Hannah Bowness-Major of Widnes nominated for award

A WIDNES girl who faces a daily battle for survival has been nominated as the Young Champion of the Year in the Trinity Mirror-Scottish Power Your Champions Awards.

Hannah Bowness-Major suffers from a range of problems, including chronic eczema which in the past has left her ‘bandaged from neck to feet’, asthma and anaphylaxis – a condition which makes her allergic to a huge array of foods and even lifesaving antibiotics.

Her food allergies are so severe that even being in the same room as someone eating the wrong type of food could stop her heart.

To make matters worse for the 10-year-old, of Hampton Drive, intensive steroid treatment for her illness has left her with potentially life-threatening adrenal deficiency.

The St Basil’s pupil’s plight prompted her to sell her toys – some donated by TV personality Jennifer Ellison – so she could help fund the start of a support group for people with adrenal deficiency.

Hannah suffered an ‘adrenal crisis’ in March when she was hospitalised for two weeks.

Covered in hundreds of cold sores and infected with MRSA, doctors feared she could lose her sight. Her treatment was complicated by her condition, which makes her allergic to many common forms of antibiotics.

Hannah has raised £302 toward her campaign by selling her toys.

She said: “I want to raise awareness of the problem that me and other people have, and get to know people that have the same disabilities that I have.

“My dream is to travel with my friends when I leave school, take pictures all around the world and swim with some dolphins.”

Fraunhofer Develops 3D Herpes Model to Test Potential Treatments

Approximately 90 percent of people are carrying the herpes simplex virus, but the virus spends most of its time in a dormant state which has proven difficult to research. Now, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have developed a 3D herpes infection model which they are now using to study the virus’ dormant state. The investigators claim their research will aid in the testing of future cold sore treatments by reducing the need for animal testing.

From the press release:

    To date the skin models used for drug testing and to detect the virus have been very simple and unable to simulate the dormancy state of the virus. “We have integrated a neuronal cell line into the certified skin model of the IGB and are able to detect this latency stage for the first time.”

    Research on active ingredients can profit from the 3D herpes infection model of the researchers from IGB, a model that also enables improved study of infection mechanisms. This procedure might also be used to test new medications for shingles, which is also caused by a variant strain of the herpes virus.