Virus Weekly articles from March 2001

Virus Weekly archives from March 2001

Enzyme Inhibitors Could Help Prevent Transmission.(of influenza)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Unless you were prudent and had a vaccination earlier in the season, there's not much you can do about the flu once you're infected, apart from taking aspirin, vitamins, and hot tea, and lying in...

GS4104 Is Efficacious Against Zoonotic Avian Viruses.(neuraminidase inhibitor)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- The neuraminidase inhibitor GS4104 showed promising results when tested against avian influenza viruses, researchers in the United States report. "In...

Study Follows Hepatitis C Patients for 25 Years.(long-term effects of disease chronicled)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- After following hepatitis C patients for 25 years, research collaborators have something new to report about the long-term effects of this disease. ...

Infection Common In Mice Near Off-Road Recreation Area In Utah.(hantavirus found in deer mice)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Utah biologists found nearly 30% of deer mice were infected with hantavirus around central Utah sand dunes popular with people who ride off-road vehicles (ORVs). The scientists...

Abacavir Can Be Effective Addition To Pediatric Treatments.(of HIV infection in children that has shown drug resistance)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- The drug abacavir can safely increase the potency of combination treatments for HIV positive children who have shown resistance to other therapies,...

Once-Daily Didanosine Shown As Effective As Multi-Dose Drugs.(for treatment of HIV infection)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Videx EC(r) (didanosine) capsules are safe and effective when included in a combination regimen, results of a large study indicate. As reported at the Eighth Conference on Retroviruses and...

Patients With Drug-Resistant HIV Still Show Significant Benefit From Continuing Treatment.(using antiretroviral agents)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many patients continue to derive immunologic and clinical benefit from antiretroviral therapy even after drug resistance emerges, according to researchers from the University of California, San...

Careful Monitoring Needed Following Surgery To Detect HBV Recurrence.(recurrence of hepatitis B virus could be a risk for liver failure)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- To eliminate the risk of acute hepatic failure after surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis B patients need to be carefully monitored for viral...

Prospects For Control Are At Hand.(influenza control)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Effective control of influenza is possible in the United States if available vaccines and antiviral drugs are used as widely as they should be,...

Trial Assesses Post-Transplant Efficacy Of Lamivudine.(for treatment of Hepatitis B after liver transplantation)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- The preliminary results of a North American multi-center study have shown lamivudine monotherapy to be somewhat effective for treating hepatitis B virus...

Herpes Zoster Blamed For Chickenpox Outbreak In HIV(+) Children.
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- An active case of herpes zoster in a child attending a summer camp for children with HIV was responsible for an outbreak of chickenpox. Protective...

Pre-Transplant Viral Load Is Factor For Cholestasis After Surgery.(higher levels of hepatitis C virus before liver transplant could be a risk factor for cholestasis)
March 6, 2001... 2001 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Patients with livers containing higher levels of hepatitis C virus prior to liver transplant are more likely to be plagued by faulty liver bile flow, or...

Immunization With Mutated HSV-2 May Prevent Transmission.(mutated herpes simplex virus may prevent transmission of genital herpes)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- Inoculating mice with a mutation of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) may prevent transmission of genital herpes. The vaccine seems to work...

Common Viral Protein Activates Destruction Of Infected Cells.(natural killer cell receptor protein NKp46 triggers cell destruction)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A viral protein enabling natural killer cells to recognize and subsequently kill virus-infected cells has been identified by collaborating researchers in Israel, the U.S., Britain. This...

Study Refutes Link To Psychosis.(Borna disease virus infection may not be the cause of some psychiatric disorders)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recent study in Japan suggests that despite research suggesting a link between Borna disease virus infection and some psychiatric disorders, the virus may not be responsible after all. The...

Recombinant Hepatitis B Protein Creates Hepatitis C Vaccine.
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Authors of an Australian study report using hepatitis B virus (HBV) particles to make a vaccine containing parts of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The...

CCR5 Cell Depletion Has Potential For Treatment.(HIV receptor may be used for infection therapy)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers have found ways to selectively attack blood cells with a particular HIV friendly receptor, which may lead to a novel treatment for the...

Encouraging 48-Week Protease Inhibitor Resistance Data Reported.
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Data from a 48-week study of patients new to HIV therapy showed that of those who experienced viral rebound (HIV RNA >400 copies/mL), none of 31 patients treated with a Kaletra-based regimen was...

Preliminary Results Presented From Phase III Study Of Tenofovir DF.
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) announced that 24-week data from Study 907 were unblinded and show that treatment of HIV infected patients with once-daily tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg...

International Reference Standards Encouraged.(international standards of blood and blood product screening called for)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- International standards for expressing the results of blood screening are necessary to validate cross-country study results, virologists say. ...

Sperm Donors Should Be Screened For Human Papillomavirus.
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- All prospective sperm donors should be screened for the human papillomavirus (HPV) and rejected if they test positive for the virus, according to researchers in Canada. A study in the March...

High HCV Blood Levels In HIV Patients May Increase Risk Of Developing AIDS.(hepatitis C virus)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center report that high amounts of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the blood and simultaneous co-infection with HIV may be linked to a greater risk of developing AIDS...

Uganda Declared Free Of Feared Disease.(Ebola infection)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The last case of an outbreak of deadly Ebola infection, which began in October 2000, was reported on January 9, 2001, and health officials say two cycles of the incubation period have passed...

HPV Testing Shows Which Pap Abnormalities Need Attention.(human papillomavirus testing decides what to do about Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV) may help doctors and patients decide what to do about the mildly abnormal and very common Pap test result known as ASCUS. Findings from a major,...

Some Health Care Workers Are Ambivalent About Second Dose of MMR Vaccine.(measles, mumps, rubella vaccine dosage lacks standardization)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- A survey of health care workers in Wales reveals a lack of standardization in education about and delivery of the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella...

Experts Decide Content Of 2001-2002 Northern Hemisphere Vaccine.
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The composition of the vaccine for year 2001-2002 (Northern Hemisphere influenza season) has been decided and communicated to vaccine manufacturers by the World Health Organization (WHO), following...

Therapy Most Effective When Administered Soon After Symptom Onset.(use of zanamiriv and oseltamivir for treatment of influenza)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- A MEDLINE review of published studies on zanamivir and oseltamivir for influenza has clarified protocols for effective treatment of the disease. This...

Drugfacts.Com, NewsRx Collaboration Expands Availability Of Custom Health News For Professionals.
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drugfacts.com, the premier free drug information resource on the Internet for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, and NewsRx, the leading provider of daily and weekly health news, have...

Researchers Recommend Testing Adolescents Prior To Immunization.(against chickenpox)
March 13, 2001... 2001 MAR 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- Testing adolescents who say they either have not had varicella-zoster virus (chickenpox) or do not remember can eliminate the need for universal...

Epstein-Barr Virus Linked To Invasive Breast Cancer And Lymphoma.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have found a molecular link between aggressive breast and lymphatic cancers and the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious...

Hepatitis C Virus Clamps Onto Protein Synthesis Machinery.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have discovered that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) employs an unusual strategy to induce a host cell's protein-making machinery to synthesize viral proteins. The research could...

Nasal Vaccine Against Human Papillomavirus May Prevent Transmission.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- A vaccine that inhibits the growth of human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) in mice may ultimately be used to help women stimulate their own immune systems to...

Researchers Discover Hepatitis C Translation Trick.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new electron microscopy map reveals how the hepatitis C virus manages to trick the ribosome into adding its RNA to the protein assembly line. Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers...

Antiretroviral Failure After Pretreatment Linked To HIV Mutations.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Extensive pretreatment can induce HIV mutations that render antiretroviral therapy permanently ineffective, researchers in France caution. M.N....

Novel Antiviral Agent Works Despite Putative Deficiencies.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Israel have discovered a peptide that potently inhibits HIV infection, despite lacking qualities thought to be necessary for such action....

Modified Canarypox Vector Shows Promise.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A novel HIV vaccine has shown encouraging results in early studies, researchers in Washington state report. L. Corey and colleagues at the Fred...

New Prime-Boost Strategy Shows Promise In Monkeys.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A team of academic and government researchers in the United States has reported on a promising new "prime-boost" HIV vaccine approach that is currently on a development fast-track for human...

Toddlers and Adolescents Are More Likely To Have Mouth Infections.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Children less than two years of age and adolescents older than 13 are more likely to have human papillomavirus (HPV) in the mouth, researchers in the...

DNA Vaccines Offer Protection From Strain B In Mouse Study.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer -- Two plasmid DNA vaccines appear to confer protection from influenza B virus in mice. "Protection against a lethal influenza B virus infection was...

Non-Responders To Interferon Profit From Adding Ribavirin To Regimen.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients who do not respond to a first round of interferon monotherapy may fare better when given combination interferon/ribavirin...

Steroid Priming Increases Viral Load, Morbidity.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Current research suggests steroid priming before interferon (IFN) therapy increases viremia and worsens disease status in patients with hepatitis C virus...

Time Factor And RNA Levels Predict Sustained Response.(Brief Article)
March 20, 2001... 2001 MAR 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA serum levels at specific points in time are the best predictor for sustained response to therapy in chronic hepatitis C...

Commercial Assays Not Specific Enough.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - A comparison of six commercial enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis reveals a lack of accuracy due to cross-reaction...

Pigs Are Reservoir For Hepatitis E Virus And Infection Risk For Humans.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer - New study results confirm previous evidence that hepatitis E virus (HEV) could be transmitted from pigs to humans. Medical researchers have performed a...

Lamivudine Beats Famciclovir For Long-Term Effectiveness in Liver Transplant Patients.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer - A new study reports lamivudine is a superior therapy for treating hepatitis B virus infections in patients who have undergone liver transplantation. ...

Adenovirus Constructs Induce Glomeruloid Bodies In Animals.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer - Researchers at Harvard Medical School have created an adenovirus vector that stimulates the growth of glomeruloid bodies resembling those found in tumors....

Differential Profiles Mark Genetics Of Hepatitis B And C.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer - Scientists have found clues that genetic mechanisms differ in hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections. The scientists, members of a research team...

Vector Efficiently Targets Bronchial, Alveolar Cancer Cells.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - An adenoviral vector carrying surfactant protein B (SPB) could potentially be used to suppress human bronchial and alveolar tumors, according to a report...

Phagocyte Production Of Reactive Oxygen Species Is Altered In HIV Patients.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Phagocyte production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is markedly different during HIV infection, a fact that may help explain the course of the disease,...

Study Finds Vaccinating Healthy Adults Against Flu Could Save The US $1.3 Billions Annually.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Routine annual influenza vaccination of all working adults could save the U.S. as much as $1.3 billion each year, according to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) study published in the...

Effective Nasal Immunization May Attract Younger Flu Vaccine Candidates.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - An intra-nasal flu vaccine tested on healthy older children and adults appears to be effective at reducing the incidence and duration of respiratory...

Simian Virus Mimics HIV Disease Course.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Assessing the usefulness of new HIV vaccines depends in large part on the animals in which they are tested. The more closely their disease mimics human...

Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte-Based Vaccine Prevents Infection In Mice.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Researchers have demonstrated that mice vaccinated with Ebola virus nucleoprotein are completely protected from a lethal challenge of the viral hemorrhagic...

Modified Adenovirus-Based Gene Therapy To Be Tested For Recurrent Cancer.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine is one of nine medical centers in the U.S. trying to determine if injections of a genetically modified common cold virus may be an...

HBV-Positive Population Provides Clues To Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer - Serum from hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive blood donors has enabled researchers in Israel to trace the epidemiology of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated...

Liquid Hybridization Assay Allows for Rapid Typing.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Jennifer Webb, staff medical writer - An innovative technique has been developed that enables rapid molecular typing of Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs) and prefatory characterization of human...

DNA Assays Can Miss Some Viral Subtypes.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Without supplementary primers, some DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) HIV tests can fail to detect some subtypes of the virus, researchers in Denmark say....

New Serotype Identified.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Jennifer Webb, staff medical writer - Researchers in the United States reported in the Journal of General Virology the identification of a new enterovirus (EV) serotype. Standard...

Iron Chelation May Enhance Treatments.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer - Drugs that help remove iron from circulation may be able to improve the effectiveness of existing HIV treatment regimens, virologists in The Netherlands...

Worldwide Vaccine Program Could Eliminate CMV.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by N.R. Saltmarsh, staff medical writer - Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an ideal candidate for worldwide eradication through immunization, say researchers working in England. "Using seroprevalence...

Most Elderly People Cannot Use Flu Inhaler Effectively.(Brief Article)
March 27, 2001... 2001 MAR 27 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Most elderly people cannot use the inhaler device that delivers the anti-influenza drug zanamivir (Relenza), a new study reports. Researchers suggest that improvements should be made to the...