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Major breakthrough may help develop low toxicity drugs for sleeping sickness

Scientists from the Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee - working together with partners at the University of York and the Structural Genomics Consortium in Toronto - have made a major breakthrough in identifying new treatments for a fatal disease which infects tens of thousands of Africans each year.

1 Apr 2010

People with skin of color more prone to dermatologic problems than those with lighter skin tones

According to projections from the United States Census Bureau, people with skin of color will comprise approximately half of the U.S. population by 2050. This group, which includes African-Americans, Asians, Latinos and other ethnicities, are more prone to certain dermatologic problems than those with lighter skin tones due to their genetic make-up and in some cases cultural practices.

5 Mar 2010

Also in Global Health news: Sleeping sickness; aid for Philippines; U.S., China in Africa; polio eradication in Afghanistan; Ethiopia famine

Lancet Infectious Diseases Newsdesk examines how despite evidence that a new therapy to treat sleeping sickness, called nifurtimox—eflornithine (NECT) is a step forward in treating the disease, it has yet to be implemented by countries "13 months after data from a successful trial was presented." The main issue at hand - "nifurtimox is not registered for use in sleeping sickness," the journal writes. The article also examines other factors complicating the implementation of the therapy (Morris, 12/09).

18 Nov 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

A study appearing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases explores how well access to safe drinking water reduces rates of diarrhea experienced by 6-month-old infants born to HIV-infected mothers following weaning.

25 Sep 2009

An effective colon cancer prevention treatment

Using a combination of a targeted cancer-fighting agent called DFMO and a low dose of an anti-inflammatory drug, UC Irvine researchers have reduced the risk of reoccurring colorectal polyps, an early sign of colon cancer, by as much as 95 percent with fewer toxic side effects.

15 Apr 2008