Infectious Diseases News and Research

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New compound offers way to treat migraine and other disorders of central nervous system

For many migraine sufferers, bright lights are a surefire way to exacerbate their headaches. And for some night-shift workers, just a stroll through a brightly lit parking lot during the morning commute home can be enough to throw off their body's daily rhythms and make daytime sleep nearly impossible. But a new molecule that selectively blocks specialized light-sensitive receptors in the eyes could help both these groups of people, without affecting normal vision.

28 Aug 2013

Engineers create biodegradable needles that penetrate skin and precisely deliver tuberculosis test

Each year, millions of people in the United States get a tuberculosis skin test to see if they have the infection that still affects one third of the world's population. But the standard diagnostic test is difficult to give, because a hypodermic needle must be inserted at a precise angle and depth in the arm to successfully check for tuberculosis.

27 Aug 2013

Sanofi Pasteur reports clinical benefit of Fluzone High-Dose vaccine in preventing influenza

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, today announced topline results of a large-scale, multi-center efficacy trial in people 65 years of age and older showing a superior clinical benefit of Fluzone High-Dose (Influenza Virus Vaccine) relative to the standard dose of Fluzone vaccine in preventing influenza.

26 Aug 2013

Mentors International, Co-Diagnostics HBDC to lower real-time PCR test prices in developing world

Mentors International and Co-Diagnostics HBDC signed an agreement to lower real-time PCR test prices in the developing world, starting with tuberculosis. Under the agreement, Co-Diagnostics HBDC will provide low-cost testing reagents and Mentors International will leverage its international connections to set up low-cost testing facilities.

23 Aug 2013

WHO hand-hygiene compliance strategy easy for health-care workers to practise

WHO's strategy for improving hand hygiene is easy for health-care workers to practise, according to a new study published today in "Lancet Infectious Diseases". Health care-associated infections are a major threat to patient safety worldwide and transmission in these settings is mainly from the hands of health-care workers.

23 Aug 2013

Shire extends existing partnership with Santaris Pharma in rare genetic disease space

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today announced that its long term partner, Shire has extended the existing partnership in the rare genetic disease space.

23 Aug 2013

Researchers uncover how SARS coronavirus uses host cell to reproduce itself

UC Irvine infectious disease researchers have uncovered components of the SARS coronavirus - which triggered a major outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2002-03 - that allow it to take over host cells in order to replicate.

23 Aug 2013

Study confirms exposure to arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function

A new study confirms that exposure to low to moderate amounts of arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function. Doses of about 120 parts per billion of arsenic in well water-about 12 times the dose generally considered safe-produced lung damage comparable to decades of smoking tobacco. Smoking, especially by males, made arsenic-related damage even worse.

23 Aug 2013

Noninvasive urine test can accurately monitor risk of kidney rejection

Levels of a protein in the urine of kidney transplant recipients can distinguish those at low risk of developing kidney injury from those at high risk, a study suggests. The results also suggest that low levels of this protein, called CXCL9, can rule out rejection as a cause of kidney injury.

23 Aug 2013

Researchers discover 100% genetic match for MERS in insect-eating bat in Saudi Arabia

A 100% genetic match for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has been discovered in an insect-eating bat in close proximity to the first known case of the disease in Saudi Arabia. The discovery points to the likely animal origin for the disease, although researchers say that an intermediary animal is likely also involved.

22 Aug 2013

Influenza researchers use genetic sequencing to trace source and evolution of avian H7N9 virus

An international team of influenza researchers in China, the United Kingdom and the United States has used genetic sequencing to trace the source and evolution of the avian H7N9 influenza virus that emerged in humans in China earlier this year. The study, published today in Nature, was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, and other organizations.

22 Aug 2013

NIST and USAMRIID scientists advance crucial step in anthrax infection process

A new hypothesis concerning a crucial step in the anthrax infection process has been advanced by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, Md.

21 Aug 2013

Immunetics receives FDA clearance for BacTx rapid test for bacteria in apheresis platelets

mmunetics, Inc., a leading clinical test provider, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its BacTx® rapid test for bacteria in apheresis platelets. The BacTx system is a colorimetric assay that can detect aerobic, anaerobic, gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria in a single test.

20 Aug 2013

Study shows superantigens produced by staph bacteria cause infective endocarditis and sepsis

University of Iowa researchers have discovered what causes the lethal effects of staphylococcal infective endocarditis - a serious bacterial infection of heart valves that kills approximately 20,000 Americans each year.

20 Aug 2013

Clinical trial shows type-1 diabetes patients treated with teplizumab exhibit greater response to therapy

Primary results from a new clinical trial show that patients with type 1 diabetes treated with the monoclonal antibody teplizumab (MacroGenics, Inc.) exhibit greater preservation of C-peptide, a biomarker of islet cell function, compared to controls.

20 Aug 2013

Study shows ART has reduced immunosuppression and viremia among PHIV youth

The advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed HIV from a death sentence into a chronic disease. In one of the largest studies of perinatally infected HIV (PHIV) patients to date, Agwu, et al, found that the proportion of patients on ART has increased and rates of viremia and advanced immunosuppression have decreased. But the rates of both markers in older patients are higher, according to an article in the Fall issue of The Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS).

20 Aug 2013

Powerful mechanism helps viruses evade body's immune response

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a powerful mechanism by which viruses such as influenza, West Nile and Dengue evade the body's immune response and infect humans with these potentially deadly diseases. The findings may provide scientists with an attractive target for novel antiviral therapies.

19 Aug 2013

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to ADXS-HPV for treatment of HPV-associated anal cancer

Advaxis, Inc., (OTCQB: ADXS), a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announced that it has been granted Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) for ADXS-HPV, its lead drug candidate, for the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated anal cancer.

17 Aug 2013

Mathematical model to help answer critical questions to large-scale anthrax exposure

If terrorists targeted the United States with an anthrax attack, health care providers and policy makers would need key information - such as knowing the likelihood of an individual becoming infected, how many cases to expect and in what pattern, and how long to give antibiotics - to protect people from the deadly bacteria.

17 Aug 2013

Pre-doctoral students receive International Student Research Fellowships from HHMI

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded two doctoral students from the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University with 2013 International Student Research Fellowships. Seblewongel Asrat, from Ethiopia, studies the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease while Jennifer Nwankwo, from Nigeria, studies red blood cell dehydration in sickle cell disease.

17 Aug 2013

Infectious Diseases News and Research

New compound offers way to treat migraine and other disorders of central nervous system

Engineers create biodegradable needles that penetrate skin and precisely deliver tuberculosis test

Sanofi Pasteur reports clinical benefit of Fluzone High-Dose vaccine in preventing influenza

Mentors International, Co-Diagnostics HBDC to lower real-time PCR test prices in developing world

WHO hand-hygiene compliance strategy easy for health-care workers to practise

Shire extends existing partnership with Santaris Pharma in rare genetic disease space

Researchers uncover how SARS coronavirus uses host cell to reproduce itself

Study confirms exposure to arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function

Noninvasive urine test can accurately monitor risk of kidney rejection

Researchers discover 100% genetic match for MERS in insect-eating bat in Saudi Arabia

Influenza researchers use genetic sequencing to trace source and evolution of avian H7N9 virus

NIST and USAMRIID scientists advance crucial step in anthrax infection process

Immunetics receives FDA clearance for BacTx rapid test for bacteria in apheresis platelets

Study shows superantigens produced by staph bacteria cause infective endocarditis and sepsis

Clinical trial shows type-1 diabetes patients treated with teplizumab exhibit greater response to therapy

Study shows ART has reduced immunosuppression and viremia among PHIV youth

Powerful mechanism helps viruses evade body's immune response

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to ADXS-HPV for treatment of HPV-associated anal cancer

Mathematical model to help answer critical questions to large-scale anthrax exposure

Pre-doctoral students receive International Student Research Fellowships from HHMI

Industry Focus eBook - Infectious Diseases (3rd Edition) eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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