Cytomegalovirus News and Research

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Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a member of the herpes virus group, which includes herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, varicella-zoster virus (which causes chickenpox), and Epstein-Barr virus (which causes infectious mononucleosis). Infection with CMV is a major cause of disease and death in immunocompromised patients, including organ transplant recipients, patients undergoing hemodialysis, patients with cancer, patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs, and HIV-infected patients. While drugs are available for treatment of these conditions, the primary drug choices carry significant side effects and warnings. Currently, there are no anti-CMV drugs indicated for treatment of primary CMV infection during pregnancy resulting in infections that can have catastrophic consequences to the newborn. Maternal-fetal transfer of CMV infection results in a fetal death rate of 12% and most survivors have permanent debilitating disorders, including mental retardation, vision loss, and sensorineural deafness.

Penn State researchers develop novel compound to combat cytomegalovirus

A Retro94-based compound may prevent a common and sometimes fatal virus -- human cytomegalovirus (CMV) -- from reproducing and help to protect immunocompromised patients, such as those with HIV, on chemotherapy, with transplants, and infants from the effects of the disease, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

10 Jan 2017

Genetic mutation may increase susceptibility to cytomegalovirus infection

Experimenting with human cells and mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that a genetic mutation that alters a protein called NOD1 may increase susceptibility to human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection.

20 Dec 2016

Newborns with CMV may have increased risk of developing acute lymphocytic leukemia

Newborns with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) -- a common virus in the herpes family -- may have an increased risk of developing acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), according to new research published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology. The study suggests the risk is even greater in Hispanic children.

15 Dec 2016

Japanese researchers discover new method for predicting congenital CMV infection in fetuses

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can cause serious complications such as hearing difficulties and mental retardation in affected infants.

25 Nov 2016

Congenital CMV infection highly common among children with cerebral palsy, study finds

Cytomegalovirus is a common herpesvirus that can cross the placenta, infect the fetus and cause damage to the developing brain.

15 Nov 2016

Researchers develop new way to prevent diseases caused by herpesvirus infections

A new approach has been developed to combat diseases caused by herpesvirus infections, including everything from cold sores to cancer.

1 Nov 2016

Researchers develop new way to test strength of immune response

The immune system orchestrates large and small scale attacks on innumerous targets: viruses, bacteria, cancer, but it also misfires causing allergy or autoimmune reactions.

27 Oct 2016

Study provides potential new target to combat cytomegalovirus infections

Viruses hijack the molecular machinery in human cells to survive and replicate, often damaging those host cells in the process.

24 Oct 2016

First case-control study examines link between microcephaly and in utero Zika virus infection

The relation between Zika virus and microcephaly is widely assumed to be causal because of strong evidence of an association. However, evidence so far comes from case reports, case series, modelling studies, and preliminary reports from cohort studies – none of which have included appropriate control groups.

21 Sep 2016

Malformations in the brains of fetuses caused by Zika virus go beyond microcephaly

A recent study published by Brazilian researchers from the D'Or Institute for Research and Education, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Institute for Research Professor Amorim Neto, alongside Tel Aviv University and the Boston Children's Hospital in the US, indicates that microcephaly, a very usual feature in cases of Zika virus gestational infection, is just one of several observed brain changes.

24 Aug 2016

UNMC researcher aims to find workable solution for tackling antibiotic resistance

Sam Sanderson, Ph.D., a research associate professor in the UNMC College of Pharmacy, recently secured an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to find a workable solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance.

28 Jul 2016

HHV-6A human herpesvirus infects uterus lining of women with unexplained infertility

A new study has found that the little-known member of the human herpesvirus family called HHV-6A infects the lining of the uterus in 43% of women with unexplained infertility but cannot be found in uterine lining of fertile women. The study was conducted by investigators at the University of Ferrara, Italy.

7 Jul 2016

Study highlights role of CMV in patients with leukemia after bone marrow transplantation

Recent studies on a small number of patients with leukemia treated with bone marrow transplantation have suggested that the presence of the common cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients or their donors may protect against relapse or even death after the transplant.

29 Jun 2016

Disrupted fetal immune system increases later risk of neurodevelopmental diseases

Disrupted fetal immune system development, such as that caused by viral infection in the mother, may be a key factor in the later appearance of certain neurodevelopmental disorders.

28 Jun 2016

T memory cells with naive phenotype can help boost immunity in older adults

Sixty-five is the age when many people retire, kick back and take it easy. And so it often is with the human immune system.

14 Jun 2016

New study identifies PDGFRα as key molecule for HCMV viral entry

A publication in the scientific journal Nature Microbiology identifies PDGFRα as the receptor for the trimeric gHgLgO complex of Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV).

7 Jun 2016

Positive effects of Mediterranean diet on health of elderly population

Sticking to a Mediterranean style diet might slow down ageing finds the EU funded project NU-AGE. At a recent conference in Brussels, researchers presented that a NU-AGE Mediterranean style diet, tested in the project, significantly decreased the levels of the protein known as C-reactive protein, one of the main inflammatory marker linked with the ageing process

3 May 2016

New study to explore outcomes of pregnancy in Brazilian women with Zika virus

An observational study of pregnant women in Brazil to further understand Zika virus and its impact on reproductive health and fetus development have been launched. William Britt, M.D., professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, leads the study, which complements his current research in Brazil on cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy.

18 Apr 2016

NAU researcher calls for greater public awareness of cytomegalovirus

As the Zika virus continues to spread across the globe, and gain worldwide attention for its' potential birth defects, an NAU researcher is calling for greater public awareness of cytomegalovirus—the most common viral cause of birth defects in the United States.

16 Feb 2016

CMV-based vaccine provides protection against Ebola virus

As the latest in a series of studies, researchers at Plymouth University, National Institutes of Health and University of California, Riverside, have shown the ability of a vaccine vector based on a common herpesvirus called cytomegalovirus (CMV) expressing Ebola virus glycoprotein (GP), to provide protection against Ebola virus in the experimental rhesus macaque, non-human primate (NHP) model.