Antibiotic News and Research

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

Scientists discover new way of bringing "bio-prospecting" out of the rainforest and into the lab

Nature is a seemingly endless storehouse of interesting - and potentially life-saving - biological molecules. But tracking down and harvesting those chemicals in their natural form can be time-consuming, expensive and unreliable.

15 Jun 2005

Promising new tuberculosis drug enters clinical trial

A promising new drug candidate that may be effective against both actively dividing and slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) has begun testing in humans, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced this week.

15 Jun 2005

Researchers resurrect old technology to quickly and accurately identify deadly bacterial infections in hospital patients

University of Florida researchers are resurrecting an old technology to more quickly and accurately identify potentially deadly bacterial infections in hospital patients.

10 Jun 2005

Claritin's switch to OTC status meant fewer prescriptions

After the allergy drug Claritin became available without a prescription in 2002, insurance plans and consumers spent less on the prescription form of its main ingredient, loratadine, and all similar allergy drugs, according to a new report published in this month’s The American Journal of Managed Care.

10 Jun 2005

Promising new vaccine candidate to prevent middle ear infections

Hoping to prevent ear infections for the more than 15 million children in the United States who suffer from them, a promising new vaccine candidate to prevent middle ear infections (otitis media) is being developed by researchers at the Columbus Children’s Research Institute (CCRI) on the campus of Columbus Children’s Hospital.

9 Jun 2005

Superbug possibly the same as US killer strain

Microbiologists at the Health Protection Agency suspect that the superbug which has already caused 12 deaths at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Buckinghamshire, may be the same strain that has spread in many American hospitals since 2001, and killed more than 100 patients in Quebec, Canada, last year.

8 Jun 2005

Watch, wait and see, may be best option for babes' ear infections

One of the most common and frequent reasons why doctors prescribe antibiotics to young children is for an ear infection.

7 Jun 2005

12 deaths creates new infection scare in UK hospitals

There have been some 300 cases of Clostridium difficile in 18 months at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, in Aylesbury, Bucks, a national centre for spinal injury, and it is thought that the infection was an "actual or probable" factor in 12 deaths in that time.

6 Jun 2005

Helmholtz Institute develops a new path to more effective antibiotics

Resistance to antibiotics has increased alarmingly in recent years. For example, in France the resistance of pneumococci has risen to 58% due to high rates of antibiotic prescription. Medical experts are sounding the alarm. Pharmacologists are seeking new antibiotically effective substances.

6 Jun 2005

Educating parents and physicians could reduce overuse of antibiotics in children

The most frequent reason pediatricians prescribe antibiotics to young children is for an ear infection (acute otitis media). With increased concerns about high rates of antibiotic use and resistance, recent guidelines suggest consideration of "watchful waiting" for some ear infections to see if they resolve without antibiotics.

6 Jun 2005

Research findings suggest new treatment strategies for patients with cystic fibrosis

Cells sent to fight infections in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients actually enhance the development of permanent bacterial infections, according to researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center.

3 Jun 2005

Research explains why Shigella and E. coli are rapidly becoming resistant to fluoroquinolones

Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have discovered a novel strategy by which the bacterium that causes tuberculosis may soon be able to resist the effects of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones.

3 Jun 2005

Survey reveals more than half of all Americans have first-hand experience with serious infections

A national survey sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) to assess consumer awareness of serious infections found a majority of consumers (66 percent) have either heard or read about the problem of antibiotic resistance in treating serious infections.

2 Jun 2005

Researcher develops compounds to control bacteria

A method for controlling bacterial activity without antibiotics by interfering with their communication process has been developed by a young Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher.

2 Jun 2005

The bacteria that cause food poisoning, bubonic plague, and whooping cough all deploy the same weapon to infect the body

A molecular "syringe" sticks out of the bacteria, pokes a hole in a nearby cell, and squirts in venomous proteins that hijack the cell's machinery.

2 Jun 2005

Young adults forget their own life-support decisions

More than half of young adults soon unwittingly change their minds about decisions they make governing future life-saving medical treatment for themselves, a new study has found.

30 May 2005

Latest patterns of medication use in the U.S.

In 2004, 82 percent of adults and more than 50 percent of children took at least one prescription, over-the-counter (OTC), or herbal/natural medication in any given week, Boston University researchers revealed recently.

30 May 2005

A sudden increase in the number of British cases of Lyme disease

Lyme disease, an infection carried by ticks causes a rash and stiffness in the joints and, if left unchecked, it can affect the central nervous system, causing tingling in hands and feet, or facial palsy. In the worst cases the disease can also affect the heart, liver and spleen and even lead to encephalitis, which can kill.

29 May 2005

Why good medications are sometimes bad for the liver

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of five clinical centers nationwide to receive funds from the National Institutes of Health to study why good medications are sometimes bad for the liver.

29 May 2005

Direct link between inefficient metabolism and atherosclerosis

An experiment that turned out very differently than expected led scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to the first direct link between inefficient metabolism and atherosclerosis.

26 May 2005