Infectious Diseases News and Research

RSS

Patients with HIV are not being screened enough for cancers: Study

According to a latest study finding presented at the Infectious Diseases Society of America 49th Annual Meeting, patients with HIV were less likely to have routine screening for breast, cervical and colon cancer compared with patients without HIV.

26 Oct 2011

Effectiveness of present flu vaccines may not be satisfactory: Study

According to a report published online October 25 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases there are gaps in the evidence for the effectiveness of licensed influenza vaccines in the United States. Individuals who are at risk for medical complications or people who are aged 65 years or older are especially affected by the gaps, the researchers write.

26 Oct 2011

Anti-HIV vaginal gel could also reduce genital herpes by half: Study

The study appears this week in the journal Cell Host & Microbe that tested the gel on women in South Africa (where the risk of HIV and herpes is great) found that the anti-HIV/AIDS drug tenofovir reduced herpes infections by 51% and HIV infections by 39%.

24 Oct 2011

The unvaccinated population contributing to the measles outbreak

As the US faces its largest outbreak of measles in 15 years - affecting 214 children so far – new research suggests too many unvaccinated U.S. children could be the reason. Experts speculate that unfounded fears regarding safety of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine leading to many children bring missed out could have led to this situation.

24 Oct 2011

Abzyme Therapeutics licenses SUMOpro from LifeSensors

Abzyme Therapeutics, a new biotechnology company dedicated to developing methods to generate human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of disease, announced today that they have entered into an exclusive agreement with LifeSensors to license their proprietary protein expression platform, SUMOpro™. Enhanced protein expression is key to the evolution and development of antibodies and the LifeSensors

24 Oct 2011

UNICEF warns of possible polio resurgence in Madagascar amid outbreak involving three children

"An outbreak of polio in three children from the south of Madagascar has raised concerns over a possible resurgence of this crippling disease," BBC News reports, adding, "UNICEF spokesman Daniel Timme says three cases of polio without symptoms have been identified ... during UNICEF's Mother and Child Health week following tests and urine samples".

24 Oct 2011

DNA synbodies, a new class of affinity reagents, gets major NIH boost

An ongoing Arizona State University effort to develop a revolutionary class of reagents that holds great promise for the future of medicine has received a major boost with a three-year, $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health.

24 Oct 2011

House to consider bill to scale back health law's Medicaid expansion

In other Medicaid news, AIDS experts worry that the current model of HIV/AIDS care could be put at risk by fiscal pressures and the changes that will occur as a result of the health law.

24 Oct 2011

Blood tests and cultures may not be necessary in detecting early-onset GBS in newborns

For newborn infants at risk of infection with group B streptococcal (GBS) bacteria, screening blood tests cause extra pain and anxiety—without increasing detection of early-onset GBS disease, reports a study in the October issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

24 Oct 2011

SafeMinds praises UNEP's draft treaty ban on use of mercury in pharma products

SafeMinds applauds UNEP's draft treaty language which does not exempt the use of mercury in pharmaceutical products, including vaccines, from the global ban. Governmental regulators, public health officials and pharmaceutical companies have recognized that the toxicity of mercury in pharmaceutical and personal care products, to which people are directly exposed, justifies a preventive approach to minimize all exposures.

24 Oct 2011

First step in the development of new drug combinations against diseases, conditions

The researchers found a way of identifying ideal drug combinations from billions of others which would prevent inflammation from occurring.

From The University of Manchester 24 Oct 2011

Pivotal pediatric clinical study comparing Q/LAIV to FluMist meets primary endpoint

The pivotal pediatric clinical study compared Q/LAIV to two trivalent formulations of MedImmune's licensed seasonal influenza vaccine, FluMist (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal) and met its primary endpoint.

22 Oct 2011

Pfizer's Prevnar 13: Additional data from adult clinical studies presented at 49th IDSA

Pfizer Inc. announced today that additional data from several clinical studies of Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine) conducted in adults 50 years and older will be presented during the 49th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which is being held Oct. 20-23, 2011, in Boston, Mass.

22 Oct 2011

Additional data from Sanofi's quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine study

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today the results of a new study evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of an investigational quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (QIV) among adults 65 years of age and older.

22 Oct 2011

Romark announces results from NT-300 Phase 2B-3 trial on influenza

Romark Laboratories announced that results of a large Phase 2B-3 US clinical trial of its new flu drug, NT-300 (nitazoxanide), will be presented as an oral late-breaking communication at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) being held in Boston, October 20-23, 2011.

22 Oct 2011

American robin plays a key role in transmission of West Nile virus

After its initial appearance in New York in 1999, West Nile virus spread across the United States in just a few years and is now well established throughout North and South America.

21 Oct 2011

Antimicrobial copper surfaces reduce hospital acquired infections in ICU rooms

Results from a comprehensive multi-site clinical trial demonstrated that the use of antimicrobial copper surfaces in intensive care unit rooms reduced the amount of bacteria in the rooms by 97 percent and resulted in a 41 percent reduction in the hospital acquired infection rate.

21 Oct 2011

Young docs not so keen on immunizations: Survey

A cross-sectional survey of 551 healthcare providers and noted that more recent graduates were less likely to think that vaccines were efficacious said Saad Omer, assistant professor of Emory University in Atlanta. They were also more likely to have doubts about the safety of some vaccines, Omer told reporters at the 49th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

20 Oct 2011

Starting HIV therapy within two weeks of TB treatment increases survival by 33%

Timing is everything when treating patients with both HIV and tuberculosis. Starting HIV therapy in such patients within two weeks of TB treatment, rather than two months as is the current practice, increases survival by 33 percent, according to a large-scale clinical trial in Cambodia led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute.

20 Oct 2011

CWRU to lead Cornea Preservation Time Study

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine will lead a national study determining if corneas transplanted up to two weeks after donor death work as well as corneas transplanted up to one week after donor death. The National Eye Institute has awarded a $12.3 million grant to support the work.

20 Oct 2011