Virus Weekly articles from January 2001

Virus Weekly archives from January 2001

M Protein Action Revealed.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- M protein, the Sendai virus matrix protein, interacts with HN and F, the Sendai viral glycoproteins, researchers report. "These studies indicate...

EBV Associated with Rapid Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Progression.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and who have positive staining for EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), are more likely to die from respiratory...

Memory Cells in Tonsils May Cause Long-Term Infection.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chronic infection with the Epstein-Barr virus may be mediated, ironically, by white blood cells in the tonsils responsible for the long-term "memory" of the immune system, researchers suggest. ...

Pediatric Transplant Patients Benefit from PCR Analysis.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human herpesviruses, which cause negative events in pediatric transplant patients, can be monitored via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Children receiving solid organ transplants frequently become...

Endothelin-1 and Endothelin-A Receptor: Targets for Cancer Therapy?(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Endothelin-1 (ET-1) induces the growth of human papillomavirus (HPV) cells, which express endothelin-A receptors (ETAR). Thus, these receptors may be appropriate targets for anticancer therapy,...

Cidafovir Can Effectively Treat Related Lung Disease.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cidofovir, already known to be effective for treating a condition causing benign laryngeal tumors in children, can also be used to treat lung diseases related to that condition, researchers in Canada...

Objective Measures Fail to Predict Chronic Illness.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Being female and, surprisingly, having good family support seem to predict recovery failure in acute infectious mononucleosis patients, while more scientific measures do not. D.S. Buchwald, of the...

Herpes Simplex 1 Associated with Death from Heart Disease.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Prior infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is associated with a greater risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD) death in the elderly. The association of...

Functional Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene a Major Facet of Orf Virus.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genetic coding for molecules that function like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is reportedly a critical factor in the pathogenesis of orf virus infection, scientists now say. Orf virus...

SBIR Grant Awarded for Development of Viral Inactivation Tool.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aphios Corporation has been awarded an SBIR grant from the Office of Orphan Products Development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The grant is for the development of a medical device...

Tamiflu Granted Approval for Treatment in Children.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. and Gilead Sciences, Inc., announced December 14, 2000, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Roche marketing approval for a pediatric treatment indication...

Antiviral Prodrug Enters Clinical Trials.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medivir has been granted permission to commence Phase I clinical trials with MIV-210, a new inhibitor of hepatitis B virus (HBV). The trials will be performed in the United Kingdom. The Phase I...

Phase I SBIR Grant Awarded to Develop HIV Treatments.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PTC Therapeutics, Plainfield, New Jersey, announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Funding...

Investigational PCR Assay Tests for Up to Five Viruses in Donated Plasma.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis Behring L.L.C. announced results from two studies suggesting that its highly advanced, investigational polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology may be able to identify the presence of viruses...

Simultaneous Hepatitis B and C Infections Difficult to Diagnose.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a research investigation performed in Austria, the best way to detect hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus co-infections in the same patient is to test tissue and serum samples for viral...

New Combined PCR/Fluorescent Probe Technique Enables Rapid Genotyping of Varicella-Zoster Virus.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a method they call fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) for quick genotyping of varicella-zoster...

Enzyme Inhibitor May Have Broad Application.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX), Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced the initiation of the first human clinical trial with VX-148, a small molecule inhibitor of IMPDH (inosine monophosphate...

Phenotypic Testing Can Predict HIV Treatment Failure at Low Viral Loads.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study published in the December 22, 2000, issue of AIDS demonstrated for the first time that phenotypic HIV drug resistance testing can detect the emergence of drug resistance prior to a significant...

Capsaicin, Neurokinin Receptor Antagonist Protect Against Hepatitis in Mice.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Capsaicin and a neurokinin-1-receptor antagonist have shown hepatoprotective properties in a mouse model. Both substances appear to protect mice from hepatitis by depleting peptidergic primary...

Cervical Carcinogenesis Curbed by HPV Oncogene Repression.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Repression of human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 and E7 proteins can reverse cervical carcinogenesis. How? These proteins neutralize cells' natural tumor suppressor function, report researchers from...

Genetics Play Role in Development of Cervical Cancer.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) who develop cervical cancer may be genetically predisposed to its development. Certain strains of HPV are known to be associated with cervical cancer,...

Volunteers Go House-to-House with Polio Vaccine in Dominican Republic.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Volunteers went from house to house in poor neighborhoods of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on December 18, 2000, vaccinating children against polio in the wake of an outbreak that has left at least...

CDC Inaugurates High-Tech Lab for Studying HIV, Flu, and Polio.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) celebrated the opening of its new state-of-the-art research facility, the Edward R. Roybal Laboratory Building, on December 18, 2000. The...

Black Hepatitis C Patients Less Likely to Respond to Monotherapy.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Black patients with hepatitis C virus are less likely to respond to interferon monotherapy than are patients of other races. Fortunately, they do respond almost as well to interferon and ribavirin...

Information Key Ingredient for Healthy World; NewsRx.net Offers eHealth Revenue Sharing Booster Shot.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health information from the Internet is the key ingredient for advancing world health, according to health publishing executive, C.W. Henderson, CEO of NewsRx. Henderson said that delivering the...

Blocking Hairpin Formation Can Inhibit RSV.(Respiratory Syncytial Virus)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Blocking hairpin formation of the human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV)-F protein inhibits entry of the virus and thus suggests an approach for development of a vaccine or chemoprophylaxis against...

Hepatitis B Resistance to Lamivudine Detected Early with DNA Monitoring.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Clinicians can detect chronic hepatitis B patients who will become resistant to lamivudine therapy by monitoring them for polymerase mutants during the early days of their treatment. According to...

Phase II alpha Interferon Clinical Trial Continues.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viragen, Inc. (VRA), Plantation, Florida, reported very encouraging interim results in the treatment of hepatitis C patients with its lead drug Omniferon. Consequently, additional patients are now...

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Antigen Produced in Tobacco.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have produced human respiratory virus vaccine antigen in tobacco plants. "Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the...

Study Tests Vitamin B[12] Regulation of Hepatitis C Virus.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2001... 2001 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Can increasing intake of vitamin B[12] augment the effect of treatment for hepatitis C virus infection? A researcher aims to find out, according to a presentation at the 7th annual International...

Antiviral Therapy Relieves Certain Connective Tissue Diseases.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antiviral therapy against infection with parvovirus B19 may be the answer to connective tissue disease (CTD) that is resistant to immunosuppressive therapy. CTDs, including vasculitis, systemic...

Company Provides Update on Development of Monoclonal Antibody Therapy.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (XTL) (XTL) presented preclinical data on the company's human monoclonal antibody products (including XTL-002) being developed to treat the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The...

Researchers Study New Methods for Sensing Biological Agents.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biomedical engineers at Michigan Technological University are studying new ways to detect toxins, viruses, and pathogens in the body. A team headed by Dr. Sheila Grant and Dr. Orhan Soykan is...

Combination of Drugs Deadly for HIV(+) Pregnant Women.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Three pregnant women infected with HIV recently died from a severe side effect caused by taking two AIDS drugs together, the U.S. government said on January 5, 2001, in a warning to pregnant women to...

Tailor-Made Interferon Treatments Fail.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Trying to adjust interferon (IFN) treatment doses to fit hepatitis C viral load in HIV patients just doesn't work, researchers in Italy say. The standard dosing of IFN is ineffective in HIV...

South Carolina Inmates with HIV Show Increased Rate of Tuberculosis Transmission.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An epidemiological investigation conducted at a South Carolina prison traced tuberculosis transmission to a single dormitory where inmates resided. The results of that investigation demonstrate the...

Anti-Fibrotic Drug Colchicine Hampers Effectiveness of Interferon Therapy.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists in Italy have discovered that the anti-fibrotic drug colchicine does not enhance the effectiveness of interferon (IFN)-alpha therapy in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. In fact,...

Crystal Structure of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Thymidine Kinase Determined.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biochemists in Germany report they have elucidated the structure of the enzyme, herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase, using X-ray crystallography. A bound adenine analogue, found in the...

Strains of Hepatitis G Virus Show Distinctive Patterns Based on Locale in China.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- National Cancer Institute researchers say Chinese isolates of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-c/HGV) are very distinct, genetically speaking, and can often be linked to geographical locales. P....

Approval Granted in France for Trugene HIV-1 Kit.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Visible Genetics Inc. (VGI) (VGIN), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, reported that it has been granted French regulatory approval for its Trugene HIV-1 Genotyping Kit by the Agence Francaise De Securite...

Exclusive License Announced for HPV Vaccines.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (KG), Bristol, Tennessee, announced that it has obtained an exclusive license from Novavax, Inc. (NOX) to use its proprietary cell line to develop and potentially...

Study of HIV Patients Identifies Key Factor in Controlling T Cells.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology have learned how T-cell levels may be maintained in people. The study has important implications for developing treatment...

CDC Says Vaccination Now is Best Protection Against Slow-Starting Flu Season.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention influenza surveillance supports the warning to persons at high risk for complications from influenza that it's not too late to get a flu shot this flu...

FDA Reviews Application for Intranasal Vaccine.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aviron (AVIR) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review a Biologics License Application (BLA) for FluMist, an investigational intranasal influenza vaccine. On...

Hepatitis C Recurrence Levels Correspond with Liver Injury After Transplant.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mt. Sinai Medical Center researchers propose that increasing levels of hepatitis C virus RNA after liver transplantation can reveal helpful information about new liver damage. Orthotopic liver...

Macrophages May Play More Important Role in HIV Infection than Previously Thought.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have known for years that HIV can infect specialized immune system cells called macrophages, but new research suggests these cells may play a larger role in HIV infection than previously...

Retroviral Vectors Can Impact Cell Growth and Development.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New study results suggest that modification of retroviral genomes for use as gene therapy vectors could have some safety considerations. Temple University researchers observed that a truncated...

License Agreement Announced for Anti-Hepatitis B Compound.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Eli Lilly and Company (LLY and Tokyo: 4857), Indianapolis, Indiana, and Mitsubishi-Tokyo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced that they have signed a license agreement for MCC-478, for treatment of...

Long-Term Lamivudine Treatment Helps Patients with Advanced Liver Disease.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lamivudine therapy is well known for its effectiveness in treating patients with chronic hepatitis B. However, its efficacy as a treatment for patients with more advanced hepatitis B related liver...

Age and Country of Origin Best Indicators for Hepatitis A Screening Needs.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The best way to save costs while targeting people who may have a need for hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccinations prior to travel is to screen them based on age and their country of origin, according to a...

Use of cDNA Suggested for Investigating Potential Flavivirus Vaccines.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2001... 2001 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Brazil think new flavivirus vaccines may result from recombinant DNA technology. "A live attenuated virus is used as a cost-effective, safe, and...

Engineered Mouse Virus Eliminates Cell-Mediated Response.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A virus that kills every one of its victims, by wiping out part of their immune system, has been accidentally created by an Australian research team. The virus, a modified mousepox, does not affect...

Genitoscopy Recommended for Detecting Intraepithelial Neoplasias in HIV(+) Women.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Intraepithelial neoplasias resulting from human papillomavirus infection occur commonly in women also infected with HIV. Researchers in Brazil suggest that since genital inferior tract neoplasias...

Immunoprivilege Has its Disadvantages.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers are focusing on the possibility that viral infection of the vessel wall can initiate and maintain human vascular disease. While virus is usually cleared from most affected sites, Del...

EBV Linked to Tumor Development.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Japan have found an association between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive epithelial cell lines and the development of tumors. M. Murakami and colleagues from Tottori University...

Rabies Virus Aids in Transneuronal Tracing.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Certain neurotropic viruses can be used as tracers in experimental neuroanatomy, due to their ability to move through the central nervous system transneuronally. Researchers have found that the rabies...

Vaccine Virus Not Found in Patients with Generalized Rash.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although breakthrough varicella can occur at anytime in those who've received the live attenuated vaccine, recent study findings show it is the wild-type virus, not the vaccine virus, that is detected...

Antiviral Drug Summit Focuses on Anti-HIV, HBV/HCV, and Influenza.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Strategic Research Institute has announced that new pre-clinical and clinical data on compounds to target viral diseases will be the focus of the "2nd International Antiviral Drug Discovery and...

Virus Identified Following Death of Four-Year-Old Singapore Boy.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health officials identified enterovirus 71 in the body of a four-year-old boy who died of possible hand-foot-and-mouth disease in Singapore on January 3, 2001, according to a government report. ...

Phase III Trial Begins for PolyphenonE to Treat Genital Warts.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MediGene AG, Munich, Germany, announced that a Phase III trial for PolyphenonE to treat genital warts caused by Human Papillomaviruses was initiated in December 2000. The multi-center clinical...

Outbreak in Haiti and the Dominican Republic Under Control.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A leading physician monitoring an outbreak of poliomyelitis in Haiti and the Dominican Republic said that the situation appears to be under control and urged countries not to retreat from achieving and...

Aethlon Medical Confirms HIV Treatment At Presentation.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aethlon Medical Inc. announced it will introduce its HIV Hemopurifier to the medical community at Cambridge Healthtech Institute's Seventh Annual Blood Product Safety Conference on February 6, 2001....

In vivo Findings Suggests New Model of HIV-1 Nef Protein Downregulation of CD4.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gladstone Institute, San Francisco, researchers have developed a new in vivo co-immunoprecipitation assay to investigate the mechanism by which the HIV-1 Nef protein binds to CD4 cells. Based on...

New Protein Thwarts HIV Attachment.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have synthesized a protein that jams the "grappling hook" that HIV uses to attach to target cells. The synthetic protein prevents a spring-loaded component of the grappling hook from...

Viral Transcytosis Study Data Reported.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Analysis of HIV transcytosis across epithelial cells may have application in strategies to protect the mucosal membranes that are a primary site of HIV infection. Transcytosis of HIV is induced by...

Engineered HIV Requires Antibiotic to Replicate.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, have genetically engineered a live-attenuated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that will only reproduce in the presence of the antibiotic...

Health Professionals Unsure About Second MMR Vaccination.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many health professionals have reservations about the second dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Furthermore, wide variation in knowledge and practice regarding the vaccine may...

Researchers Argue the Case For and Against Vaccination Programs.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ontario's decision to make the influenza vaccine available at no charge to all its citizens for the 2000-2001 flu season has sparked debate in the public health community. In the "Controversy"...

Research in Germany Sees Vertical Transmission of Bloodborne Virus to Infants.(Brief Article)
January 23, 2001... 2001 JAN 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists know that TT virus, a pathogen identified a few years ago, is transmitted via blood and procedures associated with blood such as hemodialysis. Researchers in Germany have now identified e...

Emerging Poxvirus May Have Developed from Brazilian Smallpox Vaccine.
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An emerging poxvirus in cattle and humans in Brazil may have developed from the Brazilian smallpox vaccine, researchers in that country say. "The biological properties of poxvirus isolates from...

Biological Warfare a Continuing Threat.
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- More than 20 years have passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the eradication of smallpox. "Simply put, smallpox represents a direct threat to the entire world," said Block, a...

Lentiviral Vectors Effective in Targeting Hematopoietic Stem Cells.
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hematologists in Sweden have presented evidence showing that lentiviral gene vectors can be effectively used to target human blood-producing stem cells. N.B. Woods and colleagues at the University...

Koilocyte Counts Can Predict HIV Status in Infected Women.
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epidemiologists in Italy have presented evidence that women with human papillomavirus (HPV) lesions containing a high quantity of koilocytes - raisin-like squamous cells that are the hallmark of HPV -...

Monoclonal Antibody Inhibits HIV Entry into Cells.(PRO 140)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PGNX), Tarrytown, New York, announced the publication of a scientific article describing PRO 140, an inhibitor of HIV entry, which demonstrates broad and potent...

Certification in Western Pacific a Milestone Towards Eradication.(of domestic poliomyelitis)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization has not experienced a single case of domestic poliomyelitis since March 1997. This was accomplished with high vaccination coverage...

Infections May Be Reactivated by Vaccination.(herpesvirus infections may be reactivated)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Reports of reactivation of herpesvirus infections soon after receiving prophylactic vaccines suggests to researchers in Switzerland that there may be a causal relationship. "Varicella zoster and...

Ribozyme Targets Hepatitis B RNA Transcripts.(Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc. uses HepByzme to target hepatitis B)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (RPI) (RZYM), Boulder, Colorado, announced the selection of its product candidate, HepBzyme, targeting the hepatitis B virus (HBV). This ribozyme targets several HBV...

Pivotal U.S. Phase III Program Begins with Zadaxin Plus Pegylated Alfa Interferon.(for Hepatitis C treatment)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN), San Mateo, California, announced that it has initiated its pivotal U.S. Phase III hepatitis C clinical program for Zadaxin in combination with Pegasys, pegylated...

Cellular Fusion Inhibitors Show Promise.(for HIV treatment)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent research into the process of HIV cell fusion may lead to novel therapies for inhibiting or shutting down that process, researchers suggest in the journal Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents....

HIV Combination Therapy Caution Issued for Pregnant Women.(stavudine and didanosine combination may cause lactic acidosis in pregnant women)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Bristol Myers Squibb are warning health care professionals that pregnant women may be at increased risk of fatal lactic acidosis when prescribed the...

Time Frame for Success of HAART Therapy Examined.(highly active antiretroviral therapy)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pathologists in the United States have attempted to clarify the time scale required for anti-retroviral treatments to significantly reduce the plasma levels of HIV-1 in children. S.A. Spector and...

Hepatitis C Patients with Kidney Disease See Limited Relief with Interferon.
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research indicates that interferon therapy can help some hepatitis C virus infected patients with cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis, but additional studies are needed. Hepatitis C virus...

LiPa Assay Useful for Identifying Genotypes.(that are likely to be resistant to specific HIV treatments)
January 30, 2001... 2001 JAN 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- LiPa HIV assays can be used to rapidly and accurately identify patients who are likely to be genetically resistant to specific HIV treatments, according to researchers writing in the Journal of...