NIH Grants $9 Million to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for SCID Research

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases division has awarded nearly $9 million to researchers from Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Boston Children’s Hospital to study the lowest dose of chemotherapy needed for babies with severe combined immunodeficiency(SCID) undergoing bone marrow transplant, the standard treatment for SCID.
Recombinant Quadrivalent Flu Vaccine More Effective in Older Adults

A clinical trial comparing the protective efficacy in older adults of a quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine with a standard-dose, egg-grown quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine during the A/H3N2-predominant 2014-2015 influenza season showed RIV4 provided better protection against confirmed influenza-like illness among older adults.
Report Shows Hospital-Acquired Conditions Continue to Decline

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a preliminary update to the National Scorecard on Rates ofHospital-Acquired Conditions that show a 21 percent reduction in hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2015.
Study Shows Microneedle Patch Influenza Vaccine Is Effective and Painless

A new study shows that microneedle patches provide an alternative to conventional needle-and-syringe immunization, potentially offering improved immunogenicity, simplicity, cost-effectiveness, acceptability and safety.
Co-Administration of Albumin with Lactulose Reverses Hepatic Encephalopathy and Reduces Mortality in Liver Cirrhosis

A multidisciplinary team of investigators based in New Delhi randomized 120 patients with liver cirrhosis and overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) to receive oral lactulose therapy or oral lactulose plus 1.5 g/kg/day of human albumin. The primary study endpoint was complete reversal of HE; secondary endpoints included mortality and length of hospital stay.
Public Attitudes Toward Unvaccinated Children and Their Mothers Depends on Motivation Not to Vaccinate

A study conducted at the University of British Columbia found that mothers are viewed negatively if their child hasn’t been vaccinated, regardless of the reason.
New Study Supports CDC Recommendation for Two-Dose HPV Vaccine in Children

A new study conducted at the Boston Medical Center is the first to support new recommendations for a two-dose HPV vaccine to prevent genital warts in kids younger than 15 years old.
IVIG Highly Protective in Ferrets After Challenge with Severe Pandemic pH1N1 and Avian H5N1 Influenza Strains
Australian investigators tested the ability of intravenous immune globulin to protect against potential pandemic influenza virus in outbred ferrets, which are naturally susceptible to human influenza viruses and considered a relevant small animal model of human influenza infection.
BCG Vaccine Could Permanently Reverse Type 1 Diabetes

Results of a new clinical trial show that the bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine could permanently reverse advanced type 1 diabetes in mice.
Study Shows Influenza May Increase Risk of Developing Parkinson’s

New research suggests a certain strain of influenza virus predisposes mice to developing pathologies that mimic those seen in Parkinson’s disease.