The purpose of this study is to investigate how altered cellular processes may affect both the function and the structural remodelling of the human heart muscle (myocardial). Oxidative stress, is an imbalance between the production of free radicals (a very reactive molecule that looks to other compounds to gain stability) and the body’s ability to produce enough antioxidants to neutralise them. More research is needed to gain a better understanding in how this imbalance may influence the heart and its ...

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of cardiac fibrosis through the identification of markers involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac fibrosis. Cardiac fibrosis is accompanying most of the cardiac diseases and is an unsolved clinical problem. We are going to recruit up to 250 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery in the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. This study is an observational lab-based study. The blood samples will be assessed for new markers derived from the cardiac tissue ...

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) is a pathogen with worldwide preponderance that infects humans and causes the transmissible disease tuberculosis (TB). An estimated one-third of the world’s population is latently infected with M.tb, carrying a 10% lifetime risk of developing active life-threatening disease. In 2016, there were 10 million new cases worldwide and 1.7 million people died of TB. Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) greatly increases the risk of TB reactivation and death. Diagnosis is challenging and drug treatment is often ...

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The immune system is a network of cells, tissues and organs that work together to defend the body against infection. Over 70% of the immune system is based in the gastrointestinal tract where it plays a major role in a complex interaction with trillions of microbes to maintain health. The breakdown of this interaction leads to diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and contributes to many others including colorectal cancer. We work on the nature of intestinal immune ...

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This is a research study to test a new investigational drug called NUC-7738. NUC-7738 belongs to a new class of anti-cancer agents called ProTides that are specifically designed to transform some of the most widely prescribed chemotherapy agents, nucleoside analogues, into more effective and safer medicines. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the safety and tolerability of NUC-7738 in subjects with solid tumours or lymphomas. This is a first-in-man study. The study is funded by NuCANA plc, an ...

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Neuropathic (nerve related) pain occurs in a significant proportion of patients with a disease affecting the nervous system (neuropathy). The exact pathomechanisms of neuropathic pain and why only a subgroup develop neuropathic pain remains elusive. Over the past decade, experimental nerve injury models have highlighted the importance of neuroinflammation in the generation of neuropathic pain. Specifically, peripheral nerve injuries lead to an intraneural infiltration and activation of immune cells such as macrophages, T-Lymphocytes or dendritic cells. These cells are known ...

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between inflammation (an important process in heart diseases) and atrial fibrillation (a very common rhythm disorder). We are going to recruit up to 360 patients undergoing procedure of ablation (up to 160 patients) or cardioversion (up to 200 patients) in the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. Both procedures are commonly used in treatment of atrial fibrillation. This study is a lab-based observational study which will involve analysing of the peripheral ...

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Many fertility clinics offer immune cell tests to women who have a history of subfertility or who have had a number of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycles in which embryos failed to implant (known as recurrent implantation failure (RIF)). The tests offered are usually to look at different immune cell types in the blood or in the lining of the womb (the endometrium.) These tests are very controversial as many scientists believe immune cells are unrelated to subfertility and failed ...

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Peripheral neuropathy (injury to peripheral nerve fibres) and can be caused for instance by mechanical nerve compression (e.g., entrapment neuropathies), metabolic neuropathies (e.g., diabetes mellitus) or genetic neuropathies (e.g., channelopathies). A subset of patients with a neuropathy develops nerve related (neuropathic) pain. Why some individuals develop neuropathic pain as a consequence of peripheral neuropathy and others do not is currently unclear. The PIPL study will help us to determine whether factors such as the severity of neuropathy, psychological factors or ...

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The normal heart can use either sugar or fat to produce the energy needed to pump. If the amount of sugar and fat change in the blood (for example after eating or fasting) the normal heart is flexible and will use either depending on what is available in the blood. When the heart speeds up during exercise it prefers to use glucose as this is readily available and provides energy quickly. One of the changes that occurs in heart failure ...

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