PNNL Finds Markers to Save People Infected With Ebola

During an Ebola outbreak, doctors can be more efficient with limited medicine to save more people thanks to work conducted by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) in Richland.

Scientists were able to determine 11 biomarkers to accurately predict the patients with fatal infections from Ebola and the ones that don’t, according to Tom Rickey, PNNL spokesperson.

Two of the markers were found to be present a lower levels in patients who died from the disease, according to the journal "Cell Host & Microbe" on Nov. 16.

Fifteen scientists at PNNL worked with groups at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the University of Tokyo and the University of Sierra Leone.

They scanned 29 blood samples from 18 patients inflicted with Ebola. Eleven patients eventually died and nine survived.

"Our team studied thousands of molecular clues in each of these samples, sifting through extensive data on the activity of genes, proteins, and other molecules to identify those of most interest," said Katrina Waters, of PNNL. "This may be the most thorough analysis yet of blood samples of patients infected with the Ebola virus."