Toray Progress in Development of Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine

Tokyo, Aug 27, 2007 (JCN) - Toray Industries <3402> announced on August 22 that the company confirmed for the first time in the world that hepatitis C virus (HCV) particles produced using a novel HCV culture system inactivated have the potential for practical use as an HCV vaccine in experiments using mice.

The culture system was established through the company's joint research on the development of an HCV vaccine with the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience (TMIN), Tokyo Metropolitan Organization for Medical Research.

Since its 2005 world-first in vitro cultivation of HCV with TMIN, Toray has been seeking the potential of HCV particlest for use as an HCV vaccine in collaboration with NIID. read more

Let's prey the brave girl

Charlotte Worton.AN inspirational 16-year-old who revised while recovering from a liver transplant is celebrating after passing her GCSEs.

Who had a rare condition called autoimmune hepatitis - an inflammation of the liver - had her first transplant at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

She was fine until last September.

But she had to go into hospital because her eyes started to go a tinge of yellow.
She did a biopsy and they said her body was rejecting her liver.

Despite doctors trying different medication, Charlotte's condition deteriorated and at one point her name was removed from the transplant list because she was so ill.

She battled through and had a second transplant.

Charlotte said she has never felt better and in September is returning to Stourport High School to do her A-levels, which she hopes to use to become a social worker or counsellor, helping other people recover from organ transplants.
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Pakistani's sewerage

A World Bank engineer of Pakistani origin, extremely knowledgeable about Pakistan’s infrastructures, has been obsessed with disposal of sewerage and waste. He contends that all sewerage and waste is either being dumped or consumed within the population centres or is being thrown in the rivers, canals and watercourses. Consequently, forty percent of the population is afflicted with Hepatitis B or C and the country is the highest consumer of antibiotics. If the trend continues, every section of Pakistani society will be unhealthy and the average age will decline sharply.read more

FDA Approves New Roche Diagnostics Blood Screening

Roche Diagnostics is the leading provider of PCR-based nucleic acid tests for the international blood bank market. Nucleic acid-based tests enable more highly sensitive detection of active HIV, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B infections than conventional antibody or antigen assays. Roche assays have been used by the Japanese Red Cross since 1999 to screen Japan's entire blood supply. In 2006, Roche launched the automated cobas s 201 system and the 5-parameter multiplex cobas TaqScreen MPX Test in Europe for the most comprehensive single-assay detection of HIV-1 groups M & O, HIV-2, and Hepatitis B and C in donated blood and plasma. The West Nile Virus test is the first test available on the automated cobas s 201 system in the US, where the multiplex HIV, HCV, and HBV test is currently under FDA review.read more

Iran manufactures hepatitis C cure

Iranian pharmaceutical researchers have managed to manufacture polyethylene glycol molecule, a key substance in treating hepatitis C.

This molecule is used in the pegylated interferon combination therapy.

Dr. Seyyed Mohsen Nayebpour, deputy head of The Growth Center for Pharmaceutical Technology Units at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, told Mehr news agency that while working on the process of manufacturing pegylated interferon, scientists were able to discover how polyethylene glycol is produced. read more

Wash your hands of germs

Most germs found on the hands are harmless, but bacteria and viruses responsible for everyday illnesses, such as colds and stomach upsets, are easily transferred from hand to hand and then onto every surface.

The spread of these and more serious illnesses, such as meningitis, bronchiolitis, influenza, hepatitis A,hepatitis B and most types of infectious diarrhea, can be stopped by the simple act of washing your hands.
Wash them thoroughly several times a day with soap and warm water, especially after the following activities: before eating or handling food; after using the lava-tory, blow-ing your nose, coughing or sneezing; after touching animals, rubbish or changing a nappy; and before and after visiting or taking care of any sick friends or relatives. read more

Angelina Jolie Hepatitis

Star Magazine reports that Brad Pitt fears that ninety pound Angelina Jolie is suffering from the liver disease Hepatitis.

According to the Star source, Brad “convinced Angelina to go see a doctor because he was afraid something was very wrong with her. She doesn’t have much of an appetite and is eating very little.”

“Tests were run and Brad’s family were led to believe that her illness might be something like hepatitis, but since then he’s clammed up, I think he knows what’s wrong, but he’s keeping it from people.” read more