New Strain of Bird Flu Packs a Punch Even After Becoming Drug-Resistant
December 12, 2013 – 10:19 am
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reported that a virulent new strain of influenza -- the virus that causes the flu -- appears to retain its ability to cause serious disease in humans even after it develops resistance to antiviral medications. The finding was included in a study that was published today in the journal Nature Communications. It is not uncommon for influenza viruses to develop genetic mutations that make them less susceptible to anti-flu drugs. However, these mutations usually come at a cost to the virus, weakening its ability to replicate and to spread from one person to another.
Four California Students Sickened with Meningitis Bacteria
December 11, 2013 – 9:49 am
Dec 3 (Reuters) - An outbreak of meningococcal disease has sickened four students at a major California university, prompting discussions with federal regulators about using a vaccine approved for use in Europe but not in the United States.
The students, at the University of California at Santa Barbara, were all sickened within a three-week period last month with the disease, a sometimes fatal illness that can affect the brain or the blood, according to a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health.
Gene Therapy Scores Big Wins Against Blood Cancers
December 9, 2013 – 9:57 am
In one of the biggest advances against leukemia and other blood cancers in many years, doctors are reporting unprecedented success by using gene therapy to transform patients' blood cells into soldiers that seek and destroy cancer.
A few patients with one type of leukemia were given this one-time, experimental therapy several years ago and some remain cancer-free today. Now, at least six research groups have treated more than 120 patients with many types of blood and bone marrow cancers, with stunning results.
United States Should End Gene Therapy Review Panel, Study Says
December 6, 2013 – 9:03 am
After 4 decades of vetting clinical trials of gene therapy for novel risks, it’s time to relax a bit, says a report issued today by an expert panel. But key government officials are greeting the recommendation with caution.
Gene therapy has proved its value, and its leaders have managed ethics issues well, according to a panel convened by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the U.S. National Academies. The long-term hazards of gene therapy may not be clear yet, but the general risks seem no greater than in other areas of experimental medicine, the report says, so it’s time to phase out the U.S. outfit created in 1974 that’s dedicated to reviewing gene therapy, the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, or RAC.
TB Vaccine Might Help Prevent Multiple Sclerosis
December 5, 2013 – 10:02 am
A tuberculosis vaccine used in other parts of the world seemed, in a small new study, to be effective at preventing multiple sclerosis among people showing early signs of the condition.
People showing early signs of multiple sclerosis -- a situation called clinically isolated syndrome -- who were randomized to received the Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine before undergoing multiple sclerosis treatment were less likely to develop multiple sclerosis, compared with those who received a placebo. The vaccine is used in other countries for tuberculosis prevention, though it is not used in the United States.
Successful Oral Delivery of Nanoparticle Therapeutics
December 4, 2013 – 9:00 am
Pop a pill or be poked by a needle? Being able to orally deliver microscopic particles - know as nano-particles - loaded with medicine is a simple, convenient way to treat patients for various diseases, such as cancer or diabetes. But so far, nano-particles can only be given via injection since they have trouble being readily absorbed by the intestine, which limits their usefulness. Now a study led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the first to report in the field of nano-medicine a new type of nano-particle that can be successfully absorbed through the digestive tract. The findings may one day allow patients to simply take a pill instead of receiving injections.
InnaVirVax Initiates Phase 2 Clinical Trial Evaluating a Therapeutic Vaccine for HIV Infection
December 2, 2013 – 11:13 am
InnaVirVax SA today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial assessing the therapeutic properties of the VAC-3S vaccine when combined with standard antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the course of HIV-1 infection.
"On this World AIDS Day, the advancement of VAC-3S into this Phase 2 study is an important step forward. We recognize we have much work to do towards the goal of durable treatments for patients and their families affected by HIV, and our company is rising to meet this challenge," said Shahin Gharakhanian, MD, InnaVirVax Chief Medical Officer.
New AIDS vaccine aims to block HIV from entering the body
December 2, 2013 – 11:01 am
December 1 is annual World AIDS Day; an opportunity to look at how medical research into fighting the disease is progressing. Today, 35 million people live with HIV, 25 million of whom are in Africa. It infects over two million people every year.
Antiviral therapies have slowed down the progression of the disease, but these drugs are both expensive and toxic in the long run.
Scientists have been searching for a vaccine for many years, and this research is at the heart of the Euroneut 41 program, involving 17 European partners. Its goal: to block HIV from entering the body by using an innovative vaccine based on GP41, a protein present in the virus. In France, the company Px Therapeutics has synthesized an enhanced version of this protein to obtain the best possible immune response.
Surgeon Performs First-Ever Retrograde Gene Therapy on Human Heart
November 29, 2013 – 9:54 am
Actor Ernie Lively suffered from a heart attack leaving him with far less energy than he used to have. Frustrated with his quality of life, Lively connected with Amit Patel, M.D., director of Clinical Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering and an associate professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Lively became a patient of Patel's in February, when Patel saved Lively's life after a complication with an angiogram left the actor with a severed aorta and problems with his coronary arteries. During the journey of his heart health issues, Lively peppered Patel with questions about one idea for helping to heal his ailing heart: stem cell therapy.
This month, Lively got his wish when he became the first patient in the world to undergo retrograde gene therapy at University of Utah Hospital, a novel procedure designed to deliver stem cells to the heart to repair damaged muscle and arteries in the most minimally invasive way possible.
