http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A new Yale study looks at the scope and consequences of a burgeoning health problem in the cities of the U.S. Northeast: concurrent infection with both HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV). The study appears online in the May 14 issue of the Public Library of Science (PLoS One). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-twin-epidemics-hiv-hepatitis-urban.html HIV & AIDS Fri, 17 May 2013 08:40:03 EST news287997234 A new use for compounds related in composition to the active ingredient in marijuana may be on the horizon: a new research report published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that compounds that stimulate the cannabinoid type 2 (CB2) receptor in white blood cells, specifically macrophages, appear to weaken HIV-1 infection. The CB2 receptor is the molecular link through which the pharmaceutical properties of cannabis are manifested. Diminishing HIV-1 infection in this manner might make current anti-viral therapies more effective and provide some protection against certain HIV-1 complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-synthetic-derivatives-thc-weaken-hiv-.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:08:45 EST news286542519 Much has been said about the effect of climate change, but little is known about its impact of water-related health issues. Scientists are now suggesting that greater quantities of rainfall and bigger storms could be responsible for more unsettled stomachs in parts of Europe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-climate-stomachs-europe.html Health Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:58:17 EST news286520288 The new coronavirus that has emerged in the Middle East is well-adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with immunotherapy, according to a study to be published on February 19 in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The study indicates that the virus HCoV-EMC can penetrate the lining of the passageways in the lung and evade the innate immune system as easily as a cold virus can, signs that HCoV-EMC is well-equipped for infecting human cells. The study also reveals that the virus is susceptible to treatment with interferons, components of the immune system that have been used successfully to treat other viral diseases, opening a possible mode of treatment in the event of a large-scale outbreak. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-coronavirus-well-adapted-humans-susceptible-immunotherapy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:20:01 EST news280468360 Researchers at the University of Granada have designed a set of biomarkers that can be used in diagnostic tests for the detection of dengue and the West Nile virus, two infectious diseases transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. These biomarkers can be used to identify these viral diseases, which affect millions of people worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-spanish-biomarkers-dengue-west-nile.html Medical research Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:02:28 EST news279367336 Measles vaccine given with painless and easy-to-administer microneedle patches can immunize against measles at least as well as vaccine given with conventional hypodermic needles, according to research done by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-measles-vaccine-microneedle-patch-boost.html Medications Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:25:38 EST news273241526 Investigating the genetic footprint that drug resistance causes in HIV, researchers in Europe have discovered that compensatory polymorphisms enable resistant viruses to survive. Presented in the journal Retrovirology, the study was supported in part by three EU-funded projects: VIROLAB, EURESIST and CHAIN. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-scientists-genetics-hiv-resistance.html HIV & AIDS Fri, 26 Oct 2012 08:50:01 EST news270459248 Dengue is one of the most widespread mosquito-borne viral diseases in the world, with WHO estimating that around half of the world's population are currently at risk. While infection usually causes flu-like symptoms, it can develop into a more serious form of the disease, known as severe dengue, which is a leading cause of severe illness and death among children in some Asian and Latin American countries. The incidence of dengue appears to have grown dramatically in recent decades – before 1970 only nine countries had experienced severe dengue epidemics, but the disease is now thought to be endemic in more than 100 countries across the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-scientists-dengue-vaccine-breakthrough.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:30:01 EST news266515835 Two new targets have been discovered for antiviral therapies and vaccines strategies that could enhance the body's defenses against such infectious diseases as West Nile and hepatitis C. The targets are within the infection warning system inside living cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-infection-cells-antiviral-vaccine-strategies.html Immunology Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:38:09 EST news262877875 University of Georgia scientists have discovered a new flu-fighting role for a well-known component of the immune system. Kimberly Klonowski, assistant professor of cellular biology in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and her colleagues found that administering a cell-signaling protein known as IL-15 to mice infected with influenza reduces their peak viral load by nearly three times. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-reveals-flu-fighting-role-well-known-immune.html Medical research Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:07:40 EST news259924052 (Medical Xpress) -- Professors at Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado are developing a drug that can stop replication of West Nile, dengue and yellow fever viruses that continue to plague two-thirds of the world's population with no clinically useful antiviral drugs available. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-drug-combat-west-nile-virus.html Medical research Fri, 08 Jun 2012 06:50:01 EST news258356405 The number of people who died from gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines that causes vomiting and diarrhea) more than doubled from 1999 to 2007. The findings of this study will be presented today at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-deaths-gastroenteritis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:18:31 EST news250960704 Today, heterosexuals in Europe are at particular risk of carrying HIV for so long that they remain undiagnosed until their immune system starts to fail and they become ill. An international study under the leadership of the HIV in Europe initiative has now revealed that a number of diseases, including herpes zoster and certain forms of cancer, should be on the list of indicators for having HIV - and thus serve to prompt health care professionals to suggest an HIV-test to their patients. The new results and guidelines are to be debated at a major international HIV conference in Copenhagen on 19th-20th March. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-indicator-diseases-reveal-hidden-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:14:52 EST news249819277 Viral diseases are still one of the biggest challenges to medical science. Thanks to thousands of years of co-evolution with humans, their ability to harness the biology of their human hosts to survive and thrive makes them very difficult to target with medical treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-hepatitis-virus-survives-hijacking-liver.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:00:01 EST news244725664 Broad-spectrum antibiotics, which are active against a whole range of bacterial pathogens, have been on the market for a long time. Comparably versatile drugs to treat viral diseases, on the other hand, have remained elusive. Using a new approach, research teams led by Dr. Albrecht von Brunn of LMU Munich and Professor Christian Drosten from the University of Bonn have identified a compound that inhibits the replication of several different viruses, including the highly aggressive SARS virus that is responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-strategy-stymies-sars-versatile-inhibitor.html Medical research Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:03:28 EST news239025794 (Medical Xpress) -- Vaccinating infants against rotavirus has resulted in dramatic decreases in health care use and treatment costs for diarrhea-related illness in U.S. infants and young children, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study is published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-rotavirus-vaccination-large-decreases-health.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:58:26 EST news235927888 Taiwanese investigators have found that there can be a significantly higher risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) occurring in the year following a shingles, or herpes zoster, attack. The findings, which support a long-held view on how MS may develop, are published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and now available online. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-shingles-elevated-multiple-sclerosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:52:08 EST news226752699