Fungal Infection News and Research

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New technique allows partial-match cell transplants for children with most resistant leukemia

Clinicians at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have successfully demonstrated an improved technique for blood stem cell transplantations in children that shows promise for those most likely to fail standard treatment for leukemia.

16 Oct 2006

FDA approves Noxafil (posaconazole) to prevent invasive fungal infections

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Noxafil (posaconazole) to prevent fungal infections caused by certain molds and yeast-like fungus called Aspergillus and Candida.

19 Sep 2006

Genetic key to treating deadly fungal infections

University of Minnesota researchers have discovered how a prevalent fungal pathogen that causes 10,000 deaths per year in the United States overcomes the effects of antifungal drugs by duplicating a section of one of its chromosomes.

24 Jul 2006

Latest sequencing targets for NHGRI

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has announced several new sequencing targets including the Northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys).

19 Jul 2006

Scientists discover a master key to microbes' pathogenic lifestyles

For some microbes, the transformation from a benign lifestyle in the soil to that of a potentially deadly human pathogen is just a breath away.

3 May 2006

Photodynamic therapy may be an effective treatment for infections of the oral cavity

Researchers found that the bacteria S. mutans, as well as fungal organisms of the genus Candida, cultured from HIV patients, were highly susceptible to killing with minimal doses of PDT, both in laboratory dishes and on biofilms grown on denture material.

13 Mar 2006

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Eraxis to treat candidemia

Pfizer said today that Eraxis (anidulafungin) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat candidemia, a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection. Candidemia is the most deadly of the common hospital-acquired bloodstream infections, with a mortality rate of approximately 40 percent.

21 Feb 2006

Herbal supplements and plastic surgery don't mix well

Natural herbal supplements are supposed to help boost our immune systems, give us more energy and make us generally healthier.

14 Feb 2006

Study proves the effectiveness of Vfend for the treatment of candidemia

Using Vfend (voriconazole) for the treatment of nonneutropenic patients with candidemia, an often-fatal hospital-acquired bloodstream infection, is as effective as a regimen of two older antifungals and carries fewer serious side effects than that regimen.

7 Nov 2005

Researchers "should rethink what they are doing" in creating drugs based on a fruit-fly model

The first close-up look at a pro-inflammatory signaling molecule involved in immune response in mammals suggests that researchers "should rethink what they are doing" in creating drugs based on a fruit-fly model, scientists say.

4 Oct 2005

Research may help create drugs to target the molecule-binding pathway, beneficial for treating arthritis and reducing inflammation

3 Oct 2005

Carbon nanotubes as transport agents for antimycotics (antifungal agents)

Putting pharmaceutical agents into the body isn't hard, but getting them into targeted areas can be problematic. If drugs aren't taken up by a large enough proportion of cells, a suitable "transport agent" must be used.

19 Sep 2005

New vaccine with the potential to protect against fungal pathogens

A group of scientists in Italy have developed a vaccine with the potential to protect against fungal pathogens that commonly infect humans, according to a study by Torosantucci and colleagues in the September 5 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

5 Sep 2005

Old skin fungus drug has been found to be a possible cancer treatment

A drug that has been used for 40 years for the treatment of skin fungus has been found to be a possible cancer treatment, according to an international team of scientists. Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that the antifungal drug, griseofulvin, has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in his laboratory.

30 Jun 2005

Scientists solve structure of a critical innate immune system protein

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the structure of a crucial human immune system molecule called TLR3, an acronym for Toll-like receptor three. In an upcoming issue of the journal Science, the protein is described as a large horseshoe-shaped coil composed of 23 leucine-rich repeats (LRRs).

27 Jun 2005

Girls told to take off the G-string and wear bigger knickers

German gynaecologists are advising women to wear bigger knickers because they say G-string knickers can damage the skin and cause infections.

1 Jun 2005

Study finds benefits, less organ rejection using immunosuppressive combination for heart transplants

A new study led by researchers at the UCLA Heart Transplant Program showed that one particular combination using tacrolimus (TAC or PrografÒ also known as FK506) had significant anti-rejection benefits for heart transplant patients over other combinations.

22 May 2005

Intralesional immunotherapy for common warts is effective and safe

Injection of skin test antigens (preparations used in skin tests for immunity) into warts appears to stimulate the immune system and successfully treat the injected wart and also helps to treat distant non-injected warts, according to a study in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology.

16 May 2005

Urine actually helps a particular yeast stick to cells along the urinary tract

The finding might offer a new way to prevent or treat certain yeast and fungal infections, and the researchers' work also provides an unexpected new role for some proteins already known to help hungry yeast live longer.

30 Mar 2005

Plant protein mimics hormone that mitigates diabetes and obesity

A common protein that protects plants from fungal infection mimics the activity of a hormone in mammals that is linked to weight loss and is believed to play a role in mitigating heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to a team of researchers at Purdue University and several collaborating institutions.

25 Jan 2005