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 disease causes AIDS-like symptoms but not spread through virus

"Researchers have identified a mysterious new disease that has left scores of people in Asia and some in the United States with AIDS-like symptoms even though they are not infected with HIV," the Associated Press reports.

24 Aug 2012

Specialist referral unearths wide spectrum of adult primary immune deficiencies

The range of adult primary immune deficiencies is considerable and the majority of patients are diagnosed only after specialist referral, conclude Canadian scientists who identified two novel patient groups with humoral abnormalities.

20 Aug 2012

Global market value of Alzheimer's disease therapeutics could soar to $8 billion: GEN

The global market value of Alzheimer's disease therapeutics could soar to the $8 billion range once therapeutics are approved that actually change the course of the disease, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

8 Aug 2012

Vorinostat drives HIV from hiding

The addition of vorinostat to current antiretroviral therapy regimens can potentially help to eradicate hidden pockets of dormant human immunodeficiency virus, according to study results published in Nature.

6 Aug 2012

TAT-ARC fusion protein helps treat acute liver failure

Acute liver failure is a life-threatening disease, characterized by a sudden, massive death of liver cells. Unfortunately, few treatment options exist, especially for advanced-stage liver failure. As a last resort a liver transplant may be the only remaining option.

3 Aug 2012

Views on AIDS: More funding will be needed for new attack on HIV; The epidemic hits hard in the South

The international AIDS conference in Washington has already made two points clear. There is no prospect that scientists will any time soon find the ultimate solutions to the AIDS epidemic, namely a vaccine that would prevent infection with the AIDS virus or a "cure" for people already infected with the virus.

31 Jul 2012

Research presented at AIDS 2012 conference renews hope of cure for AIDS

Two studies presented at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) and one published Wednesday in the British journal Nature "have given researchers renewed hope that a cure for AIDS may be possible," the Washington Post reports.

28 Jul 2012

New NIAID grant to support development of topical microbicide gel for HIV and HSV-2 infections

A new grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will support the development of a topical microbicide gel for drug delivery. The innovative gel formulation will be a combination therapy against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections in women.

25 Jul 2012

Views on AIDS: The benefits of male circumcision; A more optimistic battle; The need to focus on high-impact prevention strategies

A selection of editorials and op-eds from around the country that focus on the campaign to eradicate HIV.

25 Jul 2012

Insight into possible new approaches in vaccine development for blood-borne infections and HIV

White blood cells called neutrophils, which are the first line of defense against infection, play an unexpected role by boosting antibody production, according to research led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The findings suggest neutrophils have multiple roles within the immune system and function at levels previously unknown to the scientific community. The research, published in Nature Immunology, provides groundbreaking insight into possible new approaches in vaccine development for blood-borne infections and HIV.

25 Jul 2012

Pneumococcal revaccination needed in kidney transplant patients

Kidney transplant patients vaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae appear to be protected against pneumococcal infection for at least 15 months, research shows.

23 Jul 2012

Implementing multifaceted global effort may help end global HIV/AIDS pandemic

Ending the global HIV/AIDS pandemic may be possible by implementing a multifaceted global effort that expands testing, treatment, and prevention programs, as well as meets the scientific challenges of developing an HIV vaccine and possibly a cure, according to a Viewpoint in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

All adult patients with HIV should be offered ART: International Antiviral Society-USA panel

Included in the 2012 International Antiviral Society-USA panel recommendations for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patient care is that all adult patients, regardless of CD4 cell count, should be offered antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to an article in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

As AIDS conference opens, health panel urges treatment of all HIV infections

An international health panel has recommended for the first time that all HIV patients be treated with antiretroviral drugs, even when the virus's impact on their immune system is shown to be small. The nonprofit International Antiviral Society-USA cited new evidence that untreated infection with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS can also lead to a range of other conditions, including cardiovascular disease and kidney disease.

23 Jul 2012

Study: HIV-infected women less likely to develop cervical cancer

HIV-infected and uninfected women with normal cervical cytology (Pap test) and a negative test result for oncogenic (tumor inducing) human papillomavirus DNA at study enrollment had a similar risk of cervical precancer and cancer after 5 years of follow-up, according to a study in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

IAS releases 'road map' to find HIV cure ahead of AIDS 2012 Conference

The International AIDS Society (IAS) on Thursday in Washington, D.C., "released what they call a road map for research toward a cure for HIV -- a strategy for global teams of scientists to explore a number of intriguing leads that just might, years from now, pan out," the Associated Press reports (Neergaard, 7/20).

21 Jul 2012

Sanquin, Baxter enter manufacturing services agreement for plasma therapies

Baxter International Inc. today announced that it has entered into a manufacturing services agreement with Stichting Sanquin Bloedvoorziening (Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation) in the Netherlands that will provide Baxter up to 1.6 million liters of incremental plasma fractionation capacity annually to support global growth of plasma-derived treatments.

From Baxter International Inc. 20 Jul 2012

Natural compound can virtually eradicate HIV in infected culture cells

A new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells.

20 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Researchers see potential to control HIV pandemic; The 'ceaseless attacks' on women's reproductive health

We are at a moment of extraordinary optimism in the response to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A series of scientific breakthroughs ... have the potential to markedly expand the available preventive tools. There is evidence of the first cure of an HIV-infected person. And most important, the finding that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy can both improve individual patient outcomes and reduce the risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners by 96% has led many to assert what had so long seemed impossible: that control of the HIV pandemic may be achievable.

20 Jul 2012

UNMC's ART injectables can successfully treat HIV infection

This has been a good week for breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a daily pill, Truvada, which reduces the risk of HIV infection. Today, a University of Nebraska Medical Center research team's progress toward developing weekly or twice-monthly injectable antiretroviral therapy (ART) nanomedicines for patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection will be highlighted as the cover story in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

19 Jul 2012