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.

New intravaginal ring delivers drug effectively, guards against HIV for 1 month

It's often said that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has a woman's face. The proportion of women infected with HIV has been on the rise for a decade; in sub-Saharan Africa, women constitute 60 percent of people living with disease. While preventative drugs exist, they have often proven ineffective, especially in light of financial and cultural barriers in developing nations.

28 Sep 2013

FDA expands Hizentra administration options for people with primary immunodeficiency

CSL Behring announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded the administration options for Hizentra, Immune Globulin Subcutaneous (Human), 20% Liquid, to include dosing once every two weeks (biweekly) for people diagnosed with primary immunodeficiency.

28 Sep 2013

State highlights: Jails treat huge number of mentally ill; class action bid denied in Fla. lawsuit over disabled children in nursing homes

America's lockups are its new asylums. After scores of state mental institutions were closed beginning in the 1970s, few alternatives materialized. … The country's three biggest jail systems -- Cook County, in Illinois; Los Angeles County; and New York City -- are on the front lines. With more than 11,000 prisoners under treatment on any given day, they represent by far the largest mental-health treatment facilities in the country. By comparison, the three largest state-run mental hospitals have a combined 4,000 beds.

27 Sep 2013

Japanese MHLW approves Hizentra for treatment of primary and secondary immunodeficiencies

CSL Behring announced today that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has approved Hizentra (Immune Globulin Subcutaneous [Human]) for the treatment of primary immunodeficiency (PID) and for the treatment of secondary immunodeficiency (SID). Hizentra is now the first and only 20 percent subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) therapy in the world for the treatment of these conditions, both of which belong to group of rare and serious diseases of the immune system.

27 Sep 2013

Janssen signs license agreement with PATH for early development HIV-1 medicine rilpivirine

Janssen R&D Ireland announced today it has signed a license agreement with PATH for the early development of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 medicine rilpivirine in a long-acting injection (depot formulation) as potential pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV infection.

25 Sep 2013

More AIDS-defining illnesses and severe side effects occur with appropriate comparator therapy

The drug combination of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil (elvitegravir fixed combination, trade name: Stribild) has been approved in Germany since May 2013 for the treatment of adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).

21 Sep 2013

Drexel University researchers create molecule that can cause AIDS virus to destroy itself

Pinning down an effective way to combat the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus, the viral precursor to AIDS, has long been challenge task for scientists and physicians, because the virus is an elusive one that mutates frequently and, as a result, quickly becomes immune to medication.

20 Sep 2013

Study: Higher rates of acute hepatitis C virus clearance are seen in women

A study of patients infected with acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection found that women had higher rates of spontaneous viral clearance—undetectable levels of the virus without initiating drug therapy.

13 Sep 2013

Helper T cells important for AIDS vaccine development

A major new finding that will significantly advance efforts to create the world's first antibody-based AIDS vaccine was published today by researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology.

13 Sep 2013

New HIV/AIDS vaccine candidate appears to clear AIDS-causing virus from body

An HIV/AIDS vaccine candidate developed by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University appears to have the ability to completely clear an AIDS-causing virus from the body.

12 Sep 2013

UCSF to receive grant to study gene sequencing aimed at detecting disorders in newborns

UC San Francisco will receive $4.5 million over the next five years for a pilot project to assess whether large-scale gene sequencing aimed at detecting disorders and conditions can and should become a routine part of newborn testing.

6 Sep 2013

Researchers hope to protect humans from another deadly outbreak like HIV

Throughout Asia, humans and monkeys live side-by side in many urban areas. An international research team from the University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Jahangirnagar University has been examining transmission of a virus from monkeys to humans in Bangladesh, one of the world's most densely populated countries.

5 Sep 2013

New delivery system for combination of 2 FDA approved drugs to fight HIV

A University of Minnesota research team featuring researchers from the Institute for Molecular Virology, School of Dentistry and Center for Drug Design has developed a new delivery system for a combination of two FDA approved drugs that may serve as an effective treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

31 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Upton says GOP health ideas overlooked; tying insurance to jobs is a bad idea

In a troubling denial of reality, President Obama now claims that Republicans have no ideas when it comes to health care, saying "they don't have an agenda to provide health insurance to people at affordable rates." But Republicans do have answers – a lot of them (Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., 8/27).

29 Aug 2013

Research finding could lead to potential treatment for lymphedema

The molecule interleukin-7 is an important immune messenger protein which ensures that a sufficient number of T cells are present in our body for immune defence. Researchers from ETH Zurich have now demonstrated that IL-7 has another important function: it enhances the drainage function of lymphatic vessels, which collect fluid that has leaked out of blood vessels into the body tissue and return it to the bloodstream.

27 Aug 2013

HIV prevention program at UCLA may reduce unprotected sex among bisexual black men

A culturally tailored HIV prevention program developed and tested by investigators at UCLA and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has been shown to significantly reduce unprotected sex among bisexual black men.

22 Aug 2013

Probiotic does not prevent clinical relapse in patients with Crohn's disease

Despite previous data showing beneficial effects, the probiotic Saccharomuces boulardii (S. boulardii) does not prevent clinical relapse in patients with Crohn's disease, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

16 Aug 2013

Animal model of HIV sexual transmission

Infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a debilitating disorder in which progressive weakening of the immune system makes affected individuals more susceptible to potentially life-threatening infections and chronic diseases. Despite advances in the treatment and management of AIDS, there is no cure, and HIV infection remains a major global health problem.

16 Aug 2013

Updated United States Public Health Service guidelines for management of occupational exposure to HIV

New guidelines from the United States Public Health Service update the recommendations for the management of healthcare personnel with occupational exposure to HIV and use of postexposure prophylaxis.

7 Aug 2013

Platelet activation inhibits host cell entry of HIV, shows research

Scientists of the DPZ have shown that platelet activation inhibits the host cell entry of HIV. Infection biologists of the German Primate Center (DPZ) under the direction of Stefan Pöhlmann have found evidence that platelets (thrombocytes) might constitute an innate defense against infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

24 Jul 2013