Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

iBio receives U.S. patent for fusion-protein vaccine technology

iBio, Inc. today announced issuance of a US patent covering the use of iBio's proprietary fusion-protein technology in combination with influenza virus antigens for vaccine product applications.

29 Feb 2012

Biogen Idec announces new easier to use injection for multiple sclerosis

The Food and Drug Administration approved the company's Avonex pen, an injection designed to reduce pain and anxiety when patients self-administer the drug. The FDA also approved a new dosing schedule for the drug intended to reduce flu-like symptoms often associated with the drug.

29 Feb 2012

Cold air can trigger coronary events

People with heart disease may not be able to compensate for their bodies' higher demand for oxygen when inhaling cold air, according to Penn State researchers, making snow shoveling and other activities dangerous for some.

29 Feb 2012

Breakthrough discovery about Rhizobium radiobacter

A new discovery involving two Simon Fraser University scientists could lead to a little known and benign bacterium becoming a vital new tool in the development of a vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus.

29 Feb 2012

Biogen Idec receives FDA approval for two separate dosing innovations to treat MS

Today Biogen Idec announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two separate dosing innovations designed to improve the treatment experience for patients receiving once-a-week AVONEX for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

28 Feb 2012

Scientists find evidence of a ‘different’ flu virus in bats

They were surprised to find genetic fragments of a flu virus in bats. So far, scientists haven't been able to grow it, and it's not clear if — or how well — it spreads. Flu bugs are common in humans, birds and pigs and have even been seen in dogs, horses, seals and whales, among others. About five years ago, Russian virologists claimed finding flu in bats, but they never offered evidence.

28 Feb 2012

Low levels of omega-3 in blood ‘ups’ risk of dementia and brain aging: Study

Researchers looked at 1,575 adults who averaged 67 years old and had no signs of dementia and had not had a stroke. They were given MRI brain scans and a battery of tests to measure memory and thinking abilities; they also had blood drawn to check the level of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or omega-3 fatty acids in their red blood cells. Those with the lowest levels of omega-3s showed signs of accelerated aging. They had lower brain volume, indicating shrinkage comparable to two additional years of aging. Compared with those with the highest blood levels of omega-3s, they scored lower on cognitive tests measuring such things as memory, problem solving, abstract thinking and multi-tasking.

28 Feb 2012

Rapid influenza diagnostic tests highly accurate in children than in adults

A new study conducted by researchers from McGill University, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI MUHC), and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, has put the accuracy of rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) under the microscope.

28 Feb 2012

FDA clears Meridian Bioscience's TRU Legionella test

Meridian Bioscience, Inc. today announced that it has received FDA clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for TRU Legionella, a new rapid assay for detection of legionellosis.

28 Feb 2012

USPTO issues two patents on 'Novel Shigella protein antigens and methods' to IVI

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization based in Seoul devoted to research on the development and introduction of vaccines for the developing world, reached a milestone in its aim to prevent and control dysentery (also commonly called shigellosis or bloody diarrhea), a deadly disease that affects several million people worldwide.

27 Feb 2012

FDA assigns Priority Review designation to JRD's XARELTO sNDA

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (JRD) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a Priority Review designation to the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) filed on December 29, 2011 for XARELTO (rivaroxaban), an oral anticoagulant, to reduce the risk of thrombotic cardiovascular events in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS).

27 Feb 2012

Flu season starts late but may be just as virulent: CDC

Dr. Joseph Bresee, chief of the epidemiology prevention branch at the influenza division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said for the third consecutive week this season the percent of respiratory specimen testing positive for flu surpassed 10 percent, which is generally a marker to indicate the flu season has begun. “This is the latest start to a flu season in the past 29 years,” said Dr. Bresee.

27 Feb 2012

Cross-protective vaccines will make a bout with influenza less severe

An emerging class of long-lasting flu vaccines could do more than just save people the trouble of an annual flu shot.

27 Feb 2012

Sebelius casts doubt on Calif. Medi-Cal changes; Other Medicaid changes around America scrutinized

Medicaid cuts in California, Washington and Texas prove controversial, while changes or proposed changes in Florida, Georgia and Minnesota get closer looks.

27 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 27, 2012

Among today's health policy headlines, a new Politico poll highlights the deep divide in public opinion that exists regarding the repeal of the health law.

27 Feb 2012

SLU investigator aims to reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

A Saint Louis University investigator noted for her pain research is working to reduce a painful chemotherapy side effect, thanks to a $126,500 grant from the Mayday Fund, an organization dedicated to alleviating the incidence, degree and consequence of human physical pain.

27 Feb 2012

New method can predict whether Tylenol-poisoning patients need liver transplant

University of Utah mathematicians developed a set of calculus equations to make it easier for doctors to save Tylenol overdose patients by quickly estimating how much painkiller they took, when they consumed it and whether they will require a liver transplant to survive.

27 Feb 2012

Bird flu may be more common and less deadly: Study finds

The H5N1 influenza virus commonly called “bird flu” or “avian flu” could be more prevalent and less deadly than health officials had thought, according to a new study published online (Feb. 23) by the journal Science.

26 Feb 2012

Two new analyses raise questions about mortality rate of bird flu

In an analysis published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science, a team led by virologist Peter Palese of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York argue the mortality rate from H5N1 bird flu is under one percent, much lower than the WHO's estimated fatality rate of 59 percent, Reuters reports.

24 Feb 2012

Additional discussion needed before final decision made on publication of bird flu studies

Attendees of a recent WHO meeting that discussed the possible publication in the journals Nature and Science of two studies that modified H5N1 bird flu strains to show the virus could be more easily transmissible among humans decided publication of redacted versions would be ineffective and that "a system for distributing the full paper only to selected individuals would be impossible to set up on any relevant timescale," a Nature editorial states.

24 Feb 2012