PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Norovirus vaccine reduces symptoms of illness by more than half, early research shows

2013-10-04
(Press-News.org) SAN FRANCISCO – An investigational vaccine appears generally well tolerated and effective against the most common strain of norovirus, reducing the main symptoms of the gastrointestinal (GI) infection, vomiting and/or diarrhea, by 52 percent, suggests research being presented at IDWeek 2013™.

Currently, there is no treatment or cure for norovirus, the most common cause of severe GI infection in the United States. Norovirus is highly contagious. Significant outbreaks occur in health care facilities, childcare centers and other places where people are in close quarters, including in the military and on cruise ships. Each year, 19 to 21 million Americans – one in 15 – are infected and as many as 800 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, one recent evaluation reports that the overall cost of the disease in the United States is $5.5 billion annually.

"Norovirus truly is a global issue and most if not everyone has experienced it to some degree," said David I. Bernstein, MD, MA, professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati and lead author of the study. "The results of our study are promising and our next step is to test this vaccine in a real-world setting."

The randomized, multi-center study included 98 people who agreed to drink water containing a significant dose of the virus, 50 who received the injected vaccine and 48 who received a placebo injection that did not contain the vaccine. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew in advance who received the vaccine and who did not. In the vaccine group, 26 (52 percent) were infected, as were 29 (60 percent) of those in the non-vaccine group. In people who received the vaccine, 10 (20 percent) suffered from mild, moderate or severe vomiting and/or diarrhea versus 20 (42 percent) in the non-vaccine group, a 52 percent reduction in symptoms.

The vaccine targets two genotypes of norovirus: GI.1 and GII.4, the latter of which is now the leading cause of outbreaks in the United States.

Norovirus can spread from person to person through infected food or water or contaminated surfaces. The best prevention is proper hand washing, but the virus is so contagious that people can become ill even from contact with viral particles in the air. Not everyone who is exposed to norovirus becomes infected and of those who are infected, not everyone gets sick, said Dr. Bernstein. But it nonetheless is very common, and can be serious, particularly for children and older adults.

"If the vaccine continues to prove as effective as our initial results indicate, it could be used for specific populations or situations – in those at a higher risk of severe disease such as the elderly or at high risk for infection or transmission such as in day care, people going on a cruise, those in nursing homes or in the military," said Dr. Bernstein. "Or it could be offered to everyone, since all of us are exposed at one time or another."

### Co-authors of the study, sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, are Robert L. Atmar, MD and David Y. Graham, MD, Baylor College of Medicine; G. Marshal Lyon, MD, MMSc, Emory University School of Medicine; John J. Treanor, MD, University of Rochester Medical Center; Wilbur H. Chen, MD, MS, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Robert W Frenck, MD and Xi Jiang PhD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Jan Vinjé, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Mohamed S. AL-Ibrahim, MD, Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories; Jill Barrett, MPH, The EMMES Corp.; Charles Richardson, PhD, Robert Goodwin, PhD, Astrid Borkowski, MD, PhD, Ralf Clemens, MD, PhD, and Paul M. Mendelman, MD, Takeda Vaccines.

AT A GLANCE An investigational vaccine reduces symptoms of norovirus gastrointestinal (GI) infection by 52 percent, an early study shows. Norovirus is the most common cause of GI illness, sickening one in 15 Americans every year, and killing as many as 800. In the randomized multicenter study, people drank water infected with the virus. Those who had been vaccinated experienced a 52 percent reduction in vomiting and/or diarrhea versus those who did not receive the vaccine. If further testing proves the vaccine effective, it might be offered to the general population, or people most likely to be exposed to norovirus, such as those in the military, who are going on cruises, or who live in nursing homes.

About IDWeek IDWeek 2013™ is an annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS). With the theme "Advancing Science, Improving Care," IDWeek features the latest science and bench-to-bedside approaches in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology of infectious diseases, including HIV, across the lifespan. IDWeek 2013 takes place October 2-6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.idweek.org, follow us on Twitter @IDWeek2013 or like us on Facebook at IDWeek.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Cultural differences shed light on non-completion of HPV vaccination in girls in low-income families

2013-10-04
SAN FRANCISCO – Although they are at higher risk for cervical cancer, girls from low-income families are less likely to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that prevents it, and the reasons they are not fully vaccinated differ depending on whether their parents are English-speaking or Spanish-speaking, suggests research being presented at IDWeek 2013™. In the study, Spanish-speaking parents whose daughters were not fully vaccinated said their providers either did not encourage the vaccine or didn't explain that three shots were necessary for full protection. ...

Researchers uncover metabolic enzymes with 'widespread roles' in opium poppy

2013-10-04
University of Calgary scientists have discovered metabolic enzymes in the opium poppy that play "widespread roles" in enabling the plant to make painkilling morphine and codeine, and other important compounds. The discovery, by university researcher Peter Facchini and PhD student Scott Farrow, includes the first biochemical reaction of its kind ever reported in plants, which may also occur in garden-variety poppies and other plants. Their research, published this week as a cover story in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, sheds light on how the opium poppy – the world's ...

Climate puzzle over origins of life on Earth

2013-10-04
The mystery of why life on Earth evolved when it did has deepened with the publication of a new study in the latest edition of the journal Science. Scientists at the CRPG-CNRS University of Lorraine, The University of Manchester and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris have ruled out a theory as to why the planet was warm enough to sustain the planet's earliest life forms when the Sun's energy was roughly three-quarters the strength it is today. Life evolved on Earth during the Archean, between 3.8 and 2.4 billion years ago, but the weak Sun should have meant ...

Understanding the evolution of lungs through physical principles

2013-10-04
Two French physicists, Bernard Sapoval and Marcel Filoche from École Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France, suggest in a study published in EPJ E how evolution has shaped our lungs through successive optimisations of physical parameters such as conservation of energy and speed of delivery. Our respiratory system consists of a bronchial tree designed to transport air through the lungs combined with an alveolar system designed to capture the oxygen. Both are subjected to different type of optimisations. Only tree-like structures, the paper shows, are able to efficiently feed ...

International research collaboration reveals the mechanism of the sodium-potassium pump

2013-10-04
It's not visible to the naked eye and you can't feel it, but up to 40 per cent of your body's energy goes into supplying the microscopic sodium-potassium pump with the energy it needs. The pump is constantly doing its job in every cell of all animals and humans. It works much like a small battery which, among other things, maintains the sodium balance which is crucial to keep muscles and nerves working. The sodium-potassium pump transports sodium out and potassium into the cell in a fixed cycle. During this process the structure of the pump changes. It is well-established ...

Surprisingly simple scheme for self-assembling robots

2013-10-04
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- In 2011, when an MIT senior named John Romanishin proposed a new design for modular robots to his robotics professor, Daniela Rus, she said, "That can't be done." Two years later, Rus showed her colleague Hod Lipson, a robotics researcher at Cornell University, a video of prototype robots, based on Romanishin's design, in action. "That can't be done," Lipson said. In November, Romanishin — now a research scientist in MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) — Rus, and postdoc Kyle Gilpin will establish once and for all that ...

Dartmouth researcher finds a new role for the benefits of oxygen

2013-10-04
Hanover, N.H.—In a study published in published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, a Dartmouth researcher found that dying heart cells are kept alive with spikes of oxygen. During a heart attack when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of the heart is interrupted, and not quickly restored, heart muscle begins dying. Deprived of oxygen and other essential nutrients, cell death continues occurring over a period of time leading to progressive loss of heart function and congestive heart failure. Current therapies are not effective at limiting cell loss—they only slow down ...

Well-connected hemispheres of Einstein's brain may have sparked his brilliance

2013-10-04
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The left and right hemispheres of Albert Einstein's brain were unusually well connected to each other and may have contributed to his brilliance, according to a new study conducted in part by Florida State University evolutionary anthropologist Dean Falk. "This study, more than any other to date, really gets at the 'inside' of Einstein's brain," Falk said. "It provides new information that helps make sense of what is known about the surface of Einstein's brain." The study, "The Corpus Callosum of Albert Einstein's Brain: Another Clue to His High ...

Stem cells engineered to become targeted drug factories

2013-10-04
A group of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers and collaborators at MIT and MGH have found a way to use stem cells as drug delivery vehicles. The researchers inserted modified strands of messenger RNA into connective tissue stem cells—called mesenchymal stem cells—which stimulated the cells to produce adhesive surface proteins and secrete interleukin-10, an anti-inflammatory molecule. When injected into the bloodstream of a mouse, these modified human stem cells were able to target and stick to sites of inflammation and release biological ...

Ultraviolet light to the extreme

2013-10-04
WASHINGTON, D.C. Oct. 4, 2013 -- When you heat a tiny droplet of liquid tin with a laser, plasma forms on the surface of the droplet and produces extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light, which has a higher frequency and greater energy than normal ultraviolet. Now, for the first time, researchers have mapped this EUV emission and developed a theoretical model that explains how the emission depends on the three-dimensional shape of the plasma. In doing so, they found a previously untapped source of EUV light, which could be useful for various applications including semiconductor ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

World’s leading medical journal details the climate emergency

GLP-1 drugs effective for weight loss, but more independent studies needed

Researchers uncover previously unexplored details of mosquito’s specialized detection mechanisms

Stem cell therapy linked to lower risk of heart failure after a heart attack

The NHS is reaching a crisis point in consultant recruitment, new report warns

UNM research suggests Halloween fireballs could signal increased risk of cosmic impact or airburst in 2032 and 2036

Biochar’s hidden helper: Dissolved organic matter boosts lead removal from polluted water

Sunlight turns everyday fabrics into ocean microfibers, new study finds

Antibiotics linked to lower risk of complications after obstetric tear

Rapid blood pressure fluctuations linked to early signs of brain degeneration in older adults

How microbes control mammalian cell growth

Emergency department pilot program serves rural families

Amid renewable-energy boom, study explores options for electricity market

Study finds improvement in knee pain with exercise and physical therapy

Researchers uncover key mechanism behind chemotherapy-induced nerve damage

Mayo Clinic researchers find enhancing the body’s ‘first responder’ cells may boost immune therapy for cancer

Secret to a long life? In bowhead whales, a protein repairs damaged DNA

MIT study: Identifying kids who need help learning to read isn’t as easy as A, B, C

Plant biomass substance helps combat weeds

Veterans with epilepsy after traumatic brain injury may have higher mortality rates

Who is more likely to lose vision due to high brain pressure?

Scripps Research professor awarded $3.2 million to advance type 1 diabetes research

Anna Wuttig wins Bayer Foundation Early Excellence in Science Award

Electric vehicles outperform gasoline cars in lifetime environmental impact

Kilimanjaro has lost 75 percent of its natural plant species over the last century

Spider web “decorations” may help pinpoint location of captured prey

Ancient tombs reveal the story of Chinese history

1 in 3 university students surveyed from a Parisian suburb report being unable to access desired food, with this food insecurity associated with academic dropout

Researchers uncover oldest 3D burrow systems in Hubei's Shibantan Biota

Discovery of a new principle: chiral molecules adhere to magnets

[Press-News.org] Norovirus vaccine reduces symptoms of illness by more than half, early research shows