Disease/Infection News

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Research on mosquito genes could be used for disease control measures

By unraveling the mysteries that exist within the molecular composition of mosquitoes, a team of Kansas State University researchers is trying to discover how the insects survive a parasite that causes malaria in humans.

17 Feb 2010

AHF to protest Merck’s Isentress pricing and policies at CROI

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a protest Wednesday morning, February 17 at 8:00am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the 17th Conference of Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco.

17 Feb 2010

XMRV infection is not linked to chronic fatigue syndrome

Researchers investigating UK samples have found no association between the controversial xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

17 Feb 2010

Effectiveness of influenza vaccines in older people: No clear conclusions

Evidence for the safety and efficacy of influenza vaccines in the over 65s is poor, despite the fact that vaccination has been recommended for the prevention of influenza in older people for the past 40 years. These are the conclusions of a new Cochrane Systematic Review.

17 Feb 2010

Study: Researchers use genomics to decode blueprint of Plasmodium falciparum

Scientists battling malaria have earned a major victory. According to a Nature Genetics study, an international group of researchers has used genomics to decode the blueprint of Plasmodium falciparum - a strain of malaria most resistant to drugs that causes the most deaths around the world.

17 Feb 2010

ITS secures £8.65M Series-A equity funding round extension to fund synthetic flu vaccine study

Immune Targeting Systems (ITS) Limited (“ITS”), one of the leading developers of synthetic vaccines for mutating viruses, today announced it had secured a Series-A equity funding round extension for £8.65m which brings the total Series A financing to £13.15m. The company’s key investors HealthCap (Sweden), London Technology Fund (UK), Novartis Venture Fund (US & Basel) and Truffle Capital (France) are all participating. The round will be kept open until mid-2010 for new potential investors to invest.

17 Feb 2010

NanoViricides signs research and development agreement with Dr. Eva Harris’s laboratory at UC Berkeley

NanoViricides, Inc. (the "Company"), reports that it has signed a research and development agreement with Dr. Eva Harris’s laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley).

17 Feb 2010

AP examines male circumcision efforts in Africa, including adult circumcision devices

The Associated Press examines efforts to prevent the spread of HIV by circumcising "about 50 million men across Africa - where 70 percent of the world's HIV-infected population lives."

17 Feb 2010

CMAJ study: Increased dosage of Tamiflu required in treating H1N1 influenza patients

An increased dosage of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for patients with critical illness is unlikely to be required in the treatment of pandemic (H1N1) influenza, contrary to current international guidelines, found a new study http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.092127 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

17 Feb 2010

New program launched for HIV-positive men

The nation's largest surrogacy agency announced today that the number of babies born to HIV-positive clients is expected to more than double in 2010 as its program for HIV-positive men using their own sperm to create embryos continues to expand in the U.S. and abroad.

16 Feb 2010

Effects of eco-toxicology on Zebra fish

Rasoul Nourizadeh-Lillabadi has shown that zebra fish can be used as models in order to study the effects of eco-toxicology on fish indigenous to Norway. The toxic substances used in the research project come from water effluent from the offshore industry and from organic material that had accumulated in the liver of burbot fish in the lakes of Mjøsa and Losna.

16 Feb 2010

TB's mechanism to evade body's immune system identified

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified a mechanism used by the tuberculosis bacterium to evade the body's immune system and have identified a compound that blocks the bacterium's ability to survive in the host, which could lead to new drugs to treat tuberculosis.

16 Feb 2010

Study: sdNVP can lead to HIV treatment failure in women receiving drug to prevent infant infection

A new international study reported in PLoS Medicine confirms that a single dose of nevirapine (sdNVP) can lead to HIV treatment failure in women who receive the drug to prevent transmission of the AIDS virus to their infants. However, the increased risk of failure could only be detected in women who began full HIV treatment within about a year after receiving sdNVP.

16 Feb 2010

Malaria: Nose of mosquito transplanted

Scientists at Vanderbilt and Yale universities have successfully transplanted most of the "nose" of the mosquito that spreads malaria into frog eggs and fruit flies and are employing these surrogates to combat the spread of the deadly and debilitating disease that afflicts 500 million people.

16 Feb 2010

Simple protein urine test may help detect early kidney disease in people with lupus

Simple urine tests for four proteins might be able to detect early kidney disease in people with lupus, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in an animal study.

16 Feb 2010

Pipe and cigar smoking linked to decreased lung function

Pipe and cigar smoke may be more harmful than once thought. While some believe pipes and cigars are healthier than cigarettes, a major known cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study directly links pipe and cigar smoking to decreased lung function.

16 Feb 2010

Researchers discover chemical compound to combat malaria and bacterial diseases

Researchers report that they have discovered - and now know how to exploit - an unusual chemical reaction mechanism that allows malaria parasites and many disease-causing bacteria to survive. The research team, from the University of Illinois, also has developed the first potent inhibitor of this chemical reaction.

16 Feb 2010

Scientists identify bacterial protein VpsT as master regulator in Vibrio

Finding a biological mechanism much like an online social network, scientists have identified the bacterial protein VpsT as the master regulator in Vibrio, the cause of cholera and other enteric diseases. This discovery, now published in the journal Science, provides a major tool to combat enteric disease.

15 Feb 2010

Air pollution linked to increased risk of atherosclerosis

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), in collaboration with international partners in Spain and Switzerland and colleagues in California, have found that exposure to air pollution accelerates the thickening of artery walls that leads to cardiovascular disease.

15 Feb 2010

Ragweed pollen allergy: SLIT safe and effective alternative to injections

An oral allergy treatment administered in drops under the tongue is a safe and effective alternative to injections for adults who are allergic to ragweed pollen, according to a study published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by allergic disease specialist at Allegheny General Hospital.

15 Feb 2010