Disease/Infection News

RSS

First Edition: July 12, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include previews of the expected release of a national strategy to curb the AIDS epidemic and reviews of a White House official's Sunday talk show defense of the Berwick nomination.

12 Jul 2010

Common SNP in sequence of human genome conferring risk of vascular diseases discovered

Scientists at deCODE genetics and academic colleagues from the Netherlands and twelve other countries across Europe and North America today report the discovery of a common single-letter variation (SNP) in the sequence of the human genome conferring risk of a range of vascular diseases. The SNP confers risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), early-onset heart attack, peripheral artery disease (PAD), and pulmonary embolism, independent of other known risk factors.

12 Jul 2010

FDA grants Catheter Connections 510(k) clearance for DualCap disinfecting product

Catheter Connections, Inc., a manufacturer of innovative vascular access and infection control products, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company 510(k) clearance to market its DualCap™ product. DualCap is the only device that nests two disinfecting caps together - for both IV access points, the needleless injection site (NIS) and the male luer at the end of the IV tubing. Previously overlooked as a route of microbial colonization, Catheter Connections has developed the first disinfecting cap for the male luer.

12 Jul 2010

Medivir reports 24-week interim Phase 2b results of TMC435 in treatment-naïve patients with HCV genotype-1

Medivir announced today 24-week end-of-treatment interim results from the 5-arm phase 2b response guided PILLAR study in 386 treatment-naïve patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype-1 (TMC435-C205).

12 Jul 2010

Lectures on DermaVir to be presented at International Conference on Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies

Julianna Lisziewicz, PhD, President of Genetic Immunity, a biopharmaceutical company developing nanomedicine-based immunotherapies, is an invited speaker at this week's 7th International Conference on Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies in Ouranoupolis Halkidiki, Greece. The conference gathers front-line researchers, scientists and industry experts specialized in nanotechnology applications. Leading experts such as Dr. Lisziewicz are invited to present lectures covering the latest research in this rapidly progressing field.

12 Jul 2010

Midatech, Immunotope form joint venture to develop antigen based products for immune therapies

Midatech Group Ltd., a global leader for the design, development, synthesis and manufacture of nanomedicines, and Immunotope Inc, a biotechnology company focused on the development of immunotherapy products, today announced the formation of a joint venture Syntara LLC, to develop antigen based products for immune therapies to treat chronic viral infections and certain cancers.

12 Jul 2010

Drosophila fly study may aid in staving off diseases in humans using defensive bacteria

It has been a basic principle of evolution for more than a century that plants and animals can adapt genetically in ways that help them better survive and reproduce.

12 Jul 2010

Federal food safety agencies commended for supporting Food Safety Working Group

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today commended federal food safety agencies for their accomplishments supporting the charge of President Obama's Food Safety Working Group, which advises the President on how to upgrade the U.S. food safety system for the 21st century.

12 Jul 2010

AOL News reports on challenges of global spread of drug-resistant TB

AOL News examines health officials' concerns about the world-wide spread of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, focusing on the U.S. and Mexico.

12 Jul 2010

Discovery of antibodies that kill more than 90% of HIV viruses gives new hope for vaccine

"An effective vaccine against the AIDS virus may have moved one step closer to reality, researchers said Thursday," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Federal researchers have identified a pair of naturally occurring antibodies that are able to kill more than 90% of all strains of the AIDS virus, a finding they say could lead to the development of new treatments for HIV infections and to the production of the first successful vaccine against the virus" (Maugh, 7/9).

12 Jul 2010

Study examines impact of universal HIV testing, immediate ART program in Washington, DC

Implementing a program of universal HIV testing and immediate antiretroviral treatment for infected individuals could have a major impact on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington, DC, but a new study finds that it would not halt the epidemic, something that a previous report had projected. In a paper that will appear in the August 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and has been released online, researchers find that the so-called "test-and-treat" strategy could reduce new HIV infections by 15 percent over the next five years while conferring large survival benefits to HIV-infected patients.

12 Jul 2010

World Bank announces new head for its HIV/AIDS program

"The World Bank on Thursday named David Wilson, a Zimbabwean national who has written extensively about AIDS in the developing world, to head the poverty-fighting institution's global HIV/AIDS program," Reuters reports.

12 Jul 2010

Science special section examines HIV/AIDS in Russia, Ukraine

In a special section in advance of the International AIDS Conference, Science examines the "state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia and Ukraine, which account for more than 90% of HIV infections in Eastern Europe."

12 Jul 2010

UM researcher uses computer algorithms to develop vaccines for new strains of influenza viruses

Defeating the flu is challenging because the virus responsible for the disease undergoes frequent changes of its genetic code, making it difficult for scientists to manufacture effective vaccines for the seasonal flu in a timely manner. Now, a University of Miami computer scientist, Dimitris Papamichail, and a team of researchers from Stony Brook University have developed a rapid and effective approach to produce vaccines for new strains of influenza viruses.

9 Jul 2010

New food safety requirements for large-scale egg producers: FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that as many as 79,000 illnesses and 30 deaths due to consumption of eggs contaminated with the bacterium Salmonella Enteritidis may be avoided each year with new food safety requirements for large-scale egg producers.

9 Jul 2010

Tulane University to receive $11.2M over seven years to establish international malaria research center

Tulane University will receive approximately $11.2 million over seven years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health, to establish an International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research for West and Central Africa. The money will be awarded in response to a multi-institutional proposal from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

9 Jul 2010

HHS to give states $25 million for HIV drugs; Researchers identify antibodies that may help in AIDS vaccine research

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday "that she would provide $25 million more to help states buy life-saving medications for people with H.I.V. or AIDS. Advocates for patients said the money was not nearly enough to eliminate waiting lists, which have surged to record levels as people have lost health insurance, along with their jobs, and states have cut their budgets. Ms. Sebelius said she was 'reallocating and transferring $25 million in existing resources' to provide medicines for people on waiting lists.

9 Jul 2010

AHF: 15 Zambian health care professionals to train HIV Medics

Graduation ceremonies will be held Saturday, July 10th in Lukasa for 15 Zambian health care professionals from several districts throughout the country who have completed an educational training program administered by AIDS Healthcare Foundation. This will enable the graduates to train classes of HIV Medics to work in the country's growing fight against HIV/AIDS.

9 Jul 2010

Study on Drosophila flies may help develop treatments for serious human diseases: Article

A Science article published on July 9, 2010, describes the discovery of an alternative form of evolution that helps Drosophila flies conquer nematodes that sterilize them. Nematodes are among the most abundant, diverse and destructive parasites of plants and animals.

9 Jul 2010

NIAID announces $14M in first-year funding to establish 10 new malaria research centers

In an effort to accelerate the control of malaria and help eliminate it worldwide, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced approximately $14 million in first-year funding to establish 10 new malaria research centers around the world.

9 Jul 2010

Disease/Infection News

First Edition: July 12, 2010

Common SNP in sequence of human genome conferring risk of vascular diseases discovered

FDA grants Catheter Connections 510(k) clearance for DualCap disinfecting product

Medivir reports 24-week interim Phase 2b results of TMC435 in treatment-naïve patients with HCV genotype-1

Lectures on DermaVir to be presented at International Conference on Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies

Midatech, Immunotope form joint venture to develop antigen based products for immune therapies

Drosophila fly study may aid in staving off diseases in humans using defensive bacteria

Federal food safety agencies commended for supporting Food Safety Working Group

AOL News reports on challenges of global spread of drug-resistant TB

Discovery of antibodies that kill more than 90% of HIV viruses gives new hope for vaccine

Study examines impact of universal HIV testing, immediate ART program in Washington, DC

World Bank announces new head for its HIV/AIDS program

Science special section examines HIV/AIDS in Russia, Ukraine

UM researcher uses computer algorithms to develop vaccines for new strains of influenza viruses

New food safety requirements for large-scale egg producers: FDA

Tulane University to receive $11.2M over seven years to establish international malaria research center

HHS to give states $25 million for HIV drugs; Researchers identify antibodies that may help in AIDS vaccine research

AHF: 15 Zambian health care professionals to train HIV Medics

Study on Drosophila flies may help develop treatments for serious human diseases: Article

NIAID announces $14M in first-year funding to establish 10 new malaria research centers

Building Bridges to Scalable Allogeneic Cell Therapy

Edoardo Fabini

Reducing polypharmacy through innovative drug formulation technologies

Latest News