Clostridium News and Research

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Common, inexpensive antimicrobials can help patients heal from MRSA skin abscesses

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria are resistant to multiple antibiotics and commonly cause skin infections that can lead to more serious or life-threatening infection in other parts of the body.

29 Jun 2017

Nearly 20% of patients treated with antibiotics experience adverse side effects, study finds

A study examining the impact of antibiotics prescribed for nearly 1500 adult patients admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital found that adverse side effects occurred in a fifth of them, and that nearly a fifth of those side effects occurred in patients who didn't need antibiotics in the first place.

14 Jun 2017

UAB researchers demonstrate persistence of donor microbes in recipients after fecal transplant

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have made the first direct demonstration that fecal donor microbes remained in recipients for months or years after a transplant to treat the diarrhea and colitis caused by recurrent Clostridium difficile infections -- a serious and stubborn cause of diarrhea after an antibiotic treatment for some other illness.

14 Jun 2017

New study finds dramatic reorganization of the gut caused by weight loss surgery

Obesity, already a global epidemic, is on the rise. Over one-third of the U.S. population is currently afflicted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the monetary costs alone are approaching $150 billion dollars annually.

26 May 2017

TSRI scientists discover potential new therapy to stop deadly botulinum neurotoxin

Botulinum neurotoxin is probably best known to Americans as BOTOX, a cosmetic medicine, rather than as a cause of potentially dangerous foodborne illnesses.

26 May 2017

Study findings may help shed light on cause of systemic sclerosis

Americans and Norwegians with systemic sclerosis had higher levels of bacteria that can cause inflammation and lower levels of bacteria that are believed to protect against inflammation compared with healthy people, according to a new study by researchers from UCLA and Oslo University.

12 May 2017

Study finds high rate of unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for low-risk Ontarian seniors

Nearly one in two seniors in Ontario who visited a family doctor for a non-bacterial infection received an unnecessary antibiotic prescription, according to a new study from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences Western site in London, Ontario and Lawson Health Research Institute.

9 May 2017

Fecal microbiota transplant may be effective treatment option for ulcerative colitis, research suggests

A single transplant of microbes contained in the stool of a healthy donor is a safe and effective way to increase diversity of good bacteria in the guts of patients with ulcerative colitis, according to new research from Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

27 Apr 2017

Abnormal levels of specific gut bacteria linked to chronic fatigue syndrome

Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health have discovered abnormal levels of specific gut bacteria related to chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME/CFS, in patients with and without concurrent irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.

26 Apr 2017

Mice study yields important clues about protective role of Clostridia strains

Hundreds of thousands of babies worldwide die every year from infections that ravage their digestive systems – including those caused by Salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Millions more get sick.

21 Apr 2017

Case Western Reserve and Q2 Pharma partner to develop antivirulence agents that disarm superbugs

Case Western Reserve University and Q2 Pharma Ltd., an Israeli biopharmaceutical company, have signed a two-year option to license small molecule, antivirulence technology to potentially treat bacterial infections such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the first known scientific effort of its kind.

31 Mar 2017

Pill form of C-diff treatment could be effective, easier for patients and physicians, study shows

Frozen and freeze-dried products for Fecal Microbiota Transplantation are nearly as effective as fresh product at treating patients with Clostridium difficile infection, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health and Kelsey Research Foundation.

14 Mar 2017

Scientists develop in vitro stem cell-based bioassay for detecting biological activity of BoNTs

Scientists at the Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern have developed an in vitro stem cell-based bioassay grown on multi-electrode arrays capable of detecting the biological activity of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins.

28 Feb 2017

New treatment for C.diff infections reduces recurrences by 40%, study finds

A new treatment for Clostridium difficile (C.diff) infections reduces recurrent infections by nearly 40%, a large study has found.

25 Jan 2017

PCT screening could be promising tool to help shorten hospital stays, reduce costs for sepsis patients

Each year, over $20 billion dollars is spent on sepsis care, making it the most expensive condition managed in U.S. hospitals.

10 Jan 2017

Using 'fire to fight fire' approach to battle against disease could increase severity, research shows

A treatment billed as a potential breakthrough in the fight against disease, including cancer, could back-fire and make the disease fitter and more damaging, new research has found.

30 Dec 2016

Preventing C. difficile infections could save thousands of lives and millions of health care dollars

The constant fear of having an embarrassing bathroom accident paralyzed Judy Post. Mental, physical and emotional stress consumed her. She wondered if her life would ever return to normal.

7 Dec 2016

Preventative strategy in stem cell transplant recipients may help thwart C. diff infections

It may be possible to safely prevent one of the most common - and costly to treat - infections contracted by hospitalized patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of blood cancers, according to a study from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

29 Nov 2016

NPS MedicineWise urges Australians to handle antibiotics with care

This Antibiotic Awareness Week (14-20 November), Australians are being urged to handle antibiotics with care—not just because of the threat of antibiotic resistance, but because their use can also result in significant side effects.

18 Nov 2016

Soiled clinical linens may be source of surface C. difficile contamination, study finds

A new paper published in FEMS Microbiology Letters, resulting from an investigation of a laundry facility that services several Seattle-area hospitals, suggests that soiled clinical linens may be a source of surface Clostridium difficile contamination.

7 Nov 2016