Antibiotic News and Research

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

Study reveals structure of E. coli multidrug transporter protein

This new study could potentially help researchers find new ways to avoid the problem of multidrug resistance and enhance the potency of existing drug compounds.

9 May 2006

Scientists learn valuable lesson from nature - secret behind nature's medicines

After years of wondering how organisms managed to create self-medications, such as anti-fungal agents, chemists have discovered the simple secret.

3 May 2006

Short-course postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis combined with vaccination protects against experimental inhalational anthrax

Anthrax vaccine administered in combination with a short course of antibiotics completely protected nonhuman primates from inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of the disease, according to scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

3 May 2006

Anthrax killed by protein that explodes cell walls

Not all biological weapons are created equal. They are separated into categories A through C, category A biological agents being the scariest: They are easy to spread, kill effectively and call for special actions by the pubic health system. One of these worrisome organisms is anthrax, which has already received its fair share of media attention. But work in Vince Fischetti's laboratory at Rockefeller University suggests that a newly discovered protein could be used to fight anthrax infections and even decontaminate areas in which anthrax spores have been released.

26 Apr 2006

New method allows heart beat triggers to be viewed and better understood

Researchers have developed unique chemical dyes that have made it possible to see what the naked eye has never seen before: action potentials, or voltage changes, of cardiac cells - including those deep inside the heart, which trigger and determine the pace of heartbeats.

25 Apr 2006

Foot problems change social behaviour - but it doesn't have to be that way

With the average person taking 9,000 steps per day -- more than 600 miles each year -- when feet start to hurt or change in shape, it can really impact a person's life. In fact, according to a new survey, of people who report having foot issues in the past five years, two out of three report that these foot issues, which range from blisters to bunions and heel pain, have changed the kind of shoes they wear, how active they are, where and how far they walk, and so on.

23 Apr 2006

Novel approach used to neutralize anthrax toxin

Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Toronto have designed a nanoscale assembly of molecules that successfully counteracts and inhibits anthrax toxin in animal and laboratory experiments.

23 Apr 2006

Bubonic plague confirmed in Los Angeles woman

Los Angeles County health officials have confirmed a case of bubonic plague in an adult woman. This is the first human case of plague in a Los Angeles County resident since 1984.

19 Apr 2006

Patching for corneal abrasion

Simple corneal abrasions do not need to be treated by patching the eye, according to a new review of studies that found patching initially slows healing and does not reduce pain.

18 Apr 2006

Antibiotics for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often experience short term worsening and aggravation of their symptoms.

18 Apr 2006

Less antibiotic use in food animals leads to less drug resistance in people

Australia's policy of restricting antibiotic use in food-producing animals may be linked with lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria found in its citizens, according to an article in the May 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

18 Apr 2006

Telithromycin antibiotic may help reduce some symptoms of a bad asthma attack

The researchers however believe the positive effects of the drug may be as a result of its impact on two bacteria - Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae - found present in 61% of patients in the study.

13 Apr 2006

Antibiotic telithromycin is effective at treating acute asthma attacks

Researchers have demonstrated that an antibiotic is effective at treating acute asthma attacks, potentially providing a new way to help asthma sufferers.

13 Apr 2006

Researchers determine factors that turn on protein production in bacteria

In the study, published in the journal Molecular Cell, researchers Sean Studer and Simpson Joseph in UCSD's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry report how the messenger RNA instructions to make a protein are unfolded in a bacterial cell, so that they can be read by the cell's protein-making machinery.

11 Apr 2006

Ceftriaxone may help fight dementia in HIV patients

An antibiotic commonly used to treat a variety of serious infections may also help prevent dementia in HIV patients, according to a test-tube study of human brain cells by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine neurologist Jeffrey Rumbaugh, M.D., Ph.D.

7 Apr 2006

New therapy proven to be effective in the treatment of MRS

Cosmetic considerations and a perceived lack of patent opportunities could be stopping the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries from investing in the development of a new therapy proven to be effective in the treatment of MRSA.

6 Apr 2006

Long-term clinical follow up of children with primary vesicoureteric reflux

It is documented that vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) is a predisposing factor for UTI, which in turn may involve the kidney parenchyma and cause permanent renal scarring.

6 Apr 2006

Quinolone use has surpased Sulfa antibiotics for the treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women

Sulfa drugs have traditionally been the most frequently prescribed antibiotics for women with uncomplicated UTIs. However, quinolone use has increased with the emergence of sulfa-resistant E. coli strains, which has been shown to approach 20% in some regions of the country.

5 Apr 2006

Combination of salmeterol and fluticasone propionate cuts inflammatory cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The combination of two existing clinical treatments, salmeterol and fluticasone propionate, can significantly reduce inflammatory cells in the airways of current and former smokers being treated for moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

4 Apr 2006

Randomized trial shows patient-delivered partner treatment superior to partner referral in male urethritis

Ensuring that the sexual partners of patients diagnosed with urethritis are also treated remains a challenge since the traditional methods of partner referral are usually ineffective.

3 Apr 2006