Antibiotic News and Research

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Antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms.

Hospital acquired Clostridium difficile bug defense system identified

American researchers have discovered the process by which the cells in the gut fight off toxins produced by a hospital bug - Clostridium difficile. Writing in Nature Medicine, they showed how a chemical - GSNO - deactivated a toxin from Clostridium difficile which causes inflammation and diarrhea. They hope to use their findings to develop a treatment for C. difficile.

23 Aug 2011

Research uncovers natural defense mechanism that inactivates C. diff toxins

Groundbreaking research encompassing Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, has uncovered a natural defense mechanism that is capable of inactivating the toxin that spreads Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, an increasingly common bacterial infection in hospitals and long-term care settings.

22 Aug 2011

New technique can detach sugars from carrier molecule, reattach them to drugs

The surface of cells and many biologically active molecules are studded with sugar structures that are not used to store energy, but rather are involved in communication, immunity and inflammation.

22 Aug 2011

Scientists discover key defense mechanism against C. difficile infection

Researchers have discovered a key mechanism used by intestinal cells to defend themselves against one of the world's most common hospital-acquired bacterial infections - a mechanism they think they can exploit to produce a therapy to protect against the effects of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

22 Aug 2011

Radiolabeled protein reveals presence of S. aureus endocarditis in mouse model

A novel imaging probe developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators may make it possible to diagnose accurately a dangerous infection of the heart valves.

22 Aug 2011

New CDI therapeutic approach may offer treatment for other bacterial diseases

Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a molecular process by which the body can defend against the effects of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), pointing the way to a promising new approach for treating an intestinal disease that has become more common, more severe and harder to cure in recent years.

22 Aug 2011

Scientists reveal how thiostrepton blocks FOXM1 protein, prevents breast cancer development

Scientists have discovered how a molecule that was first discovered in bacteria blocks a protein which causes breast cancer to develop and spread, reveals research published in Nature Chemistry today.

22 Aug 2011

Minocycline, EDTA may combat catheter-related bacterial infections in dialysis patients

Antibiotics can help ward off serious bacterial infections in kidney disease patients who use tubes called catheters for their dialysis treatments. But if antibiotics are used too often, "super bugs" may crop up that are resistant to the drugs.

19 Aug 2011

UC Riverside research could help prevent crop loss, pest outbreaks

New research by scientists at the University of California, Riverside shows that evolution - genetic changes in populations over time - can occur so rapidly in organisms that its impact on population numbers and other aspects of biology can be seen within just a few generations.

17 Aug 2011

Bayer Healthcare to provide over 600,000 moxifloxacin tablets to fight MDR-TB in China

Bayer Healthcare announced on Monday it "has agreed to support the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership in the fight against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) by making 620,000 tablets of the antibiotic moxifloxacin available to WHO," according to a Bayer press release.

17 Aug 2011

Inexpensive microcalorimeters can quickly detect TB

Researchers have discovered a faster, cheaper method for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). A major barrier in TB prevention, especially in developing countries, is that diagnosis is slow and costly.

17 Aug 2011

New ‘cure-all’ antiviral method discovered

In a new development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection.

15 Aug 2011

Somalia faces cholera epidemic

World Health Organization (WHO) officials announced last Friday that famine-stricken Somalia faces a cholera epidemic as dirty water and poor sanitation are leading to an increase in outbreaks of the disease. The reports reveal cases of acute watery diarrhea - an important indicator of the risk of cholera - are now at 4,272 in Somalia - an 11 percent increase from last week’s WHO reported figure of 3,839.

15 Aug 2011

China Pharma second quarter revenue increases 18% to $19.6 million

China Pharma Holdings, Inc., a specialty pharmaceuticals company in China, today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

11 Aug 2011

Erythromycin can prevent and treat aseptic loosening of total joint replacement

Total joint replacement surgeries can help relieve joint pain common in people with conditions like osteoarthritis. But sometimes, the debris from prosthetic joints leads to aseptic loosening, or disintegration of surrounding bones.

10 Aug 2011

Insmed second quarter revenues decrease to $1.0 million

Insmed Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, today reported results for the second quarter and six-months ended June 30, 2011.

8 Aug 2011

NanoLogix BNP and BNF Quick Test kits detect, identify Group B Strep in four to six hours

NanoLogix, a biotechnology innovator in the rapid detection and identification of live-cell bacteria and microorganisms, announced today that the American Journal of Perinatology has published a peer-reviewed paper from the University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston confirming NanoLogix BioNanoPore (BNP) and BioNanoFilter (BNF) Quick Test technology detect and identify Group B Strep in four to six hours.

8 Aug 2011

New legislation allows physicians in Texas to treat chronic Lyme disease

Summertime, when kids and grown-ups abandon the confines of the indoors and head outside to camp, hike, fish and commune with nature -- and all of her friends. Flies, mosquitoes and ticks are just a few of the critters that go along with summer outdoors, and we all do our best to avoid the biting and stinging insects, but what happens if you are accosted by a tick? What are the myths behind Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases in Texas?.

5 Aug 2011

Levels of body chemical PCT influence duration of antibiotic use

Measuring the levels of a natural body chemical may allow doctors to reduce the duration of antibiotic use and improve the health outcomes of critically ill patients.

5 Aug 2011

Scientists say antibiotic-resistant salmonella strain may spread worldwide

"Scientists have identified an emerging 'superbug' strain of salmonella that is highly resistant to the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin, or Cipro, often used for severe salmonella infections, and say they fear it may spread around the world," according to a study published online Tuesday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Reuters reports.

4 Aug 2011