Virus Weekly articles from December 2000

Virus Weekly archives from December 2000

Research Unravels Key Facts About How a Virus Exits Host Cell.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine have identified a component of the little-understood machinery that allows retroviruses to exit or bud from the cell surface before re-infecting...

Genetic Risk Factor for Common Childhood Respiratory Infection Identified.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The severity of the common childhood infection, bronchiolitis, may be genetically determined, shows research in the journal Thorax. Bronchiolitis is a respiratory infection which affects nearly all...

Coxsackie Virus Present in Patients' Hearts.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers suspect that viruses play a role in the development of a type of heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), in which the heart muscle becomes enlarged. However, recent studies have...

Transcription-Mediated Amplification Detects Hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study presented at the 51st American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) Meeting during November 2000 reported on results using a hepatitis C virus (HCV) test, which uses a cutting-edge...

Easy, Semi-Quantitative Diagnostic Assay Developed.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in France have developed an easy and convenient technique for diagnosing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). It is a semi-quantitative assay involving the following steps: * Ficoll gradient...

Genetic Point Mutation May Contribute to Acyclovir-Resistant Bilateral Keratitis.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A case study of keratitis in an HIV positive woman resulted in identification of a point mutation in a thymidine kinase gene that may be associated with resistance to the antiviral drug acyclovir. ...

Children Exposed to Combined NRTIs in utero May be at Higher Risk for Cancer Development.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study reports yet another challenge facing children born to HIV positive mothers: combinations of the drugs that the mother can take to prevent transmission of the virus to her baby may, later in...

Progress with Targeted, Anticancer, Virus-Based Therapeutics Reported.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ONXX) announced that clinical and preclinical data demonstrating the breadth of the company's promising approaches to treating cancer were presented at the 11th Annual...

Clinical Trials for Vaccine Adjuvant Begin.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aquila Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (AQLA), Framingham, Massachusetts, announced the initiation of an NIAID/DMID-sponsored clinical trial at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, to evaluate the effectiveness...

Emtricitabine Shows Marked Anti-Hepatitis B Activity in Dose-Selection Trial.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VIRS), reported on the anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity of Coviracil(R) (emtricitabine) in a Phase I/II dose-selection trial involving patients chronically infected...

Recombinant Lactoferrin in Works for Hepatitis C Treatment.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL), Leiden, The Netherlands, and Pharming Group N.V. (PHAR), Rehovot, Israel, announced the signing of an agreement to jointly evaluate and potentially co-develop...

Transgene Expression Vectors are Safe in Highly Cirrhotic Livers.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists suggest, based on studies performed on animals, that gene therapies involving adenovirus vectors can be safely used in patients with severely cirrhotic liver disease. This is important...

Poly- and Monoclonal Antibodies Interfere with Viral Entry into Cells.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Microbiologists in Singapore have demonstrated that exposure to polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies interferes with binding and entry of dengue-2 virus into cells, thus inhibiting viral replication....

Reovirus Therapy Successful in Animal Models.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dr. Peter Forsyth and his research group at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, presented the results of their work with Reolysin (Oncolytics) for the treatment of malignant...

Flu Vaccine Not Effective in Lung Transplant Patients.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Humoral immune response data indicate that the influenza vaccine is not effective in lung transplant patients. As flu season envelops the northern hemisphere, these patients will need to find other...

RANTES Gene May Increase Susceptibility to HIV, but Slow Progression to AIDS.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two groups of people especially intrigue AIDS researchers: those who resist HIV infection despite repeated exposure to the virus and those who progress very slowly to AIDS after infection. ...

Increased Cytokine Level Explains Treatment Failure in Viral Hepatitis.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although interferon (IFN)-alpha beta is a beneficial drug for treating patients with viral hepatitis, some patients do not respond to IFN-alpha beta treatment. Medical investigators at Virginia...

T-Cell's Internal Housekeeping Service Plays Role in HIV Infection.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Proteins that help clean and organize the inside of certain T cells may assist HIV in spreading through the body, scientists from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)...

Vaginal Microbicide an Accepted Formulation Among Women.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biosyn, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, announced that Savvy vaginal microbicide was found to be a highly acceptable formulation among women in a Phase I clinical study. Savvy is a product in...

Data Presented on Hepatitis E Vaccine Tested in Rhesus Monkeys.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Preliminary data from studies of a 53 kDa protein vaccine against hepatitis E virus indicate it produces an immunogenic response in rhesus monkeys. Researchers with the U.S. National Institutes of...

Study Characterizes Nature of HIV Recurring in Patients Post-HAART.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Noted AIDS researcher David Ho and colleagues have genetically characterized HIV-1 in patients experiencing viral rebound after discontinuation of sustained highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)....

Proteins May Explain the Persistence of Hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2000... 2000 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A receptor for complement protein C1q that binds with hepatitis C nucleocapsid core protein has been identified. Y.S. Hahn and colleagues at the University of Virginia previously showed that of the...

Study Reveals Structure of DNA Packaging Motor in Virus.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A detailed look at one of nature's smallest motors is providing scientists with new insights on how some viruses package their genetic material and reveals a new type of biological motor system. ...

Ribavirin Works by Causing "Genetic Meltdown".(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The antiviral drug ribavirin works by creating such extreme mutation rates in viruses that it drives them into "genetic meltdown," according to researchers. Uncovering the mechanism by which...

Cytomegalovirus Antibodies May Increase Women's Risk.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV), a virus that lies dormant in many adults, may be associated with the development of coronary artery disease, according to a study in the November 14, 2000, issue of...

Protein Critical to Virus' Function Identified.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a sequence of just four amino acids in a key viral protein that may be critical to the spread of the Ebola...

Studies Indicate Pegylated Interferon is Effective Against Hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new, longer-lasting version of the standard drug for hepatitis C is much more effective in treating the liver disease, two studies show. About four million Americans are infected with hepatitis...

Cumulative Toxicity from Antiretrovirals May Cause Symptomatic Hyperlactatemia.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in France suggest symptomatic hyperlactatemia (lactic acidosis) has the potential to become a serious complication for HIV patients on long-term antiretroviral therapy. Fortunately, if...

Over 130 Medicines in the Works for Infectious Disease, Diseases of Aging.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of a new survey show that 84 pharmaceutical companies are currently developing 137 new medicines to prevent and treat infectious diseases, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and...

Novel Vaccine Protects Monkeys from Deadly Infection.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Few viruses are more feared than Ebola virus, the deadly microbe that periodically attacks African villages and kills up to 90% of those it infects. Although other viral diseases claim more lives each...

Aphios Awarded Grant to Develop Natural, Virus-Free Fibrin Sealant.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aphios Corporation has been awarded a SBIR grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), for developing a natural, virus-free fibrin...

U.S. National Flu Surveillance Network Enters Season with Record Participation.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The National Flu Surveillance Network) (NFSN), the largest influenza disease surveillance network in the United States, enters the 2000/2001 influenza season with 6,151 participating physicians at...

Oxidative Stress Might be Rate-limiting Factor for Successful Hepatitis C Treatment.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interferon therapy effectiveness against hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be limited in the presence of oxidative stress, new research has found. Y. Sumida and others at Kyoto Prefectural University of...

Epstein-Barr Virus Gene May be Involved in Development of Malignancy.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Expression of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BARF1 gene may be partly responsible for the transformation of healthy nasopharyngeal epithelial cells into carcinomas, oncologists report. "We reported...

Epstein-Barr Virus Serology Has Practical Diagnostic Use.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Using the presence of Epstein-Barr virus antigens in the blood to test for nasopharyngeal cancer provides an acceptable degree of accuracy, and a significant improvement in cost-effectiveness, compared...

Global Partnerships for Health, Biotech Content Announced.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx.com(TM), Atlanta, Georgia, recently announced partnerships with several international firms, including EBSCO Online, Factiva, and the new iSyndicate Europe-Bertelsmann venture. "iSyndicate...

Hepatitis E Virus Transmission Reported in North Carolina Swine Workers.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A collaborative research project led by medical researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute has presented more evidence that hepatitis E virus (HEV) may be a zoonotic disease. Zoonotic diseases...

Phase II Pro 542 Trial Begins in HIV Infected Children.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PGNX), Tarrytown, New York, announced that treatment of HIV positive pediatric patients had begun in a Phase II study of PRO 542, the company's most clinically advanced...

New Outbreak Raises Questions About Whether Vaccinations Can Stop.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first outbreak of polio in the Western Hemisphere in nearly a decade is raising questions about whether vaccinations can ever be stopped, and the type of vaccine being used in most countries. "This...

CDC Issues New Report on STD Epidemics.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After stabilizing from 1996 to 1997, gonorrhea rates in the United States increased by 9% between 1997 and 1999, raising concerns that steady declines in the disease over the past two decades could...

Rifkin Calls for Moratorium on Somatic Gene Therapy Trials Using Viral Vectors.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Considered an alarmist by some, a visionary by others, Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, issued a statement on December 4, 2000, calling for an amendment to current U.S....

Human Monoclonal Antibody Patent Issuance Announced.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2000... 2000 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL) (XTL), Rehovot, Israel, announced that it has been issued U.S. Patent No. 6,146,629, (the "629 patent") entitled "Human Monoclonal Antibody Against Hepatitis B Virus...

Estrogen Inhibits CMV, Protects Heart Cells from Inflammation.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Estrogen may help fight a common virus, thereby protecting heart cells from the damaging effects of inflammation, according to a report in the December 11, 2000, issue of Circulation, a journal of the...

Anti-Fever Drugs May Prolong Flu.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Maryland schools of medicine and pharmacy found that anti-fever drugs such as aspirin and acetaminophen may prolong influenza A infections. The study results were...

Viral Infections May Trigger Conditions Via Rare, But Normal Process.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viral infections may be responsible for triggering autoimmune disorders in certain people. The body's immune system has sophisticated safeguards in place to prevent it from turning its destructive...

Active HHV-6 Infections Found in Patients with Early Disease.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Institute for Viral Pathogenesis (IVP), a not-for-profit research organization in Kansas City, Kansas, announced the results from a breakthrough new study on multiple sclerosis (MS) published in...

Tamiflu Gets Approval in Japan.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) announced December 12, 2000, that Roche has received regulatory approval for Tamiflu(TM) (oseltamivir phosphate), the first neuraminidase inhibitor available in...

Phase II Clinical Trial Announced for Immunotherapy of HPV-Associated Cancer Precursor.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Zycos Inc. announced the initiation of a multi-center Phase II clinical trial for ZYC101a, its novel therapeutic candidate designed to treat cervical dysplasia associated with the human papillomavirus...

Cream Formulation for Oral Lesions Shows Interesting Results in Phase II Studies.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medivir, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, has recently completed a Phase II clinical study of ME-609 cream, a potential new treatment for oral herpes. Each year between 250 and 400 million...

Blood Protein Found to Halt Replication of HIV.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center have shown in laboratory studies that a molecule found in the human body can halt the growth of HIV. In a paper accepted for...

Data on HIV Entry Inhibitors Presented.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PGNX), St. Lucia, West Indies, reported findings on the company's anti-HIV agents PRO 542 and PRO 140. The results were described at the Collaborative Research...

New Family of Antiviral Compounds Look Promising.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new family of antiviral compounds has proved 100 times more potent than the original in laboratory studies and opened a promising new direction in AIDS research. These related developments were...

Upscale Manufacturing Phase Entered for Fullerene-Based Drug.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- William Multi-Tech, Inc. (Multi-Tech) (WIM), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, announced that C Sixty Inc. has begun upscale manufacturing of its lead fullerene-based drug candidate for treatment of patients...

New Process Screens Plasma for Human Parvovirus B19.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, researcher has made a surprising discovery that will make blood plasma transfusions even safer. Research by Robertson Davenport, MD, U-M associate professor of...

Outbreak Hits Latin America.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Maria thought her son Cristian was over the worst. The five-year-old's fever was all but gone, his wiry black hair no longer dripped with sweat, and there was no trace of the crippling muscle pains...

Newer Version of Hepatitis C RNA Assay Useful for Predicting Interferon Response.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A newer version of an assay commonly used to test for hepatitis C virus (HCV) can predict patient response to interferon therapy better than the older version can, scientists reported in Hepatology...

Researchers Identify Mutation of Antiviral-Resistant HIV.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX), Teterboro, New Jersey, announced that its researchers, in collaboration with the Center for AIDS Research at Stanford University School of Medicine, have identified a...

Multi-Center Trial Underway in Alabama.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) are testing a new HIV vaccine to determine if it is safe and whether it induces an immune response in the body. The multi-center study...

Scientists Bypass Major Hurdle to Gene Therapy; Animal Studies Yield High Levels of Clotting Protein.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For the first time, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have used a gene therapy technique in animals to continually produce very high amounts of a clotting protein similar to...

Study Suggests Flu Vaccine Linked to Reduced Heart Disease.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For the first time, a vaccination has been linked to a reduction in heart disease events. Researchers with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston report a 67% drop in angina and...

Genome Region Provides No Clue to Treatment in Normalized ALT Patients.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The interferon-sensitivity-determining region (ISDR) of the non-structural region 5A (NS5A) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) supposedly can influence the way patients respond to interferon therapy. ...

Mutated Hepatitis C Virus Speeds Research.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists studying the virus that causes hepatitis C have found a way to grow it rapidly in the lab so they can perform genetic studies on it. The inability to replicate the virus quickly and...

Clinical Trials Initiated in China for Adefovir Dipivoxil.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc., announced December 11, 2000, that it has received approval from the People's Republic of China State Drug Administration of its clinical trial application for adefovir dipivoxil,...

Human Monoclonal Antibody Patent Covers Antibodies Against Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL) announced that it has been issued U.S. Patent No. 6,146,629, (the "'629 patent") entitled, "Human Monoclonal Antibody Against Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen...

Companies to Co-Develop Lactoferrin to Treat Hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
December 26, 2000... 2000 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL) and Pharming Group N.V. (PHAR) announced the signing of an agreement to jointly evaluate and potentially co-develop recombinant human Lactoferrin (rhLF) as a treatment...