Infectious Diseases News and Research

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HIV-positive women may use new methods to help reduce frequency of cervical cancer screening

Compared to the general population, HIV-positive women have a high risk of cervical cancer and thus are advised to undergo more frequent screening tests. This creates a burden for HIV-positive patients and the health care system, leading to frequent biopsies, which often do not reveal clinically relevant disease.

23 Jul 2012

Bayer, Onyx and Astellas announce results from Tarceva plus Nexavar Phase 3 trial on HCC

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Astellas Pharma Inc. today announced that a Phase 3 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of the addition of Tarceva (erlotinib) tablets to Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets did not improve overall survival for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vs. Nexavar alone.

23 Jul 2012

Study addresses African patients’ attitudes toward HIV antiretroviral therapy

An ongoing clinical study in rural Uganda, begun in 2011, suggests that many people infected with HIV/AIDS would take antiretroviral drugs if they were available to them—even before they developed symptoms from the disease.

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

Researchers identify high ARV drug exposure in hair samples of HIV uninfected infants

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Makerere University in Uganda have used hair and blood samples from three-month old infants born to HIV-positive mothers to measure the uninfected babies' exposure—both in the womb and from breast-feeding—to antiretroviral medications their mothers were taking. The results, they said, are surprising.

23 Jul 2012

BioDiem presents positive findings of their eye disease drug at international conference

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) today announced positive results from formal studies of its BDM-E eye disease drug, presented over 21 – 22 July at the International Society for Eye Research (ISER) meeting in Berlin, Germany. The ISER convenes leading researchers and clinicians in the area of eye disease.

22 Jul 2012

New CHAIT initiative on development of novel immunological therapeutic interventions

The CHAIT initiative is a public-private partnership focusing on the development of novel immunological therapeutic interventions to achieve a 'functional HIV cure' with the ultimate goal of HIV eradication.

21 Jul 2012

Study explores role of L. reuteri against foodborne infection

While many bacteria exist as aggressive pathogens, causing diseases ranging from tuberculosis and cholera, to plague, diphtheria and toxic shock syndrome, others play a less malevolent role and some are critical for human health.

21 Jul 2012

Study opens way for new approaches to slow development of AIDS in HIV-1-infected patients

A new study from Lund University in Sweden has opened the way for new approaches to slowing the development of AIDS in HIV-1-infected patients. It is hoped that this could lead to better treatment methods and preventive measures to combat HIV and AIDS.

20 Jul 2012

Alcohol abuse spills over into critical care resources

A quarter of patients admitted to intensive care units in Scotland have alcohol problems, while a fifth have chronic alcohol disease, a survey finds.

20 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

Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology receives Gates Foundation grant

Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology is pleased to announce that it has received a fourth grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to promote discoveries that will solve urgent global health problems via support of infectious disease conferences in the "Keystone Symposia Global Health Series."

20 Jul 2012

Scientists develop simple assay to diagnose 'superparasites'

Belgian scientists of the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, Belgium made a breakthrough in bridging high tech molecular biology research on microbial pathogens and the needs of the poorest of the poor. After sequencing the complete genome of Leishmania donovani (a parasite causing one of the most important tropical diseases after malaria) in hundreds of clinical isolates, they identified a series of mutations specific of 'superparasites' and developed a simple assay that should allow tracking them anywhere.

20 Jul 2012

Cepheid second quarter 2012 revenues increase 21% to $81.0 million

Cepheid today reported revenues for the second quarter of 2012 of $81.0 million, representing growth of 21% from $67.0 million for the second quarter of 2011.

20 Jul 2012

IMDx HSV-1/2 for Abbott m2000 assay receives CE-marking

IntelligentMDx (IMDx) announced today that it has obtained CE-marking for its fourth automated, high-throughput molecular test designed and developed for the Abbott m2000 System.

20 Jul 2012

BioDiem signs agreement with RMIT to create new non-influenza vaccines

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) today announced that BioDiem has signed an agreement with The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) regarding a research program that will investigate the use of BioDiem’s live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) to create new non-influenza vaccines. Developing the potential of the LAIV technology for new indications is an important part of BioDiem’s strategy, and this research is part of the work towards that goal.

19 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

New hope for children with egg allergy

Doctors currently have only one recommendation for people allergic to eggs: avoid eggs completely. But researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine recently found promise in doing just the opposite. Eating small amounts of egg every day for many months lowered the threshold for allergic reactions in 75 percent of egg-allergic children; 28 percent were able to incorporate egg into their regular diets after two years on the treatment.

19 Jul 2012

AOA honors Medical College of Georgia student with Kuckein Fellowship

A student at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University is among 47 recipients of the 2012 Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship from the national medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha.

19 Jul 2012