Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Shingles runs in the family

Shingles appears when the virus that causes chickenpox, varicella zoster, is reactivated in spinal nerves; most adults carry the varicella zoster virus, but only 10 percent to 30 percent develop shingles.

20 May 2008

Warning about lack of attention given to hepatitis

A report by the World Hepatitis Alliance has called for an increased focus on hepatitis and says the disease should be given the same attention as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

20 May 2008

Dermatologists link family history to shingles susceptibility

Researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston have identified family history as one reason why some people might be more susceptible to shingles, a severe skin condition. Their findings are published in the May 19 issue of Archives of Dermatology.

19 May 2008

Rochester vaccine triggers immune response, prevents Alzheimer's

A vaccine created by University of Rochester Medical Center scientists prevents the development of Alzheimer's disease-like pathology in mice without causing inflammation or significant side effects.

19 May 2008

First pre-pandemic bird flu vaccine available in Europe

The approval for a licence from the European Commission will place Glaxo ahead of rivals in the vaccine fields and the company says it has already received orders from some governments such as the U.S., Switzerland and Finland.

19 May 2008

Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca announce innovative deal for promising anti-cancer compound

Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Technology (CRT) - the charity's development and commercialisation arm - today announced an innovative new arrangement to progress into clinical development a potential anti-cancer compound from AstraZeneca.

19 May 2008

DNA vaccines boosted by dendritic cells

The concept sounds ideal: vaccines made of DNA that could be taken in by other cells and give instructions for how to fight off different diseases. The reality, however, has fallen short. Although DNA vaccines have been around for about 15 years and shown lots of promise for HIV, SARS and influenza vaccines during preclinical testing in mice, researchers have yet to make them potent enough to be helpful in humans.

18 May 2008

New hay fever jab promises year long relief for sufferers

Relief is in sight for millions of hay fever sufferers with the promise of a jab, which lasts for a year, that significantly reduces symptoms.

15 May 2008

China struggles to cope with killer virus amid earthquake devastation

The death toll in China from hand-foot-mouth disease has now risen to 42 with another 24,934 children sickened by the deadly virus; all the fatalities have been children.

15 May 2008

First evidence of native dendritic cells in brain

In a finding that has the potential to change the way researchers think about the brain, scientists at Rockefeller University have found dendritic cells where they've never been seen before: among this organ's neurons and connective cells.

15 May 2008

Would you let your child participate in medical research?

Advances in medicine - new treatments, cures, vaccines and medicines - are driven by research involving humans. But when it comes to medical research that requires children to be involved, researchers often struggle to find participants.

13 May 2008

Increased research, determination needed in HIV/AIDS vaccine efforts, HIV vaccine enterprise head says

The disappointment that followed the cancellation of a Merck vaccine trial in September 2007 has been replaced by a renewed determination among the scientific community, Alan Bernstein, executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, said ahead of the 25th anniversary of the scientific paper announcing the discovery of HIV, the CP/Yahoo! News reports.

13 May 2008

Another outbreak of bird flu in Seoul - all poultry in the city culled

A second outbreak of bird flu in Seoul, the capital of South Korea in less than a week has prompted the culling of all domestic fowl in the city.

13 May 2008

Death toll in China now at 39 as 5 more children die from enterovirus 71

The death toll in China from enterovirus 71 (EV71) has risen to 39 with the deaths of five more children; EV71 belongs to the same family as the polio virus and is a strain of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

13 May 2008

New data reveals impact of deadly human papillomavirus in Latin America, Caribbean

Thirty-three thousand women in Latin America and the Caribbean die each year of preventable cervical cancer, caused by a virus that infects 20 percent of men and women in the region and as many as 30 percent of the youngest women, according to a new study.

12 May 2008

Experts say time to change strategies for HIV prevention in Africa

Experts on HIV/AIDS are calling for a change of strategies in dealing with HIV prevention in African countries.

12 May 2008

Kenya launches campaign to increase tuberculosis screening among HIV-positive people

The Kenyan government on Tuesday launched a 60 million shilling -- or about $975,000 -- campaign to increase the number of HIV-positive people who are screened for tuberculosis at public hospitals, Kenya's Nation reports. The campaign also aims to educate health workers to test people with TB for HIV.

11 May 2008

GeoVax Labs to launch phase II trials of HIV vaccine candidate

The Atlanta-based biotechnology firm GeoVax Labs plans to launch Phase II clinical trials of its experimental HIV vaccine this summer, company officials recently announced, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Hendrick, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/8).

8 May 2008

Shift in HIV prevention priorities needed - reducing multiple sexual partnerships and providing male circumcision services should be emphasized

According to a new policy analysis led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of California, Berkeley, the most common HIV prevention strategies-condom promotion, HIV testing, treatment of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), vaccine and microbicide research, and abstinence-are having a limited impact on the predominantly heterosexual epidemics found in Africa.

8 May 2008