Antimicrobial Drug News and Research

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Antimicrobials are substance that kills microorganisms such as bacteria or mold, or stops them from growing and causing disease.

Less antibiotic use in food animals leads to less drug resistance in people

Australia's policy of restricting antibiotic use in food-producing animals may be linked with lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria found in its citizens, according to an article in the May 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

18 Apr 2006

Scientists use bacteria found naturally in soil to produce new antibiotics in the fight against drug-resistant "Super-bugs"

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem worldwide and there is an urgent need for new antibiotics to be developed. Potential new drugs are usually made in the lab which is complicated and time-consuming.

30 Mar 2006

Potential therapeutic targets against serious side effects of smallpox vaccine

Smallpox is considered a potential terrorist weapon, but millions of people in the United States are currently advised not to get a vaccine to the disease because they are susceptible to developing a severe adverse reaction.

23 Mar 2006

FDA grants Cerexa fast track designation

Cerexa has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for PPI-0903, a next-generation, broad-spectrum, cephalosporin antibiotic, for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

17 Mar 2006

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals receives NDA for investigational HIV protease inhibitor

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals has announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for TMC114, an investigational HIV protease inhibitor, has been accepted for priority review by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

7 Mar 2006

New molecule could help in treating hospital infections

The scientists replaced a single atom from the molecular structure of vancomycin aglycon, a glycopeptide antibiotic that attacks the bacteria by inhibiting cell wall synthesis, significantly increasing the drug's spectrum of activity.

24 Feb 2006

Copper could help prevent the spread of flu infections

Copper could help prevent the spread of flu infections. Recent research at the University of Southampton shows that the Influenza A virus is virtually eradicated within six hours on copper surfaces.

2 Feb 2006

New combination treatment that could dramatically shorten the length of tuberculosis treatment

The clinical results of a new combination treatment that could dramatically shorten the length of tuberculosis treatment were presented at a recent scientific conference in the USA. This virulent disease of the lungs still infects millions every year, with a notable resurgence in Europe, especially in the East.

10 Jan 2006

2 million people carry drug-resistant bacteria in their noses

New research estimates that about 2 million people carry a strain of drug-resistant bacteria in their noses.

21 Dec 2005

Good results with cervical cancer vaccine in young girls

Drug company GlaxoSmithKline have had a good result with their new vaccine which was designed to prevent infection with the virus that causes cervical cancer.

19 Dec 2005

Antibacterial coatings on hip and knee implants cut infection rates

Putting antibacterial coatings on hip and knee implants and biomedical devices such as catheters could cut infection rates following surgery and significantly reduce health care costs and improve quality of life for patients, researchers at the University of South Australia have found.

13 Dec 2005

Carbonic anhydrase and CO2 sensing during Cryptococcus neoformans growth, differentiation, and virulence

By using pathogenic fungi as model systems for understanding fungal diseases, two groups of researchers are reporting new work that offers insight into how carbon dioxide (CO2) governs the morphogenic changes that allow pathogenic fungi to survive in different environments and invade the human body

21 Nov 2005

Clinical decision support system reduces overall use of antimicrobials for colds, bronchitis and sinusitis

A clinical decision support system intervention reduced the overall use of antimicrobials for respiratory tract infections such as colds, bronchitis and sinusitis, according to a study in the JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

15 Nov 2005

HDLs provide human immunity to certain parasites

For years biomedical researchers have known that high density lipoproteins, commonly called HDLs or "good cholesterol," are responsible for protecting humans from certain parasites, but couldn't explain how.

30 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

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

Compounds secreted by frog skin are potent blockers of HIV infection

The findings could lead to topical treatments for preventing HIV transmission, and they reinforce the value of preserving the Earth's biodiversity.

3 Oct 2005

Salivary antimicrobial peptide expression and dental caries experience in children

A study comparing antimicrobial peptides, or AMPs, a group of small proteins that occur naturally in human saliva and act like antibiotics against oral bacteria, could lead to new ways to screen children for risk of tooth decay and protect them against this common, chronic problem.

28 Sep 2005

100 year old technology to fight MRSA

A technique that has been around for more than one hundred years is being used in new research as a way of killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using light. The research to be reported today at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester, is being undertaken by researchers from Queen's University Belfast.

28 Sep 2005

New FDA and USDA approved compound for Salmonella reduction in poultry processing

Solution BioSciences, Inc., has announced a new antimicrobial system, called Bromitize, to reduce salmonella and other carcass bacteria during poultry processing.

22 Aug 2005