Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

ASTRO to honor two radiation oncologists with 2011 Gold Medal award

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has selected K. Kian Ang, MD, PhD, FASTRO, and Bernard Cummings, MB, ChB, FASTRO, as the Society's 2011 Gold Medal recipients.

26 May 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism that controls inflammation

The molecular machines that defend our body against infection don't huff and puff, but some of them apparently operate on the same principle as a steam engine.

26 May 2011

Scarcity of resources calls for equitable distribution system for novel HCV treatment

For many patients with the hepatitis C virus, direct antiviral agents (DAA) offer a potential cure for the disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved two new DAAs, telaprevir and boceprevir, and with that clinicians must now decide who should be the first to receive this treatment.

25 May 2011

PET scans can help determine patients' response to treatment for HIV-MDR tuberculosis

With the deficiencies in knowledge of tuberculosis-as well as in the practices, programs and strategies used to combat the disease and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus-the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis poses a major problem for the health care community.

25 May 2011

Small pox virus destruction pushed back to 2014

The last existing vials of smallpox virus in the U.S. and Russia and due for destruction, have won at least another three years in existence. This is suggesting other countries concur with the U.S. about their value, one leading health official said. The experts and delegates at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization agreed on Tuesday to wait until 2014 to decide on a firm deadline for the final destruction of the lethal virus.

24 May 2011

Largest number of measles cases in the US since 1996: Report

According to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States has had 118 measles cases so far this year, the most for this date since 1996, and close to 90% of them are linked to cases in other countries.

24 May 2011

New study shows that closing schools, other measures limited H1N1 spread in Mexico

The H1N1 virus was new, and most of the cases occurred among young people. Health professionals and scientists weren’t sure at the onset what the world would encounter with the virus.

24 May 2011

Study offers hope for reducing incidence of AIDS with potential preventive vaccine

The HIV epidemic is the largest in the world and represents one of the most serious public health problems, according to data from the World Health Organization. Only 30% of the more than 10 million patients in need have the access to the antiretroviral treatment.

24 May 2011

Novel hepatitis C-like virus discovered in dogs

In a study to be published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report the discovery of a novel hepatitis C-like virus in dogs. The identification and characterization of this virus gives scientists new insights into how hepatitis C in humans may have evolved and provides scientists renewed hope to develop a model system to study how it causes disease.

24 May 2011

Vertex Incivek receives FDA approval for treatment of chronic hepatitis C

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Incivek treat certain adults with chronic hepatitis C infection. Incivek is used for patients who have either not received interferon-based drug therapy for their infection or who have not responded adequately to prior therapies. Incivek is approved for use with interferon therapy made up of peginterferon alfa and ribavirin.

24 May 2011

Viewpoints: IPAB debate; Medicare flap continues; WSJ on VT single payer

While I applaud Ryan for getting the conversation started, I cannot support his specific plan — and therefore will vote "no" on his budget. Why can't I go along with the Ryan Medicare plan?

23 May 2011

Aethlon to introduce new adaptive dialysis-like affinity platform technology at C21 partnering conference

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announces that Chairman and CEO James A. Joyce will present the Aethlon ADAPT™ system in a presentation at the C21 BioVentures™ Life Sciences Partnering Conference.

23 May 2011

EDITORIAL: Study results show need for more data on HIV prevention economics

A recent study showing a "near-perfect way to halt sexual transmission of the AIDS virus has the potential to change the way international agencies and nations cope with the epidemic. But that can only happen if troubling issues of cost and practicality can be surmounted," a New York Times editorial says.

23 May 2011

Roche's new cobas TaqScreen MPX viral discriminatory test, v2.0 now available in Europe

Roche announced today that the cobas TaqScreen MPX Test, version 2.0 for use on the cobas s 201 system is now commercially available in Europe.

23 May 2011

Salk researchers successfully edit diseased gene in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells

In principle, genetic engineering is simple, but in practice, replacing a faulty gene with a healthy copy is anything but. Using mutated versions of the lamin A gene as an example to demonstrate the versatility of their virus-based approach, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies successfully edited a diseased gene in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells as well as adult stem cells.

21 May 2011

Coordinated efforts required to close gaps in preventive behavior: American Cancer Society

A new report from the American Cancer Society details cancer control efforts and outlines improvements as well as gaps in preventive behavior that contribute to cancer mortality.

21 May 2011

Merck's VICTRELIS receives European CHMP positive opinion for treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection

Merck, today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion under accelerated assessment recommending approval of the investigational medicine VICTRELIS (boceprevir) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection, in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, in adult patients with compensated liver disease who are previously untreated or who have failed previous therapy.

20 May 2011

Medivir reports positive results from ASPIRE TMC435 phase 2b study for genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, today announced results from the ASPIRE phase 2b study that evaluates the addition of once daily TMC435 to pegylated interferon and ribavirin in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C whose prior treatment with pegylated-interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin (RBV) was unsuccessful either because they relapsed, had a partial response or had a null response.

20 May 2011

Longer looks: Tough health care questions for GOP presidential contenders; Robotics help spike use of prostate treatment

For my money, the most interesting thing about Mitt Romney's health-care speech last week wasn't his struggle to defend Romneycare and distance it from Obamacare, but the largely hostile reception of the speech from the right.

20 May 2011

Humanized BLT mice help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission

The more than 2.7 million new HIV infections recorded per year leave little doubt that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to spread globally. That's why there's the need for safe, inexpensive and effective drugs to successfully block HIV transmission.

19 May 2011

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

ASTRO to honor two radiation oncologists with 2011 Gold Medal award

Scientists discover new mechanism that controls inflammation

Scarcity of resources calls for equitable distribution system for novel HCV treatment

PET scans can help determine patients' response to treatment for HIV-MDR tuberculosis

Small pox virus destruction pushed back to 2014

Largest number of measles cases in the US since 1996: Report

New study shows that closing schools, other measures limited H1N1 spread in Mexico

Study offers hope for reducing incidence of AIDS with potential preventive vaccine

Novel hepatitis C-like virus discovered in dogs

Vertex Incivek receives FDA approval for treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Viewpoints: IPAB debate; Medicare flap continues; WSJ on VT single payer

Aethlon to introduce new adaptive dialysis-like affinity platform technology at C21 partnering conference

EDITORIAL: Study results show need for more data on HIV prevention economics

Roche's new cobas TaqScreen MPX viral discriminatory test, v2.0 now available in Europe

Salk researchers successfully edit diseased gene in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells

Coordinated efforts required to close gaps in preventive behavior: American Cancer Society

Merck's VICTRELIS receives European CHMP positive opinion for treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection

Medivir reports positive results from ASPIRE TMC435 phase 2b study for genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C

Longer looks: Tough health care questions for GOP presidential contenders; Robotics help spike use of prostate treatment

Humanized BLT mice help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission

Microplate-based assays in virology research eBook eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging