Antibiotic News and Research

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Antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms.

Platypus venom linked to pain relief

New research released today in the scientific research journal Nature reveals links between platypus venom and its potential benefits for advancing pain relief and antibiotic medication

7 May 2008

Medical research is essential to improving the economy and bettering lives

Health care in the United States is expensive, but its funding is crucial because it also is a major contributor to the economy and can better lives, according to an essay appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Because of the cost of health care, this is not time to shrink the budget at the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research that leads to potentially curative therapy.

7 May 2008

Group B streptococcus has decreased among newborns, increased among adults

Group B streptococcus, a major cause of serious infections, declined about 25 percent among infants younger than 7 days from 1999 to 2005, but increased nearly 50 percent among persons 15 to 64 years old, according to a study in the May 7 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

6 May 2008

Corticosteroids provide no survival benefit for children with bacterial meningitis

Corticosteroids given to children who are hospitalized for bacterial meningitis do not provide a benefit in survival or in reduced hospital stays, according to a large multicenter study by pediatric researchers. This finding stands in contrast to previous studies in hospitalized adults, for which corticosteroids dramatically reduced mortality.

6 May 2008

Superbug genome sequenced

The genome of a newly-emerging superbug, commonly known as Steno, has just been sequenced. The results reveal an organism with a remarkable capacity for drug resistance. The research was carried out by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge and the University of Bristol.

6 May 2008

MRSA spreading say American Society of Registered Nurses

Today the American Society of Registered Nurses announced that cases of MRSA also known as Methicillin - Resistant Staphylococcus aureus often called "Staph" are on the rise.

5 May 2008

Early treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection may prevent cancer

Based on research using a new mouse model of gastritis and stomach cancer, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say that prompt treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections reverses damage to the lining of the stomach that can lead to cancer.

1 May 2008

Turning on cell-cell communication wipes out staph biofilms

University of Iowa researchers have succeeded in wiping out established biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) by hijacking one of the bacteria's own regulatory systems.

30 Apr 2008

New understanding of how some bacteria survive antibiotic treatment

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered how some bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment by turning on resistance mechanisms when exposed to the drugs.

30 Apr 2008

Doctors should consider alternatives to antibiotics for sinusitis

When suffering through a sinus infection, many people ask for an antibiotic to speed their recovery. However, a recent review of clinical trials found that while antibiotics can provide minor improvements in uncomplicated sinusitis cases, most patients recover without the drugs within two weeks.

24 Apr 2008

Rethink needed on how communities affected with trachoma are treated

One or two rounds of high coverage mass treatment with azithromycin, rather than the annual treatment recommended by the World Health Organisation, may be enough to eliminate the eye disease trachoma in communities with moderate levels of infection.

23 Apr 2008

NIAID tackles drug-resistant tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) has long been one of the world’s great killers. Now, forms of drug-resistant TB--multidrug (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR)--are occurring at an ominous and accelerating rate. To help in the fight against drug-resistant TB, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has formulated an MDR and XDR TB research agenda.

22 Apr 2008

New technology tracks medication adherence in patients with HIV/AIDS

Most of us have missed a dose of antibiotic or forgotten to take a daily vitamin. But when the stakes are higher - as they are for people with HIV/AIDS - a skipped pill could mean the difference between health and hazard for the entire population.

21 Apr 2008

Antibiotics for acute maxillary sinusitis

A Cochrane Systematic Review of medical research found that four out of five patients who are seen in primary care with simple sinusitis improved within two weeks even if they had not been given antibiotics.

17 Apr 2008

Angiotech receives FDA clearance to market 5-Fluorouracil-coated central venous catheter

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its innovative 5-Fluorouracil-coated (5-FU) Central Venous Catheter (CVC) in the United States.

17 Apr 2008

New understanding of systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, is characterized by the formation of fibrosis, or scar tissue, on internal organs as well as the skin.

15 Apr 2008

Cystic fibrosis, Burkholderia cenocepacia and lung transplantation

During last Wednesday's Satellite Symposium 3: The Challenges of Lung Transplantation in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) at the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, clinicians and researchers discussed some of the unique challenges in achieving excellent lung transplant outcomes in patients with CF.

13 Apr 2008

New strategy rapidly describes outbreak strains with next-generation DNA sequencing

In the event of an outbreak or a bioterrorist attack, rapid identification of the genetic changes responsible for virulence or drug resistance is essential to mounting an effective response.

11 Apr 2008

Doxycycline effective against filariasis in Southeast Asia

Doxycycline alone is more effective against the most common form of filariasis in Southeast Asia than the standard treatment, with significantly fewer side effects, according to a new study published in the May 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and currently available online.

10 Apr 2008

New electronic detection system for infectious illness

Researchers at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Harvard Medical School, Atrius Health, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health have created and tested a set of computer programs that use electronic medical records to help clinicians detect contagious illness and automatically report them to public health departments.

10 Apr 2008