Infectious Diseases News and Research

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U.S. News examines growing threat of drug-resistant TB

U.S. News & World Report examines the growing epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), highlighting a "new paper published earlier this week in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal warn[ing] that the first cases of 'totally drug-resistant' tuberculosis have been found in South Africa and that the disease is 'virtually untreatable."

13 Feb 2013

Bedside baths and bloodstream infections in children: an interview with Aaron Milstone

Bedside baths in the hospital are nothing new. They are typically done for patient comfort and to maintain basic personal hygiene.

13 Feb 2013

New centre to boost development of drugs against TB, malaria and African sleeping sickness

A major new centre to boost the development of drugs to tackle the foremost diseases of the developing world is to be created at the University of Dundee.

13 Feb 2013

Big Pharma looks to Africa for next growth market as economies strengthen, disease burden shifts

"Not only is Africa's economic growth grabbing attention in boardrooms but the shifting nature of its disease burden is luring Big Pharma, as new opportunities open up for treating chronic diseases afflicting the middle classes, rather than just fire-fighting infection," Reuters reports.

13 Feb 2013

Tips for safe displays of affection during Valentine's Day

Say "I love you" with flowers, chocolates or a greeting card, but be careful when you kiss this Valentine's Day.

13 Feb 2013

Researchers describe novel antiviral property of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase

A team of UCLA-led researchers has identified a protein with broad virus-fighting properties that potentially could be used as a weapon against deadly human pathogenic viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, Nipah and others designated "priority pathogens" for national biosecurity purposes by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

13 Feb 2013

Chagas disease costs $7B annually worldwide, according to study

Chagas disease, transmitted by a bloodsucking insect that bites the face and lips, "costs the world about $7 billion annually, says an analysis just published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases," NPR's "Shots" blog reports.

12 Feb 2013

DNAzymes and gold nanoparticles used to detect infectious diseases

Infectious diseases such as malaria and syphilis can be diagnosed rapidly and reliably in the field by using a simple test developed by Canadian scientists. The test is based on the use of DNAzymes and gold nanoparticles. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their test allows for the sensitive detection of bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

12 Feb 2013

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) therapy: an interview with Charles A. Nicolette, Ph.D., CSO of Argos Therapeutics

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma is a devastating disease. There are roughly 20-25,000 new cases per year in the United States and it is increasing for some reason.

12 Feb 2013

Modified measure quickly and effectively gauges intraventricular hemorrhage

Researchers have modified the Graeb score to produce a reliable, simple, quick, and clinically meaningful approximation of intraventricular hemorrhage volume.

11 Feb 2013

Pmt transport system helps develop new type of drug against S. aureus infection

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists have identified a promising lead for developing a new type of drug to treat infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that frequently resists traditional antibiotics.

11 Feb 2013

Decade Sunshine, 3SBio enter Merger Agreement

3SBio Inc., a leading China-based biotechnology company focused on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing biopharmaceutical products, today announced that it has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with Decade Sunshine Limited, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and Decade Sunshine Merger Sub, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Parent.

10 Feb 2013

Virginia Tech researchers reveal how 'bad' gut bacteria may help control diabetes

A stomach bacterium believed to cause health problems such as gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer may play a dual role by balancing the stomach's ecosystem and controlling body weight and glucose tolerance, according to immunologists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech.

10 Feb 2013

Tat-beclin 1 shows promise against infections, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have synthesized a peptide that shows potential for pharmaceutical development into agents for treating infections, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer through an ability to induce a cell-recycling process called autophagy.

10 Feb 2013

Rekom Biotech designs new biomarkers that can identify West Nile virus, dengue

Researchers at the University of Granada have designed a set of biomarkers that can be used in diagnostic tests for the detection of dengue and the West Nile virus, two infectious diseases transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. These biomarkers can be used to identify these viral diseases, which affect millions of people worldwide.

9 Feb 2013