Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

MDA5 molecule plays a critical role in fighting viral infections

Researchers have identified the primary player of the biochemical bugle call that musters the body's defenders against viral infection.

14 Jun 2012

Children of GBS meningitis continue to have substantial long-term morbidity

Parents of infants who survive bacterial meningitis caused by group B Streptococcus might have to live with the effects of the disease on their children long after they're discharged from the hospital. A new study in the journal Pediatrics finds that even though mortality rates of children infected with GBS meningitis have decreased in the past 25 years, just under half of children who survive the disease will suffer impairment as a result of the disease.

13 Jun 2012

HLA B-27 protein appears to confer ability to suppress HIV viral replication

The rare ability of some individuals to control HIV infection with their immune system alone appears to depend - at least partially - on specific qualities of the immune system's killer T cells and not on how many of those cells are produced.

13 Jun 2012

Type 1 diabetes on the rise among young people in the U.S.

Jeffrey Brewer, president and CEO of JDRF, the leading global organization focused on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, issued the following statement today in response to a new study showing an increase in T1D among young people in the United States.

13 Jun 2012

VaxInnate commences VAX161 Phase I trial in pandemic avian influenza

VaxInnate Corporation today announced that enrollment has commenced in a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate VAX161, its novel H5 vaccine candidate in development for the prevention of pandemic avian influenza or bird flu. VaxInnate is a biotechnology firm pioneering breakthrough technology for developing novel vaccines.

13 Jun 2012

New data on individuals with natural ability to fight off AIDS

"Scientists on Sunday said they had found a key piece in the puzzle as to why a tiny minority of individuals infected with HIV have a natural ability to fight off the deadly AIDS virus," Agence France-Presse reports.

12 Jun 2012

Cellular source of cervical cancer found

A team of scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) together with clinicians from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have identified a unique set of cells in the cervix that are the cause of human papillomaviruses (HPV) related cervical cancers. Significantly, the team also showed that these cells do not regenerate when excised.

12 Jun 2012

Chagas disease – ‘the AIDS of the Americas’

A recent editorial published in the Public Library of Science's Neglected Tropical Diseases called Chagas disease, a parasite which kills about 20,000 people a year, "the AIDS of the Americas." The disease can be transferred to a child from its mother or by blood transfusions. About 20 percent of those infected can develop life-threatening illness that includes enlarged hearts or intestines, and the drugs used today to treat the disease can take months to work.

12 Jun 2012

Opinion pieces published in advance of 'Child Survival Call to Action' event to take place in Washington

The following are summaries of several opinion pieces published in anticipation of the Child Survival Call to Action event to be held on June 14-15 in Washington, D.C. Convened by the Governments of United States, Ethiopia and India, and organized in close collaboration with UNICEF, the event will focus on ending preventable child death through the survival of newborns, children and mothers and will convene 700 prominent leaders from government, the private sector, faith-based organizations and civil society to kick off a long-term, focused effort to save children's lives.

12 Jun 2012

New synthetic vaccine effective in killing HPV-derived cancer

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have developed and tested in mice a synthetic vaccine and found it effective in killing human papillomavirus-derived cancer, a virus linked to cervical cancers among others.

10 Jun 2012

Tackling diarrhea, pneumonia could save 2M children, according to UNICEF report

"Two million of the world's poorest children could be saved by introducing routine vaccination programs against diarrhea and pneumonia," according to a new report (.pdf) from UNICEF, BBC News reports (6/8).

8 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: Bipartisanship on medical device tax; 'Overreach' in contraception fight

Bipartisanship arrived in Washington on Thursday, not that many in the media will hail it. That's because the sweet harmony involved a 270-146 House vote to repeal ObamaCare's 2.3% excise tax on medical devices.

8 Jun 2012

What are vitamins?

Most people have heard of vitamin C and its effects upon the body; but how much do you know about other vitamins? How many even are there? And what do they all do?

8 Jun 2012

Study: HIV superinfection may be more common than previously believed

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) superinfection may be as common as initial HIV infection and is not limited to high risk-populations, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

8 Jun 2012

Scientists unravel one important secret of bacterial adaptation

Learning the secrets of how pathogenic bacteria manage to survive in the body of an animal or human may carry great implications for future development of new and better medical treatments. Now, scientists at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry have unraveled one important secret of bacterial adaptation.

8 Jun 2012

Scientists uncover origin of Langerhans cells

Scientists at A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) uncovered the origin of a group of skin-deep immune cells that act as the first line of defence against harmful germs and skin infections. SIgN scientists discovered that these sentry cells of the skin, called the Langerhans cells (LCs), originate from two distinct embryonic sites - the early yolk sac and the foetal liver.

8 Jun 2012

Sorrento receives $300,000 STTR grant to develop novel therapeutics against Staph infections

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has received an Advanced Technology Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Fast Track grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH.

8 Jun 2012

Researchers develop Texas Pandemic Flu Toolkit

In 2009, the H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic struck, infecting millions and killing more than 18,000 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Though less severe than initially feared, the pandemic highlighted the potential threat of deadly viruses emerging from animals into humans, and the importance of quick and effective public health intervention.

8 Jun 2012

HIV superinfection may be more frequent among general population of Uganda

HIV superinfection, when a person with HIV could acquire a second, new strain of HIV, may occur as often as initial HIV infection in the general population in Uganda, a study suggests.

8 Jun 2012

NCI presents long-term outcomes from BiovaxID lymphoma vaccine Phase II trial at ASCO 2012

Biovest International, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) presented long-term (median 10-year follow-up) outcomes at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO 2012) from a Phase II BiovaxID lymphoma vaccine clinical trial.

8 Jun 2012