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Blocking beta glucuronidase enzyme could eliminate side effects of CPT-11 in colon cancer treatment

A debilitating side effect of a widely used but harshly potent treatment for colon cancer could be eliminated if a promising new laboratory discovery bears fruit.

8 Nov 2010

Idaho seeks FDA marketing clearance for FilmArray Respiratory Panel

Idaho Technology, Inc. (ITI) announced today that it has filed a submission with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 510(k) clearance to market its FilmArray Respiratory Panel (RP) as an in vitro diagnostic product for patients with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection.

4 Nov 2010

Scientists recommend research on bacterial vaccine to prevent influenza

Secondary infections with bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, were a major cause of death during the 1918 flu pandemic and may be important in modern pandemics as well, according to a new article in the Journal of Infectious Diseases co-authored by David M. Morens, M.D., senior advisor to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

3 Nov 2010

Drinking beet juice increases blood flow to the brain

Researchers for the first time have shown that drinking beet juice can increase blood flow to the brain in older adults - a finding that could hold great potential for combating the progression of dementia.

3 Nov 2010

Waters launches new program to support scientific innovation

Waters Corporation today launched a new program to support scientific innovation in the fields of health and life science research, sports science, food safety, clinical research and environmental protection.

3 Nov 2010

Study shows Lactobacillus reuteri bacteria promotes health

There is a great deal of interest in the impact of lactic acid bacteria on our health. Now a new study from the Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, in Sweden, shows that the occurrence of Lactobacillus reuteri in the body promotes health.

3 Nov 2010

Virus fighting just got a new boost

In a ground breaking study in the UK researchers have identified a previously unknown mechanism that allows the immune system to fight viruses even after they have infected cells. Until now it was believed that antibodies can act only before the virus enters the cells. The team now has found that antibodies that attached themselves to a virus were able to follow it into cells and help to destroy the virus before it started to reproduce. This could open up new avenues of therapy.

2 Nov 2010

AGD encourages diabetic patients to pay attention to oral health

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes affects nearly 24 million people in the United States. In observance of National Diabetes Month, the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) encourages those with diabetes to pay extra attention to their oral health.

2 Nov 2010

H. pylori infection reduces severity of Salmonella-induced colitis: Research

Helicobacter pylori, a common stomach bacterium, reduced the severity of inflammation of the colon caused by Salmonella in mice, according to research from U-M Medical School scientists.

2 Nov 2010

Short courses of antibiotics have long-term impact on microbial flora of human gut

Short courses of antibiotics can leave normal gut bacteria harbouring antibiotic resistance genes for up to two years after treatment, say scientists writing in the latest issue of Microbiology, published on 3 November.

1 Nov 2010

Mechanism of rogue cell killer discovered

A team of Melbourne and London researchers have shown how a protein called perforin punches holes in, and kills, rogue cells in our bodies. Their discovery of the mechanism of this assassin is published today in the science journal Nature.

1 Nov 2010

Scientists use electron microscopes to study mechanism of perforin protein to punch holes in rogue cells

Scientists from the UK and Australia have seen the human immune system's assassin a protein called perforin in action for the first time. The UK team, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Wellcome Trust, is based at Birkbeck College where they used powerful electron microscopes to study the mechanism that perforin uses to punch holes in rogue cells.

1 Nov 2010

Proteins to punch holes in cancer cells to kill them: Study

In a medical breakthrough scientists have found a protein called perforin that kills rogue cells in the human body especially the ones causing cancer. The team comprising of experts from Melbourne and London found that perforin punches holes and kills these cells. The research appeared in the acclaimed journal Nature.

31 Oct 2010

New nanoparticle deodorant has antibacterial and anti-odor properties

Scientists are reporting development of a new approach for dealing with offensive household and other odors one that doesn't simply mask odors like today's room fresheners, but eliminates them at the source. Their research found that a deodorant made from nanoparticles hundreds of times smaller than peach fuzz eliminates odors up to twice as effectively as today's gold standard.

30 Oct 2010

New findings on protein factories could unravel cell complexities, lead to new antibiotics and disease treatments

A team from The Scripps Research Institute has revealed the first-ever pictures of the formation of cells' "protein factories." In addition to being a major technical feat on its own, the work could open new pathways for development of antibiotics and treatments for diseases tied to errors in ribosome formation. In addition, the techniques developed in the study can now be applied to other complex challenges in the understanding of cellular processes.

30 Oct 2010

FDA approves Teflaro for treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia

Forest Laboratories, Inc. announced today that Teflaro(ceftaroline fosamil), a broad-spectrum bactericidal cephalosporin with activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP), including cases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia, and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infection (ABSSSI), including cases caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

30 Oct 2010

Research Roundup: Primary care doc pay and satisfaction; fixes to Medicare reimbursements; free vaccines?

A critical element of improving population health in underserved areas is the adequacy and distribution of the primary care physician supply, write the authors of this study, who interviewed 42 primary care physicians from both underserved and non-underserved areas in Los Angeles County, California.

30 Oct 2010

Teflaro receives FDA approval for treatment of bacterial infections

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Teflaro (ceftaroline fosamil), an injectable antibiotic to treat adults with community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI), including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

30 Oct 2010

New shuttlte program helps probe spaceflight-induced immune-system impairment

When the space shuttle Discovery lifts off on its final flight Nov. 2, its six astronauts will be joined by 16 rodent passengers on a historic mission of their own. Riding in special self-contained modules that automatically supply them with food and water, the mice will be part of a long-term NASA effort aimed at understanding why spaceflight makes humans more vulnerable to infection by viruses and bacteria.

30 Oct 2010

North American children may be 'too clean'

Rising levels of allergic asthma and eczema in North American children have Canadian scientists wondering if there is such a thing as being "too clean." "We see auto-immune diseases like asthma and eczema increasing rapidly in North American children, but we don't see the same effect in children in the developing world," says Dr. B. Brett Finlay, a Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia.

29 Oct 2010