Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Pediatricians lead statewide effort to raise awareness about childhood vaccination

Two Saint Louis University pediatricians are leading a Missouri State Medical Association statewide effort to change the way doctors respond to parents' fears of vaccines, and to raise awareness about the importance of getting children vaccinated.

3 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Censoring flu research; Assailing Komen's move to cut Planned Parenthood funding

In December, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity made an unprecedented request: it asked the editors of the journals Nature and Science not to publish certain details in two papers describing experiments in which scientists created a highly transmissible form of the deadly H5N1 influenza virus. ... Such caution, though well intentioned, is misplaced.

3 Feb 2012

Immune cells from healthy individuals effectively kill cancer cells

Immune cells from healthy individuals can be the new immune cure for cancer. This treatment can kill cancer cells without destroying neighbouring cells. The hope is to eradicate cancer for ever.

3 Feb 2012

Blood cell therapy works for nasopharyngeal cancer: Study

Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research have made a breakthrough in the treatment of throat cancer. The researchers have developed a therapy that uses a patient's blood to grow special white blood cells that recognize and fight infected cancer cells. The results of this study have been published in the journal Cancer Research.

2 Feb 2012

Mass. bill would mandate docs to check database before prescribing pain meds

The legislation is expected to come up for a vote in the Massachusetts Senate Thursday. In Florida, the legislature killed a bill to take away prescription rights from doctors awaiting trial on pill-trafficking charges.

2 Feb 2012

ACIP recommends changes in 2012 Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now recommends routine HPV vaccination for males aged 11 to 12 years and catch-up vaccination for males aged 13 to 21. These are just two of the changes to the 2012 Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule being published February 1 in Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians.

2 Feb 2012

ImmunoCellular receives U.S. patent allowance for cancer stem cell treatment

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, announced the allowance of U.S. patent claims related to the Company's method of treating glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in a patient by targeting cancer stem cells.

2 Feb 2012

Natural resistance to flu could hold key to universal vaccine

Researchers have found that on infecting 41 healthy volunteers with different strains of flu virus, those with higher levels of a specific type of white blood cell were less likely to develop severe illness. Now the team of researchers hopes to mimic the natural resistance shown by some of the volunteers, by creating a vaccine that boosts levels of a particular subset of the 'T-cells'.

1 Feb 2012

Peptides linked with internal flu viral structures can help develop universal vaccine

Researchers at the University of Southampton, University of Oxford and Retroscreeen Virology Ltd have discovered a series of peptides, found on the internal structures of influenza viruses that could lead to the development of a universal vaccine for influenza, one that gives people immunity against all strains of the disease, including seasonal, avian, and swine flu.

1 Feb 2012

Opinion pieces, blog react to new public-private NTD initiative

Pharmaceutical company heads and global health leaders gathered at a conference on Monday in London to announce the formation of a large public-private partnership to fight neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and endorse the "London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases", in which they pledged to work together and track progress.

1 Feb 2012

ASM to publish special commentaries on NSABB and H5N1 research

In response to recent actions of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which recommended that two scientific journals withhold crucial details in upcoming reports about experiments with a novel strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will publish a special series of commentaries by prominent scientists, including the acting chair of the NSABB, weighing in on whether the recommendations were necessary and what role biosecurity considerations should play in the dissemination of research findings.

1 Feb 2012

Faster, less expensive methods of circumcision being tested, reviewed, New York Times reports

The New York Times examines developments in circumcision technology, after "three studies have shown that circumcising adult heterosexual men is one of the most effective 'vaccines' against [HIV] -- reducing the chances of infection by 60 percent or more."

1 Feb 2012

Hand hygiene, surgical masks can cut spread of flu-like illnesses upto 75%

Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found.

1 Feb 2012

NIAID, Aeras partner for Phase II clinical trial of TB vaccine

Aeras announces today that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), has joined as a partner for a Phase II proof-of-concept clinical trial of a tuberculosis vaccine candidate jointly developed by Aeras and Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell.

1 Feb 2012

Researchers investigate Avian Pathogenic E. coli strains

Escherichia coli bacteria thrive in the lower intestine of humans and other animals, including birds. Most are vital constituents of the healthy gut flora, but certain forms of E. coli cause a range of diseases in both humans and poultry.

1 Feb 2012

IMUC president to present at Immunotherapeutics Partnering and Deal Making Conference

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, today announced that its president and CEO, Manish Singh Ph.D., will be presenting at the Immunotherapeutics Partnering and Deal Making Conference, which will take place in San Diego, California on January 30-31, 2012.

31 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: ACOs might replace health insurers; Losing a job while pregnant; Barring smokers from the workplace

Here's a bold prediction for the new year. By 2020, the American health insurance industry will be extinct. Insurance companies will be replaced by accountable care organizations - groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who come together to provide the full range of medical care for patients.

31 Jan 2012

Oral HPV infection more common in men than women: Study

According to a new US study, oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is more common among men than women, leading to an increased risk for men of head and neck cancers. HPV causes the majority of cervical cancers, as well as genital and anal - and head and neck cancers.

31 Jan 2012

Anti-HER2 dendritic cell vaccine shows promise against DCIS

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report that a short course of vaccination with an anti-HER2 dendritic cell vaccine made partly from the patient's own cells triggers a complete tumor eradication in nearly 20 percent of women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), an early breast cancer.

31 Jan 2012