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Trial of hepatitis C vaccine underway

Human clinical trials involving investigational vaccines to prevent Hepatitis C are rare. In the fall of 2003 there was a first-ever study at Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, and an earlier small study at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

8 May 2006

Mutated gene leads to JSRD

The research team, directed by Joseph Gleeson, M.D., Director of the Neurogenetics Laboratory at the UCSD School of Medicine and associate professor in the Department of Neurosciences, have identified a new gene that, when mutated, leads to JSRD. Their findings will be published on-line in advance of publication in the journal Nature Genetics.

8 May 2006

If jaundice is detected and treated properly children at no greater risk

Newborn babies who are diagnosed with and treated for jaundice are no more likely than other babies to suffer long-term developmental problems, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 May 2006

SLU Liver Center to study effectiveness of tenofovir in treating hepatitis B

Saint Louis University School of Medicine researchers are studying the effectiveness of a drug for patients with chronic hepatitis B that is currently used to treat HIV.

3 May 2006

Saint Louis University hunt for a Hepatitis C vaccine

3 May 2006

DARPA grant supports research toward realizing tissue regeneration

While U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are surviving injuries that in previous conflicts likely would have been fatal, the number of wounded with major tissue loss has never before been so high.

3 May 2006

Endocannabinoid system shows promise in combating obesity

As the obesity epidemic grows in the United States, the medical community is faced with the significant challenge of properly treating patients before complications such as heart disease arise.

3 May 2006

Progressive histological damage in liver allografts following pediatric liver transplantation

A new study on the long-term outcome of children undergoing liver transplants found that chronic hepatitis (CH) was common and that it was not detectible using standard blood tests.

3 May 2006

Elevated serum alanine aminotransferase activity and calculated risk of coronary heart disease in the U.S.

A new study on the relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and heart disease found that patients with an elevated level of the enzyme associated with NAFLD had an increased risk of coronary heart disease, which appears to be related to insulin resistance, obesity and central fat distribution.

3 May 2006

Outcome of patients with hepatitis B and HIV infections referred for liver transplantation

A new study on HIV patients who also had Hepatitis B virus (HBV) found that better outcomes are possible if they are referred early for transplant and treated with a combination of drugs for HBV. It is essential to monitor the HBV status of these patients, however, in order to control the emergence of drug-resistant HBV infection.

3 May 2006

Periodontitis and plasma C-reactive protein during pregnancy

Researchers found that pregnant women with periodontitis had 65 percent higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels compared to periodontally healthy women.

3 May 2006

Identification of CPT1c gene that the brain needs to manage body weight

Working with genetically engineered mice, Johns Hopkins scientists have interfered with the brain's ability to control an animal's response to a high-fat diet.

3 May 2006

Chemotherapy regimen predicts steatohepatitis and an increase in 90-day mortality after surgery for hepatic colorectal metastases

Patients and their physicians should be careful when selecting a chemotherapy drug to treat colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

3 May 2006

Enzyme discovery could reduce Kaposi sarcoma tumour growth and lead to drugs suitable for treating other viral cancers

A report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that inhibition of heme oxygenase-1, an enzyme involved in iron metabolism, reduces Kaposi sarcoma tumor growth. This discovery could result in the production of new drugs to treat this and other viral cancers.

28 Apr 2006

Potential vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis developed

Development of a fundamentally new "candidate," or potential, vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis), a parasitic disease that kills about 60,000 people annually, is reported in the current issue of ACS Chemical Biology. Spread by the bite of infected female sand flies, visceral leishmaniasis infects about 500,000 people annually, with the majority of cases occurring in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil.

26 Apr 2006

New drug may revolutionize how chronic iron overload is treated in chronic anemia patients

Those with severe chronic anemias need frequent blood transfusions to remain healthy, but such frequent transfusions can cause a potentially deadly buildup of iron in the body, leading to heart and liver failure. The traditional treatment to remove excess iron is so onerous that many patients choose to forgo it, putting their own lives at risk. The results of an international study on deferasirox, a new drug that may revolutionize the way chronic iron overload is treated, will be published in the May 1, 2006, issue of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.

26 Apr 2006

Study shows drugs work differently in the brains of men and women

A Johns Hopkins discovery could lead to tailored treatments for drug abuse and neurological diseases after providing what is believed to be the first evidence in people that amphetamines have a greater effect on men's brains than women's.

24 Apr 2006

Fitness sausages

German sausage might be very popular, but that tasty exterior conceals a lot of fat. Together with a master butcher, the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV has developed a new manufacturing process for sausages using just 2.5 percent fat.

20 Apr 2006

Muscles burn lactic acid as well as carbos

In the lore of marathoners and extreme athletes, lactic acid is poison, a waste product that builds up in the muscles and leads to muscle fatigue, reduced performance and pain.

20 Apr 2006

Novel and important benefits of vitamin D and the problems associated with vitamin D deficiency

...will be discussed at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Fifteenth Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress, April 26-30, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

19 Apr 2006