Why hepatitis B hits men harder than womenNovember 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new discovery may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates - hitting men harder than women. The virus targets men more readily than women, triggering serious complications like cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Orissa launches programme to fight malariaNovember 18th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Wednesday launched a special programme to fight malaria that kills around 250 people in the state every year, health department officials said. The programme 'Mo Masari' (my mosquito net) was launched by state Health and Family Welfare Minister Prasanna Acharya in state capital Bhubaneswar.
New discovery paves way for Chlamydia vaccineNovember 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Vaccine against Chlamydia, a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in humans, may not be far away, thanks to a new discovery by scientists. A thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy has shown that when a woman becomes infected with Chlamydia, the first white blood cells that arrive at the scene to fight the infection are not the most effective.
New combination therapy may help treat breast cancerNovember 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study led by Indian-origin researchers has shown that adding anti-malaria drug to conventional breast cancer inhibitors can dramatically increase the rate by which the treatment kills cancer cells. While they are powerful killers of some breast cancer cells, new drugs called histone deacetylase inhibitors, or HDAC inhibitors, also increase self-digestion, or autophagy, in surviving, mega-stressed cells.
Synthetic molecules may boost immunity against HIVNovember 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have developed synthetic molecules that could boost our immunity against HIV and HIV-infected cells as well as prostate cancer cells. Their findings potentially open the way to novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of these diseases.
Novel synthetic molecules boost immune response to HIV and prostate cancerNovember 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Synthetic molecules developed by researchers at Yale University could enhance the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, and prostate cancer cells. The findings by Yale researchers could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases.
World's largest malaria vaccine trial begins in 7 African countriesNovember 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The world's largest trial of one of the leading malaria vaccine candidates, called RTS,S, is now underway in seven African countries: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. The trial, which is expected to involve up to 16,000 children, is on schedule, with more than 5,000 children already enrolled, according to researchers.
'Malaria in Goa linked to migrant labour'November 3rd, 2009 PANAJI - Linking the rising number of malaria cases in Goa to the steady influx of migrant labourers, a senior malaria research official has said the tourist hub has a long way to go to keep the vector-borne disease in check. Speaking to reporters in Panaji Tuesday, Ashwini Kumar, deputy director of the National Institute for Malaria Research (NIMR), said the state needed to proactively think of ways to check the influx of migrant labour into Goa.
New strategy for developing 'next-generation' malaria vaccinesNovember 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Experts have suggested a novel strategy for developing 'next-generation' malaria vaccines that will help targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating the deadly mosquito-borne disease. While trials are underway testing the efficacy if GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' (GSK Bio) RTS, S malaria vaccine, experts linked to PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) have suggested new approaches.
Need for biomedical research in malaria eradicationOctober 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - There is a need for biomedical research and new interventions to eradicate malaria worldwide, say scientists at National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). While malaria has been controlled in many local and regional populations, the permanent elimination of malaria parasites throughout the world remains an elusive goal, and the disease continues to claim nearly one million lives each year.
Six children die of malaria in Orissa districtOctober 12th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Six children have died of malaria in last seven days in Malkangiri district of Orissa, an official said Monday. The deaths have been reported from the district's Siadimal village.
Ex-President Carter seeks to eliminate malaria in Hispaniola, its last Caribbean outpostOctober 7th, 2009 Ex-prez Carter seeks to rid Caribbean of malariaOUANAMINTHE, Haiti — Former President Jimmy Carter is visiting Haiti and the Dominican Republic to urge their leaders to forge a pact to rid the island of Hispaniola of malaria. An estimated 30,000 Haitians and several thousand people across the border in the Dominican Republic are infected each year with the mosquito-borne illness.
Novel biocontrol method can help cut malaria transmissionOctober 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The transmission of malaria can be reduced by using biopesticides that contain a fungus that is pathogenic to mosquitoes, particularly in combination with insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs), according to a study. Dr. Penelope Hancock, from Imperial College London, says that incorporating this novel vector control technique into existing vector management programmes may substantially reduce malaria transmission rates, and help manage insecticide resistance.
Aussie scientists find HIV reservoir in the brainSeptember 23rd, 2009 MELBOURNE - Aussie scientists have discovered that the brain also acts as a key "reservoir" for HIV, a finding that may be a serious threat to the search for a way to eradicate the virus from the body. While scientists are using antiretroviral drugs to get rid of HIV altogether, they are finding it difficult to perfect techniques to kill off infected cells in the known reservoirs for HIV in the body.
Monkey malaria infects and kills humans alsoSeptember 15th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - A parasite suspected to infect monkeys is now the fifth most common cause of malaria in humans, a new study says. Malaria kills more than a million people each year.
