Tag: Health and wellbeing

Major new £1.5m Scottish project to focus on “sabotaging” cancer cells

SABOTAGING CANCER COULD OPEN DOOR TO NEW TREATMENTS

RESEARCHERS IN EDINBURGH AIM TO ‘TRICK’ BOWEL CANCER

SCIENTISTS in Edinburgh are launching a £1.5 million Cancer Research UK-funded study to find a way to ‘sabotage’ bowel cancer cells.

Cancer cells can often disguise themselves, preventing the immune system from recognising them as a threat and destroying them. The team, at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC) at the University of Edinburgh, aims to disrupt cancer’s DNA messaging system, causing errors that make the cells visible to immune defences.

Exploring how to trigger this vulnerability, the study’s long-term goal is to identify new treatments to tackle bowel cancer more effectively.

Project leader Dr Kevin Myant, of the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre and IGC, said: “Around 85 per cent of patients with bowel cancer find immunotherapy isn’t effective for them. Our new project aims to explore why and find new ways to make bowel cancer more responsive to this type of treatment.

“Immunotherapy is exciting as it has the potential to be curative, not just manage the disease, and has the benefit of reducing side effects to patients.

“We hope this project will find a way to shine a light on bowel cancer cells so they are no longer invisible to our immune system, by disrupting the messages telling cancer cells to grow.”

Bowel cancer kills 16,800 people in the UK (1,700 in Scotland) every year and is increasingly being diagnosed in younger people.

A recent study by the American Cancer Society published in The Lancet Oncology showed early-onset bowel cancer rates in adults aged 25-49 are rising in 27 of 50 countries studied and at a faster rate in young women in Scotland and England than in young men.

Often, in cancer, the immune system doesn’t see cancer cells as a threat as they are generated from inside the body.

This research will focus on the body’s messaging system, RNA, which takes information from DNA and tells cells when to grow and where.

The team aims to sabotage this system, through a process called RNA splicing, to disrupt these messages and introduce errors which will effectively “light up” bowel cancer cells to the immune system so it can destroy them.

Cancer Research UK Director of Research, Dr Catherine Elliott, said: “Immunotherapies, where a patient’s own immune system is harnessed to tackle cancer, are a key area of cancer research and for some patients, they are providing transformational improvements but not all patients respond to them.

“Being able to use the power of our own immune system to tackle cancer could offer more effective treatments and lead to the kind of breakthroughs which can revolutionise cancer treatment and care.

“We need more research to understand the differences in patient responses to therapies and how to improve these, and Cancer Research UK is delighted to fund this innovative and potentially transformative research.”

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK. Despite this, treatment options remain limited, particularly for patients who are diagnosed at later stages of the disease.

Scotland is disproportionately affected by the disease with around 4,000 people diagnosed each year.

NHS 24: Easter Weekend advice

Important info below, please share ⤵️⚠️

You can save yourself time on the way to feeling better by using NHS inform to get the right care in the right place.

Depending on your situation, you might not have to phone 111.

Quick links:

💻 symptom checkers: https://nhs24.info/symptom-checkers

💊 accessing medicines: https://nhs24.info/accessing-medicines

🏥 Scotland’s Service Directory: https://nhs24.info/servicedirectory

💙 urgent mental health help: https://nhs24.info/urgent-mental-health

Thank you 💙

NHS Lothian neurosurgeon featured on CNN for pioneering live brain tissue donation initiative

The Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Little France recently welcomed a news crew from CNN International to highlight a world‑leading partnership between the neurosurgery team and researchers at the University of Edinburgh.

Spearheaded by neurosurgeon Paul Brennan and Race Against Dementia Fellow Dr Claire Durrant, the programme involves keeping living human brain tissue – removed during routine neurosurgery – alive for study in the laboratory.

This pioneering research has enabled scientists to show, for the first time, how a toxic form of a protein linked to Alzheimer’s can attach to and damage the connections between brain cells.

The team hopes the discovery will help identify medications with the greatest potential to prevent the loss of synapses—the vital connections that allow messages to flow between brain cells and support healthy brain function.

Paul Brennan said: “During neurosurgery, there is always a small amount of healthy brain tissue that must be removed in order to reach, for example, a tumour and typically that tissue would be thrown away. Our partnership with Claire and her team means we can package up that healthy, living tissue and send it to the lab for testing.

“Even the tiniest piece “contains thousands of cells, and we can learn a great deal from it. Research of this type has been underway for some time, but this collaboration allows us to study living human brain tissue in a way that hasn’t routinely been possible before.”

The tissue is collected with the patient’s consent, in a process similar to organ donation. Aidan McAllister (28) chose to donate his healthy brain tissue during an operation to remove a tumour. He said: “My grandad passed away from Alzheimer’s a few years ago. We were really close – he lived just across the road and we saw each other every day. His dementia became so severe that he didn’t know who he was or who we were.

“It’s a really brutal disease. When Paul asked if I’d consider donating some of my brain tissue during surgery, I thought if it could help people like my grandad, then I wanted to do it.”

Dr Claire Durrant said: “We believe this research could accelerate the journey from lab findings to patient treatments, bringing us one step closer to a world free from the heartbreak of dementia.

“It was fantastic to be able to show the CNN team what we do and to highlight the vital, world-leading research taking place in Edinburgh.”

Letters: RNID Public Transport Survey

Dear Editor,

Public transport is an essential part of everyday life, but for people who are deaf or have hearing loss – journeys by services like trains, buses or ferries can be a huge challenge.

Inaccessible audio announcements, a lack of deaf awareness amongst staff and no signed information for deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users are all barriers that can lead to stress, missed journeys and seriously affect people’s confidence when using public transport.

That’s why RNID is asking people who are deaf and have hearing loss to take part in a major survey. Whether you use public transport regularly, or avoid it altogether, your answers will be invaluable and help us work with transport providers, policymakers and technology companies to push for real, lasting improvements.

The survey, which closes on the 13th April, is part of a major project funded by the Motability Foundation and can be accessed here: www.rnid.org.uk/transport-survey  

Kind regards,

Victoria Boelman, Director of Insight and Policy, RNID

– the national charity supporting the 18 million people in the UK who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.

British Red Cross: Things to do when the world seems heavy

For many of us, the news from around the world feels hard to read right now.

If this includes you, and you need to ease how you’re feeling, we’ve got some tips you can try.

Small things like making time for an activity that lifts your spirits, or finding ways to create a positive impact, can help make a difference.

Visit: https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-help/get-help-with-loneliness/wellbeing-support/understanding-dealing-anxiety

Social Security Scotland: Benefits payments over Easter holiday

People who are due a payment between Friday 3 April and Monday 6 April over the Easter bank holiday, will receive it by the end of Thursday 2 April.

Best Start Food payments are not affected.

All other payment dates will stay the same.

More at: http://bit.ly/BankHolidayPaymentDates

Cancer Research UK: Waiting times are “unacceptable” 

Cancer Research UK has responded to today’s cancer treatment waiting times statistics published by Public Health Scotland.   

Chief executive of Cancer Research UK, Michelle Mitchell, said: “It’s unacceptable that people are waiting too long to start cancer treatment. It’s crucial that cancer is diagnosed early when treatment is more likely to be successful.  

“Tackling these delays must be a priority for the incoming government, so that people get the timely diagnosis and treatment they deserve.

“NHS staff are working flat out to deliver services to patients and more needs to be done to support them. 

“The solution lies in investing in the NHS workforce and cutting-edge equipment. It will also be essential to introduce innovations that will see more people diagnosed and treated sooner.” 

ANALYSIS:  

These latest figures show that, during the last quarter for which results are available, from Oct-Dec 2025, around 1,300 (27.4%) patients waited longer than 62 days to start treatment following an urgent suspected cancer referral.      

The report shows that only 72.6% of patients on an urgent referral for a suspicion of cancer started treatment within 62 days during this quarter. This is well below the 95% target and is the tenth worst performance on record (since 2012).   

 More information on how Cancer Research UK believes waiting times can be tackled can be found in:

Longer better lives: a manifesto for cancer research and care in Scotland      

The full Public Health Scotland report can be found here:   

Cancer waiting times – 1 October to 31 December 2025 – Cancer waiting times – Publications – Public Health Scotland 

World Autism Acceptance Month: We Need To Act Now for Autistic Rights

NATIONAL AUTISTIC SOCIETY

Thursday 2 April marks the start of World Autism Acceptance Month (WAAM). Every year, we come together to raise awareness of autism and this year will be no different. During April, hundreds of autistic people and families across Scotland will be walking 5k to celebrate WAAM, raise awareness and show solidarity with one another.

This year is especially important because it coincides with National Autistic Society Scotland’s Act Now for Autistic Rights campaign, which calls for urgent change ahead of the Holyrood election. 

So far, almost 3,500 letters have been sent by autistic people and families calling on all party leaders to Act Now for Autistic Rights by committing to introduce the long overdue Learning Disability Autism and Neurodivergence Bill. 

It is clear that in education, diagnosis, healthcare and employment, autistic people are being denied rights and opportunities which should be available to them:

  • There has been a 768% increase in the number of pupils recorded as receiving Additional Support for Learning since 2004.
  • Over 42,000 children were waiting for neurodevelopmental assessment, a figure which has increased by over 500% in some areas since 2020.
  • Autistic people have an estimated employment rate of 29%, compared with Scotland’s national employment rate of 82.5% for non-disabled people and 50.7% for disabled people.
  • In a survey of 624 autistic people, 51% of respondents found it hard to get a referral and 62% did not feel well informed about the assessment process once referred.

The Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill can make a genuine difference.

Mandatory training in public services can ensure autistic people’s needs are identified and met at the earliest opportunity, rather than only getting support once a crisis point is reached.

Legally binding national and local strategies can also bring about the planning and resources needed to tackle the backlog for assessment and diagnosis, as well as making sure services are properly signposted in our communities.

WAAM leading into the upcoming election is a vital opportunity to ensure parties don’t just talk about the importance of improving outcomes and opportunities for autistic people this election, but that they also Act Now to affect real and meaningful change. 

Rob Holland, Director of National Autistic Society Scotland, said: “World Autism Acceptance Month is a time for everyone to get involved, raise awareness and celebrate autism acceptance, and so it couldn’t come at a better time to join the calls for change as part of our Act Now for Autistic Rights campaign this election in May.”

“Now is the time to get involved by urging party leaders to Act Now for Autistic Rights and introduce the LDAN Bill, and to spread the word to your friends and families too. This is our chance to ensure the next Scottish Parliament takes overdue action to ensure autistic people’s rights are understood and respected. We cannot miss this opportunity”.

Becca, NAS Scotland Campaigner, said: ” I’ve spent my life feeling unsupported, invalidated and left out on account of my autism and I’ve known many who’ve felt the same. This has to change. 

“The LDAN bill is urgent and will make a vital positive difference to many people, allowing us to lead fulfilling, purposeful and meaningful lives. It must come into effect as soon as possible”.