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.

Typhoon survivors in Tacloban vaccinated against measles and polio

Children in Tacloban – the city hit hardest by Typhoon Haiyan – were vaccinated against measles and polio in the first phase of a mass campaign by the Government of the Philippines with support from UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and other partners. They also received Vitamin A supplements to help improve their immunity against infections.

27 Nov 2013

New concept outlines steps to tackle neglected tropical diseases, expedite poverty reduction efforts

A new concept and policy framework published in PLOS NTDs outlines concrete steps for the global development community as it works to synthesize health goals with economic, environmental and social priorities.

26 Nov 2013

Vaccination campaign launched to prevent outbreaks of measles and polio in Philippines

WHO and the Philippine Department of Health have launched a vaccination campaign to prevent outbreaks of measles and polio among survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

22 Nov 2013

Scientists at Salk Institute develop novel platform to study kidney diseases

Diseases affecting the kidneys represent a major and unsolved health issue worldwide. The kidneys rarely recover function once they are damaged by disease, highlighting the urgent need for better knowledge of kidney development and physiology.

19 Nov 2013

Researchers generate three-dimensional kidney structures from human stem cells

18 Nov 2013

New outbreak of polio in Syria may endanger neighbouring regions, warn experts

Two infectious disease experts have written to The Lancet warning that a new outbreak of polio (due to infection with wild-type polio virus 1, WPV1) in Syria, recently confirmed by WHO, might endanger neighbouring regions, including Europe.

8 Nov 2013

California gets 'A' grade on March of Dimes 2013 Premature Birth report card

California has improved its grade on the March of Dimes 2013 Premature Birth report card, moving from a 'B' grade in 2012 to an 'A' grade in 2013.

4 Nov 2013

Professor receives March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for research on maternal-fetal nutrition

A researcher who showed that what a woman consumes during pregnancy may increase her baby's risk of developing a birth defect will receive the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for outstanding achievements in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition.

4 Nov 2013

Scientists find surprising degree of variation among genomes of individual neurons

It was once thought that each cell in a person's body possesses the same DNA code and that the particular way the genome is read imparts cell function and defines the individual. For many cell types in our bodies, however, that is an oversimplification.

4 Nov 2013

Scientists find disparities in regulation of transposons between humans and non-human primate cells

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have, for the first time, taken chimpanzee and bonobo skin cells and turned them into induced pluripotent stem cells, a type of cell that has the ability to form any other cell or tissue in the body.

24 Oct 2013

Study evaluates role of enteroviruses in human type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a disease caused by the destruction of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It is often diagnosed in childhood and requires life-long treatment with daily insulin injections. It is associated with an increased risk for long-term complications which decrease the quality of life and average life-expectancy.

23 Oct 2013

Evidence less consistent for high blood sugar, insulin treatment and oral agents

Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll professor and senior academic advisor to the dean in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University was senior author of a consensus statement from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists on diabetes and cancer, which was just published in Endocrinology Practice.

16 Oct 2013

NIH selects Salk scientist for EUREKA grant

The National Institutes of Health has selected Axel Nimmerjahn for a highly competitive EUREKA (Exceptional Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) grant. Dr. Nimmerjahn is an Assistant Professor in the Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center and holds the Richard Allan Barry Developmental Chair.

13 Oct 2013

Salk scientist receives Career Development Award for new research from JDRF

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has given Salk scientist Mark Huising a five-year, $750,000 Career Development Award for his proposed study on how a novel network of receptors in human islets receives and integrates molecular signals. In pre-clinical models, activation of these receptors has proven to actually prevent diabetes.

9 Oct 2013

Research recommends that pediatricians respect parents' rights in making case for immunization

Controversy about the risks of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines has been rumbling in the United States for years -- and now it's Israel's turn. After finding traces of the polio virus in sewage, Israel's Ministry of Health launched a national vaccination campaign that reached more than half a million children. Surprisingly, dissenting voices flooded social media and the mainstream news, calling for a halt to the campaign.

2 Oct 2013

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

In a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the impact of a medical specialty on patient outcomes, researchers found that hospitalized patients with severe infections such as meningitis and Clostridium difficile are significantly less likely to die if they receive care from an infectious diseases specialist. The study, which analyzed nearly 130,000 Medicare patient cases, is now available online and will be published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Sep 2013

HOOKVAC consortium to begin first clinical testing of human hookworm vaccine in West Africa

The HOOKVAC consortium, led by the Academic Medical Center (AMC) at the University of Amsterdam, today announced it has been awarded a grant of six million Euros from the European Commission FP7 programme to expand the Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership's (Sabin PDP) work to develop and test a vaccine for human hookworm, a disease that infects 600-700 million of the world's poorest people.

27 Sep 2013

MIT engineers develop nanoparticles that deliver cancer vaccines to lungs

Many viruses and bacteria infect humans through mucosal surfaces, such as those in the lungs, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive tract. To help fight these pathogens, scientists are working on vaccines that can establish a front line of defense at mucosal surfaces.

26 Sep 2013

First clinical trials to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease

More than a century ago, Alois Alzheimer, a Bavarian physician, first identified the neurodegenerative brain condition that came to be known as Alzheimer's disease. Finding ways to diagnose and treat this disease has frustrated scientists and clinicians ever since.

19 Sep 2013

Researchers find key mechanism behind Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease affects more than 26 million people worldwide. It is predicted to skyrocket as boomers age-nearly 106 million people are projected to have the disease by 2050.

7 Sep 2013

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

Typhoon survivors in Tacloban vaccinated against measles and polio

New concept outlines steps to tackle neglected tropical diseases, expedite poverty reduction efforts

Vaccination campaign launched to prevent outbreaks of measles and polio in Philippines

Scientists at Salk Institute develop novel platform to study kidney diseases

Researchers generate three-dimensional kidney structures from human stem cells

New outbreak of polio in Syria may endanger neighbouring regions, warn experts

California gets 'A' grade on March of Dimes 2013 Premature Birth report card

Professor receives March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for research on maternal-fetal nutrition

Scientists find surprising degree of variation among genomes of individual neurons

Scientists find disparities in regulation of transposons between humans and non-human primate cells

Study evaluates role of enteroviruses in human type 1 diabetes

Evidence less consistent for high blood sugar, insulin treatment and oral agents

NIH selects Salk scientist for EUREKA grant

Salk scientist receives Career Development Award for new research from JDRF

Research recommends that pediatricians respect parents' rights in making case for immunization

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

HOOKVAC consortium to begin first clinical testing of human hookworm vaccine in West Africa

MIT engineers develop nanoparticles that deliver cancer vaccines to lungs

First clinical trials to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers find key mechanism behind Alzheimer's disease

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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