AIDS Weekly articles from April 2003

AIDS Weekly archives from April 2003

Alcohol abuse may increase susceptibility to HIV infection.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study used simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of rhesus monkeys to examine the combined effects of chronic, binge alcohol consumption on the primary stage of SIV/HIV infection....

Study of monkey species that fights off AIDS may lead to new treatments for humans.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A deactivation of the immune system in patients infected with HIV could be one way to inhibit progression to the immunodeficiency diseases associated with AIDS, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical...

HIV Tat can be used for intracellular HSP70 delivery.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The HIV Tat protein can be used for intracellular delivery of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). HSP70 "is an intracellular stress protein that confers cytoprotection to a variety of cellular...

Body's own antibodies may drive new strains of HIV.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists in California have provided the first detailed look at how human antibodies, proteins critical for the body's defense against invading pathogens, may actually drive human immunodeficiency...

Simian Pneumocystis carinii model may aid pneumonia research.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel simian model of Pneumocystis carinii infection may lead to new treatments for AIDS-related pneumonia. To produce P. carinii infection in "simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected...

Young gay men are anxious, depressed, and ignorant of their HIV status.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An alarming number of young gay men appear to be highly anxious and depressed, expressing high levels of self-hatred and low self-esteem, according to new research funded by the ESRC. And while...

Eastern Europe facing major AIDS epidemic.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Authors of a review in the Lancet predict that social problems in former eastern-block countries resulting in large numbers of injecting-drug users and a rise in sexually transmitted diseases will soon...

Poverty, social conditions blamed for rising AIDS rate among Canadian blacks.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aboriginals and blacks are experiencing Canada's fastest-rising rates of AIDS infection, a trend being blamed on poverty and poor social conditions. "HIV has an uncanny ability almost everywhere in...

Lawmakers reach agreement on $15 billion package to combat AIDS.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. House lawmakers have agreed on a $15 billion package to fight the global AIDS epidemic, compromising on how the money will be used and sidestepping a divisive abortion issue. The Senate...

Mayor Bloomberg backs clean needles for NYC.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Harm Reduction Coalition reports that Mayor Mike Bloomberg has come out in support of needle exchange programs. "These programs have been operating in New York City for over 10 years," the mayor...

PAHO, France sign agreement on HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.(Pan American Health Organization )
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the French government have signed an agreement under which France will provide financial support of US$1,148,000 to strengthen the fight against the...

amfAR awards $1.2 million.(American Foundation for AIDS Research)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) announced more than $1.2 million dollars in research grants and fellowships to combat HIV/AIDS. "amfAR pursues a research strategy that can be...

Last study of Anti-R7V prior to filing for PMA begins.(URRMA Biopharma Inc. files for premarket approval)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- URRMA Biopharma, Inc., (URRMA) has initiated its last study prior to the filing of a premarket approval (PMA) dossier with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the U.S. commercialization of...

Medical Services International ships kits to Vietnam, West Africa.(VScan Rapid Test Kits )(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medical Services International, Inc., (MSITF) announced that it has received a request from the Social Republic of Vietnam, Ministry of Health for samples of the VScan Rapid Test Kits for HIV 1 and 2 to...

FDA approves first drug in new class.(Fuzeon (enfuvirtide) fusion inhibitor approved)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the accelerated approval of Fuzeon (enfuvirtide) for use in combination with other anti-HIV medications to treat advanced HIV-1 infection in...

FDA grants accelerated approval to Fuzeon.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche and Trimeris, Inc., (TRMS) announced that Fuzeon (enfuvirtide), a novel treatment for HIV-1, has been granted accelerated approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following a...

Researchers use nanotech decoys for viruses.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Using nanotechnology to stop HIV viruses from entering cells is the ultimate aim of a new project at the University of California, Davis. The researchers hope to create tiny particles that can...

Stem loop SL1 intact stem and bulge characterized.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The intact stem and bulge of the HIV SL1 stem loop has been characterized. "The Psi-RNA packaging signal of the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) genome contains a 35 nucleotide stem-loop,...

Expert group stresses that unsafe sex is primary mode of transmission in Africa.(HIV transmission)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An expert group has reaffirmed that unsafe sexual practices are responsible for the vast majority of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, and that safer sex promotion must remain the primary feature of...

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease found in HIV-infected patient.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease was found in a patient infected with HIV. According to a study from France, "We relate the autopsy findings of a case of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease which...

C/EBP site I variant linked to severe central nervous system disease.(CCAAT/enhancer binding protein )
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A CCAAT/enhancer binding protein variant is linked to severe HIV-associated central nervous system disease. According to recent research from the United States, "the appearance and progression of...

Cerebral T-cell accumulation seen during final stages.(AIDS-associated encephalitis)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- T cells accumulate in the brain during the final stages of AIDS-associated encephalitis. Researchers in the United States assessed "the hypothesis that CD4+ T lymphocytes accumulate in brains of...

Oxidative modification can regulate protease dimerization and activation.(HIV protease)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxidative modification can regulate the dimerization and activation of HIV protease. According to recent research from the United States, the activity of this key enzyme "can be regulated by...

Telomere transduction useful for studying T-cell senescence.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Telomere transduction can be useful for studying the process of T-cell senescence in HIV patients. According to recent research from the United States, "telomere length is abnormally short in the...

Arsenic trioxide enhances reverse transcription, blocks Ref1 antiviral activity.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The antileukemia drug arsenic trioxide (As2O3) enhances retroviral reverse transcription, while blocking the activity of a key antiretroviral gene. "Potent drugs such as cyclosporine have provided...

CCR5 genotype affects women's susceptibility to infection.(HIV infection )(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mutations in the gene for the HIV coreceptor CCR5 can protect women against HIV infection. "Most studies of predominantly male cohorts found that individuals carrying a homozygous deleted form of...

Macrophage mannose receptor involved in viral transmission.(of HIV infection)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The macrophage mannose receptor plays a key role in HIV transmission. HIV "is an enveloped virus whose surface glycoprotein gp120 binds CD4 on target cell membranes to initiate infection,"...

Uracil repair pathway facilitates replication.(HIV replication)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV virions use a uracil repair pathway to facilitate replication. "Human monocytes/macrophages are target cells for HIV-1 infection. As other non-dividing cells, they are characterized by low and...

Viral Nef disrupts HLA-A2 transport to T-cell surface.(AIDS development)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The HIV Nef protein disrupts human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2 transport to the surface of T cells. HIV Nef "is a key pathogenic factor necessary for the development of AIDS," researchers in the...

Restriction of HIV Rev function in murine A9 cells involves Rev C-terminal domain.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The C-terminal domain of the HIV Rev protein plays a key role in controlling Rev function. The HIV Rev "and human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1) Rex proteins are essential for the expression...

Amprenavir metabolism is impaired in neonates until CYP3A maturation.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Amprenavir metabolism is impaired in neonates until CYP3A maturation. "Amprenavir is a human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) protease inhibitor intended to be used to treat HIV-infected children,"...

Eotaxin-3's N-terminal domain plays key role in CCR3 activation.(chemokine receptor)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The N-terminal domain of eotaxin-3 plays a key role in CCR3 activation. "Eotaxin-3 belongs to the CC chemokine family, and specifically recognizes CC chemokine receptor (CCR) 3 that is expressed on...

Inhibition of adaptive Vgamma2Vdelta2 T-cell activity seen during simian infection.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rhesus macaques coinfected with tuberculous mycobacteria and the simian version of HIV show impaired adaptive Vgamma2Vdelta2 T-cell activity. According to recent research from the United States,...

Virus-cross-HIV-1-neutralizing antibodies induced by in vivo expression system.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Primary virus-cross-reactive human immunodeficiency virus type 1-neutralizing antibodies were induced in small animals using an alphavirus-derived in vivo expression system. According to a study...

Selection pressure has little effect on process.(HIV transmission)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Selection pressure has little effect on the process of vertical HIV transmission. According to recent research from Belgium, "although several virologic and immunologic factors associated with an...

Cellular restriction factors can prevent retrovirus infection.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cellular restriction factors in human and non-human primate cells can prevent infection by a wide range of retroviruses, including HIV. "The mouse gene Fv1 encodes a saturable restriction factor...

Tip60 acetyltransferase activity controlled by phosphorylation.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cellular Tip60 acetyltransferase activity is controlled by phosphorylation. Researchers in France showed that "the phosphorylation of histone acetyltransferase Tip60, a target of human...

4-1BB ligand costimulates CD28-negative T cells.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- 4-1BB ligand can costimulate CD28-negative T cells. "The T-cell surface protein CD28 provides a critical costimulatory signal for T cell activation," researchers in Canada explained. "With age,...

Researchers teach RNA to act as decoy inside living cell to prevent disease activation.
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Using a new approach, Mayo Clinic researchers have successfully "taught" an RNA molecule inside a living cell to work as a decoy to divert the actions of the protein NF-kappaB, which scientists believe...

Rights acquired for only FDA-approved natural alpha interferon product.(Alferon N Injection )(Hemispherx Biopharma Inc.; Interferon Sciences Inc. )
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., (HEB) has acquired certain assets from Interferon Sciences, Inc., (IFSC), including the rights to its patented drug, the Alferon N Injection, approved by the U.S. Food and...

U.S. HIV patent granted for nucleic acid testing.(Chiron Corp.)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it has been granted United States Patent No. 6,531,276. This patent is directed to nucleic acid testing (NAT) methods for HIV-1. In addition to its...

Oral transmission of HIV is possible.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When exposed to high levels of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cells lining the mouth can develop a low-level infection, a finding that increases our understanding of the risks of oral...

AIDS drug fails NIH trials.(Trizivir from GlaxoSmithKline PLC)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... 2003 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (GSK) AIDS drug therapy, Trizivir, the first pill to combine three HIV drugs (Ziagen, AZT and 3TC) into one twice-a-day pill, doesn't protect patients...

Leptin may play role in abnormal fat distribution.(connection to lipodystrophy development)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone produced by fat cells, may be involved in the development of HIV-related...

Stampidine safe and effective in animals.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The novel antiretroviral agent stampidine is safe and effective in animals, researchers in the United States report. Fatih M. Uckun and colleagues working...

Rhesus rhadinovirus not linked to simian AIDS-related lymphoma.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rhesus rhadinovirus (RRV) does not appear to play a role in the development of simian AIDS-related lymphoma. In a recent study from the United States, RRV infection "was quantified in peripheral...

Mesothelial cell human herpesvirus 8 infection linked to pleural effusions.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pleural effusions in HIV patients may be caused by mesothelial cell infection with the virus responsible for Kaposi sarcoma. According to a study from the United States, "recurrent pleural...

Viral proteins inhibit IL-2-induced Jak/STAT signaling by CD4 cells.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Jak/STAT signaling by CD4 cells is impaired during HIV infection, and may underlie the immune anergy seen in patients with acute disease. HIV infection "leads to a profound T cell dysfunction well...

Novel liquid chromatography-based test useful for plasma PI measurement.(protease inhibitor)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel liquid chromatography-based assay provides rapid and accurate measurements of HIV protease inhibitor levels in plasma. Protease inhibitors "are important antiretroviral drugs which have...

Global youth project tailors prevention messages to different social and political contexts.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Toronto (U of T) researchers are heading an international collaboration to develop innovative strategies for educating youth about HIV/AIDS prevention. Called Gendering Adolescent...

Late-stage phase II AIDS clinical trials expanded in Israel.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Advanced Viral Research Corp. (ADVR) announced that, in consultation with the Selikoff Center, it has initiated activities necessary to expand the ongoing Israeli clinical trial of Product R for the...

UAB develops assay that could lead to HIV vaccine.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tranzyme, Inc., a drug discovery and development company, announced that researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have developed a novel assay that may lead to an AIDS vaccine...

African faith leaders declare war on AIDS in Africa.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Balm In Gilead, a non-governmental organization with an international mission to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout the African Diaspora, is hosting a 6-week Africa HIV/AIDS Faith Initiative...

Genome sequences of three South African HIV type 1 subtype C isolates characterized.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The near-full length genome sequences of three South African human immunodeficiency virus (H(V) type 1 subtype C isolates have been characterized. G.M. Hunt and colleagues at the University of...

HIV specific immune responses boosted by structured treatment interruptions.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of a study by Immune Response Corp. scientists back the idea that HIV specific immune responses play a role in control of viremia. "The immunologic correlates associated with control of...

Pakistani and Afghani drug users taking no precautions.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The majority of Pakistani and Afghani male drug injectors lack basic knowledge of HIV and the risk factors that lead to infection, according to a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School...

Sessions to see if sex or needles prime cause of African AIDS.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study's conclusion that dirty needles might be responsible for as many African AIDS cases as unprotected sex has piqued a key U.S. senator's interest and opened debate on whether a $15 billion...

Tat-neutralizing antibodies compared in vaccinated macaques.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Institute of Human Virology, at the University of Maryland, compared antisera of macaques immunized with Tat or chemically modified Tat toxoid having the same clade B sequence "for...

Astrocyte PAR-1 expression heightened during HIV encephalitis.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Astrocyte expression of proteinase-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) is heightened during HIV-related encephalitis. PAR-1 "is a G protein-coupled receptor that is activated by thrombin and is...

Tat-induced nitric oxide production mediates brain endothelial damage.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nitric oxide (NO) production triggered by the viral Tat protein underlies HIV-related brain endothelial damage. "The integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is critical for normal brain...

Dendritic cell markers altered during simian infection.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dendritic cell (DC) markers are significantly altered in animals infected with the simian version of HIV. DCs "are potent antigen-presenting cells that likely play multiple roles in human...

Tat/TAR RNA not needed for viral promoter function.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV Tat/TAR RNA is not necessary for viral promoter activity. "P-TEFb, cyclin T1 + CDK9, is needed for the expression of cellular promoters and primate lentiviral long terminal repeats (LTRs),"...

Anti-Vif peptides effective in vitro.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Peptides that target the HIV virion infectivity factor (Vif) strongly suppress viral replication in vitro. The Vif protein "is essential for the replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1...

Novel recombinant pokeweed antiviral protein shows promise.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel recombinant version of pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) has shown strong anti-HIV activity with low toxicity. In a recent study from the United States, molecular analysis of PAP-RNA...

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors promote mitochondrial DNA mutation.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) facilitate mitochondrial gene mutation. NRTI-based anti-HIV therapy "has been associated with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymerase-gamma...

Viral CD4 cell reservoirs do not support replication during successful therapy.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Helper T cells latently infected with HIV do not support viral replication in effectively treated aviremic patients. "The presence of HIV-1 in latently infected, resting CD4+ T cells has been...

Breast milk transmission risk comparable to unprotected sex.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Children who regularly breast-feed from HIV-infected mothers have a high risk of infection. "The probability of heterosexual transmission of HIV-1 per sex act is .0003-.0015, but little is known...

Short-course antiretroviral regimens protect African children.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Short-course nevirapine and zidovudine-lamivudine regimens reduce the vertical HIV transmission risk for African newborns. Researchers in South Africa conducted a study "to determine the efficacy...

Vaginal CD4 cells targeted during simian infection.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vaginal helper T cells are a prime target of the simian version of HIV. "Worldwide, the majority of human immunodeficiency virus-1 cases occur through heterosexual transmission, yet little is known...

Center develops new allergy/asthma, antiviral agent against HIV.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists from the Parker Hughes Center for Clinical Immunology report the discovery of a new class of drugs against allergy and asthma. The heterocyclic thiourea compounds (HCT compounds)...

Novel staging system for classic disease may improve treatment.
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel staging system may improve treatment for Kaposi sarcoma patients. "Three hundred patients with classic Kaposi's sarcoma (CKS) have attended our Department of Dermatology over a period of 20...

Cauley Geller announces class action lawsuit on behalf of investors.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Law Firm of Cauley Geller Bowman Coates & Rudman, LLP announced that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of...

Activists interrupt opening of South African AIDS conference.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Activists disrupted the opening of a South African AIDS conference, interrupting a speech by Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang by calling her a murderer and demanding her arrest. About 100...

Kenyan president says he will set up Cabinet committee to tackle HIV/AIDS.(Mwai Kibaki)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... 2003 APR 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Kenya President Mwai Kibaki says he will set up a Cabinet committee to ensure his government is coordinated in the fight to reduce HIV/AIDS infection rates in this East African nation. Kibaki said...

Standard statistical methods may underrate efficacy.(of AIDS vaccine)
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Standard methods of statistical analysis may not provide an accurate measure of HIV vaccine efficacy, researchers in Seattle warn. "When describing...

T-cell responses in persistently seronegative women characterized.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Vaccine researchers in the United States and Thailand have elucidated the HIV-specific T-cell profile in "highly exposed but persistently seronegative" women...

Novel assay useful for evaluating neuroprotective agents.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel assay can help determine the efficacy of neuroprotective agents for patients with advanced HIV disease. HIV-associated central nervous system disorders, "including encephalopathy, often...

Vatica cinerea extracts show antiretroviral activity.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Extracts from a Vietnamese medicinal plant have demonstrated potent antiretroviral activity. "In a continuing search for anti-HIV compounds from the plants of Vietnam, 19 compounds, including a...

Oral epithelial cells can contribute to infection.(HIV infection transmission)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oral epithelial cells can contribute to HIV transmission. "Recent epidemiologic studies show increasing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transmission through oral-genital contact,"...

Asymptomatic patients may spread Pneumocystis jiroveci infection.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV patients with asymptotic Pneumocystis infections may be complicit in spreading the pathogen. In a recent study from England, "forty-seven bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from 16 human...

Alliance identifies new class of agents with potential to treat HIV/AIDS.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a successful partnership between industry and academia, researchers from The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Achillion Pharmaceuticals announced the discovery of a new target on...

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-based HIV vaccine shows promise.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Targeted Genetics Corp. (TGEN) announced promising data from its AIDS vaccine preclinical program at the annual Keystone AIDS Vaccine Conference, held in Banff, Alberta. In studies presented at...

Viral proprotein processing may be target.(for gene therapy)
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV proprotein processing is a promising target for gene therapy. "The central role of endoconvertases and HIV-1 protease (HIV-1 PR) in the processing of HIV proproteins makes the design of...

FDA approves Valtrex caplets for recurrent infections in HIV patients.
April 28, 2003... 2003 APR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved GlaxoSmithKline's supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for Valtrex (valacyclovir HCl) caplets for the suppression of recurrent genital...