Rosetrees co-funded researchers at the University of Oxford have been investigating whether variations in DNA can provide predictive tools and potentially treatment for enlargement of the prostate gland.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, affects around a third of men over the age of 50, many of whom need medication or, in severe cases, surgery, when going for a pee becomes a serious problem. Surgery is both invasive and expensive, avoid surgery or delaying the need for surgery, is a really clinical is an important unmet clinical need as there are around 25,000 performed every year in England, at huge cost.

The Oxford team has been studying population variation within the DNA of people with BPH and comparing them to controls. Using huge population databases, they have identified 17 areas of the genome that are implicated in BPH progression. This information can be used to provide a 'polygenic risk score' to predict which men should be monitored by their healthcare professionals as well as providing potential new routes for treatment.

Alan Melcher, Professor of Translational Immunotherapy at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, reveals how immunotherapy promises to create a revolution in cancer treatment, including the potential use of vaccines.

Brain cells communicate through small connection points (‘synapses’), the loss of which causes memory impairments in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). A balance between excitatory (boosting electrical signals) and inhibitory (suppressing signals) synapses is crucial in the healthy brain. Dr Sam Barnes, from the UK Dementia Research Institute, explains we are now beginning to get an insight into the importance of this electrical balance is in our brains, opening up potential new treatment strategies.