New compound
that makes the HIV vaccine more effective
A new study has found a compound that could boost the
efficacy of HIV drugs. The compound has also shown to boost the effect of
vaccines against flu and the herpes virus in mice. Research by an Oxford
University team, along with Swedish and US colleagues, has shown that a type of
polymer called polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a potent adjuvant for test vaccines
against HIV, flu and herpes when given to mice. An adjuvant is added to a
vaccine to boost immune response and offer better protection against infection.
Mice given a single dose of a flu vaccine laced with PEI via
a nasal droplet were completely protected against a lethal dose of flu, a
marked improvement over mice given the shot without PEI or in formulations with
other adjuvants, the journal Nature Biotechnology reports. “Gaining complete
protection against flu from just one immunisation is pretty unheard of, even in
a study in mice,” says Quentin Sattentau, professor of pathology at the
Oxford’s Dunn School of Pathology, who led the work.
“This gives us confidence that PEI has the potential to be a
potent adjuvant for vaccines against viruses like flu or HIV, though there are
many steps ahead if it is ever to be used in humans,” adds Sattentau. Oxford
researchers now intend to test the PEI adjuvant in ferrets, a better animal
model for studying flu. It is likely to be a couple of years before a flu
vaccine with this adjuvant could be tested in clinical trials. HIV, flu and
herpes are some of the most difficult targets to develop vaccines against. HIV
and flu viruses are able to change and evolve to escape immune responses
stimulated by vaccines.There aren’t any effective vaccines against HIV and
herpes as yet, and the flu vaccine needs reformulating each year and doesn’t
offer complete protection to everyone who receives it. Finding better adjuvants
could help in developing more effective shots against these diseases.
28.08.2012
Grey hair could be a sign of good
health
Stop getting annoyed by that patch of grey hair on
your scalp, as a new study has found that it could be a sign
of healthy body.
Spanish scientists, who studied wild boars,found that having grey hair and a rather grizzled look could actually be a sign that you have a long and healthy life ahead of you. Scientists said gray hair, which results from absence of melanin, seemed to be a mark of good health in wild boars. "As with human hair, wild boars show hair graying all across their fur," Galvan said. "But we found that boars showing hair graying were actually those in prime condition and with the lowest levels of oxidative damage," he said. Scientists, however, said that being a redhead could make one more susceptible to illness, an observation found in wild boar populations.
According to the report published in the current issue of the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, wild boars with reddish coats have more cell damage than more mundanely coloured wild pigs. They say the reason is that the production of redpigment uses up an antioxidant that could otherwise destroy the free radicals that damage cells.
In humans, studies have found that red hair and red pigments, ormelanins, inskin are linked to higher rates of cancer.
"Given that all higher vertebrates, including humans, share the same types of melanins in skin, hair and plumage, these results increase our scant current knowledge on the physiological consequences of pigmentation," said lead researcher Ismael Galvan.
28.08.2012
When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside
cannot hurt you
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