Study vaccine protects monkeys against four types of hemorrhagic fever viruses

Health Problems

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an investigational vaccine that protected cynomolgus macaques against four types of hemorrhagic fever viruses endemic to overlapping regions in Africa. The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and Profectus BioSciences of New York are developing and testing the candidate quadrivalent VesiculoVax vaccine, with support from NIH’s National Institute of […]

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Engineered DNA vaccine protects against emerging Mayaro virus

Health Problems

Infections by the mosquito-borne Mayaro virus (MAYV) have largely been restricted to people who ventured into the heavily forested areas of Trinidad and Tobago and neighboring regions of South America. However, recent laboratory studies showing additional mosquito vectors can transmit MAYV as well as a reported case of MAYV infection in Haiti in 2015, reveal the potential for the virus […]

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Compound identified that protects against neurodegeneration

Health Problems

Researchers from the University of Liverpool have identified a new compound that protects against neurodegeneration in nematode worms. The discovery may enable novel treatments for human neurodegenerative diseases to be developed in the future. With the predicted growth of the global ageing population, cases of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are […]

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EPO protects preemies’ brains by modifying genes essential for generating new brain cells

Kids Health

Erythropoietin (EPO) helps to protect and repair vulnerable brains though it remains a mystery how the anemia drug does so. Genetic analyses conducted by a multi-institutional research team finds that EPO may work its neuroprotective magic by modifying genes essential for regulating growth and development of nervous tissue as well as genes that respond to inflammation and hypoxia. Findings from […]

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Flu vaccine protects pregnant women against pertussis

Health Problems

Research by Wits scientists shows that pregnant women vaccinated against influenza also have less pertussis infection. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Wits researchers at the MRC Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit (RMPRU) published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, which shows that pregnant […]

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