Research News

The Zika virus (ZIKV) may infect and kill a specific type of brain cancer cells while leaving normal adult brain tissue minimally affected, according to a new study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health. In the paper, published online on September 5 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers describe the impact of ZIKV on glioblastoma cells in both human tissue samples and mice.

The parasite Cystoisospora suis causes diarrhea in pigs, especially in newborn piglets, and is capable of quickly spreading across farms. For this reason, pig farmers in Europe preventively use toltrazuril to control parasite development. In contrast to congeneric parasites in chicken, no resistance to this pharmaceutical compound was described in pig parasites until recently. In an article in Parasites & Vectors, researchers of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, have now for the first time confirmed that toltrazuril is ineffective against a Dutch isolate of the parasite. Even though antiparasitic resistance in pig parasites is developing slowly, monitoring of resistance should be intensified due to the lack of alternative treatment options, and increased hygiene measures should be taken to prevent pathogen spread.When newborn piglets suffer from diarrhea, this is frequently caused by the intestinal parasite Cystoisospora suis.

Researchers at the Swedish Medical Nanoscience Center at Karolinska Institutet have developed an innovative way of hacking conducting plastics so as to prevent bacterial growth using silver nanoparticles and a small electrical current. The method, which could prove to be useful in preventing bacterial infections in hospitals, is presented in the scientific journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

Carrying extra weight could raise your risk of heart attack by more than a quarter, even if you are otherwise healthy. Researchers have found that being overweight or obese increases a person’s risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) by up to 28 per cent compared to those with a healthy bodyweight, even if they have healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Plants have been used to produce a new vaccine against poliovirus in what is hoped to be a major step towards global eradication of the disease.

 The global pruritus therapeutic market to grow at a CAGR of 4.95% during the period 2017-2021.Global Pruritus Therapeutic Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

A nine-year-old South African child who was diagnosed with HIV infection at one month of age and received anti-HIV treatment during infancy has suppressed the virus without anti-HIV drugs for eight and a half years, scientists reported today at the 9th IAS Conference on HIV Science in Paris. This case appears to be the third reported instance of sustained HIV remission in a child after early, limited anti-HIV treatment.

A recent survey on the state of label management in the pharmaceutical industry undertaken by NiceLabel in cooperation with Pharmaceutical Manufacturing revealsthe challenges facing pharmaceutical manufacturers as they try to produce accurate, compliant labels, and highlights the increasing importance of a single, integrated label management system.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and includes its subsidiaries or associate companies) and The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, an institution of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , New Delhi announced that they have signed an agreement for testing phytopharmaceutical, biologic and chemical entities developed by Sun Pharma against Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue viruses. Sun Pharma will provide drug molecules to NIV for testing against Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue in model systems.

Sex-specific cardiovascular drug dosages are needed to reduce adverse reactions in women, according to a position paper from the European Society of Cardiology published in the June issue of European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy.