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In N.J., patients who receive free AIDS meds to face stricter income limits; some W. Va. state employees will no longer receive monthly insurance subsidies

The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record: "New Jersey will no longer provide free AIDS medications for 950 people who are HIV-positive, under a little-noticed provision of the state budget enacted this month.

14 Jul 2010

AHF: 15 Zambian health care professionals to train HIV Medics

Graduation ceremonies will be held Saturday, July 10th in Lukasa for 15 Zambian health care professionals from several districts throughout the country who have completed an educational training program administered by AIDS Healthcare Foundation. This will enable the graduates to train classes of HIV Medics to work in the country's growing fight against HIV/AIDS.

9 Jul 2010

Call for incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies

Three leading scientific and health policy organizations today launched a global drive for signatories to the Vienna Declaration, a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. Among those supporting the declaration and urging others to sign is 2008 Nobel Laureate and International AIDS Society (IAS) Governing Council member Prof. Fran-oise Barr--Sinoussi, co-discoverer of HIV.

30 Jun 2010

Mammalian embryo use different strategies to suppress retroviral infection: Study

Some viruses insert themselves into the host's DNA during infection in a process called retroviral integration, causing several diseases, including AIDS and cancer, notes a Texas A&M researcher who specializes in fetal diseases.

29 Jun 2010

CFIDS Association applauds AABB for responding to questions about safety of general blood supply

The CFIDS Association of America commends the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banking) for its actions to protect the safety of the nation's blood supply by recommending that blood collectors actively discourage potential donors who have been diagnosed by a physician with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS, also known as chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, or CFIDS) from donating blood through the use of donor information materials made available at the donation site.

19 Jun 2010

ViiV Healthcare to provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs

AHF is pleased to report that yet another drug company: ViiV Healthcare, a new drug company formed in a partnership between GSK and Pfizer, has announced an agreement that will provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs nationwide.

4 Jun 2010

WPI, Cerus announce positive results from study of INTERCEPT Blood System to inactivate XMRV

The Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease (WPI) and Cerus Corporation announced positive results from a study demonstrating the efficacy of the INTERCEPT Blood System to inactivate XMRV, a human retrovirus, in donated platelet components.

18 May 2010

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

Immunetics, Inc. has been selected to receive a $2.8 million contract as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II project, a long term epidemiologic study of blood safety involving HIV and other infectious and non-infectious complications of blood transfusion.

18 May 2010

Novel imaging techniques improve post heart attack survival rates in mouse model

Human adult stem cells injected around the damage caused by a heart attack survived in the heart and improved its pumping efficiency for a year in a mouse model, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online ahead of publication in Circulation Research.

10 May 2010

U.N. Development Program head begins four-country tour of Africa to promote MDGs

Over the weekend, U.N. Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark began a four-country tour of Africa "to highlight progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the run up to a Summit in September," Tanzania Daily News/allAfrica.com reports. Clark will make stops in Tanzania, Mali, Burkina Faso and South Africa, where she will "meet with heads of state and ministers, as well as touch base with women leaders and members of civil society, and visit development projects," the news service writes.

5 May 2010

Mylan first-quarter total revenues increase 7% to $1.29 billion

Mylan Inc. today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

30 Apr 2010

New research shows link between infection-related diseases and risk of cancer

New research is emerging that suggests a link between infection-related diseases and risk of cancer, according to findings presented here at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010.

20 Apr 2010

Emory University researchers develop experimental clinical test for XMRV

The recently discovered retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), has been identified in some prostate cancer patients. In light of conflicting data concerning XMRV, standardized diagnostic testing is important to identify patients in which XMRV is present and to determine whether it plays a role in the incidence of prostate cancer.

6 Apr 2010

Effective defense against HIV: Acne drug minocycline

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating.

20 Mar 2010

Acne drug prevents HIV breakout

18 Mar 2010

Banana lectin discovery may lead to potential new treatments for preventing sexual transmission of HIV

A potent new inhibitor of HIV, derived from bananas, may open the door to new treatments to prevent sexual transmission of HIV, according to a University of Michigan Medical School study published this week.

16 Mar 2010

Experts discuss PEPFAR funding in congressional hearing

At a recent hearing of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, "[i]nternational health organisations working to help check the spread of AIDS in Africa said meagre increases in funds from the U.S. government this year would be a step backwards. Some experts also emphasised that prevention must get appropriate attention in any fight against the disease," Inter Press Service reports.

15 Mar 2010

UNAIDS director cautions against funding cuts to Global Fund

During an appeal to government and private donors to pledge money to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe warned of the repercussions tightening budgets could play in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press reports.

10 Mar 2010

Glencoe Enterprise article highlights medical innovation and research enable people to live longer, healthier

An article in the Glencoe Enterprise recently highlighted the fact that medical innovation and research are enabling many people to live longer, healthier and more productive lives.

5 Mar 2010

Elsevier releases special issue to mark the 25th anniversary of antiretroviral drug development

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, released a special issue of the journal Antiviral Research (www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01663542), marking the 25th anniversary of antiretroviral drug development.

4 Mar 2010