http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. As scientists learn more about processing bodies (PBs), granules present within normal cells, they are unraveling the complex role PBs play in maintaining cellular homeostasis by regulating RNA metabolism and cell signaling. Emerging research is revealing how virus infection alters PBs to enhance viral replication and how, in turn, PBs are able respond and limit a virus's ability to reproduce. This novel mechanism allows PBs to contribute to the body's immune defenses, as described in an article in DNA and Cell Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-role-bodies-cell-survival-viral.html Medical research Thu, 16 May 2013 11:40:02 EST news287922497 A novel drug developed by Gilead Sciences and tested in an animal model at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio suppresses hepatitis B virus infection by stimulating the immune system and inducing loss of infected cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-drug-immune-infected-cells-animal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:45:41 EST news286209917 Exciting new data presented today at the International Liver Congress 2013 include results from early in vitro and in vivo studies targeting covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), which may form the basis of a cure for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-therapeutic-approaches-chronic-hbv-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:56:01 EST news286084552 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 (Medical Xpress)—Defective viruses, thought for decades to be essentially garbage unrelated to the transmission of normal viruses, now appear able to play an important role in the spread of disease, new research by UCLA life scientists indicates. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-defective-virus-surprisingly-major-role.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:39:38 EST news281299167 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine may have found an "Achilles heel" in a key HIV protein. In findings published online today in Chemistry and Biology, they showed that targeting this vulnerable spot could stop the virus from replicating, potentially thwarting HIV infection from progressing to full-blown AIDS. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-achilles-heel-key-hiv-replication.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:09 EST news278249573 A new study published online in PLOS ONE reveals that primitive human stem cells are resistant to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), one of the leading prenatal causes of congenital intellectual disability, deafness and deformities worldwide. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that as stem cells and other primitive cells mature into neurons, they become more susceptible to HCMV, which could allow them to find effective treatments for the virus and to prevent its potentially devastating consequences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-virus-developmental-deafness-treatment.html Medical research Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:38:34 EST news273332302 (Medical Xpress)—HIV-positive individuals who strictly adhere to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have a significantly lower probability of premature morbidity and mortality as compared to those with suboptimal compliance to HAART, according to a new study from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-adherence-hiv-treatment-significantly-survival.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:36:35 EST news272709381 The Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio has applied for a patent for a genetically-engineered vaccine strategy to prevent HIV infection that targets the outer layers of body structures that are the first sites of contact with the virus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-texas-biomed-patent-hiv-vaccine.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:16:19 EST news272553369 A University of Colorado Boulder-led team has discovered two prime targets of the Hepatitis B virus in liver cells, findings that could lead to treatment of liver disease in some of the 400 million people worldwide currently infected with the virus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-decades-scientists-cellular-hepatitis-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:00:02 EST news270136100 Drug resistance is a major problem when treating infections. This problem is multiplied when the infection, like HIV-1, is chronic. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Retrovirology has examined the genetic footprint that drug resistance causes in HIV and found compensatory polymorphisms that help the resistant virus to survive. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-genetics-hiv-resistance.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:00:01 EST news268408078 A new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-scientists-potent-compound-virtually-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:23:11 EST news261922972 Researchers have identified the primary player of the biochemical bugle call that musters the body's defenders against viral infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-duration-biochemical-bugle-critical-viruses.html Medical research Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:00:05 EST news258804222 A research team led by Children's National Medical Center has identified a trigger that causes latent Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) to rapidly replicate itself. KSHV causes Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma, and other cancers that commonly affect immunocompromised patients, including those with AIDS. Appearing in the online edition of the Journal of Virology, the study identifies apoptosis, or the programmed death of a virus' host cell, as the trigger for high-level viral replication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-trigger-alternate-reproduction-hiv-related-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:30:04 EST news253880290 Drs. Beatrice Hahn and Frank Kirchoff led an international research effort to understand what adaptations allow a chimpanzee strain of SIV to replicate in human tissues. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-replication-immunodeficiency-virus-humans.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:57:57 EST news253799870 Scientists from the University of Utah School of Medicine have discovered that a mouse protein called IFITM3 contributes to the body's defense against some types of viral infections by binding to an enzyme responsible for regulating the pH of a cell's waste disposal system. This finding, published in the March 30, 2012, issue of Innate Immunity, sheds light on the cellular mechanisms involved in flu resistance and opens up potential new avenues of research for anti-viral medications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-reveals-insight-key-protein-viral.html Immunology Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:16:56 EST news252576998 Using human immune system cells in the lab, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins have figured out a way to kill off latent forms of HIV that hide in infected T cells long after antiretroviral therapy has successfully stalled viral replication to undetectable levels in blood tests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-vaccination-strategy-key-hiv-infection.html Immunology Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:04:18 EST news250430637 Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits a hepatitis C virus protein and blocks viral replication, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-indentify-cell-permeable-peptide-inhibits-hepatitis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:56:53 EST news247226203 Results from a recent study show that novel vaccine combinations can provide partial protection against infection by Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) in rhesus monkeys. In addition, in the animals that became infected, the optimal vaccine combinations also substantially reduced the amount of virus in the blood. Results from the studies were published online today in the journal Nature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-experimental-vaccine-partially-monkeys-hiv-like.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:00:03 EST news244898042 Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is an etiological agent for Kaposi's sarcoma and two other rare lymphoproliferative malignancies, and it is the most common cancer in HIV-infected untreated individuals. Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, have discovered a novel viral oncogenesis mechanism in which KSHV oncogenes co-opt cellular signaling pathways and modify the cellular microenvironment more permissive for viral replication. The study will be published Dec. 15, 2011, in Cell Host & Microbe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-ks-herpesvirus-reprogramming-lymphatic-endothelial-cells.html Cancer Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:02:48 EST news243090151 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 Scientists have discovered more about the intricacies of the immune system in a breakthrough that may help combat viral infections such as HIV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-unraveling-mysteries-natural-killer.html Medical research Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:47:11 EST news238672023 Researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), the University of Ottawa (uOttawa), Jennerex Inc. and several other institutions today reported promising results of a world-first cancer therapy trial in renowned journal Nature. The trial is the first to show that an intravenously-delivered viral therapy can consistently infect and spread within tumours without harming normal tissues in humans. It is also the first to show tumour-selective expression of a foreign gene after intravenous delivery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-results-world-first-viral-therapy-trial.html Cancer Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:23:19 EST news234015783 UC Irvine researchers have found a new approach to the creation of customized therapies for virulent flu strains that resist current antiviral drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-antiviral-resistance-influenza.html Medical research Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:40:41 EST news229696828 Infants of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infected mothers who were treated before and after birth with the protease inhibitor lopinavir-ritonavir were more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction, including life-threatening adrenal insufficiency in premature infants, compared with a zidovudine-based regimen, according to a preliminary report in the July 6 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-hiv-medication-adrenal-dysfunction-newborns.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:15:09 EST news229104878 Although our body's defense mechanisms are usually capable of detecting and destroying many types of pathogens, some viruses are able to evade the immune system and make us sick. In particular, "retroviruses," such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are notorious for eluding host immune defenses and causing disease. Now, a new study published by Cell Press online on June 30th in the journal Immunity identifies a key virus-sensing mechanism that is necessary for a successful immune response against infection with this particularly deadly type of virus. The research may help to guide the future design of more effective antiretroviral vaccines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-resistant-mice-clues-successful-immune.html Medical research Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:42:47 EST news228660154 Double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses are a diverse group of viruses that include rotaviruses, a common cause of gastroenteritis. The ability of the immune system to detect and destroy viruses is critical for human health and survival. Now, a study published by Cell Press in the June 23rd issue of the journal Immunity identifies a novel sensor that is necessary to activate the immune response to viral infection. The research enhances our understanding of the complex and overlapping mechanisms our immune cells use to thwart infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-complex-viral-infection.html Medical research Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:28:52 EST news228054521