Penicillin News and Research

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Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN or pen) is a group of antibiotics derived from ''Penicillium'' fungi. Penicillin antibiotics are historically significant because they are the first drugs that were effective against many previously serious diseases such as syphilis and Staphylococcus infections.

Authors explain why health care reform initiative should include CER

The current health care reform bills approved by the House and the Senate seek to expand health insurance coverage while containing costs; however, the proposed policy changes are not guaranteed to improve health for individuals or society, according to a "Perspective" article by faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in the Jan. 6 New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Jan 2010

Weill Cornell Medical College offers innovative program to teach medical students about health care system

While medical students are required to know the names of every body part and disease, most graduate with only a cursory understanding of how the health care system actually works, and some of the ways it doesn't.

6 Jan 2010

J&JPRD receives FDA Complete Response Letter for ceftobiprole

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. (J&JPRD) today announced it received a Complete Response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ceftobiprole. The New Drug Application (NDA) was originally submitted to the FDA in May 2007 for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI), including diabetic foot infections.

30 Dec 2009

Sudden worldwide increase in antibiotic-resistant bacterium, a cause for concern

A sudden worldwide increase in an antibiotic-resistant bacterium is cause for concern, according to a review in f1000 Medicine Reports.

28 Dec 2009

New community-associated strain of MRSA more apt to cause serious problems

The often feared and sometimes deadly infections caused by MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - are now moving out of hospitals and emerging as an even more virulent strain in community settings and on athletic teams, and raising new concerns about antibiotic resistance.

23 Dec 2009

PolyMedix completes first two segments of its PMX-30063 antibiotic drug candidate Phase 1B study

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company developing acute care products for infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, has successfully completed the first two segments of a Phase 1B clinical safety study with its novel antibiotic drug candidate PMX-30063.

18 Dec 2009

ARNMD meeting examines psychological and neurological aspects of PTSDs and traumatic brain injuries

War is hell, as the old saying goes -- with loss of life and limb, destruction of infrastructure and the environment, and devastating costs. Recent biomedical research has shed light on another pernicious consequence of military conflict: psychological and neurological conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. At the same time, researchers have worked to uncover some of the motives and meanings of war.

17 Dec 2009

New licensing agreement to develop and commercialize prophylactic vaccine against MRSA signed

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive, world-wide licensing agreement with Syntiron to develop and commercialize its prophylactic vaccine against Staphylococcus, including Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA.

17 Dec 2009

Hospira to acquire Orchid's pharmaceuticals business for $400 million

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, and Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a leading Indian pharmaceuticals company and among the top-five generic beta-lactam antibiotics manufacturers globally, today announced an agreement for Hospira to acquire Orchid's generic injectable finished-dosage form pharmaceuticals business for approximately $400 million.

15 Dec 2009

Scientists discover five genetic variants associated with lung disease

Scientists have discovered five genetic variants that are associated with the health of the human lung. The research by an international consortium of 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia sheds new light on the molecular basis of lung diseases.

14 Dec 2009

New Center for Digestive Care to care for all aspects of digestive disease

The Center for Digestive Care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has been established with a mission to provide high-quality patient care, research and education for all aspects of digestive disease.

4 Dec 2009

Integrated eating disorders center to be launched shortly

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in affiliation with the New York State Psychiatric Institute, announced the creation of an integrated eating disorders center. Opening today is a key clinical component of this new center -- The Outlook at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division in White Plains.

2 Dec 2009

MRI pioneer honored with MRC Millennium Medal

Sir Peter Mansfield, The University of Nottingham's Nobel Laureate for Physiology and Medicine, is to be recognised, once again, for his part in one of the most important breakthroughs in medical science.

2 Dec 2009

New analysis suggests physicians should change their diagnosis and treatment for sore throat

New analysis from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) suggests that physicians need to re-think their diagnosis and treatment of sore throat, or pharyngitis, in adolescents and young adults to consider a more newly identified and potentially dangerous culprit as the source of that infection.

1 Dec 2009

DSS sets evidence-based guidelines and definitions to treat type 2 diabetes

A first-of-its-kind consensus statement on diabetes surgery is published online today in the Annals of Surgery. The report illustrates the findings of the first international consensus conference -- Diabetes Surgery Summit (DSS) -- where an international group of more than 50 scientific and medical experts agreed on a set of evidence-based guidelines and definitions that are meant to guide the use and study of gastrointestinal surgery to treat type 2 diabetes. The document is considered to be the foundation of diabetes surgery as a medical discipline of its own.

24 Nov 2009

Scientists discover new potential target for treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood cells. By exploiting this mechanism, researchers have been able to powerfully suppress tumor formation in lab testing and in animal models.

22 Nov 2009

World's first intra-arterial cerebral infusion of Avastin directly into a patient's malignant brain tumor

Neurosurgeons from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center performed the world's first intra-arterial cerebral infusion of Avastin (bevacizumab) directly into a patient's malignant brain tumor. This novel intra-arterial (IA) technique may expose the cancer to higher doses of the drug therapy, while possibly sparing the patient common side effects of receiving the drug intravenously (IV) or throughout their body.

18 Nov 2009

Minimally invasive surgical techniques as effective as traditional open surgery in treating rectal cancers

Laparoscopic surgery has been used in the treatment of intestinal disorders for close to 20 years, but its benefits have only recently begun to be extended to people with rectal cancer. In a prospective study of 103 patients who underwent straightforward or "hand-assisted" laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer, a team of colon and rectal surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center has shown that the minimally invasive approach can be as effective as traditional open surgery in treating rectal cancers.

11 Nov 2009

New imagining technique may yield better antiviral and anti-cancer drugs

A recently devised method of imaging the chemical communication and warfare between microorganisms could lead to new antibiotics, antifungal, antiviral and anti-cancer drugs, said a Texas AgriLife Research scientist.

10 Nov 2009

Researchers develop tools to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate

Using imaging mass spectrometry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed tools that will enable scientists to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate. Their study shows how bacteria talk to one another - an understanding that may lead to new therapeutic discoveries for diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes and allergies.

9 Nov 2009