Blood Poisoning News and Research

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New nanoparticle-based diagnostic platform provides rapid detection of sepsis

Blood poisoning can be fatal. If you suffer from sepsis, you used to have to wait as much as 48 hours for laboratory findings. A new diagnostic platform as big as a credit card will now supply the analysis after as little as an hour. This system is based on nanoparticles that are automatically guided by magnetic forces.

22 Dec 2010

Number of people admitted to hospital for treatment of dog bites increased by 86%: AHRQ

The number of people admitted to the hospital because of dog bites increased by 86 percent - from 5,100 to 9,500 hospital stays - between 1993 and 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

9 Dec 2010

Investigators wondering: Fraud, bad medicine or Union manuevering at Calif. hospital chain?

The Los Angeles Times reports that state and federal investigators are trying to determine whether "a serious health problem or multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud" is behind a reported spike in blood poisoning cases at hospitals operated by Prime Healthcare Services, "a Southern California hospital chain known for aggressive billing practices and cost-cutting."

13 Oct 2010

Scientists find therapeutic potential of stem cells for acute lung injury

Researchers are reporting this week new study results they say provide further evidence of the therapeutic potential of stem cells derived from bone marrow for patients suffering from acute lung injury, one of the most common causes of respiratory failure in intensive care units.

12 Aug 2010

Genetic factors lead to meningitis development: Study

Genetic differences that make some people susceptible to developing meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia, and others naturally immune, are revealed in a new study of over 6,000 people, published today in Nature Genetics.The research, led by Imperial College London and the Genome Institute of Singapore, is the largest ever genetic study of meningitis and septicaemia caused by meningococcal bacteria. It suggests that people who develop these diseases have innate differences in their natural defences that leave them unable to attack meningococcal bacteria successfully.

9 Aug 2010

FnBP is central to bacteria's ability to invade organs: Researchers

Scientists studying the so-called "superbug" MRSA have identified one of the components responsible for making it so deadly. Staphylococcus aureus is a type of bacteria commonly found on the skin that is relatively harmless unless it gets into the bloodstream, where it can cause blood poisoning and create abscesses in organs such as the heart and brain.

1 Jul 2010

Hormone involved in iron metabolism can save mice from deadly acute inflammation: Scientists

In a surprising discovery that someday may lead to new treatments for many inflammatory diseases, University of Utah scientists found that a hormone involved in iron metabolism can save mice from deadly acute inflammation.

8 Jun 2010

At World Economic Forum, Gates Foundation announces 10-year, $10B vaccine commitment

Bill and Melinda Gates announced Friday during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that their foundation would commit $10 billion over the next decade to research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world's poorest countries, the New York Times reports (McNeil, 1/29). The Gateses "said they hope the commitment would spur support by governments, corporations, and other donors for vaccinations efforts," the Chronicle of Philanthropy writes (Wilhelm, 1/29).

30 Jan 2010

Swedish study opens new potential for combating resistant bacteria

Neisseria meningitidis, the meningococcus, is a bacterium that can cause diseases with high fatality rates, and there has therefore been considerable concern that, like other bacteria, it might become resistant to antibiotics. But now a study from örebro University and örebro University Hospital in Sweden shows that there has not been any increase in resistant meningococci in Sweden over the last 15 years. According to researcher Sara Thulin Hedberg, the reason for this may be that it is not especially advantageous for bacteria to develop resistance.

5 Jan 2010

Researchers identify genetic markers to help treat chronic kidney disease among diabetics

Researchers using a DNA analysis tool developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and UCLA have identified genetic markers that could help treat chronic kidney disease among diabetics.

17 Dec 2009

Sepsis, a serious infection, remains a major threat to 'late preterm' infants

Sepsis is a serious infection that is a major cause of death in very premature infants. But sepsis is also a threat in "late preterm" infants born just a few weeks prematurely, according to a study in the December issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

3 Dec 2009

Community-based program proves to be successful in reducing skin infections in Australian aboriginal children

A community-based program aimed at reducing the burden of skin disease across remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory has been successful according to a study published November 24 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

25 Nov 2009

NIBIB awards $1M grant to develop a rapid test for sepsis-related pathogens

Smiths Detection today announces the award of a $1m, two-year grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to develop a rapid test for eight micro-organisms that commonly cause burn/wound infections leading to septicemia (blood-poisoning).

14 Oct 2009

News outlets examines health impact of disasters in Indonesia, Samoa, Philippines

In Indonesia, "[r]escue workers called off the search Monday for life under the rubble left by a massive earthquake, focusing instead on bringing aid to survivors," the Agence France-Presse reports. "The United Nations has said at least 1,100 people were killed in the disaster, but estimates of the final toll range up to 5,000. The official toll stood at 650 dead and 672 missing, according to the health ministry," the news service writes (Belford, 10/5).

6 Oct 2009

Researchers probe mechanisms of infection

A newly discovered receptor in a strain of Escherichia coli might help explain why people often get sicker when they're stressed.

10 Mar 2009

Researchers block immune cell rush behind deadly sepsis

Researchers have found a way to block the ability of white blood cells to sprint toward the sites of infection when such speed worsens the damage done by sepsis, the often fatal, whole-body bacterial infection, according to a study published today in the journal Blood.

24 Feb 2009

MRSA's weak point visualised by scientists

An enzyme that lives in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and helps the dangerous bacterium to grow and spread infection through the human body has been visualised for the first time, according to a study out today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

19 Jan 2009

Man dies from flesh-eating disease

A rare flesh-eating disease has claimed the life of a man in Britain. The 60 year old man Tony Williamson died days after a flesh-eating disease spread through his body from a small cut on the inside of his right arm.

28 Dec 2008

Australian scientists discover a way to stop meningitis

Australian scientists have discovered a bacteria which could stop meningitis - the scientists at the University of Western Australia believe their discovery will help researchers understand how the meningitis bacteria infects cells and could lead to the prevention of infections such as meningitis.

25 Nov 2008

Rice can trigger a severe allergic reaction in babies

According to new research by Australian doctors, contrary to the current view of it as a hypo-allergenic foodstuff, rice can trigger a severe allergic reaction in babies.

29 Oct 2008