Tag: diabetes

Researchers develop 3D treatment that could revolutionise diabetes treatment

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have designed a new bandage treatment, known as a scaffold, to treat diabetic foot ulcers, which is cost-effective while improving patient outcomes. Produced by 3D bioprinting, the scaffolds slowly release antibiotics over a four-week period to effectively treat the wound.  

Diabetes, a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high, is among the top ten causes of deaths worldwide.  

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), is a serious complication of diabetes, affecting approximately 25% of diabetic patients. When identified, over 50% are already infected and over 70% of cases result in lower limb amputation. 

The treatment strategy required for the effective healing of DFU is a complex process that requires several combined therapeutic approaches. As a result, there is a significant clinical and economic burden associated in treating DFU. These treatments are often unsuccessful, which leads to lower-limb amputation. 

This new research demonstrates outcomes with significant implications for patient quality of life, as well as decreasing the costs and clinical burden in treating DFU. 

Recent research has focused on drug-loaded scaffolds to treat DFU. The scaffold structure is a novel carrier for cell and drug delivery that enhances wound healing.  

The research, published in Springer Link, will be presented by Professor Lamprou at the Controlled Release Society (CRS) Workshop Italy (7 – 9 October).  

Professor Dimitrios Lamprou, a Professor of Biofabrication and Advanced Manufacturing at Queen’s School of Pharmacy and corresponding author, explains: “These scaffolds are like windows that enable doctors to monitor the healing constantly. This avoids needing to remove them constantly, which can provoke infection and delay the healing process. 

“The ‘frame’ has an antibiotic that helps to ‘kill’ the bacteria infection, and the ‘glass’ that can be prepared by collagen/sodium alginate can contain a growth factor to encourage cell growth. The scaffold has two molecular layers that both play an important role in healing the wound.” 

Lead author Ms Katie Glover, from the Queen’s School of Pharmacy, concludes: “Using bioprinting technology, we have developed a scaffold with suitable mechanical properties to treat the wound, which can be easily modified to the size of the wound.

“This provides a low-cost alternative to current DFU treatments, which could revolutionise DFU treatment, improving patient outcomes while reducing the economic burden caused by rapidly increasing patient demand as the number of people with diabetes continues to increase every year.” 

Breakthrough in how diabetes causes vision loss

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have uncovered a key process that contributes to vision loss and blindness in people with diabetes. The findings could lead to new treatments that can be used before any irreversible vision loss has occurred. 

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes and occurs when high blood sugar levels damage the cells at the back of the eye, known as the retina. There are no current treatments that prevent the advancement of diabetic retinopathy from its early to late stages, beyond the careful management of diabetes itself. As a result, a significant proportion of people with diabetes still progress to the vision-threatening complications of the disease. 

As the number of people with diabetes continues to increase globally, there is an urgent need for new treatment strategies, particularly those that target the early stages of the disease to prevent vision loss. 

The retina demands a high oxygen and nutrient supply to function properly. This is met by an elaborate network of blood vessels that maintain a constant flow of blood even during daily fluctuations in blood and eye pressure. The ability of the blood vessels to maintain blood flow at a steady level is called blood flow autoregulation. The disruption of this process is one of the earliest effects of diabetes in the retina. 

The breakthrough made by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast pinpoints the cause of these early changes to the retina.

The study, published in the US journal JCI Insight, has discovered that the loss of blood flow autoregulation during diabetes is caused by the disruption of a protein called TRPV2. Furthermore, they show that disruption of blood flow autoregulation even in the absence of diabetes causes damage closely resembling that seen in diabetic retinopathy. 

The research team are hopeful that these findings will be used to inform the development of new treatments that preserve vision in people with diabetes. 

Professor Tim Curtis, Deputy Director at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s and corresponding author, explains: “We are excited about the new insights that this study provides, which explain how the retina is damaged during the early stages of diabetes. 

“By identifying TRPV2 as a key protein involved in diabetes-related vision loss, we have a new target and opportunity to develop treatments that halt the advancement of diabetic retinopathy.” 

The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Department for the Economy Postgraduate Studentship scheme. 

Clinical trial offers more than a glimpse into eye treatments

A new clinical trial researching treatment for patients with sight loss as a result of diabetes has shown a type of laser treatment to be both cost effective and non-invasive, offering the best option for patients and healthcare providers.  

There are currently several treatment options offered to people with Diabetic Macular Oedema (DMO), including two types of laser treatment and eye injections. DMO is the most common sight-threatening complication of diabetes, affecting over 27 million adults. This new research provides much-needed evidence to enable patients and healthcare professionals to be better informed on treatment options. 

DMO happens when blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye leak, causing fluid build-up at the macula, which provides central vision. The leakage occurs when high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels. 

The severity of DMO is most often determined by measuring the thickness of the macula, which in-turn will determine the treatment offered. Patients with more severe DMO (with thickness of 400 microns or more) are treated with injections into the eye of drugs, known as anti-VEGFs.

Patients with mild DMO (with thickness of less than 400 microns) can be treated with macular lase, which can be standard threshold laser or subthreshold micropulse laser. The former produces a burn or scar on the retina.  The latter, which is a more recent technology, works without leaving a burn or scar or any type of visible change or mark on the retina. 

The research,  published in Ophthalmology, found that subthreshold micropulse laser, which does not create a burn on the retina, was effective in maintaining a patient’s vision. This also requires much less frequent visits to the clinic and is much more cost effective than treatment via eye injections, with eye injections costing almost ten times more than laser treatments. 

Professor Noemi Lois, Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Queens University and Honorary Consultant Vitreoretinal Surgeon at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and lead author on the study, explains: “The absence of a scar or burn following subthreshold micropulse laser led to some healthcare professionals to doubt its effectiveness compared to the standard threshold laser.

“However, our research addressed this by demonstrating that subthreshold micropulse laser is as good as standard threshold laser for helping people’s vision, reducing macula thickness, allowing people to meet driving standards, and maintaining their quality of life, both in general terms and for vision in particular.” 

The research team set out to compare both types of available laser treatment through a large randomised clinical trial, known as DIAMONDS (DIAbetic Macular Oedema aNd Diode Subthreshold micropulse laser SML). They recruited 266 patients across 16 NHS hospitals around the UK, with half receiving standard threshold laser and the other half receiving subthreshold micropulse laser. Unique to this trial, patients were involved in selecting the outcomes, including how driving standards would be met following treatment. At the end of the two-year trial, DIAMONDS found both laser treatments to offer equivalent benefits. 

The total cost of the care of patients enrolled in the trial (including the laser treatment and any other treatments required as well as the costs of the follow-up visits) over two years was similar for both patient’s groups. Over the two-year period, the cost per patient was just under £900 (£897.83) for patients in the subthreshold micropulse laser arm of the trial compared to £1125.66 for those in the standard laser arm.  

Professor Lois adds: “Some ophthalmologists advise patients with milder forms of DMO to have injections of anti-VEGFs, rather than laser, despite laser being less invasive and requiring less visits to the clinic.

“Laser treatment costs significantly less than eye-injections of anti-VEGFs. With an average of ten injections required over two years, the total cost of eye injections per patient amounts to approximately £8,500 for the drug alone. This is almost ten times the cost of subthreshold micopulse laser without taking into account additional costings such as staff time. 

“Until we published these findings, there was no robust evidence comparing these types of laser treatments. A lack of information led some healthcare professionals to favour standard laser over subthreshold micropulse laser. We now have robust evidence to show that both laser treatments are not only effective in clearing the fluid from the retina and maintaining vision for at least two years, but both are also cost-effective.”  

“Armed with this knowledge, it’s likely that patients will opt for micropulse subthreshold laser, which doesn’t burn the retina and is comparable to standard laser. Whilst we didn’t directly compare laser treatments to treatment via eye injections of anti-VEGFs, hopefully we have shown that laser is an effective treatment, while remaining much less invasive to the patient and much less costly to the NHS.”  

The research was funded by the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). 

RNIB Scotland: It is more important than ever that people with diabetes attend their regular eye-examinations

As the covid crisis eases, the national sight loss charity RNIB Scotland is emphasising it is more important than ever that people with diabetes attend their regular eye-examinations now that these have resumed.

During Diabetes Week this week [June 13-19th], the charity is pointing out that diabetic retinopathy, a complication of the condition, is a leading cause of sight loss among working-age Scots.

Director James Adams said: “Diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes, can affect the small blood vessels at the back of the eye and is a major cause of sight loss among working-age adults. But damage to vision can be arrested if detected early enough.

“While it’s possible that diabetes won’t cause any changes to your vision, the most effective thing you can do to prevent sight loss is to go to your retinal screening appointments and eye examinations, where safety measures are in place.”

Each year, 5,500 patients with diabetes in Scotland need to undergo further imaging or see an NHS eye specialist for the first time due to worsening in their retinopathy.

Angela Clelland, 47, from Inverness received a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy during lockdown.

“Getting diagnosed was very, very scary,” Angela said, “because I was isolated in the pandemic. If you are on your own, it affects everything from simple things like making a cup of tea, having the confidence to go out, or not being able to check your diabetes because you can’t read the monitor.

“You need to take your eye health seriously. You need to make sure that you are going for your eye health checks. Even with the slightest change, go to your optician. As things were delayed due to COVID, I would urge anybody who is maybe late or due an appointment to go and make one, because the effect on your life if you don’t go and something happens is devastating.”

There are 3.5 million people in the UK who have been diagnosed diabetes, and an estimated 500,000 people living with undiagnosed diabetes. Within 20 years of diagnosis, nearly all people with type 1 diabetes and almost two-thirds of people with type 2 diabetes will have developed some form of diabetic retinopathy. People with diabetes are also at increased risk of glaucoma and cataracts.

People from a South Asian or African-Caribbean background are two to four times more likely to get type 2 diabetes. They tend to develop it at a younger age which means they live with the condition for longer.

The risk of complications increases with the length of time people have the condition. It is not known why this is the case, but it is likely to be a mixture of genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors.

* If you’re worried about your vision, contact RNIB’s Sight Loss Advice Service on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk/eyehealth. 

For more information on the NHS Scotland eye-screening service, visit:

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/diabetes/diabetic-retinopathy.

Research grant for Edinburgh project investigating new drug which could prevent injury to the heart after heart attack

A research project at the University of Edinburgh, led by Professor Gillian Gray, has been awarded £88,000 by Heart Research UK. Prof Gray’s team has discovered that a drug originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes also promotes repair of the heart after a heart attack and reduces the development of heart failure.

Now the team will use ‘mass spectrometry imaging’ (MSI) to look in more detail at the effects of the drug on the heart muscle.

Heart attacks occur when the blood flow to the heart is interrupted, causing damage that can weaken the heart and lead to heart failure. The new drug that has been discovered acts early after heart attack to prevent the spread of injury in the heart muscle and therefore has the potential to benefit many patients.

As obese and diabetic people are at higher risk of heart attack, the combined actions of the drug on the heart, fat and insulin make it particularly appealing.

The drug has already undergone safety tests in volunteers, so could now rapidly progress to human trials. However, the research team will first need to show that this new drug offers benefits over existing drugs used to treat heart failure.

To do this, the team will use MSI to further investigate the effects the drug has on the heart. It is anticipated that this will provide unique evidence that the biochemical pathways in the heart muscle affected by the drug are distinct from those affected by drugs already used to treat heart failure.

MSI uses a laser to collect samples from slices of tissues. Levels of substances in the body like cortisol and cholesterol breakdown products, that we expect to change after a heart attack and in response to the drug, can be measured in each spot targeted by the laser. This information can then be used to build a map of where they are found.

The MSI group, led by collaborator Professor Ruth Andrew, have already used this technique to visualise and measure activity of the enzyme targeted by the drug in the brain, liver and kidney.

They will prepare thin sections of heart muscle and use the laser to capture samples from injured areas and compare these to samples from healthy areas. MSI has enormous potential for helping to understand biochemical pathways in the heart but has never been systematically applied to heart tissue before.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive of Heart Research UK, said: “We’re very happy to be able to award one of our Novel and Emerging Technologies Grants to Professor Gray and her team.

“This project will generate novel MSI data from heart tissue which will provide vital information on how the drug affects the heart, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

You can read more about and apply for Heart Research UK’s Research Grants here.

Healthy Heart Tips: Insulin and our Hearts

Insulin is an important hormone that allows sugar to move from our blood, after digesting food, into our muscles and fat cells to be either burned or stored.

Diabetes, is the name we give to the disease related to problems with our insulin. Whilst some types of Diabetes are caused by factors out of our control, Type 2 Diabetes can usually be prevented in younger individuals by adopting a healthy lifestyle. What’s more, most of the lifestyle actions we can take to limit our diabetes risk will also help to improve our heart health!

With this in mind, here are some tips for doing just that:

Eat more Fibre

Fibre can not only help to reduce cholesterol levels but also helps to slow down how quickly our blood sugar levels increase. Try and swap white pasta and bread for wholegrain options, eat more fruit and vegetables, and snack on unsalted nuts and seeds.

Create Activity Opportunities

Staying active is one of the most effective ways to maintain our weight and lower blood pressure. Consider how you can incorporate a minimum of one ‘activity opportunity’ every day, whether it’s walking the dog, cleaning your house, or dusting off your old bike. Remember to keep it fresh and do something you enjoy!

Take the 5% Challenge

Reducing our bodyweight by more than 5% is an effective way to positively manage our future health, however any weight loss is beneficial, so start small and build on your success! Remember to set a goal over a realistic timeframe; 0.5-2lb per week is sustainable.

Know Your Numbers

Eating excessive amounts of sugar over many years can be harmful to our health. Try and opt for foods with less than 5g of sugar per 100g most of the time, and limit high sugar foods such as fizzy drinks and sweets to less than twice per week.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Roll-out of new diabetes test

World-leading test to improve diagnosis

A simple blood test for people with Type 1 diabetes enabling some patients to stop taking insulin is to be rolled out.

Scotland is the first country in the world to introduce this test which will be available from hospital diabetes centres from Monday (1 November).

Aimed to improve the accuracy of diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, the routine testing of C-peptide allows doctors to work out how much insulin someone with diabetes is making themselves.

If C-peptide is present in significant amounts, then it may indicate that the person does not have Type 1 diabetes and that it may be possible to stop or reduce insulin treatment.

The roll-out follows a two year pilot study in NHS Lothian led by Diabetes and Endocrinology Consultant Professor Mark Strachan.

Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “Diabetes is a clinical priority for this Government and we want to ensure that everyone living with diabetes in Scotland can access safe, effective and person-centred healthcare, treatment and support.

“Type 1 diabetes is a significant health challenge right across the world. I am proud that Scotland will be the first country to introduce this blood test which has the potential to have a significant positive impact on the lives of those people living with diabetes.”

Professor Mark Strachan said: “C-peptide helps diabetes specialists make a more accurate diagnosis of the cause of diabetes, and that means we can get people on the most appropriate treatment. In some instances, C-peptide testing allowed people to stop very long-standing insulin therapy; this can be life-transforming.

“If anyone has any concerns regarding their diabetes or wishes to know more about the new blood test, they should contact their diabetes clinical team who are best placed to provide specific advice and support based on their individual circumstances.”

There are approximately 315,000 people living with diabetes in Scotland.

The programme will be offered to people with a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes of at least three years duration. C-peptide testing will be offered by hospital diabetes centres.

Scottish researchers investigate new treatment for diabetes to combat sight loss

Researchers in Scotland are investigating a new treatment for diabetes which they hope could reduce one of the most common complications of the condition – sight loss.

The team of scientists, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), are aiming to find new ways of preventing diabetic retinopathy (DR) and have been given a grant of £286,000 for the study, which is being led by Professor Mirela Delibegovic in collaboration with clinical colleagues Professor John Forrester and Dr Lucia Kuffova at the University of Aberdeen.

People living with cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure can develop a condition called retinal microvascular disease and this is increased in the presence of diabetes.

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common complications of diabetes. Those with DR develop damage, often permanent, to the retina – the light-sensing layer inside the eyeball – and as a result, are at risk of losing their sight.

People in the UK known to have diabetes are offered retinal screening once a year to detect signs of changes in the retina caused by DR. This new project aims to identify physical signs of DR when they occur, but before they lead to loss of vision, and to help find treatments to prevent it from developing.

Professor Delibegovic (above), who is the Director of the Aberdeen Cardiovascular Disease Centre at the University of Aberdeen, explains: “Given its nature, DR is a significant and worrying complication of diabetes and so it is important that we understand more about it and find ways to reduce and prevent it.

“In addition, as Type 2 diabetes – the most common type of diabetes – can often go undetected and undiagnosed for many years, up to 40% of people with Type 2 diabetes already have signs of DR when they are first diagnosed with the condition. Being able to intervene sooner could make a real difference for people living with diabetes.”

Over the next 3 years, the team will investigate if inhibition of an enzyme, called PTP1B, will lead to protection against retinal microvascular disease and diabetic retinopathy.

The BHF is the largest independent funder of research into heart and circulatory diseases in Scotland and this project is one of more than 100 research projects currently underway in ten universities across Scotland.

James Jopling, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “This is an important project which could benefit patients living with heart and circulatory disease and diabetes. As such, it is vital we understand more about diabetic retinopathy.

“Research projects like this one in Aberdeen help inform how we treat patients, identify those at particular risk and ultimately find new ways to save and improve lives.”

For more information on the BHF’s life saving research and the work of the BHF visit www.bhf.org.uk

Clinical trial provides new approach for people with eye disease to increase NHS capacity

A UK-wide study, led by Queen’s University Belfast, has shown how a new surveillance pathway for people with stable diabetic eye disease is safe and cost-saving, freeing up ophthalmologists to evaluate and treat people requiring urgent care. 

The new health care surveillance pathway may help ophthalmic units across the world to improve their capacity whilst saving patient’s sight. It is already having a positive impact on the re-design of NHS services across the UK, having been implemented successfully in several hospitals. 

The research, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), has been published in leading journals including Ophthalmology, BMJ and NIHR’s Health Technology Assessment. 

The EMERALD (the Effectiveness of Multimodal imaging for the Evaluation of Retinal oedemA and new VesseLs in Diabetic retinopathy) diagnostic accuracy study tested a new “ophthalmic grader” pathway. Rather than ophthalmologists, this pathway involves trained graders monitoring people with previously treated and stable complications of diabetic eye disease, namely diabetic macular oedema (DMO) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), based on the reading of images and scans of the back of their eyes.  

The grader’s pathway can save £1390 per 100 patients, and the real savings are the ophthalmologist’s time, which can then be redirected to the evaluation of people at high risk of visual loss. 

Professor Noemi Lois, lead researcher and Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, explains: “Diabetic macular oedema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the main sight-threatening complications of diabetic retinopathy can cause blindness if left untreated. It is therefore important to diagnose them and to treat them timely.

“NHS hospitals eye units are under significant pressure given the extremely high number of people that need to be examined and treated and given the insufficient number of ophthalmologists in the UK. Currently, ophthalmologists need to evaluate all patients, even those that are stable after treatment and who are doing well.” 

In EMERALD, trained ophthalmic graders were found to achieve satisfactory results when compared to standard care (i.e., ophthalmologists evaluating patients in clinic) while releasing ophthalmologist’s time. 

Professor Lois added: “EMERALD showed trained ophthalmic graders are able to determine whether patients with diabetic macular oedema or proliferative diabetic retinopathy previously successfully treated remain stable or if on them the disease has reactivated.  

“Thus, they would be able to follow people that have been already treated, releasing ophthalmologists’ time. Ophthalmologists could then use this time to treat timely other patients, for example, those who have indeed diabetic macular oedema or active proliferative diabetic retinopathy and who have not yet received treatment saving their sight.” 

Dr Clare Bailey, consultant ophthalmologist at the Bristol Eye Hospital, said: “The important data from the EMERALD study has helped us to significantly increase the numbers of people with diabetic retinopathy being seen in ‘imaging/grading’ pathways.

“This has hugely increased our follow-up capacity, whilst allowing ophthalmologists’ time to be directed to the people with diabetic retinopathy who need treatment or further assessment. 

“This has helped us to deal with the capacity pressures as a result of Covid -19 as well as the longer-term capacity demands due to the increasing prevalence of diabetic retinopathy.” 

Dr Caroline Styles, Consultant Ophthalmologist with NHS Fife, added: “Emerald provided us in NHS Fife with the relevant evidence that allowed us to redesign our pathways for people with diabetic eye disease.

“The involvement of people with diabetes in this study reassures our population that these are safe and appropriate changes, and not just based on cost.” 

The EMERALD study was set in 13 National Health Service (NHS) hospitals across the UK and is a large multicentric, UK-wide, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded diagnostic accuracy study. 

Diabetic drivers need to declare condition, says insurance experts

A leading Insurance comparison website is warning that many motorists with diabetes risk a hefty fine if they fail to declare the condition to the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA).

Quotezone.co.uk also warns that policies could be void and claims disputed if diabetic drivers have not declared the disease to their insurer – and that includes those newly diagnosed.

As the pandemic-induced lockdowns forced people to alter their lifestyles with the closure of gyms, restricted exercise and reported spike in fast food takeaways – elements which can increase a person’s chances of developing the disease – it may lead to a surge of people being diagnosed with diabetes.

According to research from Manchester University, the first lockdown in April 2020 led to diagnosis rates falling 70% on the 10-year average.  

It estimates that more than 45,000 type 2 diagnoses were either missed or delayed between March and July alone, creating an imminent surge in new diabetes patients as things slowly begin to open up. 

Diabetes UK states that there are nearly five million people with the disease in the UK: 90% with type 2, 8% with type 1 and the remainder with rarer types. The charity predicts diabetes could rise to five and a half million by 2030 and 13.6 million are at risk of becoming type 2 sufferers.

The charity shared the following advice to show the various levels of restrictions for drivers with diabetes:

  • Those who have suffered a severe hypoglycaemia (hypo) attack at the wheel or while awake in past year-stop driving and tell the DVLA straight away.Driving licences will be revoked but can be applied for again after three months. Severe hypo attacks do not need to be declared if sufferer experiences it asleep.
  • Prescribed insulin – apply to the DVLA for a restricted licence – one to three years. Temporary insulin users do not need to tell the DVLA.
  • Medication that can risk hypos –a severe hypo while awake in a 12-month period, stop driving and tell the DVLA. Driving licence will be revoked, but can be reapplied for 3 months later.
  • Other diabetes medication or new exercise and diet – no need to tell the DVLA.

The penalties for not declaring a medical condition can result in a £1,000 fine and the risk of prosecution if the driver is involved in an accident.  

In addition to diabetes, motorists with heart issues and other conditions such as epilepsy, sleep apnoea, strokes should visit  the DVLA’s website for more information.

Greg Wilson, Founder of Quotezone.co.uk, comments:  “A serious medical diagnosis on top of the fear of losing transportation and independence can be devasting. On a more positive note,  many conditions and medications won’t impair driving, which the DVLA and insurers recognise.

“However, anyone whose condition or medication could affect their driving needs to keep the DVLA up to date. It won’t necessarily mean a permanent loss of a licence and many successfully reapply when their condition is managed and the risk declines.  It is however essential that all drivers are properly covered with an accurate policy, to protect themselves and other road users.

“If a motorist sees their premiums go up due to the insurer’s updated risk assessment, and it looks like they might be priced out of affordable insurance, they should shop around for new quotes – insurance comparison websites are a good place to start.”

Quotezone.co.uk is one of the country’s leading price comparison platforms, helping over 3 million users find a more competitive deal each year on everything from car insurance and motorbike insurance to caravan and motorhome insurance.