Impacts of CIHR-funded research: Infectious Disease
[ Table of Contents ]Assessing readiness to adhere to treatment
Tool identifies patients who need more support
Overview
Antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS saves the lives of people infected with HIV – but its complicated requirements and sometimes-severe side effects mean that many who undergo this therapy may not stick with the treatment. Dr. Josie Geller of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS has developed a tool to measure patients' readiness to adhere to treatment.
Impact
The Antiretroviral Readiness and Motivation Scale (ARMS) could help physicians and other caregivers better predict which patients will adjust quickly to treatment and take steps to help those who will face more challenges in adhering to the regimen.
First Published
CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity, Research Finding Solutions to HIV/AIDS, 2006
Helping women who are powerless to say no
Microbicide puts HIV protection in women's hands
Overview
Laval University's Dr. Michel G. Bergeron and his team have developed a microbicide called the Invisible Condom® (IC) that gives women the ability to protect themselves against HIV even if their partner won't use a condom.
Impact
The IC has been shown to be safe, well-tolerated and acceptable to women in trials in Quebec and Cameroon. A phase III clinical trial is planned to test its effectiveness in preventing HIV infection. If successful, the IC could prevent millions of cases of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
First Published
CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity, Research Finding Solutions to HIV/AIDS, 2006; updated 2009
Avoiding a common infection
Candidiasis often found in people with HIV; interferes with food consumption
Overview
Candidiasis of the mouth and esophagus is a fungal infection commonly found in people infected with HIV. The infection can limit food consumption, leading to weight loss, which in turn leads to worsened general health and well-being. The infection is often resistant to conventional anti-fungal treatments. Dr. Louis de Repentigny of the University of Montreal has identified defects in immune cells that can cause candidiasis.
Impact
Dr. de Repentigny has his team have demonstrated that defects in two different kinds of immune cells – CD4+ T cells and dendritic cells – are responsible for susceptibility to candidiasis in people with HIV. Further analysis is underway and will provide a framework for devising new immune-based strategies to control the infection.
First Published
CIHR Health Research Results 2005-06; updated 2009
Shots for everyone
Universal influenza vaccination shows benefits
Overview
In 2000, the Ontario government instituted the world's first large-scale universal influenza immunization program, offering free flu shots to all Ontarians aged six months or older. Dr. Jeff Kwong of the University of Toronto has studied the impact of this pioneering program. He found that, in the first year of the program, Ontario vaccination rate for people over the age of 12 doubled, from 18% to 36%, while the vaccination rate in the rest of Canada increased from 13% to 21%. Ontario's universal program has been less successful, however, than targeted programs in vaccinating infants aged 6-23 months. The introduction of universal vaccination in Ontario was associated with relative reductions in influenza-associated mortality and health care use, as well as reduced antibiotic prescriptions for influenza, compared to targeted programs in other provinces.
Impact
Dr. Kwong's research suggests that universal vaccination may be an effective public health measure for reducing the annual burden of influenza.
First Published
Research profile, October 2007; updated 2009
Tracking influenza online
Google as an epidemiological tool? Yes, it's true
Overview
Where do you go when you want information? Many people "google" it – so many that the name of the search engine has become a widely accepted verb. Dr. Gunther Eysenbach of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation at the University Health Network in Toronto decided to take advantage of this propensity. He bought an ad on Google that would appear whenever Canadian internet users typed in the keywords "flu" or "flu symptoms". The ad linked to an educational site. As an advertiser, Dr. Eysenbach was able to monitor the number of people who clicked on his ad. He then compared his data to flu data from the Public Health Agency of Canada and found that his system not only gave an accurate picture of how many Canadians suffered from the flu that year, it also detected outbreaks faster than traditional monitoring methods.
Impact
While online tracking won't replace more direct monitoring anytime soon, it could help public health officials keep an eye on where the flu is making people sick.
First Published
Research profile, October 2007
Outsmarting a deadly parasite
Chemical shuts down malaria parasite
Overview
Forty one per cent of the world's population lives in areas where malaria is transmitted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and each year, there are 350-500 million cases of malaria and more than one million deaths, many of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Lakshmi Kotra of the Toronto General Research Institute has discovered a chemical that shuts down the malaria parasite by blocking the activity of a key protein the parasite needs to reproduce and survive.
Impact
The compound has been shown to work against human malaria pathogen in a mouse model. Dr. Kotra has established an International Consortium on Novel Classes of Antimalarial Drugs, a partnership between academia and industry in Canada and India to pursue the development of this compound into a drug that is effective in humans.
First Published
CIHR Health Research Results, 2006-07; updated 2009
Delivering drugs to where they're needed
Applications include cancer treatment, vaccines
Overview
Delivering the right drugs to the right place to have the desired effects is a challenging undertaking, but one that can deliver rewards in terms of preventing and treating disease. Dr. Roy Duncan of Dalhousie University is focusing on fusion-associated small transmembrane (FAST) proteins as a way to meet the challenge. He has developed a novel liposome delivery system based on these proteins that could deliver drugs, genes for gene therapy or vaccines.
Impact
Dr. Duncan founded Fusogenix Inc. in 2003 to commercialize this discovery. He has established that the fusogenic liposome system increases delivery of an anti-cancer peptide by more than 80-fold compared to non-fusogenic liposomes. The technology has been used by several research groups to promote cell-cell fusion, which has potential applications in fields such as muscle cell development and nerve regeneration. Fusogenix is in the process of transferring its intellectual property to another Canadian biotech company for further development as a reagent to promote antigen delivery in vaccine formulation.
First Published
CIHR Health Research Results, 2003-04; updated 2009
Working toward a new antibiotic
Drug could treat pneumonia, meningitis
Overview
Antibiotics have been around for more than half a century now, and have contributed toward the effective control of infections. But many antibiotics are not as effective as they used to be, in part because infectious bacteria have built up defences against them. Dr. David Byers of the IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University has developed a novel antibiotic that acts by interfering with one of the key enzymes bacteria need to create endotoxin. Endotoxin is found in the outer membrane of certain types of bacteria. Dr. Byers used computer modelling to design and synthesize a molecule that can inhibit a key player in endotoxin synthesis. The new compound could be used to treat conditions such as pneumonia, gastrointestinal disease and meningitis.
Impact
Dr. Byers and his co-investigators have formed DeNovaMed, a small biotechnology company and have synthesized more than 250 novel compounds, many of which have been patented. While there has been no clinical testing to date, DeNovaMed is continuing to seek additional venture capital for further growth and commercialization efforts.
First Published
CIHR Health Research Results, 2005-06; updated 2009
Building a safer blood supply
Inexpensive test detects parasites
Overview
In the wake of the tainted blood affair of the early 1990s, there has been a strong focus on the safety of the blood system in Canada. Currently, blood is not tested for parasites, however, as current detection methods are both expensive and complex. Dr. Momar Ndao of McGill University has developed an inexpensive, yet comprehensive blood test that will test for all major parasitic diseases and determine if the blood is safe.
Impact
Dr. Ndao and his team are currently validating their test using samples from a wide variety of geographic areas. They have received funding from CIHR to bring the test closer to commercialization and several companies have expressed interest in it.
First Published
CIHR Health Research Results, 2005-06; updated 2009
Circumcision can reduce HIV infection
Named medical breakthrough of the year by Time Magazine
Overview
A randomized controlled trial partially funded by CIHR and carried out by Dr. Stephen Moses of the University of Manitoba, among others, has found that male circumcision is an effective measure for reducing HIV incidence in young men in Africa.
Impact
Time Magazine named this discovery the top medical breakthrough of 2007. Now, several countries in Africa, especially in southern Africa, are considering expanding the delivery of safe circumcision services. Some countries, like Swaziland, have already begun the process, while others are still in the planning stages. In May 2009, Botswana, with one of the world's highest HIV infection rates, launched a scheme to circumcise 460,000 men – 80% of eligible men – to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.
First Published
CIHR, Touching Lives: Annual Report, 2006-07
Attacking the root of the problem
Vaccine prevents E. coli in cattle
Overview
In 2005, more than 1,000 Canadians became ill from "hamburger disease" – infection caused by E. coli O157:H7. The bacterium is carried by cows who don't themselves become ill, but make anyone ill who eats their meat or drinks water contaminated by their manure (as happened in Walkerton, Ontario). Dr. Brett Finlay of the University of British Columbia developed a vaccine that dramatically reduces the number of the disease-causing bacteria cows carry. In tests, the vaccine showed a 92% reduction in colonization of E. coli O157 in vaccinated cattle.
Impact
The vaccine has been commercialized by Ontario-based Bioniche Life Sciences. It was granted a conditional license in the United States in February 2008 and received full licensing approval in Canada in October 2008 and is available for unrestricted use by Canadian cattle producers and their veterinarians.
First Published
Researcher profile, July 2007; updated 2009.