HIV Breakthrough: New Antibody Therapy Suppresses AIDS Virus for 28 Days

A new research found that an experimental immunotherapy appears to reduce the levels of HIV virus in the blood for at least a month. An antibody called 3BNC117 was found in the blood of people who are infected with HIV but do not get sick. Their immune system naturally controls the virus.

 Dr. Florian Klein, assistant professor of clinical investigation, Rockefeller University, New York, said, "The antibody might be able to intensify current treatment strategies, especially since this new treatment appears to be more potent than previous attempts at HIV immunotherapy."

The researchers tested 3BNC117 in 17 HIV-infected and 12 uninfected individuals. The participants received a single intravenous dose of 3BNC117 of 1, 3, 10 or 30 milligrams. The antibody was well tolerated by all participants. Among HIV-infected participants, 3BNC117 had the greatest effect on eight participants who received the highest dose, resulting in significant and rapid decreases in viral load. 

The findings suggests that higher the dose, better the protection. HIV resistance to 3BNC117 was variable, but some individuals remained sensitive to the antibody for 28 days.

Robin Weiss, a virus expert at University College London who was not involved in the study, said, "This one is the first to be tested for safety in people and the results look promising with a reduction in the amount of virus in the bloodstream. However, we know that HIV is clever at evolving resistance to antibodies just as it does to antiretroviral drugs. Therefore, a combination of antibodies will probably become the best approach to immune control."

The researchers conclude that 3BNC117 is safe and can have a significant effect on controlling HIV levels and requires further research for use in HIV prevention and treatment. 
 Source:University College London 

 

Ayurveda Treatment for Developmental Disorders

Kerala Health Minister, V.S. Sivakumar, said, "Ayurveda expertise and care for the treatment of various developmental disorders in children, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will be made available at major Ayurveda hospitals in the State."

   

Minister Sivakumar inaugurated a scheme that provides Ayurveda treatment for developmental disorders in children, launched in the pediatric division of the Poojappura Ayurveda Hospital for Women and Children, under the Government Ayurveda College, Trivandrum on March 26. "Step will be taken to strengthen the pediatric wing in Ayurveda hospitals," he said.

A screening programme for identifying development disorders in children was also inaugurated by the Minister. A total number of 103 children below ten years of age were screened. Sixty were detected with cerebral palsy, twenty six were diagnosed with autism, seven were found to be hyperactive, another five had Down's Syndrome and seven children were found to have mental retardation.

 Source:Desk

Nano-Sensor Detects Cancer Even Before Initial Symptoms Appear, Prevents Need for Biopsy

A 35-year-old Brazilian scientist, Priscila Kosaka, has developed a new method to detect cancer before initial symptoms appear and without the need for a biopsy.

 Kosaka has been working at the Microelectronic Institute of Madrid (Spain) for the past six years, and has developed a less invasive method that uses a nano-sensor that is "10 million times more effective" than traditional tests on patient blood samples. 

The sensor has antibodies that can capture cancerous cells when they come into contact with an affected blood sample, and as a result weigh more, Kosaka told Brazil's leading G1 news website. In addition, the process causes the cancerous cells to change color, indicating the presence of a malignant tumor, she added. 

The sensor, not expected to be on the market for 10 more years, may miss only two out of 10,000 samples, and can also be used to detect the onset of hepatitis and Alzheimer's, according to G1. 

"Currently, there is no method that can detect very low concentrations of molecules," said Kosaka. 

Studies still need to be done to improve the nano-sensor so it can identify the type of cancerous cells present in a sample, such as gastrointestinal or pancreatic. 

According to the World Health Organization, 21.4 million cases of cancer are detected around the globe each year.  

Source:G1 news website

Use of Viagra and Other Related Drugs Not Universal 'Cure-All' for Impotency

A new research suggests that if you are suffering from impotence or erectile dysfunction, reaching out for Viagra and other related drugs may help you increase the levels of your sexual activity, but not satisfaction. Moreover, people suffering from erectile dysfunction have higher odds of suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes.

Viagra and other related drugs, clinically known as oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i), cannot address these associated concerns, the researchers pointed out, suggesting that restoring erectile dysfunction (ED) pharmacologically is not a 'cure-all'. 

"It is important that health professionals act on this and offer a more rounded approach to managing ED," said Dr. David Lee, lead author of the study from the University of Manchester in Britain. This should include a well-informed patient with realistic expectations, support from his partner, and an improved assessment of any psychological or relationship issues that may exacerbate sexual concerns and dissatisfaction, Lee pointed out. 

The researchers studied the responses of more than 2,600 English men aged 50-87 years. Older men who had recently used PDE5i drugs reported higher levels of sexual activity and function than men without ED, but were more likely to be concerned and/or dissatisfied with their sex lives. 

Source:The study was published in the International Journal of Impotence Research.

 

Phylogica Peptide Fusion Kills Aggressive Breast Cancer Cells

Phylogica is one of the leading peptide drug discovery companies, whose libraries contain billions of unique peptides known as Phylomer peptides; they represent a rich source of biologically active drug leads. These peptides are known to have exceptional structural stability, specificity and affinity, thereby giving them the potential to address disease targets.

In a pilot study, it was proven that certain peptides which are associated with the Omomyc drug, kills drug-resistant and aggressive breast cancer cells. The principal scientist is Dr. Pilar Blancafort, one of Australia's leading breast cancer experts, associate professor at The University of Western Australia, and a member of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. She commented that the results of the study show that the company's Cell-Penetrating Peptide (CPP) fusion improves efficacy of existing anticancer drugs. 

Dr. Blancafort said that the study also revealed that Phylogica's CPP fusion improved the efficacy of existing anticancer drugs to a great extent, including the antibody, Cetuximab and the chemotherapy agent, Docetaxel. She further stated that a combination of Cetuximab and a Phylomer CPP-Omomyc fusion was more than three times more effective at killing drug-resistant breast cancer cells as compared to any of these agents alone. 

 "The ability to combine drugs to treat breast cancer is particularly exciting as it has the potential to lower the likelihood of resistance, improve drug activity and reduce chemotherapy side-effects," she explained. 

Dr. Blancafort also tested the activity of Phylogica's CPP fusion in an in-vivo breast cancer model and found that there was a substantial reduction in tumor size. However, she was of the opinion that this pilot study needs to be repeated using larger groups to confirm its significance.

Dr. Paul Watt, the Chief Scientific Officer of Phylogica, said, "We were not expecting such a striking result from the pilot study. We believe this is the first time anyone has shown a CPP-Omomyc fusion protein to be active in vivo, as to our knowledge Omomyc has only previously been successfully delivered to tumors using a complex 'gene therapy' approach, associated with significant regulatory hurdles to clinical application." 

Source:Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research

Indian Origin Researchers Develop Camera to Monitor Health by Analyzing Face

Medical professionals routinely monitor vital signs including body temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate (heart rate), and breathing rate (respiratory rate). Rice University researchers have made this assessment easier than before by developing a camera that can monitor health just by looking at a person's face. The highly accurate, touch-free system, DistancePPG, can measure a patient's pulse and breathing just by analyzing the changes in one's skin color over time.

 

Researchers are making this not so new technique work under conditions that have so far stumped earlier systems. Other camera-based systems have been challenged by low-light conditions, dark skin tones and movement. But, DistancePPG relies on algorithms that correct for those variables. The research team comprising of Rice graduate student Mayank Kumar and professors Ashok Veeraraghavan and Ashutosh Sabharwal created the system that will let doctors diagnose patients from a distance with special attention paid to those in low-resource settings. 

Kumar, the project's lead graduate researcher, said, "DistancePPG would be particularly helpful to monitor premature infants for whom blood pressure cuffs or wired probes could pose a threat. Our key finding was that the strength of the skin-color change signal was different in different regions of the face, and so they developed a weighted-averaging algorithm, which improved the accuracy of derived vital signs, rapidly expanding the scope, viability, reach and utility of camera-based vital-sign monitoring. By incorporating tracking to compensate for movement, even a smile, DistancePPG perceived a pulse rate to within one beat per minute, even for diverse skin tones under varied lighting conditions. We expect the software to find its way to mobile phones, tablets and computers so people can reliably measure their own vital signs whenever and wherever they choose." 

Source:The research is published in Biomedical Optics Express.
 

CDSCO drug inspectors to soon get trained on GMP in line with global counterparts

Aimed at empowering the central drug regulators with the similar regulatory knowledge as offered to the US FDA officials, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is planning to equip its drug inspectors on relevant areas of current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) following the online training availed by 45 officers from the Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) recently. The US-based global leader in safety science Underwriters Laboratories (UL) trained the 45 officers from the Gujarat FDCA on 22 online courses covering critical areas including Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Clinical Practices (GCP), audit-readiness and remedial training. UL offers about 1,200 courses globally and has trained around 38,000 US FDA inspectors till date. "There are about 17 officers in the CDSCO western region who require training on relevant areas of GMP and cGMP. However, the proposal on the same is in its final stage of approval and will materialize soon," informed an official associated with the development. Out of the 700 courses offered through e-learning mode, 150 courses have been made available in Gujarat FDCA for the state regulators on relevant areas of GMP, GDP and validation protocols. There is no monetary interest associated with offering this online programme as the aim is to empower the regulators with the similar regulatory knowledge as that is offered to the US FDA. Explains Scott Barnard, VP, life sciences, EduNeering, "As a part of MoU with the Gujarat government, UL would further provide e-learning courses with different regulatory topics such as GXP (which includes good manufacturing and laboratory practices, and clinical research) content to them. A system has also been provided where regulators can do those courses and track those completions." Talking about the training module, Gujarat FDCA Commissioner Dr H G Koshia said, “This will offer educational opportunities to its investigators, scientists, analysts, state and local regulatory officials to meet the challenges of matching the complex regulatory environment. UL EduNeering’s rich modules of training programmes that are followed by US FDA would definitely help our inspectors understand the nuances of global regulatory requirements and ensure a high degree of quality control for pharmaceutical manufacturers in Gujarat.” Last year, pharmaceutical exports from India to the United States rose 32 per cent to $4.2 billion. India accounts for about 40 per cent of generic and over the counter (OTC) products and 10 per cent of finished dosages used in the US. Explains Dr Kavita Mehrotra, global strategic head, UL EduNeering, “UL aims at bringing in good manufacturing practices (GMP) by empowering the regulatory authorities because ultimately not only does this contribute significantly to patient safety but also influences the quality of exports of pharmaceuticals and other related products, thereby accelerating business results as well.” “UL offers innovative technologies that prepare companies to have standardised processes, as well as audit readiness, by adhering to GMP requirements, so that the best practices exist at every level in the organisation,” concludes Suresh Sugavanam, managing director, UL India and South Asia.

Source:Pharmabiz