Hepatitis D News and Research

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Hepatitis D is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation (swelling of the tissue which occurs due to injury or infection) and damage.

Phosphorylation of SARS-CoV-2 N protein affects its function

Now, a new study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows the effect of phosphorylation on the state and function of the N protein.

1 Jul 2020

Newly identified molecules can help develop COVID-19 therapeutics

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing the global COVID-19 pandemic, uses a protein called polymerase to replicate its genome inside infected human cells.

30 Jun 2020

California prisons are COVID hotbeds despite billions spent on inmate health

From Corcoran and Avenal state prisons in the arid Central Valley to historical San Quentin on the San Francisco Bay, California prisons have emerged as raging COVID-19 hot spots, even as the state annually spends more on inmate health care than other big states spend on their entire prison systems.

29 Jun 2020

Sweeps of homeless camps run counter to COVID guidance and pile on health risks

Melody Lewis lives like a nomad in the heart of downtown. Poking her head out of her green tent on a recent June day, the 57-year-old pointed a few blocks away to the place where city crews picked up her tent from a sidewalk median earlier this spring and replaced it with landscaping rocks, fencing and signs warning trespassers to keep out.

26 Jun 2020

USask researchers receive $900,000 to help strengthen Canada's rapid response to COVID-19

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has awarded three University of Saskatchewan research teams a total of $900,000 to help strengthen Canada's rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic which had killed more than 450,000 people worldwide.

25 Jun 2020

New assay rapidly tests SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and screens antivirals

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, have developed a new platform that can rapidly test neutralizing antibody activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and perform high-throughput screening of potential antiviral agents.

24 Jun 2020

Discovery provides a potential target for infectious diseases immunotherapy

NIH investigators and colleagues have discovered that when the immune system first responds to infectious agents such as viruses or bacteria, a natural brake on the response prevents overactivation.

23 Jun 2020

Dire warning on contamination of water and COVID-19 spread

A recent report by scientists in the United Kingdom and Poland and published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 describes the presence of stable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in water for up to 25 days, with the risk of infection by the contaminated water varying by the country’s environment.

22 Jun 2020

HCV-positive organs can be safely used for transplantation, study shows

Patients who received a transplanted liver infected with hepatitis C and were later treated for the infection performed as well in recovery as transplant patients who received an organ free of infection, according to study from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and UC Health recently published in the journal Liver Transplantation.

22 Jun 2020

Hepatitis C virus co-opts an immune protein to evade antiviral defenses

By discovering a trick the hepatitis C virus uses to evade the immune system, scientists have identified a new antiviral defense system that could be used to treat many virus infections, according to new research published today in eLife.

16 Jun 2020

Scientists develop new test to help identify people at risk for developing liver cancer

Scientists have developed a new test that can help identify people who are likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. The approach uses a simple blood test to check for the patient's previous exposure to certain viruses.

11 Jun 2020

Females mount stronger T-cell response to SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 shows that immune cells, antibody levels, cytokine levels, and viral loads contribute to the sex difference seen in response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

10 Jun 2020

Research team provides new insights on the communication between liver and brain

A research team in Vienna is investigating how calorie intake, liver activity and fat storage interact and what role the central nervous system plays in this.

10 Jun 2020

Immune cell discovery could help develop new treatments for hepatitis B

For the first time, researchers at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research have identified and described a new and unique subset of human cells that are involved in the immune response against hepatitis B (HBV) infection. The discovery could help develop new treatments for HBV and inform future vaccine design.

9 Jun 2020

Indirect viral infection of the kidneys by SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammatory reaction

SARS-CoV-2-associated acute kidney injury is not uncommon. Many hospitalized COVID-19 patients - as many as 80% of critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to a current study - develop acute kidney injury, but without requiring dialysis in most cases. Proteinuria and hematuria are present in about half the cases.

8 Jun 2020