Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

New potential treatment target for inflammatory bowel disease patients

Research

A new study could change the lives of millions of people living with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) who don’t respond to the current standard of care.

Inflamed mouse colon mucosa, with an expanded population of intestinal stromal cells. Image courtesy of Dr. Samuel Bullers.

Researchers at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology and Translational Gastroenterology Unit, University of Oxford have identified a potential therapeutic target for IBD. The findings are of particular importance to the 40% of patients who don’t respond to anti-TNF therapy, the current treatment option available.

The new study published in Nature Medicine shows that IBD patients have higher concentrations of Oncostatin M (OSM), a protein linked to inflammation, in their intestine and suggest that blocking OSM could prove to be a successful treatment for IBD.

Read more

Similar stories

Asthma drug budesonide shortens recovery time in non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19

Clinical Trials Coronavirus COVID-19 Research

Inhaled budesonide, a common corticosteroid, is the first widely available, inexpensive drug found to shorten recovery times in COVID-19 patients aged over 50 who are treated at home and in other community settings, reports the PRINCIPLE trial in 1,779 participants.

Link between COVID-19 infection and subsequent mental health and neurological conditions found

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

One in three COVID-19 survivors received a neurological or psychiatric diagnosis within six months of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, an observational study of more than 230,000 patient health records published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal estimates. The study looked at 14 neurological and mental health disorders.

Cognitive behavioural therapy: we discovered a data gap on its effectiveness for different ethnic groups

General Research

New national study of long-term impacts of debilitating lung damage from COVID-19

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

A new national study will investigate the long-term effects of lung inflammation and scarring from COVID-19. The study, launched with £2 million of funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), aims to develop treatment strategies and prevent disability.

Opportunities for final goodbyes must be prioritised in COVID-19 pandemic

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

Bereaved relatives described the ongoing pain of being absent at the end of a loved-one's life. Many had not seen their relative for weeks or months due to the pandemic. Opportunities must be prioritised for essential connections between families at end-of-life care.

New study shows overwhelming public support for donating vaccines to low-income countries

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

A survey led by Nuffield Department of Population Health's Health Economics Research Centre has found that most people in high-income countries support donating some of their country’s COVID-19 vaccine supplies to low-income nations who would otherwise struggle to gain access.