Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Automatic cuts to take toll on community health centers

Estimates suggest these centers will serve about 900,000 fewer patients in 2013 because of the sequester.

6 Mar 2013

Study shows community-based HIV-prevention efforts increase testing rates, reduce HIV incidence

In Africa and Thailand, communities that worked together on HIV-prevention efforts saw not only a rise in HIV screening but a drop in new infections, according to a new study presented this week at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

6 Mar 2013

National Jewish Health receives U.S. patent for POPG and related compounds

Dennis Voelker, PhD, professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, has been awarded a U.S. patent (#8,367,643) for various lipids and related compounds that can inhibit inflammation and infection in the lungs, especially those caused by influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

5 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Disappointing 'surprises' in health law; Cuts in graduate medical training threatens physician supply; Va. can afford Medicaid expansion

The proposed 2.3 percent reduction in (Medicare Advantage plan) payments, which comes on top of cuts already scheduled under the Affordable Care Act, pays no mind to the potential impact on quality of care throughout the program. These cuts will apply to all plans no matter the value they bring in providing quality care to beneficiaries or offering innovative solutions that could ultimately be scaled and applied to the broader program.

5 Mar 2013

Nursing home patients with pneumonia may need viral screening

Viral testing should be carried out among all older individuals who have been admitted to hospital for nursing home-acquired pneumonia, recommend researchers.

5 Mar 2013

U.S. researchers report 'functional cure' for infant born with HIV

"A baby born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now two and a half and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of active infection," the Associated Press reports.

5 Mar 2013

Discovery provides clues for potentially eliminating HIV infection in children

A two-year-old child born with HIV infection and treated with antiretroviral drugs beginning in the first days of life no longer has detectable levels of virus using conventional testing despite not taking HIV medication for 10 months, according to findings presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

5 Mar 2013

HIV might promote aging and disease progression in people with HCV, study results suggest

Infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins have found that among people infected with the hepatitis C virus, co-infection with HIV, speeds damage and scarring of liver tissue by almost a decade.

5 Mar 2013

Sanford-Burnham enters into partnership to test furin for treatment of dengue fever

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and 60- Pharmaceuticals, LLC, have entered into a partnership to test furin, a human proteinase, as a drug target for the treatment of dengue fever, one of the most common infectious diseases in the tropics and subtropics.

5 Mar 2013

Editorial, opinion piece address efforts to eradicate polio

The Independent recently published an editorial and opinion piece discussing the global effort to eradicate polio.

5 Mar 2013

Carbohydrate-rich diet during pregnancy may predict RSV severity in infants

An important predictor of the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants may be what their mothers ate during pregnancy, according to a Vanderbilt study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

5 Mar 2013

Study highlights long-term benefits of early antiretroviral therapy initiated in infants

A study led by University of Massachusetts Medical School professor and immunologist Katherine Luzuriaga, MD, and Johns Hopkins Children's Center virologist Deborah Persaud, MD, highlights the long-term benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiated in infants.

5 Mar 2013

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

For the first time in more than 20 years, there was a decrease in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs — primarily pills people take to treat more common diseases such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure — according to new data released today by Express Scripts.

5 Mar 2013

Results from Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 Phase 3 study on HIV

Pfizer Inc. presented today the results from a Phase 3 study demonstrating the immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine Diphtheria CRM197 Protein)in adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

5 Mar 2013

HIV infection may increase risk of acute myocardial infarction

A study that analyzed data from more than 82,000 veterans suggests that infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI, heart attack) beyond what is explained by recognized risk factors, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

4 Mar 2013

Horizon forms 3 new Centers of Excellence for gene editing in Asia

Horizon Discovery (Horizon), a leading provider of research tools to support the development of personalized medicines, today announced it has established three new Centers of Excellence (CoE's) for gene editing in Asia.

4 Mar 2013

Prompt antiretroviral therapy may help infants clear the HIV and achieve long-term remission

A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins Children's Center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School describe the first case of a so-called "functional cure" in an HIV-infected infant. The finding, the investigators say, may help pave the way to eliminating HIV infection in children.

4 Mar 2013

Study instructs how to design new, more powerful vaccine formulas for cancer

Cancer vaccines that attempt to stimulate an immune system assault fail because the killer T cells aimed at tumors instead find the vaccination site a more inviting target, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in Nature Medicine.

4 Mar 2013

Researchers identify mechanisms that connect variety of diseases linked with inflammation

A study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has identified epigenetic mechanisms that connect a variety of diseases associated with inflammation.

3 Mar 2013

NPR blog examines debate over option B+ HIV prevention strategy

NPR's "Shots" blog examines the debate over Option B+, a strategy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission that "aims to put every pregnant woman with HIV on triple-drug treatment and keep her on it for the rest of her life -- even if the virus has not yet damaged her immune system to the point where she needs medications to preserve her own health."

2 Mar 2013

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Automatic cuts to take toll on community health centers

Study shows community-based HIV-prevention efforts increase testing rates, reduce HIV incidence

National Jewish Health receives U.S. patent for POPG and related compounds

Viewpoints: Disappointing 'surprises' in health law; Cuts in graduate medical training threatens physician supply; Va. can afford Medicaid expansion

Nursing home patients with pneumonia may need viral screening

U.S. researchers report 'functional cure' for infant born with HIV

Discovery provides clues for potentially eliminating HIV infection in children

HIV might promote aging and disease progression in people with HCV, study results suggest

Sanford-Burnham enters into partnership to test furin for treatment of dengue fever

Editorial, opinion piece address efforts to eradicate polio

Carbohydrate-rich diet during pregnancy may predict RSV severity in infants

Study highlights long-term benefits of early antiretroviral therapy initiated in infants

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

Results from Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 Phase 3 study on HIV

HIV infection may increase risk of acute myocardial infarction

Horizon forms 3 new Centers of Excellence for gene editing in Asia

Prompt antiretroviral therapy may help infants clear the HIV and achieve long-term remission

Study instructs how to design new, more powerful vaccine formulas for cancer

Researchers identify mechanisms that connect variety of diseases linked with inflammation

NPR blog examines debate over option B+ HIV prevention strategy

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