Articles about 'Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust

COVID-19 vaccine boosters not only protect against SARS-CoV-2 – the virus behind the most recent pandemic – but may also help protect against some future coronaviruses that risk spreading from animals to humans, Cambridge researchers have shown.

Cambridge researchers have shown that severe pneumonia has three different subtypes, helping explain why some patients in intensive care units (ICUs) recover from their illness faster than others, while for other patients the disease can be life-threatening.

Vaccinations alone may not be enough to protect people with compromised immune systems from infection, even if the vaccine has generated the production of antibodies, new research from the University of Cambridge has shown.

Cambridge scientists have used synthetic biology to create artificial enzymes programmed to target the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and destroy the virus, an approach that could be used to develop a new generation of antiviral drugs.

Referrals to Cambridge’s long COVID clinic fell dramatically in the period August 2021 to June 2022, which researchers say is likely due to the successful rollout of the vaccine.

Cognitive impairment as a result of severe COVID-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points, say a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London.

Cambridge scientists have grown beating heart cells in the lab and shown how they are vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In a study published in Communications Biology, they used this system to show that an experimental peptide drug called DX600 can prevent the virus entering the heart cells.

When Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge upgraded its face masks for staff working on COVID-19 wards to filtering face piece 3 (FFP3) respirators, it saw a dramatic fall – up to 100% – in hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections among these staff.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have shown in animal studies that gene therapy may help repair some of the damage caused in chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as glaucoma and dementia. Their approach demonstrates the potential effectiveness of gene therapy in polygenic conditions – that is, complex conditions with no single genetic cause.

UK researchers are launching a clinical trial to investigate if the drug niclosamide, usually used to treat tapeworms, can prevent COVID-19 infection in vulnerable, high risk kidney patients and reduce the number of people who become seriously ill or die from it.