Clostridium News and Research

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Healthcare workers' hands contaminated with C. difficile after routine care, study shows

A new study finds nearly one in four healthcare workers' hands were contaminated with Clostridium difficile spores after routine care of patients infected with the bacteria. The study was published in the January issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

24 Dec 2013

Genetic screening identifies genes driving resistance with guide RNA library

Researchers have developed a method to create a comprehensive library of mutations across all genes in the mouse genome. This library can be used to examine the role of every gene in different cell types.

23 Dec 2013

Auxilium seeks FDA approval for XIAFLEX sBLA to treat multiple Dupuytren's contracture cords concurrently

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a fully integrated specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced the submission of a supplemental Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requesting approval of XIAFLEX (collagenase clostridium histolyticum, or CCH) for the treatment of multiple Dupuytren's contracture cords concurrently.

20 Dec 2013

Illinois healthcare coalition receives $7M grant to establish research network to battle chronic illnesses

Governor Quinn today announced that a coalition of 20 health and hospital organizations from Illinois has been awarded an 18-month, $7million federal award to establish a clinical data research network.

17 Dec 2013

Auxilium doses first patient in CCH Phase 2b study for treatment frozen shoulder syndrome

BioSpecifics Technologies Corp., a biopharmaceutical company developing first in class collagenase-based products marketed as XIAFLEX in the U.S. and XIAPEX in the EU, today announced that its partner Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has dosed the first patient in its Phase 2b study of collagenase clostridium histolyticum for the treatment of frozen shoulder syndrome (adhesive capsulitis).

16 Dec 2013

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals' XIAFLEX gets FDA approval for treatment of Peyronie's disease

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a fully integrated specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved XIAFLEX (collagenase clostridium histolyticum, or CCH), an in-office, biologic for the treatment of Peyronie's disease. XIAFLEX is the first and only FDA-approved treatment proven effective for PD in men with a palpable plaque and a curvature deformity of 30 degrees or greater at the start of therapy.

6 Dec 2013

C. difficile doesn’t harm infants, but serves as a reservoir to affect adults

Infants and toddlers frequently carry toxigenic Clostridium difficile, usually with no harm to themselves, but can serve as a reservoir and spread the bacteria to adults in whom it can cause severe disease, according to a study by a team of Swedish researchers published ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

4 Dec 2013

PrimeraDx gets FDA clearance for ICEPlex C. difficile Assay Kit and ICEPlex System

PrimeraDx, a molecular diagnostics company, announced today that the ICEPlex C. difficile Assay Kit and the ICEPlex System have received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

3 Dec 2013

Restoring helpful bacteria of the gut and intestines may treat patients with RCDI, find scientists

Scientists at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and physicians at Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, MD, have found that restoring the normal, helpful bacteria of the gut and intestines may treat patients suffering from recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. Transplanting fecal matter of healthy donors into patients with recurrent C. difficile infection appears to restore normal bacterial composition and resolve infection.

27 Nov 2013

Habitual dietary intake of monozygotic twins associated with fecal microbiota composition

The establishment of microbial populations in the gastrointestinal-tract is a complex process, involving microbial and host interactions eventually resulting in a dense and stable population.

18 Nov 2013

Government spending cuts within NHS increase risk of Clostridium difficile infection

72% of clinicians believe that Government spending cuts within the NHS increase the risk of hospital acquired infections. The ‘Think C-differently’ report, which advises on the current Clostridium difficile landscape, found that despite stringent measures to manage and control Clostridium difficile infection, the NHS is still battling to keep infection rates to a minimum.

8 Nov 2013

Researchers identify obesity as possible risk factor for clostridium difficile infection

Researchers from Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine have identified obesity as a possible risk factor for clostridium difficile infection. These findings, which appear online in Emerging Infectious Diseases, may contribute to improved clinical surveillance of those at highest risk of disease.

25 Oct 2013

Researchers identify C. perfringens type B bacteria believed to trigger multiple sclerosis

A research team from Weill Cornell Medical College and The Rockefeller University has identified a bacterium it believes may trigger multiple sclerosis, a chronic, debilitating disorder that damages myelin forming cells in the brain and spinal cord.

18 Oct 2013

AmpliPhi, University of Leicester partner to develop novel bacteriophage therapy against C. difficile

AmpliPhi BioSciences Corporation, the leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat antibiotic resistant infections, announces it has entered into Collaboration and License Agreements with UK-based University of Leicester to develop a novel bacteriophage therapy targeting Clostridium difficile, a serious gastrointestinal infection for which new treatments are urgently required.

17 Oct 2013

Scientists decode key molecular gateway for toxin that causes botulism

U.S. and German scientists have decoded a key molecular gateway for the toxin that causes botulism, pointing the way to treatments that can keep the food-borne poison out of the bloodstream.

12 Oct 2013

Researchers re-invented class of popular antimicrobial drugs by altering their chemical structures

By tinkering with their chemical structures, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have essentially re-invented a class of popular antimicrobial drugs, restoring and in some cases, expanding or improving, their effectiveness against drug-resistant pathogens in animal models.

8 Oct 2013

Swallowing pills containing fecal bacteria stops recurrent bouts of C. diff infection

Swallowing pills containing a concentrate of fecal bacteria successfully stops recurrent bouts of debilitating Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection by rebalancing the bacteria in the gut, suggests a study being presented at the IDWeek 2013- meeting today.

5 Oct 2013

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

In a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the impact of a medical specialty on patient outcomes, researchers found that hospitalized patients with severe infections such as meningitis and Clostridium difficile are significantly less likely to die if they receive care from an infectious diseases specialist. The study, which analyzed nearly 130,000 Medicare patient cases, is now available online and will be published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Sep 2013

Allergan Licenses Rights To Medytox Candidates, In Up-To-$362M Deal

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26 Sep 2013

Inhibiting use of antibiotics may be more effective in reducing C.diff infection

New ways are needed to fight the infection Clostridium difficile and better use of antibiotics could be key, according to the authors of ground-breaking research.