A clinical trial using cholesterol-lowering treatment Simvastatin in people living with Parkinson’s is getting underway in centres across the country – with the hope that it could become one of a number of effective treatments available to treat Parkinson’s.
Spearheaded by Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, the double-blinded placebo controlled study will involve 198 people with Parkinson’s. The trial is seeking people who have been living with Parkinson’s and who are not already taking a statin. It will take place in 21 centres in the UK including...
Elaine M Goodwin, internationally acclaimed and world renowned mosaic artist, is leaving her beloved City of Exeter after some forty years. She is moving to France to establish a larger studio and gallery.
Elaine started her creative path in Exeter in the 1970s where she studied sculpture and photography at Exeter College of Art & Design.
Whilst her developing interest in mosaics took her to exotic global locations such as India, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, it was always to Exeter she returned.
Between 1982 and 1986 she tutored mosaics at Exeter College and...
Devon County Council is set to accept the Government ‘s offer to increase council tax by two per cent to help pay for adult social care.
The increase would raise just under £6.5 million extra this year.
That would help pay for the Government’s increase in the minimum wage which will cost the county council over £7 million more in care costs.
The two per cent council tax increase will be on top of any rise in the rate for general services which will be decided at the annual budget meeting next month.
The Government has set a ceiling of 1.99 per cent for...
Exeter women are being urged to get the New Year off to a great start by signing up now to Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life 2016.
The charity is calling on women of all shapes and sizes to show cancer who’s boss by choosing their event - Race for Life 5k, 10k or Pretty Muddy – and committing to take part at Westpoint Exeter.
Although many see January as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter in terms of health and fitness, motivation can slip as the cold weather drags on.
That’s where Race for Life comes in. Pretty Muddy will take place on Saturday, 23...
Exeter accountants and financial planners Old Mill are doubling the number of people owning an equity stake in the business. There are already 21 shareholders in the business but from 1 January 2016, 23 further members of staff acquired equity taking the total number of shareholders up to 44 – almost a fifth of the 250 workforce. Simon Cole, Board member and one of the co-founders of Old Mill, commented “Many firms in our profession have a business model that sees them restrict their ownership all too often to a small select group of individuals. As a consequence, staff who work hard for...
People have evolved to have subconscious urges to over-eat, and limited ability to avoid becoming obese, especially in winter, a University of Exeter study has found.
There is not yet an evolutionary mechanism to help us overcome the lure of sweet, fatty and unhealthy food and avoid becoming overweight for understandable and sensible reasons, according to researchers.
This is because in our past being overweight has not posed a significant threat to survival compared to the dangers of being underweight. The urge to maintain body fat is even stronger in winter when food in...
Devon’s under pressure care services are to get a £16 million boost.
Devon County Council is planning to spend an extra £16.1 million on its People services in the new financial year. That’s an increase of 5.4 per cent on this year’s spending.
The People budget covers children* and adult care as well as education.
The boost for care spending in 2016/17 comes despite budget cuts in other departments.
The target budget for Place services calls for a 3.5 per cent cut from £97.3 million to £93.4 million.
The budget for the Corporate Services department,...
The Met Office has issued another weather warning as heavy rain is set to return to the region this evening.
A band of heavy rain will move in from the west, arriving in Cornwall late on Wednesday afternoon, then affecting the rest of southwest England and south Wales through the evening and overnight, before clearing from most areas towards dawn on Thursday.
Forecasters are warning of the likelihood of some flooding, with some travel disruption possible and flooding of roads.
The warning is valid from 4pm today (Tuesday 6 January) until 8am tomorrow.
The M5 remains closed in both directions between junctions 23-24 after a tanker overturned this morning resulting in a substantial chemical spillage on the carriageway.
It is expected that the southbound carriageway will reopen at around 6pm this evening once the recovery of the tanker has been completed.
A spokesperson for Avon & Somerset Police said: “The northbound carriageway will need resurfacing overnight but Highways England is doing everything possible to get one lane open after 6pm to help release traffic diverting through the centre of Bridgwater and...
Police are appealing for witnesses to an attempted robbery in Tiverton.
On Wednesday 23 December 2015, at around 9.15pm, a 57-year-old local man was walking through the car park in the Market Walk and Pannier Market area of the town when he was approached by another man who demanded money.
Following an altercation the two separated and left the scene.
A 31-year-old man from Tiverton was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery and released on police bail until 2 March 2016 pending further enquiries.
Officers are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed the...
