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HIV-positive patients with high CD4 cell counts are not at increased risk for heart attacks

Patients who are HIV-positive and have high CD4 cell counts - or have a high number of white blood cells that fight infections - aren't at an increased risk for heart attacks compared to patients who are HIV-negative, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that appears in the current online issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

25 Oct 2013

Scientists highlight novel way to develop universal influenza vaccine that can protect against multiple flu strains

A study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists highlights a new approach for developing a universal influenza vaccine that could protect against multiple flu strains, including deadly pandemic strains. The research appears today in the advance online edition of the scientific journal Nature Immunology.

22 Oct 2013

European Commission approves updated label of Prevenar 13 for high risk pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced today that the European Commission approved updates to the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevenar 13* (pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]), regarding its use in certain populations at high risk of pneumococcal disease.

18 Oct 2013

UCLA study shows how cocaine makes immune cells susceptible to HIV

In many ways, the spread of HIV has been fueled by substance abuse. Shared needles and drug users' high-risk sexual behaviors are just some of the ways that narcotics such as cocaine have played a key role in the AIDS epidemic in much of the world.

3 Oct 2013

Mutant protein blocks HIV infection and transmission, scientists find

A mutant of an immune cell protein called ADAP (adhesion and degranulation-promoting adaptor protein) is able to block infection by HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus 1), new University of Cambridge research reveals. The researchers, who were funded by the Wellcome Trust, believe that their discovery will lead to new ways of combatting HIV.

2 Oct 2013

Use of cocaine may increase one's vulnerability to HIV infection

Cocaine use may increase one's vulnerability to HIV infection, according to a new research report published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. In the report, scientists show that cocaine alters immune cells, called "quiescent CD4 T cells," to render them more susceptible to the virus, and at the same time, to allow for increased proliferation of the virus.

1 Oct 2013

Study provides new insights into type 1 diabetes pathology

Joslin researchers have identified immune cells that promote growth of beta cells in type 1 diabetes. This study provides further evidence of a changed role for immune cells in type 1 diabetes pathology. The study appears online today and will also appear in the January issue of Diabetes.

29 Sep 2013

c-Fos oncogene cab be important target for understanding and treatment of cancer

The c-Fos oncogene has traditionally been linked to cellular activities related to cancer, such as cell division, differentiation-conversion from one cell type to another-or survival. Any alteration of these activities can set off the development of tumours, which has made c-Fos an important target for the understanding and treatment of cancer.

29 Sep 2013

Psoriasis and the nervous system: an interview with Dr Nicole Ward, Case Western Reserve University

The prevalence of skin disease exceeds that of obesity, hypertension or cancer. One in three individuals in the United States suffers with a skin disease, with ~2-3% of the American population suffering from psoriasis.

27 Sep 2013

Immunologic checkpoint inhibitor shows promise in malignant mesothelioma

Tremelimumab, one of a new class of immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies, has shown encouraging clinical activity and acceptable tolerability in patients with chemotherapy-resistant malignant mesothelioma, results of a single-arm phase II study show.

27 Sep 2013

New animal model may help study immune responses to H. pylori infection

Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have developed a new large animal model to study how the immune system interacts with the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, the leading cause of peptic ulcer disease.

26 Sep 2013

Antibody that binds, neutralizes HIV likely also targets the body's own self proteins

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute discovered that an antibody that binds and neutralizes HIV likely also targets the body's own "self" proteins. This finding could complicate the development of HIV vaccines designed to elicit this protective antibody, called 4E10, and others like it, as doing so might be dangerous or inefficient.

20 Sep 2013

Research findings bring scientists one step closer to preventing HIV infections

In a long-awaited finding, a team of Chinese and US scientists has determined the high-resolution atomic structure of a cell-surface receptor that most strains of HIV use to get into human immune cells. The researchers also showed where maraviroc, an HIV drug, attaches to cells and blocks HIV’s entry.

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

Blocking a protein helps virus to thrive and restore immune function to fight HCV infection

The hepatitis C virus hijacks the body's immune system, leaving T cells unable to function. A new study in animal models suggests that blocking a protein that helps the virus thrive could restore immune function, allowing the body to fight infection. The work, led by teams at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Emory University, was published online Aug. 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

4 Sep 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

HIV-infected people who carry gene face greater risk of contracting cryptococcal disease

HIV-infected people who carry a gene for a specific protein face a 20-fold greater risk of contracting cryptococcal disease, according to a study published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

27 Aug 2013

Early antiretroviral therapy treatment benefits HIV-infected infants

Giving antiretroviral therapy immediately after diagnosis for a limited period of time is more beneficial than postponing treatment in young infants infected with HIV, slowing progression of the disease and delaying the time to starting long-term ART, according to new research published in The Lancet.

23 Aug 2013

Preventive antibiotics for HIV patients lower risk of TB or death

As part of the largest international research effort ever made to combat tuberculosis, a team of Johns Hopkins and Brazilian experts has found that preventive antibiotic therapy for people with HIV lowers this group's chances of developing TB or dying.

16 Aug 2013

Discovery Transformation Program funds four projects for diabetes research

The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics announced four research projects selected for funding from the 2013 Discovery Transformation Grant Program.

13 Aug 2013