Antibiotic News and Research

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

Are we over-dosing on antibiotics?

Dutch researchers say that a three day course of antibiotics is just as effective as the usual seven to 10 days course when it comes to treating common pneumonia.

12 Jun 2006

Syphilis on the rise in L.A. County

Following a level off in 2004, early syphilis cases (infections contracted within the past year) in L.A. County climbed steeply in 2005.

9 Jun 2006

The antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin protects the urinary tract against invasive bacterial infection

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have succeeded in explaining how the body protects itself against urinary tract infections; with the help of an endogenous antibiotic.

9 Jun 2006

Microbes could represent the future of medicine

Not all bacteria are bad. In fact, beneficial microbes could represent the future of medicine, with the potential to treat a variety of diseases in humans and animals from diarrhea and eczema to gum disease and autoimmune disorders.

9 Jun 2006

New football boots and toxic shock syndrome

As the World Cup kicks off, doctors in this week's British Medical Journal report an unusual condition that can develop in budding young footballers.

8 Jun 2006

What is the optimal duration of antibiotic therapy?

Taking antibiotics for three days is just as effective for community acquired pneumonia as continuing treatment for the recommended 7-10 days, finds a study in this week's British Medical Journal.

8 Jun 2006

Unbelievable - three die from tuberculosis in the UK

Unbelievable though it may seem in this day and age, three elderly people living in a home for the aged have apparently died of tuberculosis (TB).

8 Jun 2006

Leading medical ethicist says legalise all euthanasia

A leading medical ethicist in the UK says voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia should be legalised in Britain.

8 Jun 2006

Pneumonia can be treated effectively in nursing homes

There may be no advantage to taking nursing home residents to hospital for treatment of pneumonia.

7 Jun 2006

First analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes

Researchers have completed the first analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes, an accomplishment that has far-reaching implications for clinical diagnosis and treatment of many human diseases.

7 Jun 2006

Milstein gift seeks cure for antibiotic-resistant TB and malaria

A $7.25 million gift to Weill Medical College of Cornell University will establish the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Chemistry Core Facility and the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Program in Chemical Biology.

5 Jun 2006

Humans are a cocktail of bacteria and human cells

Gene experts after studying the DNA of hundreds of different kinds of bacteria in the human gut have reached the conclusion that the human race may not be quite as human as we may think.

4 Jun 2006

Technique called real-time polymerase chain reaction speeds up detecting, treating wound bacteria

Using DNA detection methods though a technique called real-time polymerase chain reaction, the physician-researcher from the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center can drastically cut the time it takes for lab personnel to figure out just what bacteria they're dealing with.

1 Jun 2006