Antibiotic News and Research

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

Study shows potential of phage therapy to treat alcoholic liver disease

Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that specifically destroy bacteria. In the early 20th century, researchers experimented with phages as a potential method for treating bacterial infections.

13 Nov 2019

Caution: blood infections traced to probiotics

Probiotics aren’t harmless, says a new study published on November 7, 2019 in the journal Nature Medicine. In fact, some patients may be put at serious risk by the bacteria in probiotics. Doctors should weigh the risks of probiotics in severely ill or immunocompromised patients before prescribing them, as their benefits may be significantly smaller than the danger in such situations.

13 Nov 2019

Researchers develop unique model to predict risk of septic shock in children

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have developed a unique model allowing them to predict which children arriving in emergency departments are most likely to go into septic shock, a life-threatening condition.

13 Nov 2019

Bacteriophages could treat E. coli without damaging the gut, new study says

Researchers in the US have developed a new therapy that uses a unique bacteriophage to treat E. coli infections.

13 Nov 2019

Systematic review: Evidence about effectiveness of blue light therapy for acne is lacking

Conclusions about the effectiveness of blue light therapy for acne are limited. A new systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials of blue light therapy for acne shows methodological and reporting limitations--including small sample sizes, short intervention periods, and variation in reporting quality for acne outcomes.

12 Nov 2019

New approach may help kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Current treatment regimens for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, are long, complex, and hard for people to sustain. Moreover, the bacteria often develop drug resistance, and many people harbor multi-drug-resistant strains. In 2018 alone, nearly 1.5 million people died from tuberculosis worldwide.

12 Nov 2019

New study sounds a note of caution in using probiotics in ICU

It's become common for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), both children and adults, to receive probiotics. Often, they are started at home to counteract diarrhea caused by antibiotics. There is also interest in using probiotics proactively in the ICU. A large multicenter clinical trial in Canada is testing whether probiotics would prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in adult ICU patients.

12 Nov 2019

Two strains of the same bacterium work together to cause deadly flesh-eating disease

Two different strains of the same flesh-eating bacteria species work in combination to become more dangerous.

12 Nov 2019

Study provides new insight into antibiotic synthesis

Researchers at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine have made important strides in understanding the functioning of enzymes that play an integral role in the production of antibiotics and other therapeutics. Their findings are published in Science.

11 Nov 2019

Acute kidney injury on the rise in hospitalized pregnant women

A study presented at ASN Kidney Week 2019 (November 5 to November 10) shows that the rate of acute kidney injury (AKI) is rising among US women who are hospitalized in pregnancy. The highest risk is in pregnant diabetic women. Women who suffer acute damage to the kidney while pregnant have 260 times the risk of death while in hospital compared to other pregnant women, at 2.6% vs 0.01%. Both mother and baby are at risk of increased illness and death if the woman has kidney injury during pregnancy.

11 Nov 2019

Researchers develop new, promising class of active ingredients against resistant bacteria

Researchers at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg have developed a new, promising class of active ingredients against resistant bacteria.

11 Nov 2019

American Association of Endodontists commends new ADA guidelines

The American Association of Endodontists (AAE), a global membership organization of specialized dentists who provide root canal treatment, applauds the American Dental Association for updating its guidelines on using antibiotics to treat tooth pain.

11 Nov 2019

Study finds reliable biomarker for noninvasive detection of deadly infant disease

A diagnostic study of 136 premature infants found that a protein involved in managing harmful bacteria in the human intestine is a reliable biomarker for the noninvasive detection of necrotizing enterocolitis.

8 Nov 2019

Three studies present new information on penicillin allergy

At some point you may have had a reaction to penicillin and were told you were allergic. And there's a good chance it has stayed in your chart throughout your childhood and into adulthood.

8 Nov 2019

Fight for Sight-funded research identifies potential alternative to treat corneal infections, sight loss

A researcher from the University of Nottingham has discovered a possible alternative to traditional anitbiotics to treat corneal infections.

8 Nov 2019

New bacteria-killing toxin shows promise to impact superbug infectious diseases

An international research collaboration has discovered a new bacteria-killing toxin that shows promise of impacting superbug infectious diseases.

6 Nov 2019

Using high-resolution X-ray analysis to solve structure of stress proteins from Staphylococcus

Project leader, Head of Structural Biology Lab Konstantin Usachev explains, One of the main factors favoring a microorganism's survival in extreme conditions is preserving ribosomes - a macromolecular complex comprising RNA and proteins.

6 Nov 2019

Differences between colloidal silver and ionic silver solutions

There are many differences between colloidal silver and ionic silver solutions. Philip Marshall discusses what makes these silver solutions unique.

From Pure Colloids 6 Nov 2019

Penn researchers tag CAR T cells with imaging markers to monitor cancer therapy

With CAR T cell therapy, a patient's own immune cells are genetically modified and inserted back into the body to find and kill cancer. This form of immunotherapy has already revolutionized some cancer treatments, but once the CAR T cells are inside a patient, where do they go? How do doctors know that they have successfully reached their target and that they are continuing to fight disease weeks, months, or even years later?

5 Nov 2019

Researchers produce synthetic phages that attack broader range of bacterial strains

Bacteriophages ("phages" for short) are viruses that infect bacteria. Phages are highly host-specific and will typically only infect and kill an individual species or even subspecies of bacteria. Compared to conventional antibiotics, phages do not indiscriminately kill bacteria.

4 Nov 2019