Treatment for Human Parainfluenza Virus

One step closer to identifying a treatment for the dreaded Human Parainfluenza virus has been taken by the researchers at Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics.

These highly-infectious viruses are the leading cause of upper and lower respiratory tract disease in young children, including Croup, responsible for thousands of hospitalizations in the developed world, and hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in developing countries.

Quiz on Flu
Influenza (or rather, the flu) is a cold weather infectious condition that affects the young and old alike. Though most reported cases are mild, the flu can sometimes cause severe and life-threatening complications in both children and adults, thanks to wrong medications and improper vaccinations. Learn more about the disease from our Flu Quiz and guard yourself and your family from a possible infection.

Institute Director Professor Mark von Itzstein said his Group's research findings published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications today (Monday 20 October) provided a new direction towards the discovery of anti-viral drugs against hPIV.

"hPIV gains entry to human respiratory epithelial cells by attaching to carbohydrate receptors. They then enter cells and reproduce rapidly, causing illness," he said.

"In this study, we used a multi-disciplinary approach to develop potent inhibitors that target a structural feature within the hPIV type 3 haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (hPIV-3 HN)."

A New Variant of Bird Flu Virus Causes Serious Infection
A newly detected variant of bird flu virus has been associated with serious lung infection, ultimately resulting in death.

"These dual acting designer inhibitors represent the most potent designer compounds and efficiently block both HPIV cell entry and virion progeny release."

"To date, neither antiviral drugs nor vaccines are approved for clinical use against human parainfluenza virus, which reinforces the urgent need for new therapeutic discovery strategies.

Swine Flu Risk Calculator
Find out the risks for contracting swine flu and take the necessary precautionary steps. Swine flu caused a pandemic in 2009 with several deaths reported worldwide.

"This discovery will advance research in the design and synthesis of new drugs that may stop infection by hPIV," said Professor von Itzstein.

Source-Eurekalert

Acid Base Dietary Balance and its Influence on Our Health and Wellbeing
Our lifestyles and eating habits can lead to acid build up and push the body to an unhealthy state. Understanding alkaline body state is important for our long term health.