Tag: HIV and AIDS

Human apolipoprotein E (apoE) promotes hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and production, according to a study published Aug 8 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Luhua Qiao and Guangxiang (George) Luo of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. The findings suggest that inhibitors interfering with apoE biogenesis, secretion, and/or binding to

Adults with HIV are more likely to continue life-saving treatments if their primary health care providers show respect, unconditional empathy without judgement and demonstrate an ability to partner with patients in decision making to address their goals, a Rutgers study finds. The systematic review appears in the Joanna Briggs Institute Database of Systematic Reviews and

An international collaboration of infectious disease experts has identified a large group of people who appear to have naturally mounted an immune response to TB, a bacterial infection that is the leading cause of infectious disease death worldwide. Nearly 200 people from 2500 households with active TB were clearly exposed to TB for more than

Princeton University researchers have developed a new, scalable cell culture system that allows for detailed investigation of how host cells respond to infection with hepatitis B (HBV) and delta virus (HDV). The paper describing their findings was published online on June 18, 2019 in the journal Hepatology. HBV causes an acute illness that is usually

A person’s sexual behavior could affect their microbiome and immune system, potentially elevating their risk of HIV infection, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The study was published last week in the journal PLOS Pathogens. The microbiome, a community of microbes in the gut, play a

Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico had a significant impact on HIV outcomes among people living with HIV and a history of substance use, particularly increased viral load and decreased CD4 counts, according to early data just released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, University of Miami, Puerto

One of the commonest causes of congenital disability, the Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), is less prone to mutation than previously thought, a finding which could help develop a successful vaccine, UCL researchers have found. HCMV, a DNA virus and type of herpes virus, is one of the world’s most common and widespread human infections, affecting between

A new experimental antibiotic for tuberculosis has been shown to be more effective against TB than isoniazid, a decades-old drug which is currently one of the standard treatments. In mouse studies, the new drug showed a much lower tendency to develop resistance, and it remains in the tissues where the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria reside for

Patients with ALS frequently have a string of repeated DNA code in the cells of their brain, carrying hundreds to thousands of copies within the gene C9orf72. New research looks at what triggers these repeated sequences to eventually produce the toxic proteins that are associated with ALS, frontotemporal dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases in patients

A team of researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed novel ferrocene-based molecules that impair the malaria parasite’s metabolic function leading to parasite death. Despite concerted efforts for malaria elimination, this deadly disease remains a major health threat to the developing world. The causative agent

Researchers have discovered a human protein that helps fight the Ebola virus and could one day lead to an effective therapy against the deadly disease, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. The newly discovered ability of the human protein RBBP6 to interfere with Ebola virus replication suggests new ways to fight the infection. As

Distinct HIV-1 strains may differ in the nature of the CCR5 molecules to which they bind, affecting which cells they can infect and their ability to enter cells, according to a study published December 6 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Bernard Lagane of the Institut Pasteur and INSERM, and colleagues. As noted by

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that can “neutralize” the West Nile virus and potentially prevent a leading cause of viral encephalitis (brain inflammation) in the United States. Their findings, reported this week in the journal Nature Microbiology, could lead to the first effective treatment for this

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infects almost all of the human population, but only very few will show any symptoms during their lifetime: HHV-6 is one of the most widespread viruses among the population. Between 95 and 100 percent of healthy adults have antibodies to the virus which means that they have been infected at some

The amoeba Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm swimming pools, lakes and rivers. On rare occasions, the amoeba can infect a healthy person and cause severe primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a “brain-eating” disease that is almost always fatal. Other than trial-and-error with general antifungal medications, there are no treatments for the infection. Researchers at Skaggs

Scientists have developed a new technique that can determine how viruses interact with a host’s own RNA. As well as providing insight into how viruses direct the host cell to create new virus particles, this technique, published today in Nature Methods, could allow researchers to design artificial molecules capable of blocking the virus replication process

A team at Scripps Research has come up with a faster way to analyze the outcome of experimental vaccines against HIV and other pathogens. Their new system lets scientists quickly assess the full spectrum of antibodies produced in an individual in response to a pathogen or vaccine and determine if these antibodies are likely to

NIH-funded researchers delayed signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in rodents by injecting them with a second-generation drug designed to silence the gene, superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). The results, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest the newer version of the drug may be effective at treating an inherited form of the disease caused

Several states are likely dramatically underestimating the effect of opioid-related deaths because of incomplete death certificate reporting, with Pennsylvania leading the pack, according to a new analysis by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The study, published today in Public Health Reports, the journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General,

Scientists have zeroed in on a culprit that spurs damaging inflammation in the heart following a heart attack. The guilty party is a type of immune cell that tries to heal the injured heart but instead triggers inflammation that leads to even more damage. Further, the researchers have found that an already approved drug effectively