Theresa42
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Genetic Test Spots Patients at Risk From Viral Infections
Aug 19, 2007
A genetic method of identifying patients most likely to develop life-threatening complications from SARS, bird flu and other dangerous viral infections has been discovered by Canadian researchers.
They analyzed blood samples from 40 people infected with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) during the 2003 outbreak in Toronto. They found that patients with one kind of interferon gene-expression pattern recovered quickly, while those with another pattern became seriously ill or died, the Toronto Star reported.
Interferons -- proteins produced by white blood cells -- are the body's first-line defense against viruses. SARS patients with abnormal interferon patterns didn't produce enough antibodies to fight the virus, the study found. It was published Thursday in the Journal of Virology.
The findings provide new insight into how the immune system responds to SARS and could help doctors identify which patients with severe viral infections require specialized treatments, the Star reported.
http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=607471
Cameron et al, Interferon-Mediated Immunopathological Events Are Associated with Atypical Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Journal of Virology, August 2007, p. 8692-8706, Vol. 81, No. 16
http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/16/8692
Genetic Test Spots Patients at Risk From Viral Infections
Aug 19, 2007
A genetic method of identifying patients most likely to develop life-threatening complications from SARS, bird flu and other dangerous viral infections has been discovered by Canadian researchers.
They analyzed blood samples from 40 people infected with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) during the 2003 outbreak in Toronto. They found that patients with one kind of interferon gene-expression pattern recovered quickly, while those with another pattern became seriously ill or died, the Toronto Star reported.
Interferons -- proteins produced by white blood cells -- are the body's first-line defense against viruses. SARS patients with abnormal interferon patterns didn't produce enough antibodies to fight the virus, the study found. It was published Thursday in the Journal of Virology.
The findings provide new insight into how the immune system responds to SARS and could help doctors identify which patients with severe viral infections require specialized treatments, the Star reported.
http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=607471
Cameron et al, Interferon-Mediated Immunopathological Events Are Associated with Atypical Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Journal of Virology, August 2007, p. 8692-8706, Vol. 81, No. 16
http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/16/8692