Media Monitoring: 2nd – 15th April

Project MinE, an international consortium co-founded by researchers at King’s College London, has identified new genetic variants that play a role in the development of motor neuron disease (MND).
These findings mean that a genetic component is identifiable for 1 in 4 people with MND, a sizeable increase from previous estimates of 1 in 5.
The research, led by University of Utrecht and published in Nature Genetics, analysed DNA from over 18,000 people with MND, with 2,000 of the samples from the UK MND DNA Bank, a project led by King’s College London, involving King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) could be diagnosed within hours rather than days thanks to a new test, researchers have said.
The group of researchers from University of Reading, University of Southampton and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said a new test taken on urine can show doctors which antibiotic could help patients in just under six hours.
Current standard laboratory testing takes two to three days.

The rare genetic condition causes progressive muscle weakness and, without treatment, can limit life expectancy to just two years.
The condition was recently highlighted by singer Jesy Nelson, formerly of Little Mix, whose twin baby daughters have been diagnosed with SMA.
Babies can be identified as having SMA through a heel prick test and early treatment can prolong their lives. As part of a two-year pilot, this test will now be given to all babies born in Scotland.

A record 106,810 cancer patients waited more than 62 days to start urgent treatment on the NHS last year, damning new analysis reveals.
More than four in five trusts (83 per cent) missed the key target of treating 85 per cent of patients within this time frame.
Cancer charities warn such delays slash survival chances, can make some treatments less effective and increase anxiety.

A ‘hospital at home’ service run by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been expanded, enabling more frail patients aged over 65 to receive hospital‑level care in the comfort of their own homes.
The enhanced service is designed to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions by providing care that would traditionally require an inpatient stay, while maintaining the same clinical standards and specialist oversight.
Under the expanded scheme, eligible patients receive a wide range of acute hospital treatments at home, including intravenous therapy, blood tests, and electrocardiogram monitoring.