Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Editorial, opinion pieces address emergence of new bird flu strain in China

"Memories of China's repression of news during its tumultuous 2002-03 SARS outbreak could fuel panic and unrest at home and suspicion in the West," Hall, a novelist, writes.

5 Apr 2013

Roundup: Calif. hospitals to close after homeless care controversy; Texas hospitals spar over indigent care payments

Hospital owner Pacific Health Corp. said it will close its three remaining Southern California hospitals, citing the fallout from a federal fraud case last year in which the company admitted paying to recruit homeless people off skid row in Los Angeles and billing the government for unnecessary care (Terhune, 4/3).

5 Apr 2013

Observation of antibody evolution in HIV-1 patient provides insights into vaccine development

Observing the evolution of a particular type of antibody in an infected HIV-1 patient, a study spearheaded by Duke University, including analysis from Los Alamos National Laboratory, has provided insights that will enable vaccination strategies that mimic the actual antibody development within the body.

5 Apr 2013

Research findings provide insight into severe bacterial infectious diseases

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report that a pathogen annually blamed for an estimated 90 million cases of food-borne illness defeats a host's immune response by using a fat-snipping enzyme to cut off cellular communication.

5 Apr 2013

Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are more likely to develop UTIs

Schizophrenia patients experiencing relapse are 29 times more likely than healthy individuals to have a urinary tract infection, researchers report.

4 Apr 2013

Reformulated version of anti-HIV gel safe for HIV-negative men and women

A reformulated version of an anti-HIV gel developed for vaginal use was found safe and acceptable by HIV-negative men and women who used it rectally, according to a Phase I clinical trial published today in PLOS ONE.

4 Apr 2013

Injuries caused by sharp instruments are major occupational hazard for surgeons

Injuries caused by needles and other sharp instruments are a major occupational hazard for surgeons—with high costs related to the risk of contracting serious infectious diseases, according to a special article in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

3 Apr 2013

New medical device detects biothreat agents

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are developing a medical instrument that will be able to quickly detect a suite of biothreat agents, including anthrax, ricin, botulinum, shiga and SEB toxin.

3 Apr 2013

Salk neuroscientist applauds launch of BRAIN Initiative

Salk neuroscientist Terrence J. Sejnowski joined President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2013, at the launch of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative-a major Administration neuroscience effort that advances and builds upon collaborative scientific work by leading brain researchers such as Salk's own Sejnowski.

3 Apr 2013

LSUHSC researchers study common STI

Research led by David H. Martin, MD, Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that a common sexually transmitted infection-causing parasite "cultivates" bacteria beneficial to it, changing thinking about which comes first-infection or bacteria.

3 Apr 2013

Antibodies neutralize mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus, researchers reveal

Researchers have learned the precise structure of the mosquito-transmitted chikungunya virus pathogen while it is bound to antibodies, showing how the infection is likely neutralized.

3 Apr 2013

Texas Tech Professor receives NIH grant to research on leishmaniasis

A Texas Tech University biology professor received a five-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the biochemistry of a microscopic parasite responsible for the tropical disease leishmaniasis in the hope of finding a cure.

2 Apr 2013

Inovio Pharmaceuticals reports release of phase II clinical trial results of ChronVac-C

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the release of preliminary clinical trial results by its collaborator ChronTech AS of their open label phase II clinical study of ChronVac-C, ChronTech's vaccine to treat hepatitis C virus infection.

2 Apr 2013

New research discovery in mosquitoes could lead to possible tools for controlling malaria

A surprising research discovery in mosquitoes could affect future prospects for malaria control. A team of scientists from West Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom found that the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, which was thought to be splitting into two completely new species, may actually have a more complex range of forms due to frequent inter-mating.

2 Apr 2013

Sanford-Burnham scientists identify how enzyme PKCzeta suppresses prostate tumor formation

Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have identified how an enzyme called PKCζ suppresses prostate tumor formation. The finding, which also describes a molecular chain of events that controls cell growth and metastasis, could lead to novel ways to control disease progression.

2 Apr 2013

New study shows varicella vaccine neutralizes chicken pox

Chicken pox, the childhood affliction of earlier generations, has been largely neutralized by the varicella vaccine, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, which appears in the current online issue of Pediatrics.

1 Apr 2013

IGDRASOL to present updates on Cynviloq at AACR annual meeting

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. and IGDRASOL announced today that IGDRASOL will be presenting updates of its development of Cynviloq (IG-001) at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, DC (April 6th to 10th).

1 Apr 2013

Study shows hormonal therapy increases risk of breast cancer

The study Dr. Chlebowski authored reported that estrogen plus progestin use is linked with increased breast cancer incidence. In addition, it said the prognosis is similar for both users and nonusers of combined hormone therapy, suggesting that mortality from breast cancer may be higher for hormone therapy users as well.

30 Mar 2013

UNAIDS reports on Russian G20 Sherpa visit

"In her first visit to Geneva as Russian G20 Sherpa, Ksenia Yudaeva" -- Chief of the Presidential Experts Directorate -- "visited UNAIDS Headquarters for a broad-ranging discussion on global issues that are priorities for the Russian Presidency of the G20, including civil society participation, youth empowerment and development for all," UNAIDS reports in an article on its webpage.

30 Mar 2013

Hong Kong researchers examine health risks of new SARS-like virus

"A new coronavirus that emerged in the Middle East last fall could be deadlier than the SARS virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed 774 people between 2002 and 2003, researchers from the University of Hong Kong said ... in a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases this week," GlobalPost reports.

30 Mar 2013