A new Zika vaccine candidate has the potential to protect against the virus with a single dose, according to a research team led by scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As reported in Nature this week, preclinical tests showed promising immune responses in both mice and monkeys. “We observed rapid and durable protective immunity without adverse events, and so we think this candidate vaccine represents a promising strategy for the global fight against Zika virus,” said senior author Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, a professor of Infectious Disease at Penn. “We hope to start clinical trials in 12 to 18 months.”

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The research involved a collaboration among Weissman’s laboratory at Penn and several others, including the laboratories of Barton F. Haynes at Duke University and Theodore C. Pierson at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prompted by the recent Zika virus outbreaks in Latin America and some parts of the United States, scientists around the world have been racing to develop candidate vaccines, and already several have been tested in animals. The new candidate vaccine is the first to show such potent and long-lasting protection without the use of a live virus. Traditional viral vaccines contain a weakened or killed version of the virus or isolated viral proteins. By contrast, the new Zika candidate vaccine uses tiny strands of RNA that hold the genetic codes for making viral proteins. These RNA molecules are modified versions of the so-called messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that normally carry information from genes and serve as blueprints for the making of proteins within cells. In this case, the mRNAs—produced and purified in a laboratory or biotech production facility—are delivered like a normal vaccine in an injection.

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Injected mRNAs normally would be cleared from the body within minutes by a patient’s immune system, but these mRNAs are modified so that they are ignored by the immune system and can easily enter cells. Once inside cells, they are taken up by cellular protein-making machinery and induce the production, over weeks, of the viral proteins they encode. This extended production of viral proteins mimics what a live virus vaccine would achieve. Live virus vaccines—using slow-replicating versions of the virus they are meant to protect against—tend to induce much more powerful immune protection compared to vaccines that are based on non-replicating versions of a virus or isolated viral proteins. Live virus vaccines have serious potential drawbacks, though, including harmful infection with the virus in people who have weakened immune systems. Some newer vaccine candidates use harmless viruses such as modified adenoviruses to deliver genes that encode immunizing viral proteins. To date, an adenovirus-based strategy is the only Zika vaccine candidate that has shown strong protection in monkeys with a single dose; however, the immune system tends to attack adenoviruses and in some cases may neutralize them before they can deliver their immunizing payloads. Source: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2017/february/new-zika-vaccine-candidate-protects-mice-and-monkeys-with-a-single-dose

Sunday, May 10, 2026

How Naltrexone Helps With Fibromyalgia

Dealing with fibromyalgia can take a real toll on daily life, affecting sleep, work performance, and overall well-being. While many people try to manage symptoms with lifestyle adjustments alone, medication often plays a central role in achieving meaningful relief, particularly when symptoms are moderate to severe or recurring. Allergy treatment has advanced considerably over the past several decades. Early antihistamines were effective but caused significant drowsiness. Modern second-generation antihistamines provide comparable or superior symptom control without the sedating side effects that limited their predecessors. Other treatment modalities include nasal corticosteroid sprays, which reduce airway inflammation, and allergen immunotherapy, which gradually desensitizes the immune system through controlled exposure to specific allergens over time. Healthcare professionals frequently discuss Naltrexone as a potential treatment for patients presenting with fibromyalgia. The data supporting naltrexone for fibromyalgia provides a useful resource for patients who want a thorough understanding of how this medication has been studied and what clinical experience suggests about its effectiveness. One of the practical considerations with Naltrexone is timing. Some patients find that taking the medication at a consistent time each day helps maintain stable effects. Food interactions, if any, should be noted since they can affect how well the active ingredient naltrexone is absorbed. Patients are encouraged to review the full prescribing information or consult a pharmacist for personalized guidance. Treatment of fibromyalgia does not always follow a one-size-fits-all approach. The https://mednewwsstoday.com/dependence/ section on dependence covers the range of treatments that might complement or serve as alternatives to Naltrexone, helping patients and providers find the combination most suited to individual needs.
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