Newly-discovered TB blood signal provides early warning for at-risk patients

Tuberculosis can be detected in people with HIV infection via a unique blood signal before symptoms appear, according to the results of a new study. By providing new insights into how the body responds during the early stages of the disease, the findings could enable researchers to develop tests to predict and prevent the worsening of symptoms in the most vulnerable patients.

Professor Robert Wilkinson, Professor in Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Imperial College and Director of the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa), IDM, commented: "This work reflects a significant increase in understanding, that has arisen from longstanding collaborations with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health, Francis Crick Institute - especially Professor Anne O'Garra - and the University of Cape Town."

The results are seen in the publication "Complement pathway gene activation and rising circulating immune complexes", by Esmail, H et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018).

More information here: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/medicine/departmentofmedicine/newssummary/news_12-1-2018-14-20-46