Antibiotic News and Research

RSS

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

Australian researchers tackle antibiotic resistance

The development of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria that are problematic and expensive to treat is a major healthcare problem around the world. The "selective pressure" of antibiotic usage inevitably results in the emergence and proliferation of resistant bacteria.

20 Dec 2007

Anthrax vaccine will add to America's arsenal against bioterrorism

A company, based in Rockville, Maryland in the USA, with the help of government funding, has used the human genome to develop a vaccine that may give protection from anthrax.

19 Dec 2007

Contaminated syringes make 40 people sick

An investigation is being carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into blood infections linked to medical syringes which were contaminated with bacteria.

19 Dec 2007

Addition of antibiotics to MS therapy could slow down progression of the disease

Researchers from Louisiana State University in the U.S. are suggesting that the addition of antibiotics to standard drug therapy for multiple sclerosis, may slow down the progress of the disease.

19 Dec 2007

Poultry workers at greater risk of carrying antibiotic-resistant E. coli

Poultry workers in the United States are 32 times more likely to carry E. coli bacteria resistant to the commonly used antibiotic, gentamicin, than others outside the poultry industry, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

18 Dec 2007

Rifapentine is back for tuberculosis

It has no current market, not even a prescription price. Its makers stopped commercial production years ago, because demand was so low.

18 Dec 2007

Intracellular bacterial communities in cystitis; rifapentine cures TB in mouse model; and more

A study published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine presents convincing evidence that intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) commonly exist in women with bladder infections and may contribute to the recurrence of these infections.

18 Dec 2007

Bacteria that cause urinary tract infections invade bladder cells

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found definitive proof that some of the bacteria that plague women with urinary tract infections (UTIs) are entrenched inside human bladder cells.

18 Dec 2007

Commonly available antibiotic targets difficult asthma

Hunter researchers have shown that a commonly available antibiotic can improve the quality of life of patients with difficult asthma, and may also generate significant health care savings.

18 Dec 2007

New UK Centre for Zoonosis Research to open in Liverpool

The UK's National Centre for Zoonosis Research, dedicated to the study of animal-borne human diseases, will be opened at the University of Liverpool.

12 Dec 2007

U.S. healthcare facilities aren't doing enough to protect patients from MRSA

U.S. healthcare facilities aren't doing enough to protect patients from Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, according to a new poll of infection control professionals released today.

12 Dec 2007

Addition of antibiotics to MS therapy could slow down progression of the disease

Researchers from Louisiana State University in the U.S. are suggesting that the addition of antibiotics to standard drug therapy for multiple sclerosis, may slow down the progress of the disease.

11 Dec 2007

Bacteria in cows' milk may cause Crohn's disease

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found how a bacterium, known to cause illness in cattle, may cause Crohn’s disease in humans.

10 Dec 2007

Combination therapy including antibiotics may be beneficial for multiple sclerosis

A preliminary study suggests that combining a medication currently used to treat multiple sclerosis with an antibiotic may slow the progress of the disease, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the February 2008 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

10 Dec 2007

Pathogens use previously undescribed mechanism to sabotage host immune system

New research identifies a previously unknown enzymatic mechanism that subverts the early host immune response and promotes pathogenicity by manipulating a common signaling pathway in host cells.

10 Dec 2007

Tuberculosis found in 500,000-year-old human

Although most scientists believe tuberculosis emerged only several thousand years ago, new research from The University of Texas at Austin reveals the most ancient evidence of the disease has been found in a 500,000-year-old human fossil from Turkey.

10 Dec 2007

Antibiotics may be of little use in treating sinus infections

A new British study disputes the effectiveness of antibiotic drugs prescribed to treat sinus infections.

6 Dec 2007

Scientists strike blow in super bugs struggle

Scientists from the University of Manchester have pioneered new ways of tweaking the molecular structure of antibiotics - an innovation that could be crucial in the fight against powerful super bugs.

From The University of Manchester 5 Dec 2007

Benzethonium chloride products identified as best for killing MRSA

One type of over-the-counter product for topical wound care is more effective than others in killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, or MRSA, which is potentially deadly and in recent years has moved from its historic hospital setting to a much broader public concern.

4 Dec 2007

Inhaled immune system stimulant launches immune response in lungs to wipe out lethal infections

An inhaled immune system stimulant protects mice against lethal pneumococcal pneumonia and other deadly bacterial, viral and fungal infections of the lungs, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports at a major scientific meeting.

4 Dec 2007