CD4+ T cell memory determinant

Anti-HIV gel trial fails

sumsung submitted, created time 10 months 2 weeks (www.nature.com)

Carraguard, the first anti-HIV microbicide to make it to the end of phase III clinical trials has failed to prevent transmission of HIV. The seaweed-derived vaginal gel microbicide was tested in 6,202 women in South Africa. Half the women were given Carraguard gel, and the other half received a placebo gel. They were all also given given condoms. Over the course of the trial, the researchers recorded 134 new infections in the Carraguard group and 151 in the placebo group, but the difference was not statistically significant.

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Variation in HIV-1 set-point viral load: Epidemiological analysis and an evolutionary hypothesis

davis submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (www.pnas.org)

The natural course of HIV-1 infection is characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity in viral load, not just within patients over time, but also between patients, especially during the asymptomatic stage of infection. Asymptomatic, or set-point, viral load has been shown to correlate with both decreased time to AIDS and increased infectiousness.

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Human case of West Nile virus reported in Marion County

jiangyun submitted, created time 1 year 2 months (www.indystar.com)

State health officials today reported three new human cases of the West Nile virus, including the first of the year in Marion County.To protect against the West Nile virus and the mosquitoes that spread the disease, Indiana health officials recommend avoiding outdoors from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most likely to bite. But when outdoors, use insect repellent containing DEET, picaradin or oil of lemon eucalyptus, and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

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Regulatory T cells enhance persistence of the zoonotic pathogen Seoul virus in its reservoir host

brooke submitted, created time 1 year 3 months (www.pnas.org)

Hantaviruses are zoonotic pathogens that maintain a persistent infection in their reservoir hosts, yet the mechanisms mediating persistence remain unknown. Regulatory T cell responses cause persistent infection by suppressing proinflammatory and effector T cell activity

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Deadly in the Daylight

guohong submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

One of the most thoroughly studied and virulent kinds of bacteria has just revealed a surprising and potentially useful new trait. It is said that Brucella seemed to depend on blue wavelengths of lightfor its survival. In lab experiments, the research team compared samples shielded from blue light to controls illuminated normally. If the regular light was strong enough, Brucella grew rapidly and became infectious. When shielded from blue light, however, the bugs' reproductive rate dropped by more than 90%

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Identified main genetic variants involved in response to HIV

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (www.idibaps.ub.edu)

An international collaboration between European, Australian and American researchers has unveiled some of the genetic mysteries explaining why some people naturally keep HIV levels almost undetectable, whereas others quickly lose control of the infection.

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Study: Some bone cancer drugs problematic

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (www.sciencedaily.com)

U.S. scientists have determined the use of certain drugs to fight cancer-related bone problems might increase the risk of disease or infection.

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Fungal Infections Effectively Treated By New Compound

gh0706 submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.medicalnewstoday.com)

A new mechanism to attack hard-to-treat fungal infections has been revealed by scientists from the biotech company Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., California, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) outstation in Grenoble. The researchersgenerated crystals of the enzyme bound to tRNA in the presence of AN2690, a kind of compound, can kill fungi by blocking their ability to make proteins

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Bullfrogs May Serve as Hosts for E. coli

gh0706 submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.sciencedaily.com)

For the first time researchers have identified American bullfrogs as potentially suitable hosts for E. coli O157:H7, a common source of food-borne illness. In the study researchers orally inoculated American bullfrog tadpoles and metamorphs with E. coli O157:H7 and tested for infection after 14 days. The result showed that
tadpoles, which were housed in flowthrough aquaria, did not become infected, however 54% of metamorphs tested positive after being housed in stagnant aquaria.

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There May Be Other Causes For Childhood Brain Aneurysms

Influenza epidemics and acute respiratory disease activity are associated with a surge in autopsy-confirmed coronary heart disease death: results from 8 years of autopsies in 34 892 subjects

fiona submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org)

"Influenza epidemics are associated with a rise in autopsy-confirmed coronary deaths. Influenza vaccination should be advocated for patients at high risk of developing cardiovascular events. "

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Does This Patient Have Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia?

alpha submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (jama.ama-assn.org)

"Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common and serious nosocomial infection. Accurate, timely diagnosis enables affected patients to receive appropriate therapy and avoids mistreatment of patients having other conditions. "

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Scientists: Warming 'could increase schistosomiasis'

amanda submitted, created time 1 year 8 months (www.scidev.net)

"Global warming could increase the risk of schistosomiasis infection in China and expand infection into the country's northern territories, say researchers."

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Human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infectivity and cellular transformation

Luneetty submitted, created time 1 year 9 months (www.nature.com)

It has been 30 years since a 'new' leukaemia termed adult T-cell leukaemia (ATL) was described in Japan, and more than 25 years since the isolation of the retrovirus, human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), that causes this disease. We discuss HTLV-1 infectivity and how the HTLV-1 Tax oncoprotein initiates transformation by creating a cellular environment favouring aneuploidy and clastogenic DNA damage. We also explore the contribution of a newly discovered protein and RNA on the HTLV-1 minus strand, HTLV-1 basic leucine zipper factor (HBZ), to the maintenance of virus-induced leukaemia.

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