Protection Without a Vaccine

Last month, a team of scientists announced what could prove to be an enormous step forward in the fight against H.I.V. Scientists at Scripps Research Institute said they had developed an artificial antibody that, once in the blood, grabbed hold of the virus and inactivated it. The molecule can eliminate H.I.V. from infected monkeys and protect them from future infections. But this treatment is not a vaccine, not in any ordinary sense. By delivering synthetic genes into the muscles of the monkeys, the scientists are essentially re-engineering the animals to resist disease. Researchers are testing this novel approach not just against H.I.V.,...

Prostate, breast cancer share genetic link

A family history of prostate cancer may be tied to a woman's risk of breast cancer, a new study suggests. Women whose father, brother or son have had prostate cancer may have a 14 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer, said Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer, a researcher at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit. Those women with a family history of both prostate and breast cancer were at a 78 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer, the researchers found. And the risk was greater for black women than whites. The researchers found a link, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship, between family...

FDA Approves United States' First 'Biosimilar 'Drug, Zarxio

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first biosimilar product in the U.S. By Rebekah Marcarelli r.marcarelli@hngn.com | Mar 08, 2015 05:38 PM EDT The FDA approved the country's first biologically similar product. (Photo : Wikimedia ) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first biosimilar product in the U.S. The drug, dubbed Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz), is biosimilar ("highly similar to an already-approved biological product") to Amgen Inc.'s Neupogen, the FDA reported. Biological products are those derived from living organisms such as yeasts or even humans and animals. Zarxio is approved for...

A drink a day may not be good for everyone

Based on a new analysis, the health benefits of having a drink a day may be exaggerated, UK researchers say. Only women over age 65, if anyone, might get a protective effect from light drinking, compared to people who never drank, the study found. Much past research has shown that people who drink a low to moderate amount of alcohol – about one drink per day – fare better than both heavy drinkers and those who abstain completely. But that non-drinker comparison group may be skewing the results, according the new study’s lead author Craig S. Knott of the department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London. People who...