Toxic Shock Syndrome News and Research

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Toxic Shock Syndrome is a serious illness most often caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and less commonly Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococci) both of which can produce "toxins." TSS was first recognized in 1978 and was later associated with tampon use in adolescents and young menstruating women in the majority of those cases. TSS is now known to be associated with other risk factors such as surgical wounds and childbirth. TSS has a rapid onset characterized by fever, low blood pressure, kidney failure, and multi-system organ involvement. Profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting and rash are usually present with Staphylococcus aureus TSS, but less commonly with Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococci) TSS.

Research opens way to possible new treatments for bacterial infections

How does Streptococcus pyogenes, or Group A streptococcus (GAS) - a bacterial pathogen that can colonize humans without causing symptoms or can lead to mild infections - also cause life-threatening diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis (commonly known as flesh-eating disease) and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome?

17 Jan 2014

‘Flesh-eating’ disease treatments: an interview with Dr. John Crew, Seton Medical Center

Untreated, the mortality probably exceeds 70%. Flesh eating is a description of Toxic Inflammatory Cellulitis which usually starts by bacterial subcutaneous infection followed by freezing in phase II healing which is inflammatory.

9 Dec 2013

Interaction between fat cells and bacterial toxins can lead to chronic inflammation

Making fat cells immortal might seem like a bad idea to most people, but for a team of University of Iowa scientists it was the ideal way to study how the interaction between bacteria and fat cells might contribute to diabetes.

31 Oct 2013

Study shows superantigens produced by staph bacteria cause infective endocarditis and sepsis

University of Iowa researchers have discovered what causes the lethal effects of staphylococcal infective endocarditis - a serious bacterial infection of heart valves that kills approximately 20,000 Americans each year.

20 Aug 2013

Wisconsin scientists synthesize potent compounds to curb bacteria that cause staph infections

In an age when microbial pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics used to tamp down infection, a team of Wisconsin scientists has synthesized a potent new class of compounds capable of curbing the bacteria that cause staph infections.

24 May 2013

Certain strains of lactobacillus bacteria can dampen production of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1

Certain Streptococci increase their production of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1, sometimes to potentially dangerous levels, when aerobic bacteria are present in the vagina. But scientists from the University of Western Ontario have discovered certain strains of lactobacillus bacteria are capable of dampening production of that toxin according to research published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

25 Mar 2013

WomanCare Global, Evofem enter strategic alliance

Evofem announced today that it has entered into a strategic alliance with WomanCare Global. Through this alliance, WomanCare Global will provide sales, marketing and global distribution for a selection of Evofem's products, including Softcup and Amphora.

4 Mar 2013

Study suggests that existing HIV drug could be a potential therapy for Staph infections

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers suggests that an existing HIV drug called maraviroc could be a potential therapy for Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious and deadly pathogen linked to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations each year.

15 Dec 2012

FDA clears Meridian Bioscience’s new illumigene Group A Strep test

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio today announced that it has received FDA clearance for a new molecular diagnostic test for Group A Streptococcus on the illumigene platform.

18 Sep 2012

Scientists discover structure and operating procedures of anti-bacterial killing machine

Scientists have discovered the structure and operating procedures of a powerful anti-bacterial killing machine that could become an alternative to antibiotics.

25 Jul 2012

Study explores role of L. reuteri against foodborne infection

While many bacteria exist as aggressive pathogens, causing diseases ranging from tuberculosis and cholera, to plague, diphtheria and toxic shock syndrome, others play a less malevolent role and some are critical for human health.

21 Jul 2012

Vaxent, PREVENT sign license agreement to develop and commercialize Strep-A vaccine

An international collaboration between Vaxent, a Memphis-based early stage vaccine development company in the Memphis Bioworks Foundation Incubator, and The Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise Inc. (PREVENT), a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) in Saskatchewan, has put a vaccine for group A streptococcus (Strep-A) back on the path for potential commercialization.

26 Sep 2011

Insight into how bacterial toxins cause human diseases may help improve treatment

A better understanding of how bacterial toxins cause common human diseases may lead to their improved treatment and prevention according to a paper just published by Irish and US scientists in Nature Reviews Microbiology.

25 Aug 2011

Micro-organisms hide themselves from immune defences

That micro-organisms have a great capacity to vary their surface structure is well known. It is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to develop vaccines against HIV and malaria, and why new influenza vaccines have to be produced every year. But it seems that these micro-organisms are also able to completely avoid activating a strong immune response in the person attacked.

22 Aug 2011

Researcher finds antibiotic in Eastern Red Cedar tree effective against MRSA

Most people would never suspect that a "trash tree," one with little economic value and often removed by farmers due to its ability to destroy farmland, could be the key to fighting a deadly bacterium. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found an antibiotic in the Eastern Red Cedar tree that is effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a "superbug" that is resistant to most medications.

22 Feb 2011

Superantigens can disrupt immune system, can cause more illnesses

Superantigens, the toxins produced by staphylococcus bacteria, are more complex than previously believed, reveals a team of researchers from the University of Gothenburg in an article published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications. Their discovery shows that the body's immune system can cause more illnesses than realised.

29 Nov 2010

Researchers use nanotechnology to develop advanced wound dressing to detect, treat infection

Researchers are using nanotechnology to develop a medical dressing which will detect and treat infection in wounds. Scientists at the University of Bath and the burns team at the Southwest UK Paediatric Burns Centre at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol are working together with teams across Europe and Australia to create an advanced wound dressing.

8 Jul 2010

McMaster University researchers discover chemical clue directing Staphylococcus aureus

McMaster University researchers have discovered a central controller or processing unit of a superbug's weaponry. An article on the breakthrough appears in the high-impact journal Science today.

4 Jun 2010

TheraDoc commences beta testing of new computerized patient surveillance tool

TheraDoc®, the leading provider of clinical decision support technology in healthcare, today announced that it has started beta testing of a new computerized patient surveillance tool that will help hospitals monitor and manage screening programs for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which every year kills more people in the United States than AIDS.

19 Oct 2009

Rhinosinusitis may be a factor in toxic shock syndrome in children

Rhinosinusitis (infection and inflammation in the sinus passages surrounding the nose) appears to be a primary factor in about one-fifth of toxic shock syndrome cases in children, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

15 Jun 2009