COVID-19 has fundamentally altered clinical practices and guidelines. This also applies to liver transplantation. In the UK, liver transplant activity has dramatically decreased during the early months of the pandemic. The traditional logic dictates that transplantation-related immunosuppression increases the risk of COVID-19 infection and entails sub-par clinical outcomes. However, theories remain theories without clinical evidence. This article examines whether such concerns justify reducing liver transplant activity.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by sand-flies and is considered one of the most neglected diseases in the world. It mostly affects the poorest of the poor. People living in poor situations are more susceptible. Leishmaniasis includes several variants...

The 2021 Virtual Academic Surgery Conference (VASC) was held virtually on March 27th 2021. Twelve abstracts were selected for presentation at the conference and eight of those have been submitted for publication in the conference proceedings, published by the Cambridge Medicine Journal.

The Building Bridges in Medical Science 2021 Conference was held virtually on March 6th, 2021. Abstracts were judged by panel consisting of representatives from both the BBMS Organising Committee and the Cambridge Medicine Journal. A selection of abstracts are included in this set of conference proceedings, published by the Cambridge Medicine Journal.

Posterior circulation ischaemic stroke (PCIS) is a disease of high mortality and morbidity. However, current research predominantly focuses on the anterior circulation, specifically the internal carotid artery. Recommendations of change are required for the improvement of clinical outcomes.

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) patients typically deteriorate at a rapid rate, and survive an average of 15 months from diagnosis – despite clinical intervention with the current approach of maximal surgical resection and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Tumour recurrence and treatment resistance remain inevitable with this standard treatment protocol, and therefore, we must endeavour to investigate more efficacious alternatives which offer better patients better prognosis and quality of life.

Winner of the NANSIG essay competition 2020.

Cotard syndrome features nihilistic delusions about one’s body or existence and is typically related to severe depression though is rarely associated with medical or neurological insults. The patient was a 62-year-old male with no past psychiatric history and a past medical history of congestive heart failure and consequent renal failure who presented for scheduled heart and kidney transplantation. He was started on routine post-transplant ganciclovir and steroids. Due to postoperative hypotension, empiric cefepime was initiated to cover for septic shock. One week postoperatively, the patient stated “I am dead.”

Optogenetics, the control of neural activity using light, is a recent development in the field of clinical neuroscience and has brought significant reform to the domain. The “optogenetic revolution” has fueled the expansion of three main areas: the cell-specific understanding of neurodegenerative disorders, development of new treatment methods and evolution of biotechnological approaches. The possibility created by optogenetics of single-cell manipulation and the identification of specific neuronal pathways allows for a radically clearer grasp of the brain’s functioning. However, despite its promising outlook, the future of optogenetics remains unclear. Especially the transition from animal-based models to human application requires a significant advancement of the field, with technological and physiological obstacles that have so far proven unsurpassable. Thus, the question is posed whether the rapid change which optogenetics brought to clinical neurosciences will continue gaining momentum in the coming years.

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the commonest focal epilepsy. Acquired TLE is considered to occur as the result of a 3-phase process called epileptogenesis. Firstly, an ‘epileptogenic event’ occurs, for example traumatic brain injury. Next follows a latent period whereby hyperexcitable networks form and lower the seizure threshold. Finally, TLE emerges. The objective of this review is to investigate how gene dysregulation drives hyperexcitability during epileptogenesis.