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Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-May-2024 16:09 ET (2-May-2024 20:09 GMT/UTC)

2-May-2024

Singapore study identifies immunity threshold for protection against COVID-19 in children

National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Immune response from two doses of mRNA vaccines is sufficient to protect against COVID-19 in children. A third dose does not confer additional benefit, research conducted by the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) and Duke-NUS Medical School has found.

Journal: Nature Medicine

2-May-2024

Promising new treatment strategy for deadly flu-related brain disorders

Osaka University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from Osaka University have found that a brain disorder associated with flu (influenza-associated encephalopathy, or IAE) can be caused by the influenza virus entering the brain from the blood via endothelial cells. In these cells, the researchers observed viral protein accumulation, suggesting that antivirals targeting viral transcription/translation may be useful treatments for some patients. Given the lack of effective treatments for IAE, this finding will likely improve patient care and reduce IAE-related deaths worldwide.

Journal: Acta Neuropathologica
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development

1-May-2024

New strategy could lead to universal, long-lasting flu shot

Duke University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An experimental influenza vaccine carrying more than 80,000 variations of hemagglutinin antigens caused the immune system of mice and ferrets to respond more strongly to less variable portions of the virus. This is a big step forward in efforts at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute to develop a universal, long-lasting flu shot.

Journal: Science Translational Medicine
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

1-May-2024

U of M study finds metformin reduces COVID-19 viral load, viral rebound

University of Minnesota Medical School
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of University of Minnesota researchers found that metformin, a drug commonly used to treat diabetes, can decrease the amount of COVID-19 virus in the body and lower the chances of the virus coming back strongly after initial treatment. The study was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Journal: Clinical Infectious Diseases
Funder: Rainwater Charitable Foundation, The Parsemus Foundation, UnitedHealth Group and Fast Grants, NIH/National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

30-Apr-2024

Beneficial effects of traditional Cinese medicine Fuzheng Huayu on the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with compensated chronic hepatitis b cirrhosis receiving entecavir

Xia & He Publishing Inc.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The application of antifibrotic drugs to treat patients with chronic liver diseases who are receiving antiviral therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been established. Here, we aimed to assess the impact of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Fuzheng Huayu (FZHY) on the occurrence of HCC in patients with hepatitis B virus-related compensated cirrhosis receiving the antiviral drug entecavir (ETV).

https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2310-8819/JCTH-2023-00521

Journal: Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology

30-Apr-2024

Closing the U.S./Mexico border during COVID-19 increased HIV transmission

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rates of HIV transmission increased when the U.S./Mexico border was closed for COVID-19, according to a new study from University of California San Diego and Irvine.

Journal: The Lancet

30-Apr-2024

Moffitt initiates groundbreaking clinical trial with oncolytic virus for non-small cell lung cancer

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Business Announcement

Moffitt Cancer Center has launched a pioneering clinical trial for patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer whose disease has progressed following initial frontline standard of care immunotherapy that includes an immune checkpoint inhibitor alone or combined with chemotherapy. The innovative trial uses a novel oncolytic virus, MEM-288, in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab.

30-Apr-2024

Study highlights importance of early interventions to combat HIV

eLife
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study has compared the development of HIV reservoirs – locations in the body where the virus persists in a latent state – between patients who receive either early or late medical interventions. The findings highlight the importance of timely treatments for managing the virus.

Journal: eLife

30-Apr-2024

Elucidating the role of a shared lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in exacerbating Parkinson’s disease symptoms in the context of COVID-19 infection

Xia & He Publishing Inc.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with unclear molecular mechanisms. Noncoding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), have been identified as critical regulators of gene expression. This study aimed to investigate the triple network of lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA, known as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), and to identify essential lncRNAs that regulate PD-related gene expression through their target miRNAs. The study also identified a common triple network between COVID-19 and PD that may contribute to exacerbating PD symptoms.

https://www.xiahepublishing.com/1555-3884/GE-2023-00103

Journal: Gene Expression

30-Apr-2024

Religious intolerance predicts science denial

PNAS Nexus
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Does being more religious make a person more likely to reject scientific findings? Or is it the level of intolerance of other religions that better predicts rejection of science? Yu Ding and colleagues hypothesize that people with high levels of religious intolerance are more likely to reject science, which can be conceptualized as a competing belief system.

Journal: PNAS Nexus

30-Apr-2024

A virus could help save billions of gallons of wastewater produced by fracking

University of Texas at El Paso
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UTEP study could lead to reusing ‘produced water’

Journal: Water

30-Apr-2024

A significant portion of the world’s population continues to trust vaccines, says survey in 23 countries

Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A substantial proportion of the world’s population remains willing to get vaccinated against diseases including COVID-19, according to a new survey across 23 countries that represent more than 60% of the world’s population. The study, published in Nature Medicine, was co-led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, and the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy of the City University of New York (CUNY SPH).

Journal: Nature Medicine
Funder: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the 'Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa' Program and from the CERCA program

29-Apr-2024

COVID-19-induced financial hardships reveal mental health struggles

University of South Australia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Economic researchers at the University of South Australia have examined the mental health effects on people who experienced immediate or expected financial setbacks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Journal: Economics & Human Biology
Funder: N/A

29-Apr-2024

Competition from “skinny label” generics saved Medicare billions

American College of Physicians
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An analysis of 15 name-brand drugs and their “skinny label” generic counterparts found that competition from these counterparts saved Medicare Part D nearly $15 billion from 2015 to 2021.

Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine

29-Apr-2024

Kaposi sarcoma discovery could facilitate drug development

University of North Carolina Health Care
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have developed a model of Kaposi sarcoma that could expedite the development of new drugs to treat the disease, which is the most common cancer in people living with HIV.

Journal: Cell Host & Microbe
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health