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UNMC Takes Part in Ebola Drug Study

UNMC will participate in a clinic research partnership to test different medications meant to treat Ebola.

Dr. Andre Khalil, Professor of Medicine at UNMC, is involved in the design of the study.  He says several different therapies have been used in patients with Ebola. 

But Dr. Khalil says the problem is when you are using so many different treatments, you may never find out if particular drugs are effective, if they are harmful or if they have no effect. 

He says with the outbreak and these potential new therapies, the NIH took the lead and decided that a formal study needed to be conducted.  Dr. Khalil says the ultimate goal of the study is straightforward.

"We want to see a drug that increases survival better than supportive care.  Supportive care is the only thing we know for a fact that saves lives at this point, both in Africa, here and anywhere else on the planet.  So if you’re able to catch the patient early and replenish their fluids, you can definitely improve their survival.”

Dr. Khalil says studies have shown that a third of Ebola patients in Africa end up succumbing to the disease even if they’ve been given fluids. 

He says supportive care by itself is not enough.  With the study, medical personnel hope to increase the survival of these patients by offering proven drug therapies in addition to supportive care. 

ZMapp is the first drug that will be tested.  The trial is expected to conclude in December 2016.