Disease/Infection News

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Health groups urge Secretary of U.S. Army to sustain funding for military HIV research program

"Speaking out against a potential $16 million cut in the Army's base research and development budget for HIV, leaders of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) sent a letter Thursday to the Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, making the case for sustaining the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP)," according to the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

15 Oct 2011

ABI provides clinical update on company activities

Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (ABI) today provided an update on company activities.

15 Oct 2011

Myths about head lice

Autumn brings tales of scary delight but none terrifies parents so much as the note home from school that a case of lice has been detected.

14 Oct 2011

Funding for NCDs doesn't have to come at the expense of NTDs

In this "End the Neglect" blog post, Alanna Shaikh, a writer for U.N. Dispatch, writes that while "[a]t first glance, the new focus on cardiovascular and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) looks like trouble for the funding for things like neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) ... that conflict is mostly superficial. NCDs and NTDs have much more in common than their initials.

14 Oct 2011

Engineered HBLs could prevent deadly allergic reactions

Researchers from the University of Notre Dame have announced a breakthrough approach to allergy treatment that inhibits food allergies, drug allergies, and asthmatic reactions without suppressing a sufferer's entire immunological system.

14 Oct 2011

Penn scientist tracks attitudes and H1N1 vaccination rates on Twitter

A unique and innovative analysis of how social media can affect the spread of a disease has been designed and implemented by a scientist at Penn State University studying attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine. Marcel Salath-, an assistant professor of biology, studied how users of Twitter -- a popular microblogging and social-networking service -- expressed their sentiments about a new vaccine.

14 Oct 2011

Emergency grant to end U.S. AIDS drug crisis gets rejected

The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has notified the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) that an application it submitted on behalf of the United States for an emergency grant of $50 million to end the ongoing AIDS drug crisis in the U.S. is being rejected because, as one of the wealthiest nations in the world, "the United States is not eligible for funding from the Global Fund."

14 Oct 2011

Study finds vitamin D is critical in human immune response to tuberculosis

"Vitamin D is needed to activate the immune system's response to tuberculosis (TB)," a finding that "could lead to new treatments for the lung disease," researchers from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) said in a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Agence France-Presse reports.

14 Oct 2011

Four companies receive NIAID contracts to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics

Four companies are to develop broad-spectrum therapeutics-antibiotics, antivirals and an antitoxin-to prevent or treat diseases caused by multiple types of bacteria or viruses, under contracts awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

14 Oct 2011

Merck announces results from ISENTRESS Phase III combination study on HIV-1

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced results of new exploratory pre-specified analyses from the ongoing STARTMRK Phase III study of its integrase inhibitor ISENTRESS (raltegravir) Tablets in combination therapy compared to efavirenz in combination therapy in previously untreated adult HIV-1-infected patients.

14 Oct 2011

Malaria drops from first to third cause of infant mortality in Africa, RBM executive director says

"Over the past three years, malaria passed from first to third cause of infant mortality in Africa, Awa Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership [RBM], said Tuesday in Paris," Afrique en ligne reports.

14 Oct 2011

Growing global trade puts world at greater risk for foodborne disease outbreaks, WHO officials say

"The world has become more vulnerable to outbreaks of disease caused by contaminated food because of growing global trade, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday," Agence France-Presse reports.

14 Oct 2011

Positive data from Anadys' setrobuvir Phase IIb combination study on genotype 1 HCV

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today released interim antiviral response and safety data from an ongoing Phase IIb study of setrobuvir in combination with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (P/R) in genotype 1 hepatitis C patients.

14 Oct 2011

Insight into how powerful anti-HIV antibody grabs hold of the virus

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the surprising details of how a powerful anti-HIV antibody grabs hold of the virus. The findings, published in Science Express on October 13, 2011, highlight a major vulnerability of HIV and suggest a new target for vaccine development.

14 Oct 2011

Entirely new platform to assist in developing antimalarial drugs

Malaria has been one of the world's biggest killers for as long as records have been kept. With resistance to existing antimalarial drugs on the rise, there is a renewed push to find different ways to fight it. Two University of Houston (UH) engineers have stepped up to the plate to answer the call.

14 Oct 2011

Dual drug sneaks across the blood-brain barrier to fight HIV

In an advance toward eliminating pockets of infection in the brain that help make HIV disease incurable, scientists report the development of new substances that first plug the biological vacuum cleaner that prevents anti-HIV drugs from reaching the brain and then revert to an active drug to treat HIV.

14 Oct 2011

One in six mobile phones in the UK is contaminated with fecal bacteria

One in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with faecal matter, according to new research released ahead of Global Handwashing Day.

14 Oct 2011

New insights into how adenovirus triggers an immune response

A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study could lead to improved gene therapies for conditions such as heart disease and cancer as well as more effective vaccines for tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.

13 Oct 2011

UofL associate professor to create an emergency countermeasure staffing plan

Building on the success of Louisville's response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Ruth Carrico, PhD, plans to use a $250,000 one-year cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create an emergency countermeasure staffing plan that utilizes nursing, pharmacy and public health students.

13 Oct 2011

U of U researchers receive NIH grant to uncover viral cause of MS

A team of investigators from the University of Utah has received a two-year, $275,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund novel research that may help to uncover a viral cause for the most acute and severe form of multiple sclerosis.

13 Oct 2011