Infectious Diseases News and Research

RSS

New study unravels secrets of HIV's persistence

Thanks to advances in the development of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), patients with HIV are living longer than ever before. And yet, even in patients on very effective, long-term ART, HIV persists, requiring patients to take antiviral medication life-long.

23 May 2018

Pfizer starts Phase 1/2 study of RSV vaccine candidate in healthy adult volunteers

Pfizer Inc. today announced that it has started a Phase 1/2 trial of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate in healthy adult volunteers. RSV is a common respiratory virus that affects the lungs and airways, with significant impact on young children and older adults.

22 May 2018

Scientists identify new drug target to combat chikungunya virus

Scientists have identified a molecule found on human cells and some animal cells that could be a useful target for drugs against chikungunya virus infection and related diseases, according to new research published in the journal Nature.

21 May 2018

Increase in local temperature correlates with higher degree of antibiotic resistance, finds study

Bacteria have long been thought to develop antibiotic resistance largely due to repeated exposure through over-prescribing. But could much bigger environmental pressures be at play?

21 May 2018

Scientists collate evidence for mismatch between past evolutionary adaptation and modern lives

The transition to modernity - largely driven by the Industrial Revolution - provided us with easier access to food and clean water, with antibiotics, vaccines, and modern medicine.

21 May 2018

Clinical trial begins enrollment to test safety of experimental MERS treatments

Enrollment has begun in an early-stage clinical trial testing the safety of two human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) designed to treat people infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

18 May 2018

HIV patients on single-tablet regimen show better outcomes than those taking multiple pills

HIV patients on a single-tablet daily regimen had better treatment retention and viral suppression than patients taking multiple pills, in a study by a Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center researcher and his colleagues.

18 May 2018

Experts available to discuss subjects related to Ebola virus

Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) professors offer expertise for journalists seeking interviews in a variety of subjects related to Ebola.

18 May 2018

Microglia may play key role in slowing progression of prion diseases, research suggests

Prion diseases are slow degenerative brain diseases that occur in people and various other mammals. No vaccines or treatments are available, and these diseases are almost always fatal. Scientists have found little evidence of a protective immune response to prion infections.

17 May 2018

Study provides insights into how immune cells kill bacteria with acid

The first line of immune defense against invading pathogens like bacteria are macrophages, immune cells that engulf every foreign object that crosses their way. After enclosing it in intracellular membrane vesicles, a process called phagocytosis, macrophages kill their prey with acid.

17 May 2018

Scientists find how immune system helps to clear HBV infection after treatment interruption

Scientists from Karolinska Institutet and Hannover Medical School have published two studies that provide insights into how the immune system responds and helps to clear a hepatitis B infection after treatment interruption.

17 May 2018

Automated system more accurate in identifying patients at risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia

An automated system for identifying patients at risk for complications associated with the use of mechanical ventilators provided significantly more accurate results than did traditional surveillance methods, which rely on manual recording and interpretation of individual patient data.

17 May 2018

Expectant mothers may use RA drugs without increased health risks to unborn babies

A new study led by a team at the Research Institute of the MUHC in Montreal has revealed that pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis may be able to use certain RA drugs without possible increased health risks to their unborn babies.

17 May 2018

MIT researchers develop new versatile plug-and-play diagnostic devices

Researchers at MIT's Little Devices Lab have developed a set of modular blocks that can be put together in different ways to produce diagnostic devices.

17 May 2018

ECDC whole genome sequencing study helps understand prevalence of drug-resistant gonorrhea

Can whole genome sequencing illustrate changes in drug susceptibility of gonorrhoea to antimicrobials used for treatment and so help to define more effective treatment regimens? The first study of this kind within an international surveillance programme for sexually transmitted infections shows distribution of drug-resistant gonorrhoea strains across Europe.

17 May 2018

First genomic survey of gonorrhea maps antibiotic resistance across Europe

The first European-wide genomic survey of gonorrhea has mapped antibiotic resistance in this sexually transmitted disease throughout the continent.

16 May 2018

BU postdoctoral researcher wins competitive NIH Pathway to Independence Award

Duo Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral associate at Boston University School of Medicine, has received the highly competitive National Institutes of Health Pathway to Independence Award.

15 May 2018

Drug-resistant staph infections found to be deadly, but less costly

Staph infections, whether MRSA (resistant to methicillin) or susceptible, are important and deadly. Drug-resistant staph infections continue to be deadlier than those that are not resistant and treatable with traditional antibiotics, but treatment costs surprisingly are the same or slightly less, a new national analysis shows.

15 May 2018

Study finds rise in multi-drug resistant infections among U.S. children

Antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections, one of the most common hospital-acquired infections in children across the United States, are on the rise, according to results of a recent study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society on March 22.

14 May 2018

Researchers screen molecules that could be potential target for prostate cancer treatments

Cancer researchers at the University of Bath have measured systematically how efficient molecules are at suppressing the activity of a protein associated with prostate and other cancers. The molecules could eventually be developed into new anti-cancer drugs.

14 May 2018

Infectious Diseases News and Research

New study unravels secrets of HIV's persistence

Pfizer starts Phase 1/2 study of RSV vaccine candidate in healthy adult volunteers

Scientists identify new drug target to combat chikungunya virus

Increase in local temperature correlates with higher degree of antibiotic resistance, finds study

Scientists collate evidence for mismatch between past evolutionary adaptation and modern lives

Clinical trial begins enrollment to test safety of experimental MERS treatments

HIV patients on single-tablet regimen show better outcomes than those taking multiple pills

Experts available to discuss subjects related to Ebola virus

Microglia may play key role in slowing progression of prion diseases, research suggests

Study provides insights into how immune cells kill bacteria with acid

Scientists find how immune system helps to clear HBV infection after treatment interruption

Automated system more accurate in identifying patients at risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia

Expectant mothers may use RA drugs without increased health risks to unborn babies

MIT researchers develop new versatile plug-and-play diagnostic devices

ECDC whole genome sequencing study helps understand prevalence of drug-resistant gonorrhea

First genomic survey of gonorrhea maps antibiotic resistance across Europe

BU postdoctoral researcher wins competitive NIH Pathway to Independence Award

Drug-resistant staph infections found to be deadly, but less costly

Study finds rise in multi-drug resistant infections among U.S. children

Researchers screen molecules that could be potential target for prostate cancer treatments

NGS for Infectious Disease Surveillance eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

Latest News