Herpes Zoster News and Research

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Herpes Zoster, also called shingles, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus remains inactive in the body. Usually the virus does not cause any further problems; however, the virus may re-emerge years later, causing shingles.

UCB, Dermira enter into licensing agreement for development, commercialization of Cimzia

UCB, a global biopharmaceutical leader, and Dermira, Inc., a privately held US-based dermatology company, announced today that they have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the development and future commercialization of Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) in dermatology.

3 Jul 2014

Ralphs Pharmacies continue to offer Tdap vaccinations for whooping cough in Southern California

As the number of pertussis cases, also known as whooping cough, reaches epidemic proportions in California, Ralphs Pharmacies continue to offer Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccinations at its 85 in-store pharmacies throughout Southern California.

2 Jul 2014

Pfizer reports positive results from two tofacitinib Phase 3 trials for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis

Pfizer Inc. announced today top-line results from two pivotal Phase 3 trials from the Oral treatment Psoriasis Trials (OPT) Program, OPT Pivotal #1 (A3921078) and OPT Pivotal #2 (A3921079), evaluating the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib, an oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, the first in a new class of medicines being investigated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

23 Apr 2014

Patients' risk of stroke increases following shingles, but antiviral drugs appear to offer protection

Patients' risk of stroke significantly increased following the first signs of shingles, but antiviral drugs appeared to offer some protection, according to a new study in Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

3 Apr 2014

Loyola physician sheds light on common and painful viral infection, shingles

Shingles is a painful viral infection that affects almost one million people worldwide and 30 percent of Americans every year.

4 Mar 2014

FDA approves sNDA to include radiographic data updating label of Pfizer XELJANZ for treatment of RA

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to update the current label of XELJANZ® (tofacitinib citrate) 5 mg tablets to include radiographic data from two Phase 3 studies, ORAL Scan (A3921044) and ORAL Start.

25 Feb 2014

Spinifex announces results of Phase 2 clinical trial of EMA401 in postherpetic neuralgia

Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, an Australian pain drug development company, today announces that The Lancet has published the results of its Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead candidate, EMA401, in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

5 Feb 2014

95% of adults die annually from vaccine preventable diseases

While adults make up 95 percent of those who die annually from vaccine preventable diseases, a new study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shows their vaccination rates remain stubbornly low, representing a growing public health concern.

5 Feb 2014

Patient's EMR coupled with pharmacist intervention improves preventative care of shingles

While people over the age of 60 account for more than half of all shingles cases, less than 15% get the vaccination that helps prevent the blistering skin rash, which can cause lingering nerve pain.

17 Jan 2014

RegeneRx's Tβ4 gets FDA Orphan Drug designation for treatment of Neurotrophic Keratopathy

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has received Orphan Drug designation from U.S. FDA's Office of Orphan Products Development for its drug candidate, Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4), for the treatment of Neurotrophic Keratopathy, a serious degenerative disease of the corneal epithelium (the outside layer of the eye).

5 Jan 2014

Research roundup: 'Substantial' Medicare savings from avoiding ERs; new ways for primary care; trends in kids' fast food consumption

Some Medicare beneficiaries who place 911 calls to request an ambulance might safely be cared for in settings other than the emergency department at lower cost. Using 2005–09 Medicare claims data and a validated algorithm, we estimated that 12.9–16.2 percent of Medicare-covered 911 emergency medical services transports involved conditions that were probably nonemergent or primary care treatable.

9 Dec 2013

IDSA released new guideline for vaccination of immunocompromised hosts

A new guideline released Thursday by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) notes that most people with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to illness and should receive the flu shot and other vaccinations.

5 Dec 2013

Novartis to present updates on broad cancer portfolio at ASH and SABCS symposiums

Novartis will present updates on its broad cancer portfolio with more than 240 abstracts at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting and CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

4 Dec 2013

FDA approves Cimzia for treatment of adults with active ankylosing spondylitis

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) for the treatment of adults with active ankylosing spondylitis.

18 Oct 2013

FDA approves Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) for active psoriatic arthritis

UCB announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis.

30 Sep 2013

Pain, itching associated with shingles may be due to virus causing "short circuit" in nerve cells

The pain and itching associated with shingles and herpes may be due to the virus causing a "short circuit" in the nerve cells that reach the skin, Princeton researchers have found.

11 Sep 2013

Emergency physicians correctly identify nearly 100% of patients with Bell's palsy

Emergency physicians correctly identified nearly 100 percent of patients with Bell's palsy, the symptoms of which are nearly identical to potentially life-threatening diseases such as stroke and brain tumors.

26 Jul 2013

Pfizer announces approval of tofacitinib for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Pfizer Inc. announced today that tofacitinib has been approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in patients who had an inadequate response to existing therapies in several additional countries around the world, including Switzerland, which is the first European country to receive approval.

15 Jul 2013

Study: Use of anti-TNF therapies in RA patients does not increase risk of herpes zoster

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who initiated use of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapies were not at a higher risk of developing herpes zoster (shingles), compared with patients who initiated nonbiologic treatment regimens, according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the Oregon Health and Science University. The findings appeared in the March 6, 2013, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

22 Apr 2013

New study shows varicella vaccine neutralizes chicken pox

Chicken pox, the childhood affliction of earlier generations, has been largely neutralized by the varicella vaccine, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, which appears in the current online issue of Pediatrics.

1 Apr 2013