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CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A common virus that causes colds can be a factor in obesity, according to a study released Monday offering further evidence that a weight problem may be contagious.

The adenovirus-36 (Ad 36) has already been implicated as the cause of weight gain in animals, but with this study researchers showed for the first time that it can also cause humans to pile on the pounds.

The findings could accelerate the development of a vaccine or an antiviral medication to help fight the battle of the bulge alongside diet and exercise.

“We’re not saying that a virus is the only cause of obesity, but this study provides stronger evidence that some obesity cases may involve viral infections,” said Magdalena Pasarica, an obesity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

A previous study found that almost a third …

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DAVIS, California (ENS) —
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A gene mutation that appears to be responsible for changing relatively mild forms of the West Nile virus into a highly virulent and deadly disease in American crows has been identified by U.S. government and university scientists.

Because it is susceptible to the West Nile virus, the American crow has served as the major sentinel species, playing an important role in alerting scientists and health professionals to the movement of the disease across North America.

Studies have found that deaths of American crows due to West Nile virus are associated with higher rates of infection among mosquito populations and clusters of the disease in humans. This year to date 444 people have been stricken with West Nile virus, and 15 of them have died.

“The findings from this study highlight the potential for viruses like West Nile to rapidly adapt to changing environments when introduced …

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The Worldwide and American Rapid Spread of Dengue Driving Development

WEST HAVEN, Conn. — NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC) (the "Company"), announced today that its Dengue virus therapeutics program is advancing at an accelerated pace.

Dengue fever is gaining a firmer foothold in southern Texas, putting residents at risk for the most dangerous form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on August 10th. Doctors and health officials in parts of south Texas should be on the lookout for dengue fever, a tropical virus that can cause internal bleeding and death, CDC said on Aug 9th (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20203770/).

"The US is at significant risk because the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which carries the Dengue virus, can easily cross borders, and because dengue virus is becoming endemic in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Central America," said Dr. Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, CEO of NanoViricides, Inc.

DHF cases have risen to an alarming 25% of dengue fever cases, with overall dengue cases having increased by more than 600 percent in Mexico since 2001, according to Mexico’s Public Health Department, reports Mark Stevenson of Associated Press (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003645837_dengue31 .html). Also, the Puerto Rican Health Department has recently reported that Dengue has reached epidemic proportions there. The situation is even more acute in Asia with over 33,000 cases of Dengue reported in Vietnam. In addition, Singapore and India are among countries reporting recent outbreaks of Dengue. Globally, there are an estimated 50 to 100 million cases of dengue fever (DF) and several hundred thousand cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) per year, according to CDC.

"Therapeutics against Dengue are gaining increased importance because the risk of developing the fatal form, DHF, has been increasing rapidly worldwide, as a significant portion of the world population has had an initial infection with the Dengue virus," said Dr. Anil R. Diwan, President, NanoViricides, Inc. DHF develops primarily in persons reinfected with one of the three remaining dengue viral subtypes, after a previous dengue infection.

NanoViricides, Inc. is preparing to ship dengue-specific as well as broad-spectrum nanoviricides for preclinical testing to Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) within the next several weeks pursuant to a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) signed earlier this year. The dengue-specific ligands are derived from work done by WRAIR scientists.

The new spending authority Defense authorization bill now making its way through Congress designates $5 million for NanoViricides, Inc.’s drug development against Dengue fever, according to a recent announcement by the Washington office of Senator Joseph Lieberman.

About NanoViricides:

NanoViricides, Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com) is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for viral therapy. The Company’s novel nanoviricide[TM] class of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to dismantle them. The Company is developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including H5N1 bird flu, seasonal influenza, HIV, hepatitis C, rabies, dengue fever, among others.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company’s current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors including the availability of adequate financing, the success of the Company’s research and development strategy, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies and the uncertainties related to the regulatory process, described in the "Management’s Discussion and Analysis" section of the Company’s Form 10-KSB and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be different from those expressed or implied by the Company.

COPYRIGHT 2007 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

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