Antibiotic News and Research

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

MRSA nasal colonization associated with increase in SSI in patients undergoing GI surgery

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) nasal colonization is associated with longer hospital stays and an increase in surgical site infections (SSI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery, according to a new study from Scott and White Memorial Hospital, Temple, TX.

21 May 2012

Hypertonic saline does not reduce rate of pulmonary exacerbations in young children with CF

Margaret Rosenfeld, M.D., M.P.H., of Seattle Children's Hospital, and colleagues conducted a study to examine if hypertonic saline would reduce the rate of pulmonary exacerbations in children younger than 6 years of age with cystic fibrosis.

21 May 2012

Auranofin effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies

A team of researchers from UCSF and UC San Diego has identified an approved arthritis drug that is effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies, suggesting it could offer a low-dose, low cost treatment for the amoebic infections that cause human dysentery throughout the world.

21 May 2012

New system detects residues of livestock drugs in baby food preparations

The quantities are very small, but in milk powder and in meat-based baby food, residues of drugs given to livestock were found. Researchers from the University of Almeria have developed a system to analyse these substances quickly and precisely.

19 May 2012

Achaogen’s plazomicin and levofloxacin safe and effective in treating cUTI, acute pyelonephritis

Achaogen, Inc. announced today that all objectives were met in the company's multi-national Phase 2 study of plazomicin compared to levofloxacin for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) and acute pyelonephritis in adults.

16 May 2012

Regenerating sensory hair cells could help treat hearing loss

Regenerating sensory hair cells, which produce electrical signals in response to vibrations within the inner ear, could form the basis for treating age- or trauma-related hearing loss. One way to do this could be with gene therapy that drives new sensory hair cells to grow.

14 May 2012

Killer coating destroys bacteria and fungi on contact

Better than antibiotics, it is being used in contact lenses to prevent infections and biomedical products are the next stage

11 May 2012

Probiotics may reduce the risk of antibiotic associated diarrhoea

Probiotics are live microorganisms intended to boost health, such as the bacteria in some yogurts. These are popular among the health conscious. One of probiotics' most popular uses is in preventing and treating digestive problems.

9 May 2012

One in six cancer cases worldwide related to preventable or curable infections

New research shows that one in six cancers - amounting to two million a year globally - are caused by largely treatable or preventable infections.

9 May 2012

Phone credits offered to teenagers in exchange for sexual health checks

The Queensland government is offering Mount Isa teenagers mobile phone credit in exchange for sexual health checks.

9 May 2012

Bloomberg Markets examines spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria in India, discusses global implications

Bloomberg Markets magazine in its June issue examines microbes that incorporate the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1, or NDM-1, gene, making them resistant to nearly all available antibiotics.

9 May 2012

Probiotics may reduce risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea

Consumption of probiotics (live microorganisms, which may occur naturally in foods such as yogurt, intended to confer a health benefit when consumed) is associated with a reduced risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, a common adverse effect of antibiotic use, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies published in the May 9 issue of JAMA.

9 May 2012

Scientific American examines worldwide spread of drug-resistant gonorrhea

Scientific American examines how strains of cephalosporin-resistant gonorrhea have "been emerging in Japan, and moving east and west from there, for at least a decade." The magazine writes, "Rapid international travel allowed the resistance mutation to hopscotch the globe," noting antibiotic-resistant strains that have been identified in Sweden, England, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, and France.

7 May 2012

Options for improving antimicrobial use in food animal production

Today, U.S. regulators and representatives from national food production industries will meet to discuss "Improving Antimicrobial Use in Food Animal Production: Alternatives, Options and Incentives," in Washington, DC.

7 May 2012

Clinical data from Anacor’s tavaborole and AN2728 study to be presented at upcoming meetings

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that it will be presenting clinical data on its lead compounds, tavaborole and AN2728, at the following upcoming medical meetings.

5 May 2012

Scanning the evidence for evidence in RTIs: NPS webinar

Next week NPS will host its inaugural webinar for GPs looking at medical imaging in respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Forming part of the NPS campaign on antibiotic resistance, the webinar on 10 May enables GPs to engage with imaging experts in real-time and gain insights into when imaging is appropriate for RTIs.

4 May 2012

Scientists identify first gene associated with congenital asplenia

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and Rockefeller University have identified the first gene to be linked to a rare condition in which babies are born without a spleen, putting those children at risk of dying from infections they cannot defend themselves against. The gene, Nkx2.5, was shown to regulate genesis of the spleen during early development in mice.

4 May 2012

E coli detection in contaminated meat to be ‘sped up’ says USDA

The government is gearing up to speed up the process for tracking E. coli in meat, a move that will help authorities more quickly find the source of bacteria outbreaks and hasten recalls of contaminated food.

3 May 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's argument that health law would kill free enterprise; FDA's delay in cutting use of antibiotics in animals

In my column on Sunday, I quoted Mitt Romney's warning last week that President Obama's health reform law could doom the free-enterprise system in the United States. "With Obamacare fully installed," Romney said, "government will come to control half the economy, and we will have effectively ceased to be a free-enterprise society." Could that be true? Would "Obamacare," which relies mostly on free-enterprise health insurance companies, really turn America into a socialist state?

2 May 2012

Antibiotic effective for plague gets FDA nod

Federal regulators – The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), have approved use of an antibiotic to treat plague, an extremely rare, sometimes-fatal bacterial infection.

30 Apr 2012