Test for teen binge-drinking risk

3 July 2014 Last updated at 02:01 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website

Scientists claim to have developed a way of predicting which teenagers are likely to binge-drink.

A combination of 40 factors, including brain structure, personality and major life events, were used to produce the test.

It can predict, with 70% accuracy, which 14-year-olds are likely to binge-drink at 16.

But a simpler method would be needed to make the test practical because of the prohibitive costs of brain scans.

Studies have already looked for the differences between binge-drinking teenagers and those choosing a path of sobriety.

However, they cannot tease out what makes someone more likely to consume copious amounts of alcohol from the changes caused by the drink.

'Bunch of little things'

An international group of scientists have now conducted the largest study of its type to find a way of predicting which teenagers will go on to binge-drink.

They looked at a huge array of variables, including family history, exposure to alcohol, neuroticism, extravagance, conscientiousness and other personality traits, a suite of genes, brain volume, how the brain responds to reward and many more.

Dr Robert Whelan, of University College Dublin, told the BBC: "There is no one really big thing. It's a bunch of little things adding up to give you this prediction.

"There are three main areas: brain activity and brain structure; personality, so seeking out new things to do increases the risk, whereas conscious tends to make you less likely to binge-drink; and then life events, such as a boyfriend or girlfriend, is highly predictive."

However, he cautioned the test would have limited value in testing one individual as it was not accurate enough.

"It is very broad, but you could identify a group of people - say, take 1,000 kids and find the top 200 at a higher risk - to give them special intervention."

Dr Whelan added that it was important to identify those at risk of binge drinking because studies had shown alcohol has "neurotoxic effects which carry on into adulthood".

However, brain scans cost thousands of pounds per person. A simplified version of the test, focusing on relatively cheap personality and family history factors, is more likely to be used.

Hugh Perry, chairman of the Medical Research Council neurosciences and mental health board, said: "Addiction and substance misuse is a major medical, social and economic problem for the UK.

"The UK government spends more than £15bn annually in meeting the cost of drug-related social and economic harm."

He said further research could "lead to breakthroughs in this field and provide compelling evidence to inform public health policy and lay the groundwork for the design of interventions".

The findings will also be applied to other fields, including drug abuse and smoking.

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NHS plan 'a recipe for disaster'

3 July 2014 Last updated at 07:42 By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Cutting back on hospital services in England - before community services are geared up to provide care - is a "recipe for disaster", MPs say.

The Health Select Committee said the NHS faced "one of its greatest challenges" dealing with patients with long-term conditions, such as diabetes.

They account for 70% of health spending but only 30% of patients.

The NHS has tried to ensure more care is done in the community, but the MPs questioned the wisdom of this strategy.

The cross-party group said these patients would still need specialist hospital care.

The MPs acknowledged doing more in the community was perhaps desirable for the patient, but added it would not necessarily save the NHS money - as has been widely assumed.

Rising burden

They said it was already clear there were gaps that needed to be plugged in the community, pointing to figures that showed there was a shortfall in GPs in training.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Unless we get the treatment of long-term conditions right, we are going to see more and more people unable to see a doctor in their GP surgery and therefore turning up at casualty"

End Quote Dr Sarah Wollaston Committee chair

But they said the NHS could not simply cut back on hospital care to pay for this.

Instead, the MPs said there needed to be greater understanding of what drove patients with long-term conditions to hospital on such a scale.

Figures show these patients are responsible for two-thirds of outpatient and A&E visits and occupy 77% of beds.

The committee's report said evidence presented to them suggested that by 2016 the NHS would need to be finding an extra £4bn a year to cope with the rising burden of treating people with these incurable conditions unless a more efficient way of working were found.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, who has just replaced Stephen Dorrell as chairman of the committee, said: "Unless we get the treatment of long-term conditions right, we are going to see more and more people unable to see a doctor in their GP surgery and therefore turning up at casualty."

She added that the answer lay in making sure community services and social care were working together to keep people living independently.

The government has already set out plans to achieve this through its £3.8bn Better Care Fund, which will be launched next year to encourage collaboration between the NHS and local councils.

Continue reading the main story

• By 2025, that could be18m

• 70% of the NHS Budget is spent on caring for them

PA

'Refocus the agenda'

But that involves £2bn being taken from the NHS, which hospital leaders have warned is likely to hit their services hardest.

Bridget Turner, of Diabetes UK, said the NHS had to develop a "clear plan".

She said: "The health system needs to change to put people with long-term conditions, including diabetes, at the centre of the care they receive."

But Dr Martin McShane, NHS England's director of long-term conditions, said a number of steps were already being taken to "refocus the agenda" on proactive care to keep people well and save the NHS money.

He cited the push to improve the co-ordination of care for the frailest patients, which includes a new responsibility on GPs to take charge of their care.

Dr McShane added: "We do not underestimate the scale of the task."

Rob Webster, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS trusts, told BBC Breakfast that the report proved the "needs of a patient in the 21st century have changed".

He said patients with long-term conditions were still being cared for with "one-off interventions" by the NHS, which he said needed to "fundamentally change the way it looks after people".

"We need to see the people with long-term conditions as part of the team with the carers, the people who work in the general practices, community service providers and to join the services up around them, and that will take some time and some effort," he said.

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Seeing a GP 'getting more difficult'

3 July 2014 Last updated at 11:11 By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Getting to see a GP in England is getting more difficult, the official patient survey shows.

The poll of more than 900,000 patients found that, in the last two years, the proportion saying it was not easy to get through on the phone rose from 18% to 24%.

When they did get through 11% were unable to get an appointment, the Ipsos MORI poll for NHS England showed.

But overall 75% rated the experience of making an appointment as good.

When they did get to see a doctor, or for some a practice nurse, 86% said their overall experience was good.

'Waits will become normal'

It comes after the British Medical Association (BMA) warned last week that patients would face longer waits to see a GP because of a shortage of doctors and squeeze on funding.

Speaking at the BMA's annual conference, BMA GP leader, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said waits of one or two weeks would "become the norm".

This survey does not measure that, but it does show that access is becoming a problem for a growing minority.

As well as 11% not being able to make an appointment, 8% of those getting an appointment felt it was at an inconvenient time.

When asked about out-of-hours care, which most GPs opt out of providing themselves, two-thirds rated it as good with 17% saying it was poor - up from 13% two years ago.

GPs argue the problem is caused by rising demands not being matched with by a corresponding rise in resources.

The number of annual consultations carried out by general practice has risen by 40 million since 2008, hitting 340 million at the last count.

Meanwhile, figures from the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) show the amount spent on practices has fallen by £400m in real terms over the last three years.

In 2012-13, £8.5bn was invested in general practice, when everything from spending on pay, IT, tests and drugs was taken into account, the RCGP research found.

That compared with £8.3bn in 2009-10, which is the equivalent of £8.9bn in 2012-13 prices.

'Majority positive'

The Department of Health has already recognised access to GPs is an issue.

It has launched a £50m Challenge Fund to extend opening hours and make greater use of technologies such as Skype and email.

More than 1,100 practices - one in eight of those in England - have signed up.

Dr David Geddes, from NHS England, said: "Overall, these results show that the majority of patients are positive about their GP services, which is testament to the hard work of GPs and their staff.

"But we need to recognise the continuing trend in what patients are telling us about access to services."

However, Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham warned: "It is getting harder and harder to get a GP appointment under David Cameron.

"The next Labour Government will invest £100m to help patients to get appointments within 48 hours or on the same day for those who need it."

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C-section 'linked to stillbirth'

2 July 2014 Last updated at 10:10 By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website

Women who have c-sections are 14% more likely to have a stillbirth in future than those giving birth naturally, say researchers.

And c-sections raised the chance of an ectopic pregnancy by 9%, according to a study of more than 800,000 Danish first-time mothers.

Prof Louise Kenny of University College Cork described the risks as "very low".

Performing 3,000 caesareans would lead to one extra stillbirth in a subsequent pregnancy, she said.

"Although these are rare outcomes, they are devastating for parents and healthcare providers," Prof Kenny told BBC News.

Continue reading the main story

Any stillbirth is a stillbirth too many but the absolute risk is very small indeed"

End Quote Dr Patrick O'Brien Spokesman, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

"Therefore, we would advise women to avoid requesting a caesarean section when there is no medical indication to do so."

Dr Patrick O'Brien of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the findings were "reassuring".

"It's quite reassuring that any increased risk of stillbirth in a subsequent pregnancy is very small indeed," he said.

"Any stillbirth is a stillbirth too many but the absolute risk is very small indeed."

The study, published in PLOS Medicine, is one of the largest so far to look at links between c-sections and stillbirth.

The study analysed data from 832,996 women from Danish national registers.

There are about 4,000 stillbirths every year in the UK and one in 200 pregnancies ends in stillbirth.

An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes.

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PM warns of antibiotic resistance

2 July 2014 Last updated at 02:17

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David Cameron: "We are in danger of going back to the dark ages of medicine"

The world could soon be "cast back into the dark ages of medicine" unless action is taken to tackle the growing threat of resistance to antibiotics, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

He has announced a review into why so few anti-microbial drugs have been introduced in recent years.

Economist Jim O'Neill will lead a panel including experts from science, finance, industry, and global health.

It will set out plans for encouraging the development of new antibiotics.

'Taking the lead'

The prime minister said: "If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries will kill once again."

Mr Cameron said he discussed the issue at a G7 leaders meeting in Brussels earlier this month and got specific support from US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

It is hoped that the review panel's proposals will be discussed at next year's G7 summit, which will be hosted by Germany.

"Penicillin was a great British invention by Alexander Fleming back in 1928," Mr Cameron told the BBC. "It's good that Britain is taking the lead on this issue to solve what could otherwise be a really serious global health problem."

He said the panel would analyse three key issues: the increase in drug-resistant strains of bacteria, the "market failure" which has seen no new classes of antibiotics for more than 25 years, and the over-use of antibiotics globally.

'Time bomb'

It is estimated that drug-resistant strains of bacteria are responsible for 5,000 deaths a year in the UK and 25,000 deaths a year in Europe.

Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Dame Sally Davies has been a key figure helping to get the issue on the government and global agenda.

Last year she described the threat of antimicrobial resistance as a "ticking time bomb" and said the dangers it posed should be ranked along with terrorism.

She spoke at a meeting of scientists at the Royal Society last month which warned that a response was needed akin to efforts to combat climate change.

Dame Sally said: "I am delighted to see the prime minister taking a global lead by commissioning this review.

"New antibiotics made by the biotech and pharmaceutical industry will be central to resolving this crisis which will impact on all areas of modern medicine."

Medical research charity the Wellcome Trust is providing £500,000 of funding for Mr O'Neill and his team, which will be based at their headquarters in central London.

Antimicrobial resistance has been a key issue for Jeremy Farrar, since he became director of the Wellcome Trust last year.

"Drug-resistant bacteria, viruses and parasites are driving a global health crisis," he said.

"It threatens not only our ability to treat deadly infections, but almost every aspect of modern medicine: from cancer treatment to Caesarean sections, therapies that save thousands of lives every day rely on antibiotics that could soon be lost."

'Market failure'

Antibiotics have been an incredible success story, but bacteria eventually develop resistance through mutation.

One example is MRSA, which has been a major threat for years in hospitals. It is resistant to all but the most powerful of antibiotics, and the main weapon against it is improved hygiene, which cuts the opportunity for infection to spread.

Without antibiotics a whole raft of surgical procedures would be imperilled, from hip replacements to cancer chemotherapy and organ transplants.

Before antibiotics, many women died after childbirth after developing a simple bacterial infection.

Mr O'Neill is a high-profile economist who is best-known for coining the terms Bric and Mint - acronyms to describe countries which are emerging and potential powerhouses of the world economy.

He is not, though an expert on antibiotics or microbes. But Mr Cameron told the BBC it was important to have an economist heading the review:

"There is a market failure; the pharmaceutical industry hasn't been developing new classes of antibiotics, so we need to create incentives."

Jeremy Farrar said: "This is not just a scientific and medical challenge, but an economic and social one too which would require analysis of regulatory systems and behavioural changes to solve them."

Mr O'Neill will begin work in September and is expected to deliver his recommendations next spring.

Last month antibiotic resistance was selected as the focus for the £10m Longitude Prize, set up to tackle a major challenge of our time.

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Major stem-cell findings retracted

2 July 2014 Last updated at 12:45 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website

Research into one of the biggest recent stem-cell "breakthroughs" has been withdrawn because of "critical errors".

Scientists in Japan had claimed stem cells could be made cheaply, quickly and ethically just by dipping blood cells into acid.

They have now written a retraction that apologises for "multiple errors" in their report.

Nature, the journal that published the findings, is reviewing how it checks scientific papers.

Stem cells can become any other type of tissue and are already being investigated to heal the damage caused by a heart attack and to restore sight to the blind.

Researchers around the world described the acid-bath stem-cell finds as a "game changer," "remarkable" and "a major scientific discovery".

Falling apart

However, errors were rapidly discovered, parts were lifted from early work and presented as though it was new research, and leading scientists have been unable to produce stem cells using acid in their own laboratories.

An investigation by the Riken research institute in Japan found that scientist Dr Haruko Obokata had fabricated her work in an intentionally misleading fashion.

The retraction states: "These multiple errors impair the credibility of the study as a whole and we are unable to say without doubt whether the stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluri­potency stem cells phenomenon is real.

"Ongoing studies are investigating this phenomenon afresh, but given the extensive nature of the errors currently found we consider it appropriate to retract both papers."

The affair brings back memories of the false claims by world-renowned cloning scientists Hwang Woo-suk.

He claimed he had produced embryonic stem cells from cloned human embryos, but those findings were later found to be "intentionally fabricated".

'Highlighted flaws'

A Nature editorial stated that the public's trust in science was at stake in the latest controversy.

It added: "Although editors and referees could not have detected the fatal faults in this work, the episode has further highlighted flaws in Nature's procedures and in the procedures of institutions that publish with us."

However, it did say a review was under way to increase checking on images used in papers.

The acid-bath stem cells research has not been completely discredited and research is continuing to see if stem cells can be produced using the method.

Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, originally said the results were "a very exciting, but surprise, finding" and added: "It looks a bit too good to be true."

After the retraction, he told the BBC: "I'm surprised that Nature took so long when there was so much material showing problems with the papers. I don't understand that."

However, he said the system of peer review, in which fellow scientists critique papers before they are published, would struggle to pick up the problems in this research.

He said: "If you're a reviewer you can only review the material you're given. You have to take it on trust. You're not a detective looking for fraud.

'Good day for science'

"If you have to act as a super-sleuth, that's impossible for anyone to ever do."

He praised the way social media had uncovered and shared the errors, which could have otherwise taken years to unpick.

"I would argue this is not an embarrassing day for science, I think it's a good day for science and it shows we work well to weed out inferior publications."

Dr Dusko Ilic, a senior lecturer in stem-cell science at King's College London, said: "It is easy to be judgmental, and pointing fingers after all is over.

"Gaining knowledge is difficult. It requires both time and persistence, I hoped that Haruko Obokata would prove at the end all those naysayers wrong.

"Unfortunately, she did not. The technology, indeed, sounded too good to be true, though I still find fascinating how a 30-year-old scientist could pass scrutiny of her co-workers and multiple reviewers in Nature with a complete fabrication."

The UK Medical Research Council's Prof Robin Lovell-Badge added: "The stem cell community has been expecting these retractions to come for a while.

"This story illustrates how the stem cell field can rapidly detect bad science and reject it.

"It also illustrates both the problems and benefits of hype, this was potentially important research because of the novelty of the claims in an important field, but it was hyped far beyond reality, by some of the authors and by their perhaps willing victims, the media."

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Third hospital feed baby dies

1 July 2014 Last updated at 13:41 By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website

A third baby given suspected contaminated hospital feed has died, according to Public Health England.

Twenty-three babies have been treated for blood poisoning in connection with the outbreak.

All the infected babies were being fed a liquid mixture of nutrients directly into their bloodstream.

The third baby to die was being cared for at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridgeshire.

Continue reading the main story

We are reassured that this was a very rare occurrence as we have not seen this particular strain of bacteria in any product made since that day and there has been no further illness"

End Quote Mike Catchpole Public Health England

"We can confirm that a baby has died after receiving contaminated nutritional fluid," said a spokesman.

"Our thoughts are with the family and we are supporting them during this very difficult and emotional time."

Two other babies who had been ill were stable and were doing well, he added.

Public Health England (PHE) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are investigating the incident, which has been linked to a nutritional supplement given to a number of premature babies.

Nine-day-old Yousef Al-Kharboush died at St Thomas' Hospital on 1 June.

A second baby at the hospital later died, but this was not thought to be a direct result of blood poisoning from the feed linked to the outbreak.

All three deaths have been reported to the coroner.

'Rare occurrence'

PHE said the babies developed blood poisoning from the Bacillus cereus bacterium, which has been linked to an intravenous fluid supplied by ITH Pharma.

Prof Mike Catchpole of PHE said the main findings pointed towards there being "a single incident that occurred on one day and was associated with the illness seen in the babies".

He added: "We are reassured that this was a very rare occurrence as we have not seen this particular strain of bacteria in any product made since that day and there has been no further illness."

Gerald Heddell of the MHRA said: "From our investigation to date, we continue to believe this was an isolated incident and that appropriate immediate action has been taken at ITH Pharma's facility to avoid a recurrence.

"Therefore we are allowing this critical product to be supplied to patients while our investigation continues."

The first case was reported early in June.

11 hospitals

Since then, there have been confirmed cases at nine hospitals in England:

• Addenbrooke's, Cambridge University Hospitals (three)

• Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, London (four)

• Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London (three)

• The Whittington Hospital (one confirmed, one possible)

• Brighton & Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust (three)

• Luton and Dunstable University Hospital (two)

• Peterborough City Hospital (one)

• Southend University Hospital (one confirmed, one possible)

• Stoke Mandeville Hospital (one confirmed).

There are two possible cases at:

• Basildon University Hospital

There have been no new infections since 2 June.

Bacterial toxins

The Bacillus cereus bacterium produces toxins that cause two types of illness.

The most common form causes nausea and vomiting after eating contaminated food.

Less common is an illness which causes fever and diarrhoea.

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Diabetes drugs 'may not be best'

1 July 2014 Last updated at 03:45 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website

The downsides of taking medication for type-2 diabetes may exceed the benefits for some patients, researchers have advised.

Their study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, argued elderly people had the least to gain.

The team at University College London (UCL) has called on doctors to discuss the risks more clearly with patients.

The charity Diabetes UK said doctors needed to strike a careful balance when prescribing treatment.

Type-2 diabetes is an inability to control blood sugar levels and is linked to lifestyle factors including diet and obesity.

In the long-term it is linked to heart disease, kidney damage, nerve damage and even blindness.

Drugs such as metformin can be used to lower blood sugar levels to prevent the side effects.

Cost vs benefit

The report, which was carried out by the University of Michigan as well as UCL, said an average 45-year-old who dropped their blood sugar levels by one percentage point would gain 10 months of healthy life, compared with three weeks for a 75-year-old starting treatment.

It added this needed to be balanced against the down-sides to a lifetime of medication including: Having to have multiple injections and blood sugar tests each day, drugs causing indigestion or sickness, or insulin treatments risking blood sugar levels dropping dangerously low (hypoglycaemia).

One of the report's authors, Prof John Yudkin, told the BBC: "What it means is if you're someone with type-2, it's your right to know what the benefits of the treatment are in terms of gain in life expectancy or reduction in heart attacks or going blind.

"And then you are entitled to decide, but not many doctors have got those figures to hand."

He said GPs were too "target focussed" and were often looking only at the blood sugar level.

The findings do not apply to people with type-1 diabetes.

Balance needed

Commenting on the report, Simon O'Neill, the director for health intelligence at Diabetes UK, said: "Sometimes there is a balance to be struck where certain medications might help give someone a longer life, but also cause side effects that might negatively impact on quality of life.

"This study highlights the importance of looking at the individual needs of the person with type-2 diabetes, rather than adopting a blanket approach."

Patients are advised not to make any decisions without consulting their GP.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which advises the NHS on medication, said: "The current NICE guidance on the management of type-2 diabetes recognises that glycaemic [sugar] control targets should not impair a person's quality of life as a result of the side effects of treatment.

"Where medication does not help achieve this target level, lifestyle therapies such as dietary advice should be offered."

Refreshed guidelines are due to be published next summer.

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'Malaria leads to body odour change'

1 July 2014 Last updated at 07:57 By Smitha Mundasad Health reporter, BBC News

Malaria parasites can manipulate the body odour of mice, research in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests.

Researchers believe parasites may change odours in order to help them with a key stage in their reproduction.

And scientists found the altered scent persists at a critical time when mice have no symptoms but remain infectious.

They are working on further trials to determine whether parasites can affect human smell too.

Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Pennsylvania State University in the US studied the odour of mice with and without malaria for 45 days.

They found the scent of infected mice was markedly different to non-infected ones.

'Complex life-cycle'

The parasite did not completely alter the smell of the individual - instead it changed the level of compounds already present in mouse odour

And this was particularly noticeable in mice which were still infectious but no longer showed any symptoms of the disease - corresponding to a crucial time in the life cycle of the parasite.

Prof Consuelo De Moraes of Pennsylvania State University and one of the lead authors of the research said: "There appears to be an overall elevation of several compounds that are attractive to mosquitoes."

The study showed mosquitoes were most attracted to mice when the parasites in their bodies were at a key point in their development - a stage when they needed to be passed back to a mosquito in order to reproduce.

Malaria parasites have a complex life-cycle with several stages. They need to develop and mature in both humans and mosquitoes.

Scientists believe parasites may manipulate the host's smell in order to ensure continued survival.

'Attractive to mosquitoes'

Researchers are now working on trials to see if this pattern of odour change can be traced in humans too.

Professor Mark Mescher of Pennsylvania State University who was also involved in the research told the BBC: "One of the major potential values of this research is if it can help us identify people who do not show symptoms of the disease.

"Without symptoms people carry the disease without treatment and still transmit it.

"But there is still a long way to go. In mice we have a very controlled environment. In humans there are so many different factors at play - from diverse environments to diverse genes."

Dr James Logan of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who was not involved in the research said:

"This is one of the first convincing studies that demonstrates a significant change in odour compounds from malaria-infected mammals can affect mosquito behaviour.

"The strength of this paper is in the experimental approaches used, combining analytical chemistry, statistical analyses and mosquito behaviour.

"However, this demonstration is in an animal model which may or may not relate to human beings infected with malaria."

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'Supercooling' keeps organs fresh

29 June 2014 Last updated at 18:08 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News online

A new technique can preserve organs for days before transplanting them, US researchers claim.

"Supercooling" combines chilling the organ and pumping nutrients and oxygen through its blood vessels.

Tests on animals, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, showed supercooled livers remained viable for three days, compared with less than 24 hours using current technology.

If it works on human organs, it has the potential to transform organ donation.

As soon as an organ is removed from the body, the individual cells it is made from begin to die.

Cooling helps slow the process as it reduces the metabolic rate of the cells.

Meanwhile, surgeons in the UK carried out the first "warm liver" transplant in March 2013 which used an organ kept at body temperature in a machine.

The technique being reported first hooks the organ up to a machine which perfuses the organ with nutrients.

It is then cooled to minus 6C.

Supercool

In experiments on rat livers, the organs could be preserved for three days.

One of the researchers, Dr Korkut Uygun, from the Harvard Medical School, told the BBC the technique could lead to donated organs being shared around the world.

"That would lead to better donor matching, which would reduce-long term organ rejection and complications, which is one of the major issues in organ transplant," he said.

He also argued that organs which are normally rejected, as they would not survive to the transplant table, might be suitable if they were preserved by supercooling.

"That could basically eliminate waiting for a organ, but that is hugely optimistic," Dr Uygun said.

Further experiments are now needed to see if the technology can be scaled up from preserving a 10g (0.35oz) rat liver to a 1.5kg (3.3lb) human liver.

The researchers believe the technology could work on other organs as well.

Dr Rosemarie Hunziker, from the US National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, said: "It is exciting to see such an achievement in small animals by recombining and optimising existing technology.

"The longer we are able to store donated organs, the better the chance the patient will find the best match possible, with both doctors and patients fully prepared for surgery.

"This is a critically important step in advancing the practice of organ storage for transplantation."

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