Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Restoration of normal glucose regulation may prevent diabetes

People with pre-diabetes are significantly less likely to develop diabetes if their blood glucose levels are normalized in time, according to new research by the Colorado School of Public Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

11 Jun 2012

CLC bio implements specialized antibody engineering and selection module for Crucell

Today CLC bio announced the completion and final implementation of a specialized antibody engineering and selection module for Crucell, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, that integrates with CLC bio's bioinformatics platform.

11 Jun 2012

Vitamin D deficiency may account for unexplained disparities in cancer survival rates

A paper just published in Dermato-Endocrinology suggests that vitamin D deficiency may account for unexplained disparities in cancer survival rates between African and White Americans.

10 Jun 2012

Project aims to reduce transmission of infectious diseases on aircraft

A new study is expected to provide the first detailed information on how infectious diseases may be transmitted aboard commercial airliners. Sponsored by aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the research will document patterns of passenger movement inside aircraft cabins and inventory the microbes present in cabin air and on surfaces such as tray tables and lavatory fixtures.

8 Jun 2012

Study: HIV superinfection may be more common than previously believed

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) superinfection may be as common as initial HIV infection and is not limited to high risk-populations, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

8 Jun 2012

BD, JDRF partner to accelerate development of glucose-sensing technology for T1D

JDRF and BD today announced an extension of their existing collaboration focused on Type 1 diabetes (T1D) to accelerate the development of BD's proprietary glucose-sensing technology which has shown promise in providing very accurate and reliable continuous glucose information.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 8 Jun 2012

Strand, Trovagene enter MOU to license and validate HPV assay technology

Trovagene, Inc., a developer of trans-renal molecular diagnostics, and Strand Life Sciences Pvt Ltd., of Bangalore, India, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to license and validate Trovagene's proprietary Human Papillomavirus (HPV) urine test and High Risk HPV DNA Assay for clinical diagnostic and carrier screening use in India and countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

8 Jun 2012

Sorrento receives $300,000 STTR grant to develop novel therapeutics against Staph infections

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has received an Advanced Technology Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Fast Track grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH.

8 Jun 2012

Researchers develop Texas Pandemic Flu Toolkit

In 2009, the H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic struck, infecting millions and killing more than 18,000 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Though less severe than initially feared, the pandemic highlighted the potential threat of deadly viruses emerging from animals into humans, and the importance of quick and effective public health intervention.

8 Jun 2012

HIV superinfection may be more frequent among general population of Uganda

HIV superinfection, when a person with HIV could acquire a second, new strain of HIV, may occur as often as initial HIV infection in the general population in Uganda, a study suggests.

8 Jun 2012

Enrollment complete in Advaxis’ ADXS-HPV Phase 2 study on CIN 2/3

Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announced today that it has completed enrollment of 40 patients in the second of three dose cohorts in Lm-LLO-E7-07, a randomized, single blind, placebo controlled Phase 2 dose escalation study assessing the safety and efficacy of ADXS-HPV for the treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3.

7 Jun 2012

Call for increased screening and faster testing for drug-resistant tuberculosis

Johns Hopkins experts in the prevention and treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis are calling for increased screening and more rapid testing of the 9 million people worldwide estimated to be infected each year with TB, and now at risk for this form of the highly contagious lung disease. The call follows results of a survey showing that the harder-to-treat TB variants are much more widespread than previously thought.

7 Jun 2012

Vitamin D deficiency may be an important risk factor for erectile dysfunction

A paper just published hypothesizes that vitamin D deficiency may be an important risk factor for erectile dysfunction (ED).

7 Jun 2012

Ancient hepatitis B may hold clues to viral evolution, spread

The evolution of the hepatitis B virus and its possible migration have become clearer with the sequencing of the oldest sample of the virus, isolated from a mummified 16th-century Korean child, say scientists.

6 Jun 2012

Guardian examines high incidence of drowning deaths among children in Bangladesh

"Bangladesh, a country crisscrossed with rivers and canals, has one of the highest drowning rates in the world," the Guardian reports. "More than 17,000 Bangladeshi children drown every year -- nearly 50 a day, according to the Bangladesh health and injury survey, conducted in 2003," the news service writes.

6 Jun 2012

InVitria receives new SBIR grant from NIAID

Ventria Bioscience today announced that its non-therapeutic products division InVitria has been awarded a new Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

6 Jun 2012

Family members of children with staph infections often harbor drug-resistant germs

Family members of children with a staph infection often harbor a drug-resistant form of the germ, although they don't show symptoms, a team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found.

5 Jun 2012

Experts respond to PLoS editorial comparing Chagas disease to HIV/AIDS

"Chagas disease, a parasitic infection spread to humans by insects, is not the new HIV/AIDS of the Americas, according to infectious disease experts who called the comparison," made in an editorial published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases last week, "'unrealistic' and 'unfortunate,'" ABC News' "Medical Unit" blog reports.

5 Jun 2012

Risk of recurrent shingles episode is relatively low: Study

People who have had an episode of herpes zoster, also known as shingles, face a relatively low short-term risk of developing shingles, according to a Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published online in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. These findings suggest that among people with immune systems that have not been compromised, the risk of a second shingles episode is low.

5 Jun 2012

Advaxis to update preliminary data on ADXS-HPV Phase 2 trial for cervical cancer

Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, will update preliminary data on the safety and clinical benefit of ADXS-HPV from an ongoing randomized Phase 2 trial of ADXS-HPV with or without cisplatin in Indian women with recurrent/refractory cervical cancer who have failed cytotoxic therapy in a poster titled "ADXS11-001 immunotherapy targeting HPV-E7: Preliminary survival data from a phase II study in Indian women with recurrent/refractory cervical cancer" at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL, on Sunday, June 3, 2012.

4 Jun 2012