In this issue:

Bliss Symbols

How Action Medical Research brought a new language to the UK in the 1970s

Children are not little adults!

An update on the Action Medical Research campaign for more accurate paediatric prescribing

Living with arthrogryposis

Mathilda Rangel — Matt to her friends — is a 38-year old woman living and working in London. Born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita — a condition into which Action Medical Research has funded research — she tells Touching Lives about the effect the disability has on her life.

New osteoporosis study underway

A new project will investigate the impact of vertebroplasty on the function of the spine

Researchers test drugs to prevent premature labour

Action Medical Research funding has enabled a team at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne to study the role of the hormone hCG in pregnancy and labour

Revealing the misconceptions of premature birth

Can you predict it? Can you prevent it? Is it genetic? A recent survey discovered just how little people know about being born too early.

Safety first

An Action Medical Research study has investigated the safety of treating premature babies with steroids

Solving a medical mystery

For the vast majority of people, a sore throat is no more than an irritation that lasts a few days. But in a minority of cases — and more frequently in children — a throat infection caused by streptococcus bacteria can lead to devastating brain damage…

Understanding congenital spinal abnormality

An internationally recognised study into a congenital spinal abnormality — spondylocostal dysostosis — has made groundbreaking discoveries