Cancer of the liver is very difficult to detect, and it is a major cause of death in Asia and Africa, with rising incidence in Western countries as well. Now, VIB researchers connected to Ghent University, in collaboration with research centers in Beijing and Shanghai in China, have developed a test to detect liver cancer in an early stage.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved maraviroc, an antiretroviral drug for use in adult HIV patients. Maraviroc, sold under the trade name Selzentry, is the first in a new class of drugs designed to slow the advancement of HIV and received priority review by the FDA.
For more than 200 years, vaccines have played an important role in the prevention of infectious diseases. In the United States, measles, mumps and rubella are now rare diseases thanks to vaccines. Now, two vaccines recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ? the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and the herpes zoster vaccine ? are proving effective in protecting people from serious or potentially life-threatening diseases.
The Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Chuck Strahl announced that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is taking precautionary actions in response to the recent confirmation of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the United Kingdom.
Dallas County Health and Human Services has confirmed its second human case of West Nile virus for the 2007 season. The patient, residing in zip code 75206, has been diagnosed with West Nile Encephalitis and is recovering. DCHHS previously reported a case of West Nile fever diagnosed in a patient residing in zip code 75104. For medical confidentiality and personal privacy reasons, DCHHS is not providing additional information. DCHHS has notified the City of Dallas.
Scientists have discovered that at the same time the immune system is vigorously attacking invading viruses or bacteria, it is unexpectedly reducing its production of a particular type of factor that directs the movement of immune cells.
A therapeutic cancer vaccine has shown effectiveness when given alongside chemotherapy to patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in a phase II trial, according to researchers at Oxford BioMedica (UK) Ltd.
The development of the first vaccine for the prevention of cancer came 30 years after Harald zur Hausen first hypothesized that human papilloma virus (HPV) might be associated with cervical cancer.
The use of steroid medication to treat bronchiolitis ? a common viral lower respiratory infection in infants ? does not prevent hospitalization or improve their respiratory symptoms, according to a study published in the July 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Even a delay of a few days or a week would give health authorities crucial time to prepare responses such as distributing anti-viral drugs and emergency resources, researchers say.