Immunization News and Research

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Bugs in yoghurt may stop the spread of AIDS

Scientists have found that some of the 'friendly bacteria' found in yoghurt can be genetically modified to release a drug that blocks HIV infection.

18 Jan 2006

Unorthodox vaccine could one day help to prevent or control HIV infection

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston have reason to believe their unorthodox vaccine could one day help to prevent or control HIV infection, according to a study published in today's edition of Public Library of Science Medicine.

6 Jan 2006

Taking an alternative approach to HIV vaccination

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine have shown that switching off a molecule that helps regulate dendritic cells, specialized white blood cells that activate the immune system, could help the host fight HIV infection.

6 Jan 2006

Surprise discovery helps tackle rabies

In an unexpected discovery, scientists at Jefferson Medical College have found that a tiny change in a rabies virus protein can turn a "safe" virus extremely deadly. The finding has enabled the researchers to refine a vaccine they previously created against rabies in wildlife, making it safer and more effective.

5 Jan 2006

SOCS1 silencing could help enhance vaccines against HIV

4 Jan 2006

Effectiveness of Influenza vaccine on elderly substantially overestimated

Studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness in elderly people substantially overestimate vaccine benefits, according to new research from the US published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE), edited at the University of Bristol.

21 Dec 2005

Flu kills more U.S. children than chicken pox, whooping cough, and measles combined

A new study has shown that flu killed more U.S. children than chicken pox, whooping cough, and measles combined in the 2003-2004 flu season.

19 Dec 2005

Urgent call to save lives of 30 million under fives over next decade

Unprecedented opportunity to reduce child mortality in poorest countries must not be missed

15 Dec 2005

Anti-Abeta42 and Anti-Abeta40–specific monoclonal antibodies attenuate amyloid deposition in an Alzheimer disease mouse model

Current hypotheses suggest that it is the accumulation over time of amyloid beta peptide 1–42 (Abeta42) that triggers changes in the brain that lead to cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.

13 Dec 2005

Needle-free methods of immunization

Samir Mitragotri, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says the myriad shortcomings of injections have led to active research and development of needle-free methods of immunization.

2 Dec 2005

Contact with pigs increases risk of animal flu viruses

Farmers, veterinarians and meat processors who routinely come into contact with pigs in their jobs have a markedly increased risk of infection with flu viruses that infect pigs, according to a study funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

28 Nov 2005

Health experts in the UK warn flu vaccine will run out

Fear of a flu pandemic has triggered an unprecedented demand for winter flu vaccines and health officials in the UK are warning that the NHS could run out of supplies.

22 Nov 2005

Neurological and neuromuscular diseases raise risk of complications from flu

As another flu season approaches, patients with neurological and neuromuscular disease are especially vulnerable to respiratory failure caused by influenza.

3 Nov 2005

Unique approach to enhance the immune system in patients with breast or colorectal cancer

The study uses a potent immune-enhancing gene delivered directly into the cancer cells to make them look foreign to the body's immune system, which will then attack and destroy the cancer.

1 Nov 2005

Millions from Gates to fight malaria

A British university will benefit from a donation from Bill and Melinda Gates to the tune of £28 million as part of a £145 million gift to malaria research worldwide.

31 Oct 2005

Pre-teens need vaccine against sexually transmitted virus

According to a poll of doctors in the U.S., most would be prepared to give 11- and 12-year-old patients a vaccine to prevent infection with a sexually transmitted virus.

31 Oct 2005

$107.6 million grant for malaria vaccine candidate

In an important step toward developing an effective malaria vaccine, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a $107.6 million grant to the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) to extend the public-private partnership between MVI and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Bio) to develop GSK Bio's malaria vaccine for children in Africa.

30 Oct 2005

Vaccination against measles could prevent many more cases of SSPE, than previously thought

A new study has found wild-type measles virus in tissues from patients who died of a fatal brain infection, providing evidence against the notion that the strain of virus in the measles vaccine caused the infection.

30 Oct 2005

Needle free vasectomy

A new anesthetic technique for vasectomy that does not involve the use of needles has been shown to be safe and effective, according to a recent study presented by Dr. Marc Goldstein of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center's Department of Urology.

27 Oct 2005

Preventing pneumonia in children helps prevent pneumonia in older adults

The incidence of pneumonia among older adults has decreased substantially, linked to the introduction of a pneumonia vaccine for children in 2000, according to a study in the October 26 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Oct 2005