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Gene against bacterial attack unravelled

Dutch researcher Joost Wiersinga from AMC Medical Centre in Amsterdam has unravelled a genetic defence mechanism against the lethal bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. The research is the next step towards a vaccine against this bacterium suitable for bioweapons.

28 Oct 2008

Cholesterol-lowering statins associated with lower risk of death from pneumonia

Individuals who take cholesterol-lowering statins before being hospitalized with pneumonia appear less likely to die within 90 days afterward, according to a report in the October 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

28 Oct 2008

Griffith University and Pfizer in new partnership to unlock nature's cure for infections

In the quest to develop the next generation of anti-infective medicine, Griffith University and Pfizer, the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, announced a leading partnership today.

27 Oct 2008

Warnings in NSW of whooping cough outbreak

An outbreak of whooping cough in New South Wales is causing some concern - the NSW Health Department says infection rates have soared from 2,000 cases last year, to 3,800 cases this year, and the increase is more so in some areas.

27 Oct 2008

Feeling itchy? it may be stress!

German and Canadian researchers are suggesting that stress may make people itch - they say stress possibly activates immune cells in the skin and inflames it.

27 Oct 2008

Targanta Therapeutics presents preclinical data on Oritavancin against Clostridium difficile infection

Targanta Therapeutics Corporation has released the in vivo data from a preclinical study comparing the activity of its antibiotic drug candidate, oritavancin, to vancomycin in a hamster model of Clostridium difficile infection.

26 Oct 2008

Researchers downplay value of mandatory universal nasal screening of patients for MRSA

Three Virginia Commonwealth University epidemiologists are downplaying the value of mandatory universal nasal screening of patients for MRSA, arguing that proven, hospital-wide infection control practices can prevent more of the potentially fatal infections.

23 Oct 2008

Trius Therapeutics awarded $28 million to develop novel drugs targeting bacterial DNA Gyrase and Topoisomerase IV

Trius Therapeutics, Inc., today announced the award of a $28 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, for the development of novel antibiotics directed against multiple Gram-negative bacterial pathogens.

22 Oct 2008

New TB test more accurate in predicting those most susceptible

Scientists have developed a new blood test which promises to more accurately predict those most likely to develop tuberculosis (TB).

22 Oct 2008

Researchers identify novel type of antibody that potently inhibits HIV infection

A small antibody fragment that is highly effective in neutralizing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by preventing the virus from entering cells has been identified by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

21 Oct 2008

New tuberculosis test reveals patients at risk

A recently introduced blood test can reveal which patients may develop active tuberculosis (TB) much more precisely than the 100-year old TB skin test, according to a new study published today in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

20 Oct 2008

Contact lenses are home to pathogenic amoebae

Contact lenses increase the risk of infection with pathogenic protozoa that can cause blindness. New research, published in the November issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, shows that a high percentage of contact lens cases in Tenerife are contaminated with Acanthamoeba that cannot be killed by normal contact lens solution.

20 Oct 2008

Getting to grips with the complexity of disease proteins

Drug molecules seldom act simply on one protein but on protein complexes and networks. A deeper understanding of these 'cooperative assemblies' should lead to better targeting of drugs.

20 Oct 2008

Molecule stops DNA replication in its tracks

When a dividing cell duplicates its genetic material, a molecular machine called a sliding clamp travels along the DNA double helix, tethering the proteins that perform the replication.

19 Oct 2008

Waste from gut bacteria helps host control weight

A single molecule in the intestinal wall, activated by the waste products from gut bacteria, plays a large role in controlling whether the host animals are lean or fatty, a research team, including scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has found in a mouse study.

19 Oct 2008

Governments urged to fight pneumococcal disease

Pneumococcal disease, one of the world's leading causes of death and serious illness, must be recognised as an urgent global health issue together with HIV, malaria and TB, say the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pneumococcal Disease Prevention in the Developing World in a report launching at the House of Lords today. Between 700,000 and one million children under the age of five die each year from pneumococcal disease, equivalent to malaria and more than AIDS and tuberculosis.

16 Oct 2008

Model against unnecessary use of antibiotics

Patients in intensive care units (ICU) are often administered antibiotics against ventilator-associated pneumonia, 'to be on the safe side'. Dutch researcher Stefan Visscher has developed a model that can quickly establish whether or not a patient has pneumonia. This can prevent unnecessary treatment with antibiotics.

15 Oct 2008

Free treatment program against Buruli ulcer in Cameroon not working

Researchers have found that the fight against Buruli ulcer, a tropical skin disease, has hit a bump in Central Cameroon. Even as organizations provide free-of charge hospitalization care, patients' economic and social costs are preventing and delaying the treatment. Their study results are published October 15 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

14 Oct 2008

Study reveals too many people have faecal bacteria on their hands

According to a preliminary study conducted by the research team, the further north you go in Britain, the more likely you are to have faecal bacteria on your hands, and men were the worse offenders.

14 Oct 2008

Probiotics unlikely to relieve eczema symptoms

Australian scientists say they have found no evidence that probiotics can relieve the irritating symptoms of eczema and what is more they suggest they may sometimes cause infections and gut problems.

13 Oct 2008