Hepatitis B Virus News and Research

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UD researchers gain new insights into hepatitis B virus' genetic blueprint

Researchers at the University of Delaware, using supercomputing resources and collaborating with scientists at Indiana University, have gained new understanding of the virus that causes hepatitis B and the "spiky ball" that encloses the virus's genetic blueprint.

13 Aug 2020

Natural controllers shed light on immunity mechanisms against hepatitis B

Infections in humans caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) represent a major public health problem. Despite the availability of effective protective vaccines, more than 250 million individuals worldwide are chronically infected according to WHO estimates.

13 Aug 2020

European Commission approves first drug for hepatitis D

What started off as basic research 25 years ago has now lead to a successfully approved drug: The entry blocker bulevirtide (brand name Hepcludex, formerly known as Myrcludex B), jointly developed by researchers from Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) and the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg, the DZIF and other partners, has now been approved by the European Commission.

5 Aug 2020

Study identifies large number of undiagnosed patients likely infected with hepatitis C in Sweden

Using a large transfusion database, with data going back to the 1960s, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been able to identify 44 donors and 1,180 transfused patients likely to be infected with hepatitis C, who are still alive and who remain undiagnosed.

24 Jul 2020

Study estimates the past and present burden of viral hepatitis through blood transfusions

What is the incidence of viral hepatitis caused by blood transfusions before and after Sweden introduced screening of blood in the early 1990s? In an article published in Eurosurveillance ahead of World Hepatitis Day on 28 July, the authors also try to estimate how many people of those who were infected with hepatitis B and C through blood transfusion still live with undiagnosed hepatitis.

23 Jul 2020

Researchers map RNA structure throughout SARS-CoV-2 genome

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is currently at the heart of a pandemic that has cost the world more than 550,000 lives, 12 million infections, and uncounted years of productivity, is an RNA virus with the largest genome among all such viruses. This 30 kb size virus has caused many difficulties for scientists in search of a vaccine.

9 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

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

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

Study shows Sofosbuvir alleviates COVID-19-related neurological symptoms

A group of researchers has studied the effects of an antiviral drug Sofosbuvir on human brain organoids infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Jun 2020

Is it safe for SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers to breastfeed?

Even as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus continues to cause thousands of cases every day, with many deaths, life continues to move on regardless. Births occur as usual, and in many countries, mothers prefer to breastfeed their babies, at least for the first few months of life.

2 Jun 2020

A key player in hepatitis A virus infection discovered

How hepatitis A virus manages to enter liver cells called hepatocytes and initiate infection had remained a mystery for fifty years until now.

26 May 2020

Inventor of hepatitis C cure wins prestigious award from University of Edinburgh

A medicinal chemist who found a cure for the viral disease hepatitis C has received a prestigious award from the University of Edinburgh.

3 May 2020

Racial inequalities in liver cancer mortality increased after introduction of hepatitis C drugs

In the United States, hepatocellular or liver cancer deaths have doubled since 1979. Hepatitis C virus is the leading cause of liver cancer.

30 Apr 2020

Research shows how the immune system reacts to hepatitis C viruses

If a virus penetrates a cell, the immune system reacts immediately and produces the signaling protein interferon.

24 Apr 2020

Using 'own' immune cells to fight infectious diseases including COVID-19

A provocative paper from Duke-NUS Medical School, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine in March 2020, discusses the possibilities of creating new receptors on a sick person's own immune cells as a means of controlling the infection. This therapy is already being used to treat certain cancers with marked success.

22 Apr 2020

Researchers are exploring potential therapy for controlling infectious diseases

The engineering of specific virus-targeting receptors onto a patient's own immune cells is now being explored by scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), as a potential therapy for controlling infectious diseases, including the COVID-19-causing virus, SARS-CoV-2.

22 Apr 2020

Remdesivir drug stops novel coronavirus from replicating

Scientists from the University of Alberta have published findings that the antiviral drug remdesivir prevents replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by inhibiting RNA replication. The study, published in April 2020 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, follows on the heels of earlier reports from the same lab in February, showing the drug's effectiveness against the related Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus.

15 Apr 2020