Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Inovio to update HVTN 080 Phase I clinical study for HIV at HVTN Conference

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that Dr. Spyros Kalams will provide an update of interim immune responses and safety results from the HVTN 080 Phase I clinical study of Inovio's PENNVAX-B HIV DNA vaccine in a preventive setting.

12 Nov 2010

Urgent action needed to prevent and treat childhood pneumonia

A Pneumonia Report Card released today by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) on behalf of the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia reveals where urgent efforts are needed to reach target levels of coverage for the life-saving interventions that can prevent, protect against and treat pneumonia in children.

12 Nov 2010

Discovery on immune system paves way to new vaccine against pneumococcal disease

A new breakthrough in the fight against pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia has been announced today by scientists in Leicester and Dublin. The discovery will lead to a dramatic shift in our understanding of how the body's immune system responds to infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and pave the way for more effective vaccines.

12 Nov 2010

NexBio presents Fludase data for Influenza-Like Illness at ACAAI 2010

NexBio, Inc. announced the presentation of new data at the 2010 annual American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in Phoenix, Arizona. The presentation was entitled DAS181 (Fludase), a Sialidase, Decreases Airway Resistance by Modulating Muscarinic Receptor Signaling.

12 Nov 2010

Meridian fourth quarter net sales decrease 16% to $35.5 million

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., reported fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2010 net sales of $35.5 million and $143.0 million, respectively, decreases of 16% and 4%, respectively, from the same periods of the prior fiscal year.

11 Nov 2010

PPH uses Xenex PX-UV disinfection system to destroy microorganisms causing HAIs

Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) today announced it is the first health system in California to use the Xenex PX-UV disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms. The Xenex system is the fastest, safest and most cost-effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms in the world today, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs), such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

11 Nov 2010

HemaCAM computer-assisted blood cell analysis system automates assessment of blood counts

If a blood count is abnormal, the medical laboratory scientist (MLS) has to manually perform a differential blood count analysis. This costs time and money. The computer-assisted blood cell analysis system HemaCAM by the company Horn has recently been launched on the market and does just this. At the MEDICA 2010 trade fair, which is being held from November 17 to 20 in Düsseldorf, Germany, scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS will be presenting this intelligent microscopy system at joint stand F05 in hall 10.

11 Nov 2010

Pevion announces positive results of PEV7 Phase I study for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

Pevion Biotech AG today announced positive preliminary results from a Phase I study of PEV7, the first vaccine against recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC).

11 Nov 2010

TFAH's new report on flu finds higher hospitalization rates among African Americans

H1N1 flu hospitalization rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indian/Alaska Natives were nearly two to one higher than rates for Whites during the 2009-2010 flu season, according to a new report, Fighting Flu Fatigue, from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH). At the same time, both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination rates were lower for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites.

11 Nov 2010

Pharmaxis to present ARIDOL Bronchial Challenge Test Kit at 2010 ACAAI

Pharmaxis, a global specialty pharmaceutical company focused on therapeutic products for respiratory and immune disorders, will present ARIDOL™ (mannitol inhalation powder) Bronchial Challenge Test Kit, at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), November 11-16 in Phoenix, AZ.

11 Nov 2010

Exhausted neurons die prematurely and trigger disease symptoms

We all know that living a stressful lifestyle can take its toll, making us age faster and making us more susceptible to the cold going around the office.

11 Nov 2010

Nplate reduces treatment failure and splenectomies in adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia

Amgen Inc. today announced the publication of results from the first open-label study to compare Nplate® (romiplostim) treatment to standard of care therapies (SOC) in non-splenectomized adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The study results, which were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show that both the incidence of treatment failure and need for splenectomy were reduced among the Nplate-treated patients.

11 Nov 2010

Hemispherx Biopharma awarded grant for Ampligen, Alferon development programs

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced today grant awards totaling $488,958 from the U.S. Department of Treasury in support of its Ampligen and Alferon development programs.

10 Nov 2010

NHLBI launches new campaign to highlight common COPD symptoms

The number of Americans who report being aware of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, increased by 4 percentage points between 2008 and 2010, but many people at risk are still unaware of the disease, according to mailed survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Nov 2010

Pres. Obama emphasizes U.S.-Indian partnerships to track, fight diseases

On his final day in India as part of his 10-day Asia-Pacific tour, President Barack Obama on Monday addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament in New Dehli, where he emphasized the importance of U.S.-Indian partnerships to tackle disease and improve education, Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times reports (11/8).

10 Nov 2010

Flu vaccination programs can protect employee health, save businesses money

Each year, influenza poses a tremendous burden on working adults and the many businesses that employ them, contributing to absenteeism and lost productivity. Yet, annual influenza immunization rates remain very low. New data out today show that employer-sponsored influenza vaccination programs held early in the flu season not only protect employee health, but save businesses money.

10 Nov 2010

World Lung Foundation report highlights prevalence of acute respiratory infections worldwide

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) - such as influenza, pneumonia and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - cause 4.25 million deaths each year often among young children in developing countries, according to the Acute Respiratory Infections Atlas, which was released on Tuesday by the World Lung Foundation, Reuters reports (11/9).

10 Nov 2010

Aromatase inhibitors increase side effects in women undergoing breast cancer therapy

Women being treated for breast cancer with aromatase inhibitors may experience extremely low estrogen levels resulting in a wide variety of side effects that a typical postmenopausal woman without cancer may not experience.

10 Nov 2010

Health reform policy: Flexible spending, device taxes and waivers

One health law provision will be a bummer for people who use the tax-free dollars stored in flexible spending accounts, Kaiser Health News reports. "Starting in January, you'll no longer be able to use your FSA for over-the-counter drugs and medicines unless you have a doctor's prescription. Experts agree that the new rules will likely discourage people from tapping their FSAs for routine purchases of aspirin, vitamins, cough medicine and other drugstore essentials" (Andrews, 11/8).

10 Nov 2010

Health advice on NHS website saves £44 million per year

The latest study has shown that as more people self diagnose using the NHS Choices website, Britain’s national healthcare service saves millions of pounds every year. The website was launched three years ago. Last year more than 100 million visits were recorded at the site which offers patients a quick reference guide to illnesses, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Overall, there was a 10% increase in the number of visits to the website in 2010 compared to 2009. Some 19 million people logged on to NHS Choices for information on swine flu.

9 Nov 2010