Antibiotic News and Research

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

Clinical study to examine whether antibiotics can be safe, effective alternative to appendectomy

For 130 years, surgery has been the standard treatment for appendicitis — inflammation of the appendix, a short tube extending from the colon.

17 Mar 2017

Children with mild eczema unlikely to benefit from antibiotics, study shows

Estimates suggest that 40 percent of eczema flares are treated with topical antibiotics, but findings from a study led by Cardiff University suggest there is no meaningful benefit from the use of either oral or topical antibiotics for milder clinically infected eczema in children.

14 Mar 2017

New combination antibiotic therapy overcomes pernicious infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria

Researchers have known that part of the challenge in treating penicillin-resistant infections lies in understanding the way bacteria inactivate penicillin antibiotics.

10 Mar 2017

Dental plaque DNA of Neandertals provides insights into behaviour, diet and medication

Ancient DNA found in the dental plaque of Neandertals - our nearest extinct relative - has provided remarkable new insights into their behaviour, diet and evolutionary history, including their use of plant-based medicine to treat pain and illness.

8 Mar 2017

Decreasing antibiotic use can lead to reductions in spread of deadly bacteria

Reducing antibiotic use in intensive care units by even small amounts can significantly decrease transmission of dangerous multidrug-resistant organisms, according to new research published online today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

8 Mar 2017

Vitamin C can be used to target and kill cancer stem cells, research finds

Researchers measure the impact on cancer stem cell metabolism of 3 natural substances, 3 experimental pharmaceuticals and 1 clinical drug.

8 Mar 2017

Researchers develop skin tests, decision support tool to increase antibiotic use in hospitalized patients

Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital investigators have developed two approaches to increasing the use of penicillins and cephalosporins - highly effective antibiotics that are not as problematic as many alternatives - in hospitalized patients previously believed to be allergic to penicillin.

7 Mar 2017

McMaster researchers find new way to combat world's worst infectious diseases

McMaster University researchers have found a new way to treat the world's worst infectious diseases, the superbugs that are resistant to all known antibiotics.

6 Mar 2017

Research provides insights on how pathogens escape process of autophagy

Our immune system has various ways to deal with threats from the outside like pathogens. One of the defence mechanisms is a process called autophagy.

3 Mar 2017

Innovative ways to target antibiotic resistance in short term

There has been much recent talk about how to target the rising tide of antibiotic resistance across the world, one of the biggest threats to global health today.

3 Mar 2017

WHO releases first ever list of antibiotic-resistant 'priority pathogens'

The World Health Organization today published its first ever list of antibiotic-resistant “priority pathogens”—a catalogue of 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health.

3 Mar 2017

Case Western Reserve and VA team up to tackle rising problem of antibiotic resistance

Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, antibiotics have made the world a much safer and healthier place. But Shakespeare was onto something when he asked if it's possible to have too much of a good thing. In the case of antibiotics, the answer is increasingly "yes."

3 Mar 2017

Study increases understanding of how air pollution affects human health

Researchers from the University of Leicester have for the first time discovered that bacteria that cause respiratory infections are directly affected by air pollution - increasing the potential for infection and changing the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment.

2 Mar 2017

Researchers probe potential link between gut microbiota and poor artery health

Scientific evidence that the assortment of gut microbes in humans influences different and critical aspects of health is piling up: Researchers think our microbes may influence obesity, anxiety, depression, autism, cancer and gastrointestinal diseases.

1 Mar 2017

Compound from soil bacteria could translate into new drug lead for TB

A new treatment for tuberculosis (TB) is set to be developed using compounds derived from bacteria that live in soil - according an international collaboration of researchers, including the University of Warwick.

1 Mar 2017

Using Spherical Nucleic Acids to Track and Treat Disease

Spherical nucleic acids are structures that are made by taking a nanoparticle template and using chemistry to arrange short strands of DNA or RNA on the surface of those particles. The spherical core of the nanoparticle creates a spherical arrangement of DNA or RNA, similar to tiny little balls of nucleic acids.

From Pittcon 1 Mar 2017

WSU study aims to reduce burden of antimicrobial resistance

The death last year of a woman in Reno, Nev., from an infection resistant to every type of antibiotic available in the U.S. highlights how serious the threat of antimicrobial resistance has become.

1 Mar 2017

MIT researchers develop new machine to rapidly produce customized peptides

Manufacturing small proteins known as peptides is usually very time-consuming, which has slowed development of new peptide drugs for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and bacterial infections.

27 Feb 2017

New study finds huge problem of multi-drug resistant infections among children

In a new, first-of-its-kind study, researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have found a 700-percent surge in infections caused by bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family resistant to multiple kinds of antibiotics among children in the US. These antibiotic resistant infections are in turn linked to longer hospital stays and potentially greater risk of death.

24 Feb 2017

New investigational drug may help combat antibiotic-resistant global health threat

The deadly fungus, Candida auris, which has been found in hospitals, is resistant to entire classes of antimicrobial drugs, limiting treatment options for those infected.

24 Feb 2017