http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A study led by University of Massachusetts Medical School professor and immunologist Katherine Luzuriaga, MD, and Johns Hopkins Children's Center virologist Deborah Persaud, MD, highlights the long-term benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiated in infants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-early-antiretroviral-treatment-viral-reservoirs.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:00:02 EST news281624209 A team of researchers based at Johns Hopkins has decoded a system that makes certain types of immune cells impervious to HIV infection. The system's two vital components are high levels of a molecule that becomes embedded in viral DNA like a code written in invisible ink, and an enzyme that, when it reads the code, switches from repairing the DNA to chopping it up into unusable pieces. The researchers, who report the find in the Jan. 21 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, say the discovery points toward a new approach to eradicating HIV from the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-cells-dna-machinery-viruses.html Medical research Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:00:07 EST news277986010 A new study about Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a leading cause of birth defects, reveals how the virus co-opts cells' abilities to repair themselves. In the paper published on November 29 in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens, O'Dowd et al. describe their utilization of a novel technique for the simultaneous evaluation of both the viral and host genomes in an infected cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-hcmv-techniques-preferential-viral-genome.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:39:20 EST news273433147 Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and is associated with exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV). Patients carrying the virus have a 100-fold greater risk of developing HCC, but exactly why was unclear until now. Wing Kin Sung at the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore and the National University of Singapore, John Luk at the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and the National University of Singapore and co-workers have now identified genetic mechanisms by which a virus contributes to this common form of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-molecular-mechanisms-virus-contributes-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 29 Aug 2012 08:50:05 EST news265447292 Researchers from The Wistar Institute and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) have teamed to publish the first annotated atlas of the Epstein-Barr virus genome, creating the most comprehensive study of how the viral genome interacts with its human host during a latent infection. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is thought to be responsible for one percent of all human cancers, establishes a latent infection in nearly 100 percent of infected adult humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-field-epstein-barr-virus-viral-paths.html Medical research Thu, 23 Aug 2012 11:48:14 EST news264941279 Fear conditioning using sound and taste aversion, as applied to mice, have revealed interesting information on the basis of memory allocation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-neurological-basis-memory.html Neuroscience Mon, 18 Jun 2012 13:25:16 EST news259244323 (Medical Xpress) -- Among viruses, human papilloma virus (HPV) stands out: with more than 180 distinct isotypes or variations catalogued to date, it presents an extremely difficult target for broad-range treatments. And while the HPV vaccine provides protection against the most common HPV infections, it only covers four of the 180-plus isotypes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-broad-range-hpv-therapeutics-emerges.html Cancer Tue, 22 May 2012 06:18:34 EST news256886305 It's been said that timing is everything, and that may be particularly true when it comes to the ability to fight off disease. New research published by Cell Press in the February issue of the journal Immunity shows that the success of host immune defense depends in part on an organism's "body clock." The study may lead to therapeutic strategies designed to optimize the immune response and to protect patients at the time when they are most vulnerable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-body-clock-immune.html Immunology Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:05 EST news248612911 (Medical Xpress) -- A University at Buffalo microbiologist whose lab has been studying the human papilloma virus for years, says that parents should have their children vaccinated with Gardasil, the HPV vaccine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-vaccinated-hpv-expert-ub-medical.html Cancer Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:16:49 EST news237539803 (Medical Xpress) -- Herpesviruses are thrifty reproducers -- they only send off their most infectious progeny to invade new cells. Two Cornell virologists recently have discovered how these viruses determine which progeny to release. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-discovery-ways-herpes.html Medical research Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:20:02 EST news235201282 Despite showing promising results in a recent phase 2 trial, administration of a novel gene therapy (NV1FGF) to enhance the growth of new blood vessels in people with critical limb ischaemia (whose legs are damaged when blocked arteries lead to a lack of blood flow), does not reduce amputation or death, according to the results of the phase 3 TAMARIS trial. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-effective-treatment-critical-limb-ischemia.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 30 May 2011 18:30:01 EST news225988295