Oxford study aims to find anti-depressants that work faster for patients

20 May 2016

A new method to find anti-depressant treatments that work for individual patients is about to be tested at GP surgeries across Europe. Researchers at the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry, in collaboration with the Oxfordshire based company P1vital Products Ltd, are conducting the PReDicT (Predicting Response to Depression Treatment) study.

There are many anti-depressant drugs currently on the market, and different drugs seem to work on different people. But it generally takes between 4-6 weeks of treatment before people with depression start feeling better, and many people will not respond to initial anti-depressant drugs prescribed. This means that it often takes months to find an effective treatment for a patient.

Dr Michael Browning, a consultant psychiatrist at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, a researcher at Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry and P1vital's medical director, is testing a new method which might find the right drug faster.

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.

Oxford University vaccine developer joins day of vaccinations at the Kassam Stadium

26 January 2021

Today, Andrew Pollard, Professor of Pediatric Infection and Immunity at the University of Oxford, and chief investigator of the trials of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 coronavirus vaccine, volunteered his time to help deliver live-saving Covid vaccinations at the newly opened NHS Vaccine Centre at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford.

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.