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CMV and Congenital CMV Research News

DNA Test Misses Virus That Causes Hearing Loss

April 2010 (U.S. News & World Report) -- New research shows that testing DNA in blood samples routinely collected from newborns is not an effective way to detect cytomegalovirus (CMV), an infection that's a major cause of hearing loss in children. Dried blood spots (DBS) are collected from all infants born in the United States to conduct metabolic screening. Since these blood samples are readily available, there is great interest in using a DNA test called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for CMV... more info

Demystifying a Common, Persistent Virus-Researchers think they know how cytomegalovirus continues to re-infect people

April 2010 (HealthDay News) -- New research sheds light on how a virus known as cytomegalovirus (CMV), which infects up to 80 percent of the U.S. population before age 40, re-infects people again and again even though their immune systems strongly respond to it. The infection doesn't always make people ill, but certain people, such as newborns and others with weakened immune systems, can develop serious symptoms and disabilities. "CMV is one of a few virus types that can efficiently re-infect individuals who are already persistently infected by this virus," Dr. Louis Picker, an associate director of Oregon Health & Science University's Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, said in a news release... more info

National Congenital CMV Disease Registry

The National Congenital CMV Disease Registry is a research program working to learn more about those children born with symptoms of congenital CMV disease. This national surveillance program tracks trends over time, identifies risk groups, and lays groundwork for evaluation of future intervention programs. Aside from research, the National Congenital CMV Disease Registry provides an outreach program consisting of a website, written educational material, and an annual newsletter, CMV Updates, for the purpose of educating health care professionals, families, and all others interested in learning more about congenital CMV disease... more info

National Cytomegalovirus Registry for Pregnant Women

Help Identify Pregnant Women with Proven or Possible Congenital CMV Infection. Under the sponsorship of the Congenital CMV Foundation, the National Cytomegalovirus Registry has been established. There are no costs associated with the registry. The purpose of the National Cytomegalovirus Registry for Pregnant Women is to develop a database of nearly all pregnant women in the U.S. who develop a congenital infection during pregnancy. This database will establish the true frequency of this infection nationally, determine the interventions used, monitor the outcomes of live born infants with a congenital CMV infection and provide a specimen repository for investigators... more info

New CMV Vaccine Study Opportunity

Baylor College of Medicine is evaluating a new CMV vaccine that may be used to prevent CMV infection in teenage girls. Study participants will have a simple blood test to screen blood for the presence of CMV antibodies. This test will determine if partcipants have ever had CMV, and will determine if they can go on to the next step of the study. The second step of the study is the actual testing of the CMV vaccine. As participants are deemed eligible, the second study will be explained further in detail, and the opportunity will be offered to be part of a very important clinical trial that brings us closer to a safe and effective CMV vaccine and the prevention of congenital CMV disease... more info

Kissing Evolved to Spread Germs, Not Feelings

November 2009 (Popular Science) -- It looks like your kindergarten gut reaction to kissing might have been correct after all: it really is sick. Or, more specifically, the practice is designed to spread sickness. British scientists say the human habit of kissing evolved for less-than-romantic reasons, but one that is nonetheless important to a healthy reproductive relationship: to spread germs. Cytomegalovirus, which lives in human saliva, is generally innocuous, but when introduced during a pregnancy it can be extremely dangerous, killing unborn babies or causing birth defects like deafness or cerebral palsy... more info

Viral load may not predict hearing loss in children with congenital CMV

July 2009 (The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal) -- Cytomegalovirus DNA levels were no different among children with hearing deficits and those without, suggesting that viral burden had poor predictive value as a marker for hearing loss. "We could not confirm the association between systemic virus burden during early infancy and sensorineural hearing loss [SNHL] in children with asymptomatic congenital CMV infection that was observed in our previous study," the researchers wrote... more info

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