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Researchers advance stem cell gene therapy

Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center researchers have recently made great strides in stem cell gene therapy research by transferring a new gene to cancer patients, via their own stem cells, with the ultimate goal of being able to use stronger chemotherapy treatment with less severe side effects.

13 Dec 2007

Reprogrammed stem cells cure sickle cell anaemia

Scientists in the U.S. have made a breakthrough in the fight against sickle cell anaemia, a blood disease caused by a defect in a single gene.

9 Dec 2007

New explanation for how regulatory networks of genes evolved

When ancient retroviruses slipped bits of their DNA into the primate genome millions of years ago, they successfully preserved their own genetic legacy.

15 Nov 2007

Free medications ensure anti-HIV drugs are taken in Africa

HIV-infected patients in the African country of Tanzania were more likely to stop taking their medications and to fail treatment if they had to pay for the drugs themselves.

22 Oct 2007

Mouse mammary tumor virus might be involved in causing human breast cancer

Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) - which causes mammary cancer in mice - can replicate and spread in human cells, research published this week shows.

10 Oct 2007

Spread of endogenous retrovirus K is similar in the DNA of humans and rhesus monkeys

According to paleontologic and molecular studies, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is the closer relative to the humans (Homo sapiens) and that both lineages had a common ancestor at 5 to 7 million years ago.

10 Oct 2007

HAART stops brain damage caused by HIV

A combination of drugs widely used to treat infections caused by HIV appears to stop brain damage caused by the virus as well, according to a study published in the October 9, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Oct 2007

HIV positive employees face job loss and workplace discrimination

HIV positive employees face unemployment and workplace discrimination, indicates a study published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

3 Oct 2007

Re-engineered human T cells effectively target and kill cancerous B cells

Human white blood cells, engineered to recognize other malignant immune cells, could provide a novel therapy for patients with highly lethal B cell cancers such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).

18 Sep 2007

Pregnancy appears to cut risks for HIV-infected women

Women with HIV infection who become pregnant have a lower risk of progression to AIDS and death, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center report.

13 Sep 2007

Research looks at prions and retroviruses

National Research Center for Environment and Health in Neuherberg/Munich (Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) the group is continuing to search for cellular components whose make-up is changed as a result of a prion infection.

10 Sep 2007

South African experts say food no substitute for medical drugs in AIDS and TB

A report by the Academy of Science of South Africa has stated that there is no evidence to support the theory that a healthy diet is a substitute for medical drugs when it comes to treating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB).

22 Aug 2007

Researchers genetically modify a plant to halt reproduction of HIV related virus

In a study that could lead to new ways to prevent infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and similar organisms, Purdue University researchers have been able to genetically modify a plant to halt reproduction of a related virus.

31 Jul 2007

The good news and the bad news on AIDS

In an address by Dr. Anthony Fauci, George Bush's top adviser on HIV/AIDS, delegates were told the world is losing the battle against the virus and though progress had been made, more people were being infected with HIV than were being treated.

23 Jul 2007

Experts say world on the brink of beating AIDS

Leading AIDS experts speaking at an international conference in Sydney, Australia say the world is on the brink of beating the deadly virus.

23 Jul 2007

Urgent needs of HIV-positive women discussed

Women Living Positive, a roundtable discussion at the IAS congress in Sydney, featured the perspectives of an international panel, including experts in HIV research and medicine, an HIV-positive woman and a member of Australia's National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA), on the progress that has been made, and what remains to be done to address the needs of HIV-positive women.

23 Jul 2007

U.S. trial of new microbicide for HIV prevention to be tested in young women

Nearly half of all people infected with HIV/AIDS are now women, the majority of whom contracted the disease through sexual intercourse with male partners.

10 Jul 2007

Cancer risk in HIV, transplant patients

HIV/AIDS and kidney transplant patients are at much greater risk of contracting 20 different types of cancer than the general population, according to a land mark paper in The Lancet.

8 Jul 2007

Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV infection

Clinical trials of pre-exposure prophylaxis - that is giving anti-retroviral drugs to non-HIV-infected individuals to prevent them becoming infected - are exploring whether the approach could lead to a large decrease in transmission of the virus with few or no side effects.

8 Jul 2007

Fat kills cancer!

Researchers in Slovakia have been able to derive mesenchymal stem cells from human adipose, or fat, tissue and engineer them into "suicide genes" that seek out and destroy tumors like tiny homing missiles.

3 Jul 2007