Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Common antibiotics can promote C. diff infections by killing off bile acid-altering microbes

New research from North Carolina State University and the University of Michigan finds that bile acids which are altered by bacteria normally living in the large intestine inhibit the growth of Clostridium difficile, or C. diff. C. diff is a harmful bacterium that can cause painful and sometimes fatal infections.

7 Jan 2016

Study may hold new revelations about how stress during pregnancy affects mothers and offspring

The sequencing of the first genome involving a cockroach species may one day serve as a model system comparable to how research on mice can apply to humans. In this case, the model could hold new revelations about how stress during pregnancy could affect both the mother and her offspring.

6 Jan 2016

SillaJen reports initiation of multinational randomized Phase 3 study of Pexa-Vec in HCC patients

SillaJen, Inc., a private, clinical-stage, biotherapeutics company focused on the development of oncolytic immunotherapy products for cancer, has announced the initiation of a multinational randomized Phase 3 open-label study of its lead product candidate, Pexa-Vec (formerly JX-594), in patients with advanced liver cancer, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

5 Jan 2016

Minor flu strains carry bigger viral punch

Minor variants of flu strains, which are not typically targeted in vaccines, carry a bigger viral punch than previously realized, a team of scientists has found. Its research, which examined samples from the 2009 flu pandemic in Hong Kong, shows that these minor strains are transmitted along with the major strains and can replicate and elude immunizations.

5 Jan 2016

Millions of older adults make infectious disease-related emergency department visits each year

Investigators estimate that during 2012, there were more than 3.1 million emergency department visits for infectious diseases among elderly US adults.

5 Jan 2016

CFDA issues new drug certificate and production license for Sinovac's EV71 vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that the China Food and Drug Administration issued the new drug certificate and production license for its Enterovirus 71 ("EV71") vaccine.

4 Jan 2016

Areas stricken by extreme poverty more likely to be associated with high rates of Ebola transmission

Since October 2014 the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has been diminishing and efforts have shifted from emergency response to prevention and mitigation of future outbreaks. Researchers from the Liberian Ministry of Health and the Yale Center for Infectious Disease Modelling and Analysis evaluated 3532 Ebola cases reported in 2014 in order to quantify the impact of poverty on the transmission and spread of Ebola.

4 Jan 2016

Processed foods may increase likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases

In today's hustle and bustle world, processed foods are commonplace time-savers. But that convenience factor may come with a bigger price tag than previously known, says an international team of researchers.

31 Dec 2015

Parents could make a difference in reducing teen violence, study finds

Nearly one-fourth of all teens reported being involved in a physical fight in the past year, with higher rates of violent altercations among African American and Latino adolescents. In the first study of its kind, researchers conducted focus groups with African American and Latino parents regarding teen violence.

31 Dec 2015

Treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis with regimens may improve outcomes

Treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) with regimens that include a greater number of drugs may improve outcomes, and baseline drug susceptibility testing (DST) could identify drugs with the greatest likelihood of success, according to a paper published this week in PLOS Medicine.

30 Dec 2015

Researchers suggest microorganisms in the womb set stage for health problems later in life

Researchers review importance of microorganisms that exist in the gut, suggesting perturbation of the environment during pregnancy, delivery and early infancy could impact the developing baby's early microbiome and set the stage for health problems later in life. The term "microbiome" refers to the trillions of organisms we harbor, on our skin and within our respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

30 Dec 2015

New oral breast cancer drug has potential to combat other types of cancer

Palbociclib, a new oral drug whose efficacy in combating breast cancer has been demonstrated alone and in combination with endocrine therapy, also has potential to combat other types of cancer, according to a literature review and additional original research conducted by experts at the Abramson Cancer Center in the University of Pennsylvania published this month in JAMA Oncology.

30 Dec 2015

Study shows why immune system fails to develop immunity during malaria infection

Australian scientists have for the first time revealed how malaria parasites cause an inflammatory reaction that sabotages our body's ability to protect itself against the disease.

26 Dec 2015

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started at least 25 million years ago, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) that published online today in the journal eLife.

24 Dec 2015

Azithromycin remains effective in treatment of urogenital chlamydia, confirms UAB study

In one of the most tightly controlled trials ever conducted of drugs used to treat sexually transmitted infections, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have confirmed that azithromycin remains effective in the treatment of urogenital chlamydia.

24 Dec 2015

Computers could discover future drugs

The drugs of tomorrow may be discovered by computers. A proof-of-concept study published December 23 in Cell Systems demonstrates that with the right input of data about infectious yeast, a machine algorithm can learn to identify combinations of existing and previously unknown compounds that can work together as antifungal agents.

24 Dec 2015

Lower levels of antibodies in saliva linked to increased risk of mortality

New research from the University of Birmingham has found that lower levels of antibodies in saliva are associated with of an elevated risk of mortality, and could be an early indicator of risk.

24 Dec 2015

Single VRC01 antibody infusion could suppress HIV level in people not taking ART

A single infusion of a powerful antibody called VRC01 can suppress the level of HIV in the blood of infected people who are not taking antiretroviral therapy (ART), scientists at the National Institutes of Health report in a paper published today.

24 Dec 2015

Immunogeneticist helps monitor immune responses in VRC01 phase 1 trial in HIV-infected individuals

Janardan Pandey, Ph.D., an immunogeneticist specializing in immunoglobulin GM genes at the Medical University of South Carolina, helped monitor for immune responses that could limit the effectiveness of the broadly neutralizing antibody VRC01 in a phase 1 trial of that antibody in HIV-infected individuals led by a team at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

24 Dec 2015

ATS commends President Obama for release of National Action Plan to combat TB

The American Thoracic Society applauds President Barack Obama and the Administration for the release of the National Action Plan to Combat Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (TB) today.

23 Dec 2015

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Common antibiotics can promote C. diff infections by killing off bile acid-altering microbes

Study may hold new revelations about how stress during pregnancy affects mothers and offspring

SillaJen reports initiation of multinational randomized Phase 3 study of Pexa-Vec in HCC patients

Minor flu strains carry bigger viral punch

Millions of older adults make infectious disease-related emergency department visits each year

CFDA issues new drug certificate and production license for Sinovac's EV71 vaccine

Areas stricken by extreme poverty more likely to be associated with high rates of Ebola transmission

Processed foods may increase likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases

Parents could make a difference in reducing teen violence, study finds

Treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis with regimens may improve outcomes

Researchers suggest microorganisms in the womb set stage for health problems later in life

New oral breast cancer drug has potential to combat other types of cancer

Study shows why immune system fails to develop immunity during malaria infection

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Azithromycin remains effective in treatment of urogenital chlamydia, confirms UAB study

Computers could discover future drugs

Lower levels of antibodies in saliva linked to increased risk of mortality

Single VRC01 antibody infusion could suppress HIV level in people not taking ART

Immunogeneticist helps monitor immune responses in VRC01 phase 1 trial in HIV-infected individuals

ATS commends President Obama for release of National Action Plan to combat TB

eBook: Advancing infectious disease vaccine development eBook

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