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Brief ED interventions may reduce alcohol and marijuana abuse

Identifying emergency department patients who may be at high risk for alcohol and/or marijuana misuse may help reduce binge drinking and conjoint alcohol and marijuana consumption.

5 Oct 2012

Emergent receives BARDA contract to advance development of novel rPA anthrax vaccine

Emergent BioSolutions announced today that, after completion of an inter-agency In Process Review, the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has exercised a contract option to further advance the development of PreviThrax (Recombinant Protective Antigen Anthrax Vaccine, Purified), the company's novel rPA anthrax vaccine candidate.

5 Oct 2012

Britons least likely to adopt protective behaviours against flu

A new international survey published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases has revealed that during the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, people in Britain lagged far behind other countries in adopting protective behaviours, such as increasing their practice of covering their mouth with a tissue when sneezing or coughing.

5 Oct 2012

New prototype mouse model duplicates the human response in rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have developed the first animal model that duplicates the human response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an important step that may enable scientists to discover better medicines to treat the disease.

5 Oct 2012

Top-line data from Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 Phase 3 trial on pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. today announced top-line data assessing immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, absorbed]) in adults 18 to 49 years of age.

5 Oct 2012

Stenting outcomes worse for elderly women than men

Results from a cohort study published in Cardiology show that elderly women have a higher risk for complications and in-hospital mortality immediately after treatment with either drug-eluting stents or bare metal stents than elderly men.

4 Oct 2012

Leaders gather at Columbia University event to discuss local, global responses to AIDS

A UNAIDS feature story reports on an event, titled "A Future without HIV/AIDS: Dream or Reality?," held at Columbia University on September 28 and co-hosted by the World Leaders Forum and the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP).

4 Oct 2012

FDA grants Fast Track designation to XBiotech’s Xilonix for treatment of cachexia

XBiotech, a privately held biotechnology company, announced today that the company has been granted Fast Track designation for its anti-cachexia drug Xilonix.

4 Oct 2012

Cellectis, Medicago complete first step in therapeutic protein research collaboration

Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus Like Particles, and Cellectis plant sciences, a US-based subsidiary of Cellectis Group, the specialist in genome engineering, today announced the successful completion of the first step in their research collaboration to improve therapeutic proteins produced in tobacco plants.

4 Oct 2012

Vitamin D3 intake does not reduce incidence or severity of upper respiratory tract infections

Although some data have suggested a possible inverse association between serum vitamin D levels and the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (colds), participants in a randomized controlled trial who received a monthly dose of 100,000 IUs of vitamin D3 did not have a significantly reduced incidence or severity of colds, according to a study in the October 3 issue of JAMA.

4 Oct 2012

LpxC-1 can effectively treat antibiotic-resistant infections

A new type of antibiotic can effectively treat an antibiotic-resistant infection by disarming instead of killing the bacteria that cause it. Researchers report their findings in the October 2 issue of mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

3 Oct 2012

‘Hygiene hypothesis’ updated to ‘Old Friends’ hypothesis

A new scientific report out today from the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) dismantles the myth that the epidemic rise in allergies in recent years has happened because we’re living in sterile homes and overdoing hygiene.

3 Oct 2012

Adjunctive drugs hasten sedation in the emergency department

Adding intravenous droperidol or olanzapine to midazolam shortens the time to adequate sedation in acutely agitated patients in the emergency department, show findings from a randomized controlled trial.

2 Oct 2012

Respiratory infections provide urban asthma clue

Urban infants have a different pattern of viral respiratory illness from suburban infants, which could help explain why they are more likely to develop asthma, say US researchers.

2 Oct 2012

Prognosis still poor for EVB in cirrhosis

The current standard of care for esophageal variceal bleeding in liver cirrhosis is very effective at controlling bleeding but patient prognosis remains poor, say the authors of an Italian study.

1 Oct 2012

ED discharge satisfaction related to symptom understanding, duration

While the majority of older patients treated and released from emergency departments understand their discharge information, half do not understand how long their condition could last, and a third do not understand medication warnings, show study results.

1 Oct 2012

Inhibiting DUSP6 protein can restore immune cells’ responsiveness to a more youthful state

The older we get, the weaker our immune systems tend to become, leaving us vulnerable to infectious diseases and cancer and eroding our ability to benefit from vaccination. Now Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have found that blocking the action of a single protein whose levels in our immune cells creep steadily upward with age can restore those cells' response to a vaccine.

1 Oct 2012

Researchers track spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella in sub-Saharan Africa

A new study out today (Sunday 30 September) reveals that the emergence and spread of a rapidly evolving invasive intestinal disease, that has a significant mortality rate (up to 45%) in infected people in sub-Saharan Africa, seems to have been potentiated by the HIV epidemic in Africa.

1 Oct 2012

Researchers identify IL-27 molecule involved in counterbalancing the immune system attack

We couldn't live without our immune systems, always tuned to detect and eradicate invading pathogens and particles. But sometimes the immune response goes overboard, triggering autoimmune diseases like lupus, asthma or inflammatory bowel disease.

29 Sep 2012

Bioengineers design inexpensive, rapid medical diagnostic tests

By mimicking nature's own sensing mechanisms, bioengineers at UC Santa Barbara and University of Rome Tor Vergata have designed inexpensive medical diagnostic tests that take only a few minutes to perform.

29 Sep 2012

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Brief ED interventions may reduce alcohol and marijuana abuse

Emergent receives BARDA contract to advance development of novel rPA anthrax vaccine

Britons least likely to adopt protective behaviours against flu

New prototype mouse model duplicates the human response in rheumatoid arthritis

Top-line data from Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 Phase 3 trial on pneumococcal disease

Stenting outcomes worse for elderly women than men

Leaders gather at Columbia University event to discuss local, global responses to AIDS

FDA grants Fast Track designation to XBiotech’s Xilonix for treatment of cachexia

Cellectis, Medicago complete first step in therapeutic protein research collaboration

Vitamin D3 intake does not reduce incidence or severity of upper respiratory tract infections

LpxC-1 can effectively treat antibiotic-resistant infections

‘Hygiene hypothesis’ updated to ‘Old Friends’ hypothesis

Adjunctive drugs hasten sedation in the emergency department

Respiratory infections provide urban asthma clue

Prognosis still poor for EVB in cirrhosis

ED discharge satisfaction related to symptom understanding, duration

Inhibiting DUSP6 protein can restore immune cells’ responsiveness to a more youthful state

Researchers track spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella in sub-Saharan Africa

Researchers identify IL-27 molecule involved in counterbalancing the immune system attack

Bioengineers design inexpensive, rapid medical diagnostic tests

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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