Medical Detectives (audio)

Professor Peter Sandercock, Personal Chair in Medical Neurology, presents the fourth lecture in the 2014 Medical Detectives series entitled, Unravelling the Mystery of Stroke Disease - The Clue's in the Numbers... Ideas about the causes of stroke have evolved over the centuries from the mystical to the realisation that most strokes are due to a plumbing problem - a blocked or burst artery in the brain. In this lecture Professor Peter Sandercock will begin by describing early attempts to map stroke in the population and then explain how the numerical science of epidemics of infectious diseases in populations was successfully applied to stroke to identify its main causes. Recorded on 6 November 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Professor Aziz Sheikh, Professor of Primary Care Research & Development and Co-Director of the University's Centre for Population Health Scientist, delivers the third lecture in the 2014 Medical Detectives series entitled, "The Sign of Three: Progress Report on an Investigation into the Epidemic of Itch, Sneeze and Wheeze". In this lecture, Professor Sheikh will present a summary of the main culprits identified to-date and share his thoughts on where the investigation should now focus attention. Recorded on 23 October 2014, at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Dr Chin addresses some of the major challenges in childhood epilepsy: identifying the cause, finding better treatments, and dealing with the learning and behavioural problems in epilepsy. http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/medical-detectives/2014/chin Recorded on 9 October 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

No other terrestrial species of animal is as diverse in its morphology as man's best friend, the dog. Today more than four hundred breeds of dogs are recognized worldwide. Why and how did dogs evolve so rapidly and broadly? Dr Schoenebeck discusses the scientific advances that occurred in the last decade that have enabled researchers to begin unravelling the mysteries of canine diversity. http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/medical-detectives/2014/schoenebeck Recorded 25 September 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, Professor of Multiple Sclerosis Research, presents the Medical Detectives lecture, "Why Doesn't the Brain Repair Itself?". The patient disabled by spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis illustrates the consequences of the failure of repair in the brain after injury. But why does this fail? Other tissues such as skin repair very well, so what factors make the brain different? This talk examines the clues that experiments have given us as to the identity of the culprits. How is current research trying to deal with them, and why might it be that they turned to crime in the first place? Recorded on 7 November 2013 at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Professor Stephen Lawrie, Professor of Psychiatry and Head of the Division of Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, delivers his Medical Detectives lecture entitled "Scanning for a Diagnostic Test for Schizophrenia". Brain imaging can be used to distinguish patients with schizophrenia from their relatives, and from other patients with major psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder and autism. This talk takes a journey through these investigations, lay out the evidence and show how outcomes may be enhanced and possibly even prevent psychosis in high risk populations. Recorded on 24 October 2013 at The University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Professor Stephen Wigmore, Professor of Transplantation Surgery and Honorary Consultant Surgeon at The University of Edinburgh, delivers his Medical Detectives lecture entitled "The Case of the Vanishing Yellow Man". In this talk, Professor Wigmore examines approaches to management of liver failure, particularly liver transplantation and will also look to future prospects for cell therapy. Recorded on 10 October 2013 at The University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Dr Angela Thomas is an honorary senior lecturer within Child Life and Health at the University of Edinburgh. From First World War observations that mustard gas caused lymphoid tissue to dissolve and that folate seemed to accelerate the leukaemic process, carefully chosen chemicals were used to tackle leukaemia, sometimes with startling success. In the early days, some children were cured with this minimal therapy. As more drugs were discovered, so treatment intensified and more children were cured. The current challenge is to identify which children will do well with less treatment and who need more. This is where the new DNA technologies have proved so helpful to ensure that children with leukaemia have the maximum chance of cure with the minimum side effects. This lecture is part of the Medical Detectives, a series of public lectures that show how keen detective work is still essential for 21st century doctors. Recorded on 26 September 2013 in the Anatomy Lecture Theatre at the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Siddharthan Chandran is Director of the Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research at the University of Edinburgh. Stem cells have heralded a revolution in research, offering genuine possibilities for the discovery and delivery of new treatments. Professor Chandran will explore the myths and hype surrounding stem cells and present the potential promise research in this area could bring to patients with neurodegenerative conditions. This lecture is part of the Medical Detectives, a series of public lectures that show how keen detective work is still essential for 21st century doctors: http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/medical-detectives/ Recorded on 1 November 2012 in the Anatomy Lecture Theatre at the University of Edinburgh.

Great strides have been taken in preventing and treating heart disease, yet it remains one of the biggest serial killers and our understanding of its causes is incomplete. This lecture describes how clues from population databases, modern genetics, and detailed investigations in patients have implicated steroid stress hormones in heart disease and how this has led to the development of new drug treatments. Brian Walker is Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh. This lecture is part of the Medical Detectives, a series of public lectures that show how keen detective work is still essential for 21st century doctors: http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/medical-detectives/ Recorded on 18 October 2012 in the Anatomy Lecture Theatre at the University of Edinburgh.