Polio News and Research

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Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralyzed, 5-10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. Naturally occurring polio was eliminated in the U.S. in 1979 and in the Western Hemisphere by 1991; however, worldwide efforts are continuing towards eradication of this contagious and devastating disease.

Researchers identify important neural mechanism responsible for certain chronic pain disorders

Pain typically has a clear cause-but not always. When a person touches something hot or bumps into a sharp object, it's no surprise that it hurts. But for people with certain chronic pain disorders, including fibromyalgia and phantom limb pain, a gentle caress can result in agony.

6 Dec 2014

Organovo, Yale collaborate to develop bioprinted tissues for surgical transplantation research

Organovo Holdings, Inc., a three-dimensional biology company focused on delivering breakthrough 3D bioprinting technology, and Yale School of Medicine, Department of Surgery have formed a collaboration to develop bioprinted tissues for surgical transplantation research, made possible by a generous gift from the Methuselah Foundation.

3 Dec 2014

New hybrid vehicle to improve delivery of DNA vaccines is under development

Described recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the technology is a biomedical advancement that could help unleash the potential of DNA vaccines, which despite two decades of research, have yet to make a significant impact in the treatment of major illnesses.

26 Nov 2014

New look at the workings of HIV, other viruses

UC Davis researchers are getting a new look at the workings of HIV and other viruses thanks to new techniques in electron microscopy developed on campus.

18 Nov 2014

Salk Institute researchers heal injured hearts of living mice

Researchers at the Salk Institute have healed injured hearts of living mice by reactivating long dormant molecular machinery found in the animals' cells, a finding that could help pave the way to new therapies for heart disorders in humans.

7 Nov 2014

Gates Foundation awards US$156 million to support PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative

In support of a bold quest to rid the world entirely of malaria, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced an award of US$156 million to PATH to support the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) in building new vaccines that will interrupt the cycle of malaria parasite transmission and help realize the "accelerating to zero" agenda. Such vaccines would ensure that parasite reintroduction is prevented by providing what could be called an "immunological bed net."

3 Nov 2014

Four ACS members named recipients of ACS/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian and Volunteerism Awards

Earlier this evening, four members of the American College of Surgeons were named recipients of the 2014 ACS/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian and Volunteerism Awards in recognition of their selfless efforts as volunteer surgeons who provide care to medically underserved patients, domestically and abroad.

30 Oct 2014

Salk Institute scientists identify promising target for HIV/AIDS treatment

Like a slumbering dragon, HIV can lay dormant in a person's cells for years, evading medical treatments only to wake up and strike at a later time, quickly replicating itself and destroying the immune system.

27 Oct 2014

ADI develops ELISA test kits for detection of Ebola viral protein antibodies

San Antonio, Texas-based Biotech Company Alpha Diagnostic Int'l has developed and released several convenient, rapid, and sensitive ELISA test kits for the detection of major Ebola viral protein antibodies (Glycoprotein, GP; Nucleoprotein, NP, and Viral Protein 40 or VP40).

23 Oct 2014

New study reveals how cancer becomes drug resistant over time

Like a colony of bacteria or species of animals, cancer cells within a tumor must evolve to survive. A dose of chemotherapy may kill hundreds of thousands of cancer cells, for example, but a single cell with a unique mutation can survive and quickly generate a new batch of drug-resistant cells, making cancer hard to combat.

21 Oct 2014

ORNL's Urban Dynamics Institute supports polio vaccination efforts in developing countries

The new Urban Dynamics Institute at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to aid polio vaccination efforts in developing countries.

17 Oct 2014

BIDMC scientists uncover new class of molecules that protects against diabetes

Scientists at the Salk Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have discovered a new class of molecules—produced in human and mouse fat—that protects against diabetes.

10 Oct 2014

Salk researchers receive BRAIN Initiative funding

Joseph Ecker, a Salk professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and Margarita Behrens, Salk staff scientist, have been named recipients in the 2014 round of grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative for leading-edge work in neuroscience.

1 Oct 2014

Rapid and coordinated response helps control Ebola outbreak in Nigeria

The Ebola outbreak in Nigeria appears to be nearing a possible end thanks to a rapid response coordinated by Nigeria's Emergency Operations Center with assistance from international partners, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

1 Oct 2014

UAE calls for strengthening global campaign to eradicate polio

At an event hosted by the UAE Ministry of International Cooperation and Development, speaking on behalf of the Minister MICAD, HE Sheikha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qasimi, HE Dr. Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, called for an intensification of the global campaign to eradicate polio.

23 Sep 2014

Sustained international efforts can help reduce premature deaths by 40% over next 20 years

New research published today [Friday 19 September] in The Lancet suggests that, with sustained international efforts, the number of premature deaths could be reduced by 40% over the next two decades (2010-2030), halving under–50 mortality and preventing a third of the deaths at ages 50–69 years.

19 Sep 2014

High impact health interventions reduce maternal and child mortality in poor countries

New studies have uncovered the specific interventions and advances that have led to the success with these at-risk populations in the poorest countries.

17 Sep 2014

Getting flu shot every autumn can lead to better health

Everyone knows that the best way to avoid the flu is by getting an annual flu shot. But a trip to your physician every autumn for the vaccination can help you avoid much more than the dreaded flu bug. "At the doctor's office, the focus is on you and what is going on with your health. This is your time to talk about concerns to improve your well-being beyond the flu season," says Jorge Parada, MD, MPH, the medical director of the Infection Prevention and Control Program at Loyola University Health System.

15 Sep 2014

Gates Foundation pledges $50 million to support emergency efforts to control Ebola epidemic

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that it will commit $50 million to support the scale up of emergency efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and interrupt transmission of the virus.

10 Sep 2014

Scientists identify how immune cells use two critical receptors to clear dead cells from the body

In most of the tissues of the body, specialized immune cells are entrusted with the task of engulfing the billions of dead cells that are generated every day.

8 Sep 2014