Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is common in adolescence, but fulminant infection is very rare. A 40-year-old man presented with high fever and sore throat. Symptoms, including cervical lymphadenopathy, jaundice, atypical lymphocytosis, respiratory distress and oliguria, suggested infectious mononucleosis with multiple organ failure that required mechanical ventilation and renal replacement ...

Patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are at significant risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The most important risk factor associated with HCC is liver cirrhosis, which is again predominantly caused by chronic HBV or HCV infection. The most effective approach to avoid HCC development is to prevent HBV and HCV infection through vaccination. Ind...

Biological therapy has redesigned the treatment of certain systemic infl ammatory disorders, and it is currently employed in clinical practice by specialties such as rheumatology, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology and oncology. A decade’s worth of data has classifi ed biological therapy as safe and effective for the treatment of a large number of diseases. However, its associated risk of...

Gene therapy has long been regarded as a promising treatment for cancer. However, cancer gene therapy is still facing the challenge of targeting gene delivery vectors specifically to tumors when administered via clinically acceptable non-invasive systemic routes (i.e. intravenous). The bacteria virus, bacteriophage (phage), represents a new generation of promising vectors in systemic gene deliv...

Cell-to-cell viral transmission via virological synapses has been argued to reduce susceptibility of the virus population to anti-viral drugs through multiple infection of cells, contributing to low-level viral persistence during therapy. Using a mathematical framework, we examine the role of synaptic transmission in treatment susceptibility. A key factor is the relative probability of individu...

There are no specific therapies approved by the U.S. FDA for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 COVID-19. Several agents are under clinical trial and the use of pharmacological agents are based on in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2 or related viruses. While the efficacy of drug therapy is yet to be established, we need ...

Stem cell gene therapy approaches for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection have been explored in clinical trials and several anti-HIV genes delivered by retroviral vectors were shown to block HIV replication. However, gammaretroviral and lentiviral based retroviral vectors have limitations for delivery of anti-HIV genes into hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Foamy virus vectors have sever...

Respiratory viruses evolve to maintain infectivity levels that permit spread yet prevent host and virus extinction, resulting in surprisingly low infection rates. Respiratory viruses harnessed as gene therapy vectors have illustrated this limitation. We used directed evolution in an organotypic human airway model to generate a highly infectious adeno-associated virus. This virus mediated gene t...

Recent research has indicated that viruses specifically infecting tumor cells could be used as an alternative therapeutic approach in cancer patients. A particular example is the adenovirus ONYX-015, which has entered clinical trials in the context of head and neck cancer. Successful therapy crucially requires an understanding about how viral and host parameters influence tumor load. The intera...

10.2217/14750708.2.3.447 © 2 part of Chronic hepatitis C virus infection is associated with an increased risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Proposed mechanisms include increased insulin resistance, development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and direct infection of the pancreas by hepatitis C virus. However, the development of Type 1 diabetes mellitus is usually associate...