Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection Blog

Extended Antiviral May Benefit Kidney Transplant Patients

Posted 6 weeks ago by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Sept. 17 – A longer period of preventive treatment after kidney transplant can help reduce the risk that the patient will become infected with a virus that can cause devastating problems, new research suggests.

Healthy people can usually fight off the virus, called cytomegalovirus, but those with kidney transplants have weakened immune systems and are more susceptible to infection, the authors of the study noted in a news release from the American Society of Nephrology. Read more...

Related support groups: Valcyte, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection, Valganciclovir

FDA Approves Valcyte (valganciclovir hydrochloride) to Prevent Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Disease in Pediatric Patients Who Receive Heart or Kidney Transplants

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

- Plus new oral solution offers dosing flexibility for pediatric patients -

NUTLEY, N.J., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Valcyte (valganciclovir hydrochloride) for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in pediatric kidney and heart transplant patients (4 months to 16 years of age) at high risk of developing CMV disease. The FDA also approved a new pediatric oral solution formulation for Valcyte, which will allow easier administration to pediatric patients 4 months to 16 years of age. Read more...

Related support groups: Valcyte, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection

Viral Infection Might Trigger High Blood Pressure

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, May 15 – A hidden viral infection that most adults harbor could be a cause of high blood pressure, animal studies indicate.

Mice infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) were more likely to develop not only high blood pressure but also the hardening of the arteries called atherosclerosis, according to a report in the May 15 issue of PLoS Pathogens by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston.

"This could be of immense importance," said lead researcher Dr. Clyde Crumpacker, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an investigator in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess. "The implication for the human population is that antiviral therapy or a vaccine could be an intervention for high blood pressure." Read more...

Related support groups: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection

Trial Vaccine May Protect Against Serious Viral Infection

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, March 18 – Women who were given an experimental vaccine for a viral infection that can cause serious problems in babies, known as cytomegalovirus, reduced their risk of infection by 50 percent for as long as three and half years after vaccination, according to new research.

"In many ways, this was a surprising result," said the lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Pass, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Many people in the field felt it would be very difficult to prevent infection in mothers. We thought the best we could hope for was a vaccine for women that would prevent infection in a baby."

Results of the study are published in the March 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Read more...

Related support groups: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection