Fifth Bristol university student takes own life this academic year

A third-year languages student is understood to have killed herself in the fifth case this year of suspected suicide involving students at the University of Bristol.

Elsa Scaburri, who was studying for a degree in French and Italian, was halfway through her year abroad. According to a statement released by the university, she died last week near her home, which is understood to be in Wiltshire.

An inquest has been opened and adjourned. A University of Bristol spokesperson said: “We were very saddened to hear that one of our third-year students, Elsa Scaburri, sadly died near her home last week.

“We understand from her family that Elsa took her own life, although it will be for the coroner to determine the cause of death.

“Elsa was halfway through a year abroad as part of her French and Italian degree. The university offers its condolences to her family and friends and our thoughts are with them at this very sad time.”

Her death will once again raise concerns about mental health among students and the capacity of universities to address growing demand for support.

Three Bristol students – philosophy student Miranda Williams, 19, history student Daniel Green, 18, and Kim Long, 18, who was studying law, died late last year in their first term at university. Final-year neuroscience student Lara Nosiru, 23, also studying at Bristol and originally from Essex, was found dead in Avon Gorge in January.

Following last year’s deaths, the university said it did not believe there was a link between any of the incidents and insisted annual figures did not show any trends. In the last academic year Bristol had one death by suicide; there were none the year before that, and one the previous year.

A review has been under way at Bristol to find out how best to support students with mental health needs. The number of staff in support services has been increased and additional funding has been put into the system to meet growing demand.

A Guardian investigation last year revealed that the number of students seeking counselling at university has risen by 50% in the past five years. And a report in September by the Higher Education Policy Institute thinktank said some institutions needed to triple their spending on mental health services to meet increased demand.

Students have a lower suicide rate than the general population, but it appears to have grown. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2014 there were 130 deaths by suicide of full-time students aged 18 and over in England and Wales. This compares with 112 in 2011, and 75 in 2007. The increase can be explained in part by the growing university population, which has doubled since 1997 and now stands at 2 million.

“The welfare of our students and staff continues to be our highest priority and it is distressing for all members of the university community that one of our students has died,” the University of Bristol spokesperson said. “We would urge any students affected by this tragic incident to seek support from university services, friends or family.

“In the context of increasing national concerns about student mental health we have been working with our staff and students to review how best to support all students including those with enduring mental health difficulties.

“We have increased staffing levels in our support services and have committed to invest an additional £1m per year to provide wellbeing support for students in each academic school. We will also be signing the Time to Change pledge to help reduce the stigma of discussing mental health issues.”

In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here

Fifth Bristol university student takes own life this academic year

Dementia is a present day plague that will be eradicated, top academic says

“Should we despair? Far from it,” he said in an article written for the Telegraph.

“The lessons of background show that ‘plagues’ can outcome from rapid modifications in human life style and behaviour but that humanity is capable to reply by striving to uncover the underlying brings about of ailment, and that such comprehending can lead to powerful means of prevention and even cure.

“Throughout background humankind has risen to the challenges of adjust and we are now in a place where we can get advantage of the wonderful advances that have taken area, and carry on to take location, in scientific and medical information and methodologies.”

Despite the fact that previous plagues this kind of as the Plague of Athens, the Antonine Plague and the Plague of Justinian all struck with massive death and devastation in the ancient planet, it was the Black Death in mid-14th Century that has ‘etched itself into the memory of the modern world’ mentioned Prof Dobson.

That, and subsequent outbreaks of bubonic plague have been accountable for the deaths of a third of the population of Europe, up to 50 million folks.

At the time the plague was blamed on supernatural phenomena, divine vengeance, miasmas and foul smells and treatment options ranged from prayers to snake-oil cures.

The ‘plague bacillus’ (Yersinia pestis) was not recognized till the finish of the 19th century in Hong Kong when it was found that fleas on rats had been spreading the condition and controls taken to avert transmission.

Current viruses this kind of as avian and swine flu have provided rise to fears of novel and hugely contagious kinds of such diseases that are beyond the handle of medical science

The growth of worldwide travel has also speeded up the transmission of contagious illness.

“The globe can now be circumnavigated in a couple of days or significantly less while a century or two ago it took many months,” stated Prof Dobson.

“Indeed, it took numerous years for bubonic plague to spread across Asia to Europe in the 14th century, but just a couple of days for SARS to travel from Hong Kong to Canada in the 21st century.”

Not like historic plagues Alzheimer’s illness is not caused by bacteria or a virus, but from inner alterations to molecules in the physique.

The functions necessary for lifestyle such as breathing, consuming and fighting disease, are carried out by cells, which have specially folded proteins.

When these proteins are not folded appropriately they not only end the body functioning appropriately but accumulate to destroy cells in their vicinity.

If these broken cells are in the brain, this phenomenon can give rise to dementia, and if they are in our pancreas to diabetes.

Cambridge University is at the cutting edge of diagnosing protein folding ailments and functioning out therapies to tackle them.

“With our determination to tackle these 21st century plagues we are optimistic that we will come up with considerable breakthroughs just as the pioneers of earlier instances identified methods to confront the plagues of the previous,” said Prof Dobson.

“There are number of of us who do not know of a family member or friend with experience of this ailment both as a patient or a carer, and who has not been deeply impacted by its relentless nature and the despair that it engenders.

“Ironically, it is nearly completely attributable to the great advances in health-related science, as well as enhancements in public overall health and requirements of living, that have elevated the average human lifespan considerably.

“Yet, this extension of lifestyle expectancy, resulting from the reduction of mortality from infectious diseases, the traditional ‘plagues’, has come at a value.

“History tells us that we should now grasp the possibility of the moment for the sake of our youngsters and certainly for all potential generations of the human race.”

Go through: Telegraph exclusive: Christopher and Mary Dobson on their analysis into dementia

Dementia is a present day plague that will be eradicated, top academic says