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Temple University, URMC partner to translate novel medical research into new drugs

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Temple University School of Pharmacy have announced a partnership that will help translate novel medical research into new drugs for treating diseases.

19 Aug 2011

Insight into how HIV reservoirs may form

Much like cities organize contingency plans and supplies for emergencies, chronic infectious diseases like HIV form reservoirs that ensure their survival in adverse conditions. But these reservoirs-small populations of viruses or bacteria of a specific type that persist despite attack by the immune system or drug treatment-are not always well understood.

18 Aug 2011

Researchers isolate 17 novel antibodies against HIV

A team of researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), The Scripps Research Institute, the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences Inc., a LabCorp company, report in the current issue of Nature the isolation of 17 novel antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

18 Aug 2011

GeoVax receives NIH-NIAID grant for HIV/AIDS vaccine program

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical firm developing vaccines to prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, today announced receipt of a $3.6 million annual notice of award for the Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development (IPCAVD) Grant supporting GeoVax's HIV/AIDS vaccine program.

17 Aug 2011

Study of Chicago neighborhoods tracks prevalence of five key public health issues

The south and southwest sides of Chicago suffer the most in terms of residents' health and access to basic health resources, according to a new study of 77 Chicago neighborhoods.

17 Aug 2011

Emotions hinder disease eradication

In a New York Times essay, journalist Donald McNeil writes, "To a doctor, all epidemics are objectively different … But to the mortals they mow down, all epidemics are emotionally alike — an onslaught of fear, awe, repulsion, stigma, denial, rage and blame — and doctors would be foolish to forget that."

17 Aug 2011

Global AIDS funding in 2010 down nearly 10% from previous year, Kaiser/UNAIDS report says

"Spending on the global fight against AIDS fell significantly in 2010 for the first time since the U.S. and other governments began making major donations," according to an annual funding analysis released Monday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS, the Wall Street Journal reports. "All told, governments donated about $6.9 billion in 2010, down 9.7 percent from about $7.6 billion in the prior year, the report said," the newspaper writes.

17 Aug 2011

Experts fear shrinking DOD budget, shifting AFRICOM focus could threaten HIV prevention programs

A shrinking Department of Defense (DOD) budget and a shift in the focus of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to "more traditional military threats" to national security, such as "preventing terrorist safe havens on the continent," could affect the department's HIV prevention programs, Stars and Stripes reports.

17 Aug 2011

FDA clears Inhibikase IkT-001 Phase II trial to treat JCV infection in multiple sclerosis patients

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc., an emerging leader in infectious disease, announced today that it has received FDA clearance to commence a Phase II proof-of-concept trial for its lead compound IkT-001. IkT-001, a host-directed kinase inhibitor, is intended to clear JC polyomavirus (JCV) infection, the causative agent of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML).

17 Aug 2011

South Africa expands AIDS program to allow earlier ARV treatment

The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) on Saturday endorsed a new National Health Council policy to expand the country's AIDS program "to allow people living with HIV to start antiretroviral [ARV] treatment earlier" by raising the CD4 count necessary to access treatment from 200 to 350, Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Aug 2011

East African profiles new GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley

The East African profiles Seth Berkley, the new CEO of the GAVI Alliance and founder and former CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

16 Aug 2011

HIV prevention must include economic empowerment of women

"Transactional sex, sexual intercourse driven by material exchanges," occurs worldwide, but "[i]n poor regions with high HIV prevalence rates like sub-Saharan Africa … transactional sex poses an even higher threat to one's wellbeing and health because the chance of HIV infection is greater," Daniella Choi, staff member at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, writes in CSIS' Commission on Smart Global Health Policy blog.

12 Aug 2011

Thorne acquires global rights to Q-Cell, an advanced formulation Coenzyme Q10

Thorne Research, Inc., a leader in developing and manufacturing pure, high quality nutritional supplements marketed through licensed healthcare practitioners, has acquired exclusive global rights to market Q-Cell, an advanced formulation Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplement formerly marketed under the brand name Q-Best.

12 Aug 2011

NSAIDs like ibuprofen slow the spread of breast cancers

Published online on Aug. 7, 2011, the journal Nature Medicine reports that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including ibuprofen reduce the severity of postpartum breast cancers in animal models.

12 Aug 2011

Three approaches for HIV testing among African American MSM

The odds for effectively detecting HIV in African-American men vary by method, researchers have found. The study, which appears in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, suggests that HIV-prevention efforts must be multi-faceted, taking into account differences in within this demographic.

12 Aug 2011

Pakistan faces HIV/AIDS spreading from high-risk groups to general population

"For a long time, perceptions of Pakistan as a conservative Muslim country encouraged a belief that HIV/AIDS incidence would be non-existent or very low," but "with the number of HIV cases rising, the government finally included it in its 2009 national health policy," BBC News reports.

11 Aug 2011

CDC Director lauds India for TB and tobacco use control efforts, urges preparations to fight NCDs

CDC Director Thomas Frieden, who currently is visiting India and who previously worked with the Indian government assisting in tuberculosis (TB) control, praised the country's "progress in controlling tuberculosis and tobacco use" on Monday during a speech to health practitioners and policymakers, according to the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog.

11 Aug 2011