EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 21-Aug-2012
NIH awards $7.8 million for innovative HIV vaccine approaches
NIAID has awarded 14 grants totaling $7.8 million in first-year funding for basic research to identify new approaches for designing a safe and effective HIV vaccine. The grants were awarded under the Innovation for HIV Vaccine Discovery initiative, which is expected to receive up to $34.8 million over the next four years.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 15-Aug-2012

Science Translational Medicine
NIH study suggests potential hurdle to universal flu vaccine development may be overcome
In the quest for a universal influenza vaccine -- one that elicits broadly neutralizing antibodies that can protect against most or all strains of flu virus -- scientists have faced a sobering question: Does pre-existing immunity generated by prior exposure to influenza virus or vaccine hamper production of broadly neutralizing antibodies? If so, then a universal flu vaccine might work best (and perhaps only) in very young children who have had limited exposure to influenza viruses or vaccines.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 9-Aug-2012

Archives of General Psychiatry
Brain hubs boil when hoarders face pitching their own stuff
In patients with hoarding disorder, parts of a decision-making brain circuit under-activated when dealing with others' possessions, but over-activated when deciding whether to keep or discard their own things, a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study has found.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 8-Aug-2012

Science Translational Medicine
Test vaccine successfully protects monkeys from Nipah virus
Researchers have successfully tested in monkeys a vaccine against Nipah virus, a human pathogen that emerged in 1998 during a large outbreak of infection and disease among pigs and pig farmers in Southeast Asia. This latest advance builds upon earlier work by the scientists, who found that the same vaccine can protect cats from Nipah virus and ferrets and horses from the closely related Hendra virus.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 6-Aug-2012

Biological Psychiatry
Brain signal IDs responders to fast-acting antidepressant
Scientists have discovered a biological marker that may help to identify which depressed patients will respond to an experimental, rapid-acting antidepressant. The brain signal, detectable by noninvasive imaging, also holds clues to the agent's underlying mechanism, which are vital for drug development. The signal is among the latest of several such markers recently uncovered, including factors detectable in blood, genetic markers, and a sleep-specific brain wave.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 1-Aug-2012

Science Translational Medicine
NIH researchers implicate unique cell type in multiple sclerosis
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found evidence that a unique type of immune cell contributes to multiple sclerosis (MS). Their discovery helps define the effects of one of the newest drugs under investigation for treating MS -- daclizumab -- and could lead to a new class of drugs for treating MS and other autoimmune disorders.

Public Release: 1-Aug-2012

PLOS ONE
NIH study shows equatorial regions in Brazil less affected by 2009 influenza pandemic
The death toll of the 2009 influenza pandemic in equatorial climates may have been much lower than originally thought, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center.

Public Release: 27-Jul-2012

XIX International AIDS Conference
Landmark HIV treatment-as-prevention study shows additional health benefits, cost-effectiveness
Further analyses of the landmark NIH-funded treatment-as-prevention study (HPTN 052) have found that providing antiretroviral treatment to HIV-infected individuals earlier, when their immune systems are healthier, delays AIDS-related health events, such as chronic herpes simplex virus and tuberculosis, as well as death.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 26-Jul-2012

Science
NIH team describes protective role of skin microbiota
A research team at the National Institutes of Health has found that bacteria that normally live in the skin may help protect the body from infection. As the largest organ of the body, the skin represents a major site of interaction with microbes in the environment.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 25-Jul-2012

XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012)
NIH-funded study finds high HIV infection rates among gay and bisexual black men in the US
The rate of new HIV infections among black men who have sex with men in the United States, particularly younger men, is high and suggests the need for prevention programs specifically tailored to this population, according to initial findings from the HPTN 061 study. The preliminary results were presented at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, by study co-chair Kenneth Mayer, M.D., medical research director for the Fenway Community Health Center in Boston.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 25-Jul-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
NIH scientists identify likely predictors of hepatitis C severity
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have identified several factors in people infected with the hepatitis C virus that may predict whether the unusually rapid progression of disease from initial infection to severe liver conditions, such as cirrhosis, will occur. Knowing whether a patient's condition is likely to deteriorate quickly could help physicians decide on the best course of treatment.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 25-Jul-2012
NIDA supports development of combined anti-heroin and HIV vaccine
Dr. Gary R. Matyas has been selected the 2012 recipient of the NIDA Avant-Garde Award for Medications Development. Matyas proposes to develop an effective, safe and easily manufactured combination anti-heroin/HIV vaccine that could treat heroin addiction while at the same time prevent HIV infection in those receiving the vaccine.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 25-Jul-2012

New England Journal of Medicine
Heart CT scans may help emergency room personnel more quickly assess patients with chest pain
Adding computed tomography scans to standard screening procedures may help emergency room staff more rapidly determine which patients complaining of chest pain are having a heart attack or may soon have a heart attack, and which patients can be safely discharged, according to a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

NIH/Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Public Release: 23-Jul-2012
Prevention of HIV spread focus of NIDA's 2012 Avant-Garde Awards
The National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced the recipients of the 2012 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research.

NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Public Release: 23-Jul-2012

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
Cognitive changes may be only sign of fetal alcohol exposure
Most children exposed to high levels of alcohol in the womb do not develop the distinct facial features seen in fetal alcohol syndrome, but instead show signs of abnormal intellectual or behavioral development, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and researchers in Chile.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 18-Jul-2012
NIH to test maraviroc-based drug regimens for HIV prevention
Scientists are launching the first clinical trial to test whether drug regimens containing maraviroc, a medication currently approved to treat HIV infection, are also safe and tolerable when taken once daily by HIV-uninfected individuals at increased risk for acquiring HIV infection. The eventual goal is to see if the drug regimens can reduce the risk of infection.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

Public Release: 18-Jul-2012

Nature
Study shows colon and rectal tumors constitute a single type of cancer
The pattern of genomic alterations in colon and rectal tissues is the same regardless of anatomic location or origin within the colon or the rectum, leading researchers to conclude that these two cancer types can be grouped as one, according to the Cancer Genome Atlas project's large-scale study of colon and rectal cancer tissue specimens.

NIH/National Cancer Institute, NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute

Public Release: 18-Jul-2012

New England Journal of Medicine
Oral immunotherapy shows promise as treatment for egg allergy
Giving children and adolescents with egg allergy small but increasing daily doses of egg white powder holds the possibility of developing into a way to enable some of them to eat egg-containing foods without having allergic reactions, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study results will appear online in the July 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Public Release: 16-Jul-2012

Cancer Research
NIH tools facilitate matching cancer drugs with gene targets
A new study details how a suite of web-based tools provides the research community with greatly improved capacity to compare data derived from large collections of genomic information against thousands of drugs. By comparing drugs and genetic targets, researchers can more easily identify pharmaceuticals that could be effective against different forms of cancer.

NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 15-Jul-2012

Nature
New gene mutations linked to ALS and nerve cell growth dysfunction
Researchers have linked newly discovered gene mutations to some cases of the progressive fatal neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis � ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Shedding light on how ALS destroys the cells and leads to paralysis, the researchers found that mutations in this gene affect the structure and growth of nerve cells.

NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Public Release: 10-Jul-2012

Journal of Neuroscience
NIH study shows the deaf brain processes touch differently
People who are born deaf process the sense of touch differently than people who are born with normal hearing, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. The finding reveals how the early loss of a sense -- in this case hearing -- affects brain development.

NIH/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Public Release: 9-Jul-2012

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Vaccine and antibiotics stabilized so refrigeration is not needed -- NIH study
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new silk-based stabilizer that, in the laboratory, kept some vaccines and antibiotics stable up to temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This provides a new avenue toward eliminating the need to keep some vaccines and antibiotics refrigerated, which could save billions of dollars every year and increase accessibility to third world populations.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 6-Jul-2012

New England Journal of Medicine
NIH-funded study finds more precise way to estimate kidney function
Measuring creatinine and cystatin C -- two markers for chronic kidney disease -- more precisely estimates kidney function than either marker alone, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results appear in the July 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Public Release: 4-Jul-2012

Science Translational Medicine
Patient-derived stem cells could improve drug research for Parkinson's
Researchers have taken a step toward personalized medicine for Parkinson's disease by investigating signs of the disease in patient-derived cells and testing how the cells respond to drug treatments.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 4-Jul-2012

New England Journal of Medicine
Platelet drug shows clinical benefits for severe, unresponsive aplastic anemia
Eltrombopag, a drug that was designed to stimulate production of platelets from the bone marrow and thereby improve blood clotting, can raise blood cell levels in some people with severe aplastic anemia who have failed all standard therapies. The findings of this new clinical study, carried out by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, suggest eltrombopag could be a second-line therapeutic option for this disease.

NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute