06.06.2025
Start of study: First participants enrolled in detecTb study
The first two participants in the new detecTb study at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) were enrolled this week. The study is a joint cooperation project between the Clinical Infectious Disease Research Group of the Leibniz Lung Centre Borstel and the I Medical Clinic and Polyclinic of the UKE at the Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems site of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF). The project is being managed by Margarita Abasheeva, a medical student at the University of Hamburg as part of her medical doctorate.
The aim of the detecTb study is to evaluate various innovative methods for diagnosing tuberculosis in parallel. Rapid and reliable diagnosis remains a major challenge, particularly for people who are unable to produce sputum. As part of the study, nine new tests are being used in parallel and systematically compared with each other in people with suspected clinical tuberculosis. These include the detection of the tuberculosis-specific lipopolysaccharide lipoarabinomannan (LAM) in urine and sputum, the molecular biological analysis of the genetic material (DNA) of tuberculosis bacteria from stool samples using a new detection method and the identification of circulating genetic material of the tuberculosis bacteria (cfDNA) in the blood.
The North German researchers are investigating the diagnostic value of these methods in comparison to conventional methods and examining whether they can usefully supplement or replace them in certain situations. The results will hopefully help to improve the diagnosis of tuberculosis in a targeted manner.
The detecTb study is an example of the successful collaboration between clinical care and research and underlines the close cooperation between the Research Center Borstel and the UKE in tuberculosis research.
Contact:
Dr. Thomas Brehm
Klinische Infektiologie
Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz Lungenzentrum
Parkallee 35
23845 Borstel
Dr. Niklas Köhler
Studienzentrum
Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz Lungenzentrum
Parkallee 35
23845 Borstel