Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

New research aims to control transmission of infectious diseases

New research aimed at controlling the transmission of diseases among humans, other animals and the environment is being made possible by grants from a collaboration among U.S. and U.K. funding agencies.

15 Sep 2011

Patients with hepatitis C may benefit from 24 week telaprevir-based regimen

University of Cincinnati research published in the Sept. 14, 2011, advance online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine shows that patients with hepatitis C who took a combination medication-a telaprevir-based regimen that is commonly used to treat the illness-for 24 weeks were cured.

15 Sep 2011

NEJM publishes data from Vertex INCIVEK Phase 3 study on genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published data from a Phase 3 study of INCIVEK (telaprevir) tablets in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who were new to treatment.

15 Sep 2011

'Achilles' heels' within HCV virus

Hopes for an effective vaccine and treatment against the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus (HCV) have received a major boost following the discovery of two 'Achilles' heels' within the virus.

14 Sep 2011

Inovio achieves best-in-class immune responses in PENNVAX-B HIV vaccine Phase I study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of synthetic immunogens against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has achieved best-in-class immune responses in a Phase I clinical study of PENNVAX-B, its product for the prevention of the HIV sub-type prevalent in the US and Europe.

14 Sep 2011

“Contagion” movie entirely plausible

Hollywood's latest thriller “Contagion” seems to have captured the public’s interest with strong sales at the box office. In the movie tens of millions of people are wiped out by the rapid spread of a killer airborne disease. It's a scenario real-life experts say is entirely plausible.

14 Sep 2011

Walgreens, MDA team up to offer free seasonal flu shots

Nobody likes to get stuck with a needle. But influenza - the flu - is particularly hazardous for those with neuromuscular disease, which is why the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and Walgreens have teamed up once again to offer free seasonal flu shots now underway for people who have muscular dystrophy and related diseases.

14 Sep 2011

Computer models that predict response to treatment

Details of computer models that can predict the chances of a patient responding to their HIV drugs with 80% accuracy are published today in the journal AIDS. The models were developed by the HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative (RDI) using almost half a million pieces of data from approximately 6,000 clinical cases from hundreds of clinics around the world. The models are now available online as part of an experimental treatment support tool, HIV-TRePS.

14 Sep 2011

Curcumin suppresses cell signaling pathway that drives growth of head and neck cancer

Curcumin, the main component in the spice turmeric, suppresses a cell signaling pathway that drives the growth of head and neck cancer, according to a pilot study using human saliva by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

14 Sep 2011

Real-life health risks of outbreak portrayed in the movie 'Contagion'

Two opinion pieces published Monday examine the real-life health risks of an outbreak portrayed in "Contagion," a movie that opened this weekend in which a mysterious airborne virus kills thousands of people.

14 Sep 2011

Intrauterine devices may protect against cervical cancer

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) may protect against cervical cancer. This is the conclusion of the broadest epidemiological study to date in which has participated the research group in Viruses and Cancer of IDIBELL, published at The Lancet Oncology.

14 Sep 2011

ViroPharma initiates Cinryze Phase 2 subcutaneous trial in patients with HAE

ViroPharma Incorporated and Halozyme Therapeutics announced today that ViroPharma has initiated an open-label, multi-dose Phase 2 study to evaluate the safety, and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of subcutaneous administration of Cinryze in combination with Halozyme's Enhanze technology, a proprietary drug delivery platform using Halozyme's recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme, in subjects with hereditary angioedema.

14 Sep 2011

Breakthrough opens new avenues for hep C vaccine

Hopes for an effective vaccine and treatment against the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus (HCV) have received a major boost following the discovery of two ‘Achilles’ heels’ within the virus.

12 Sep 2011

Government funding crisis in Swaziland disrupts supply of HIV/AIDS supplies

"An acute government funding crisis in Swaziland, Africa's last absolute monarchy, is disrupting supplies of HIV/AIDS drugs and hampering the fight against the virus in the country with the world's highest infection rate, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Friday," Reuters reports.

12 Sep 2011

Enrollment complete in HemaQuest HQK-1001 Phase 2 study in sickle cell disease

HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing small molecule therapeutics to treat hemoglobin disorders, announced today that it has completed enrollment in a randomized multi-dose Phase 2 study of HQK-1001 in patients with sickle cell disease.

12 Sep 2011

Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus detected

There is a recent surge in the West Nile-carrying mosquitoes after a relatively dry spell accompanied by warm temperatures last week. The health department monitors about 40 traps across the county two times per week, and last week found four traps in Wheaton alone with infected mosquitoes.

12 Sep 2011

Genetically modified ‘glow cat’ for HIV/AIDS research

U.S. researcher Eric Poeschla has produced three glowing genetically modified cats by using a virus to carry a gene, called green fluorescent protein (GFP), into the eggs from which the animals eventually grew. This method of genetic modification is simpler and more efficient than traditional cloning techniques, and results in fewer animals being needed in the process.

12 Sep 2011

Gay blood donations to be allowed soon in UK

Soon the lifetime ban on blood donations by homosexual and bisexual men will be lifted in England, Scotland and Wales. Ministers have agreed to let men who have not had sex with another man in the past 12 months to donate from November.

12 Sep 2011

Mayo Clinic develops genome-based immunization strategy against feline AIDS

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The goal is to create cats with intrinsic immunity to the feline AIDS virus. The findings -- called fascinating and landmark by one reviewer -- appear in the current online issue of Nature Methods.

12 Sep 2011

UMSOM to receive FDA approval for whole parasite malaria vaccine clinical trials

For the first time, a malaria vaccine that uses the entire malaria parasite has proven safe and shown promise to produce a strong immune response in a clinical trial, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development.

12 Sep 2011