Chimerix announced that the Phase III trial of brincidofovir has failed to meet its primary endpoint of suppressing CMV infection through week 24 after hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) patients. Although the drug showed impressive suppression of CMV infections during the 14 week trial, infections soared during the 10-week observation period that followed. One theory presented by the company’s CEO is that physicians may have mistaken drug related diarrhea for GHVD and administered unnecessary steroids.
Specific NK Cell subsets Associated with HHV-6 Infection in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) has been associated with several autoimmune diseases. A recent study led by Rizzo and Caselli have found a possible link to Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (HT). They report that HHV-6 infection correlated with higher levels of a particular type of NK cell associated with a potent release of cytokines.
Higher Loads of HHV-6B Found in the Brain Autopsies of Patients with Unspecified Encephalopathy
Autopsy brain samples from 51 controls and 57 patients who died with encephalopathy of unknown origin were tested for HHV-6 & HHV-7 using immunohistochemistry, nested and real time PCR.
Fatal HHV-6 pediatric myocarditis following immunosuppression
A case report published by a group at the University of Minnesota details two cases of fatal myocarditis associated with HHV-6 in two immunosuppressed children.
HHV-6B found in 6% of chronic and recurrent lymphadenopathy cases
A group of Italian investigators have determined that a subset of patients with lymphadenopathy have active HHV-6B infections.
Bhupesh Prusty earns Young Investigator Award for Excellence in Basic Science
Dr. Bhupesh Prusty, PhD, Group Leader in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Würzburg in Germany was recently awarded the Koichi Yamanishi Young Investigator Award for Excellence in Basic Science.
Philip Pellett wins Lifetime Achievement Award
Philip Pellett, PhD, a Professor and Interim Chair of Immunology and Microbiology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, was awarded the HHV-6 Foundation’s Dharam Ablashi Lifetime Achievement Award at the 9th International Conference on HHV-6 & 7.
Immunodominant HHV-6B proteins identified using a proteomics approach
Instead of using the traditional epitope mapping approach to identify major targets of the T cell response to a complex pathogen, a group from the University of Massachusetts used mass spectrometry to identify viral proteins associated with immunodominant antigens.
Conference Videos
Thank you to the presenters who agreed to make their presentations at the 9th International Conference on HHV-6 & 7 available to others. HHV-6 ANTIVIRAL THERAPY The Difficult Path Towards an HHV-6 Therapy Lieve Naesens, PhD, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium DIAGNOSTICS Diagnostic Tools and Algorithms for HHV-6 Infections in Immunocompromised Patients Agnes Gautheret Dejean, …
HHV-6 reactivation reduces CD8+ T cell recovery with increased risk of infections and reduced survival
In a French study of 366 adult allogenic hematopeietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) recipients CD8+ T cell recovery was significantly reduced in patients with HHV-6 reactivation. HHV-6 reactivation was also associated with reduced survival and increased infections of CMV and BKV.
Stanford uses non-invasive new assay to detect occult infections including HHV-6 after lung transplantion
Researchers from Stanford University successfully used circulating cell-free DNA to identify infections in lung transplants that can often be found only with a more invasive transbronchial biopsy. This hypothesis free approach led to find HHV-6 & 7 at high levels in patients with infections, even though these viruses are not generally considered lung pathogens.
HHV-6 myocarditis, pericarditis following transplantation
A hematology group in Australia reported a case of biopsy-proven HHV-6 myocarditis post-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). he post-mortem exam confirmed dilated cardiomyopathy and focal changes consistent with viral myocarditis and cardiac tissue was positive for HHV-6 DNA by nested and quantitative PCR. Separately, A Japanese group reported a worman who developed pericarditis with over 10,000 copies/ml of HHV-6 DNA in the pericardial fluid, after a cord blood transplant.
HHV-6, enterovirus and parvovirus B-19 DNA found in the blood of immunocompetent infants with myocarditis
80% of infants with myocarditis were positive for a cardiotropic virus compared to less than 4% of healthy controls, according to a multicenter study led by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. This was a far higher rate than in older children.
HHV-6 induced Parkinsonism post-transplant
A group of researchers from Sao Paulo, Brazil reported the development of HHV-6 infection in the striatum of a 32-year-old man six weeks after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This is the first reported case of HHV-6 infection affecting the striatum and presenting with Parkinsonism post-HSCT.
HHV-6 the only pathogen identified in early post-transplant CNS dysfunction
A group from Sapporo Medical University studied 105 post HSCT patients and determined that 7 developed CNS dysfunction in the first 42 days after transplant. Six out of the 7 were positive for HHV-6, but none of the other 12 pathogens tested. Four patients (3.8%) were diagnosed with HHV-6 encephalitis. The group used a qualitative multiplex PCR and then used a quantitative PCR to confirm the results.