AIDS Vaccine Week articles from January 2004

AIDS Vaccine Week archives from January 2004

Advantages of rectal vaccination against HIV described.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AIDS immunization is still to be improved. Russian scientists suggest that rectal vaccination could be the most effective prevention of HIV transmission. The work is supported by the Interdepartmental...

Recombinant DNA model enables HIV-2 gene analysis.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recombinant DNA model enables extensive genetic analysis of HIV-2. "Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2) differ in their pathogenic mechanisms as evidenced by lower rate...

HIV RNase H activity characterization leads to novel anti-HIV agents.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The activity of HIV RNase H has been elucidated, and this information has been used to develop novel anti-HIV agents "Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNase H activity is essential for the...

AIDS group releases white paper urging new HIV prevention strategies.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With World AIDS Day observations concluded for another year, AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) has announced the publication of "Changing How We Think: HIV Prevention Policy in the U.S.," a white paper...

Nearly 6000 AIDS deaths in Malaysia since 1985.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Malaysia has recorded 5934 AIDS deaths since the disease was first reported there 18 years ago, a health official says. The deaths were from a total of 56,667 HIV infections and 8027 AIDS cases...

Company issues statement on antiretroviral treatment study.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline issued the following statement: We welcome the publication in the December 11 [2003] issue of New England Journal of Medicine of the results of ACTG384, a study comparing anti-HIV...

National Blood Service in England begins nucleic acid testing.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that the National Blood Service in England has begun nucleic acid testing (NAT) at its Brentwood site with the company's Procleix HIV-1/HCV Assay. The assay is...

Antiviral pronucleotides improved through cycloSal system.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The cycloSal system can be used to improve the efficacy of antiviral pronucleotide agents. "Pronucleotides represent a promising alternative to improve the biological activity of nucleoside analogs...

"Mega-PCR" assay lowers detection limit of HIV DNA.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel "mega-PCR" assay can find previously undetectable levels of HIV DNA in blood samples. In a recent study from Switzerland, "An internally controlled high-input PCR method, termed HIV-1...

FIV induces phenotypical changes in CD8 cells.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The feline version of HIV induces phenotypical changes in CD8 - but not CD4 - cells. "It is well documented that several cell surface molecules of T lymphocytes are altered by immune activation,"...

HIV-exposed but uninfected IDUs have heightened NK-cell activity.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Injecting drug users who remain HIV-negative after extensive exposure have elevated levels of natural killer (NK)-cell activity. In a recent study, scientists in France "addressed the role of...

Viral replication does not lead to SIV disease progression in sooty mangabeys.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surprisingly, viral replication in SIV-infected sooty mangabeys does not lead to disease progression. "Simian immunodeficiency virus SIVsm causes an asymptomatic infection in its natural host, the...

HIV Tat interacts with Notch protein EGF-like repeats and the EGF precursor.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV Tat interacts with Notch protein EGF-like repeats and the EGF precursor. In a recent study from Israel, by "employing the yeast two-hybrid system, the Tat protein of the human immunodeficiency...

Molecular assay enables accurate measure of CCR5 mRNA.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel molecular assay provides a sensitive and accurate measure of CCR5 mRNA. According to published research from the United States, "CCR5, a beta-chemokine receptor, plays an important role in...

Canadian university receives US$11.7 million grant from Gates Foundation.
January 5, 2004... 2004 JAN 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of Montreal has announced a commitment of US$11.7 million (CAN$16 million) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to build capacity for population and health research and policy in...

HIV TAT basic peptide has low affinity for VEGF receptor 2.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Contrary to conventional wisdom, the HIV TAT basic peptide has low affinity for VEGF receptor 2. "The 'transactivator of transcription' (TAT) protein of human immunodeficiency virus transforms...

Multiple gene and clade HIV-1 DNA vaccines broaden immune response.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Multiple gene and clade HIV-1 DNA vaccines can broaden the immune response. "The ability to elicit an immune response to a spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gene products from...

HIV Nef induces accumulation of MHC II complexes and MVBs.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The HIV Nef protein induces the accumulation of MHC II complexes and MVBs. "Nef alters the cell surface expression of several immunoreceptors, which may contribute to viral escape," scientists in...

U.N. envoy says clerics can help prevent spread of AIDS in Pakistan.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A U.N. expert has urged Pakistani clerics to play a role in preventing HIV/AIDS in the Islamic nation. "So far, only a small number of people have been affected from HIV/AIDS in Pakistan, but the...

Company files additional data with FDA on new Reveal Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MedMira, Inc., (MIR) announced that it has successfully completed the clinical requirements set forth by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new version of the Reveal Rapid HIV-1 Antibody...

Abbott raises AIDS drug price more than 400%.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Abbott Laboratories is hiking the U.S. price of an important AIDS drug more than fourfold, citing its sharp increase in treatment value and the costs of improving its formulation. The company...

Anti-HIV alkaloids isolated from Monanchora sponge.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel antiretroviral compounds have been isolated from sponges. In a recent study from the United States, "Two new polycyclic guanidine alkaloids, crambescidin 826 (1) and dehydrocrambine A (2),...

Human foreskin may have a key role in passing on HIV infection.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human foreskin may have a key role in helping to pass on HIV infection, suggests new research. Previous research suggests that circumcision may protect against the transmission of some viral...

VERSANT HIV drug resistance assay effective.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The VERSANT HIV drug resistance assay is suitable for clinical use. In a recent study, scientists "evaluated the performance of the VERSANT HIV-1 Resistance Assays (LiPA) in detecting drug...

U.S. labor secretary launches HIV/AIDS initiative in Ghana.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao has helped launch the Ghana HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Project as part of a $9.5 million Department of Labor grant to the International Labor Organization (ILO)...

Antibody- and RNA-based HIV testing should be offered to suspected patients.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV testing with both RNA and antibody assays should be available to patients at urban health care centers. According to recent research from the United States, "Acute infection with human...

Early antiretroviral treatment is neuroprotective in vertically infected children.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Early antiretroviral treatment has a neuroprotective effect in children vertically infected with HIV. S. Sanchez-Ramon and colleagues at the University of Madrid "performed a retrospective study...

Methylnaltrexone inhibits opioid-mediated HIV macrophage infection.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Methylnaltrexone inhibits opioid-mediated HIV infection of macrophages. "Opioid abuse has been postulated as a cofactor in the immunopathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and...

Novel HIV viremia model may aid evaluation of drug efficacy.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel model of HIV viremia may aid evaluation of antiretroviral drug efficacy. Scientists in the United States developed "a model of HIV dynamics under antiretroviral therapy that combines drug...

WHO: Battle against AIDS will founder without boost to basic healthcare.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Global efforts to battle HIV/AIDS and slash infant mortality rates will founder unless the international community boosts basic medical care in poor countries, the U.N. health agency says. ...

HIV has significant influence on leishmaniasis epidemiology.
January 12, 2004... 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV infection and injection drug use is facilitating the spread of Leishmania. "In many countries, Leishmania/HIV co-infection is now changing the epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis," according...

Antigen engineering promotes induction of HIV-neutralizing antibodies.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antigen engineering can promote the induction of HIV-neutralizing antibodies. According to a study from the United States, "Understanding how neutralizing antibodies recognize HIV could aid the...

Candidate HIV-1 subtype C DNA vaccine for South Africa characterized.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have constructed and characterized a candidate HIV-1 subtype C DNA vaccine for South Africa. "A candidate DNA vaccine pTHgagC expressing the immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) gag gene...

Oxidative DNA damage underlies mitochondrial effects of cancer, HIV drugs.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxidative damage to nuclear DNA underlies the deleterious effects of cancer and HIV drugs on mitochondria. "Depletion of the mitochondrial genome is involved in several human diseases, as well as...

Leptin has differential effects on monocyte ROS activity during HIV infection.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Monocyte oxidative activity is differentially influenced by leptin in HIV patients and healthy individuals. "Leptin, the 16-kDa product of the ob gene, is a an adipocyte-secreted hormone that...

Investigational new drug application to be filed for HIV vaccine.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CytRx Corporation (CYTR) and Advanced BioScience Laboratories (ABL) announced plans for filing of an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a...

American Indians see rapidly climbing AIDS infection rates.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The remoteness of many American Indian reservations largely protected tribes from the full force of HIV and AIDS for years, but that has begun to change. In 2001, then-Surgeon General David Satcher...

Mauritania: Imams join low-key campaign against AIDS.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HIV/AIDS is still a taboo subject in staunchly Islamic Mauritania, but awareness of the disease is growing. The authorities have recently persuaded religious leaders to start preaching about the...

DSMB recommends continuation of phase I trial with VRX496 modified T cells.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VIRxSYS Corporation announced that a third patient will be treated in its phase I trial with VRX496 modified T cells. An independent Data Safety Monitoring board (DSMB) has reviewed initial safety...

Lentivirus lytic peptide derivatives selectively toxic to airway pathogens.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel agents derived from lentivirus lytic peptides (LLPs) are selectively toxic to respiratory microbial pathogens. According to published research from the United States, LLPs "are derived from...

Japanese transfusion recipient infected by HIV-tainted blood.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A patient has been infected with HIV after blood tainted with the virus that causes AIDS slipped through the detection system of the Japan Red Cross and was used in a transfusion, a Health Ministry...

Swaziland: AIDS toll leads to flood of bogus "miracle" cures.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The authorities in Swaziland are doing little to stem a flood of bogus "miracle AIDS cures" in a country with one of the world's highest HIV infection rates. "In a blink of an eye, it seems,...

FDA OKs U.S. sale of 10-minute HIV test.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a 10-minute HIV test, the Irish company that makes the test says. Trinity Biotech plans to market the test to government programs, physicians and...

Name-based reporting leads to better information in New York City.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is an analysis of the first full calendar year of name-based HIV reporting in New York City. The analysis, published in...

Having a stable partner delays AIDS in HIV patients.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For people with HIV, having a stable partner is associated with slower rate of progression to AIDS or death, finds a new study. Researchers in Switzerland followed 3736 adults with HIV who had...

Uni-Gold Recombigen HIV test receives FDA approval.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Trinity Biotech plc (TRIB) has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Uni-Gold Recombigen HIV test in the United States. The product is approved for the...

Infection with multiple HIV strains hastens disease progression.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Infection with multiple HIV strains hastens disease progression. "Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals develop a genetically diverse virus population over time, but...

Epidemiology of Kaposi sarcoma in Israel elucidated.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The epidemiology of Kaposi sarcoma in Israel has been characterized. In a recent study, "trends in the incidence of classic Kaposi sarcoma in the Jewish population in Israel for the period between...

HIV coinfection does not alter efficacy of hepatitis C treatment.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Coinfection with HIV does not significantly alter treatment responses in hepatitis C patients. In a recent study, scientists in the United States examined HCV and HIV dynamics "in 10 coinfected...

Levels of anti-p24 IgG1 may mark HAART efficacy.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Levels of IgG1 targeting the HIV p24 antigen appear to be inversely correlated with HAART efficacy. In a recent study from Norway, "The effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on...

Safety and efficacy of stavudine reveiwed.
January 19, 2004... 2004 JAN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The safety and efficacy of stavudine therapy for HIV has been reviewed. "Stavudine is a potent nucleoside analogue and a well-recognized component of highly active antiretroviral therapy,"...

Ii-Key/MHC class II epitope hybrid peptide vaccines show promise for HIV.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ii-Key/MHC class II epitope hybrid peptide vaccines show promise for treating HIV infection. According to recent research from the United States, "The Ii-Key/MHC class II epitope hybrid acts on MHC...

Scientific challenges impeding HIV vaccine development reviewed.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The scientific challenges impeding HIV vaccine development were reviewed in a recent issue of the journal HIV Clinical Trials. According to research from the United States, "Most initial work with...

GenVec, NIH expand contract to include late-stage manufacturing for HIV vaccine.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenVec, Inc., (GNVC) announced an additional expansion of its multiyear subcontract with the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the...

Novel assay measures small molecule RNA binding.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel assay provides an accurate measurement of small molecule RNA binding. "To quantitatively understand the binding affinity and target selectivity of small-molecule RNA interactions, it is...

VScan maker to begin last phase of testing in the United States.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medical Services International, Inc., (MSITF) has entered the final phase of testing required to submit its application for approval of the VScan HIV 1&2 rapid test kit. The company anticipates...

Novel thymine nucleosides fail to show antiviral activity.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of novel thymine nucleosides have shown a disappointing lack of antiviral activity. In a study from South Korea, "The pyrimidine nucleosides fused with 3',4'-tetrahydrofuran ring were...

Structure of gp120-CCR5 complex elucidated.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The structure of HIV gp120 in complex with CCR5 has been elucidated. "The entry of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) into cells depends on a sequential interaction of the gp120 envelope...

CD4 cell nadir predicts response to subcutaneous rIL-2 treatment.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nadir CD4 cell counts in HIV patients predicts the outcome of subcutaneous rIL-2 treatment. According to published research from the United States, "Community Program for Clinical Research on AIDS...

Novel strategies show promise for eradicating latent HIV infection.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel strategies may enable the eradication of latent HIV infection. "Antiretroviral therapy is unable to eliminate HIV infection in a small, long-lived population of latently infected T cells,...

Patterns of NRTI cross-resistance identified.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patterns of HIV nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) cross-resistance have been identified. According to a study from the United States, NRTIs "are important components of most...

ARV rollouts in 2003 bring rising hope in South Africa.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The year 2003 saw several African governments rolling out national anti-AIDS drug treatment programs, suggesting a significant shift toward improving access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. In a...

Zimbabwe: High costs hamper access to ARVs.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Almost 2 years after Zimbabwe's government declared a state of emergency over HIV/AIDS to allow the importation and manufacture of generic anti-AIDS drugs, accessing antiretrovirals (ARVs) remains a...

Bill targets willful spreading of HIV.
January 26, 2004... 2004 JAN 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adrienne got the news from her fiance's ex-wife. The man Adrienne had been dating and having sex with for 5 months was infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. And he had not told...