Viral Disease News and Research

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Peregrine Pharmaceuticals awarded U.S. patent for anti-viral applications of phospholipid-targeting antibodies

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent Number No. 7,455,833, which includes broad claims covering anti-viral applications of antibodies that directly bind to aminophospholipids.

25 Nov 2008

Children born four months before height of cold and flu season have a greater risk of developing childhood asthma

It is said that timing is everything, and that certainly appears to be true for autumn infants.

21 Nov 2008

Soviet-developed immune formula boosts immune activity

A recent study on an American-made, Soviet-developed immune formula shows the product has a significant effect on immune function.

19 Nov 2008

Scientists discover new cause of fatal brain injury from acute viral meningitis

In a November 16 advance, online publication of the journal Nature, the researchers say their discovery revamps common beliefs about how such potentially lethal infections may be ravaging the brain and suggests the possibility of new treatments.

17 Nov 2008

Interferon eliminates specific causes of some viruses in heart failure patients, improving clinical outcomes

Giving interferon to heart failure patients with evidence of a chronic viral infection safely eliminated two viruses from their systems and reduced levels of a third virus.

11 Nov 2008

Cells exhausted from fighting HIV infection can be rescued

Researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of California, San Francisco, have revealed new hope for HIV treatment with the discovery of a way to 'rescue' immune cells that are exhausted from fighting off HIV infection.

11 Nov 2008

Caesarean sections do not reduce hepatitis C transmission

Planned Caesarean sections do not help to reduce the chances of a pregnant mother with Hepatitis C (HCV) transmitting the infection to her unborn baby, according to new scientific findings by the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin and University College Dublin.

7 Nov 2008

H5N1 protein hides in tiny tubules

A protein found in the virulent avian influenza virus strain called H5N1 forms tiny tubules in which it "hides" the pieces of double-stranded RNA formed during viral infection, which otherwise would prompt an antiviral immune response from infected cells, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in an online report in the journal Nature.

6 Nov 2008

Smokers lose ability to smell common odors, increased risk for laryngitis

As Americans prepare for a day without cigarettes and tobacco products as part of the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout (November 20), new research gives them more reasons to extend that break to a lifetime, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF).

4 Nov 2008

Liver transplant recipients face increased risks of developing cancer

A new Canadian study comparing cancer rates of liver transplant patients to those of the general population has found that transplant recipients face increased risks of developing cancer, especially non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and colorectal cancer.

4 Nov 2008

FDA approves Rapaflo for treatment of symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Rapaflo (silodosin) capsules for the treatment of symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition also known as an enlarged prostate.

12 Oct 2008

Statin-induced muscle disorders are focus of $2.5 million in grants from NIH

Approximately 200,000 of the 38 million people in the U.S. who take statins to treat high cholesterol may develop life-threatening muscle disease.

2 Oct 2008

Existing anti-obesity drugs may be effective against flu, hepatitis and HIV

Viruses dramatically increase cellular metabolism, and existing anti-obesity drugs may represent a new way to block these metabolic changes and inhibit viral infection, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

29 Sep 2008

New research blames pollution and everyday allergens for laryngitis

Researchers say everyday exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, allergens and air pollution may be the root of chronic cases of laryngitis.

23 Sep 2008

Link found between Apobec3 gene and neutralizing antibody response to retrovirus

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. Published in the Sept. 5 issue of Science, the finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus.

4 Sep 2008

Antibodies to 1918 flu pandemic may provide means to tackle bird flu threat

Scientists in the United States have discovered that elderly survivors of the original 1918 flu pandemic, still have immunity to the virus.

18 Aug 2008

Venezuelan Indians dying from rabies spread by bats

Scientists from the United States say early investigations into the deaths of a number of tribal Indians in northeastern Venezuela suggest that they may have been infected by a type of rabies carried by bats.

13 Aug 2008

Scientists identify several hundred genes that impact West Nile virus infection

Screening the entire human genome, a team headed by Yale University scientists have identified several hundred genes that impact West Nile virus infection. The findings reported Wednesday online in the journal Nature may give scientists valuable new clues about ways to intervene in a host of deadly viral infections.

6 Aug 2008

Structure and composition of hepatitis B virus now mapped

Using a newly developed method, Utrecht University researchers have mapped the structure and composition of the hepatitis B virus.

28 Jul 2008

EpiCept and GNI partner to develop anti-viral hepatitis drug in Asia

GNI Ltd and EpiCept Corporation have announced that they have reached agreement to develop a new therapeutic drug, EP1013, in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, for late-stage viral infection-induced hepatitis. EpiCept will retain the rights in the rest of the world. GNI’s wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Genomics, will start preparation for pre-IND and clinical development in China immediately.

17 Jul 2008