Antibiotic Resistance News and Research

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Study offers insights into mechanisms of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides

Antimicrobial peptides are a distinctive class of potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics produced by the body's innate immune system--the first line of defense against disease-causing microbes.

18 Dec 2014

Tufts University researchers report that extra vitamin E can protect against pneumonia

Extra vitamin E protected older mice from a bacterial infection that commonly causes pneumonia. Microbiologists and nutrition researchers from Tufts University report that the extra vitamin E helped regulate the mice's immune system.

17 Dec 2014

Researchers discover widespread misconception about antibiotic resistance among patients

Over prescription of antibiotics is a major factor driving one of the biggest public health concerns today: antibiotic resistance. In a first-of-its-kind study, research led by the George Washington University suggests that public health educational materials may not address the misconceptions that shape why patients expect antibiotics, driving doctors to prescribe them more.

16 Dec 2014

ANTRUK welcomes first report on antibiotic resistance; becomes BIA’s 2015 charity

Professor Colin Garner, Chief Executive of Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK), the world’s first charity to tackle the impending health disaster of antibiotic resistance, welcomed the publication of the first report by the O’Neill Commission on antibiotic resistance.

14 Dec 2014

Drug proves effective at inhibiting growth of drug-resistant bacteria

A treatment pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research is far more effective than traditional antibiotics at inhibiting the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, including so-called "superbugs" resistant to almost all existing antibiotics, which plague hospitals and nursing homes.

10 Dec 2014

Researchers test new nanopore DNA sequencing technology to detect cause of antibiotic resistance

New nanopore DNA sequencing technology on a device the size of a USB stick could be used to diagnose infection - according to new research from the University of East Anglia and Public Health England.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 9 Dec 2014

Drugs we release into the environment significantly affect plant growth, study reveals

The drugs we release into the environment are likely to have a significant impact on plant growth, a new study has revealed.

6 Dec 2014

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of Actavis' ceftazidime-avibactam

Actavis plc today announced that the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has voted to recommend approval of Actavis' New Drug Application (NDA) for ceftazidime-avibactam, an investigational antibiotic being developed to treat hospitalized patients when limited or no treatment options are available for complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) (in combination with metronidazole) and complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) (including acute pyelonephritis) caused by Gram-negative pathogens.

5 Dec 2014

World-renowned experts to discuss challenges of antibiotic resistance at Murdoch University symposium

World-renowned experts in the fields of antibiotic resistance will come together at a symposium at Murdoch University to talk about an issue which has the potential to become one of the world’s biggest public health challenges.

4 Dec 2014

Antibiotic resistance: Theme for next Uppsala Health Summit

The theme for the next Uppsala Health Summit, to be held in Uppsala on 2-3 June 2015, is antibiotic resistance -- one of the biggest global health challenges of our day.

2 Dec 2014

Researchers dismiss causal link between antibiotics treatment and childhood asthma

In a new register study in the scientific journal BMJ, researchers at Karolinska Institutet are able to dismiss previous claims that there is a link between the increased use of antibiotics in society and a coinciding rise in childhood asthma. The study includes half a million children and shows that exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy or early in life does not appear to increase the risk of asthma.

1 Dec 2014

New smartphone app may help improve prescribing of antibiotics within RCSI Hospitals Group

A new smartphone app has been developed by the RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) Hospitals Group, in association with the Dublin North East Healthcare-Associated Infection (HCAI) Committee, which will provide healthcare professionals in hospitals within the RCSI Hospitals Group with immediate access to guidelines for antimicrobial prescribing.

27 Nov 2014

Therapeutic nanoparticle safe, effective against H. pylori infection, shows study

The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is strongly associated with gastric ulcers and cancer. To combat the infection, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Jacobs School of Engineering developed LipoLLA, a therapeutic nanoparticle that contains linolenic acid, a component in vegetable oils.

27 Nov 2014

Scientists develop new method to rapidly identify antibiotic resistance

Scientists from Uppsala University, the Science for Life Laboratory in Stockholm and Uppsala University Hospital have developed a new method of rapidly identifying which bacteria are causing an infection and determining whether they are resistant or sensitive to antibiotics.

24 Nov 2014

Unique ability helps prolific bacterium to afflict humans, animals and even plants

New research has found that one of the world's most prolific bacteria manages to afflict humans, animals and even plants by way of a mechanism not before seen in any infectious microorganism -- a sense of touch. This unique ability helps make the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa ubiquitous, but it also might leave these antibiotic-resistant organisms vulnerable to a new form of treatment.

23 Nov 2014

NPS MedicineWise Reducing Antibiotic Resistance program focuses on urinary tract infections

The next phase of the NPS MedicineWise Reducing Antibiotic Resistance program for health professionals has launched today focused on the complex topic of managing urinary tract infections (UTIs).

21 Nov 2014

Three-day global symposium on Ebola virus, other infectious diseases

The 11th annual International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV) symposium, Infectious Diseases: Global Public-Health Challenges of the Next Decade, will put the challenges posed by several infectious diseases under the microscope, including the Ebola virus, the H7N9 influenza virus, MERS coronavirus and dengue viruses, as well as drug-resistant tuberculosis.

18 Nov 2014

NPS MedicineWise calls all Australians to join the fight against antibiotic resistance

As Antibiotic Awareness Week 2014 is held across Australia from 17-23 November, NPS MedicineWise is asking all Australians to imagine a world without antibiotics and join the fight against antibiotic resistance.

17 Nov 2014

Representatives from 40 countries meet to discuss plan for antimicrobial resistance

Every year, 25,000 people die as a result of antimicrobial resistance in Europe. A global action plan against one of the greatest health threats of our time is the aim of a conference being held in Oslo on 13th-14th November.

14 Nov 2014

Researchers explore new ways to treat, prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae

Scientists from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology have used the power of new genomic technology to discover that microbes that commonly infect the eye have special, previously unknown properties. These properties are predicted to allow the bacterium -- Streptococcus pneumoniae -- to specifically stick to the surface of the eye, grow, and cause damage and inflammation.

13 Nov 2014