Virus Weekly articles from October 2001

Virus Weekly archives from October 2001

Rhesus Monkeys Protected Against AIDS By Live Vaccine.
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- More than 22 million people worldwide have died of AIDS. With millions of new infections each year, a safe and effective AIDS vaccine is imperative. In the past year or so, groups at Harvard...

CDC Warns That Rare Tick Virus Is Spreading In New England.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, warned of an extremely rare virus spread by ticks after three people in Maine and one in Vermont contracted encephalitis. Since last...

Valacyclovir Is Effective For Cytomegalovirus Prevention.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antiviral drug valacyclovir is suitable for infection prophylaxis following stem cell transplantation, researchers in Tennessee report. Dr. Madhuri...

Plant Virus-Based Vaccines Can Be Effective.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Plant viruses can be used as the basis for potent vaccines for HIV and possibly other infections, according to researchers in Italy. Eugenio Benvenuto and...

WHO Reports Elimination Goals Met In Africa.
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The African Region of the World Health Organization has achieved the Organization's goal for leprosy elimination, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Ebrahim M. Samba, reported. "By the end...

Report Describes Nature Of Hepatitis B, C, and D Coinfections.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Genomic factors don't seem to affect viral replication in patients coinfected with hepatitis B, C, and D viruses, researchers in Spain report. However,...

Rhesus Monkeys Protected Against AIDS By Live Vaccine.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- More than 22 million people worldwide have died of AIDS. With millions of new infections each year, a safe and effective AIDS vaccine is imperative. In the past year or so, groups at Harvard Medical...

Some Vaccines May Boost Immune System.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vaccines intended to protect people from getting AIDS may also work as a treatment for those already infected, boosting their immune system so they can temporarily stop taking AIDS drugs. So-called...

ViroLogic Awarded Grant For HIV Drug Resistance Testing.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ViroLogic, Inc. has been exclusively awarded a $1.2 million Ryan White CARE Grant for HIV drug resistance testing in Washington, DC. The grant will provide testing access to low-income individuals...

Data Safety Monitoring Board Finds Remune Study Meets Primary Endpoint.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As announced by the Immune Response Corporation (IRC) on July 11, 2001, it was anticipated that the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) would be meeting again to evaluate the results of the...

Remune Study 202 Discontinued By Immune Response Corporation.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Immune Response Corporation (IRC) announced in August 2001, that after a thorough review of the available data, it has informed Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., of its decision that it does not...

HIV Viral Load Test Introduced In Europe.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Abbott Laboratories has introduced a new HIV viral load diagnostic test in Europe. The test - the LCx HIV RNA Quantitative Assay - is the newest addition to the Abbott's LCx automated system, which...

Latent Epstein-Barr Expression May Underlie Development.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and EBV-related gene expression may be important agents in the etiology of HIV related lymphomas, researchers in Germany...

Generic HCV Drug In The Pipeline.(Brief Article)
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a Pittsburgh-based, privately owned company, has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for permission to market the...

European Union Grants Ribavirin Patent To ICN Pharmaceuticals.
October 2, 2001... 2001 OCT 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The European Union has granted ICN Pharmaceuticals (ICN) a new patent covering the manufacture of the drug ribavirin for medical treatment of three families of viruses, including the virus responsible...

Small Genetic Change Key To Flu Virulence.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A tiny change in one of the influenza virus's 10 genes is key to making certain strains of the virus especially virulent to humans, according to a report in Science (Hatta M. et al. "Molecular basis...

AIDS Virus's Ability To Mimic Other Infections Weakens the Body's Defenses.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New, three-dimensional images from researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provide the fullest picture yet of how the AIDS virus blunts the immune system's ability to mount an attack against...

FDA Approves First Nucleic Acid Test For HIV and Hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Food and Drug Administration has licensed the first nucleic acid test (NAT) systems intended for screening of plasma donors. These test systems are expected to further ensure the safety of...

Hepatitis C, HIV Make Interesting Combination.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV infection could play a role in making the hepatitis C virus a sexually transmissible disease. This is just one of the possible interactions that could be taking place between these two...

Recombinant Influenza Vectors Produce Antiviral Response.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hyperattenuated flu viruses transfected with HIV genetic material may be able to help prevent HIV infection, researchers in Austria report. Boris Ferko...

Making Viruses Vibrate Can Signal Their Whereabouts.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cambridge scientists have invented a new method that could revolutionize the way scientists detect viruses. It works by "vibrating" viruses and listening to the sound they make as they break away...

Companies Expand Access To Nevirapine Donation Program.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Axios International announced that they will assist Boehringer Ingelheim to facilitate the implementation of their Viramune Donation Program for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT)...

Immune Regulating Hormone Impacts Inflammation and Immune Suppression.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented additional clinical results from its South African studies of investigational drug candidate HE2000, an immune regulating hormone (IRH). Highlights...

Iguazu Biosciences To Develop HIV Vaccines Under License From UCSF.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Iguazu Biosciences Corp. announced during the AIDS Vaccine 2001 Conference that it was formed to pursue research, manufacturing and clinical development of a novel generation of HIV vaccines. ...

Mesquitoes Are Not Likely Vector For Virus.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Contrary to previous reports, mosquitoes may not be able to transmit the hepatitis C virus (HCV), say researchers from two universities in Taiwan. They report their findings in the September 2001...

New Treatment Regimen For Hepatitis C Tops Older One.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The current standard initial therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C is interferon alfa-2b in combination with ribavirin; this has been shown to be effective in around 40% of patients with...

135 Million Americans Carry Simplex Version Of Pesky Bug.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- If you don't have a herpes virus somewhere in your body, consider yourself lucky. You're one of few Americans to escape this pesky bug. The September 2001 issue of Mayo Clinic Women's...

FDA Requests More Information From Aviron On FluMist.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aviron has received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting additional information and clarification regarding clinical and manufacturing data from the...

Metabasis Therapeutics Awarded SBIR Grant To Discover Liver Targeted Hepatitis B Prodrugs.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Metabasis Therapeutics Inc. has been awarded a $156,115 Phase I grant by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support the synthesis and characterization of novel...

Research Foundation Establishes Ganglia Bank.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The VZV Research Foundation (VZVRF) announced the formation of a human tissue repository to aid scientists who are researching new preventive and therapeutic measures for infections caused by the...

Three New Human Cases, No Deaths Reported.(Brief Article)
October 9, 2001... 2001 OCT 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The following report summarizes surveillance data for West Nile virus (WNV) infection reported to U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, through ArboNET and verified by states and...

Antiviral Peptides Potentially Useful Against STDs.
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a surprising find, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have uncovered the antiviral properties of an obscure class of peptides that may someday provide a powerful way to curb the...

New Chicken Virus Resembles Hepatitis E Virus In Humans.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - U.S. researchers have identified in North America a new chicken virus that resembles human hepatitis E virus (HEV). The researchers say a new virus has...

Drug Abusers Often Do Not Initiate Antiretroviral Therapy.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Over 40% of injection drug users with HIV who are eligible for the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) fail to undergo the treatment, according to a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins...

Researchers Investigate Effectiveness Of Microbicides Against HIV.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, are addressing important unanswered questions about the effectiveness of proposed topical microbicides that when applied intravaginally would...

TTV Reinfection In Hemophiliacs Supports Transfusion Role In Transmission.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Research shows the TT virus, once believed to cause viral hepatitis, often reinfects patients with hemophilia who receive frequent blood transfusions. At...

Scientists Identify New Drug Targets For HIV Infection.
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (MYGN) and the University of Utah have announced the publication of the results of research into molecular mechanisms essential for the lifecycle of the human immunodeficiency...

Three New Patents Covering HIV Immunotherapeutic Agents Issued.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CEL-SCI Corporation announced September 19, 2001, the issuance of three new U.S. patents, further expanding the patent protection related to its HIV-1 based therapeutic and preventive vaccines. ...

Emergency Officers Meet To Discuss Options.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With added urgency, emergency officers from across the country are meeting with terrorism experts to discuss ways to respond to a possible new wave of attacks, including assaults with chemical or...

Study Finds Hemochromatosis Patients' Blood Is Safe.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Blood donors with hemochromatosis, a disorder in which iron accumulates in organs and body tissues, do not pose a greater risk to blood safety than other donors, according to the results of a study...

Novel Means For Stopping Gene Transcription Found.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have discovered what is believed to be a novel method in yeast for governing gene expression at the end, rather than the beginning, of transcription, the process of reading DNA to make RNA....

Aventis Pasteur To Complete Flu Vaccine Shipments By November.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis Pasteur, the nation's leading supplier of influenza vaccine, says it anticipates shipping all influenza vaccine orders to customers by the end of November (2001). Smaller customers were...

New CDC Recommendations Now In Effect.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New recommendations for influenza vaccination issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are again in effect, urging health care providers to prioritize vaccination of the...

Novartis Ophthalmics and QLT Seek Expanded Use Of Visudyne.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novartis Ophthalmics, the eye health unit of Novartis AG (NVS) and QLT Inc. (QLTI) have filed Visudyne (verteporfin) therapy with the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) for marketing clearance...

Total of 34 Cases, 2 Fatalities Reported In Hispaniola, Dominican Republic.(Brief Article)
October 16, 2001... 2001 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- From July 12, 2000, through September 18, 2001, a total of 21 cases of poliomyelitis (including two fatal cases) were reported from the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, divided between Haiti and the...

Viral Causation May Associate With Chronic Diseases.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers at the Richard Freeman Research Institute in New Orleans have performed several studies demonstrating the possibility of a link between viruses...

VEGF Supports Pathogenesis In Stromal Keratitis.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Researchers at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville report vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenesis play a major role in the pathogenesis...

Hepatitis G Virus Has Protective Effect.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Patients who are infected with both HIV and the hepatitis G virus fare significantly better than other HIV patients, researchers say. "The flavivirus GB...

Hepatitis C-Infected Livers Expand Donor Pool For Those Already Infected.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Using hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive livers might be the best way to expand the donor liver pool for individuals awaiting transplantation and who are already...

Researchers Discover Possible Trigger For T-Cell Attack.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- How do killer T cells know when to attack virus-infected and cancerous cells and when to retreat? The answer possibly has been provided by Rockefeller University research to be published in the...

AIDS-Related CMV Retinitis Drug Receives Approval in Europe.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche announced that Valcyte received regulatory approval for the treatment of AIDS-related cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in the Netherlands. This decision by the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board...

Researchers Say There Will Be An AIDS Vaccine Within 10 Years.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers are optimistic an AIDS vaccine will be available within 10 years, but it's unlikely to be fully effective against all strains of the virus, a U.S. health expert said. Margaret...

Anti-Hepatitis C Virus Assay Is First Random Access Instrument In U.S.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Meeting the growing demand for more rapid and efficient hepatitis C testing, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics has received Premarket Approval (PMA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a...

Genotyping Kit Is First DNA Sequence-Based Test For HIV Drug Resistance Testing.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Visible Genetics, Inc. (VGI) received clearance September 26, 2001, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Trugene HIV-1 Genotyping Kit and OpenGene DNA Sequencing System for...

Gender Makes A Difference In Risk Of HIV Transmission.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In heterosexual couples where one partner is HIV positive, viral load, or the amount of detectable virus in the blood, is a much stronger predictor of the risk of transmission in women than in men,...

Early Treatment With Interferon May Be Highly Effective.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study published online in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that prompt treatment with interferon in those acutely infected with hepatitis C virus prevented chronic infection in almost all...

University Of Pittsburgh Starts New Multicenter Study.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health will coordinate a multisite study that will examine the difference in how black and white patients respond to a treatment for hepatitis C....

Researchers Identify How AIDS Virus Escapes Cells.(Brief Article)
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Utah and Myriad Genetics, Inc., have found how the AIDS virus usurps a cell's normal machinery to leave one cell and infect others - a discovery that eventually could...

New York Baby AIDS Law Is Great Success; All HIV Exposed Babies Identified.
October 23, 2001... 2001 OCT 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rates of perinatal HIV transmission continue to drop in New York and nearly all HIV exposed babies born in the state are receiving medical care, according to new data from the New York State Department...