Friedreich’s ataxia is an inherited, progressive neuromuscular disease caused by partial inactivation of the frataxin gene. In this proof-of-concept study of epigenetic modification, carried out in the NIHR/Wellcome Imperial Clinical Research Facility, Prof Richard Festenstein and colleagues demonstrated that inhibition of histone deacetylase activity by high dose nicotinamide increases Frataxin to the levels found in […]

In the absence of a HIV vaccine, one of the most effective ways of preventing HIV infection is pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – HIV negative individuals, who are at risk of infection, take prophylactic antiretroviral therapy. This is in the form of a pill which contains two medicines that are also used to treat HIV. If […]

Infertility affects one in six couples in the UK. The inability to have children can be devastating, and has important implications for mental, social and reproductive health. By identifying the key factors which control the reproductive function we can improve therapies for infertility.

Birth asphyxia is a serious condition which results from lack of oxygen to a newborn child. Oxygen deprivation can happen during birth and – if it lasts long enough – it can cause brain damage. It is responsible for almost a quarter of all neonatal deaths worldwide. Brain hypothermia involves cooling a baby to around […]

The number and size of circulating blood cells is the result of an interplay between genetic and environmental factors. The Blood Cell Consortium (BCX) explored the genetic architecture of the three major blood cell types – red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, including cell-subtype counts in over 100,000 multi-ethnic individuals. It was found […]