Virus Weekly articles from January 2003

Virus Weekly archives from January 2003

Modified rabies virus vectors safe, effective.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Novel rabies virus (RV)-based vaccines can safely protect animals against HIV infection, researchers in the United States report. RV-based vectors "show...

Undetectable hepatitis B virus DNA unlikely to rise in some carriers.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Health care workers who form antibodies to hepatitis B virus (HBV) e antigen (anti-HBe) may not pose as great a risk for transmitting infection during exposure...

HLA-DR4 may be a genetic resistance factor against dengue hemorrhagic fever.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have discovered that in Mexicans, human leukocyte antigen DR4 genotype is associated with reduced risk of dengue hemorrhagic fever. "The human leukocyte antigen DRB1 locus (HLA-DRB1) was...

New class of picornavirus IRES element reported.(internal ribosome entry site )
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The teschoviruses constitute a recently defined picornavirus genus. Most of the genome sequence of the porcine teschovirus-1 (PTV) Talfan and several other strains is known. We now demonstrate that...

Macaque model used to assess safety of nonreplicating candidate RSV vaccines.(respiratory syncytial virus)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study in macaques showed that "formalin-inactivated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) [induced] interleukin-13-associated hypersensitivity to subsequent RSV infection." R.L. Deswart and...

Gene transfer efficiency of adeno-associated virus rests in cell type.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Adeno-associated viruses are able to infect some cells better than others, researchers argue. The fact that the viruses demonstrate better transduction...

Scientists provide first images of HIV in living cells.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In stunning color images using time-lapse microscopy, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have for the first time captured the very earliest stages of HIV infection in living cells. ...

Boosted saquinavir or Kaletra results in HIV suppression at 24 weeks.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data from the largest-ever study of boosted protease inhibitors demonstrated that a high proportion of HIV patients taking an investigational boosted saquinavir regimen (saquinavir 1000 mg with...

Study: INACTINE PEN110 successfully inactivates viruses in red blood cells.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- V.I. Technologies (Vitex), Inc., (VITX) announced the publication of preclinical studies indicating that Vitex's INACTINE PEN110 Pathogen Reduction System has a wider spectrum of virucidal activity than...

Oligonucleotide-based topical immunotherapy against HSV-2 has promise.(herpes simplex virus)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vaccinologists at the University of Texas say immunostimulatory sequence-containing oligonucleotides may have application as treatment for genital herpes. "Synthetic oligonucleotides containing CpG...

Hepatitis C virus NS5A protein binds TBP and p53.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "Among the hepatotropic viruses, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered to be the leading cause of liver disease in humans, affecting similar to 2% of the...

Hepatitis C virus replicates in sweat glands and keratinocytes.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from Spain, "Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicates in salivary glands of chronic hepatitis C patients and is released into the saliva, suggesting that HCV may replicate in...

Recombinant HCV-like particles expressed by baculovirus aid antibody detection.(hepatitis C virus)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to University of Iowa researchers, "Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is difficult to study due to the lack of an efficient cell culture system or small animal model. As a result, HCV-cell interactions...

Florida Medicaid initiates coverage for company's HIV drug resistance testing.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ViroLogic, Inc., (VLGC) announced that the Florida Medicaid Program has initiated a benefit coverage policy for phenotypic and genotypic HIV drug resistance testing as of November 15, 2002. This...

Study of rodent host specificity reveals Puumala virus interspecific spillover.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Sweden have presented findings from their study of rodent host specificity of European hantaviruses. J. Klingstrom, A. Lundkvist, and colleagues at the Swedish Institute of...

No more medical roulette: publisher says internet will change in 2003.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NewsRx is celebrating its twentieth year as a publisher by adding 20 new weeklies. The company's CEO is predicting major changes in the publishing industry and Internet in 2003. The Atlanta-based...

Civacir receives orphan drug designation.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NABI) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted its investigational product, Civacir [hepatitis C Immune globulin (human)], orphan drug designation...

FDA approves Pegasys in combination with Copegus.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved combination therapy with Pegasys (peginterferon alfa-2a), a pegylated interferon, and Copegus (ribavirin) for the treatment...

Alpha/beta interferon, gamma interferon synergy inhibits HSV-1 replication.(herpes simplex virus)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to Tulane University researchers, "In vivo evidence suggests that T-cell-derived gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) can directly inhibit the replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)....

Herpes simplex virus upregulates MMP-9, which contributes to angiogenesis.(metalloproteinase)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection of the cornea results in the upregulation of the matrix-degrading metalloproteinase enzyme MMP-9," report University of Tennessee microbiologists. According to...

Vaccine manufacturer announces plans to meet U.S. demand for flu vaccine.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis Pasteur has announced the company is committed to meeting U.S. demand for Fluzone influenza virus vaccine following Wyeth's recent announcement to discontinue production of its influenza...

Production ends on FluShield, Pnu-Imune vaccines.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Wyeth (WYE) announced that it is ceasing production of two of its vaccine products - FluShield, an injectable influenza virus vaccine and Pnu-Imune, an injectable polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine for...

Real-time PCR of HBV DNA in tumorous and surrounding tissue yields useful data.(hepatitis B virus)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Real-time quantitation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in tumorous and surrounding tissue from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma provides useful information about this disease association, say...

Inspections sharply reduce diarrhea outbreaks on cruise ships.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new report links diarrhea outbreaks aboard vacation cruise ships to the scores they get on mandatory sanitation inspections. It found that as cruise lines improved their sanitation practices in the...

Peg-Intron and Rebetol pass 150,000-patients-treated mark in U.S.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) announced that the U.S. launch of Peg-Intron (peginterferon alfa-2b) Powder for Injection and Rebetol (ribavirin, USP) Capsules combination therapy represents the most...

Pharma company to build vaccine research center on its Laval, Canada site.(Shire Pharmaceuticals Group)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, plc, (SHPGY) announced that it will invest approximately US$18.5 million in the construction of a new global vaccine research center in Canada. This center will support...

MedMira enters collaboration for smallpox vaccine antibody detection test.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MedMira, Inc., (MIR) announced that it has reached a collaboration venture with a Canadian biopharmaceutical company, Cangene Corp. (CNJ), which will facilitate MedMira in reaching the global market for...

Complete DNA sequences of Oka varicella vaccine and its parental virus compared.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Osaka University microbiologists have compared the DNA sequences of the Oka varicella vaccine virus (V-Oka) and its parental virus (P-Oka). They found "42 base substitutions, which led to 20 amino...

Mechanisms of CD8+ T-cell memory persistence studied in lung airways.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Trudeau Institute Inc., New York, have studied "the mechanisms underlying the persistence of memory CD8+ T cells in the lung airway lumina following recovery from a respiratory virus...

Adenovirus-facilitated nuclear translocation of AAV type 2 studied.(adeno-associated virus)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Florida researchers report they have "examined cytoplasmic trafficking and nuclear translocation of adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) by using Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated wild-type AAV,...

HHV-6, measles virus employ distinct CD46 domains for receptor function.
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) researchers conducted a study in which they "employed a quantitative cell fusion assay to identify structural domains of CD46 required...

Massachusetts company ships its first WNV product.(Boston Biomedica, Inc., West Nile virus)
January 7, 2003... 2003 JAN 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Boston Biomedica, Inc., (BBII) announced that it has released for sale and has begun to ship its first West Nile virus (WNV) product. The company also confirmed that it has already received firm...

CADA inhibits HIV, human herpesvirus 7 activity.(CADA: cyclotriazadisulfonamide)
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers have identified a novel agent that inhibits the activity of HIV and other viral pathogens. Kurt Vermeire and colleagues at Katholieke...

Synthetic peptide a new candidate for supplemental hepatitis C screening.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Scientists based at the National Cancer Research Center of Egypt have developed a synthetic peptide that could be of use for testing Egyptian populations for...

Virus counteracts viral defenses with stealth mechanisms.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Virologists now have a better understanding of hepatitis A virus (HAV) persistence thanks to the efforts of their colleagues in Germany. Kerstin Brack and...

Early virological response may predict response to interferon treatment.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Alpha interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C is typically accompanied by a biphasic decrease in hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels: an initial rapid decline during the first 24 to 48 hours, and a...

Passive immunization studied in animal model of genital herpes.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vaccine researchers at the University of Texas have studied the effects of passive immunization in a guinea pig model of primary and recurrent herpes simplex virus type 2. According to a report by...

Review looks at negative-sense RNA virus from cloned cDNA.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Wisconsin researchers have assessed the value of reversed genetics in viral systems. "Since the first generation of a negative-sense RNA virus entirely from cloned cDNA in 1994,...

Biopharmaceutical company, IAVI, sign vaccine manufacturing agreement.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Transgene (TRGNY) announced that it has entered into a collaborative agreement with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) to manufacture preclinical lots of IAVI's constructs for a novel...

Purdue works to transform virus from killer to healer.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- By redesigning the shell of Ebola, Purdue University researchers have transformed the feared virus into a benevolent workhorse for gene therapy - and as one of the first gene bearers that can be...

Research hints birds could spread virus.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ebola shares a closer relationship with several bird viruses than was previously thought, bolstering the case for a common ancestor and hinting that birds might carry the deadly virus, a Purdue...

HAV isolates characterized from shellfish-borne outbreak.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Characterization of hepatitis A virus isolates from patients' serum samples confirm a 1999 outbreak in Spain was due to ingestion of imported coquina clams. The outbreak involved 184 serologically...

Biotech firm to slash AIDS drug price in Africa.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gilead Sciences has announced will dramatically lower the price it charges for its AIDS drug in all of Africa and another 15 "least-developed" countries. The biotechnology firm, based in Foster...

Mycophenolate mofetil an ineffective antiviral for chronic hepatitis C.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Mycophenolate mofetil is unable to reduce hepatitis C virus (HCV) levels in patients who have not undergone liver transplantation, according to the results of...

Glycoprotein-D-adjuvant vaccine prevents genital herpes in some women.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A glycoprotein D vaccine was efficacious against genital herpes in women in a recent study who were seronegative for both herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2. Efficacy was not demonstrated in men...

Nosocomial adenoviral outbreaks have high direct costs.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in France have itemized the direct costs associated with nosocomial adenovirus outbreaks. "In October 2000, 41 people were infected during an...

GM-CSF doesn't improve response to flu vaccine in cancer patients.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor doesn't enhance cancer patients' response to the flu vaccine, a recent study found. "In a randomized, patient-blinded, placebo-controlled trial...

Evolution of hepatitis C viral quasispecies post-transplant studied.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in the United States have conducted a study "to determine whether HCV quasispecies diversity correlated positively with liver disease progression after orthotopic liver transplantation...

Netherlands epidemic analyzed.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epidemiologists in the Netherlands have assessed the 1999-2000 measles outbreak in that country. According to S. Vandenhof and colleagues there were 3292 reported cases of measles. Almost all...

Rapid replacement of endemic measles virus genotypes reported.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Although vaccination campaigns have significantly reduced the number of measles cases worldwide, endemic transmission of measles virus (MV) continues to occur in several continents, including Europe,"...

Local DC health officials respond to Bush's smallpox vaccine plan.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health officials across the metropolitan Washington, DC, region have developed strategies to implement President Bush's smallpox vaccination plan. Lynn Frank, chair of the Metropolitan Washington...

Increasing herd immunity would enhance post-bioterrorist attack intervention.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A model of smallpox transmission constructed by public health researchers suggests that in the event of a bioterrorist release of smallpox, "increasing herd immunity, perhaps with a combination of...

Study finds no link between MMR immunization and several neurologic conditions.( )
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study by pediatric researchers in Finland found no association between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and development of neurologic disorders in children. "The possibility of adverse...

Human rhinovirus 87 and enterovirus 68 represent a unique serotype.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Microbiologists in Finland report that "HRV87 and EV68 are strains of the same picornavirus serotype presenting features of both rhinoviruses and enteroviruses." "It has recently been reported...

Mutations that permit efficient HCV replication in vitro may not in vivo.
January 14, 2003... 2003 JAN 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Virologists with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have noted that mutations in hepatitis C virus strains may be fickle They found "mutations that are adaptive for...

Renal function a useful benchmark for dosing ribavirin.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Data from a population pharmacokinetic analysis point to renal function as being better for determining ribavirin dosage in chronic hepatitis C patients. ...

Concentration method makes detection of enteric viruses easier.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Officials responsible for keeping food safe in France have announced the development of a modified technique that facilitates enhanced recovery of viruses on...

High-dose interferon effective in patients coinfected with hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Interferon (IFN) treatment may be effective for both HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, according to a researcher in Japan. Working at Ogikubo...

Vaccine may prevent cervical cancer.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - A vaccine containing human papillomavirus-16-like particles prevented human papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16) infection and the cervical intraepithelial...

Acyclovir safer than ganciclovir in post-transplant cytomegalovirus disease patients.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Acyclovir may be safer than ganciclovir when used to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in stem cell recipients, researchers in the United States say. ...

Vaccine causes HPV-associated tumor growth to regress in mice.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Taiwan have developed an antitumor vaccine using recombinant Listeria monocytogenes encoding the human papillomavirus type 16 E7 gene. They report it suppressed tumor growth in mice....

Coxsackieviruses actually protect against type 1 diabetes in mice.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Infecting nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice with coxsackievirus did not increase the incidence of diabetes, but rather decreased it, contradicting the...

Monoclonal antibodies show in vitro and in vivo protective activity in mice.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in China are conducted Phase II clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies for immunotherapy and prevention of Hantaan virus infection. "Hantaan virus (HTNV), a member of the genus...

Adjuvant-free peptide vaccine against CMV pp65 in preclinical development.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Virologists at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, are working on a vaccine against cytomegalovirus for patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. "Epitope...

Mutations differentiate chronic infection and liver cancer in children.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Pediatric patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver cancers tend to have more core gene mutations than HBV-positive children who don't develop...

Lactoferrin inhibits hepatitis B virus infection in cultured human hepatocytes.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The milk protein lactoferrin inhibits hepatitis B virus infection in a cultured human hepatocyte line, researchers in Japan report. The same team found in earlier work that "lactoferrin (LF), a...

Vaccine prevents genital HSV infection in seronegative women but not in men.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - A vaccine containing the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) glycoprotein-D-subunit and adjuvants was effective in preventing HSV infection in women...

Recombinant adenovirus encodes swine H3N2 influenza virus HA gene.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Virologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service have developed a recombinant adenoviral vaccine encoding the HA gene from swine H3N2 influenza virus and report it...

Limitations of gene transfer for controlling graft injury unresolved.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer in kidneys destined for implantation can be problematic, researchers say. Although adenovirus (Ad)-mediated delivery of...

CDC describes outbreak among internationally adopted children arriving in the U.S.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Imported cases of measles continue to affect susceptible U.S. residents, reports the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. A 10-month-old child...

Mitox tests for mitochondrial toxicity discussed at HIV-1 DART conference.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Primagen presented new preclinical data on its proprietary Mitox tests at the HIV-1 DART conference in Florida. Primagen's Mitox tests measure both mitochondrial DNA and RNA in relation to...

HCV induces endoplasmic reticulum stress.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2003... 2003 JAN 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Human hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic hepatitis, which often results in liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The HCV RNA genome codes for at least 10 proteins. The...

Need for social support deters HIV patients from taking their drug 'cocktails'.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Social support may play a small but potentially important role in helping HIV-positive people adhere to the complicated schedules for taking their drug "cocktails" to control the virus that causes...

Study of transmission from mother to infant at birth confirms old assumption.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study by University of Washington physicians Dr. Zane Brown, professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Dr. Lawrence Corey, professor of medicine and pediatrics; and Dr. Anna Wald, UW associate...

High dose interferon may be better regimen in treatment-naive patients.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- High doses of interferon may be somewhat better than standard doses of interferon when offered in combination with other therapies to patients with chronic hepatitis C. "Hepatitis C viral kinetic...

Nasal vaccination with HPV-like particles affects trachea and lungs.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from Switzerland, investigators found "Vaccination by the nasal route has been successfully used for the induction of immune responses. Either the nasal-associated lymphoid...

Study reveals prostate as a habitat for multiple viral infections.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to researchers in the United States: "To determine whether human polyomavirus (hPy) genomes are present in prostate tissues, [they] have carried out a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)...

Laboratory strain of measles virus binds to CD46.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The wild-type measles virus can interact with a receptor on CD46 cells, according to researchers working in France. "Natural or wild-type (wt) measles virus (MV) infection in vivo which is...

TT virus unlikely to play causal role.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Infectious agents have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A novel human DNA virus, TT virus (TTV), has been identified in children possessing...

Hepatitis A virus among enteric viruses detected in European shellfish.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The authors of a European study have detected significant levels of hepatitis A virus in almost all tested areas of Europe except for Sweden. "Viral pollution in shellfish has been analyzed...

Highly active antiretroviral therapy lowers Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus levels.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in England conducted a study "to investigate the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on circulating Kaposi sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) load in HIV-infected...

New data suggest a prolongation of time off HAART without significant viral rebound.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., (HEB) presented new data from a phase IIB clinical trial of its experimental compound, RNA-based Ampligen, on Structured Treatment Interruption (STI) in HIV. Gary...

Plasma HIV RNA levels linked to herpes simplex virus activity.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "In early trials of antiretroviral therapy, acyclovir was associated with increased survival by an unknown mechanism. The hypothesis that subclinical...

Rapid reconstitution of humoral immunity against CMV but not HIV seen after HAART.
January 28, 2003... 2003 JAN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in England conducted a study "to determine the kinetics of reduction in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) load and specific anti-glycoprotein B (gB) immune responses in patients with concurrent...