Antibiotic News and Research

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

Alternative health protection measures against MRSA

Doctors might be better off washing their hands with yoghurt instead of relying on antiseptic soap-scrubbing, according to a new discussion paper by a UCL (University College London) researcher.

1 Nov 2005

Little evidence exists to support the widespread use of bronchodilators to treat children and adults with cystic fibrosis

"Recurrent wheeze and breathlessness are common in people with cystic fibrosis, and bronchodilators are commonly prescribed," according to lead author Clare Halfhide, M.D., of the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital in England. "Despite their wide-scale and often long-term use, there is limited objective evidence about their efficacy in cystic fibrosis."

25 Oct 2005

Situation-specific policies can reduce antibiotic resistance in hospital

The mass use of antibiotics has caused a rise of bacterial resistance to these drugs that is threatening to destroy the power of these life saving drugs.

23 Oct 2005

Traditional medical treatment of persistent cough may not be the most effective

The reviews appear in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

23 Oct 2005

More than half of Norwegian doctors surveyed prescribe themselves medication

A study published in the open access journal BMC Medicine reveals that a large number of doctors in Norway start self-prescribing early after graduation and continue doing so well into their career - a finding that is likely to be mirrored in other western countries.

23 Oct 2005

Molecule P-glycoprotein (Pgp), may help reduce risk of Alzheimer's

A molecule that has long been an obstacle to cancer chemotherapy and drug treatments for brain disorders may soon become an ally in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Rochester.

20 Oct 2005

A DNA-based vaccine could be a potent weapon against bird flu

Researchers scrambling to combat a virulent form of bird flu that could mutate into a form easily spread among humans should consider developing vaccines based on DNA, according to British biochemical engineers.

19 Oct 2005

When it comes to keeping clean, old fashioned soap and water may be best

Over the last decade the popularity of soaps and cleaning products claiming to have anti-bacterial properties has mushroomed as consumers are persuaded, by clever marketing, that they offer a defense against household illnesses.

19 Oct 2005

Putting things in prespective - help the world's children to fight bird flu

Amid the escalating panic in Europe centered around attempts to halt the spread among the bird population of bird flu, a senior health expert has said that swift action against age-old child killers such as diarrhea and pneumonia could help the world get ready to combat a bird flu pandemic.

19 Oct 2005

Conjugated linoleic acid prevents inflammatory damage resulting from immune response

One of the isomers of conjugated linoleic acid, a group of fatty acids found in milk, is a natural regulator of the COX-2 protein, which plays a significant role in inflammatory disease such as arthritis and cancer, according to a study published by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

18 Oct 2005

Controlling antibiotic-prescribing practices in hospitals

Plenty of promising strategies exist to control antibiotic-prescribing practices, but no single method emerges as the best for hospital patients, according to a new review of studies.

18 Oct 2005

Acyclovir use uncertain in children with chickenpox

There seems to be little value in using acyclovir to treat children with chickenpox who are otherwise healthy.

18 Oct 2005

Bayer to produce new Tuberculosis drug at low prices for poor nations

A promising new antibiotic, moxifloxacin, produced by Bayer Healthcare is about to be tested against tuberculosis, a disease that kills 5,000 people a day.

18 Oct 2005

Breath-analysis testing may prove to be an effective method for detecting the damaging lung-bacteria growth seen in cystic fibrosis

By using a chemical analysis method developed for air-pollution testing, UCI chemists and pediatricians have found that people with cystic fibrosis exhale higher concentrations of sulfur compounds from their lungs than do people who don't have the disease.

17 Oct 2005

Antibiotic moxifloxacin as a new treatment for tuberculosis

Moxifloxacin is currently approved in more than 100 countries, including the United States, as a treatment for bacterial respiratory infections, such as bronchitis, sinusitis and pneumonia.

17 Oct 2005

Researchers find new type of antibiotic against the cholera bacteria

Just as hurricanes in the Gulf states and Guatemala have raised the risks of cholera outbreaks, researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified a new type of antibiotic against the cholera bacteria.

16 Oct 2005

Possible links between biting aquatic insects, water quality and Buruli ulcer transmission

A tropical skin disease nicknamed "the sore that heals in vain" wreaks both physical and social mayhem - mostly on children - yet its transmission is a mystery, one an Michigan State University (MSU) researcher and his recent research associate hope to solve.

12 Oct 2005

New fungal defensin, plectasin, possesses as much power as penicillin

A peptide identified in a fungus found in northern European pine forests possesses as much power as penicillin as well as vancomycin, according to an international team of researchers.

12 Oct 2005

Fijiian seaweed shows potential to kill cancer cells, bacteria and the HIV virus

Researchers have discovered 10 new molecular structures with pharmaceutical potential in a species of red seaweed that lives in the shallow coral reef along the coastline of Fiji in the south Pacific Ocean.

12 Oct 2005

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals granted Staphylococcus Antigen and Vaccine patent

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,936,258 entitled "Staphylococcus Antigen and Vaccine" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the composition of a strategically important glycoprotein-based antigen (GP-1) associated with three Staphylococcal strains: S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus and S. hominis.

11 Oct 2005