Hopefully we will all have less needles to take in the arm in the near future. A new universal vaccine that is effective against several strains of the flu has passed an initial phase of testing by researchers at the University of Texas at Galveston.
A universal vaccine could do a lot for the world and save billions in needles and serums. It is being developed by Dr.Turley at the Sealy Center for Vaccine development. It could also delay the onset of a pandemic by slowing down the mutations of A viruses in to more virulent forms. The researchers claim that it is a safe and highly effective way to prevent seasonal and pandemic influenza strains.
This study is well funded by a $9.5 million grant that was awarded to UTMB by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The experimental drug trial was performed on sixy young adults in a double blind study that escalated the dose for the first time in humans. It was conducted to see if a response could be triggered in the immune system to the presence of the vaccine.
The trial was also designed to evaluate the methods of companies like VaxInnate (which is the delivery system used for this particular vaccine) to develop and produce healing modalities effectifely.
The company VaxInnate uses a proprietary combination of toll-like receptor-mediated immune enhancement and recombinant bacterial production of vaccine antigen to deliver the universal protective dose; if this technology is successful it could significantly reduce the amount of time that it takes to manufacture needles and also distribute them. This is crucial in the case of a pandemic. The concern that there would not be enough vaccine to go around has always been an issue with the media, public and the medical industries. It may be that innovative and cheap vaccination delivery systems are the answer as is the development of universal vaccines such as this one. This way people receive multiple protective benefits in one shot.
This past week there has been a new drug discovery that assists in the clotting of platelets. This drug is effective for treating a rare blood disorder that is related to hemophilia and that can cause excessive bleeding that can lead to death.
The good news is that, the Food and Drug Administration said that the new drug discovery from researchers at Amgen can be ready for distribution and sale in the United States.
This is an inject able drug that helps simulate bone marrow. It mimics bodily functions to fool the brain into thinking the body can produce platelet, The idea is that that the body thinks it is producing blood platelets and acts normally in response to a cu tor an injury and thereby compensates for the disorder.
The specific rare blood disorder that it can assist is called h chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura. The disease destroys platelet ceils and the lower platelet levels trigger bleeding. People with condition are also more like to bruise very easily and this new drug discovery is also apt for preventing that condition as well.
The release of this drug is fortuitous as there are not many drugs currently available that do successfully treat this disease.
There is one caveat however. The FDA approved its use for patients only as a last resort and after other available treatments fail to help. This means that already approved ITP treatments include steroids, immune-suppressing drugs or surgery to remove the spleen would be tried first.
In terms of cost the drug is expected to be comparable in cost to other standard treatment regiments.
GlaxoSmithKline is putting out a rival drug, Promacta, or eltrombopag, faces an FDA approval decision by September 19. Angen is the first company to actually register the drug.
Angen says that it will seek approval for the drug in other countries including Canada, Switzerland, Australia and countries in Europe.
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a new medication for fighting flu and cold symptoms. It is a liquid made from aloe vera that when sprayed into the nose turns into a proactive layer of jelly.
This is a part of a larger directive to try and fight the bird flu epidemic that scientists have been predicting will be the next epidemic and be a threat in the near future. The vaccine also has the potential for other uses such as preventing other types of viruses such as the common cold and also protecting people (such as nurses and doctors) in hospitals.
The jelly is not just a physical layer of protection. It is also an absorbable vaccine. This unique drug discovery is funded by a six million dollar grant from the NIH (National Instates of Health) and is being developed by DelSite Biotechnologies in conjunction with the Texas teams. The key to this drug’s success has largely to do with how the vaccine is being delivered into the body. It is key to the success of using aloe vera leaves. The aloe vera is machinated into a powder so that it is chemically pure. It is then combined with the flu vaccine and sprayed up the nostrils where the jelly forms the protective layer. This jelly is very natural and is absorbed very easily and naturally into the body. It gives it more staying power and time to do its work.
All that will be needed in the future to protect the body from the flu is two or three puffs of this stuff into the nose. It is more effective than a normal spray because it stays inside the nose and lines the nostril. A powder form of the aloe vera plant was also experimented with but it also was not ery effective. However it can be stored in a powdered form and then mixed up when needed to put into the nose. This is good because it means millions of doses can be stored and used in an emergency in the case of a pandemic case of bird flu.
Scientists are on their way to a new prescription drug discovery that might help fight bird flu. The drug might also be beneficial for treating other strains of flu as well.
Researchers have managed to figure out the structure of the influenza A virus that is similar to the proteins in the virus expected to be in the bird flu virus. This protein is what suppresses a person’s defenses and makes them vulnerable to additional illnesses. Including virulent ones like the upcoming Bird Flu. The Bird Flu is classified as an influenza A just like the other “plague viruses” that came before it including the virus that characterized the pandemic flu in 1918.
These researchers have discovered how to prevent this protein found in A type flu viruses from binding to human cells and thereby preventing infection completely. Once bound to NS1 the human protein can no longer generate molecules needed to suppress flu virus replication. The drug will, in a sense be able to locate the Achilles heel of the infection and combat it completely.
The discovery of this protein and how it could be used to create a new drug appears in PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Early Edition and will be published in an upcoming issue of the PNAS print edition.
This project was supported by two different institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As in many other countries these two studies are complimenting each other. Support for the research was provided by the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) of the NIH Institute of General Medical Sciences
These studies are also part of follow-on to the human genome project, which is providing large numbers of protein samples and three-dimensional structures of biologically important proteins to the broad scientific community so they can do valuable research with regards to fighting plague type viruses and potential pandemics.