Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Novavax opens new U.S. vaccine plant in Rockville, Maryland

Officials from Novavax, Inc., the State of Maryland and Montgomery County today celebrated the opening of Novavax's new state-of-the-art vaccine production facility at the company's headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.

1 May 2008

Young children hospitalized for flu associated with higher costs and higher risk illness

The high costs of hospitalizing young children for influenza creates a significant economic burden in the United States, underscoring the importance of preventive flu shots for children and the people with whom they have regular contact, according to research led by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and presented May 4 at the Pediatric Academic Society annual meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.

30 Apr 2008

ImmunoVaccine Technologies patents DepoVax vaccine platform

ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a vaccine development company, unveiled today its DepoVax platform, a novel depot vaccine delivery system used to increase the efficacy and strength of vaccines. IVT has filed additional patents to protect the DepoVax concept.

30 Apr 2008

AstraZeneca submits sNDA for SYMBICORT in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AstraZeneca today announced that it submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a new indication for SYMBICORT (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol for the treatment of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). SYMBICORT is currently approved for the long-term maintenance treatment of asthma in patients 12 years and older.

30 Apr 2008

Discovery of quick method for making human monoclonal antibodies against flu

Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) - highly specific, identical, infection-fighting proteins produced in large quantities in the lab in cell lines that are derived from a single antibody-producing cell - against influenza can be rapidly produced in the lab, according to a new report from scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

30 Apr 2008

Another bird flu death in Indonesia pushes death toll up to 108

Indonesia's health ministry has announced that a three-year-old boy from Java has died from bird flu pushing the country's death toll up to 108.

30 Apr 2008

Deadly bird flu kills swans in Japan

Japanese authorities have confirmed that four swans found last week were infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

29 Apr 2008

Drug group warns about over-reacting to methamphetamine abuse

A group which represents illegal drug users in Australia is warning authorities about the danger of adopting an alarmist approach in dealing with methamphetamine abuse.

29 Apr 2008

Study explains why steroid therapy for sinusitis and asthma loses its punch over time

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have outlined a new path for potential therapies to combat inflammation associated with sinusitis and asthma based on a new understanding of the body's earliest immune response in the nose and sinus cavities.

29 Apr 2008

Human protein may offer novel target for blocking HIV infection

A research group supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has uncovered a new route for attacking the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that may offer a way to circumvent problems with drug resistance. In findings published today in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report that they have blocked HIV infection in the test tube by inactivating a human protein expressed in key immune cells.

29 Apr 2008

New research suggests hypertonic, hyperviscous fluids may be better treatment for severe blood loss

Intravenous administration of isotonic fluids is the standard emergency treatment in the U.S. for patients with severe blood loss, but UC San Diego bioengineering researchers have reported improved resuscitation with a radically different approach. Building on earlier studies in humans that have shown benefits of intravenous fluids that are eight times saltier than normal saline, the researchers combined hypertonic saline with viscosity enhancers that thicken blood.

29 Apr 2008

Biomarkers identified for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

The first evidence of a distinctive protein signature that could help to transform the diagnosis and improve the monitoring of the devastating lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is being reported by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in this month's edition of PLoS Medicine, an open-access journal of the Public Library of Science.

28 Apr 2008

UCLA study identifies factors leading to hospital admission for heart failure

Nearly two out of three patients have one or more precipitating factors that may contribute to hospital admissions nationwide for heart failure, according to a new UCLA study. Pneumonia, irregular heart beats, and obstructed blood flow to the heart are the most frequent factors.

28 Apr 2008

Scientists find distinct kind of stem cells in the pituitary gland

A team of researchers led by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have for the first time identified stem cells that allow the pituitary glands of mice to grow even after birth.

28 Apr 2008

Three bitten by rabid dog in Britain

A dog imported into Britain from Sri Lanka has died of rabies but not before it had bitten three people.

28 Apr 2008

Hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b shows promise

The hepatitis C therapy peginterferon alfa-2b, when given as low-dose maintenance therapy, can prevent disease progression in certain patients who failed previous interferon-based hepatitis C therapies and have advanced liver disease, according to findings from a large, four-year study presented today at the 43rd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

24 Apr 2008

Protein HtpG signals healthier teeth and gums

Antibodies present in people with good oral health could become the first tool for dental professionals to assess a patient's probable response to periodontal disease treatments, say researchers at the University of Michigan.

23 Apr 2008

FDA approves guayule latex gloves

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing the first device made from a new form of natural rubber latex, guayule latex. The product, the Yulex Patient Examination Glove, is derived from the guayule bush, a desert plant native to the Southwestern United States.

23 Apr 2008

UKCMRI partners dismiss claims about research project

There has been speculation in the press about the work to be carried out at the planned UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, a world-class facility which will deliver ground breaking new research.

23 Apr 2008

Global food price increase forces World Vision to scale back food aid program

One of the world's largest humanitarian organizations has announced it can no longer provide food to 1.5 million of the 7.5 million poor it fed last year.

23 Apr 2008