Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Oral ingestion of apple polyphenols can prevent colitis in mice

Here's another reason why "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"-according to new research findings published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, oral ingestion of apple polyphenols can suppress T cell activation to prevent colitis in mice.

1 Dec 2011

FDA clears Abbott's new ARCHITECT 25-OH Vitamin D assay

Abbott announced today it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a fully-automated 25-OH Vitamin D assay performed on its widely used ARCHITECT laboratory testing platform.

30 Nov 2011

DNA gyrase B could rapidly eliminate TB, shorten treatment time

In research at SRI International, scientists evaluating new drug targets against tuberculosis (TB) recently validated the preclinical effectiveness of a target that could rapidly eliminate infections and potentially shorten treatment time. The new drug target is a protein called DNA gyrase B, found in bacteria that cause TB infections.

30 Nov 2011

Nanomedicine breakthrough by IBN and IBM named a ‘world changer’

A nanoparticle that can destroy drug-resistant bacteria developed by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), and the IBM Almaden Research Center, has recently been named one of 10 world changing ideas by Scientific American in its Technology Special Report ('World Changing Ideas – 10 New Technologies That Will Make a Difference', December 2011).

29 Nov 2011

Shots reduce risk of chicken pox

Infants below the age of one may be too young to get the chicken pox vaccine but far fewer of them got the itchy rash after the U.S. started routinely vaccinating older children in 1995, according to a new study.

29 Nov 2011

New trends in HIV/AIDS prevalence

According to a latest report released this Monday, Toronto has more HIV and AIDS cases than ever before, with an estimated one in 120 adults in the city now HIV-positive. In all of Ontario, the number of people living with HIV-AIDS grew by 31 per cent between 2003 and 2008 and that number continues to expand.

29 Nov 2011

Counterparts of memory cells ward off microbial foes

The immune system possesses a type of cell that can be activated by tissues within the body to remind the immune system not to attack our own molecules, cells and organs, UCSF researchers have discovered.

29 Nov 2011

VOICE continues testing daily use of ARV Truvada among women in sub-Saharan Africa

VOICE, an HIV prevention trial that has been evaluating two antiretroviral (ARV)-based approaches for preventing the sexual transmission of HIV in women - daily use of one of two different ARV tablets or of a vaginal gel - has stopped testing the gel.

29 Nov 2011

Remote video auditing leads to better hospital hand hygiene compliance

Nearly one out of every 20 hospitalized patients each year will develop a hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Of those infected, it is estimated that 100,000 will die. The cost to the healthcare system is approximately $45 billion and rising.

29 Nov 2011

NIH awards $3.2M for development of highly efficient system of generating nucleic acid molecules

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $3.2 million to a team of preeminent engineering, chemistry, and biology researchers to develop a highly efficient system of generating nucleic acid molecules, called aptamers.

29 Nov 2011

New swine flu virus alarms health officials

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), three cases of a new flu virus have been confirmed. These originated in pigs but apparently spread from person to person, in three Iowa children.

28 Nov 2011

Tenofovir gel no more effective than placebo gel in preventing HIV

An independent review of the VOICE study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and conducted by the Microbicide Trials Network, determined that tenofovir gel was no more effective than placebo gel in preventing HIV.

28 Nov 2011

NIH-led study advances HIV vaccine research

HIV is coated in sugars that usually hide the virus from the immune system. Newly published research reveals how one broadly neutralizing HIV antibody actually uses part of the sugary cloak to help bind to the virus. The antibody binding site, called the V1/V2 region, represents a suitable HIV vaccine target, according to the scientists who conducted the study. In addition, their research reveals the detailed structure of the V1/V2 region, the last part of the virus surface to be visualized at the atomic level.

24 Nov 2011

Advaxis completes ADXS-HER2 pre-IND meeting with FDA

Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, completed a pre-IND meeting with the FDA on November 22, 2011 to discuss the development plan for ADXS-HER2, an immunotherapy for the treatment of HER2 expressing cancers.

23 Nov 2011

Roche establishes strategic alliance with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Roche announced today the establishment of a strategic alliance with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for the center to operate as a Roche Molecular Center of Excellence (MCOE) for the next five years.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 21 Nov 2011

Selecta commences SEL-068 Phase 1 clinical trial for smoking cessation and relapse prevention

Selecta Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of synthetic vaccines and immunotherapies, today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamic profile of SEL-068, a nicotine vaccine candidate for smoking cessation and relapse prevention.

21 Nov 2011

Scientists isolate and analyze antibody that neutralizes Sudan virus

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the US Army's Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have isolated and analyzed an antibody that neutralizes Sudan virus, a major species of ebolavirus and one of the most dangerous human pathogens.

20 Nov 2011

GPIU, prostate biopsy side study takes place until end of November

Qualified urologists and urology departments collaborating with microbiologists and infectious disease specialists are encouraged to join the new Global Prevalence Study of Infections in Urology (GPIU) with the last five calendared dates taking place this week and by the end of this month.

19 Nov 2011

Scientists solve mystery behind why people with defective hemoglobin do not contract malaria

Why do people with a hereditary mutation of the red blood pigment hemoglobin not contract severe malaria? Scientists in the group headed by Prof. Michael Lanzer of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg University Hospital have now solved this mystery.

19 Nov 2011

UVA develops new and faster method to track superbugs

University of Virginia Health System researchers are the first in the world to develop a new and faster method to track major infection-causing "superbugs" - a major key in preventing the spread of deadly infections.

19 Nov 2011