Wales Cardiff University News

Researchers at Cardiff University say hundreds of tiny fungal particles found in the lungs of people suffering from asthma could help in developing new treatments.

It was previously thought that the lungs were sterile, but a new study undertaken by university researchers has found the presence of large numbers of fungi in healthy lungs.The researchers hope the discovery could lead to new lines of research and better treatments for sufferers in the future.

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Child health experts are taking the unprecedented step of trying to contact 26,000 families across Wales to get a better understanding of how premature babies develop in the long term.

Dr Martin Edwards, one of those leading the study from Cardiff University, says there's been minimal research in this field: "This is an area of the Health Service that hasn't really been monitored or observed until now."

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• Cardiff University

Parents in Wales are being asked to take part in new research to help find out whether premature babies need to be monitored more.

Cardiff University hopes the results will help improve the treatment of children as they grow up.

To get involved with the research, or for more information, contact Professor Kotecha or Dr Edwards by email: edwardsmo@cardiff.ac.uk.

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Researchers at Cardiff University are asking families in Wales, who have had babies born prematurely, for their help.

They want ask the parents if their children have had any breathing and health related problems, and also to ask about the child's developing and learning.

Researchers say this will help them to establish if children born only moderately prematurely need to be followed more closely during childhood "than has occurred until now."

In Wales, there are about 35,000 babies born each year and from these about 2,500 are born prematurely.

There has been a lot of research demonstrating the negative effects that extreme premature birth can have on the lung function of children, but there's limited data on the lung function of moderately preterm born children, especially as they grow older.

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• Cardiff University

26,000 families across Wales will be asked to take part in new research to help to improve the health and treatments for children born prematurely.

The research is being carried out to discover if babies who were born prematurely - both extremely and moderately - in Wales have symptoms such as cough, wheezing, chest infections or hospital infections when compared to similarly aged children who were born on time.

A team at Cardiff University's School of Medicine will be sending questionnaires to parents with children who were born prematurely between 1st January 2003 and 31st December 2011.

The team hope their results will help guide doctors and other health workers by indicating whether children born moderately prematurely need to be closely followed up and if treatments already available should be started early, especially if the children have increased breathing symptoms.

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If you've got the Monday blues, you're not alone - today is the most depressing day of the year, according to research by a former Cardiff University psychologist.

Cliff Arnall created a mathematical formula to identify elements contributing to a general feeling of 'mid-winter blues.'

He found a combination of bad weather, broken new year's resolutions and post-Christmas debt conspire to make one Monday in January 'Blue Monday' - although accounts sometimes differ as to which date this is.

This year it's said to be January 21st - and experts say the added effect of economic gloom and doom means today could apparently be one of the most miserable Mondays ever.

For those feeling a touch of the winter blues today, experts suggest keeping active, eating well and spending time with loved ones.

Andy Green, of the Flexible Thinking Forum, said: "Monday may symbolically be the year's most depressing day, but it doesn't have to be. By making the most of potential opportunities around us we can transform it into a springboard for a positive happy day."

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Nurses in Wales are heading a new initiative aimed at reducing the number of alcohol-related injuries from binge drinking.

The 'Have a Word' campaign also trains pharmacists, midwives and dentists. They identify signs of alcohol misuse and speak to those drinking at hazardous levels.

Around 1,600 have already been trained.

'How did it happen, where were you, how much did you drink... it basically leads on to a structured conversation about how they can manage their behaviour in future" says Dr Paul Jordan, from Cardiff University.

"It's not a lecture, and it's not telling people how to drink either. It's basically just making sure they don't end up in A&E again".

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• Cardiff University

Nurses are taking the lead in a new initiative aimed at reducing the number of alcohol-related injuries.

The 'Have a Word' campaign, led by Cardiff University, aims to cut the number of alcohol-related injuries and illnesses by training nurses to identify signs of alcohol misuse and speak to those drinking at hazardous levels.

Around 1600 nurses, pharmacists, midwives and dentists have already been trained as part of the programme, which is being rolled out across Wales.

Trials carried out by Cardiff University's violence research group with nurses, who remove stitches from patients following alcohol-related injuries, found that 'brief interventions' were highly effective.

Professor Jonathan Shepherd, director of the research group, said the programme aims to prompt the patient to recognise the harm their drinking has cause, review their drinking, set themselves drinking limits and take steps to reduce their hazardous drinking.

Research shows that alcohol consumption has risen by 19% since 1980 and a quarter of Wales's adult population now drink at hazardous levels.

The campaign is being launched in Cardiff today.

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