| Paranoia, Conspiracy Theories, and Quicksilver
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| Date and Time |
- | Mar. 10th, 2008, 12:39 pm | |
| Current Mood |
- |  hungry | |
| Current Music |
- | Nirvana - Lithium | |
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| Potentially Good Bird Flu News
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| Date and Time |
- | Jan. 26th, 2006, 11:44 pm | |
| Current Mood |
- |  sleepy | |
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| University of Pittsburgh researchers announced they have genetically engineered an avian flu vaccine from the critical components of the deadly H5N1 virus that completely protected mice and chickens from infection. Avian flu has devastated bird populations in Southeast Asia and Europe and so far has killed more than 80 people.
Because this vaccine contains a live virus, it may be more immune-activating than avian flu vaccines prepared by traditional methods, say the researchers. Furthermore, because it is grown in cells, it can be produced much more quickly than traditional vaccines, making it an extremely attractive candidate for preventing the spread of the virus in domestic livestock populations and, potentially, in humans, according to the study, published in the Feb 15 issue of the Journal of Virology and made available early online.
"The results of this animal trial are very promising, not only because our vaccine completely protected animals that otherwise would have died, but also because we found that one form of the vaccine stimulates several lines of immunity against H5N1," said Andrea Gambotto, M.D., assistant professor in the departments of surgery and molecular genetics and biochemistry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and lead author of the study.
full story | |
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| New Use for Old Meds
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| Date and Time |
- | Aug. 13th, 2005, 09:07 pm | |
| Current Mood |
- |  surprised | |
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| Early research suggests a potential way to eradicate dormant HIV infection, scientists claim in the Lancet.
A University of North Carolina team has shown valproic acid - used to treat bipolar disorder - can prevent HIV persisting in this latent phase.
The findings may boost HIV treatment and be a step towards preventing HIV from being a chronic disease, they say.
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To test this concept, researchers studied four people with HIV who were already on HAART.
They were given enfuvirtide (Fuzeon), which stops the virus entering healthy cells for up to six weeks, to give them added protection against HIV.
A three-month, twice daily, course of valproic acid (valproate) was then added to their treatment.
The researchers found a 75% reduction in latent HIV infection in three of the four patients over the period they were taking valproate.
full article | |
Who'd have thought that depakote (valproic acid) might end up curing HIV. I hated depakote when they gave it to me at Bournewood. It's a very harsh mood stabilizer, definitely in the zombifying class of psych meds. It is also used as an anti-epileptic, but I hope at a different dosage. I still shudder when I hear it's name. It'll be interesting to see if this pans out, though I'm not to hopeful as so many potential "cures" and "vaccines" have gone nowhere. |
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| Back From The Doctor's
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| Date and Time |
- | Dec. 8th, 2003, 01:37 pm | |
| Current Mood |
- |  mellow | |
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I just got back from seeing my doctor. Got a flu shot. I have to go back tomorrow for some bloodwork as the phlebotomist was out today. If I test negative for hep B shot, I'm going to get a hep B. I also have a referral to a neurologist for my dizzy spells/seizures.
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