prevention services are presented, from "reducing risk" to "improving/maintaining independence".
People who develop psychosis (1% of population) typically experience lengthy delays (months to years) before treatment. Researchers at the University of Manchester (UoM) established a concrete and significant association between delay in treatment of the first episode of psychosis and outcome. We demonstrated that outcome of psychosis could be improved considerably if these lengthy delays were reduced. This research influenced policy and practice in the UK and abroad. Policy changes included the establishment of early psychosis teams dedicated to early detection and treatment (50 in England alone). Practice changes included amendments to clinical guidelines in the UK and abroad that now require clinicians to respond urgently to a first episode of psychosis. These changes to clinical practice have increased the proportion of patients with a short DUP from 55.6 to 77.4%.
Schizophrenia affects 1 in 100 people, with costs to society of £12 billion in England alone. Prevalence is similar across the world, with two thirds of people experiencing relapses despite medical treatment. Researchers at the University of Manchester (UoM) pioneered and disseminated psychological interventions for schizophrenia and related mental health problems which have led to improved outcomes for patients and families (e.g. 20% improvement in symptoms over standard treatment). We have implemented and delivered our intervention protocols, outcome measures, treatment manuals, and training programmes (with over 200 training courses delivered across the UK, Europe, USA, Asia, Australia and Africa). The impact of the research has been commended nationally and internationally by professional bodies (e.g., British Psychological Society, American Association of Behavior Therapy).
WHO estimates that 600 million school-age children need deworming treatment and preventive intervention.
The University of Manchester (UoM) Immunology Group delivered an educational programme on the immune response and biology of parasitic worm infections in areas where worm infections are most prevalent, including Uganda and Pakistan, and with UK immigrant communities.
International benefits include health worker and educator training, which is critical for improving the understanding of worm infection and distribution of health education messages to endemic communities. Nationwide engagement activities provided immigrant communities and school pupils with improved awareness of global health issues and a greater understanding of immunology, and have inspired some participants to pursue careers in science.
Lung cancer is the commonest cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The University of Manchester (UoM) Lung Cancer Group has generated insights that underpin new standards of care in the treatment of advanced, metastatic small cell (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), contributed to the results required for licensing of new drugs and secured approval for new treatment regimens now in routine clinical use internationally. Key contributions include an increase in survival of 23% in advanced NSCLC with the use of chemotherapy and doubling one-year survival from 13% to 27% in patients with incurable, extensive stage SCLC by the use of prophylactic cranial irradiation. The Group's research has impacted on outcomes for thousands of patients worldwide.
Although, by definition, individually rare, the cumulative burden of `rare disease' is significant, with as many as 3m affected individuals in the UK. The University of Manchester (UoM) has an exceptional record in rare disease gene identification, with 29 such genes defined since 1993. This research paved the way for clinical diagnostic testing for patients and their families, demonstrating the immediate translational impact of gene discovery. The research has resulted in a reduced diagnostic burden for patients and health services and has enabled the provision of more effective counselling. Testing for genes identified at UoM is now offered in more than 140 laboratories in more than 30 countries worldwide. More than 1,100 patients have been tested for mutations in TCOF1, BEST1, IRF6, SAMHD1 and C9ORF72 in UK NHS laboratories alone.
Research at the University of Manchester (UoM) has, and continues to have, a direct impact on pharmacy policy and practice. From 1993, our work on the contribution of pharmacists to primary health care has helped improve patients' access to medicines and pharmacies. Our `Care@TheChemist' trial led to changes in the national pharmaceutical contract and now almost 5,000 pharmacies offer the service to several million primary care patients. Our skill mix research is used to inform regulatory control of pharmacies and our wider workforce research continues to inform national governments about how to forecast future requirements for pharmacist numbers.
Patient safety research from Manchester Pharmacy School at the University of Manchester (UoM) has reduced prescription errors in primary and secondary care. Pharmacists using our indicators with patients' electronic health records (aimed at preventing drug-related morbidity in general practices) reduced the odds of prescribing and monitoring problems by at least 22%. These indicators are now incorporated into `medicines optimisation' software for general practice computer systems. The EQUIP study led changes in the recommended design of hospital prescription charts, an annual national assessment of prescribing competence of medical students and the employment of extra hospital pharmacists to prevent the 9% of prescriptions with errors from harming patients.
Depression and anxiety are common, cause significant disability and are costly to the individual, the NHS and wider society. UK management of depression and anxiety has been revolutionised as a result of our research at the University of Manchester (UoM) on low intensity psychological interventions (cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) based Guided Self-Help (GSH)) which is the primary form of care for hundreds of thousands of people with depression and anxiety disorders (including generalised anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder) through the "Improving Access to Psychological Therapies" (IAPT) scheme. Between 2009 and 2012 more than one million people used the new services, recovery rates are in excess of 45% and consequently 45,000 people have moved off benefits.