Faculty of Health Sciences

Adrenal gland activity change under severe stress causing abnormal release of glucocorticoid stress hormones

To respond to stress optimally, the body needs to produce glucocorticoid hormones, such as cortisol, extremely quickly. New research by scientists from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter has revealed the molecular network that enables rapid glucocorticoid production within the adrenal glands, and has shown how the behaviour of this network can be altered under severe stress.

How have vaccines helped to protect the world and how can they continue to do so?

The power of vaccines to help save lives and shape our world has never been more evident as countries around the world fight against COVID-19. The pandemic has also highlighted how vital it is for industry, academia and global populations to work together in the race for effective vaccines. The importance of vaccine research to global public health will be discussed later this week by a distinguished panel of experts at a live online event jointly organised by the University of Bristol and Pfizer.

One year on: South West researchers and businesses in the battle against COVID-19

Over the past year, up and down the UK, thousands of research and innovation projects have been publicly funded to tackle the pandemic. Researchers at the universities of Bristol, Bath and Exeter, and businesses in the South West are playing a key role in how the UK is combatting COVID-19. Their work forms part of a £550 million COVID-19 rapid investment programme by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) - the largest public funder of research and development in the UK.

Combining heroin and commonly prescribed non-opioid pain killers leads to a significant rise in overdose deaths

A multi-disciplinary study has shown that the recent substantial increase in prescriptions for two drugs, pregabalin and gabapentin, used widely for a range of neurological disorders is closely correlated with a rise in the number of overdose deaths in England and Wales. These drugs have become drugs of abuse, according to new University of Bristol findings published in Addiction, which highlight that they are especially dangerous when used with heroin or other opioids