Antibiotic News and Research

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

University of Michigan researchers target stubborn gram-negative bacteria

Ronald Woodard's team set out looking for a way to kill a stubborn type of bacteria and they succeeded - but not in the way he expected.

9 Mar 2006

Dramatic increase in antibiotic-resistant staph infections

Staph infections resistant to antibiotics, previously only associated with hospitalization or prior contact with the healthcare system, are now widespread in the community and coming home.

9 Mar 2006

Antibiotic not sufficient for treating trachoma in populations with high disease prevalence

Treating trachoma, an eye infection that can lead to blindness, with a single mass antibiotic distribution in Ethiopian communities with high prevalence of infection is not effective in eliminating the disease

9 Mar 2006

Clinical implication of routine stone culture in percutaneous nephrolithotomy - A prospective study

If you have a patient with a staghorn stone and the preoperative urine culture is sterile, does that mean that the stone is likewise sterile? The answer is No.

7 Mar 2006

Study reveals most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis

A new Mayo Clinic study reveals the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, a skin inflammation resulting in swollen, reddened and itchy skin due to direct contact with an allergen.

7 Mar 2006

Photodynamic therapy lighting the way for medical treatments

For the millions of people who suffer from acne, sun damage or even worse, skin cancer, there is a light of hope - photodynamic therapy or PDT.

6 Mar 2006

Individualized treatment options for rosacea

Many individuals who are struggling with redness, pimples and visible blood vessels on their face may incorrectly diagnose their condition as acne, sunburn or sensitive skin.

6 Mar 2006

Scientists show how MRSA sidesteps hospital protection measures

The MRSA 'superbug' evades many of the measures introduced to combat its spread by infecting a common single-celled organism found almost everywhere in hospital wards, according to new research published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.

1 Mar 2006

The incidence, distribution, and control of tuberculosis

A reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence, prevalence and death rate can be achieved by 2015 in most parts of the world, with the greatest challenges occurring in Africa and Eastern Europe, according to a projection by the Stop TB Department of the World Health Organization.

1 Mar 2006

Reaction to DTaP vaccine finds no help from ibuprofen, acetaminophen

A red splotch forms where most preschoolers get their fifth, and last, shot of the acellular diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, and it can last a few days.

1 Mar 2006

Hand-held device for detecting illegal and legal drugs

A real-time sensor for detecting cocaine - made with inexpensive, off-the-shelf electronics - has been developed by a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

1 Mar 2006

Why more women die than men after heart bypass surgery

According to researchers, infections - including those acquired in hospitals, could explain why women die more frequently than men after heart bypass surgery and the explanations for this sex difference are controversial.

28 Feb 2006

Is persistent bacterial infection good for your health?

Bacteria are bad. Mothers and doctors, not to mention the cleaning product industry, repeatedly warn of their dangers. But a Stanford University School of Medicine microbiologist is raising the intriguing idea that persistent bacterial and viral infections have benefits.

27 Feb 2006

Research points to a novel approach to treating serious Strep infections

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered that so-called flesh-eating "Strep" bacteria use a specific enzyme to break free of the body's immune system, a finding which could potentially lead to new treatments for serious infections in human patients.

24 Feb 2006

Research highlights importance of detecting anthrax early

When spores sent through the mail in 2001 caused 11 people to contract anthrax - ultimately killing five of them - infectious disease specialists noted that the death rate was substantially lower than the historical mortality rate, which approached 100 percent.

24 Feb 2006

New molecule could help in treating hospital infections

The scientists replaced a single atom from the molecular structure of vancomycin aglycon, a glycopeptide antibiotic that attacks the bacteria by inhibiting cell wall synthesis, significantly increasing the drug's spectrum of activity.

24 Feb 2006

New York man gets anthrax from imported animal skins

New York city officials say a man has been hospitalized with an infection from anthrax.

23 Feb 2006

New oral vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

A new oral vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium commonly known for afflicting patients with lung dysfunction, has shown to protect healthy human volunteers from infection say researchers from England and Australia.

23 Feb 2006

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Eraxis to treat candidemia

Pfizer said today that Eraxis (anidulafungin) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat candidemia, a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection. Candidemia is the most deadly of the common hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, with a mortality rate of approximately 40 percent.

21 Feb 2006

Researchers create animal model of any schizophrenic characteristics

Researchers have developed a mouse strain in which the abnormal activity of the dopamine machinery in a specific part of the brain causes cognitive and behavioral impairments mimicking those in human schizophrenics.

20 Feb 2006