As public health officials around the world keep a nervous eye on the spread of avian influenza, the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) has uncovered a key step in how the influenza virus causes infection.
Using nanotechnology, a team of University of Georgia researchers has developed a diagnostic test that can detect viruses as diverse as influenza, HIV and RSV in 60 seconds or less. In addition to saving time, the technique — which is detailed in the November issue of the journal Nano Letters — could save lives by rapidly detecting a naturally occurring disease outbreak or bioterrorism attack.
British researchers have developed a vaccine that stimulates colorectal cancer patients’ immune systems to fight cancerous cells.
Regimens to treat HIV infection that are based on a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) are at least as effective as treatment with a protease inhibitor but require patients to take fewer pills each day, according to a new study funded in part by HHS? Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
In two studies presented during the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), held in Philadelphia November 9-15, caregivers considered the ?seal of approval? from the FDA to be the most important factor when looking for an effective asthma treatment for their child. Caregivers and physicians also expressed in the study the need for a standardized assessment tool that could help diagnose and monitor asthma.
A visiting biologist at the University of California, San Diego and her colleagues in Africa and Britain have shown that there are close linkages between outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in human and wildlife populations, and that climate may influence the spread of the disease.
Children treated with PULMICORT RESPULES? (budesonide inhalation suspension) either once or twice daily experienced a significantly greater increase in the percentage of asthma-control days compared to those receiving placebo. These results are being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), held in Philadelphia on November 9-15. Asthma-control days were defined as days when children were free of symptoms and did not use rescue medications during the day and night. Control of asthma symptoms during the day and night and reduction of the need for rescue medication is an important goal of asthma therapy in keeping with current National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) guidelines.
According to a new study, septic shock — a dangerous, often deadly runaway immune response — is controlled by a genetic on/off switch. The research also suggests how a drug might temper sepsis. This is the first time this genetic mechanism has been revealed in an experimental animal.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) medications known as Phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors have been used by millions of men as safe and effective management options associated with high rates of patient and partner satisfaction.
Adolescents with a history of arrest are at greater risk for HIV infection than adolescents with no arrest history, according to a new study published in the November issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center and Brown Medical School attribute higher rates of substance abuse, sexual risk behaviors and mental-health issues to the increased risk of infection.