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Ebola more likely to be fatal for young children

Ebola progresses more quickly and is more likely to be fatal for children under five, according to new research. An international group of scientists led by Imperial College London and the World Health Organization analysed data on Ebola cases in children under 16 during the current outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, comparing them to cases in adults.

27 Mar 2015

Funding helps researchers to kiss MS goodbye

Murdoch University researchers have received funding to investigate the link between the Epstein-Barr virus infection, more commonly known as glandular fever or the ‘kissing disease’, and the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

24 Mar 2015

Co-infection reduces severity of East Coast fever, can help curb human malaria

When calves are infected by two parasite species at the same time, one parasite renders the other far less deadly, according to a new study published in the current journal of Science Advances.

24 Mar 2015

Funding helps researchers to kiss Multiple Sclerosis (MS) goodbye

24 Mar 2015

Montefiore physician offers tips for seasonal allergy sufferers

This winter was one of the coldest on record, but spring allergy season is already beginning and it's time for sufferers to start preparing now.

23 Mar 2015

Insect-borne diseases increase with warmer climate

Insects, such as mosquitoes and ticks, are responsible for transmitting a range of diseases, such as malaria, chikungunya, dengue fever, and West Nile virus. The risk of contracting such illnesses is generally only considered when booking an exotic holiday. However, experts from the Emergency Response Department at Public Health England have warned that climate change could allow such vector-borne diseases to emerge closer to home.

23 Mar 2015

Climate change could accelerate emergence of vector-borne diseases in UK

Climate change could accelerate the emergence of vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever, and West Nile virus in the UK, warn leading public health experts Dr Jolyon Medlock and Professor Steve Leach from the Emergency Response Department at Public Health England, writing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

23 Mar 2015

Study finds no added benefit from sipuleucel-T in men with metastatic prostate cancer

Sipuleucel-T (trade name Provenge) has been approved since September 2014 for men with metastatic prostate cancer who have few or no symptoms and do not yet require chemotherapy. In the dossier assessment conducted by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in January 2015, no added benefit could be derived for sipuleucel-T.

22 Mar 2015

Virginia Tech researchers use genome-editing method to study lethal disease-carrying animal

Life science researchers at Virginia Tech have accelerated a game-changing technology that's being used to study one of the planet's most lethal disease-carrying animals.

18 Mar 2015

Meta-analysis finds that high dose zinc acetate lozenges may help reduce duration of cold symptoms

According to a meta-analysis published in BMC Family Practice, high dose zinc acetate lozenges shortened the duration of common-cold associated nasal discharge by 34%, nasal congestion by 37%, scratchy throat by 33%, and cough by 46%.

16 Mar 2015

Loyola's Bridget Boyd suggests ways to handle diaper rash

Diaper rash may not be a serious condition, but it can be extremely painful. It is common and causes concern for many parents trying to comfort their child.

16 Mar 2015

Weak spots in ebola’s defenses: an interview with Dr. Andrew Ward

There are hundreds of other antibodies against Ebola that we are in the process of imaging using the electron microscope. We are looking for new sites of vulnerability as well as subtle differences in the way the known sites are attacked. In particular we are looking for antibodies that the virus is unlikely to escape from when it mutates.

11 Mar 2015

United Therapeutics announces FDA approval of dinutuximab for treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma

United Therapeutics Corporation announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Unituxin (dinutuximab) Injection (formerly called ch14.18), in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA), for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who achieve at least a partial response to prior first-line multiagent, multimodality therapy.

10 Mar 2015

Researchers take images of tiny molecular machine that bacteria use to infect host cells

Armed with a microscope capable of zooming in on organisms measured in billionths of a meter, scientists report they are the first to observe one of the tiny molecular machines that bacteria use to infect host cells. Findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

10 Mar 2015

Researchers study safety, effectiveness of experimental Ebola vaccine following high-risk exposure

A physician who received an experimental Ebola vaccine after experiencing a needle stick while working in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone did not develop Ebola virus infection, and there was strong Ebola-specific immune responses after the vaccination, although because of its limited use to date, the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine is not certain, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

6 Mar 2015

Study: Pregnant women need to avoid antibiotics to prevent asthma development in children

Getting sick when you're pregnant is especially difficult, but women whose children are at risk for developing asthma should avoid antibiotics, according to a new study.

4 Mar 2015

New article shows how marijuana can act as an allergen

Growing up, you may have been given reasons for not smoking marijuana. What you may not have heard is that marijuana, like other pollen-bearing plants, is an allergen which can cause allergic responses.

4 Mar 2015

New rapid Ebola test authorized for emergency use by FDA

University of Texas Medical Branch researchers who helped assess the effectiveness of a new rapid test kit to diagnose Ebola learned this week it has received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

4 Mar 2015

Dengue fever circulating in urban areas of West Africa

Misdiagnosis of febrile illnesses as malaria is a continuing problem in Africa. A new study shows that in Ghana, dengue fever is circulating in urban areas and going undiagnosed. The authors of the study hope to use the findings to launch a widespread initiative to better understand acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses in West Africa.

3 Mar 2015

Modified measles vaccine effective against Chikungunya virus, study finds

A modified, conventional measles vaccine has the potential to act against the Chikungunya virus. This is the result of a study at the University Clinic for Clinical Pharmacology of the MedUni Wien (Medical University of Vienna), which has now been published in the top journal "The Lancet Infectious Diseases".

2 Mar 2015