Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Arizona State University receives grant to protect warfighters from infectious diseases

Scientists at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University have received a 2-year, $5.3 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to protect warfighters in the event of exposure to infectious diseases during deployment.

15 Sep 2010

More adults washing hands in public restrooms

In the latest observational study sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute- (formerly The Soap and Detergent Association), 85% of adults washed their hands in public restrooms, compared with 77% in 2007. The 85% total was actually the highest observed since these studies began in 1996. The results were announced at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, an infectious disease meeting sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology.

14 Sep 2010

Emergency physicians to present research studies at Research Forum 2010

The risks associated with boarding admitted patients in the emergency department – including patient mortality – as well as proposed solutions will be key themes of Scientific Assembly, the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians. In addition, emergency physicians will present more than 450 research studies during 2010 Research Forum, the premier, annual scientific research event focused on the latest advances in the practice of emergency medicine.

14 Sep 2010

Alice Cepeda receives National Award of Excellence in Research for Hispanic drug abuse research

The National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse awarded the National Award of Excellence in Research by a New Investigator to Alice Cepeda, sociology professor and associate director of the Center for Drug and Social Policy Research, Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston. Cepeda will be honored Sept. 30 at the organization's annual conference in New Orleans.

14 Sep 2010

Excelimmune presents positive results for HRPA therapy against MRSA infections

Excelimmune, Inc. announced positive results from preclinical studies evaluating the efficacy of its human recombinant polyclonal antibody (HRPA) therapy against infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

14 Sep 2010

Roche granted FDA 510(k) clearance for cobas 8000 modular analyzer series

Roche Diagnostics announced today it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the cobas® 8000 modular analyzer series, a Serum Work Area solution designed for diagnostic laboratories with a workload of 3-15 million clinical chemistry / immunochemistry tests per year.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 14 Sep 2010

AskBio enters patent license agreement with Pfizer for HCV therapy

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc., a privately-owned clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced today it has entered into a patent license agreement with Pfizer, Inc. granting Pfizer access to certain proprietary gene-delivery platform technologies developed by AskBio, for use in developing novel therapies for patients with Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

14 Sep 2010

Inovio Pharmaceuticals achieves promising results in VGX-3100 Phase I study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has achieved best-in-class immune responses in its Phase I dose escalation study of VGX-3100, its DNA vaccine to treat pre-cancerous cervical dysplasias and cervical cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18.

13 Sep 2010

Researchers develop mathematical framework for vaccine stockpile implications

A creative version of a classic engineering technique may improve decisions about building and using supplies of important pediatric vaccines, potentially leading to lower public health costs and healthier children.The United States maintains a six-month supply of common pediatric vaccines to ensure protection from deadly diseases, such as the flu, polio, and diphtheria, despite interruptions in vaccine production.

13 Sep 2010

Disinfectant hand gels not effective against Swine flu: Study

According to the latest research published this Sunday, regular use of alcohol-based disinfecting hand gels has little effect on the H1N1 swine flu infection rates. The authors of the study said that the infection is spread by air droplets rather than touch and contact.

12 Sep 2010

395 new vaccines being developed for infectious diseases: PhRMA

Critical challenges remain in the centuries-old battles against infectious diseases, particularly as bacteria and viruses mutate and as the threat of bioterrorism grows. Responding to this need, America's biopharmaceutical research companies this year have 395 new medicines and vaccines in the pipeline to fight infectious diseases. All 395 are in later stages of development, meaning in clinical trials or under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review.

10 Sep 2010

WHO regional meeting in South-East Asia addresses antimicrobial resistance, developing country access to medical devices

During the WHO's 63rd Regional Committee Session for South-East Asia in Bangkok on Wednesday the WHO called for enhanced "efforts at the national and international level to preserve the efficacy of antimicrobial agents through the rational use of antibiotics," Indian Express reports (Thacker, 9/9).

10 Sep 2010

Illinois researcher urges CDC to revisit pediatric vaccine stockpile policies

Vaccine manufacturers and public health decision-makers need to collaborate in a more efficient and effective manner not only to reduce the likelihood of supply shortages for pediatric vaccines but also to maximize community immunity by using vaccine doses to increase coverage, according to research published by a University of Illinois researcher who specializes in statistics and data analysis.

10 Sep 2010

Special journal issue highlights obsessive compulsive disorder and Tourette's disorder therapies

Pediatric onset obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette's disorder (TD) share similarities in their underlying genetic and environmental factors, psychiatric features, and treatment methods. Advances in understanding the neurobiological basis of these disorders and discovering new and more effective therapies are highlighted in a special issue on OCD and TD in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

10 Sep 2010

ASNM to hold annual conference on nanomedicine

There is enormous excitement and expectation surrounding the multidisciplinary field of nanomedicine the science and technology of diagnosing, treating and preventing disease using nanotechnology. The American Society for Nanomedicine (ASNM) is holding its second annual conference on October 14-16, 2010 in the Washington, D.C. area, where some of the biggest stakeholders in this emerging technology operate and practice.

10 Sep 2010

Researchers discover first compound to activate enzyme telomerase in human body

Sierra Sciences, in collaboration with TA Sciences, Geron Corporation, PhysioAge, and the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), has announced the first compound ever discovered that activates the enzyme telomerase in the human body - a critical prerequisite for technology that could arrest or reverse the aging process in humans.

9 Sep 2010

Aethlon Hemopurifier captures immunosuppressive exosomes from individuals with metastatic melanoma.

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that its researchers have demonstrated the ability of the Aethlon Hemopurifier® to capture immunosuppressive exosomes derived from individuals with metastatic melanoma.

9 Sep 2010

Team of scientists issues HIV vaccine strategy

The Council of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise on Tuesday released a new strategy for HIV vaccine research, which marked "the culmination of an 18-month effort that included the input of 400 scientists worldwide," VOA News reports (DeCapua, 9/7).

9 Sep 2010

ImmuneRegen's Homspera with Scancell's ImmunoBody technology improves immune response for cancer

ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc. today announced that treatment with its lead compound, Homspera, in combination with a DNA vaccine utilizing Scancell's ImmunoBody technology significantly improved the immune response of the vaccine in an animal model.

8 Sep 2010

La Jolla Pharmaceutical seeks clinical product for lupus treatment

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company provided an update today that the Company is actively seeking and evaluating potential pharmaceutical products for in-licensing or acquisition and has engaged consultants to determine whether there is any potential for the further development of Riquent for the treatment of lupus.

8 Sep 2010