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Effective defense against HIV: Acne drug minocycline

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating.

20 Mar 2010

Report highlights gains in malaria fight, documents need for more funding

Global funding for efforts to fight malaria, which stood at $2 billion at the end of 2009, have "helped to contain the disease," but is "far short of the estimated $6 billion required annually to expand" efforts to fight it, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership said on Thursday, Reuters reports. The statements came as the partnership released a report (.pdf) that examined a decade's worth of global funding for malaria and its impact on fighting the disease (Hardach, 3/18).

20 Mar 2010

Canadian Prime Minister says he's open to including contraception in G8 plan for improving maternal, child health

"Facing a squall of condemnation from aid groups and opposition politicians," following statements by Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon that Canada's G8 maternal and child health initiative would not include family planning, Prime Minister Stephen Harper "disavowed his foreign minister Thursday, promising that the federal government would include contraception programs in its maternal-health foreign-aid initiative," the Globe and Mail reports.

20 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet study performed a systematic review of HIV prevention and treatment services targeting injecting drug users (IDUs) globally based on the availability of "core interventions for IDUs: needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), opioid substitution therapy (OST) and other drug treatment, HIV testing and counselling, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and condom programmes." The authors conclude, "although the number of countries with core HIV prevention services is growing … worldwide, there are few countries in which the level of intervention coverage is sufficient to prevent HIV transmission" (Mathers et al., 3/20).

20 Mar 2010

National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: NIAID Director issues statement

Following is a statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institutes of Health on National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, March 20, 2010:

19 Mar 2010

Global initiative for reducing time taken to introduce new combination TB treatments

Ahead of World TB Day, US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg helped public and private sector partners launch a new collaboration to significantly accelerate the development of combination treatments for tuberculosis — and replace an almost 50-year-old drug regimen. Created by the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, the Critical Path Institute, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the initiative could potentially reduce the time it takes to introduce new combination TB treatments from as much as a quarter century to as few as six years.

19 Mar 2010

Media outlets interview Shah during life sciences conference in Seattle

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah was in Seattle on Tuesday to speak at the annual Life Science Innovation Northwest conference, the Seattle Times' blog, "The Business of Giving," reports. The blog outlines the Obama administration's global health and development goals, including the six-year $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI), as well as some of the challenges facing Shah at USAID.

19 Mar 2010

Idaho, Virginia gear up for fight to defeat individual mandate; NY law sets procedure for decisions for unresponsive patients

The Associated Press: "Idaho is leading the charge in a states-rights push to defeat a proposal in Congress that would require people to buy health insurance, a key piece of reforms being pushed by President Barack Obama. Republican Gov. C.L. 'Butch' Otter used a ceremony Wednesday afternoon to become the first governor to sign into law a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government over any such insurance mandates.

19 Mar 2010

FDA drafts new rules for testing, approving drug cocktails; Public-private partnership for TB treatment development launched

The FDA is drafting new guidelines for testing and approving multidrug cocktails for life-threatening diseases, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Many diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis and cancer, require multidrug combinations. Such drug cocktails can prevent the development of drug resistance, because the microbe or cancer cell needs to undergo more mutations to escape several drugs than to escape just one. By attacking the disease in different ways, drug combinations also improve the chances of therapeutic benefit," the newspaper reports (Schoofs, 3/18).

19 Mar 2010

WHO estimates 440 000 MDR-TB cases in 2008

In some areas of the world, one in four people with tuberculosis (TB) becomes ill with a form of the disease that can no longer be treated with standard drugs regimens, a World Health Organization (WHO) report says.

19 Mar 2010

Three scientists receive 2010 Discoverers Award for developing new class of HIV drug

Three scientists who led the 11-year quest to develop a groundbreaking HIV drug today received the 2010 Discoverers Award -- the highest honor given to scientists by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The honorees are Tony Wood, Ph.D., Elna van der Ryst, M.D., Ph.D. and Manos Perros, Ph.D.

19 Mar 2010

Acne drug prevents HIV breakout

18 Mar 2010

Fungi, like bacteria, can cause severe infections

Fungi have significant potential for "horizontal" gene transfer, a new study has shown, similar to the mechanisms that allow bacteria to evolve so quickly, become resistant to antibiotics and cause other serious problems.

18 Mar 2010

FDA approves Envoy Medical's prosthetic hearing restoration device

On March 17, 2010 the FDA gave approval to Envoy Medical Corporation to market a "First of its Kind" prosthetic hearing restoration device. The approval follows a December 18, 2009 unanimous 15 to 0 vote by an independent advisory panel in favor of approving the Esteem® for moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. The FDA chose an expedited review process, noting that they believe the Esteem® "represents a breakthrough technology."

18 Mar 2010

Esteem hearing system receives FDA approval for treatment of sensorineural hearing loss

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the approval of the Esteem – an implanted hearing system used to treat moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss, a type of permanent hearing loss.

18 Mar 2010

CytoDyn commences full humanization of Cytolin immune therapy for treating HIV/AIDS

CytoDyn, Inc. has begun full humanization of Cytolin®, the Company’s unique immune therapy for treating HIV/AIDS. Although a murine (mouse) version of Cytolin® was used for previous human experience that included some 200 patients successfully treated for up to two years, as well as an encouraging Phase I(b)/II(a) study, the Company believes that a fully-humanized version is necessary for the clinical trial that is expected to follow the current one (described at http://clinicaltrials.gov) for the reasons explained below.

17 Mar 2010

AHF’s Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour arrives in Nashville to offer free HIV testing

AHF’s Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour, a six month, 48 state national cross country HIV testing tour, arrives in Nashville, Tennessee and will offer free HIV testing, along with local partner Street Works at events today and tomorrow.

17 Mar 2010

Systemic underfunding of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis puts millions of Americans' health at risk

Warning that "systemic underfunding of the Centers for Disease Control's Division of Viral Hepatitis puts millions of Americans' health and well-being at risk," the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable today called on the Administration to work with Congress to take decisive action this year to fix the funding failure for viral hepatitis screening, surveillance, and early intervention programs.

17 Mar 2010

Can preventative vaccines curb the rising numbers of HIV cases?

According to a recent United Nations study, HIV infection rates among high-risk groups such as gays, drug users and sex workers are on the rise around the world.

17 Mar 2010

Sonic Innovations' moisture-resistant hearing aids outlast competition

Sonic Innovations, the U.S.-based hearing aid manufacturer, recently conducted moisture-resistance tests using two of its products and eight from major competitors. The results? Sonic outlasted its nearest competitor by 44 percent.

17 Mar 2010

AIDS News and Research

Effective defense against HIV: Acne drug minocycline

Report highlights gains in malaria fight, documents need for more funding

Canadian Prime Minister says he's open to including contraception in G8 plan for improving maternal, child health

Recent releases in Global Health

National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: NIAID Director issues statement

Global initiative for reducing time taken to introduce new combination TB treatments

Media outlets interview Shah during life sciences conference in Seattle

Idaho, Virginia gear up for fight to defeat individual mandate; NY law sets procedure for decisions for unresponsive patients

FDA drafts new rules for testing, approving drug cocktails; Public-private partnership for TB treatment development launched

WHO estimates 440 000 MDR-TB cases in 2008

Three scientists receive 2010 Discoverers Award for developing new class of HIV drug

Acne drug prevents HIV breakout

Fungi, like bacteria, can cause severe infections

FDA approves Envoy Medical's prosthetic hearing restoration device

Esteem hearing system receives FDA approval for treatment of sensorineural hearing loss

CytoDyn commences full humanization of Cytolin immune therapy for treating HIV/AIDS

AHF’s Magic Johnson ‘Testing America’ Tour arrives in Nashville to offer free HIV testing

Systemic underfunding of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis puts millions of Americans' health at risk

Can preventative vaccines curb the rising numbers of HIV cases?

Sonic Innovations' moisture-resistant hearing aids outlast competition

Event guide: 4th Extra-Hepatic Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Delivery Summit eBook

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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