Disease/Infection News

RSS

Opinions: HIV prevention research; Foreign aid; Sanitation; Aid, self-reliance

"Microbicides, vaccines and other new approaches will one day join proven HIV-prevention strategies, including condoms, male circumcision and clean needles. How soon that day comes will depend on whether funders and the scientific community can develop the more collaborative approaches to HIV prevention research needed to address this fast-moving epidemic," Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise leaders Alan Bernstein, executive director, and Peter Piot, chair, write in a Globe and Mail opinion piece.

11 Aug 2010

Vertex reports results from Phase 3 ILLUMINATE study of telaprevir-based therapy for hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced results from the Phase 3 ILLUMINATE study, which was designed to evaluate whether there was any benefit to extending therapy from 24 to 48 weeks in people whose hepatitis C virus (HCV) was undetectable at weeks 4 and 12 of treatment (extended rapid viral response or eRVR).

10 Aug 2010

Acme Brazil distributes Unique by Natural Sensation condoms through Drogaria Onofre network

Acme Brasil Distribuidora e Importadora Ltda is pleased to announce that Unique by Natural Senastion brand of condoms (Unique) is now available in Drogaria Onofre. Unique is being sold in five megastores in the Onofre network, four in Sao Paulo and one in Porto Alegre.

10 Aug 2010

AHF launches new ad campaign 'President Obama, The War on AIDS Has Not Been Won'

As part of its ongoing advocacy efforts to spur President Obama and the Administration to do more on AIDS, AHF is rolling out an ad headlined "President Obama, The War on AIDS Has Not Been Won" which compares the amount of U.S. dollars spent fighting the global AIDS epidemic vs. the amount spent on the war in Afghanistan. The ad features a scale with the globe on one side and the words "Global War on AIDS: $6.5 billion in 2010" and a map of Afghanistan on the other side with the words "Afghanistan War: $102 billion in 2010."

10 Aug 2010

Scientists identify compound to inhibit wild-type HIV-1 protease

Drug resistance remains a major problem in combating HIV infection, but a different approach to drug development could be the answer.Current viral inhibitors target the HIV-1 protease function with a competitive mechanism. Writing in the BJ ChemBio Knowledge Environment of the Biochemical Journal, Max Chang and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, suggest that pharmaceutical companies look at compounds that use an allosteric non-competitive mechanism of inhibition.

10 Aug 2010

CQ Weekly reports on advocates' response to Obama administration's domestic, global HIV/AIDS efforts

CQ Weekly examines how HIV/AIDS advocates are "[i]Increasingly dissatisfied with [President Barack] Obama's approach, both at home and abroad." According to the article, some advocates say that Obama and congressional Democrats "have failed to show the political will and marshal the necessary resources" to fight HIV/AIDS.

10 Aug 2010

Three-year efficacy data on STELARA for psoriasis presented at American Academy of Dermatology meeting

New study findings showed that a majority of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who had a previous response to STELARA® (ustekinumab) sustained a clinical response for up to three years with continued treatment regardless of their body weight. Investigators also presented findings from an integrated safety analysis that included data from one Phase 2 and three Phase 3 trials in which treatment with STELARA demonstrated a favorable benefit-risk profile for up to three years of treatment, consistent with previous analyses.

10 Aug 2010

NIH begins human clinical testing for dengue virus vaccine

After more than a decade of development at the National Institutes of Health, a vaccine to prevent infection by the mosquito-borne dengue virus has begun human clinical testing. The vaccine was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is undergoing clinical study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

10 Aug 2010

Researchers find disparities among children suffering from repeated ear infections

Research has documented that ethnic and socioeconomic disparities exist among patients with conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Now, a new study by researchers from UCLA and Harvard University has found disparities among children suffering from repeated ear infections. The findings, published in the August edition of the journal Laryngoscope, show that frequent ear infections plague white children and children living below the poverty level more than children of other racial or ethnic backrounds or income levels.

10 Aug 2010

H1N1 pandemic could be declared over soon, WHO's Chan says

The WHO's decision to declare the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic officially over could come within weeks, according to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, the Canadian Press reports.

10 Aug 2010

Increase of alcohol taxes can reduce alcohol-related deaths

Adjusting the alcohol tax in Florida to account for inflation since 1983 would prevent 600 to 800 deaths each year in that state from diseases caused by chronic heavy alcohol use, according to a new study from the University of Florida. The Florida legislature last increased alcohol taxes in 1983.

10 Aug 2010

FDA approves Pfizer's Prefilled Dual-Chamber Syringe for XYNTHA administration in hemophilia A patients

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of the use of a Prefilled Dual-Chamber Syringe for administration of XYNTHA® Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant) Plasma/Albumin-Free to hemophilia A patients. XYNTHA is a recombinant factor VIII product indicated for both the control and prevention of bleeding episodes in patients with hemophilia A (congenital factor VIII deficiency or classic hemophilia) and for surgical prophylaxis in patients with hemophilia A.

9 Aug 2010

Dr Reddy’s launches first generic darbepoetin alfa

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. announced today the launch of Cresp® - the first generic darbepoetin alfa in the world, and the only darbepoetin alfa in India. Cresp® has been approved in India for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease and anemia due to chemotherapy.

9 Aug 2010

Myconostica announces CE marking for MycAssay Aspergillus and Pneumocystis on additional platforms

Myconostica Ltd, the UK-based medical diagnostic company developing and commercialising rapid and highly specific tests for life-threatening fungal infections, today announces the CE marking of its lead products MycAssay™ Aspergillus and MycAssay™ Pneumocystis on the Roche Lightcycler® 2.0 and Stratagene Mx3000 series platforms.

9 Aug 2010

Anti-viral drug addition to standard treatment regimen increases cure rate for hepatitis C

Adding a direct acting anti-viral drug to the standard treatment regimen for hepatitis C significantly increases the cure rate in the most difficult to treat patients, according to a research report published Monday in the online edition of the journal The Lancet.The research team, led by Paul Kwo, M.D., of Indiana University School of Medicine, reported that adding the drug nearly doubled the treatment's effectiveness when given for 48 weeks in one treatment arm of the study.

9 Aug 2010

Genetic factors lead to meningitis development: Study

Genetic differences that make some people susceptible to developing meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia, and others naturally immune, are revealed in a new study of over 6,000 people, published today in Nature Genetics.The research, led by Imperial College London and the Genome Institute of Singapore, is the largest ever genetic study of meningitis and septicaemia caused by meningococcal bacteria. It suggests that people who develop these diseases have innate differences in their natural defences that leave them unable to attack meningococcal bacteria successfully.

9 Aug 2010

GWA Study helps scientists identify genetic variant that increases tuberculosis susceptibility in African populations

Scientists have identified a genetic variant which increases susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) in African populations using a technique known as a genome-wide association (GWA) study. This is the first novel disease variant to be identified using this technique in Africans and demonstrates that such studies are viable in African populations, which have a high degree of genetic diversity.

9 Aug 2010

First Salmonella lawsuit filed against Yum Brands

The first Salmonella lawsuit has been filed in the pair of Salmonella outbreaks that has sickened 155 people in 21 states. The lawsuit was filed against Yum! Brands (the parent company of Taco Bell) in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Franklin County Circuit Court. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Scott county resident by food safety law firm Marler Clark.

7 Aug 2010

Department of Agriculture advises consumers to discard Jersey Hollow Farm's raw milk

The Department of Agriculture today advised consumers who purchased raw milk from Norman Z. and Edith B. Sauder, of Jersey Hollow Farm in Kutztown, Berks County, to discard the product immediately because of potential bacterial contamination.

7 Aug 2010

BMS to join ranks of AIDS drug companies to offer price concessions

Bristol-Myers Squibb will soon announce an agreement that will provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs nationwide. The agreement, with the ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) of the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors, is expected to be announced any day. BMS has been the target of a sustained advocacy campaign led by AHF over its pricing of its key AIDS drug Reyataz.

7 Aug 2010

Disease/Infection News

Opinions: HIV prevention research; Foreign aid; Sanitation; Aid, self-reliance

Vertex reports results from Phase 3 ILLUMINATE study of telaprevir-based therapy for hepatitis C

Acme Brazil distributes Unique by Natural Sensation condoms through Drogaria Onofre network

AHF launches new ad campaign 'President Obama, The War on AIDS Has Not Been Won'

Scientists identify compound to inhibit wild-type HIV-1 protease

CQ Weekly reports on advocates' response to Obama administration's domestic, global HIV/AIDS efforts

Three-year efficacy data on STELARA for psoriasis presented at American Academy of Dermatology meeting

NIH begins human clinical testing for dengue virus vaccine

Researchers find disparities among children suffering from repeated ear infections

H1N1 pandemic could be declared over soon, WHO's Chan says

Increase of alcohol taxes can reduce alcohol-related deaths

FDA approves Pfizer's Prefilled Dual-Chamber Syringe for XYNTHA administration in hemophilia A patients

Dr Reddy’s launches first generic darbepoetin alfa

Myconostica announces CE marking for MycAssay Aspergillus and Pneumocystis on additional platforms

Anti-viral drug addition to standard treatment regimen increases cure rate for hepatitis C

Genetic factors lead to meningitis development: Study

GWA Study helps scientists identify genetic variant that increases tuberculosis susceptibility in African populations

First Salmonella lawsuit filed against Yum Brands

Department of Agriculture advises consumers to discard Jersey Hollow Farm's raw milk

BMS to join ranks of AIDS drug companies to offer price concessions

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

Latest News