Archive for February, 2010
Could ViRexx Medical’s ‘Linked Recognition’ Research Lead to a Cancer Vaccine?
hepatitis February 21st, 2010
James Finch asked:
While preparing a lecture in biochemistry and virology for his graduate students at the University of Alberta in the early 1980s, Dr. Lorne Tyrrell ran across a study just published in the medical journal, Cell. The research by William Mason and Jesse Summers, entitled “Replication of Hepatitis B,” discussed their study of the hepatitis B virus in infected duck liver.
A SCIENTIST’S 20-YEAR UNFINISHED JOURNEY TO TREAT HBV MAY OPEN THE DOOR TO A NEW CLASS OF FLEXIBLE VACCINES
After studying their duck model theory, Tyrrell speculated if the hepatitis B virus (HBV) might be susceptible to antiviral agents, and consulted with a colleague, who specialized in nucleoside chemistry. Both medical professors became excited about the possibility of inhibiting the HBV virus with nucleoside analogues. Thus began the infectious disease specialist’s first leg of a journey, which led to the use of lamivudine as a therapy for chronic HBV infections.
More than 350 million people across the world, especially in Asia, now had new hope, some for their lifelong infections contracted vertically at birth from their mothers. In 2003, the Center for Disease Control estimated 73,000 Americans were infected with HBV, and about 5,000 die each year from sickness caused by HBV. It is reportedly 100 times more contagious than the AIDS virus. Many in North America, who had been infected with the virus from sexual transmission or intravenous drug use, were offered a potentially life-saving therapy.
Licensed in 1998, lamivudine is now used in 120 countries as a standard therapy for chronic HBV carriers. The compound is also used in combination with other drugs, such as protease inhibitors, for HIV therapy. Development rights were licensed to Glaxo Wellcome in 1990, which is now sold under the brand name Epivir®. For his pioneering efforts in developing the antiviral agent, Dr. Tyrrell was awarded the gold medal by the Canadian Liver Foundation and the Canadian Association for the Study of Liver in 2000. In 2005, he won the prestigious EnCana Principal Award for his development of the first effective oral medication for Hepatitis B.
HIS UNANSWERED QUESTIONS LAUNCHED A NEW HBV INVESTIGATION
Despite the awards and recognition, questions remained for Dr. Tyrrell about the shortcomings of lamivudine. He was troubled that some viruses would develop resistance to the compound. “I was disappointed the sustained viral response was not complete,” Tyrrell told us. In April 2003, the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy published a study in Japan showing, “long-term (lamivudine) therapy is associated with increased emergence of lamivudine-resistant strains of HBV.” Researchers concluded in this study, “The therapeutic challenge to effectively treat chronic HBV infection continues.”
Having screened lamivudine for use in Hepatitis B at Glaxo’s research lab at the University of Alberta, Dr. Tyrrell was able to observe the immune response of various HBV patients. “What really got me interested in doing more work in this area was that we noticed patients, who have an immune response to the virus and take lamivudine, will have a better sustained response rate,” Tyrrell explained. “A patient with elevated liver transaminases taking lamivudine had a higher probability of a sustained viral response,” Tyrrell said with excitement in his voice. “In a patient with normal liver enzymes, who gets lamivudine, the virus will go down, but as soon as you stop the therapy, the virus comes right back up.” He told us the sustained viral response is only about two to three percent. Only about 30 percent remain free of the virus, about one year after patients have stopped taking lamivudine.
“How do you break tolerance?” Tyrrell asked himself, hoping to develop a way to stimulate an immune response. All of the patients, he had observed, seemed to be tolerant of the hepatitis B virus. He pondered the dilemma, “Was there some way to break tolerance to hepatitis B by stimulating the immune response?” Tyrrell studied what others were attempting and wasn’t satisfied with the approaches others were taking to stimulate immune response. His ViRexx Medical research team brainstormed about different ways to target the antigen into the dendritic cells.
“That’s where we came in with the Chimigen™ technology,” Tyrrell said. “The dendritic cells have receptors on their surface that will bind the Fc portion of an antibody.” He pointed out a key feature of the Chimigen™ platform, “We used the Fc portion of a murine (mouse) antibody to hook onto our hepatitis B antigens. This would direct the viral antigens into dendritic cells in vivo.” Because the dendritic cells are the sentries of the immune system, they guard what comes in. Recognizing a ‘foreign situation’ in the murine antibody, it treats the whole molecule including the virus antigen as foreign.
LINK RECOGNITION MAY HOLD THE KEY
Dr. Rajan George, ViRexx Medical’s vice president of research and development, told us, “The dendritic cells chop up this protein into small pieces called peptides, also known as epitopes. The dendritic cells have a system where they put the T-cell epitope on another protein, MHC Class I, and bring it to the surface of the dendritic cell. They are presented as a complex on the surface of the dendritic cell to attract the T-cells.” When the T-cells arrive to inspect the foreign entity, the cytotoxic T-cells are activated. Then, they begin attacking and killing the virus-infected cells.
Research at Tokyo’s Cancer Institute Hospital, published in 1987 in Nippon Sanka Fujinka Gakkai Zasshi, suggested a feasibility of linked recognition of a virus antigen as a helper in tumor immunity with a target antigen. In the case of ViRexx Medical, Tyrrell’s team has created a new molecule, called “chimigen.” The term is shorthand for a chimeric antigen, meaning it is an antigen created from two different sources, part virus and part murine monoclonal antibody.
Dr. Tyrrell’s work at ViRexx Medical with Dr. George suggested the linked-recognition theory might be the key to breaking tolerance. Dr. George emphasized, “The new ‘chimigen’ stimulates an immune response to the antigen as well as the viral antigen. This is very important because the virus antigen was previously being ignored.” That brings us back to why lamivudine had limited success. The immune systems of some HBV carriers failed to recognize the viral infection as a threat to the body. Tyrell’s ViRexx Medical research team hopes the body’s immune system sees the threat, thus stimulating the immune system, and breaking tolerance. It appears Dr. Tyrell may soon find out whether or not the questions he asked will bring the answers he hoped for.
END OF PART ONE
First Aid Cpr Training
While preparing a lecture in biochemistry and virology for his graduate students at the University of Alberta in the early 1980s, Dr. Lorne Tyrrell ran across a study just published in the medical journal, Cell. The research by William Mason and Jesse Summers, entitled “Replication of Hepatitis B,” discussed their study of the hepatitis B virus in infected duck liver.
A SCIENTIST’S 20-YEAR UNFINISHED JOURNEY TO TREAT HBV MAY OPEN THE DOOR TO A NEW CLASS OF FLEXIBLE VACCINES
After studying their duck model theory, Tyrrell speculated if the hepatitis B virus (HBV) might be susceptible to antiviral agents, and consulted with a colleague, who specialized in nucleoside chemistry. Both medical professors became excited about the possibility of inhibiting the HBV virus with nucleoside analogues. Thus began the infectious disease specialist’s first leg of a journey, which led to the use of lamivudine as a therapy for chronic HBV infections.
More than 350 million people across the world, especially in Asia, now had new hope, some for their lifelong infections contracted vertically at birth from their mothers. In 2003, the Center for Disease Control estimated 73,000 Americans were infected with HBV, and about 5,000 die each year from sickness caused by HBV. It is reportedly 100 times more contagious than the AIDS virus. Many in North America, who had been infected with the virus from sexual transmission or intravenous drug use, were offered a potentially life-saving therapy.
Licensed in 1998, lamivudine is now used in 120 countries as a standard therapy for chronic HBV carriers. The compound is also used in combination with other drugs, such as protease inhibitors, for HIV therapy. Development rights were licensed to Glaxo Wellcome in 1990, which is now sold under the brand name Epivir®. For his pioneering efforts in developing the antiviral agent, Dr. Tyrrell was awarded the gold medal by the Canadian Liver Foundation and the Canadian Association for the Study of Liver in 2000. In 2005, he won the prestigious EnCana Principal Award for his development of the first effective oral medication for Hepatitis B.
HIS UNANSWERED QUESTIONS LAUNCHED A NEW HBV INVESTIGATION
Despite the awards and recognition, questions remained for Dr. Tyrrell about the shortcomings of lamivudine. He was troubled that some viruses would develop resistance to the compound. “I was disappointed the sustained viral response was not complete,” Tyrrell told us. In April 2003, the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy published a study in Japan showing, “long-term (lamivudine) therapy is associated with increased emergence of lamivudine-resistant strains of HBV.” Researchers concluded in this study, “The therapeutic challenge to effectively treat chronic HBV infection continues.”
Having screened lamivudine for use in Hepatitis B at Glaxo’s research lab at the University of Alberta, Dr. Tyrrell was able to observe the immune response of various HBV patients. “What really got me interested in doing more work in this area was that we noticed patients, who have an immune response to the virus and take lamivudine, will have a better sustained response rate,” Tyrrell explained. “A patient with elevated liver transaminases taking lamivudine had a higher probability of a sustained viral response,” Tyrrell said with excitement in his voice. “In a patient with normal liver enzymes, who gets lamivudine, the virus will go down, but as soon as you stop the therapy, the virus comes right back up.” He told us the sustained viral response is only about two to three percent. Only about 30 percent remain free of the virus, about one year after patients have stopped taking lamivudine.
“How do you break tolerance?” Tyrrell asked himself, hoping to develop a way to stimulate an immune response. All of the patients, he had observed, seemed to be tolerant of the hepatitis B virus. He pondered the dilemma, “Was there some way to break tolerance to hepatitis B by stimulating the immune response?” Tyrrell studied what others were attempting and wasn’t satisfied with the approaches others were taking to stimulate immune response. His ViRexx Medical research team brainstormed about different ways to target the antigen into the dendritic cells.
“That’s where we came in with the Chimigen™ technology,” Tyrrell said. “The dendritic cells have receptors on their surface that will bind the Fc portion of an antibody.” He pointed out a key feature of the Chimigen™ platform, “We used the Fc portion of a murine (mouse) antibody to hook onto our hepatitis B antigens. This would direct the viral antigens into dendritic cells in vivo.” Because the dendritic cells are the sentries of the immune system, they guard what comes in. Recognizing a ‘foreign situation’ in the murine antibody, it treats the whole molecule including the virus antigen as foreign.
LINK RECOGNITION MAY HOLD THE KEY
Dr. Rajan George, ViRexx Medical’s vice president of research and development, told us, “The dendritic cells chop up this protein into small pieces called peptides, also known as epitopes. The dendritic cells have a system where they put the T-cell epitope on another protein, MHC Class I, and bring it to the surface of the dendritic cell. They are presented as a complex on the surface of the dendritic cell to attract the T-cells.” When the T-cells arrive to inspect the foreign entity, the cytotoxic T-cells are activated. Then, they begin attacking and killing the virus-infected cells.
Research at Tokyo’s Cancer Institute Hospital, published in 1987 in Nippon Sanka Fujinka Gakkai Zasshi, suggested a feasibility of linked recognition of a virus antigen as a helper in tumor immunity with a target antigen. In the case of ViRexx Medical, Tyrrell’s team has created a new molecule, called “chimigen.” The term is shorthand for a chimeric antigen, meaning it is an antigen created from two different sources, part virus and part murine monoclonal antibody.
Dr. Tyrrell’s work at ViRexx Medical with Dr. George suggested the linked-recognition theory might be the key to breaking tolerance. Dr. George emphasized, “The new ‘chimigen’ stimulates an immune response to the antigen as well as the viral antigen. This is very important because the virus antigen was previously being ignored.” That brings us back to why lamivudine had limited success. The immune systems of some HBV carriers failed to recognize the viral infection as a threat to the body. Tyrell’s ViRexx Medical research team hopes the body’s immune system sees the threat, thus stimulating the immune system, and breaking tolerance. It appears Dr. Tyrell may soon find out whether or not the questions he asked will bring the answers he hoped for.
END OF PART ONE
First Aid Cpr Training
How common is hepatitis after a blood transfusion in the US?
hepatitis February 17th, 2010
fall_of_moondust asked:
What type of hepatitis would it most likely be if the symptoms started appearing around the 4-month post-transfusion point? If it were to be hepatitis, why would I need to see my doc since treatment appears to be no treatment in many cases—just watchfulness?
What type of hepatitis would it most likely be if the symptoms started appearing around the 4-month post-transfusion point? If it were to be hepatitis, why would I need to see my doc since treatment appears to be no treatment in many cases—just watchfulness?
Thank you!
Plumbing Tips For Homeowners
Hepatits – Information, Symptoms and Treatment
hepatitis February 17th, 2010
peterhutch asked:
Hepatitis means liver inflammation. Viral hepatitis means that a person has liver inflammation due to a virus. Viral infection of the liver makes the liver swell up and stop working well. The liver is an important organ. It helps your body with these functions:
Digests food
Stores energy
Removes poisons
Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis C virus, or HCV.Between 15 to 40 percent of people who get hepatitis C are able to fight off the virus during the early, or acute, stage, usually within six months. Between 60 and 85 percent of patients cannot get rid of the virus and develop a long-term, or chronic, hepatitis C infection. People with chronic hepatitis C will have the disease all their lives unless they are successfully treated with antiviral medicines.
The symptoms of acute hepatitis B infection develop within 1-6 months of when you first become infected with the virus, and include feeling sick, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever and feeling generally unwell. Some people develop jaundice (Peelia). This is due to build-up of bilirubin, which is made in the liver and spills into the blood in some liver conditions. Your urine also becomes dark yellow, your stools may go pale, and you tend to itch.
The hepatitis B virus can be passed to an infant during childbirth or shortly thereafter if the mother is infected.
The risk of becoming chronically infected depends on your age at the time of infection. Most newborns and about 50% of children infected with hepatitis B develop chronic hepatitis. Only a few adults infected with HBV develop the chronic condition.Most of the damage from the hepatitis B virus is due to the body’s response to the infection. When the body’s immune system detects the infection, it sends out special cells to fight it off. However, these disease-fighting cells can lead to liver inflammation.
Hepatitis D can only be acquired if the person has an active infection of hepatitis B. The virus cannot reproduce without the presence of the virus causing hepatitis B. If you have chronic hepatitis B and your symptoms suddenly worsen, your doctor should check for hepatitis D. The virus is spread through contact with infected blood and contaminated needles. You can also get the disease through sexual contact with someone who is infected.
The good news is that there is a safe and effective vaccine against the virus. In New Zealand this is on the immunisation schedule for infants and children up to sixteen years, free of charge through general practitioners. The course of vaccine for an infant consists of three doses scheduled for six weeks, three months and five months of age. Mothers who are carriers are identified by a blood test in pregnancy and their babies are offered protection by an injection of immune globulin at birth followed by a course of vaccine.
Immunisation at any age (from babies to old age) is very effective at protecting people against infection. If it is known (by a blood test) that a pregnant woman is a chronic carrier of hepatitis B, a baby can be immunised (given a vaccine) at birth to protect it from hepatitis B infection. The vaccine does not contain live virus, but uses a protein (called surface antigen) from the virus, so you cannot catch hepatitis from the vaccine.
Goodman Heat Pumps
Hepatitis means liver inflammation. Viral hepatitis means that a person has liver inflammation due to a virus. Viral infection of the liver makes the liver swell up and stop working well. The liver is an important organ. It helps your body with these functions:
Digests food
Stores energy
Removes poisons
Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis C virus, or HCV.Between 15 to 40 percent of people who get hepatitis C are able to fight off the virus during the early, or acute, stage, usually within six months. Between 60 and 85 percent of patients cannot get rid of the virus and develop a long-term, or chronic, hepatitis C infection. People with chronic hepatitis C will have the disease all their lives unless they are successfully treated with antiviral medicines.
The symptoms of acute hepatitis B infection develop within 1-6 months of when you first become infected with the virus, and include feeling sick, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever and feeling generally unwell. Some people develop jaundice (Peelia). This is due to build-up of bilirubin, which is made in the liver and spills into the blood in some liver conditions. Your urine also becomes dark yellow, your stools may go pale, and you tend to itch.
The hepatitis B virus can be passed to an infant during childbirth or shortly thereafter if the mother is infected.
The risk of becoming chronically infected depends on your age at the time of infection. Most newborns and about 50% of children infected with hepatitis B develop chronic hepatitis. Only a few adults infected with HBV develop the chronic condition.Most of the damage from the hepatitis B virus is due to the body’s response to the infection. When the body’s immune system detects the infection, it sends out special cells to fight it off. However, these disease-fighting cells can lead to liver inflammation.
Hepatitis D can only be acquired if the person has an active infection of hepatitis B. The virus cannot reproduce without the presence of the virus causing hepatitis B. If you have chronic hepatitis B and your symptoms suddenly worsen, your doctor should check for hepatitis D. The virus is spread through contact with infected blood and contaminated needles. You can also get the disease through sexual contact with someone who is infected.
The good news is that there is a safe and effective vaccine against the virus. In New Zealand this is on the immunisation schedule for infants and children up to sixteen years, free of charge through general practitioners. The course of vaccine for an infant consists of three doses scheduled for six weeks, three months and five months of age. Mothers who are carriers are identified by a blood test in pregnancy and their babies are offered protection by an injection of immune globulin at birth followed by a course of vaccine.
Immunisation at any age (from babies to old age) is very effective at protecting people against infection. If it is known (by a blood test) that a pregnant woman is a chronic carrier of hepatitis B, a baby can be immunised (given a vaccine) at birth to protect it from hepatitis B infection. The vaccine does not contain live virus, but uses a protein (called surface antigen) from the virus, so you cannot catch hepatitis from the vaccine.
Goodman Heat Pumps
How can I have Hepatitis C if I haven’t had a single symptom in 28 years?
hepatitis February 16th, 2010
DG asked:
I was born in 1981 and as I was a very sick newborn, I got more than one blood transfusion. Two years ago I got tested and they said I had Hepatitis C. how is it possible I could live with this for 28 years and it not be found in my blood and not have a single symptom?
Before i was told i had it, I had two sexual partners and they were virgins.
Bamboo Has Many Uses
I was born in 1981 and as I was a very sick newborn, I got more than one blood transfusion. Two years ago I got tested and they said I had Hepatitis C. how is it possible I could live with this for 28 years and it not be found in my blood and not have a single symptom?
Before i was told i had it, I had two sexual partners and they were virgins.
Bamboo Has Many Uses
What if I take a hepatitis b shot series out of order?
hepatitis February 15th, 2010
Carter W asked:
The hepatitis b shot series is a series of three shots supposed to be taken 1 month apart between the first and second shots, then 5 months apart between the second and third shots. What if by some mistake I accidentally am given the second shot first?
Bamboo Wind Chimes
The hepatitis b shot series is a series of three shots supposed to be taken 1 month apart between the first and second shots, then 5 months apart between the second and third shots. What if by some mistake I accidentally am given the second shot first?
Bamboo Wind Chimes
Cleaning Safety for Hepatitis C
hepatitis February 6th, 2010
Nicole Cutler, L.Ac. asked:
After being diagnosed with Hepatitis C, many people set out to make as many lifestyle changes as possible to help them live a long and healthy life with the virus. Some people adjust their eating habits to include more nutritious foods, or exclude beverages containing caffeine or alcohol. Some quit smoking, while others become more diligent about exercising. There are many things one can do to reduce the likelihood of causing more harm to the liver. One thing those with Hepatitis C may not realize can cause harm to the liver is the simple task of cleaning their homes.
People with a liver disease such as Hepatitis C are more susceptible to increased liver damage, due to their own liver’s inability to function properly. Using harmful cleaning supplies in the home can be toxic to the liver, as the toxins are less able to disperse through the air. Instead, these toxins linger longer in the home, all the while being inhaled by its occupants. People with Hepatitis C need to be extra careful about the items they use to clean their homes. Even though a product may look harmless, and may even claim to be “all-natural,” chances are it is harboring dangerous toxic chemicals within. With Hepatitis C, the liver is less able to filter toxic substances out of the body, which can cause additional damage to this already taxed organ.
Such supplies that can be detrimental to the liver include disinfectants, stain removers, bathroom cleaners, furniture polish and air fresheners. These cleaning supplies are commonly found in most households, however those living with Hepatitis C should take caution to prevent against their potentially destructive qualities.
Today, many health food stores are aware of the variety of dangers that cleaning supplies pose to both the environment and to the public’s health. They therefore offer alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and less harmful to your health. Or, there’s always the option to make your own cleaning supplies out of natural ingredients that don’t pose a danger to your health.
Learn more about how cleaning supplies can affect your liver, as well as how to make your own cleaners that won’t negatively impact your health.
Hands On CPR
After being diagnosed with Hepatitis C, many people set out to make as many lifestyle changes as possible to help them live a long and healthy life with the virus. Some people adjust their eating habits to include more nutritious foods, or exclude beverages containing caffeine or alcohol. Some quit smoking, while others become more diligent about exercising. There are many things one can do to reduce the likelihood of causing more harm to the liver. One thing those with Hepatitis C may not realize can cause harm to the liver is the simple task of cleaning their homes.
People with a liver disease such as Hepatitis C are more susceptible to increased liver damage, due to their own liver’s inability to function properly. Using harmful cleaning supplies in the home can be toxic to the liver, as the toxins are less able to disperse through the air. Instead, these toxins linger longer in the home, all the while being inhaled by its occupants. People with Hepatitis C need to be extra careful about the items they use to clean their homes. Even though a product may look harmless, and may even claim to be “all-natural,” chances are it is harboring dangerous toxic chemicals within. With Hepatitis C, the liver is less able to filter toxic substances out of the body, which can cause additional damage to this already taxed organ.
Such supplies that can be detrimental to the liver include disinfectants, stain removers, bathroom cleaners, furniture polish and air fresheners. These cleaning supplies are commonly found in most households, however those living with Hepatitis C should take caution to prevent against their potentially destructive qualities.
Today, many health food stores are aware of the variety of dangers that cleaning supplies pose to both the environment and to the public’s health. They therefore offer alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and less harmful to your health. Or, there’s always the option to make your own cleaning supplies out of natural ingredients that don’t pose a danger to your health.
Learn more about how cleaning supplies can affect your liver, as well as how to make your own cleaners that won’t negatively impact your health.
Hands On CPR
At what temperature will the Hepatitis C virus be inactivated?
hepatitis February 1st, 2010
Hongwei Z. asked:
I would like to disinfect utensils and dishes that are used by persons who have hepatitis C, perhaps using a dishwasher. Bleach has been said to be an effective way of killing the virus, but this is impractical for dishes and eating utensils. Is it possible at temperatures reachable by a dishwasher to inactivate the hepatitis C virus?
But if a person were to bleed just a bit onto utensils or dishes, that would be a big risk. Hence, back to my original question.
Rapala Fishing Lures
I would like to disinfect utensils and dishes that are used by persons who have hepatitis C, perhaps using a dishwasher. Bleach has been said to be an effective way of killing the virus, but this is impractical for dishes and eating utensils. Is it possible at temperatures reachable by a dishwasher to inactivate the hepatitis C virus?
But if a person were to bleed just a bit onto utensils or dishes, that would be a big risk. Hence, back to my original question.
Rapala Fishing Lures