Immunodeficiency News and Research

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Immunodeficiency (or immune deficiency) is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent.

HIV directly impacts the brain in early stages of infection

Stellenbosch University researchers have discovered that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) directly impacts the brain in the early stages of the infection.

30 Nov 2017

Study highlights need to improve quality of cardiovascular care for HIV-positive adults

People with both HIV and risk factors for heart disease and stroke were less likely to be treated with cholesterol-lowering statin drugs and aspirin than patients without HIV. The researchers believe this to be the first national study comparing statin use in patients with and without HIV and the first extensive analysis using U.S. data.

23 Nov 2017

Researchers test new vaccination strategy against HIV-related SIV in monkeys

According to the WHO, there are currently more than 36 million people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a further 2.4 million become infected every year.

15 Nov 2017

Monoclonal antibody effectively blocks development of graft-versus-host disease, research shows

Newly published research provides preclinical proof-of-concept for the ability of PRO 140, a humanized anti-CCR5 monoclonal antibody under development by CytoDyn Inc., to effectively block the development of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a potentially lethal complication of bone marrow stem cell (BMSC) transplantation.

14 Nov 2017

Researchers shed light on link between cholera outbreaks affecting African and American continents

Researchers at the Institut Pasteur and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in collaboration with several other international institutions, recently published two studies tracing the history of cholera outbreaks in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean from the last 60 years.

13 Nov 2017

McMaster study: High-risk sexual behavior among women may increase risk of acquiring STIs

High-risk sexual behavior like sex work may be biologically linked to an increased risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), new research at McMaster University has found.

6 Nov 2017

4-in-1 influenza vaccine appears to provide broad protection against flu

A vaccine combining centralized ancestral genes from four major influenza strains appears to provide broad protection against the dangerous ailment, according to new research by a team from the Nebraska Center for Virology.

3 Nov 2017

World’s only Atomo HIV Self Test receives CE Marking from European Union Notified Body

Atomo Diagnostics, a world leader in innovative point-of-care, rapid diagnostic devices, announced today that its Atomo HIV Self Test has been granted CE Marking by a European Union Notified Body.

12 Oct 2017

Study to determine lowest dose of chemotherapy needed for babies with SCID

Michael Pulsipher, MD, of the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, along with co-principal investigator, Sung-Yun Pai, MD, of Boston Children's Hospital, has been awarded nearly $9 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the NIH to study a new treatment approach for babies born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) which prevents the immune system from functioning normally.

6 Oct 2017

Moms of children with rare genetic illness push for wider newborn screening

Kerri De Nies received the news this spring from her son's pediatrician: Her chubby-cheeked toddler had a rare brain disorder.

5 Oct 2017

Drinking three or more cups of coffee a day linked to reduced mortality risk in HIV-HCV patients

Patients infected by both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are at specific risk of end-stage liver disease and greater risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

25 Sep 2017

Triple-action antibody to be tested as HIV vaccine

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Sanofi have engineered a three-pronged antibody that protected monkeys from two strains of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) better than the equivalent naturally occurring antibodies.

22 Sep 2017

USC scientist finds new approach to prevent HIV infection

Medical treatment that targets human proteins rather than ever-mutating viruses may one day help HIV-positive people whose bodies have built a resistance to "cocktails" currently used to keep them healthy, according to a Keck School of Medicine of USC researcher.

23 Aug 2017

Researchers develop quick and easy-to-use test for detecting rare immunodeficiency

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a test to quickly and reliably diagnose a rare and severe immune defect, hepatic veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency. They reported on their findings in the Journal of Clinical Immunology.

22 Aug 2017

Newly discovered immunodeficiency can make people seriously ill from chickenpox virus

A mutation in one of the sensors that the immune system uses to detect viruses can, in rare cases, turn infections with the chickenpox virus into a life-threatening matter.

11 Aug 2017

Cow immunization may lead to new human vaccines and treatments for HIV, study finds

Antibodies against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have been obtained for the first time by injecting cows with an HIV antigen. This achievement offers promise for the development of anti-HIV treatments or vaccines.

21 Jul 2017

Contaminated blood scandal that infected thousands in 70’s and 80’s being investigated

In the 1970’s and 80’s thousands of people were infected with hepatitis C and HIV due to transfusion of contaminated blood that contained these viruses. A spokesperson for Theresa May, James Slack, today said that she, her health secretary Jeremy Hunt and the MPs sat together to announce a full review and inquiry into this disaster.

12 Jul 2017

NIA-funded conference findings aim at integrating frailty management into person-centered care

Though it is one of the most frequently used health indicators as more and more of us age, frailty -- the medical term for increased vulnerability to declines in health or a loss of independence -- remains under-studied and under-utilized, so say researchers reporting on a prestigious conference hosted by the American Geriatrics Society and the National Institute on Aging, with support from the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine and The John A. Hartford Foundation.

20 Jun 2017

More-is-better approach appears to improve vaccine protection from HIV-like virus in monkeys

Building on insights from an HIV vaccine regimen in humans that had partial success during a phase 3 clinical trial in Thailand, a Duke-led research team used a more-is-better approach in monkeys that appeared to improve vaccine protection from an HIV-like virus.

8 Jun 2017

When an insurer balks and treatment stops

Gillen Washington, a student at Northern Arizona University, had been getting medication for an immunodeficiency disease since 2011. But when he went to his clinic in November 2014 for the monthly dose, a nurse told him his insurance company had denied it.

7 Jun 2017