Vaccine Weekly articles from August 2001

Vaccine Weekly archives from August 2001

Combined Vaccine Strategy Boosts Antitumor Immunity In Mice.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A new report in Cancer Research describes a combined vaccine strategy that improved survival and antitumor response in mice with liver cancer. D.W....

Few Young Gay Males Avail Themselves of Hepatitis B Vaccine.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Even though a hepatitis B vaccine has been available for almost 20 years, the vaccination rate in young gay males is still falling short, researchers at the...

Staph Bacteria Are Prolific Gene Swappers.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When some disease-causing bacteria encounter a new obstacle, they simply swap DNA with their relatives to acquire the genes needed to overcome it. And they do so quite readily, according to...

Preschool DT Vaccine Should Be Replaced With aDTP.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Countries currently immunizing pre-school children with boosters of diphtheria/tetanus (DT) vaccine should use an acellular diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis...

Feline Vaccine Protects Against Multiple Subtypes.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers have developed a vaccine for the feline version of HIV that they say offers protection from a range of viral strains. Ruiyu Pu and...

Elimination Of Type B Disease May Heighten Virulence Of Other Serotypes.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - As Haemophilus influenzae type B infections recede in the vaccine era, other serotypes may be emerging to take their place, say researchers in Utah. ...

New York Findings Do Not Bear Out Intussusception Risk In Young Children.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - The rate of intussusception among children younger than one year in New York was less than predicted during nine months of rotavirus vaccine use,...

M3-Restricted T Cells May Be Critical For Immune Response To TB.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Data about Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) epitopes recognized by class Ib-restricted T cells is limited, but researchers now believe one of the...

Combined Immunotherapy Regimen Shows Promise In Pilot Trial.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A combined regimen of vaccination with CD40-activated malignant B cells and interleukin 2 (IL-2), along with autologous tumor-specific T-cell transfer,...

Bispecific Antibodies Target Disease Cells.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immunomedics, Inc. (IMMU) announced three trials, two preclinical and one human, involving use of a pretargeting method which can deliver higher doses of radioactive isotope to cancerous tissue. ...

Jet Injectors Capable Of Transmitting Blood-borne Pathogens.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Jet injectors may be ideal for mass immunization programs but not until design refinements eliminate their capacity to transmit blood-borne infections, say...

Internet Survey Studies HBV Risk-Factors In At-Risk Males.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Access to the Internet has made information gathering easier, even for public health officials. Using an Internet survey, investigators at the University of...

Lipopeptides Can Induce HIV Specific Immune Responses.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Lipopeptides from HIV proteins may provide the basis for an HIV vaccine, researchers in France report. Gilles Pialoux and colleagues at Rothschild...

Vaccine For Developing World Shows Unexpected Activity.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc. (VXGN) presented laboratory data at an international scientific conference indicating that antibodies to HIV subtype C (HIV-C) have an unexpected ability to bind to significant regions...

Aged Mice Only Partly Protected By Adjuvant-Combined Vaccine.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A study appearing in Vaccine has found that influenza vaccines confer only partial protection on some strains of older mice, but completely protect younger...

CDC Sees Racial Gap In Flu Shots.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Elderly blacks in the U.S. are far less likely than elderly whites to get flu shots, and the gap appears to be widening, public health researchers say. In a 1999 national telephone survey, 69%...

LYMErix(R) Found Immunogenic, Well Tolerated In Children.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A recombinant vaccine comprising the outer surface protein A (OspA) of Borrelia burgdorferi (LYMErix(R)) generates antibody levels in children three times...

Plasmid DNA Vaccine Safe And Well-Tolerated In Animal Models.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A DNA vaccine for malaria has been found safe in mice and rabbits, and its adjuvant was readily detected in muscle following muscular administration,...

Vaccine Improves Survival Of Poorest, Most Vulnerable Children.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study shows that vaccinating poor children against measles significantly improves their long-term chances for survival and dramatically reduces inequities in child health and survival. ...

Mutant Ras Peptides Induce Hypersensitivity Reactions.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Vaccinating melanoma patients with mutant ras stimulates strong, delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions and occasionally an in vitro T-helper response,...

Ocular Destruction Follows Plasminogen Activator Response.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - An overexpression of plasminogen activators and inhibitors may be the mechanism behind blindness following corneal infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa,...

Phase I Trial Of Monoclonal Antibody Initiated.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd. (XTL) announced the commencement of Phase I clinical studies with XTL-002, its human monoclonal antibody (MAb) being developed for the treatment of hepatitis C virus...

Collaboration Targets Three Oncogenic Viruses.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genencor International, Inc. (GCOR) and Epimmune Inc. (EPMN) announced that the two companies have initiated a 30-month collaboration focused on the development of therapeutic vaccines for three...

Researchers Examine Feasibility Of Wheat-Based Edible Vaccine.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2001... 2001 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Could vaccines ever be as simple and easy to receive as eating a piece of bread? Two biology professors at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte believe it might be possible and are...

Human Vaccine Development Closer To Reality.(Helicobactor pylori vaccine)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Adjuvants approved for use in humans show promise as vaccine components with Helicobacter pylori antigen in mice, bringing a human vaccine one step closer...

Proposed Change In Postexposure Treatment Probably Unnecessary.(Brief Article)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Intradermal preexposure vaccination against rabies is adequate to mount an early immune response following postexposure vaccination, researchers in...

CancerVax Immune Responses Correlate With Improved Survival.
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - CancerVax, which has been used in the immunotherapy of melanoma, may also be useful against colon cancer, researchers in California have found. Colon...

Liposome Encapsulated Antigen Shows Promise In Vaccine Delivery.
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Liposome encapsulated antigen can elicit both cell-mediated and humoral immune responses and thus may be an ideal vaccine candidate, according to a new...

Vaccine Protects Seven of Eight Monkeys From Fatal L. Donovani.(leishmaniasis vaccine)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Autoclaved Leishmania major (ALM) along with BCG, shows promise for protection against cutaneous leishmaniasis and should be evaluated in humans, say...

Killed M. Vaccae Vaccine Offers Good Efficacy.(Mycobacterium vaccae)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A preparation of killed Mycobacterium vaccae either alone or with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), offers 80% protection against leprosy development in...

First Vaccine Developed That Protects Against SIV In Monkeys.(simian immunodeficiency virus)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of California scientists have developed the first vaccine that protects against vaginal transmission of a virus closely related to HIV. In studies with monkeys, all vaccinated...

FDA Releases Anti-Cocaine Vaccine From Clinical Hold And Trials Resume.(TA-CD resumes trials)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Xenova Group plc (XNVA) announced that, following a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of the company's recently submitted toxicology and clinical study results, the FDA has notified...

Medicaid Managed Care Does Not Ensure Up-To-Date Vaccination Status.(for children enrolled in program)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Children enrolled in Medicaid managed care (MMC) are no more likely than those in traditional fee-for-service Medicaid to be up to date on their...

B. Pertussis Fimbriae Potential Carrier Proteins For Hib Vaccines.(Bordetella pertussis)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Conjugation of a Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) polysaccharide (PRP) to a protein carrier greatly improves its immunogenicity, and researchers in...

Teenage Participation in Vaccine Trials Requires Education of Parents.
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - To get the participation of teenage girls in a trial of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, researchers should not discount the support of their parents,...

Vaccination Is Effective Preventive Medicine.(for Lyme disease)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A review of medical literature published in the July 2001 edition of Mayo Clinic Proceedings reports that vaccination is an effective and demonstrated method to prevent Lyme disease and the best...

Phase III Clinical Trial Of Experimental Vaccine Seeks Volunteers.(to test individually tailored lymphoma vaccine)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Cancer Center are seeking volunteers for a final phase clinical trial that will test the safety and effectiveness of individually...

MMR Vaccine Should Be Made Compulsory In Jordan.(measles mumps rubella vaccine)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - The current measles vaccine coverage in Jordan is not enough to stop periodic outbreaks, and public health policy should mandate measles mumps rubella...

Vaccine Confers Protection On Tribal Children, Despite Malarial Endemicity.
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Children from two tribes in the Amazon region benefited from a measles vaccination program, despite living in a remote area that is endemic for malaria,...

Preventive Vaccine Campaigns More Cost-Effective Than Reactive Ones.(World Health Organization vaccination policy questioned)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Areas in sub-Saharan Africa that lack adequate disease surveillance systems could benefit from preventive mass immunization against meningococcal...

Antibody Demonstrates Novel Immune Mechanism.(OvaRex monoclonal antibody from AltaRex Corp.)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AltaRex Corp. (ALXFF.OTC) presented evidence that, in response to the patient's circulating CA125 antigen, its OvaRex(R) monoclonal antibody (MAb) helps produce an immune response in ovarian cancer...

Better Worldwide Access To Pneumococcal Vaccines Is Needed.
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Greater availability of the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to children in developing countries could not only reduce morbidity and mortality but also...

More Work Needed To Ensure Proper Storage of Vaccines.
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A new report in Pediatrics suggests that pediatrician offices may be falling short on standards to ensure proper handling and storage of vaccines. ...

Mexico Approves Immune System Enhancer.(SciClone Pharmaceuticals' Zadaxin approved)
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN) announced that its immune system enhancer Zadaxin(R) has been approved for expanded indications in Mexico. Zadaxin may now be marketed for the treatment of hepatitis...

Researchers Determine How TB Bacterium Evades Detection By Immune System.
August 15, 2001... 2001 AUG 15 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the scourges of humans, infecting about one-third of the world's population, or two billion people. It kills an estimated eight million people annually. And while a...

Researchers Successfully Immunize Mice Against AD.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New York University School of Medicine researchers have prevented the development of Alzheimer disease in mice genetically engineered with the human gene for the disease using a new vaccine. ...

Seven-Year Follow-Up Of Vaccine Confirms Long-Term Protection.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Children who are vaccinated against varicella and then exposed to the disease in their household have only a 10% chance of being infected, compared with a...

Engineered Poliovirus Vaccine May Protect Women From AIDS.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A genetically engineered poliovirus vaccine appears to be an effective new strategy for an AIDS vaccine in women. Researchers from the University of California system and the U.S. National...

Epidermal Powder Immunization Confers Protection With Or Without Adjuvants.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Influenza vaccine delivered via epidermal powder immunization (EPI) can offer protection against lethal challenge with influenza in one or two doses,...

Second-Generation Vaccine More Immunogenic In Mouse Model.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A purified, inactivated vaccine (PIV) against Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is as protective as the currently licensed vaccine in mice and is more...

Component Of Fly Saliva Has Promise For Vaccine.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers seeking to make a vaccine against a serious parasitic infection have discovered a dose of fly saliva might be just what the doctor ordered. Leishmaniasis, a disabling and sometimes...

Researchers Test Post-Trauma Vaccination In Animals.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Israel are exploring a remarkable strategy by which animals may be vaccinated against the effects of spinal cord injury. They discuss their work in the August 2001 issue of the...

Performance Of Flu Vaccine Needle-Free System Equal To Injection.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bioject Medical Technologies, Inc. (BJCT) announced the results of a study investigating the delivery of the influenza vaccine with the Biojector 2000 needle-free injection system in elderly...

Antibody's Crystal Structure Could Yield Design Clues.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A team of scientists has revealed the crystal structure of the human antibody b12 for a protein on HIV-1's viral envelope called gp120, which aids HIV's entrance into a cell by binding to CD4...

Heat Shock Protein-Based Approach Under Investigation.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antigenics, Inc. (AGEN) announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Bruce D. Walker, MD, director of the Partners AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and one...

NIH Funds Project To Investigate Cell Response In Phase III Vaccine Trial.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc. (VXGN) announced that it has finalized an agreement to collaborate with BBI Biotech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boston Biomedica, Inc. (BBII), to collect, process, and store white...

Mixing Hib, DTaP-IPV In One Injection Causes No Adverse Events.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Mixing the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-inactivated polio vaccine (DTaP-IPV) with the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) tetanus toxoid conjugate just...

Single MMR Vaccine At 12 Months More Protective Than Booster At 15 Months.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Current World Health Organization recommendations for measles immunization in developing countries may be re-evaluated following the results of a study of...

Intranasal Vaccination of Children Cost Effective In Some Situations.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Vaccinating healthy children intranasally against influenza is cost effective when a group-based strategy is used, researchers in the United States have...

Nasal Vaccine Is Efficacious, But More Safety Data Needed.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) recommended that there are adequate data to support the efficacy of FluMist(TM)...

Viral Vector Stimulates CTL, Th1 Responses In Young Mice.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - NYVAC(K1L)-HA is the first attenuated live viral vector that is capable of inducing adultlike antibody, Th1, and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses...

Vaccine Improves Five-Year Survival Rates.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CancerVax Corporation announced its intent to prepare a New Drug Submission (NDS) to seek marketing approval in Canada for Canvaxin(TM), a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of advanced-stage...

Lower Incidence Threshold Can Detect Outbreak Early Enough To Start Vaccine Programs.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A meningitis incidence threshold of 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in just one week - lower than previously recommended by the World Health Organization - can be used reliably to confirm an...

College Freshmen In Dorms At Increased Risk.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Compared with other college students, freshmen living in dormitories have an increased risk of meningococcal disease, even though U.S. college students as a group are at no greater overall risk for...

Plant Viral Proteins Enhance Idiotypic Antigenicity In DNA Vaccines.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Deborah W. Heinrich, PhD, staff medical writer - A novel DNA vaccine using a plant viral protein to stimulate immunity offers hope against myeloma and lymphoma, say researchers in the U.K. ...

Preclinical Data Are Promising On Chlamydia Vaccine.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antex Biologics, Inc. (ANX) announced that immunization with its new, proprietary Chlamydia trachomatis vaccine demonstrated protection against infertility in animals. In preclinical studies,...

Epitope Plasmid DNA Vaccine Generates Cellular Immunity In Mice.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - The ability of epitope plasmid DNAs to trigger only a specific cellular immune response instead of an antibody response may ultimately lead to their use in...

Yellow Fever Vaccine May Have Caused Cases Of Severe Illness.(Brief Article)
August 22, 2001... 2001 AUG 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A report from the U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that the 17D-derived yellow fever vaccine may be responsible...