Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

NPR reports on Brazilian clinical trial of Truvada as prevention strategy

NPR's "Shots" blog reports on one of the drug trials considered by the FDA in its approval of the antiretroviral drug Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among people at risk of contracting the virus, which "was done at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Research Institute, also known as Fiocruz, in Rio de Janeiro."

19 Jul 2012

Clinical trial to evaluate maraviroc-based PrEP regimens for HIV prevention

Scientists are launching the first clinical trial to test whether drug regimens containing maraviroc, a medication currently approved to treat HIV infection, are also safe and tolerable when taken once daily by HIV-uninfected individuals at increased risk for acquiring HIV infection. The eventual goal is to see if the drug regimens can reduce the risk of infection.

19 Jul 2012

Abscisic acid has anti-inflammatory effects in the lungs and gut

Building on previous work with the botanical abscisic acida, researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) have discovered that abscisic acid has anti-inflammatory effects in the lungs as well as in the gut.

19 Jul 2012

Duke receives Gates Foundation grant for HIV vaccine study

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a new grant to Duke University Medical Center for work developing vaccines that can induce IgA antibodies for preventing HIV-1 infection. This award comes from the Gates' Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD) program.

19 Jul 2012

Researchers identify new behavior for the human macrophage

Researchers at the Institute of Human Virology of the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a new behavior for the human macrophage that provides new explanations for several features of HIV biology, including how the virus persists within the body indefinitely, how quiescently infected CD4+ T-cells arise, and how the infection leads to depletion of CD4+ T-cells.

19 Jul 2012

HCV infections can lead to increased mortality from liver disease or variety of other causes

In a long-term study of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), researchers found increased deaths from both liver-related and non-liver related diseases in patients with active infections who had not cleared their infection.

19 Jul 2012

Truvada gains FDA approval as HIV preventive

The daily pill is the first aimed at reducing the risk of contracting HIV in healthy people who are at high risk of contracting AIDS. It will have a boxed warning that it should be used only by people whose HIV-negative status is confirmed prior to prescription and at least every three months after.

18 Jul 2012

CSIRO to produce antibodies for development of new vaccines against rotavirus

CSIRO has been contracted by PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) to produce antibodies on a large scale that will aid the development of new, safe, affordable and effective vaccines against rotavirus, a major cause of severe and fatal diarrhoea in young children worldwide.

18 Jul 2012

Vaccination more reliable than observation for bovine herpesvirus

Vaccination halts the circulation of bovine herpesvirus type 1 in dairy herds and should been seen as the best way to eradicate the virus, despite it disappearing without intervention in some herds after long periods, report researchers in the Veterinary Record.

18 Jul 2012

Advocates, policy experts respond to FDA approval of Truvada for HIV prevention

Though the FDA's Monday approval of the antiretroviral drug Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of HIV infection among people at risk of contracting the virus "was hailed by many as an important step in the fight against AIDS, concerns that people will incorrectly use the drug -- potentially spurring drug resistance -- led others to blast the agency for not laying down tougher rules," the Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog" writes.

18 Jul 2012

FDA approves Truvada as HIV prevention strategy for high-risk, uninfected individuals

The FDA on Monday announced the approval of the first drug for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among people at risk of contracting the virus, "which some are calling a landmark in the fight against AIDS," ABC News reports.

18 Jul 2012

Silymarin does not provide greater benefit for patients with chronic HCV infection

Use of the botanical product silymarin, an extract of milk thistle that is commonly used by some patients with chronic liver disease, did not provide greater benefit than placebo for patients with treatment-resistant chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, according to a study in the July 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Jul 2012

Kawasaki Disease may increase risk of atherosclerosis in children

Cedars-Sinai researchers have linked Kawasaki Disease, a serious childhood illness that causes inflammation of blood vessels throughout the body, with early-onset and accelerated atherosclerosis, a leading cause of heart disease in adults.

18 Jul 2012

Hepatitis C treatment may be helped by vitamin B12 supplements

Adding vitamin B12 to standard hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment significantly boosts the body’s ability to keep the virus at bay, indicates a pilot study published online in the journal Gut.

18 Jul 2012

Johnson & Johnson second quarter sales decrease 0.7% to $16.5B

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.5 billion for the second quarter of 2012, a decrease of 0.7% as compared to the second quarter of 2011. Operational results increased 3.5% and the negative impact of currency was 4.2%.

17 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 17, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that concludes that few Americans will pay more as a result of the health law.

17 Jul 2012

U.S. FDA approves Gilead’s Truvada to minimize risk of sexually-acquired HIV infection

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), the first drug approved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals who are at high risk of HIV infection and who may engage in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners. Truto reduce the risk of sexually-acquired HIV infection in adults at high risk.

17 Jul 2012

Helper T cells may be frontline warriors when battling hepatitis A infection

Helper cells traditionally thought to only assist killer white blood cells may be the frontline warriors when battling hepatitis A infection. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study appearing in a recent issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

17 Jul 2012

Drug treatments, scientific advances fuel hope for HIV control as AIDS 2012 conference draws near

"A cure for AIDS remains a distant prospect but a host of drug treatments and other advances have fueled fresh hope that new HIV infections may someday be halted for good," Agence France-Presse reports.

17 Jul 2012

New CD141hi DC subset plays a critical role in activating immune response against pathogens

Scientists at A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), in collaboration with Newcastle University, UK, the Singapore Institute of Clinical Sciences and clinicians from multiple hospitals in Singapore, have identified a new subset of dendritic cells (DCs) in human peripheral tissue which have a critical role in activating our immune response against harmful pathogens.

17 Jul 2012