HIV is still growing, even when undetectable in the blood

29 January 2016

A team of international researchers including scientists from Oxford University has found that HIV is still replicating in lymphoid tissue even when it is undetectable in the blood of patients on antiretroviral drugs.

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The findings provide a critical new perspective on how HIV persists in the body despite potent antiretroviral therapy.

The study, led by Northwestern University, USA, is published in the journal Nature.

'We have a path to a cure,' said corresponding author Dr Steven Wolinsky, chief of infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician. 'The challenge now is to deliver drugs at clinically effective concentrations to where the virus continues to replicate within the patient.'

Same genome, different worlds: How a similar brain causes sexually dimorphic behaviours

27 January 2021

A new paper from Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics's Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour has shown how males and females are programmed differently in terms of sex.

New form of gift wrap drives male reproductive success

26 January 2021

A study from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) has identified a new communication mechanism that ensures the transfer of a complex mix of signals and nutrients required for successful reproduction between males and females.

PRINCIPLE trial finds antibiotics azithromycin and doxycycline not generally effective treatments for COVID-19

25 January 2021

In March 2020, the UK-wide Platform Randomised trial of INterventions against COVID-19 In older people (PRINCIPLE) trial was established as a flexible, platform randomised clinical trial to test a range of potential treatments for COVID-19 that might be suitable for use in the community to help people recover more quickly and prevent the need for hospital admission. The trial is one of three national platform trials for COVID-19 treatments, and complements the RECOVERY and REMAP-CAP trials that focus on hospitalised patients.

Early animal studies yield promising results for new potential COVID-19 vaccine

25 January 2021

Studies carried out in the MRC Human Immunology Unit (MRC HIU) in collaboration with the Pirbright Institute have shown that a new potential vaccine against COVID-19, named RBD-SpyVLP, produces a strong antibody response in mice and pigs, providing vital information for the further development of the vaccine. Although this type of vaccine is not a competitor for the first wave of vaccines, it is hoped that it will be useful as a standalone vaccine or as a booster for individuals primed with a different COVID-19 vaccine.

Just over half of British Indians would take COVID vaccine

21 January 2021

University of Oxford researchers from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) and the Department of Psychiatry, in collaboration with The 1928 Institute, have published a major new study on the impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s largest BME population.

Investigating New Treatment for Schizophrenia