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Scientists at UCL have significantly boosted the effectiveness of a therapeutic vaccine designed to control chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection, after uncovering and thwarting 'the enemy within'. Published in Science Translational Medicine , researchers say the findings in mice are a breakthrough in the field of vaccine development, as they reveal how to enhance the antiviral T cell response that therapeutic vaccines are intended to trigger.

The reasons why Covid-19 causes severe inflammation in some people, leading to acute respiratory distress and multi-organ damage, has been revealed in a new study involving a UCL scientist. Published in Nature , the study led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital (US) , found evidence that the virus might activate inflammasomes, large molecules that trigger a cascade of inflammatory responses that ends in cell death.

Lower Covid-19 vaccine uptake among Black ethnic groups in London compared to White British groups was driven by trust, including mistrust in the vaccine itself and in authorities administering it, according to research led by UCL. The peer-reviewed study, published in the Journal of Public Health, was undertaken by UCL researchers funded by National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) ARC North Thames, in collaboration with the Government's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as well as other London partners.

Global opioid sales increased by an estimated 4% annually from 2015 to 2019, but massive disparities in access to essential pain relief medications persist between countries, finds a study led by UCL researchers. Opioid use in some countries in Africa and South America was less than one tenth of 1% of the rates in wealthier countries in North America, Europe and Australia, according to the findings published in The Lancet Public Health .

Medicines can be printed in seven seconds in a new 3D-printing technique that could enable rapid on-site production of medicines, reports a UCL-led research team. The findings published in the journal, Additive Manufacturing , improve the prospects of how 3D printers could be integrated into fast-paced clinical settings for on-demand production of personalised medicines.

Vaccination-acquired immunity against Covid-19 wanes substantially after three months among elderly care home residents, suggesting that regular booster jabs may be needed for this group, according to preliminary findings from the Vivaldi study led by UCL researchers. The study, funded by the UK Health Security Agency  and published on the preprint site medRxiv, looked at data from over 15,000 residents (with a median age of 87) and 19,000 staff at 331 care homes across England from December 2020 to December 2021.

A world-first treatment for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), developed by scientists at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Prion Unit at UCL, has shown "very encouraging" early results following its use in six patients at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation. CJD is a rare but devastating disease that causes brain damage and for which there is currently no licensed treatment.

Just one in six (18%) healthcare workers thought mandatory vaccinations were the best solution to encourage more frontline staff to have a Covid-19 jab, finds new research led by UCL and the University of Leicester. As part of the UK-REACH longitudinal study, researchers carried out a survey of over 3,200 NHS healthcare workers, to understand how they felt about mandatory vaccinations, and find out what solutions they may have to address the problem of under-vaccination among colleagues.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients living with frailty may find their frailty is reversible following treatment, according to a new study. The research, published in RMD Open and led by the University of Glasgow, looked at frailty - a vulnerability to poor health-outcomes - in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by UCL researchers can be used to detect heart disease in record speed, helping to improve care for heart patients. The first-of-its-kind AI tool, described in a new paper in the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance , analyses heart MRI scans in just 20 seconds whilst the patient is in the scanner.

The wide inequalities in Covid-19 vaccine uptake between people from ethnic minority groups and White British people are far greater than for the pre-pandemic flu jab, a study by University of Manchester health researchers has found. The findings, published in PLoS Medicine , overturns the prevailing view that ethnic inequalities in Covid-19 vaccine uptake simply follow previous trends in people's willingness to take up vaccination.

The world's first phase three trials of a new drug have shown that it can ease the often distressing symptom of chronic cough with few side effects. Principle researcher Jacky Smith, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at The University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant at Wythenshawe Hospital , Manchester University Foundation Trust and Director of NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) , says Gefapixant has the potential to have a significant impact on the lives of thousands of sufferers.

A new analysis from Oxford Population Health has found that pregnant women that are 30 years old or more, overweight, of mixed ethnicity or have gestational diabetes have a greater risk of contracting severe COVID-19, which poses significant risks for both mother and baby. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing evidence has shown that severe COVID-19 infection in pregnant women significantly raises the risk of adverse outcomes for both mother and baby.

The wide-ranging effects of Long COVID and the associated issues for healthcare providers have been revealed in a new review of the major studies into the condition, which specifically highlights the impact of Long COVID impact on the cardiovascular system. The review, published in the European Heart Journal , was conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Royal Brompton Hospital and Imperial College, London, and the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

By adapting computer models originally developed to understand the biology of cancer cells, UCL scientists have identified new drug combinations with the potential to treat severe cases of Covid-19 infection at different stages of the disease. Researchers say the findings could help lower the number of Covid-19 related deaths and reduce the strain on healthcare systems.

Biotech firms have developed nearly 40% more of key treatments for unmet medical needs, says a new book co-authored by Cambridge researchers. From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology , published today, shows how the small, inexperienced entrepreneurial companies making up the biotech industry have created more life-changing medicines than all of the large pharmaceutical companies combined.

Stock-photo-female-medical-or-research-scientist-or-doctor-using-looking-at-a-test-tube-of-clear-solution-in-a-595303463.jpg A cancer drug called pembrolizumab might also help people with HIV, according to a new study. On the face of it, cancer and Aids have little to do with each other. One is caused by an excessive division of cells in the body, the other is caused by infection with a virus (HIV).

Patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiency are at higher risk of mortality following SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with the general population, according to a new study led by the University of Birmingham. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected individuals with primary immunodeficiency (PID) and secondary immunodeficiency (SID).

Study shows impaired antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination in blood cancer and arthritis patients being treated with widely used drug Certain blood cancer and arthritis patients have a significantly reduced antibody response to double COVID-19 vaccination in the first six months of being treated with a widely used drug, reveals a new study.

New research led by University of Manchester and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) scientists has profiled the side effects of methotrexate - a common drug used to treat arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. The authors hope their findings - published today in journal Rheumatology - will ease the concerns of patients before commencing treatment, who often lack knowledge of the drug, its impact and side effects.