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Human trials of new antimalarial drugs are in the pipeline after KEMRI scientists successfully used bacteria to kill the parasite that causes the disease. Trials in Burkina Faso showed that Ivermectin, a conventional drug used for parasitic diseases including river blindness and elephantiasis, reduced transmission rates. The medication worked by making the blood of people who were repeatedly vaccinated lethal to mosquitoes. The study also found that Ivermectin can kill plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite carried by female mosquitoes, when administered to humans.
OUCRU scientists identify combination of biological markers associated with severe dengue
22 June 2021
Nguyen Lam Vuong, Sophie Yacoub & colleagues have identified a combination of biological markers in patients with dengue that could predict whether they go on to develop moderate to severe disease. Biomarkers are used to identify the state or risk of a disease in patients; these findings could aid the development of biomarker panels for clinical use and help improve triage and risk prediction in patients with dengue.
RECOVERY trial finds Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody combination reduces deaths for hospitalised COVID-19 patients who have not mounted their own immune response
16 June 2021
The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial has demonstrated that the investigational antibody combination developed by Regeneron reduces the risk of death when given to patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19 who have not mounted a natural antibody response of their own.
RECOVERY trial finds aspirin does not improve survival for patients hospitalised with COVID-19
9 June 2021
The RECOVERY trial was established as a randomised clinical trial to test a range of potential treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Patients with COVID-19 are at increased risk of blood clots forming in their blood vessels, particularly in the lungs. Between November 2020 and March 2021, the RECOVERY trial included nearly 15,000 patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in an assessment of the effects of aspirin, which is widely used to reduce blood clotting in other diseases. There was no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality
The COVID-19 International Modelling Consortium (CoMo Consortium) enters a new phase
9 June 2021
Created in March 2020 to assist policymakers to make use of existing evidence in mathematical and epidemiological models to inform strategies for minimising the impact of COVID-19, the CoMo Consortium brings together mathematical modellers, epidemiologists, health economists and public health experts from more than 40 countries across Africa, Asia and South and North America.
AMR and scrub typhus among Chiangrai Unit's research priorities
19 May 2021
Which infections are most common in the Chiangrai region? How should we treat them and how can we improve diagnostic? Which strategies are most effective in directing antibiotic treatment? Blog by Carlo Perrone, research physician based at the Chiang Rai Clinical Research Unit in Chiangrai, Thailand.
Researchers call for access to Ivermectin for young children
19 March 2021
Millions of children weighing less than 15kg are currently denied access to Ivermectin treatment due to insufficient safety data being available to support a change to the current label indication. The WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network’s new meta-analysis provides evidence that supports removing this barrier and improving treatment equity.
RECOVERY trial closes recruitment to colchicine treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19
5 March 2021
Established to test a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, the RECOVERY trial has included a comparison of colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug that is commonly used to treat gout, vs. usual care alone. There has been no convincing evidence of the effect of colchicine on clinical outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, and recruitment to the colchicine arm of the RECOVERY trial has now closed. Recruitment to all other treatment arms – aspirin, baricitinib, Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, and dimethyl fumarate – continues as planned.
Tocilizumab reduces deaths in patients hospitalised with COVID-19
12 February 2021
The Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial has demonstrated that tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory treatment, reduces the risk of death when given to hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19. The study also showed that tocilizumab shortens the time until patients are successfully discharged from hospital and reduces the need for a mechanical ventilator.
Evidence supports WHO recommendation for primaquine combined with ACTs to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission
12 February 2021
Evidence from a new study, initiated by the Primaquine Roll Out Group and conducted at WWARN, supports the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for use of 0.25mg/kg dose of primaquine (PQ) combined with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACT) to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission.
Baricitinib to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in the RECOVERY trial
3 February 2021
Baricitinib – an anti-inflammatory treatment for rheumatoid arthritis– is being investigated in the RECOVERY trial, the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19, taking place in 177 hospital sites across the UK and with over 33,000 patients recruited so far. As an anti-inflammatory, baricitinib may block the signalling activity of cytokine molecules which contribute to the hyper-inflammatory state seen in severe COVID-19. It is thought that baricitinib may act also have some anti-viral activity. The other treatments currently being investigated in the RECOVERY trial are Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, Aspirin and Colchicine.
RECOVERY trial closes recruitment to convalescent plasma treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19
15 January 2021
Convalescent plasma has been widely used as a treatment for COVID-19 but to date there has been no convincing evidence of the effect of convalescent plasma on clinical outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Recruitment to the convalescent plasma arm of the RECOVERY trial has now closed. The preliminary analysis based on 1873 reported deaths among 10,406 randomised patients shows no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality. Recruitment to all other treatment arms – tocilizumab, aspirin, colchicine, and Regeneron’s antibody cocktail – continues as planned.
Check-list recommended to improve reporting of microscopy methods and results in malaria studies
13 January 2021
A study to explore the variations of how microscopy methods are reported in published malaria studies has recommended standardised procedures should be implemented for methodological consistency and comparability of clinical trial outcomes.
RECOVERY trial finds no benefit from azithromycin in patients hospitalised with COVID-19
15 December 2020
Established in March 2020, the RECOVERY trial tests a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, including azithromycin, a widely used antibiotic that also reduces inflammation. The azithromycin arm of the trial was established to determine whether or not the drug has a meaningful benefit among patients hospitalised with COVID-19. A preliminary analysis shows no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality; there was also no evidence of beneficial effects on the risk of progression to mechanical ventilation or length of hospital stay.
New study on the risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after Plasmodium falciparum malaria
1 December 2020
A new study quantifying the high risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria aims to identify populations in which a policy of universal radical cure, combining artemisinin-based combination therapy with a hypnozoitocidal antimalarial drug, would be most beneficial.
Aspirin to be investigated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in the RECOVERY trial
6 November 2020
Aspirin will be investigated in the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. The RECOVERY trial is taking place in 176 hospital sites across the UK, and has so far recruited over 16,000 patients. Patients with COVID-19 are at higher risk of blood clots forming in their blood vessels. Platelets seem to be hyperreactive in COVID-19 and may be involved in the clotting complications. As an antiplatelet agent, aspirin may reduce the risk of blood clots in patients with COVID-19.
IDDO and ISARIC partner to support data collection and analysis for COVID-19
27 October 2020
In January 2020, ISARIC launched an international initiative for standardised COVID-19 clinical data collection. To date, ISARIC has collected data from over 118,000 individuals from 648 sites across 52 countries. To maximise the impact of this global collaboration, ISARIC has partnered with IDDO, which has over a decade’s worth of experience in collecting and standardising disparate data from various diseases and areas around the world. Together, ISARIC and IDDO are developing systems that include working with those who collect the data to generate collaborative analysis, and building data governance systems that allow data to be shared more widely.
COVID-19 vaccine research in Kenya
24 September 2020
Researchers at KWTRP and University of Oxford collaborate to evaluate the ChAdOx1 nCOV-19 vaccine in Kenya
Large scale systematic review details causes of non-malarial febrile illnesses globally and identifies research priorities
21 September 2020
A series of articles that set out to explore the global distribution of infections that cause non-malarial febrile illness has been published in BMC Medicine. The series brings together the results of large-scale systematic reviews of the causes of fever in Africa, Latin America, and Southern and South-Eastern Asia, and has helped identify major knowledge gaps, geographical differences, priority areas for diagnostics research and development, and enabled the most comprehensive systematic review of literature to date.
RECOVERY COVID-19 phase 3 trial to evaluate REGN-COV2 investigational antibody cocktail
15 September 2020
RECOVERY, one of the world’s largest efforts to find effective COVID-19 treatments, will evaluate the impact of Regeneron’s REGN-COV2 investigational antibody cocktail on mortality, hospital stays, and the need for ventilation in the UK. RECOVERY aims to identify treatments that may be beneficial for people hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Microscopy standards to harmonise methods for malaria clinical research studies
10 September 2020
Research Malaria Microscopy Standards (ReMMS) applicable to malaria clinical research studies have been published in Malaria Journal. The paper describes the rationale for proposed standards to prepare, stain and examine blood films for malaria parasites.