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Findings from a study in animals appear to demonstrate that temporarily blocking a type of protein, called type I interferon, can restore immune function and speed up viral suppression during treatment with anti-viral drugs for people with chronic infection of the virus that causes AIDS . This is the first study to show the role that type I interferon plays in driving the body's immune destruction during HIV infection, said Scott Kitchen, associate professor of medicine in the division of hematology/oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and senior author of the study published in the peer-reviewed  Journal of Clinical Investigation . "This finding is completely counterintuitive, because many believe that the more interferon at work, the better," said Kitchen, a member of the UCLA AIDS Institute. "We show that the type of interferon being produced during chronic stages of HIV infection has detrimental effects on the body's ability to fight ...

Till it burst onto the scene earlier this yr, Zika was an obscure, little-known virus. Because of this, scientists know little about the way it works. Over the previous yr, they've realized that it could trigger a variety of harmful well being issues, together with start defects resembling microcephaly and neurological issues resembling Guillain -Barré syndrom e. However they do not know which Zika protein or proteins are inflicting hurt, or precisely how these proteins trigger harm. Now, a brand new examine by scientists on the College of Maryland College of Drugs (UM SOM) has for the primary time recognized seven key proteins within the virus that could be the culprits behind this harm. The examine is the primary complete description of the Zika virus genome. The examine was revealed at the moment within the journal  Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences . "The mechanism of this virus has been an actual thriller," stated the lead resea...

Like other chronic, life-long medical conditions such as hypertension or diabetes, opioid use disorder (OUD) requires long-term engagement in therapy for its success. According to the experts, many individuals who participate in Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) with buprenorphine discontinue treatment less than one year after initiation. Buprenorphine (also known as Subutex, or Suboxone when formulated with another drug, naloxone) is an effective treatment for opioid dependence. Treatment with buprenorphine has been shown to lead to reduced rates of heroin and prescription opioid use, as well as a reduction in "risky behaviors" that are associated with development of significant co-morbidities such as HIV or viral hepatitis infection. To better understand the reasons for disengagement from buprenorphine treatment, researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and (BUSPH) Public Health examined patients treated at Boston Medical Center's (BM...