Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Two new groups of viruses discovered within Bunyavirus family in Ivory Coast tropical forest

Researchers at the University of Bonn and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have discovered two new groups of viruses within the Bunyavirus family in the tropical forest of Ivory Coast. Previously only five groups responsible for serious illnesses in humans and animals were known.

2 Jun 2015

Talimogene laherparepvec treatment shows durable clinical responses in advanced-stage melanoma patients

Research led by Howard L. Kaufman, MD, FACS, associate director for clinical science and chief surgical officer at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and colleagues, shows advanced-stage melanoma patients have significant improvement in durable response rate and a trend toward improved survival when treated with a genetically-modified form of a herpes virus, whose native form causes the common cold sore.

2 Jun 2015

Telbivudine drug prevents perinatal transmission of HBV

The antiviral drug telbivudine prevents perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV), according to a study in the June issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

2 Jun 2015

Chronic exposure to bacteria may lead to development of Type 2 diabetes

Bacteria and viruses have an obvious role in causing infectious diseases, but microbes have also been identified as the surprising cause of other illnesses, including cervical cancer (Human papilloma virus) and stomach ulcers (H. pylori bacteria).

2 Jun 2015

miR-181b potential biomarker of replication, progression in chronic HBV

A Chinese team reports a correlation between serum levels of microRNA-181b and hepatitis B virus replication and disease progression in patients with chronic HBV infection.

1 Jun 2015

TDF alone may be sufficient maintenance in chronic HBV patients

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate monotherapy may be sufficient to maintain complete virological suppression in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection previously treated with TDF plus entecavir, suggests a review of patients.

1 Jun 2015

Meta-analysis sheds light on effectiveness of chronic HBV treatments

A meta-analysis of treatments for chronic hepatitis B virus infection suggests that tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is the most effective option for patients positive and negative for hepatitis B e antigen, but the latter group may also benefit from entecavir treatment.

1 Jun 2015

Vaccines - a needle-free future? An interview with Thomas Johnston and Dr. Kees Leenhouts, Mucosis

Scientists recognize that 90% of pathogens actually enter the body through the mucosa and secondly, we have evolved a mucosal defense system that can be used to defend against disease...

1 Jun 2015

Pennsylvania physicians urge residents to take precautions against bug bites, bee stings

For many people, bug bites and bee stings aren't a big deal beyond a small irritation. But for some, it could mean the start of a painful - possibly long-term or even deadly - experience.

1 Jun 2015

Boehringer announces LUX-Lung 8 data that compares efficacy of afatinib, erlotinib in patients with advanced SCC

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced overall survival (OS) results from the LUX-Lung 8 trial (NCT01523587) that directly compared the efficacy and safety of two EGFR-directed treatments, afatinib and erlotinib, in patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung, progressing after treatment with first-line chemotherapy. Treatment with afatinib significantly reduced the risk of death by 19%, extending the survival of patients to a median of 7.9 months compared to 6.8 months on erlotinib.

1 Jun 2015

BiondVax provides update on financial results for first quarter 2015

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing immunomodulation therapies for infectious diseases, today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2015 and provided a business update.

1 Jun 2015

Modified cold sore (herpes) virus improves survival in stage IIIb to IV melanoma patients

It's a new weapon in the arsenal of cancer fighting treatments: utilizing genetically modified viruses to invade cancer cells and destroy them from the inside.

1 Jun 2015

Modified herpes virus improves survival in melanoma patients

University of Louisville researcher Jason Chesney, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and a team of international scientists found that stage IIIb to IV melanoma patients treated with a modified cold sore (herpes) virus had improved survival.

30 May 2015

Pennsylvania confirms first 2015 detections of West Nile Virus from mosquito sample

The Pennsylvania Departments of Environmental Protection and Health are reporting the confirmation of the first 2015 detections of West Nile Virus from a mosquito sample that was collected on May 22 in Springettsbury Township, York County and a bird found May 26 in Harris Township, Centre County.

30 May 2015

Research findings could help guide development of potential treatments for HCV

Warring armies use a variety of tactics as they struggle to gain the upper hand. Among their tricks is to attack with a decoy force that occupies the defenders while an unseen force launches a separate attack that the defenders fail to notice.

28 May 2015

Scientists identify molecular 'lock' that enables Ebola virus to gain entry to cells

An international team including scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases has identified the molecular "lock" that the deadly Ebola virus must pick to gain entry to cells.

27 May 2015

AbbVie announces new results from Phase 3 GIFT-I study in GT1b HCV infected Japanese patients

AbbVie presented new results from the Phase 3 GIFT-I study of its investigational, all-oral, interferon (IFN)- and ribavirin (RBV)-free, two direct-acting antiviral treatment with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir at the Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Hepatology in Kumamoto, Japan.

27 May 2015

ETH Zurich researchers develop new measurement technique to improve NanoMRI imaging

NanoMRI is a scanning technique that produces nondestructive, high-resolution 3-D images of nanoscale objects, and it promises to become a powerful tool for researchers and companies exploring the shape and function of biological materials such as viruses and cells in much the same way as clinical MRI today enables investigation of whole tissues in the human body.

27 May 2015

UVA scientists find blueprint for combating human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor

By unlocking the secrets of a bizarre virus that survives in nearly boiling acid, scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have found a blueprint for battling human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor.

27 May 2015

Study: Drugs that block NPC1 protein could be used to treat Ebola virus disease

A new study has demonstrated that a protein called Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) is critical for the Ebola virus to infect a host. The study, published in the May/June issue of mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, suggests that drugs that block NPC1 could be used to treat this deadly disease.

27 May 2015

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Two new groups of viruses discovered within Bunyavirus family in Ivory Coast tropical forest

Talimogene laherparepvec treatment shows durable clinical responses in advanced-stage melanoma patients

Telbivudine drug prevents perinatal transmission of HBV

Chronic exposure to bacteria may lead to development of Type 2 diabetes

miR-181b potential biomarker of replication, progression in chronic HBV

TDF alone may be sufficient maintenance in chronic HBV patients

Meta-analysis sheds light on effectiveness of chronic HBV treatments

Vaccines - a needle-free future? An interview with Thomas Johnston and Dr. Kees Leenhouts, Mucosis

Pennsylvania physicians urge residents to take precautions against bug bites, bee stings

Boehringer announces LUX-Lung 8 data that compares efficacy of afatinib, erlotinib in patients with advanced SCC

BiondVax provides update on financial results for first quarter 2015

Modified cold sore (herpes) virus improves survival in stage IIIb to IV melanoma patients

Modified herpes virus improves survival in melanoma patients

Pennsylvania confirms first 2015 detections of West Nile Virus from mosquito sample

Research findings could help guide development of potential treatments for HCV

Scientists identify molecular 'lock' that enables Ebola virus to gain entry to cells

AbbVie announces new results from Phase 3 GIFT-I study in GT1b HCV infected Japanese patients

ETH Zurich researchers develop new measurement technique to improve NanoMRI imaging

UVA scientists find blueprint for combating human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor

Study: Drugs that block NPC1 protein could be used to treat Ebola virus disease

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production