Reverse Transcriptase News and Research

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Scientists evaluate HIV/AIDS, diabetes and organ transplant drugs as possible therapies for Alzheimer's

More than ever before, Alzheimer's researchers understand that a variety of approaches will be needed - most likely used in combination - for effective treatment of the disease.

18 Dec 2019

Rilpivirine drug used for HIV treatment also suppresses Zika virus infection

Like an adjustable wrench that becomes the "go-to" tool because it is effective and can be used for a variety of purposes, an existing drug that can be adapted to halt the replication of different viruses would greatly expedite the treatment of different infectious diseases.

30 Oct 2019

New CRISPR genome “prime editing” system

Gene editing to correct genetic faults and removing the risk of hereditary diseases may soon become reality. Researchers have come up with a new gene editing technology that could help patients with sickle cell anaemia and up 89 percent of other genetic defects.

22 Oct 2019

Most preferred drug for HIV may not be as safe as suggested

A study lead by researchers at the Institute of HIV Research, Medical Faculty of UDE and University Hospital Essen, stumbled over a potential toxicity of integrase inhibitors.

21 Jun 2019

MTN launches new study to empower teen girls with choices in HIV prevention

AIDS is already the leading cause of death among girls and young women in much of Africa, and matters could only get worse, given that for every day that passes, 1,000 more girls ages 15 to 24 are likely to become infected with HIV.

8 Feb 2019

New research may help treat HIV patients without elevating risk for liver disease

As a raft of new treatments for HIV infection have come on the market in the past 20 years, AIDS patients got access to drugs that allowed them to live longer.

1 Feb 2019

Breakthrough Alzheimer's discovery

A new study has found that the neurons in the brain can alter their genetic make-up unlike other cells of the body which remain constant.

22 Nov 2018

New assay may help improve both sarcoma diagnosis and treatment

Sarcomas are rare tumors that are often misdiagnosed. Specific recurrent chromosomal rearrangements, known as translocations, can serve as essential diagnostic markers and are found in about 20 percent of sarcomas.

20 Aug 2018

UCLA researchers have blueprint of telomerase that plays major role in cancer, aging

Cancer, aging-related diseases and other illnesses are closely tied to an important enzyme called "telomerase." UCLA researchers report in the journal Cell the deepest scientific understanding yet of this once-mysterious enzyme, whose catalytic core -- where most of its activity occurs -- can now be seen in near atomic resolution.

7 Jun 2018

HIV patients on single-tablet regimen show better outcomes than those taking multiple pills

HIV patients on a single-tablet daily regimen had better treatment retention and viral suppression than patients taking multiple pills, in a study by a Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center researcher and his colleagues.

18 May 2018

New long-acting delivery system has potential to lessen side effects from NRTIs

An HIV diagnosis, while no longer constituting a death sentence, brings with it a lifetime, daily regimen of medication to help continually combat the virus.

27 Mar 2018

IPM begins first clinical trial of vaginal rings to prevent HIV in women

The nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides announced today the start of the first clinical trial of vaginal rings designed to slowly release the antiretroviral drug dapivirine over three months to prevent HIV in women.

13 Dec 2017

Novel gene expression signature assay could help enhance lymphoma management

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive cancer and the most frequently diagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma worldwide (nearly 40% of cases). Recent advancements indicate that both the prognosis and choice of treatment of DLBCL may depend on identifying its molecular subtype.

17 Oct 2017

Plant compound found to be effective against drug-resistant HIV

A plant found throughout Southeast Asia traditionally used to treat arthritis and rheumatism contains a potent anti-HIV compound more powerful than the drug AZT, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Natural Compounds.

15 Jun 2017

Researchers uncover protective mechanism of rotifers that may have implications for aging research

Rotifers are tough, microscopic organisms highly resistant to radiation and repeated cycles of dehydration and rehydration.

6 Jun 2017

Analyzing single-cell RNA data in pre-malignant tumors

RNA sequencing is basically the isolation of RNA from cells and the use of reverse transcriptase to turn the RNA into DNA. You can then use your standard DNA sequencing technologies to quantify the cDNA that you obtained from the reverse transcription reaction.

12 May 2017

New gene-based blood tests can reliably detect previously unidentifiable forms of skin cancer

Genetic testing of tumor and blood fluid samples from people with and without one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer has shown that two new blood tests can reliably detect previously unidentifiable forms of the disease.

3 Apr 2017

JAX researchers unravel mechanism that enables cancer cells to survive and divide

Some cancer cells have a trick up their sleeve to avoid cell death: boosting maintenance of telomeres, the protective "end caps" on chromosomes, and a research team led by Jackson Laboratory Professor Roel Verhaak reports in Nature Genetics on a newly discovered telomere maintenance mechanism.

31 Jan 2017

Added benefit of combination drug for HIV-infected patients not proven

The drug combination emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide is approved in combination with other antiviral agents for the treatment of adults and adolescents infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).

19 Aug 2016

Researchers find distinct, non-identical differences among retroviruses

In the most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers in the report that most types of retroviruses have distinct, non-identical virus structures.

6 Jul 2016