Virus Weekly articles from August 2002

Virus Weekly archives from August 2002

Enterovirus infection linked to type 1 diabetes.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Evidence that enterovirus (EV) infection is related to development of type 1 diabetes was reported by researchers in the U.K. "Most of the...

Pediatric cord blood recipients may be at risk for HHV-6 encephalitis.(human herpesvirus-6)
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Children who receive umbilical cord blood transplants may be at risk for human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6)-related encephalitis, researchers in Hong Kong warn. ...

GB virus C/hepatitis G found in semen and saliva of men with HIV.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists in France say many men infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) also carry the group B virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) in their saliva...

Transmission of drug-resistant HIV on the rise.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A rising number of San Franciscans are being infected with HIV that is already resistant to some classes of antiretroviral drugs, report researchers from the Gladstone Institute of Virology and...

Molecular analysis can distinguish viral hemorrhagic fevers.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Molecular analysis methods can be used to find and distinguish viruses responsible for deadly hemorrhagic fevers, researchers in Germany report. "Viral...

Leukocyte depletion does not eradicate HTLV-1.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Leukocyte depletion of blood products may not prevent transfusion-related infection by a relatively common cancer-causing virus, researchers in the United...

Effective treatment alternative to protease inhibitor-based therapy highlighted.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data presented at the XIV International AIDS Conference show that a greater proportion of patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) containing Sustiva (efavirenz), Bristol-Myers Squibb's...

Gender response to HIV therapy is similar, but women experience more side effects.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a study of men and women treated for HIV at an inner city U.S. clinic, investigators from the Emory University Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) found that although gender did not affect the response...

Young HIV carriers unaware of virus.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study of young gay and bisexual men in major U.S. cities found that more than three-quarters of those infected with HIV were unaware they had the AIDS virus. The finding, presented during the...

Indian firm receives approval for generic AIDS drugs.(Brief Article)
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Generic AIDS drugs from India's Ranbaxy Laboratories have been found fit for use by the World Health Organization, the pharmaceutical company has announced. The U.N. agency has approved three drugs...

New treatment developed.(common cold)
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the University of Virginia (UVa) have developed a new combination drug therapy that delivers a one-two punch to knock out colds. In study results reported in the current on-line issue of...

Regional differences and similarities link liver cancer factors in Asia.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Epidemiological analysis shows that although factors associated with hepatocellular carcinoma formation in Asia are as diverse as the populations that inhabit...

Infection does not alter HIV progression or treatment.(hepatitis C virus infection)
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Resolving conflicting reports about the effect of hepatitis C virus infection on the progression of HIV disease, a Johns Hopkins study of nearly 2000 HIV patients shows that hepatitis C does not...

Par Pharmaceutical announces licensing of ribavirin from Three Rivers Pharmaceutical.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., a subsidiary of Pharmaceutical Resources, Inc., (PRX), announced that it has entered into an agreement with Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals to market and distribute ribavirin 200...

Chickenpox vaccination now required for preschool, kindergarten enrollment in some states.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many Tennessee parents will need to add having their children vaccinated against chickenpox to their fall "things-to-do" list. Effective July 1, under legislation passed earlier this year all children...

New study: Pharmacogenomic tests have key applications in cancer and infectious disease.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Predictive Pharmacogenomics: Revolutionizing Health Care," published by Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI), examines developing technologies designed to use an individual's genomic profile to predict...

Delayed varicella immunization may improve efficacy.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Delayed administration of varicella virus vaccine might enhance its protective effects, researchers in the United States say. Mark S. Dworkin and...

Roche receives approval in Europe for Tamiflu.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche and Gilead Sciences, Inc., (GILD) announced that Roche has received approval from the European authorities to market Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) for the treatment of influenza in adults and...

Detection of bioterrorism viruses brought closer to local sites.(use of autoclave)
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In the July 2002 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers outline new methods for safely and accurately identifying a suspected bioterrorism agent and detail what physicians should know about the...

Nondenatured parvovirus B19 antigen advances analytical technology.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Use of a nondenatured form of the parvovirus B19 antigen NS1 by researchers in Denmark significantly improved the sensitivity of analytical tests for...

Varicella vaccine may offer protection to adults.
August 6, 2002... 2002 AUG 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stanford researchers have found that a childhood vaccine given in adulthood can reduce the risk of shingles, an excruciatingly painful disease that strikes the elderly and people with weakened immune...

Cervical cancer detection prototypes indicate lower false positive rate than HPV test.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SpectRx, Inc., (SPRX) reported that results from a clinical study of its noninvasive cervical cancer detection devices indicate that the technology could potentially reduce by half the occurrence of...

Famciclovir not effective against chronic hepatitis delta virus.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists say the antiviral agent famciclovir is ineffective against hepatitis D virus (HDV). "Interferon is the only established therapy for chronic...

RDI: Global initiative launched to combat HIV drug resistance.(International HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative)
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A radical initiative in HIV management was launched at the XI International HIV Drug Resistance Workshop. The International HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative, or RDI, will combine data...

Patients twice as likely to achieve undetectable HIV levels with T-20 than without.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data from two large, internationally conducted phase III trials indicate that combination therapy with T-20 reduced HIV to undetectable levels in the blood in at least twice the percentage of patients...

Genetic mutations in HIV that may cause resistance to new drug T-20 identified.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Visible Genetics, Inc., (VGIN) scientists have identified a number of new mutations in the HIV genetic code that may be making the virus resistant to T-20, the first of a new class of experimental...

3 million HIV/AIDS sufferers could receive antiretroviral therapy by 2005.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In response to the urgent need to scale up access to HIV/AIDS treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) joined the International AIDS Society at the XIVth International AIDS Conference to formally...

ViroLogic study supports greater use of HIV drug resistance testing in newly infected patients.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ViroLogic, Inc., (VLGC) announced that research published in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and reported at the 14th Annual International AIDS Conference...

VaxGen, Genentech amend agreement regarding AIDS vaccine candidate.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) announced that its May 1, 1997, license and supply agreement with Genentech, Inc., (DNA) has been revised to give VaxGen greater flexibility in commercializing the company's AIDS...

FDA grants priority review for Pegasys combination treatment of hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a 6-month priority review status to the biologics license application (BLA) and the new drug application (NDA) for Roche's...

Global initiative launched to combat HIV drug resistance.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A radical new initiative in HIV management was launched at the XI International HIV Drug Resistance Workshop. The International HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative, or RDI, will combine...

Ribapharm expects to meet or exceed second quarter revenue and earnings estimate.(Brief Article)
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ribapharm, Inc., (RNA) announced that it expects to report second quarter royalty revenue in excess of $61 million for its drug ribavirin, marketed by Schering-Plough for the treatment of chronic...

JC virus levels have low correlation with leukoencephalopathy progression.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - JC virus levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) provide little information about neurologic damage in AIDS patients, researchers in Spain argue. "JC virus...

AIDS drug prices drop 54% in Latin America, Caribbean.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Prices of antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV/AIDS dropped up to 54% last year in Latin America and the Caribbean countries as a result of agreements between ministries of health and drug manufacturers,...

Nonexclusive HCV license granted to Abbott Laboratories.(hepatitis C virus)
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it has granted to Abbott Laboratories (ABT) a nonexclusive license for the research, development, and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics against...

Thai government to provide free antiretroviral drugs to more HIV patients.(Brief Article)
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Thai government plans to give free HIV drugs to 10,000 patients, expanding a program that covers 3000 people, thanks to a cheap new antiretroviral cocktail it started producing this year, officials...

Kaiser Permanente begins vaccine study.(smallpox vaccine study)
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At the Oakland Medical Center, volunteers in a new study are getting vaccinated against smallpox for the first time. Kaiser Permanente's Vaccine Study Center is one of four sites in the U.S....

Nonmyeloablative conditioning may raise cytomegalovirus infection risk.
August 13, 2002... 2002 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Stem cell transplant conditioning regimens that spare the recipients' bone marrow may also increase their risk of post-transplant cytomegalovirus (CMV)...

Cervical cancer detection prototypes indicate lower false positive rate than HPV test.(human papillomavirus)(Brief Article)
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SpectRx, Inc., (SPRX) reported that results from a clinical study of its noninvasive cervical cancer detection devices indicate that the technology could potentially reduce by half the occurrence of...

Famciclovir not effective against chronic hepatitis delta virus.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists say the antiviral agent famciclovir is ineffective against hepatitis D virus (HDV). "Interferon is the only established therapy for chronic...

RDI: Global initiative launched to combat HIV drug resistance.(HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative)
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A radical initiative in HIV management was launched at the XI International HIV Drug Resistance Workshop. The International HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative, or RDI, will combine data...

Patients twice as likely to achieve undetectable HIV levels with T-20 than without.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data from two large, internationally conducted phase III trials indicate that combination therapy with T-20 reduced HIV to undetectable levels in the blood in at least twice the percentage of patients...

Genetic mutations in HIV that may cause resistance to new drug T-20 identified.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Visible Genetics, Inc., (VGIN) scientists have identified a number of new mutations in the HIV genetic code that may be making the virus resistant to T-20, the first of a new class of experimental...

3 million HIV/AIDS sufferers could receive antiretroviral therapy by 2005.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In response to the urgent need to scale up access to HIV/AIDS treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) joined the International AIDS Society at the XIVth International AIDS Conference to formally...

ViroLogic study supports greater use of HIV drug resistance testing in newly infected patients.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ViroLogic, Inc., (VLGC) announced that research published in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and reported at the 14th Annual International AIDS Conference...

VaxGen, Genentech amend agreement regarding AIDS vaccine candidate.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) announced that its May 1, 1997, license and supply agreement with Genentech, Inc., (DNA) has been revised to give VaxGen greater flexibility in commercializing the company's AIDS...

FDA grants priority review for Pegasys combination treatment of hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a 6-month priority review status to the biologics license application (BLA) and the new drug application (NDA) for Roche's...

Global initiative launched to combat HIV drug resistance.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A radical new initiative in HIV management was launched at the XI International HIV Drug Resistance Workshop. The International HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative, or RDI, will combine...

Ribapharm expects to meet or exceed second quarter revenue and earnings estimate.(Brief Article)
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ribapharm, Inc., (RNA) announced that it expects to report second quarter royalty revenue in excess of $61 million for its drug ribavirin, marketed by Schering-Plough for the treatment of chronic...

JC virus levels have low correlation with leukoencephalopathy progression.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - JC virus levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) provide little information about neurologic damage in AIDS patients, researchers in Spain argue. "JC virus...

AIDS drug prices drop 54% in Latin America, Caribbean.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Prices of antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV/AIDS dropped up to 54% last year in Latin America and the Caribbean countries as a result of agreements between ministries of health and drug manufacturers,...

Nonexclusive HCV license granted to Abbott Laboratories.(hepatitis C virus)
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it has granted to Abbott Laboratories (ABT) a nonexclusive license for the research, development, and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics against...

Thai government to provide free antiretroviral drugs to more HIV patients.(Brief Article)
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Thai government plans to give free HIV drugs to 10,000 patients, expanding a program that covers 3000 people, thanks to a cheap new antiretroviral cocktail it started producing this year, officials...

Kaiser Permanente begins vaccine study.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At the Oakland Medical Center, volunteers in a new study are getting vaccinated against smallpox for the first time. Kaiser Permanente's Vaccine Study Center is one of four sites in the U.S....

Nonmyeloablative conditioning may raise cytomegalovirus infection risk.
August 20, 2002... 2002 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Stem cell transplant conditioning regimens that spare the recipients' bone marrow may also increase their risk of post-transplant cytomegalovirus (CMV)...

Viral infection after tolerance induction can trigger graft failure.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Viral infections can prevent engraftment after stem cell tolerance induction, researchers in the United States report. "Tolerance-based stem cell...

Entecavir may alter outlook for hepatitis B patients resistant to lamivudine.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Individuals who become resistant to lamivudine during treatment for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may benefit from receiving entecavir. Patients on...

MMR and varicella vaccines work well together.(measles, mumps, and rubella)
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Providing the varicella vaccine at the time of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) immunization does not reduce the safety, tolerability, or efficacy...

Antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children can stop neurological damage.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Treating HIV-infected children with antiretroviral therapy can stop and potentially even reverse neurological damage caused by HIV, doctors from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center...

Drugs can eradicate AIDS epidemic.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) AIDS Institute researchers have predicted that widespread use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can eventually stop the HIV epidemic in its tracks - even in...

AnorMED selects new lead HIV drug candidate.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AnorMED, Inc., announced that it has identified a new lead drug candidate for HIV called AMD-070. Gary J. Bridger, PhD, AnorMED's vice president, research and chief scientific officer, an invited...

MedImmune reports results for first 6 months of 2002.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MedImmune, Inc., (MEDI) announced that total revenues for the first 6 months of 2002 increased 41% to $393 million from $279 million in the first 6 months of 2001. Product sales grew 43% during...

New testing methods may improve detection and treatment.(of hepatitis C)
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common chronic infectious disease in the United States, affecting an estimated 2.7 million people, or nearly 2% of the population. While HCV causes mild,...

Mandela to discuss making AIDS drugs available nationwide with current president.(Nelson Mandela)
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Former President Nelson Mandela says he would discuss calls to make AIDS drugs available to all South Africans with his successor, Thabo Mbeki, whose government has balked at providing drugs...

Gene therapy administered in utero cannot overcome postnatal immune response.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Animal model experiments suggest that administering gene therapy to fetuses while they are in the uterus does not mitigate their developing an immune response...

Infectious disease threats loom in U.S.
August 27, 2002... 2002 AUG 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The threat of infectious diseases is looming over the United States bringing heightened awareness of bioterrorism, vaccine supply, and antimicrobial resistance, health officials said at a press...