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New easy-to-use computer program can quickly identify drug-resistant infections

Scientists have developed an easy-to-use computer program that can quickly analyse bacterial DNA from a patient's infection and predict which antibiotics will work, and which will fail due to drug resistance. The software is currently being trialled in three UK hospitals to see whether it could help speed up diagnosis of drug-resistant infections and enable doctors to better target the prescription of antibiotics.

21 Dec 2015

Periodontal disease may increase breast cancer risk

Postmenopausal women with periodontal disease were more likely to develop breast cancer than women who did not have the chronic inflammatory disease. A history of smoking significantly affected the women's risk.

21 Dec 2015

Flu vaccine: the facts. An interview with Dr Lisa Maragakis

There are different formulations of the flu vaccine but in general they all do the same thing, which is to stimulate our body's immune system to recognize and fight against the influenza virus.

21 Dec 2015

Australian researchers develop new technique to combat chronic bacterial infections in hospitals

One of the scourges of infections in hospitals – biofilms formed by bacteria that stick to each other on living tissue and medical instruments, making them harder to remove – can be tricked into dispersing with the targeted application of nanoparticles and heat, researchers have found.

21 Dec 2015

New data shows opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014

From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses. Opioid overdose deaths, including both opioid pain relievers and heroin, hit record levels in 2014, with an alarming 14 percent increase in just one year, according to new data published today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

20 Dec 2015

FDA approves Fenix Continence Restoration System to treat fecal incontinence

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the Fenix Continence Restoration System to treat fecal incontinence in patients who are not candidates for, or have previously failed, medical or other surgical options.

20 Dec 2015

Chronic alcohol use with repeated binge drinking can cause more damage to the liver

Excessive alcohol consumption is a global public health issue. In the United States, binge drinking is the most common form - so common, in fact, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports approximately one in six adults binge drinks about four times each month.

18 Dec 2015

Smoking bans may stop casual smokers from becoming heavy smokers

If governments want to discourage smoking among young people, both high taxes and smoking bans do the job - but bans may have one key advantage.

18 Dec 2015

MPP signs licensing agreement with AbbVie to address future demands for HIV treatment in Africa

The Medicines Patent Pool today announced a new licensing agreement with AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, that seeks to address future demands for HIV treatment Lopinavir/Ritonavir (LPV/r) in South Africa and across Africa. The agreement has been reached in particular to help ensure sustainability of long-term supply of LPV/r, the most widely used second-line HIV treatment in South Africa and across Africa.

18 Dec 2015

Findings show promising evidence for creating broad-spectrum antiviral

UW researchers working in collaboration with Kineta Inc. and the University of Texas at Galveston have shown that making a drug-like molecule to turn on innate immunity can induce genes to control infection in several -known viruses.

18 Dec 2015

New study pinpoints five top risk factors responsible for undernutrition among children in India

In India, nearly 40% of all children are stunted--of extremely low height for their age--and nearly 30% are underweight. A new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has now pinpointed the five top risk factors responsible for more than two-thirds of the problem.

18 Dec 2015

More effort needed to reduce risks of mosquito-transmitted epidemics in the U.S. and Mexico

Despite the increasing risks of mosquito-transmitted epidemics in the United States and Mexico, policymakers in both countries have made little effort to prevent future outbreaks, according to a new policy brief by tropical-disease and science policy experts at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

18 Dec 2015

LifeVest wearable cardioverter defibrillator approved for children at risk for sudden cardiac arrest

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new indication for the LifeVest wearable cardioverter defibrillator. The LifeVest is approved for certain children who are at risk for sudden cardiac arrest, but are not candidates for an implantable defibrillator due to certain medical conditions or lack of parental consent.

17 Dec 2015

Environmental exposures and behaviors contribute to the majority of cancers, study shows

Researchers have found that extrinsic factors such as environmental exposures and behaviors contribute heavily to the development of the vast majority of cancers.

17 Dec 2015

Candidiasis needs to be treated early, aggressively to help vulnerable hospitalized patients

One of the most common causes of healthcare-associated infections, candidiasis is a serious, life-threatening fungal infection that needs to be treated early, aggressively and appropriately, note updated guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

17 Dec 2015

New paper outlines strategies to address hepatitis C in incarcerated individuals

More than one in nine people with hepatitis C in Canada spend time in a correctional facility each year and researchers said this presents a unique opportunity to focus hepatitis C prevention and control efforts in incarcerated populations.

17 Dec 2015

Epilepsy deaths should be considered a public health priority, say doctors

Epilepsy is not a public health priority, yet it takes more lives than sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or fires, according to an article reviewing the topic. Doctors say epilepsy deaths should be a focus of research and education to understand and prevent those deaths, according to the "Views and Reviews" article published in the December 16, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 Dec 2015

Researchers call for improved cause-of-death reporting to advance understanding of epilepsy

Recent studies conclude that people with epilepsy have a 27-fold greater risk of sudden death than people without the disorder. However, many of these deaths could be prevented through greater identification of epilepsy as a cause of death, and in educating the public more effectively about the disease's life-threatening dangers.

17 Dec 2015

RBHS Chancellor leads study to eliminate chronic viral hepatitis

Chronic viral hepatitis has a reputation for being a silent killer. The infection often goes undetected until the symptoms of advanced liver cancer appear. By that point, a patient has a five-year survival rate, according to the American Cancer Society.

17 Dec 2015

Scientists reveal major players in severe muscle damage caused by sepsis

Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Paris Descartes University, Sainte-Anne Hospital and the CNRS have recently published a paper in Nature Communications in which they reveal major players in the severe muscle damage caused by sepsis, or septicemia, which explains why many patients suffer debilitating muscle impairment long-term after recovery.

17 Dec 2015

Public Health News and Research

New easy-to-use computer program can quickly identify drug-resistant infections

Periodontal disease may increase breast cancer risk

Flu vaccine: the facts. An interview with Dr Lisa Maragakis

Australian researchers develop new technique to combat chronic bacterial infections in hospitals

New data shows opioid overdose deaths hit record levels in 2014

FDA approves Fenix Continence Restoration System to treat fecal incontinence

Chronic alcohol use with repeated binge drinking can cause more damage to the liver

Smoking bans may stop casual smokers from becoming heavy smokers

MPP signs licensing agreement with AbbVie to address future demands for HIV treatment in Africa

Findings show promising evidence for creating broad-spectrum antiviral

New study pinpoints five top risk factors responsible for undernutrition among children in India

More effort needed to reduce risks of mosquito-transmitted epidemics in the U.S. and Mexico

LifeVest wearable cardioverter defibrillator approved for children at risk for sudden cardiac arrest

Environmental exposures and behaviors contribute to the majority of cancers, study shows

Candidiasis needs to be treated early, aggressively to help vulnerable hospitalized patients

New paper outlines strategies to address hepatitis C in incarcerated individuals

Epilepsy deaths should be considered a public health priority, say doctors

Researchers call for improved cause-of-death reporting to advance understanding of epilepsy

RBHS Chancellor leads study to eliminate chronic viral hepatitis

Scientists reveal major players in severe muscle damage caused by sepsis

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