http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers from the University of Michigan determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007. Treatment rates appear to be declining, in part because only half of the patients know they are infected. If this disturbing trend continues, by 2030 less than 15% of liver-related deaths from HCV will be prevented by antiviral therapy. This study, the first to analyze nationwide practice patterns for HCV treatment, is published in the December issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news178264993.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:50:01 EST news178264993 One feature of the "new influenza" is a sudden rise in temperature. Up to now it was not exactly understood how this reaction occurs. Scientists at the University of Bonn and the Technical University of Munich, Germany, have been able to shed light into the dark. They have identified a new signaling pathway via which certain viruses can trigger inflammatory reactions and fever. Their results have been published in the journal Nature Immunology. http://www.physorg.com/news177597673.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:42:12 EST news177597673 Immunologists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the have found a unique quirk in the way the immune system fends off bacteria called Francisella tularensis, which could lead to vaccines that are better able to prevent tularemia infection of the lungs. Their findings were published today in the early, online version of Immunity. http://www.physorg.com/news175435565.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:07:03 EST news175435565 Many biopharmaceuticals comprise small proteins that are quickly eliminated from the body. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (Germany) combine such small proteins with a kind of molecular balloon that swells and thus prolongs the half-life of the proteins in the body. The TUM spin-off XL-Protein GmbH has now started to further develop this new technology with blockbuster potential. http://www.physorg.com/news172490967.html Medicine & Health Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:20:02 EST news172490967 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of researchers has identified a new method for selectively killing metastatic melanoma cells, which may lead to new areas for drug development in melanoma - a cancer that is highly resistant to current treatment strategies. http://www.physorg.com/news168523956.html Medicine & Health Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:40:03 EST news168523956 A low dose of oral interferon alpha shows promise in preserving beta cell function for patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, according to researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. http://www.physorg.com/news165656173.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:10:01 EST news165656173 A new combination therapy of daily consensus interferon (CIFN) and ribavirin is effective for some people with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) who do not respond to standard therapy. The treatment works particularly well in interferon-sensitive patients who have lower fibrosis scores, according to a new study in the June issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). http://www.physorg.com/news162739824.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 May 2009 14:30:41 EST news162739824 May 28, 2009 - Immunology researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how two biochemical signals play unique roles in promoting the development of a group of immune cells employed as tactical assassins. http://www.physorg.com/news162708029.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 May 2009 05:41:59 EST news162708029 Using a steroid drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) in addition to an MS drug may reduce the amount of disease activity more than using the MS drug alone, according to a study that will be presented as part of the Late-breaking Science Program at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 - May 2, 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news160307373.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:50:32 EST news160307373 At least 200 million individuals are currently infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. Approximately 30%-50% of patients respond to interferon/ribavirin combination therapy. Response to interferon therapy depends mainly on viral and host genetic factors. The HCV is continually mutating which allows the virus to evade the immune system and overcome interferon treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news157632931.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:56:25 EST news157632931 A new article appearing in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology may lead to improvements in the efficacy of the current tuberculosis vaccine. Specifically, a team of Italian researchers discovered a new role for type I interferon, in which it improves the ability of dendritic cells to stimulate an immune response against the bacterium known to cause tuberculosis. The researchers speculate that type I interferon may give the current vaccine the "boost" necessary to elicit a protective immunity against the mycobacterium tuberculosis. http://www.physorg.com/news154874438.html Biology Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:41:32 EST news154874438 A study from a team of researchers led by Dr. Andrew P. Makrigiannis, Director of the Molecular Immunology Research Unit at the IRCM, has identified a new mechanism regulating interferon production. This discovery, co-authored by scientists from the International Medical Center of Japan (Tokyo), the National Cancer Institute at Frederick (Maryland) and the McGill Centre for the Study of Host Resistance, was published on December 22, 2008 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news150996491.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:28:11 EST news150996491 Use of the drug interferon as a long-term maintenance strategy to slow the progression of liver disease associated with the hepatitis C virus is ineffective, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers and their colleagues from nine other institutions have found in a multicenter study. http://www.physorg.com/news147619689.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:28:09 EST news147619689 Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that the immune-system protein interferon plays a key role in "teaching" the immune system how to fight off repeated infections of the same virus. http://www.physorg.com/news147506941.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:09:01 EST news147506941 Animal studies by University of Michigan scientists suggest that people who experience the same clinical signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) may have different forms of the disease that require different kinds of treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news134147197.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:06:37 EST news134147197