Retrovirus News and Research

RSS

Stem cells - the answer to autoimmune diseases and cancer in the future

Stem cells are multipotent cells of the immune system. Scientists hope to use them for curing autoimmune diseases, cancer and innate genetic defects in the future.

16 Sep 2009

ARUP Laboratories' scientist receives grant to research HIV therapies

ARUP Laboratories, a national clinical and anatomic pathology reference laboratory and a leader in innovative laboratory research and development, announced that ARUP's Tanya Sandrock, PhD, Research & Development scientist, received a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to research additional HIV therapies.

9 Sep 2009

Presence of virus linked with malignant human prostate cancer cells

In a finding with potentially major implications for identifying a viral cause of prostate cancer, researchers at the University of Utah and Columbia University medical schools have reported that a type of virus known to cause leukemia and sarcomas in animals has been found for the first time in malignant human prostate cancer cells.

7 Sep 2009

New approach for understanding how drug resistance occurs in leukemia

UCSF researchers have developed a new approach to identify specific genes that influence how cancer cells respond to drugs and how they become resistant. This strategy, which involves producing diverse genetic mutations that result in leukemia and associating specific mutations with treatment outcomes, will enable researchers to better understand how drug resistance occurs in leukemia and other cancers, and has important long-term implications for the development of more effective therapies.

5 Sep 2009

Study assesses protective capabilities of DNA vaccines against SIV

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that data generated from a pre-clinical collaborative study by National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Inovio scientists were published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a paper entitled: “DNA vaccination in rhesus macaques induces potent immune responses and decreases acute and chronic viremia after SIVmac251 challenge.”

3 Sep 2009

HIV subtype D infected patients more likely to develop dementia

Patients infected with a particular subtype of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are more likely to develop dementia than patients with other subtypes, a study led by Johns Hopkins researchers shows. The finding, reported in the September Clinical Infectious Diseases, is the first to demonstrate that the specific type of HIV has any effect on cognitive impairment, one of the most common complications of uncontrolled HIV infection.

28 Aug 2009

USIBC takes initiative to ensure that Indian patients have access to latest treatments

India Business Council supported ‘Coalition for Healthy India’ released the findings of its report on “The Value of Incremental Pharmaceutical Innovation: Benefits for Indian Patients and Indian Business”. The report highlights and substantiates the impact of restrictive policies in India, with respect to medical and pharmaceutical innovation.

27 Aug 2009

USDA donates funds for teaching food safety awareness to AIDS patients

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate AIDS patients on food safety.

25 Aug 2009

Autophagy helps HIV to proliferate

Not satisfied with simply thwarting its host's defensive maneuvers, HIV actually twists one to its advantage, based on new findings from Kyei et al. in the July 27, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. Vojo Deretic and colleagues suggest that autophagy - a stress response process - helps HIV to proliferate and that conversely, blocking autophagy lessens HIV production.

27 Jul 2009

Prevention, vaccines addressed at IAS conference

During the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, scientists "renewed the call for more immediate and urgent effort to be directed towards HIV prevention amid the dominance of treatment interventions and the world-wide search for a quick fix vaccine, which many agree, is years away," Health-e/allAfrica.com reports (Thom, 7/22).

22 Jul 2009

IAS Conference begins, report says economic crisis forcing Africans living with HIV/AIDS off life-saving medications

At a news conference opening the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa, Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, expressed disappointment that the "G8 ignored the HIV-AIDS issue at its annual summit this month," which was "just four years after pledging at the 2005 Gleneagles [G8] summit to fight for universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010," the Globe and Mail reports.

20 Jul 2009

HIV antibody tests unreliable for early infections in teens

A previously healthy teenager shows up at the doctor's office with a sore throat, fever, aches and general malaise. Routine blood tests are normal, an HIV test comes back negative, and the pediatrician sends the patient home with a diagnosis of acute viral infection.

21 Jun 2009

GlaxoSmithKline to cut some drug costs in emerging markets

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to decrease the prices of many of its leading medicines in emerging markets following the success of a pilot program in the Philippines, Andrew Witty, GSK's chief executive, said, Financial Times reports. Witty said the price cuts are part of an effort to diversify and expand globally.

15 Jun 2009

New lung cancer therapy with vaporized viral vector shows promise

A new lung cancer therapy employing a vaporized viral vector to deliver a cancer-inhibiting molecule directly to lung tissue shows early promise in mouse trials, according to researchers at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Korea.

9 Jun 2009

Marijuana effectiveness as an HIV self-care strategy

Those in the United States living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to use marijuana than those in Kenya, South Africa or Puerto Rica to alleviate their symptoms, according to a new study published in Clinical Nursing Research, published by SAGE.

31 May 2009

Global Health Council names Jeffrey Sturchio as next leader

Jeffrey L. Sturchio, a longtime leader at Merck & Co. whose quiet diplomacy helped build programs treating more than 100,000 AIDS patients in Botswana as well as protecting millions of Africans from river blindness, has been named President and CEO of the Global Health Council, the Council's board of directors announced today.

26 May 2009

Research brings quick, precise view of cell development and gene expression

A team of University of Oregon biologists, using fruit flies, has created a way to isolate RNA from specific cells, opening a new window on how gene expression drives normal development and disease-causing breakdowns.

18 May 2009

Early retroviral use best for AIDS patients with serious complications

HIV-positive patients who don't seek medical attention until they have a serious AIDS-related condition can reduce their risk of death or other complications by half if they get antiretroviral treatment early on, according to a new multicenter trial led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

17 May 2009

Australian researchers win bumper grant from Bill Gates for HIV research

Australian researchers have won themselves a bumper grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to examine the best way of using drugs to treat HIV.

27 Apr 2009

Breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling

Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed a breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling, which could help fuel personalized regenerative medicine and even lead to more efficient and cost-effective methods for studying certain diseases.

23 Apr 2009