Antiviral Drug News and Research

RSS

Human rhinovirus found to manipulate genes

Sneezing, runny nose and chills? You might blame the human rhinovirus (HRV), which causes 30 to 50 percent of common colds. But in reality, it's not the virus itself but HRV's ability to manipulate your genes that is the true cause of some of the most annoying cold symptoms.

26 Oct 2008

Nanowire sensors show huge potential for point-of-care disease detection

Yale scientists have created nanowire sensors coupled with simple microprocessor electronics that are both sensitive and specific enough to be used for point-of-care (POC) disease detection, according to a report in Nano Letters.

12 Oct 2008

Existing anti-obesity drugs may be effective against flu, hepatitis and HIV

Viruses dramatically increase cellular metabolism, and existing anti-obesity drugs may represent a new way to block these metabolic changes and inhibit viral infection, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

29 Sep 2008

FDA warns Ranbaxy Labs and issues import alert

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued two Warning Letters to Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., of the Republic of India, and an Import Alert for generic drugs produced by Ranbaxy's Dewas and Paonta Sahib plants in India.

16 Sep 2008

FDA approves DNA test to measure hepatitis B viral load

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first nucleic acid test for hepatitis B virus (HBV) that measures the amount of viral DNA (viral load) in a patient's blood. Assessing a patient's viral load provides health care professionals with a highly sensitive method for gauging the progress of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic HBV infections.

5 Sep 2008

Link found between Apobec3 gene and neutralizing antibody response to retrovirus

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. Published in the Sept. 5 issue of Science, the finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus.

4 Sep 2008

Anti-itching drug clemizole shows promise against hepatitis C

The fight against the liver disease hepatitis C has been at something of an impasse for years, with more than 150 million people currently infected, and traditional antiviral treatments causing nasty side effects and often falling short of a cure. Using a novel technique, medical and engineering researchers at Stanford University have discovered a vulnerable step in the virus' reproduction process that in lab testing could be effectively targeted with an obsolete antihistamine.

31 Aug 2008

Breakthrough discovery may lead to new drugs to fight bird flu, other epidemics

Researchers at Rutgers University and The University of Texas at Austin have reported a discovery that could help scientists develop drugs to fight the much-feared bird flu and other virulent strains of influenza.

25 Aug 2008

Bacterial pneumonia caused most deaths in 1918 influenza pandemic

The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection.

19 Aug 2008

New drug targets main culprit in common colds

The Melbourne drug company Biota has announced trials of a drug to treat the human rhinovirus (HRV) which is the main culprit in the common cold.

12 Aug 2008

Early treatment key to combating hepatitis C virus

Canadian researchers have shown that patients who receive early treatment for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) within the first months following an infection, develop a rapid poly-functional immune response against HCV similar to when infection is erradicted spontaneously, according to a new study published in the Journal of Virology.

10 Aug 2008

NanoViricides signs agreement with CDC for expanded rabies research

NanoViricides, Inc. has signed a Materials Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (MCRADA) with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia for rabies treatment study.

4 Aug 2008

Growth hormone reduces abdominal fat, cardiovascular risk in HIV patients on antiviral therapy

Low-dose growth hormone treatment reduced abdominal fat deposits and improved blood pressure and triglyceride levels in a group of patients with HIV lipodystrophy, a condition involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in patients receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection.

3 Aug 2008

New studies examine use of the nucleoside polymerase inhibitor, R1626, to the standard therapy for hepatitis C

Two new studies examine the use of the nucleoside polymerase inhibitor, R1626, to the standard therapy for hepatitis C. The reports appear in the August issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

31 Jul 2008

Evolutionary back-and-forth for humans and viruses

For millennia, humans and viruses have been locked in an evolutionary back-and-forth - one changes to outsmart the other, prompting the second to change and outsmart the first.

21 Jul 2008

HIV-I damages the immune system early than originally thought

New research into the earliest events occurring immediately upon infection with HIV-I shows that the virus deals a stunning blow to the immune system earlier than was previously understood. According to scientists at Duke University Medical Center, this suggests the window of opportunity for successful intervention may be only a matter of days - not weeks - after transmission, as researchers had previously believed.

19 Jul 2008

FDA approves Energex Systems non-drug therapy for HIV research

Energex Systems, Inc. announced today that it has been granted approval from the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to utilize its experimental HemoModulation therapy in a clinical trial of HIV infected patients. The purpose of the study will be to demonstrate safety and monitor viral load changes in patients who are not yet eligible for antiviral drug therapy.

14 Jul 2008

Researches identify herpesvirus proteins that target key cellular processes

A study published July 11th in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens suggests that herpesviruses use multiple strategies to manipulate important components of the host cell nuclear environment during infection.

13 Jul 2008

Enzymes are the way to a virus' 'heart'

The arrival of bluetongue virus (BTV) in the UK last year posed a major threat to the economy and the increasing temperatures of our changing climate mean it is here to stay.

9 Jul 2008

European businesses not properly advised on how to prepare for flu pandemic

A new report entitled Business Continuity Planning and Pandemic Influenza in Europe, published by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), has found huge gaps and differences across Europe in the level of advice given to businesses to prepare for a possible influenza pandemic.

11 Jun 2008