Immunodeficiency News and Research

RSS

Immunodeficiency (or immune deficiency) is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent.

New computational tool identifies undiagnosed illnesses and unknown gene mutations

23 Apr 2014

University of Utah software successfully identifies diseases with unknown gene mutations in three separate cases

A computational tool developed at the University of Utah (U of U) has successfully identified diseases with unknown gene mutations in three separate cases, U of U researchers and their colleagues report in a new study in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The software, Phevor (Phenotype Driven Variant Ontological Re-ranking tool), identifies undiagnosed illnesses and unknown gene mutations by analyzing the exomes, or areas of DNA where proteins that code for genes are made, in individual patients and small families.

22 Apr 2014

Automated diagnostic technologies redefine infectious diseases

The diagnostics market for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus and human papilloma virus is expanding, giving rise to commercial opportunities especially in the developing economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

22 Apr 2014

Scientists develop microbicide gel that prevents transmission of multiple STIs in vagina/rectum in animals

Population Council scientists and their partners have found that their proprietary microbicide gel is safe, stable, and can prevent the transmission of multiple sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in both the vagina and rectum in animals: HIV, herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), and human papillomavirus (HPV).

18 Apr 2014

Johnson & Johnson's sales increase 3.5% to $18.1 billion in first quarter 2014

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $18.1 billion for the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 3.5% as compared to the first quarter of 2013. Operational results increased 5.3% and the negative impact of currency was 1.8%. Domestic sales increased 2.2%. International sales increased 4.5%, reflecting operational growth of 7.9% and a negative currency impact of 3.4%.

15 Apr 2014

S. pneumoniae serotypes differ between primary and post-viral disease

Certain capsular serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae are particularly likely to cause disease in people who have recently experienced a respiratory viral infection, study findings indicate.

14 Apr 2014

Alcohol/sex frequency may cause resistance to HIV-prevention counseling

The cartoon character Homer J. Simpson once said "Alcohol: The source of, and solution to, all of life's problems."

9 Apr 2014

Added benefit of antiviral drug combination in treatment of HIV-1 patients is not proven

The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) reassessed the antiviral drug combination rilpivirine/emtricitabine/tenofovir. In early 2012, the combination was approved for the treatment of adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) who have not received previous antiretroviral treatment.

8 Apr 2014

ABL enters into licensing agreement with CRP-Santé for COMET software

Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL) S.A., a Luxembourg-based company today announced that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with CRP-Santé, a Luxembourg-based public research center active in the field of clinically oriented biomedical research, for its COMET (COntext-based Modeling for Expeditious Typing) software, a tool designed to rapidly analyze and optimally subtype large genetic data sets arising from epidemiological or antiretroviral resistance in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) fields.

2 Apr 2014

Study shows important parallels between epidemic of HIV/AIDS and opioid addiction

There are important parallels between the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the current epidemic of opioid addiction - ones that could trigger a significant shift in opioid addiction prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

2 Apr 2014

Two pediatricians win March of Dimes/Col. Harland D. Sanders Lifetime Achievement Award in Genetics

Two pediatricians whose research led to the need for early identification of and treatment of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and its inclusion in newborn screening have received the March of Dimes/Col. Harland D. Sanders Lifetime Achievement Award in Genetics.

29 Mar 2014

Research findings help explain rare genetic disorder that causes immunodeficiency syndrome

IRCM researchers led by Javier M. Di Noia, PhD, uncovered a new function of AID, a crucial enzyme for the immune response. The discovery, recently published by the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, helps explain a rare genetic disorder that causes an immunodeficiency syndrome.

28 Mar 2014

Marina Cavazzana, Adrian J. Thrasher honored with Pioneer Award for gene therapy

Marina Cavazzana, MD, PhD, Paris Descartes University, France and Adrian J. Thrasher, MD, PhD, University College London Institute of Child Health, UK, have been honored with the Pioneer Award for basic and clinical gene therapy for immunodeficiency disorders.

25 Mar 2014

Research roundup: New medical coding system; choosing a hospice; revamping Medicare

On October 1, 2014, all health plans, health data clearinghouses, and health care providers that transmit health information electronically must use a new, significantly broader, coding system, called ICD-10, for diagnoses and inpatient procedures.

21 Mar 2014

UNC receives $40M for clinical trials unit devoted to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and research

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a seven-year, more than $40 million award from the National Institutes of Health for a clinical trials unit that will implement the scientific agendas of five NIH networks devoted to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and cure research.

27 Feb 2014

Chronic intake of marijuana protects critical immune tissue from damaging effects of HIV infection

New evidence that chronic intake of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, can protect critical immune tissue in the gut from the damaging effects of HIV infection is reported in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

19 Feb 2014

CytoDyn submits PRO 140 Phase 2b trial protocol to FDA for treatment substitution in HIV patients

CytoDyn Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of new therapies for combating infection with immune deficiency viruses, announced today that the Company has submitted a Phase 2b clinical trial protocol, for its lead product candidate, PRO 140, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment substitution in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

19 Feb 2014

Hot flashes, depression and anxiety affect thinking skills of midlife women with HIV

Hot flashes, depression, and most of all, anxiety, affect the thinking skills of midlife women with HIV, so screening for and treating their anxiety may be especially important in helping them function, according to a study just published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

9 Feb 2014

Geranium plant extracts prevent HIV-1 from invading human cells

Extracts of the geranium plant Pelargonium sidoides inactivate human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and prevent the virus from invading human cells. In the current issue of "PLOS ONE", scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München report that these extracts represent a potential new class of anti-HIV-1 agents for the treatment of AIDS.

30 Jan 2014

Biologists identify protein targets for next-generation of anti-HIV drugs

People infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can stave off the symptoms of AIDS thanks to drug cocktails that mainly target three enzymes produced by the virus, but resistant strains pop up periodically that threaten to thwart these drug combos.

29 Jan 2014