Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Survivors' blood plasma to treat Ebola is safe but more data needed

Research

There are currently no effective treatments for Ebola, but blood plasma from people who have survived Ebola may be one potential treatment: this component of blood may contain antibodies that likely helped survivors successfully fight off the disease.

During the 2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa researchers carried out the largest ever trial of convalescent plasma for the treatment of Ebola.  They found that such treatment during an Ebola virus disease outbreak is feasible and safe to use, and acceptable to donors, patients and health workers.

Read more

Similar stories

New book expands the horizons of brain research

A pioneering book from Professor Zoltán Molnár and Yale Professors Tamas Horvath and Joy Hirsch to be released on 1 February 2022 addresses the fundamental relationship between the body, brain and behaviour.

New research sheds light on how ultrasound could be used to treat psychiatric disorders

A new study in macaque monkeys has shed light on which parts of the brain support credit assignment processes (how the brain links outcomes with its decisions) and, for the first time, how low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) can modulate both brain activity and behaviours related to these decision-making and learning processes.

Dramatic fall in hospital admissions for child infections since start of Covid-19 pandemic

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been dramatic reductions in hospital admissions for common and severe childhood infections in England, most likely due to social distancing measures, school and workplace closures, and travel restrictions, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

Rosalind Franklin Institute and Pharmacology announce strategic partnership in Next Generation Chemistry

The Rosalind Franklin Institute and the University of Oxford’s Department of Pharmacology have entered into a strategic partnership for Next Generation Chemistry.

New blood-based test is the first ever to simultaneously identify if a patient has cancer and if it has spread

A publication by University of Oxford researchers describes a new minimally invasive and inexpensive blood test that can identify cancer in patients with non-specific symptoms. The early success of this technology makes it the first blood-based test that not only detects cancer in this population but can simultaneously identify if a cancer has spread.

Alan Davidson Foundation supports ground-breaking Motor Neurone Disease research

A £210,000 donation from the Alan Davidson Foundation (ADF) has been made to the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (NDCN) to advance the University’s world leading research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The funding will support a project manager for three years to deliver an innovative research project using the genetic causes of MND to develop approaches to early diagnosis and eventually, prevention of all forms of MND.