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.

3-drug pill will help fight HIV/AIDS

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. has granted approval for a three-ingredient fixed dose tablet for use as an antiretroviral treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection in adults.

3 Jul 2006

FDA approves Prezista (darunavir)

FDA approves Prezista (darunavir), a new drug for adults whose infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has not responded to treatment with other antiretroviral drugs.

26 Jun 2006

AIDS might be an accident of evolution

The virulence characteristic of HIV-1 - the virus predominantly responsible for human AIDS - might amount to an accident of evolution, new evidence reveals.

18 Jun 2006

Birthplace of AIDS found

After a 10-year search for the origin of HIV, scientists say they have finally traced the initial source of the global pandemic presently affecting more than 40-million people worldwide.

29 May 2006

Study sheds light on cancer susceptibility and disease involving bone-marrow failure

Defective protein production can occur in cells even when the genes controlling those proteins are normal, according to a new study to be published May 12 in Science.

12 May 2006

Transitions to injecting drug use among noninjecting heroin users

In a study reported in the current issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, scientists from the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI) report on a study of street-recruited heroin users in New York City, who were not injecting, to determine the incidence and predictors of making a transition to injecting.

11 May 2006

Therapeutic gene suspected to cause cancer

One of the few gene therapy studies that had ever been successful was terminated in 2003, because several of the treated children had developed leukemia.

3 May 2006

New study describes molecular basis of NeuroAIDS

Using multi-disciplinary analysis that included cognitive, neurophysiologic, virologic, and molecular techniques, the team found both a low-level viral infection in the brain and immune cells that had infiltrated the brain in order to protect against the virus.

3 May 2006

Cells have a natural defense against HIV

Scientists here have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that cells use to fight off the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS.

14 Mar 2006

Researchers find a way to make plants produce more antigens needed for vaccines

Scientists have developed a new kind of molecule which they believe could ultimately lead to the development of a vaccine against HIV using genetically modified tobacco.

13 Mar 2006

Combination therapy improves Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-Related Lymphoma outcome

Combining aggressive HIV therapy and chemotherapy significantly improves the survival rates of HIV-positive men and women treated for lymphoma, according to a new study.

27 Feb 2006

Kids who are at highest risk for STD's are not getting tested

In the first study of its kind focusing on newly homeless youth, UCLA researchers have found that high-risk sexual behavior did not predict whether these youths were tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Instead, they were tested only when someone became pregnant or got someone pregnant.

21 Feb 2006

Nod1 found to control tumor growth in certain breast cancers

This protein was previously thought to play a role solely in the innate immune system's response to bacterial infection. In the new study, which will be published on-line by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

12 Feb 2006

Discovery of the molecular mechanism that inhibits HCV replication in vitro

Since its discovery several decades ago, the insidious human pathogen has stymied the quest for anti-viral therapies by refusing to reproduce in test tubes for more than a few hours or days, denying scientists an efficient virus production and infection system for experimental research.

7 Feb 2006

Researchers use yogurt to fight AIDS

Researchers have come up with a novel delivery system for anti-AIDS drugs: milk-curdling bacteria used to make yogurt and cheese.

25 Jan 2006

Bugs in yoghurt may stop the spread of AIDS

Scientists have found that some of the 'friendly bacteria' found in yoghurt can be genetically modified to release a drug that blocks HIV infection.

18 Jan 2006

Approval of first immune globulin for use beneath the skin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the approval of the first immune globulin product for subcutaneous injection for the prevention of serious infections in patients with Primary Immune Deficiency Diseases (PIDD).

10 Jan 2006

HHS awards $56.9 million to tackle health disparities

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced the awarding of $56.9 million by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).

10 Jan 2006

Abstinence and Abstinence-Only Education: A Review of U.S. Policies and Programs

While few Americans remain abstinent until marriage and most initiate sexual intercourse as adolescents, abstinence from sexual intercourse is an important behavioral strategy for preventing human immunodeficiency virus, other sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy among adolescents

5 Jan 2006