Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print CMV infections affect more than just patients with compromised immune systems, researchers find

CMV infections affect more than just patients with compromised immune systems, researchers find

July 25, 2008

An infection due to a virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV), which most commonly affects people with compromised immune systems, can also affect hospital intensive-care patients who have no immune-system problems, University of Washington researchers have found. CMV infection is also associated with longer hospital and intensive-care unit (ICU) stays independent of other causes, according to the study, published July 23 in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

About half of all healthy adults in the United States are exposed to CMV during their life, researchers estimate, and control the infection with their immune system, often without even experiencing symptoms. In some people with reduced immune function, such as organ-transplant recipients, the virus can re-activate in the body and cause serious health problems.




In this study, researchers looked at CMV reactivation in 120 patients with no immune-system problems who were admitted to a hospital ICU. They also analyzed how CMV reactivation affected a patient's long-term health outcomes, including the amount of time the patient had to spend in the hospital or ICU and their risk of death.

The researchers found that CMV reactivation was surprisingly common in ICU patients, with about 30 percent exhibiting an active CMV infection in their bloodstream at various points during the 30-day study period. Even when controlling for other possible variables, CMV reactivation was strongly associated with a longer hospital and ICU stay for patients.

"Other studies have looked at the reactivation rate of CMV, but what makes this study different is that we're looking at people with apparently normal immune systems who were being treated in the ICU for trauma or another medical problem," explained Dr. Ajit Limaye, associate professor of medicine and laboratory medicine at the UW, who led the study. "A substantial number of these patients had CMV reactivate in their bloodstream. What's interesting is that having the virus reactivate was associated with longer ICU and hospital stays, independent of other potential variables."

Longer hospital stays can drive up health-care costs, and can be inconvenient or uncomfortable for patients, Limaye added.

Patients without immune system problems are not typically tested for CMV. However, despite the study findings, Limaye said, it would be premature to start routine testing of ICU patients for reactivation of the virus.

First, the researchers will need to see whether using anti-viral drugs to treat regular-immunity ICU patients can help cut down on reactivation of CMV, or whether it can cut down on the length of hospital stays for those patients with the reactivated virus.

"There are side effects associated with the treatment for CMV, and CMV might simply be a marker, rather than a cause," Limaye explained. "Because of that, we need to test the theory that by treating CMV we can improve the endpoint -- the length of stay in the hospital."

If the planned clinical trial shows that treatment can cut down on CMV reactivation and reduce hospital stays for those patients, Limaye said, it could bring about a new paradigm for improving outcomes for hospital ICU patients. ICUs are typically focused on pulmonary and critical care, he explained, but CMV is an infectious-disease issue.

University of Washington



Related Immune System Current Events and Immune System News Articles Immune System Current Events and Immune System News RSS Immune System Current Events and Immune System News RSS
Evolution in action: Our antibodies take 'evolutionary leaps' to fight microbes
With cold and flu season in full swing, the fact that viruses and bacteria rapidly evolve is apparent with every sneeze, sniffle, and cough. A new report in the January 2009 issue of The FASEB Journal, explains for the first time how humans keep up with microbes by rearranging the genes that make antibodies to foreign invaders. This research fills a significant gap in our understanding of how the immune system helps us survive.

Understanding Extinct Microbes May Influence the State of Modern Human Health
The study of ancient microbes may not seem consequential, but such pioneering research at the University of Oklahoma has implications for the state of modern human health. Cecil Lewis, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, says results of this research raise questions about the microbes living on and within people.

Lung cancer cells activate inflammation to induce metastasis
A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a protein produced by cancerous lung epithelial cells that enhances metastasis by stimulating the activity of inflammatory cells.

Researchers engineer pancreatic cell transplants to evade immune response
In a finding that could significantly influence the way type 1 diabetes is treated, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a technique for transplanting insulin-producing pancreatic cells that causes only a minimal immune response in recipients.

Salk researchers develop novel glioblastoma mouse model
Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma-the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans-that closely resembles the development and progression of human brain tumors that arise naturally.

Immune cells contribute to the development of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that impairs movement, balance, speech, and other functions. It is characterized by the loss of nerves in the brain that produce a substance known as dopamine.

Redesigned protein accelerates blood clotting
Researchers have made several, subtle changes in the structure of a key protein, dramatically increasing its ability to drive blood clotting, according to a study published in a December edition of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Biomedical researchers create artificial human bone marrow in a test tube
Artificial bone marrow that can continuously make red and white blood cells has been created in a University of Michigan lab.

Peering inside the skull of a mouse to solve meningitis mystery
NYU Langone Medical Center scientists and their collaborators at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., have discovered an unexpected cause for the fatal seizures seen in mice with viral meningitis, an infection of the central nervous system, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

Breathing life into injured lungs: World-first technique will expand lung donor organ pool
For the first time in the world, transplant surgeons at Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network used a new technique to repair an injured donor lung that was unsuitable for transplant, and then successfully transplanted it into a patient.
More Immune System Current Events and Immune System News Articles


The Immune System
by Peter Parham

The Immune System, Second Edition has been designed for use in immunology courses for undergraduate, medical, dental, and pharmacy students. This class-tested and successful textbook synthesizes the established facts of immunology into a comprehensible, coherent, and up-to-date account of how the immune system works, rather than presenting immunology as a chronology of experiments and ...



How the Immune System Works (Blackwell's How It Works)
by Lauren M. Sompayrac

Understanding the immune system is crucial for both medical and bioscience students, with new research revealing yet more secrets year on year. Many books offer in-depth introductions to the subject, but How the Immune System Works remains uniquely popular for its personable and practical overview of the nuts and bolts of the immune system.This third edition provides a perfect introduction to the...



90-Day Immune System Makeover
by Janet C. Maccaro

No matter how your health has been in the past, there is something you can do right now—a complete makeover to give you the vitality and energy to embrace life at your best! In just ninety days, Janet Maccaro will enable you to build and strengthen your immune system to bring your body into proper balance and experience disease-free living. Birthed out of Maccaro’s twenty-year struggle with...



The Immune System Cure: Optimize Your Immune System in 30 Days-The Natural Way!



Basic Immunology: Functions and Disorders of the Immune System
by Abul K. Abbas, Andrew H. Lichtman

Univ. of California, San Francisco. Revised edition presents new advancements in the understanding of the immune system. Topics covered include effector mechanisms of cell-mediated immunity, humoral immune responses, innate immunity, antigen recognition, and more. Utilizes case studies. Previous edition not cited....



Boost Your Child's Immune System: A Program and Recipes for Raising Strong, Healthy Kids
by Lucy Burney

Ideal for all parents, whatever their children's age—how to help kids be fit and strong for life, from a top nutrition specialist. Making the most of superfoods and nutrients, this powerful guide gives parents the building blocks and a clear plan to raise kids who are fit and strong for life and capable of fighting off bugs and infections. Top nutrition specialist Lucy Burney walks parents...



Maximum Healing: Improve Your Immune System and Optimize Your Natural Ability to Heal
by H. Robert Silverstein, Tom Monte

If you suffer from—allergies, asthma, high blood pressure or cholesterol, cancer, chronic fatigue, headaches, heart disease, joint pain, skin disorder, or rheumatoid arthritis—then this may be the most important book you will ever read. Inspiring case histories demonstrate successful treatment and prevention of these and many other...



The Top 100 Immunity Boosters: 100 Recipes to Keep Your Immune System Fighting Fit
by Charlotte Haigh

A vigorous immune system is vital to good health, both physical and mental. Research has long shown that the nutrients present in common foods can help strengthen the body’s natural defenses and provide unbeatable protection against infection, disease, and allergy. This handy guide lists the most potent of these immune-boosting foods – profiling each one, highlighting its unique benefits, and...



Double the Power of Your Immune System
by John Heinerman

This layperson's guide tells how to combat the threats of diets loaded with processed foods, polluted environments, and stressful life styles with immunity-building foods, herbs, spices, and life style and environmental changes. From the common cold to arthritis, Double the Power of Your Immune System gives specific advice on overcoming a host of ills through enhanced immune...



Artificial Immune Systems: 7th International Conference, ICARIS 2008, Phuket, Thailand, August 10-13, 2008, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science)

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Artificial Immune Systems, ICARIS 2008, held in Phuket, Thailand, in August 2008. The 40 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 67 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on computational immunology, applied AIS, and theoretical AIS. Position papers and...

© 2009 BrightSurf.com