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The focus on HIV/AIDS has helped forget the threat of tuberculosis

A leading Australian expert has warned that the international attention devoted to HIV/AIDS has dwarfed the threat of tuberculosis (TB).

25 Mar 2008

When should children infected with HIV start medication?

The advent of effective medications for treating HIV dramatically improved the outlook for both adults and children infected with HIV who had access to treatment, but the optimal timing for starting treatment remains controversial, particularly in children.

25 Mar 2008

Scientists discover how salmonella becomes lethal for AIDS patients

Nearly half of all HIV-positive African adults who become infected with Salmonella die from what otherwise would be a seven-day bout of diarrhea.

25 Mar 2008

Big increase in hepatitis C-related deaths in the United States

Hepatitis C-related deaths in the United States increased by 123 percent from 1995 through 2004, the most recent year for which data are available. Mortality rates peaked in 2002, then declined slightly overall, while continuing to rise among people 55 to 64 years old.

25 Mar 2008

Hard to treat TB case diagnosed in Britain

Health officials in Britain say they are dealing with the country's first case of a rare strain of tuberculosis (TB) which is almost untreatable.

24 Mar 2008

Methamphetamine use and pulmonary arterial hypertension

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), in conjunction with leading pulmonary hypertension specialists, has announced the launch of an educational campaign to raise awareness of the association between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and stimulant use, particularly methamphetamine use.

24 Mar 2008

Infection with a mutated HIV strain results in better survival

Persons infected with a mutated HIV strain, transmitted from those who have the genetic advantages to control the virus, results in improved survival according to a recent study by South African researchers.

24 Mar 2008

Call to step up the fight against tuberculosis

In honor of World TB Day 2008 (March 24), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIVMA Medicine Association (HIVMA) urged U.S. policymakers to step up the fight against tuberculosis by committing substantial resources against the disease both at home and abroad.

24 Mar 2008

Circumcision does not protect men from common STDs

According to new research, though male circumcision protects men from HIV, it does not protect them against other common sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, genital warts and genital herpes.

21 Mar 2008

New Hopkins report on successful health communication

Communication plays a crucial role in successful family planning, HIV prevention, and other health and development programs. Communication often is thought of as the production of messages and materials, such as postures or brochures. But effective communication programs that motivate people to adopt healthy behaviors and lifestyles use a systematic process and require long-term commitment.

21 Mar 2008

More efficient gene targeting improves prospects for gene therapy

The Nobel prize-winning MRC scientist Sir Aaron Klug and a team from an American company, Sangamo BioSciences, have announced a new way to target genes that may revolutionise medical research and pave the way for new treatments.

20 Mar 2008

Illicit drug use and risky sex fueling rise in syphilis

According to researchers in the U.S. syphilis which was almost eradicated a decade ago in the developed world, is making a comeback.

19 Mar 2008

Research leads to innovative therapies against cystic fibrosis

New U of T research holds promise for developing innovative therapies against cystic fibrosis and may also serve as a model for future therapies against the HIV virus.

19 Mar 2008

Only two per cent of 700 paediatric drug trials included independent safety checks

Only two per cent of paediatric drug trials reported that they had established independent safety monitoring committees that can help lead to the early detection of adverse drug reactions, according to a major review in the April issue of Acta Paediatrica.

19 Mar 2008

WHO warns the fight against TB has slowed down

A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on tuberculosis (TB) has revealed that the pace of the progress to control the TB epidemic has slowed down.

18 Mar 2008

New information on HIV genetic switch

If the battle against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is a chess match, then new research published today gives new insight into one of the virus' most important moves.

18 Mar 2008

Researchers discover how stealthy HIV protein gets into cells

Scientists have known for more than a decade that a protein associated with the HIV virus is good at crossing cell membranes, but they didn't know how it worked.

18 Mar 2008

Researchers develop method to rapidly ID optimal drug cocktails

UCLA researchers have developed a feedback control scheme that can search for the most effective drug combinations to treat a variety of conditions, including cancers and infections.

18 Mar 2008

Global tuberculosis control 2008

The Global tuberculosis control 2008 , released today by WHO, finds that the pace of the progress to control the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic slowed slightly in 2006, the most recent year for which data were available.

18 Mar 2008

London's HIV epidemic was driven by clusters of sexual contacts

The rapid growth of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in London during the late 1990s was driven in part by transmission of the AIDS virus within clusters of sexual contacts, with individuals frequently passing the virus to others within months after becoming infected themselves, according to research published in PLoS Medicine by Andrew Leigh Brown and colleagues at the University of Edinburgh and London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

18 Mar 2008