NIHR (National Institute for Health Research)

Researchers at the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and the University of Leeds have led a successful breakthrough trial of a new medication aimed at relieving knee pain in osteoarthritis. The Phase 2 international clinical trial of LEVI-04 published in The Lancet demonstrated significant reductions in pain and stiffness, with substantial improvement in function and patients’ experience of their disease.

New clinical risk tool could help GPs reduce COPD hospital admissions - NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre

UCLH have recruited the first participant in the world to a new global phase I study for early Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The study (NCT07234942) is testing an experimental study drug (RG6627/RO7812653) designed to reduce the amount of a protein called ApoE in the brain. Studies have demonstrated that ApoE contributes to worsening of brain health in people with AD. For example, ApoE speeds up the accumulation of abnormal proteins called amyloid and tau in the brain.

A major new analysis of more than 400,000 UK adults has found that simple, easy‑to‑collect measures of physical health, particularly how fast someone walks, can significantly improve predictions of mortality risk. This finding was especially strong for people already living with long-term health conditions.

A new NIHR Bristol BRC study has captured the experiences of women and clinicians involved in the first uterine transplants (UTx) to take place in the UK. The research team, who are part of the NIHR Bristol BRC Surgical and Orthopaedic (SOI) Innovation theme used a range of qualitative methods to study the introduction of UTx over a period of 6 years.

For Michelle, pregnancy was a long-awaited chapter. “I’ve always thought I’d like to be pregnant. The idea of growing a human is fascinating,” she says. Now 32 weeks along, her journey has been mostly smooth, despite some early aversions to chicken and third-trimester aches. Michelle works in communications for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), so she has always been a strong advocate for taking part in research.

Cambridge-led UK study tests new preventative therapy for contagious gut infection 6 March 2026 A major new study investigating a highly contagious and life-threatening gut infection has launched in the UK – with world-leading researchers, based at Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, recruiting the first patient globally to test a new preventative therapy. Clostridioides difficile, often called C. difficile or “C. diff”, is a bacterium that lives in the gut.

An AI-driven tool that tailors antidepressant treatment to individual patients was shown to improve outcomes for people with depression, compared to standard treatment, in a major international trial. It is the first time ever a mental health clinical prediction tool has been demonstrated as effective.

A wearable sensor that monitors breathing has been recognised with a national innovation prize. The PneumoRator has won the Healthcare and Medical Award at The Engineer's Collaborate to Innovate (C2I) Awards. Developed by researchers in Southampton and Nottingham, the sensor can be worn on a person’s chest like a sticker. It continuously monitors their breathing rate. The technology has the potential to provide a life-saving early warning system.

Adrian, 65, a keen cyclist, had been fit and well throughout his life until around 2004 when he began to experience breathlessness when exercising. “It was getting harder to get up certain hills. I didn't take any notice of it but then I started getting a cough and other issues, so my wife, Mary, encouraged me to go to my GP.” At the age of 50, Adrian was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a type of heart disease which makes it harder for blood to be pumped around the body.