̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Papworth Hospital

Tiny golden bullets could help tackle asbestos-related cancers

cjb250 — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 11:10:12 +0000

In a study published today in journal Small, the researchers demonstrate that once inside the cancer cells, the nanotubes absorb light, causing them to heat up, thereby killing the cells.

More than 2,600 people are diagnosed in the UK each year with mesothelioma, a malignant form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Although the use of asbestos is outlawed in the UK now, the country has the world’s highest levels of mesothelioma because it imported vast amounts of asbestos in the post-war years. ̽��ֱ��global usage of asbestos remains high, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, which means mesothelioma will become a global problem.

“Mesothelioma is one of the ‘hard-to-treat’ cancers, and the best we can offer people with existing treatments is a few months of extra survival,” said Dr Arsalan Azad from the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. “There’s an important unmet need for new, effective treatments.”

In 2018, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge was awarded £10million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to help develop engineering solutions, including nanotech, to find ways to address hard-to-treat cancers.

In a collaboration between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and ̽��ֱ�� of Leeds, researchers have developed a form of gold nanotubes whose physical properties are ‘tunable’ – in other words, the team can tailor the wall thickness, microstructure, composition, and ability to absorb particular wavelengths of light.

̽��ֱ��researchers added the nanotubes to mesothelioma cells cultured in the lab and found that they were absorbed by the cells, residing close to the nucleus, where the cell’s DNA lies. When the team targeted the cells with a laser, the nanotubes absorbed the light and heated up, killing the mesothelioma cell.

Professor Stefan Marciniak, also from the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research and a Fellow at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, added: “ ̽��ֱ��mesothelioma cells ‘eat’ the nanotubes, leaving them susceptible when we shine light on them. Laser light is able to penetrate deep into tissue without causing damage to surrounding tissue. It then gets absorbed by the nanotubes, which heat up and, we hope in the future, could be used to cause localised cancer-cell killing.”

̽��ֱ��team will be developing the work further to ensure the nanotubes are targeted to cancer cells with less effect on normal tissue.

̽��ֱ��nanotubes are made in a two-step process. First, solid silver nanorods are created of the desired diameter. Gold is then deposited from solution onto the surface of the silver. As the gold builds-up at the surface, the silver dissolves from the inside to leave a hollow nanotube.

̽��ֱ��approach advanced by the Leeds team allows these nanotubes to be developed at room temperature, which should make their manufacture at scale more feasible.

Professor Stephen Evans from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the ̽��ֱ�� of Leeds said: “Having control over the size and shape of the nanotubes allows us to tune them to absorb light where the tissue is transparent and will allow them to be used for both the imaging and treatment of cancers. ̽��ֱ��next stage will be to load these nanotubes with medicines for enhanced therapies.”

̽��ֱ��research was funded by the British Lung Foundation, Victor Dahdaleh Foundation, National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Alpha1-Foundation, Medical Research Council and the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council.

Reference
Ye, S & Azad, AA et al. Exploring High Aspect Ratio Gold Nanotubes as Cytosolic Agents: Structural Engineering and Uptake into Mesothelioma Cells. Small; 25 Oct 2020: DOI: 10.1002/smll.2003793

Gold nanotubes – tiny hollow cylinders one thousandth the width of a human hair – could be used to treat mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, according to a team of researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Leeds.

Mesothelioma is one of the ‘hard-to-treat’ cancers, and the best we can offer people with existing treatments is a few months of extra survival. There’s an important unmet need for new, effective treatments

Arsalan Azad

Confocal fluorescence image of gold nanotures (green) in mesothelioma cells

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Cambridge to lead national consortium examining immune response to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 13:31:02 +0000

̽��ֱ��study is one of three new UK-wide studies receiving a share of £8.4 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

̽��ֱ��Humoral Immune Correlates of COVID-19 (HICC) consortium will study the humoral immune response - molecules produced by the immune system to fight infection, including antibodies – by focusing on two cohorts: NHS workers - in collaboration with SIREN - to track immunity over 12 months, and hospitalised patients.

It will look in detail at the role of antibodies in immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and characterize the antibody response in people who have mild or asymptomatic infection versus those who develop moderate or severe COVID-19 disease. ̽��ֱ��researchers want to better understand the differences between beneficial - or protective - antibody responses versus those that cause disease. This will help to determine why early indications suggest that people with stronger antibody responses may have had more life-threatening disease and what types of antibody responses are more effective in preventing severe infection.

̽��ֱ��results from the study will help to develop better tests to diagnose protective immunity as well as determine how long protective antibodies persist after exposure to the virus. ̽��ֱ��researchers also hope the study will inform treatments for COVID-19 patients at different stages and with different severities of the disease, including whether targeting the overactivation of the innate humoral immune response – known as the ‘complement system’ – to SARS-CoV-2, could provide a unique approach to reducing severe COVID-19 related disease and death.

̽��ֱ��consortium is a collaboration led by Professor Wilhelm Schwaeble and Professor Jonathan Heeney at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and Dr Helen Baxendale at the Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Trust.

“Understanding the role of antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2, and the role that the overactivation of the immediate innate immune response to the virus plays through complement activation in the initiation and maintenance of inflammatory disease, is critical to improve the clinical management of life-threatening cases of COVID-19,” said Dr Baxendale.

“In critical care, we know most patients have high levels of antibody to SARS-CoV-2 however what we don’t know is whether these antibodies are helpful. Pilot data has shown that many of our NHS staff have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, but we need to find out whether this means they are protected from further infection either in the short or the long term, or may be at risk of disease in the future. Understanding the different types of antibody responses will allow us to determine beneficial antibodies from dangerous ones.

“Collaborating nationally with other UK COVID-19 projects and supported by clinical research networks and scientists across the country, we are delighted to receive this investment to answer these fundamentally important questions.”

HICC has been given urgent public health research status by the Department of Health and Social Care, to prioritise its delivery by the health and care system.

Chief Medical Officer for England and Head of the NIHR Professor Chris Whitty said: “Understanding how our immune systems respond to COVID-19 is key to solving some of the important questions about this new disease, including whether those who have had the disease develop immunity and how long this lasts, and why some are more severely affected.

“This investment by the NIHR and UKRI will help immunology experts to discover how our immune systems respond to SARS-CoV-2, including our T cell response. This is vital information to help prevent and treat the disease.”

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “Thanks to the brilliant work of our world-leading scientists and researchers, we continue to gain greater knowledge and understanding of coronavirus, enabling us to rapidly develop new treatments, as well as potential new vaccines.”

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital have secured £1.5million of funding as part of the national effort by UK immunologists to understand immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Tim Dennell

Sheffield's Women of Steel - COVID-19: We can beat this

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Recruitment underway as Cambridgeshire NHS trusts join COVID-19 vaccine trial

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 07:49:43 +0000

̽��ֱ��COV002 trial, developed by the ̽��ֱ�� of Oxford, aims to assess how well people across a broad range of ages could be protected from COVID-19 using a new vaccine called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. It will also provide valuable information on safety of the vaccine and its ability to generate good immune responses against the virus.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT), Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are recruiting healthy staff aged between 18-55 years old who have not been infected with coronavirus but have regular face-to-face contact with COVID-19 patients, to take part in the trial.

Eligible participants will be randomised to receive one dose of either the trial vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) or a licensed meningitis vaccine (MenACWY) that will be used as a ‘control’ for comparison. Following vaccination, participants will be followed up over 12 months.

Dr Estée Török from the Department of Medicine at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Principal Investigator at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Developing an effective vaccine is key to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. We are delighted to be working with CPFT and Royal Papworth on this UK national priority vaccine trial. We are looking for healthy volunteers at high risk of COVID-19 infection at CUH to participate in this study and are most grateful to them for doing so.”

Dr Ben Underwood, Deputy Medical Director and Principal Investigator (study lead) at CPFT said: “We are grateful to all our staff for their brilliant response to the coronavirus pandemic. Our research teams are playing a vital role in international efforts to secure a vaccine, which we hope will protect those most at risk, save more lives and minimise the disruption caused by the virus. Thank you to all volunteers who take part and make clinical trials possible.”

Dr Robert Rintoul, Director, Papworth Trials Unit Collaboration, and Reader in Thoracic Oncology at the Department of Oncology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “We at Royal Papworth Hospital are proud to be supporting research into possible vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. I would like to thank our staff members who have chosen to participate in this important public health project.”

Adapted from a press release by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Health Partners.

Recruitment has begun at three leading Cambridgeshire NHS Trusts for volunteers to take part in the nationwide COVID-19 vaccine trial.

Developing an effective vaccine is key to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic

Estee Torok

geralt

Coronavirus

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Ground-breaking ceremony celebrates start of construction work on new Heart and Lung Research Institute in Cambridge

cjb250 — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 10:23:56 +0000

̽��ֱ��HLRI, a joint venture between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, aims to focus on collaboration between research and its clinical use in treating patients for chronic diseases such as heart attacks, cystic fibrosis, atrial fibrillation and pulmonary hypertension.

In the UK, one in every four deaths is caused by cardiovascular disease and 20% of deaths by respiratory disease. Despite a growing awareness of risk factors, such as smoking and poor diet, the prevalence of such diseases is increasing.

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease causes nearly 18 million deaths per year, mostly due to heart attacks and stroke, with respiratory disease just behind. ̽��ֱ��combined worldwide cost of this is more than £840billion each year.

“ ̽��ֱ��Heart and Lung Research Institute is an incredible opportunity to bring together the ̽��ֱ��’s expertise in cardiovascular and respiratory science and Royal Papworth Hospital’s expertise in treating heart and lung disease,” said Professor Nick Morrell from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, who is Interim Director of the Institute.

“Heart and lung diseases affect many millions of people worldwide and the numbers are growing. Institutes such as ours, focused on these big health challenges, are urgently needed. ̽��ֱ��discoveries made by our researchers will deliver major benefits to the public through improvements in public health, new approaches to diagnosing and treating disease, and new medicines.”

Features of the Institute include: a new laboratory space; a clinical research facility; a collaboration space for link-ups between academia, healthcare providers and industry; and education facilities such as seminar rooms and a lecture theatre. It will also include a special 10-bed facility where the first-in-patient studies of new treatments can be conducted.

Professor John Wallwork, Chairman of Royal Papworth, added: “ ̽��ֱ��Heart and Lung Research Institute will mean new treatments will be created, tested and delivered to tackle the biggest causes of premature death in the world all on one site. It will also allow us to provide much more education and training to clinicians tackling heart and lung disease worldwide.

“This will be a huge step forward and demonstrates one of the reasons Royal Papworth Hospital moved to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus – to collaborate with the best researchers in the world to help to save lives. Through the Heart and Lung Research Institute, we will be able to make even quicker progress in bringing tomorrow’s treatments to today’s patients.”

Funding for HLRI is being provided by the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, which has contributed £30m, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and the Wolfson Foundation. ̽��ֱ��British Heart Foundation has donated £10m towards the project and Royal Papworth Hospital Charity has launched its largest ever appeal to raise £5m.

Professor Wallwork added: “Every day at Royal Papworth Hospital we see the positive impact that research can have for patients with heart and lung disease, both in terms of improving life expectancy and quality of life. We have already received a number of generous donations from Royal Papworth Hospital patients and their families in support of the Heart and Lung Research Institute and will be working hard to raise additional funds over the next few years.”

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation said: “Through this funding we will help create a fantastic centre that will have a key role in driving forward our ambitious programme of heart and circulatory research. By bringing together world-leading scientists it will enable exciting opportunities for collaboration between researchers from different disciplines. And it will also accelerate the transformation of discoveries in the laboratory to treatments available at patients’ bedside.

“This grant is one of the largest the BHF has ever made and we have only been able to make this investment because of the incredible generosity of the public.”

̽��ֱ��Cystic Fibrosis Trust has also committed to raise up to £5million to fund the Cystic Fibrosis Innovation Hub, which launched last year and will transfer to the new building once it has been completed. AstraZeneca will pursue integrated research programmes with the Institute to maximise translational impact.

Groundwork began back in October 2019 with construction starting in January 2020. Piling work for the 22m deep foundations is currently underway, including the formation of a tunnel, which will link the HLRI to neighbouring Royal Papworth Hospital.

There are currently 35 people working on the site with that number due to reach more than 150 at the peak of construction, which is set for completion in early 2022.

Press release from Royal Papworth Hospital.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital held an official ground-breaking ceremony at the new Heart and Lung Research Institute (HLRI) in Cambridge earlier today. ̽��ֱ��Institute is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and will create the largest cardiothoracic centre for research, education, industry collaboration, and clinical care in Europe.

̽��ֱ��Heart and Lung Research Institute is an incredible opportunity to bring together the ̽��ֱ��’s expertise in cardiovascular and respiratory science and Royal Papworth Hospital’s expertise in treating heart and lung disease

Nick Morrell

Royal Papworth Hospital

Groundbreaking for the new Heart and Lung Research Institute

Yes

Cambridge Heart and Lung Research Institute receives major funding boost

cjb250 — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 15:10:21 +0000

̽��ֱ��Institute will draw together the highest concentration of heart and lung researchers from academia, healthcare and industry in Europe. It has set an ambitious five-year target to demonstrate proof-of-concept for at least ten new drugs or diagnostic approaches in heart and lung diseases.

̽��ֱ��HLRI will be situated next to Royal Papworth Hospital, which was officially opened by HM the Queen on 9 July, and forms part of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States of America. It will be home to over 380 scientists and state-of-the-art laboratories in genomics, population sciences, research into cellular mechanisms of disease and translational science. It will also include a special ten bed facility where the first-in-patient studies of new treatments can be conducted.

“This is an incredibly exciting project bringing together world-renowned expertise in cardiovascular and respiratory science at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� and clinical excellence at Royal Papworth Hospital,” says Professor Nick Morrell from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Interim Director of the institute and a non-Executive Director of Royal Papworth Hospital.

“Heart and lung diseases affect many millions of people of people worldwide and the numbers are growing. Institutes such as ours, focussed on these big health challenges, are urgently needed. ̽��ֱ��discoveries made by our researchers will deliver major benefits to the public through improvements in public health, new approaches to diagnosing and treating disease, and new medicines.”

Professor John Wallwork, Chairman of Royal Papworth Hospital, said: “ ̽��ֱ��Heart and Lung Research Institute will mean new treatments will be created, tested and delivered to tackle the biggest causes of premature death in the world all on one site. This will be a huge step forward and demonstrates one of the reasons Royal Papworth Hospital moved to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus – to collaborate with the best researchers in the world to help to save lives. ̽��ֱ��importance of this building cannot be underestimated and I can’t wait to see how it will transform healthcare in the years to come.”

Image: Cambridge Heart and Lung Research Institute (artist's impression)

̽��ֱ��award is one of 11 announced from flagship capital investment scheme the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, totalling over £670m of new investment into UK research and innovation. It complements £10 million of funding committed to the institute by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Further funding will be provided by the ̽��ֱ�� and Royal Papworth Hospital, and the Wolfson Foundation.

̽��ֱ��BHF award, which contributes to the capital cost of the building, is one of the charity’s largest ever strategic award. ̽��ֱ��charity has also committed an additional £6m in funding for the BHF Cambridge Centre for Cardiovascular Research Excellence, which will be housed in the institute.

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Through this funding we will help create a fantastic centre that will have a key role in driving forward our ambitious programme of heart and circulatory research. By bringing together world-leading scientists it will enable exciting opportunities for collaboration between researchers from different disciplines. And it will also accelerate the transformation of discoveries in the laboratory to treatments available at patients’ bedside.

“This grant is one of the largest the BHF has ever made and we have only been able to make this investment because of the incredible generosity of the public.”

̽��ֱ��Cystic Fibrosis Trust has also committed to raise up to £5 million to fund the Cystic Fibrosis Innovation Hub, which launched last year and will transfer to the new building once it has been completed. Both AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline will also embed integrated research hubs in the Institute to maximise translational impact.

Work on the HLRI will begin almost immediately, with ground-breaking taking place in November 2019 and construction starting in early 2020.

Without further medical advances, an estimated one in four people in the UK will die from heart or circulatory disease, while one in five will die from lung disease. Combined, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases cost over £840 billion worldwide every year.

Chris Skidmore, Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, announced on 10 July 2019 a £30 million award to the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge to support the new Cambridge Heart and Lung Research Institute (HLRI).

This is an incredibly exciting project bringing together world-renowned expertise in cardiovascular and respiratory science at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� and clinical excellence at the Royal Papworth Hospital

Nick Morrell

Cambridge Heart and Lung Research Institute (artist's impression)

Yes

Multi-drug resistant infection spreading globally among cystic fibrosis patients

cjb250 — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 19:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��study, led by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, also suggests that conventional cleaning will not be sufficient to eliminate the pathogen, which can be transmitted through contaminated surfaces or in the air.

Mycobacterium abscessus, a species of multidrug resistant mycobacteria, has recently emerged as a significant global threat to individuals with cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases. It can cause a severe pneumonia leading to accelerated inflammatory damage to the lungs, and may prevent safe lung transplantation. It is also extremely difficult to treat – fewer than one in three cases is treated successfully.

It was previously thought that patients acquired the infection from the environment and that transmission between patients never occurred. ̽��ֱ��research team had previously studied one specialist CF centre in the UK and identified genetic and epidemiological evidence suggesting person-to-person transmission of M. abscessus but it was unclear whether this was a one off incident.

Now, by sequencing the whole genomes of over 1,000 isolates of mycobacteria from 517 individuals attending CF specialist centres in Europe, the US and Australia, researchers have demonstrated that the majority of CF patients have acquired transmissible forms of M. abscessus that have spread globally. Further analysis suggests that the infection may be transmitted within hospitals via contaminated surfaces and through airborne transmission. This presents a potentially serious challenge to infection control practices in hospitals.

Using a combination of cell-based and mouse models, the researchers showed that the recently-evolved mycobacteria were more virulent, likely to cause more serious disease in patients.

“This mycobacterium can cause very serious infections that are extremely challenging to treat, requiring combination treatment with multiple antibiotics for 18 months or longer,” says Professor Andres Floto from the Department of Medicine, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and the Cambridge Centre for Lung Infection at Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. “ ̽��ֱ��bug initially seems to have entered the patient population from the environment, but we think it has recently evolved to become capable of jumping from patient to patient, getting more virulent as it does so.”

Professor Julian Parkhill from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute at Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, adds: “Our research should provide a degree of hope: now that we know the extent of the problem and are beginning to understand how the infection spreads, we can start to respond. Our work has already helped inform infection control policies and provides the means to monitor the effectiveness of these.”

̽��ֱ��Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre at Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire, has led the development and implementation of new infection control policies to reduce the risk of transmission, now adopted across the UK and elsewhere. This study has also influenced the design of a new CF unit, due to open within the New Papworth Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in 2018, which will incorporate a state-of-the-art air handling system.

One question that the researchers will now aim to answer is how the pathogen manages to spread globally. Their current study has shown that not only can it spread between individuals within specialist centres, but it has also been able to spread from continent to continent. ̽��ֱ��mechanism for this is unclear, but the researchers speculate that healthy individuals may be unwittingly carrying the mycobacteria between countries.

̽��ֱ��sequencing data has also revealed potential new drug targets, and the team is now focused on working with other groups at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Colorado State ̽��ֱ�� to develop these further.

Dr Janet Allen, Director of Strategic Innovation at the CF Trust, said: “This paper highlights the risks posed through transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms between people with cystic fibrosis. ̽��ֱ��team in Cambridge are a world authority in this area. This work demonstrates the global threat of this infection, the risks of cross-infection within and between CF centres, and the need for improved surveillance. This study exemplifies the enormous impact of CF Trust-funded Strategic Research Centres, which were designed to generate world-class research with the very highest impact. Without the support of the CF community, this landmark study would not have been possible.”

Around one in 2,500 children in the UK is born with cystic fibrosis, a hereditary condition that causes the lungs to become clogged up with thick, sticky mucus. ̽��ֱ��condition tends to decrease life expectancy among patients.

̽��ֱ��research was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Reference
Bryant, JM et al. Emergence and spread of a human transmissible multidrug-resistant nontuberculous mycobacterium. Science; 11 Nov 2016; DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf8156

A multi-drug resistant infection that can cause life-threatening illness in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and can spread from patient to patient has spread globally and is becoming increasingly virulent, according to new research published today in the journal Science.

Our research should provide a degree of hope: now that we know the extent of the problem and are beginning to understand how the infection spreads, we can start to respond

Julian Parkhill

Hey Paul Studios

Blue and Brown Anatomical Lung Wall Decor. Hand Embroidery Applique by Hey Paul Studios

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Government approves £165 million deal for Papworth Hospital move

pbh25 — Thu, 01 May 2014 11:11:20 +0000

Papworth Hospital, the leading specialist heart and lung hospital, will move from its current location outside Cambridge onto the Cambridge Biomedical Campus next to Addenbrooke’s hospital site.

A £165 million deal for a new hospital has been approved by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “This is good news for patients, good news for research and good news for UK plc.

“ ̽��ֱ��exemplary contribution of Papworth in pioneering heart and lung transplants operations and treatment for these diseases has already made a major global contribution.

“This move will accelerate new discoveries and pioneering healthcare to the benefits of patients worldwide as well as the UK’s leadership in these fields.”

New buildings and facilities will be constructed on the site of the Cambridge Bio-medical Campus to accommodate the relocated Papworth Hospital. Its future location is now secure following years of uncertainty, said the Government today (May 1).

̽��ֱ��Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said: “I’ve been a strong supporter of this move. As I said on a visit to Cambridge last week, there is great value in these two leading hospitals working more closely together and continuing to provide first class medical care.”

̽��ֱ��existing buildings at Papworth are more than 75 years old, with some older than 150 years. Moving to brand new purpose-built facilities will ensure the hospital continues to provide world-class medical care and treatment.

̽��ֱ��proposed new 310-bed Papworth hospital will boast the latest medical facilities and technologies.

Professor Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Chief Executive of Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Health Partners said:

“This is good news on all fronts. From a patient’s perspective, it is absolutely crucial that they have access to the best possible services in the closest proximity to each other. This will mean that patients will have access to a comprehensive range of services in one place.

“Cardiovascular disease is one of the major global killers. Bringing such a renowned specialist heart and lung centre onto the site is an excellent complement to the strengths of Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Health Partners.”

Professor John Wallwork, Chairman of Papworth Hospital and former cardiac surgeon added: “For many years we have been convinced that the right place for this world class institution to provide high-quality services for patients with heart and lung conditions from across the country is on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. We now look forward to putting that vision into reality."

̽��ֱ��new hospital is to be delivered through a 30-year PFI deal, with confirmation of the service provider to be announced shortly.

̽��ֱ��Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said: “This ambitious package will ensure that patients across the East of England continue to benefit from access to world-class specialist treatment, will secure Papworth hospital’s future location, and help further develop its world-leading capabilities.”

Construction of the new facilities is projected to begin in 2015 and complete by 2017 to 2018. ̽��ֱ��plans for this project will be finalised over the coming months, with all funding subject to final approvals as usual.

Specialist hospital move will develop region's world-leading capabilities after £165 million deal approved

This ambitious package will ensure that patients across the East of England continue to benefit from access to world-class specialist treatment, will secure Papworth hospital’s future location, and help further develop its world-leading capabilities.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander

Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Artist's impression of the new Papworth Hospital - view from the south-west

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Scientists find "missing link" between heart failure and environment

bjb42 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��Cambridge team compared heart tissue from two groups - patients with end-stage heart failure and those with healthy hearts. ̽��ֱ��diseased tissue came from men who had undergone heart transplants at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, and the healthy hearts from age-matched victims of road traffic accidents.

They found that specific regions of the DNA in the diseased hearts contained "marks" known as DNA methylation, whereas the healthy hearts did not. This is the first study linking DNA methylation with human heart failure.

DNA methylation is already known to play a key part in development of most cancers, and its role in other complex diseases such as schizophrenia and diabetes is being investigated.

This study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, suggests the process also underlies development of different types of heart disease.

According to lead author Dr Roger Foo of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge: "DNA methylation leaves 'marks' on the genome, and there is already good evidence that these marks are strongly influenced by environment and diet. We found that this process is different in diseased and normal hearts. Linking all these things together suggests this may be the 'missing link' between environmental factors and heart failure."

̽��ֱ��findings deepen our understanding of the genetic changes that can lead to heart disease, and how these can be caused by diet and the environment. As a result, Foo's findings should open up new ways of managing and treating heart disease.

" ̽��ֱ��next stage of our research is to find hotspots in the genome. This should help us identify people at risk of heart disease, and pinpoint patients whose disease will progress fastest. This would radically alter how we manage patients with heart disease, allowing us to target treatments and tailor monitoring," Foo explains.

̽��ֱ��DNA that makes up our genes comprises four "bases" or nucleotides - cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine, commonly abbreviated to C, G, A and T. DNA methylation is the addition of a methyl group (CH3) to cytosine.

When bound to cytosine, the methyl group sticks out. This means it looks different and is recognised differently by proteins. As a result, methylation alters how genes are expressed, ie which are turned on and off.

Foo likens DNA methlyation to a fifth nucleotide: "We often think of DNA as being composed of four nucleotides. Now, we are beginning to think there is a fifth - the methylated C."

DNA methylation is a crucial part of normal development, allowing different cells to become different tissues despite having the same genes. As well as happening during development, DNA methlyation continues throughout our lives in response to environmental changes and can lead to disease.

According to the study's first author, Dr Mehregan Movassagh of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge: "DNA methylation is a mechanism by which the environment and diet alters the expression of certain human genes, and has been the explanation for why, for instance, identical twins may have differing features and differ in their susceptibility to disease, despite having an identical set of genes."

It is also a very widespread process, occurring in plants and insects as well as vertebrates. In honey bees, for example, it is the reduction in DNA methylation that occurs as a result of feeding royal jelly which causes genetically identical larvae to develop into a queen, rather than a worker.

Epigenetic factors, such as DNA methylation, are currently the focus of much medical research because they offer further insight into disease than simply looking at our genes.

"We already know that several genes play an important role in heart failure. Researchers have looked at mutations in these genes and sometimes don't see any, so it could be methylation, not mutation, which is responsible for the altered expression that leads to disease. This opens a new window on the link between genome and disease," Movassagh says.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which funded the research, said: "By detecting these molecular changes in failing hearts, this research suggests that previously unsuspected mechanisms contribute to the development of heart failure. ̽��ֱ��findings open up the possibility of identifying new ways to treat this debilitating condition, which affects more than 700,000 people in the UK. We're supporting these researchers and others around the country to help us turn these vital discoveries into treatments for patients."

̽��ֱ��research is published in PLoS ONE.

Scientists have found what they believe is the missing link between heart failure, our genes and our environment. ̽��ֱ��study could open up completely new ways of managing and treating heart disease.

We often think of DNA as being composed of four nucleotides. Now, we are beginning to think there is a fifth - the methylated C.

Dr Roger Foo

Mykl Roventine from Flickr

February is American Heart Month

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