Disease/Infection News

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Cannabis Science, CFA partner to improve health-related education infrastructure in Africa

Cannabis Science, Inc., a U.S. Company specializing in cannabis formulation-based drug development and related consulting, is pleased to announce its President & CEO, Mr. Raymond C. Dabney, along with CBIS's Senior Scientific Advisor, Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr., have initiated a partnership between CBIS and the Constituency for Africa to help improve the healthcare and health-related education infrastructure in Africa.

9 Dec 2014

ContraVir begins pharmacokinetic study of FV-100 for treating shingles

ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies, announced today that it has initiated a pharmacokinetic (PK) study of FV-100, the Company's clinical-stage antiviral for treating shingles.

9 Dec 2014

Malaria deaths decline by 54% in Africa, 47% worldwide

The number of people dying from malaria has fallen dramatically since 2000 and malaria cases are also steadily declining, according to the World Malaria Report 2014. Between 2000 and 2013, the malaria mortality rate decreased by 47% worldwide and by 54% in the WHO African Region - where about 90% of malaria deaths occur.

9 Dec 2014

Researchers test new nanopore DNA sequencing technology to detect cause of antibiotic resistance

New nanopore DNA sequencing technology on a device the size of a USB stick could be used to diagnose infection - according to new research from the University of East Anglia and Public Health England.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 9 Dec 2014

Researchers develop nanomimics of host cell membranes that trick malaria parasites

Malaria parasites invade human red blood cells, they then disrupt them and infect others. Researchers at the University of Basel and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute have now developed so-called nanomimics of host cell membranes that trick the parasites. This could lead to novel treatment and vaccination strategies in the fight against malaria and other infectious diseases.

9 Dec 2014

Study shows seasonal flu vaccines may protect individuals against many different viruses

Seasonal flu vaccines may protect individuals not only against the strains of flu they contain but also against many additional types, according to a study published this week in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

9 Dec 2014

Simple rectal swab cultures can thwart drug-resistant E. coli in patients undergoing TRUSBx procedures

Some infections after prostate biopsy due to drug-resistant Escherichia coli can be thwarted by simple rectal swab cultures prior to the procedure. The cultures test for antibiotic-resistant E. coli, and the findings are used to direct the selection of antimicrobial prophylaxis used for the procedure, according to Rhode Island Hospital researchers.

9 Dec 2014

Rutgers researcher receives NIH grant to develop rapid test to diagnose Ebola

Rutgers researcher David Alland, working with the California biotechnology company Cepheid, has received a grant of nearly $640,000 from the National Institutes of Health to develop a rapid test to diagnose Ebola as well as other viruses that can cause symptoms similar to Ebola.

8 Dec 2014

Corrective information can successfully reduce false beliefs about flu vaccines

With health systems in the U.S., U.K., and around the world trying to increase vaccination levels, it is critical to understand how to address vaccine hesitancy and counter myths about vaccine safety. A new article in the journal "Vaccine" concludes, however, that correcting myths about vaccines may not be the most effective approach to promoting immunization among vaccine skeptics.

8 Dec 2014

Weight-loss surgery may reduce lower urinary tract symptoms

Metabolic syndrome is linked with an increased frequency and severity of lower urinary tract symptoms, but weight loss surgery may lessen these symptoms. The findings, which come from two studies published in BJU International, indicate that urinary problems may be added to the list of issues that can improve with efforts that address altered metabolism.

8 Dec 2014

Research findings may lead to new ways to thwart drug resistance

Penicillin, the wonder drug discovered in 1928, works in ways that are still mysterious almost a century later. One of the oldest and most widely used antibiotics, it attacks enzymes that build the bacterial cell wall, a mesh that surrounds the bacterial membrane and gives the cells their integrity and shape. Once that wall is breached, bacteria die -- allowing us to recover from infection.

6 Dec 2014

Promising anti-malarial compound uses novel mechanism to kill malaria parasite

An international research collaborative has determined that a promising anti-malarial compound tricks the immune system to rapidly destroy red blood cells infected with the malaria parasite but leave healthy cells unharmed. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears in the current online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

5 Dec 2014

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of Actavis' ceftazidime-avibactam

Actavis plc today announced that the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has voted to recommend approval of Actavis' New Drug Application (NDA) for ceftazidime-avibactam, an investigational antibiotic being developed to treat hospitalized patients when limited or no treatment options are available for complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) (in combination with metronidazole) and complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) (including acute pyelonephritis) caused by Gram-negative pathogens.

5 Dec 2014

IRC plans to deploy electronic medical records in fight against Ebola

The International Rescue Committee today announced that it is testing and plans to deploy electronic medical records in the fight against Ebola.

5 Dec 2014

NIHR recognises research study that aims to develop simple saliva test for gum diseases

A research study at Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry (UK) which aims to develop a simple saliva test for gum diseases, has been recognised by the National Institute of Health Research, which has included the study in its portfolio.

5 Dec 2014

Simple treatments for Ebola patients not given sufficient priority

The widespread misconception that there are no proven treatments for Ebola virus disease has meant that simple treatments – especially intravenous fluids and electrolytes, which could reduce the number of deaths caused by the virus – have been neglected, according to a new Comment, published in The Lancet.

5 Dec 2014

New study investigates rate of HIV testing in patients with mental illnesses

People with mental illness are more likely to have been tested for HIV than those without mental illness, according to a new study from a team of researchers at Penn Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published online this week in AIDS Patient Care and STDs.

5 Dec 2014

NSF awards grants to advance Ebola research

The National Science Foundation has awarded the first of a number of rapid response grants to advance fundamental Ebola research.

5 Dec 2014

Study: PET scanning strategy could help predict effectiveness of TB drugs

Sophisticated lung imaging can show whether or not a treatment drug is able to clear tuberculosis (TB) lung infection in human and macaque studies, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and their international collaborators.

5 Dec 2014

UH professors receive NIH grant to combat drug-resistant bacteria

Addressing the relentless game of cat and mouse played between antibiotics and bacteria, a pair of University of Houston professors recently received a $519,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

5 Dec 2014