
New Cambridge centre specialises in children with bowel diseases
Professor Zilbauer, who is also a consultant at Addenbrooke's Hospital, hoped the new centre would help identify ways of personalising treatments.He also wanted it to give children access to the latest drugs, clinical trials and outstanding clinical care. Their study of mini-guts with a team at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, showed DNA changes may play an important role in Crohn's disease.After publishing their study, the team recruited a further 500 patients and generated nearly 1,000 organoids. "To study these diseases, we need our children and young people to donate a few extra tissue cells when we're investigating their condition," he said. "We couldn't do our research without their help."The children are amazing – they're all really keen to help us and to contribute to finding new treatments, even when they know these treatments may not benefit them directly."The centre will also have a psychiatric team.Claire Glemas, research nurse and patient engagement lead at Cambridge University Hospitals, said: "Inflammatory bowel diseases are lifelong conditions with no cure. "It's really tough for the children and young people we see, so it's important that we look after every aspect of their health. By looking after their mental health alongside their physical health, we hope to make their lives easier."
Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Roche to investigate whether new drug can delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease
July 27 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding (ROG.S), opens new tab plans to investigate whether an experimental medicine can delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease symptoms, it said on Sunday, as a part of the company's growing development programme for the disease. The clinical trial of the drug, Trontinemab, will target people who are at risk of cognitive decline and will aim to delay or prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer's, Roche said in a statement. Trontinemab is designed so that the drug is transported across the blood brain barrier—protective blood vessels that prevent chemicals in the bloodstream from entering the brain — in hopes of delivering more of the treatment to the brain. Rivals like Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab have been making progress in the complicated field of Alzheimer's recently, with Lilly's drug Kisunla getting a recommendation for approval for certain patients from the European Medicines Agency last week. Kisunla is already approved in the U.S. Treatments for Alzheimer's approved so far, including Eisai (4523.T), opens new tab and Biogen's (BIIB.O), opens new tab Leqembi and Lilly's Kisunla, are designed to clear sticky clumps of a protein called amyloid beta in the brain. They carry hefty price tags as well as the risk of serious brain swelling and bleeding.


Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Roche to test if new drug can prevent Alzheimer's disease, Bloomberg News reports
July 27 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding (ROG.S), opens new tab plans to test whether an experimental medicine can prevent Alzheimer's disease symptoms in high-risk people, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. The new late-stage study will target people who are at risk of cognitive decline and aim to slow down the emergence of symptoms or prevent them fully, the report said, citing a statement. The new pre-clinical study is the third largest late-stage trial that the company has announced for its drug trontinemab, which uses an experimental technology called brain shuttle to ferry medicine past the protective blood-brain barrier, according to the report. Rivals like Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab have been making progress in the complicated field of Alzheimer's recently with Lilly's Alzheimer's drug Kisunla getting recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) last week. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Roche did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. Treatments for Alzheimer's approved so far, including Eisai (4523.T), opens new tab and Biogen's (BIIB.O), opens new tab Leqembi, and Eli Lilly's Kisunla, are designed to clear sticky clumps of a protein called amyloid beta in the brain. They also carry hefty price tags and the risk of serious brain swelling and bleeding.


Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Grandmother died of sepsis after being misdiagnosed with stomach complaint
A grandmother died of sepsis after doctors failed to recognise signs of a urinary tract obstruction, a coroner has found. Suzanne Edwards, 71, of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, visited her GP on Nov 29 2024 with abdominal pain and vomiting but despite urgent blood and urine tests she was not sent to hospital. Later that day her symptoms worsened and she went to A&E at Milton Keynes University Hospital, Bucks. Her test results were indicative of systemic inflammation and dehydration but she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and discharged. Her condition deteriorated further and the following day her family called NHS 111. She was directed to an urgent care centre and transferred to Bedford Hospital where clinicians identified a 7mm stone in her urinary tract and sepsis. She underwent emergency surgery but died later on the evening of Dec 1 from septic shock. 'Heart of our family' Stacey Edwards, her daughter, said: 'My mum was the heart of our family – full of warmth, compassion and humour. 'It's devastating to know that her death may have been avoided if the signs of sepsis had been recognised sooner.' Her family described her as 'an unbelievably kind and caring woman with a wicked sense of humour and fun'. She leaves behind husband Terence, two children and two granddaughters. Stacey said: 'When she visited her GP she was so unwell she used a wheelchair. 'After she was taken to A&E we were told it was likely gastroenteritis. She was given IV fluids and pain relief but she was still in pain and struggling. 'There was very little communication from doctors and when she was discharged we were simply told to come back if symptoms returned. 'At home, things got worse. But because she'd been examined by medical professionals we thought she just needed time to recover. 'The call we received later that evening asking us to come in urgently is something we'll never forget. 'Neither is watching her suffer in those final days.' Jewellery went missing Soon after her death Mrs Edwards' family realised her jewellery worth thousands of pounds – three necklaces and four bracelets – were missing. Stacey said: 'Mum never took off her jewellery. 'It is heartbreaking to think someone may have taken advantage of such a tragic situation.' Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust launched a full investigation and search at the time but the items were never found. Tom Osborne, the senior coroner for Milton Keynes, recorded a narrative verdict saying there was a failure to recognise the signs of a urinary tract obstruction, leading to missed opportunities to treat Mrs Edwards before sepsis developed.