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Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

WHO says more pregnant women getting antenatal care

The number of pregnant women in developing countries receiving antenatal care during pregnancy has increased significantly since 1990, signalling that an untapped opportunity exists to reach poor women with a whole package of life-saving health services, according to a joint report issued today by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

30 Mar 2004

Chinese testing of Hepatitis B rapid test kit complete

Medical Services International Inc. is pleased to announce that it has completed a second set of testing of its Hepatitis B rapid test kit in the People's Republic of China.

29 Mar 2004

Almost half of all medicines globally are used irrationally according to WHO

Almost half of all medicines globally are used irrationally. This, say medicines experts at the World Health Organization (WHO), can have severe consequences: adverse drug reactions, drug resistance, protracted illness and even death. In addition, the financial cost incurred by individuals and governments due to irrational use is unnecessary and often extremely high, particularly in developing countries where patients often pay for medicines out of pocket.

29 Mar 2004

IPM takes over Microbicide development to protect against sexual transmission of HIV

International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) today announced that it has reached a farsighted agreement with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The aim is to develop the promising compound TMC120 as a safe and effective microbicide to help protect women from infection with HIV. This agreement marks the first collaboration in the microbicide field between a major healthcare company and a public-private partnership such as IPM.

29 Mar 2004

Haemophilia Society President presents Hepatitis C (HCV) Facts to UK Government

Haemophilia Society President to challenge government for second time in Lords question on proposed Hepatitis C ex gratia payment scheme On Thursday 25 March, the first business in the House of Lords will be further questioning of Ministers by the Haemophilia Society’s President, Lord Morris of Manchester.

27 Mar 2004

New oral test for HIV approved by FDA

FDA today approved the use of oral fluid samples with a rapid HIV diagnostic test kit that provides screening results with over 99 percent accuracy in as little as 20 minutes. Until now, all rapid HIV tests required the use of blood in order to get such rapid results.

27 Mar 2004

St. John’s wort may interfere with cancer-fighting drug’s ability to prevent relapse in leukemia patients

St. John’s wort, an herb thought to be a safe, natural remedy for mild depression, may interfere with a powerful cancer-fighting drug’s ability to prevent relapse in leukemia patients, a University of Florida pharmacy researcher will report March 27 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

26 Mar 2004

p53 protein peptide stops cancer in its tracks

Researchers have dreamed of thwarting cancer by using proteins that halt cell growth and kill the tumor. In theory, the approach should work. In practice, however, scientists have not had an easy time of getting tumor suppressor proteins into cells where they can block growth effectively.

26 Mar 2004

Cryptosporidium parvum parasite could help to develope new therapies for the disease

Cryptosporidium parvum, an insidious, one-celled, waterborne parasite that lodges in the intestines of infected people and animals and for which there is currently no effective treatment, is missing key structures normally found in similar parasites, say researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health. The results of their genome sequencing project, could help scientists home in on new drug targets that may lead to therapies for the disease.

26 Mar 2004

Partnership to improve TB vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)

Crucell N.V.and the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation of Bethesda, Maryland, announced today a new collaboration on the pre-clinical and clinical development of candidate tuberculosis (TB) vaccines. Aeras has agreed to provide Crucell up to USD$2.9 million contingent upon meeting certain development milestones, for development of TB vaccine candidates.

25 Mar 2004

£5m for HIV/AIDS trial involving HIV patients in London, Moscow, South Africa and Australia

A joint Oxford University/Imperial College research programme into HIV/AIDS has received £5 million support from the Wellcome Trust to carry out a drug trial involving HIV patients in London, Moscow, South Africa and Australia.

24 Mar 2004

WHO meets in New Delhi on challenge of treating an additional one million patients a year

The number of tuberculosis patients diagnosed and treated under DOTS, the internationally recommended strategy for TB control, is now rising much faster than at any time since DOTS expansion began in 1995, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO). Indeed, the past two years have witnessed accelerated growth in the implementation of DOTS programmes worldwide.

24 Mar 2004

New Cell Sorter Helps Understand Deadly Diseases

Researchers at NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine have a new state-of-the-art tool, a high-speed cell sorter, that should quicken the pace of their research. The machine sorts or collates cells into groups, allowing scientists to look only at the cells they are working on.

23 Mar 2004

EU gives 32 million Euro for vaccines to stop tuberculosis

The European Commission today launched the largest-ever collaborative tuberculosis (TB) initiative for World TB-day, March 24. Fifty-two research teams from academia and industry from 15 European and African countries are joining forces with the European Commission to help eradicate TB. Globally, TB kills 2 million people a year, with one-third of the world's population currently infected with the bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). While most cases and deaths occur in developing countries, resistant Mtb strains are mainly found among the poorest people in developed countries, as incomplete treatment increases drug resistance. The European Union is confronting the re-emerging threat of TB by investing €32 million in two overlapping research projects. This cash will be used in an accelerated effort to develop new, effective vaccines to fight TB.

23 Mar 2004

Research provides better understanding of lipodystrophies disorders

More than a decade of work conducted by UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers has led to a better understanding of the underlying causes of lipodystrophies - disorders characterized by the selective loss of fat tissues, resulting in metabolic complications, such as severe diabetes and high blood cholesterol levels.

22 Mar 2004