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Linezolid proves effective in treating drug-resistant TB

When tested in patients hospitalized with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) unresponsive to previous treatment, linezolid, an antibiotic used to treat severe bacterial infections, proved largely effective when added to the patients' ongoing TB treatment regimen.

19 Oct 2012

New report shows increasing HIV prevalence, incidence in Uganda

"An HIV/AIDS report by advocacy organizations in Uganda indicates that new transmissions are on the rise amidst troubling trends of increasing prevalence and incidence," Uganda's New Vision reports.

19 Oct 2012

Number of new TB infections fall, but drug resistance, lack of funding could slow progress, WHO reports

"New tuberculosis [TB] infections dropped 2.2 percent worldwide last year, but with nearly nine million new infections, the World Health Organization said TB remains a massive problem that could worsen if countries shortchange funding to fight it," Reuters reports.

19 Oct 2012

BioResearch Open Access explores Cell-SELEX technology

SELEX is a rapid, efficient, and iterative high-throughput method for screening large libraries of molecules to identify those with the potential to be developed as drug compounds or research tools. Advances in SELEX technology that have enabled screening in live cells, called Cell-SELEX, are explored in a comprehensive Review article published in BioResearch Open Access, a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

19 Oct 2012

Roundup: Ore. lawmakers petition for separate dental care; Docs failing to check drug registry in Colo.

The state is inviting public comment on how dentists fit with reforms of the Oregon Health Plan. Last week, two lawmakers and a dental executive submitted a petition to the Oregon Health Authority asking that dental care remain separate until 2017 from the state's new coordinated care organizations (CCOs), provider networks set up to integrate services, manage spending and reward prevention in the care of low-income members of the Medicaid-funded system.

19 Oct 2012

Federal agents raid drug compounding center

Food and Drug Administration investigators probe the Massachusetts pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak that has killed 16.

19 Oct 2012

Antidepressant use may increase risk of strokes caused by bleeding in the brain

Research shows that use of popular antidepressants is linked to an increased risk of some strokes caused by bleeding in the brain, but that the risk is low, according to a multi-study analysis published in the October 17, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Oct 2012

Zimbabwe to allow trained nurses to prescribe, administer ARVs

PlusNews examines challenges and concerns over an announcement by the Zimbabwean government that it plans to train nurses to prescribe and administer antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people living with HIV in the country.

19 Oct 2012

Islamic Azad University develops new medicated gum for motion sickness

A new prototype for medicated chewing gum has been developed for motion sickness that may offer many advantages over conventional oral solid dosage forms. About 33 percent of people are susceptible to motion sickness in mild circumstances and 66 percent are affected in more severe conditions.

19 Oct 2012

TB Alliance and FIND partner to promote development of TB drugs and diagnostics

A new partnership announced today will increase efforts to coordinate the development of complementary novel tools to fight TB, including drug-resistant TB, and identify emerging drug resistance trends around the globe.

19 Oct 2012

Researchers identify brain mechanisms that regulate cocaine-seeking behavior

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have identified mechanisms in the brain responsible for regulating cocaine-seeking behavior, providing an avenue for drug development that could greatly reduce the high relapse rate in cocaine addiction.

19 Oct 2012

Personalized medicine research strikes early for heart genes

A landmark paper identifying genetic signatures that predict which patients will respond to a life-saving drug for treating congestive heart failure has been published by a research team co-led by Stephen B. Liggett, MD, of the University of South Florida.

18 Oct 2012

Reduced copayment policy has benefits all round

Reducing patients’ copayments for statins and clopidogrel could increase their adherence without adding financial burden to the healthcare system, researchers say.

18 Oct 2012

SSRI use linked to brain hemorrhage

Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is associated with an increased risk for brain hemorrhage, particularly intracerebral bleeding, suggest meta-analysis findings.

18 Oct 2012

Genetic clues for responders to heart failure drug identified

Researchers have identified genetic signatures that predict which patients respond to the beta blocker bucindolol.

18 Oct 2012

Global anti-tuberculosis campaign now ‘at a crossroads’

Tuberculosis care and control has improved dramatically over the last two decades, but numbers of cases and deaths are still high and multidrug resistant-TB is an under-reported and ever-increasing problem, suggest findings from the World Health Organization Global TB Report 2012.

18 Oct 2012