Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Microneedle vaccine patches may effectively protect against flu

Recent research found that microneedle vaccine patches are more effective at delivering protection against influenza virus in mice than subcutaneous or intramuscular inoculation. A new, detailed analysis of the early immune responses by the Emory and Georgia Tech research team helps explain why the skin is such fertile ground for vaccination with these tiny, virtually painless microneedles.

6 Mar 2012

Mount Sinai researchers argue different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses

In the controversy surrounding the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses, scientists and policy makers are struggling with one question in particular: what level of biosafety is best for studying these potentially lethal strains of influenza? In a pair of commentaries, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the University of Michigan argue their different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses.

6 Mar 2012

Snoring toddlers may develop behavioural problems later: Study

A new study shows that babies and toddlers who snore, gasp for breath, or breathe with their mouth open while sleeping may be at a greater risk of behavioural problems all the way through second grade.

5 Mar 2012

Survey: Americans spend more for health care than people in other countries

The report from the International Federation of Health Plans found that Americans pay more for physician time, for scans, surgery and drugs than people in other countries. Also in the news, other reports from the health care marketplace explore the lack of insurance coverage for reproductive-age women and the growth in the number of companies that are offering incentives to their employees to better manage their health.

5 Mar 2012

FDA confirms FluCide pre-IND meeting date with NanoViricides

NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that March 29th, 2012 has been confirmed by the US FDA as the date for its initial meeting with the Company's scientists. This pre-IND meeting will focus on FluCide, designated as NV-INF-1, the Company's novel anti-influenza drug.

5 Mar 2012

Inovio's SynCon vaccine for HPV types 6 and 11 induces CD8+ T cells in mice

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that its SynCon therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11, which are associated with head & neck cancers and genital warts, among other conditions, induced strong antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in mice.

5 Mar 2012

New tool to map extent of traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury among soldiers, sportsmen and women and accident survivors are common but may go undetected at the time of the event and manifest later in life. Now scientists are testing a tool that lights up the breaks these injuries leave deep in the brain's wiring, much like X-rays show broken bones.

4 Mar 2012

Rigosertib drug shows promise against advanced pancreatic cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates that 44,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed this year and that 37,000 people will die from the disease. These are not strong odds. A new drug, rigosertib, allows pancreatic cancer cells to rush through replication - and then stops them cold, killing them in in the middle of a step called M phase. Healthy cells that don't rush are unharmed.

3 Mar 2012

Ion channels assembled in different combinations distinguish temperatures

The winter sun feels welcome, but not so a summer sunburn. Research over the past 20 years has shown that proteins on the surface of nerve cells enable the body to sense several different temperatures. Now scientists have discovered how just a few of these proteins, called ion channels, distinguish perhaps dozens of discrete temperatures, from mildly warm to very hot.

3 Mar 2012

Critical new details about structure of enterovirus 71

Researchers have discovered critical new details about the structure of a virus that causes potentially fatal brain swelling and paralysis in children, pointing toward designs for antiviral drugs to treat the disease.

3 Mar 2012

EC grants marketing authorization for Baxter's VEPACEL to treat influenza A

Baxter International Inc. announced today that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization for VEPACEL in all European Union (EU) Member States, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

From Baxter International Inc. 2 Mar 2012

Quadrivalent flu vaccine that fights against four strains of Influenza approved

The FluMist Quadrivalent vaccine from AstraZeneca's MedImmune unit protects against two strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B, and is approved for people ages 2 to 49. Similar to the previously approved FluMist, the new vaccine is a nasal spray that delivers weakened strains of the virus. The vaccine, FluMist Quadrivalent (MedImmune), will be available for the 2013-2014 flu season.

2 Mar 2012

Ten symptoms and signs that a child may need a doctor

Unfortunately, kids get sick. Fighting a virus or common cold is good for a child's immune system and can help build antibodies that protect them from dangerous illnesses. Still, there are times when that tummy ache or cough may require medical attention.

2 Mar 2012

Pharmacological antagonist can inhibit body's response to cold

Researchers at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, in collaboration with Amgen Inc. and several academic institutions, have discovered a way to block the body's response to cold using a drug. This finding could have significant implications in treating conditions such as stroke and cardiac arrest.

2 Mar 2012

U.S. panel may re-evaluate bird flu research after scientists present new data about risks to humans

Speaking at the American Society for Microbiology's (ASM) Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Ron Fouchier, the leader of the team at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands that genetically altered the H5N1 bird flu virus, making it transmissible among ferrets and "touching off public fears of a pandemic, said that the virus he created was neither as contagious nor as dangerous as people had been led to believe, prompting the United States government to ask that the experiments be re-evaluated by a government advisory panel that recommended in December that certain details of the work be kept secret and not published," the New York Times reports.

1 Mar 2012

Parkinson's drug Amantadine may help brain injury victims: Study

The study shows that Amantadine helps boost brain levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to arousal. And for patients who are in a vegetative state following a brain injury, the drug can help -- possibly by improving responsiveness during rehabilitation.

1 Mar 2012

La Selva geothermal system contaminated with arsenic

Monitoring the construction of wells, avoid over-exploiting cold groundwater close to hot groundwater, and controlling mineral water extraction. These are the recommendations from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the University of Barcelona, after analysing the contamination of La Selva geothermal system, above all by arsenic pollution.

1 Mar 2012

SIR to showcase latest minimally invasive treatments at 37th annual meeting

Health, science and medical reporters are invited to register now for the Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting March 24 at Moscone Center (North), San Francisco, Calif. The meeting's theme, "IR Evidence," was chosen to focus on the results of care-changing investigations that showcase research into minimally invasive treatments that provide treatment options, advance patient care and improve quality of life.

1 Mar 2012

NKT cells may reduce monocytes accumulation, prevent lung injury in severe flu

While some scientists report engineering a super virulent strain of the H5N1 influenza virus, which could potentially wipe out a significant percentage of the human population, another group of researchers from the United Kingdom now reports a discovery that may one day help mitigate the deadly effects of all flu strains.

1 Mar 2012

NEJM publishes results from two Jakafi Phase III studies on MF

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) today published results from two Phase III studies (COMFORT-I and COMFORT-II) of Jakafi (ruxolitinib), a JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis.

1 Mar 2012