Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Clinical studies by expert HIV clinicians suggest that HIV-TRePS may have clinical and economic benefits

Two multinational clinical studies indicate that the RDI’s system for predicting how HIV and AIDS patients will respond to different drugs could be a useful tool with potential clinical and economic benefits. The studies, published in the January issue of AIDS Patient Care and STDs, involved highly experienced physicians in the USA, Canada and Italy who used the system to help them select the optimum combination of HIV drugs for patients whose therapy was failing.

18 Jan 2011

New study reveals measles viral gene plays key role in development of PD

A gene from the measles virus plays a key role in the development of Paget's disease of bone, according to a team of researchers led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

18 Jan 2011

FDA clears Nanosphere's RV+ test for detection of respiratory viruses

Nanosphere, a leader in the development and commercialization of advanced molecular diagnostics systems, announced today FDA 510(k) clearance for the Verigene Respiratory Virus Plus Nucleic Acid Test on the Verigene System.

14 Jan 2011

New research shows enzyme-armed oncolytic virus may help fight brain tumors

New research shows that oncolytic viruses, which are engineered to destroy cancer cells, might be more effective in treating deadly brain tumors if equipped with an enzyme that helps them penetrate the tumor.

13 Jan 2011

Chicks that don’t pass on bird flu

Influenza from birds, commonly known as H5N1 avian flu, has killed at least 306 people during the past seven years and innumerable birds and poultry. Now a team of scientists in Britain have developed a way to breed poultry that are genetically resistant to H5N1 or any other avian flu virus. The study by Scientists from Cambridge and Edinburgh universities was reported in the Jan. 13 issue of Science.

13 Jan 2011

BioCryst reports positive results from peramivir Phase 3 study in influenza

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced top-line results from one of its two Phase 3 studies of intravenous (i.v.) peramivir for the treatment of patients hospitalized with influenza, and provided an update regarding its peramivir program.

13 Jan 2011

Genetic information from Guthrie cards may serve as valuable resource to diagnose infant diseases

Van Andel Research Institute researchers have developed a method that can yield more information from archived newborn blood that has implications for a vast array of research, including population health studies and answering questions about diseases in infants and children.

13 Jan 2011

FibroGen initiates FG-3019 open-label phase 2 study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

FibroGen, Inc. today announced initiation of an open-label phase 2 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of FG-3019, a human monoclonal antibody against connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), in individuals with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic, progressive, fatal lung disease for which there are no FDA-approved therapies.

13 Jan 2011

New discovery has brought dream of transforming measles virus against cancer

When most people in the developed world think of measles, what comes to mind is only a dim memory of a vaccination at a pediatrician's office. But while childhood vaccination has virtually eliminated measles from North America and much of Europe, researchers remain interested in the virus.

13 Jan 2011

New research paper reveals key lessons about origins of 2009 H1N1 pandemic

How Swine Flu Overturned the Understanding of Pandemic Outbreaks. As H1N1 'Swine Flu' returns to the national headlines a new research paper reveals the key lessons about the origins of the 2009 pandemic. The paper, published today in BioEssays, reveals how the pandemic challenges the traditional understanding of 'antigenic shift', given that the virus emerged from an existing influenza subtype.

13 Jan 2011

Offensive protein generated by HPV handicaps defensive protein made by the human body

An international team of researchers is reporting that it has uncovered new information about human papillomavirus that one day may aid in the development of drugs to eliminate the cervical-cancer-causing infection.

12 Jan 2011

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases features Inovio’s Chikungunya DNA vaccine

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of novel therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today the publication of a scientific paper highlighting positive results from Inovio's multi-antigen Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) DNA vaccine in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

12 Jan 2011

56% of respondents have still not received flu shots

As we enter peak flu season, flu activity is steadily increasing in the United States, with eight states now reporting widespread outbreaks of influenza cases according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report.

12 Jan 2011

Common disinfectant degrades water-borne viruses

A simple technique to make a common virus-killing material significantly more effective is a breakthrough from the Rice University labs of Andrew Barron and Qilin Li.

12 Jan 2011

Antibodies produced by people who recovered from H1N1 offer clues for universal flu vaccine

The antibodies produced by individuals who fought off H1N1 (swine flu) infection last year may bring researchers one step closer to their quest to develop a "universal" flu vaccine, U.S. researchers said Monday, HealthDay News/Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

12 Jan 2011

Neurology professor receives MFRF's 'See the Light' award for Tay-Sachs research

Miguel Sena-Esteves, PhD, associate professor of neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was presented with the annual "See the Light" award from the Mathew Forbes Romer Foundation in recognition of his work for leading the fight against children's genetic diseases of the brain.

12 Jan 2011

Herpes zoster vaccine reduces risk of developing shingles by 55%

Receiving the herpes zoster vaccine was associated with a 55 percent reduced risk of developing shingles, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 300,000 people that appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Jan 2011

OraSure to introduce QuickFlu test for detection of type A and type B influenza

OraSure Technologies, announced today the impending launch of the OraSure QuickFlu Rapid Flu A+B Test, a U.S. Food and Drug and Administration approved in vitro rapid qualitative test for the detection of influenza type A and type B, including H1N1 viral infections.

11 Jan 2011

Less than 7% of U.S. seniors get shingles vaccination

Although a vaccine to prevent shingles has been available since 2006, less than 7 percent of U.S. seniors — the demographic most frequently affected by the disease — chose to receive the vaccination as of 2008, finds a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

11 Jan 2011

Pharmasset, Bristol-Myers Squibb collaborate for proof of concept study on chronic HCV

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pharmasset announced today that the companies have entered into a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate the utility of BMS-790052, Bristol-Myers Squibb's NS5A replication complex inhibitor, in combination with PSI-7977, Pharmasset's nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus.

11 Jan 2011