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Treating prenatal maternal infections could improve birth outcomes, study suggests

Clinical trials are underway to test an azithromycin-based combination treatment for pregnant women, "which could tackle some of the leading preventable causes of death for babies in sub-Saharan Africa," according to researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who published a report on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

17 May 2012

Immediate response required to curb spread of artemisinin-resistant malaria in Burma

In this Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Jay Winsten, associate dean at the Harvard School of Public Health, and Trish Stroman, a principal at the Boston Consulting Group, examine "the emergence in Southeast Asia of malarial parasites resistant to artemisinin -- the current gold-standard drug for treating the disease," writing it "poses grave new challenges."

17 May 2012

Haitian government, health workers show commitment to nationwide vaccination campaign

In this post in the Huffington Post Blog, Dagfinn Hoybraten, vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, examines a nationwide vaccination campaign in Haiti, through which "health officials are targeting measles, rubella and polio and [are] also introducing pentavalent vaccine, one shot against five diseases."

17 May 2012

U.S. HIV assistance through PEPFAR prevented 740,000 deaths between 2004-2008, study shows

"The lives of more than 740,000 people in nine African countries were saved between 2004 and 2008 by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [PEPFAR]," according to a study conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Wednesday, HealthDay News reports.

17 May 2012

Specific organometallic substances offer new hope for treatment against tapeworm infection

Scientists are reporting development and testing of a new series of drugs that could finally stop the fox tapeworm - which causes a rare but life-threatening disease in humans - dead in its tracks. The report, which appears in ACS' Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, shows that specific organometallic substances that help combat cancer are also the surprising best new hope for a treatment against tapeworm infection.

17 May 2012

IMC to support government of Chad in polio eradication activities

International Medical Corps will immediately scale up its support to the government of Chad in polio eradication activities through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

17 May 2012

TRCARC, IBM partner to strengthen HIV prevention effort

IBM is collaborating with the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center (TRCARC) to strengthen HIV prevention effort and to make Bangkok the world's first city to achieve "Zero New HIV Infections" by 2015.

17 May 2012

Reformulated anti-HIV gel may be safe for use in both vagina, rectum

A change in the formulation of tenofovir gel, an anti-HIV gel developed for vaginal use, may make it safer to use in the rectum, suggests a study published online this week in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. In laboratory tests of rectal tissue, researchers from the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN) found that the reformulated gel was less harmful to the lining of the rectum than the original vaginal formulation, and just as effective in protecting cells against HIV.

17 May 2012

Biologists engineer algae to produce potential candidates for malarial vaccine

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have succeeded in engineering algae to produce potential candidates for a vaccine that would prevent transmission of the parasite that causes malaria, an achievement that could pave the way for the development of an inexpensive way to protect billions of people from one of the world's most prevalent and debilitating diseases. Initial proof-of-principle experiments suggest that such a vaccine could prevent malaria transmission.

17 May 2012

New directions and challenges in viral hepatitis care and research

The editors of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, are pleased to announce the publication of this year's highly anticipated special 13th issue. Published each May, the 13th issue is devoted to a particular gastroenterological topic of broad interest; this year's topic is viral hepatitis.

16 May 2012

Social networks influence beliefs regarding safety of influenza vaccines

College students' social networks influence their beliefs regarding the safety of influenza vaccines and decisions about vaccination, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

16 May 2012

Dual prevalence of STIs/RTIs and malaria in pregnancy found among women in sub-Saharan Africa

A review of studies reporting estimates of the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections/reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs) and malaria over the past 20 years suggests that a considerable burden of malaria and STIs/RTIs exists among pregnant women attending antenatal (before birth) facilities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies published in the May 16 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Global Health.

16 May 2012

National Psoriasis Foundation awards more than $2 million for research

Twenty-six scientists have received a total of $2.06 million in grants from the National Psoriasis Foundation to study psoriasis—the most common autoimmune disease in the country, affecting as many as 7.5 million Americans—and psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory joint and tendon disease.

16 May 2012

Codexis receives U.S. patent for enzymes utilized in HCV therapeutics

Codexis, Inc., a developer of cost-advantaged processes for the production of biofuels, bio-based chemicals, and pharmaceutical intermediates, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Codexis' patent covering the biocatalysts and biocatalytic processes used to make key pharmaceutical intermediates in the synthesis of leading hepatitis-C therapeutics.

16 May 2012

Reuters examines use of statistics in public health ahead of WHO report

"Above all else, analyzing the state of the world's health -- be it by looking at obesity rates, cancer cases, malaria deaths, or HIV-free births -- requires decent statistics," Reuters reports in an article examining the use of statistics in public health ahead of the release of the WHO's World Health Statistics report.

16 May 2012

Newspapers examine concerns surrounding possible FDA approval of Truvada for PrEP

The New York Times and the Financial Times examine concerns expressed by AIDS activists and members of an FDA panel that last week recommended Gilead Sciences' antiretroviral drug Truvada be approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among healthy people at risk of contracting the virus.

16 May 2012

Achaogen’s plazomicin and levofloxacin safe and effective in treating cUTI, acute pyelonephritis

Achaogen, Inc. announced today that all objectives were met in the company's multi-national Phase 2 study of plazomicin compared to levofloxacin for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) and acute pyelonephritis in adults.

16 May 2012

NPR's 'All Things Considered' examines HIV among India's gay community

NPR's "Shots" blog includes an "All Things Considered" story that examines how "a 2009 benchmark ruling in Delhi's High Court," which "struck down a 148-year-old law known as Section 377, a holdover from British colonial rule that made homosexual acts illegal," has led to a wider level of HIV outreach to Mumbai's gay community.

16 May 2012

Increase in fall death rates in older Americans is likely the effect of improved reporting quality

The recent dramatic increase in the fall death rate in older Americans is likely the effect of improved reporting quality, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy.

16 May 2012

Researchers eager to teach Swedes about best brushing technique

Almost all Swedes brush their teeth, yet only one in ten does it in a way that effectively prevents tooth decay. Now researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, are eager to teach Swedes how to brush their teeth more effectively.

16 May 2012

Disease/Infection News

Treating prenatal maternal infections could improve birth outcomes, study suggests

Immediate response required to curb spread of artemisinin-resistant malaria in Burma

Haitian government, health workers show commitment to nationwide vaccination campaign

U.S. HIV assistance through PEPFAR prevented 740,000 deaths between 2004-2008, study shows

Specific organometallic substances offer new hope for treatment against tapeworm infection

IMC to support government of Chad in polio eradication activities

TRCARC, IBM partner to strengthen HIV prevention effort

Reformulated anti-HIV gel may be safe for use in both vagina, rectum

Biologists engineer algae to produce potential candidates for malarial vaccine

New directions and challenges in viral hepatitis care and research

Social networks influence beliefs regarding safety of influenza vaccines

Dual prevalence of STIs/RTIs and malaria in pregnancy found among women in sub-Saharan Africa

National Psoriasis Foundation awards more than $2 million for research

Codexis receives U.S. patent for enzymes utilized in HCV therapeutics

Reuters examines use of statistics in public health ahead of WHO report

Newspapers examine concerns surrounding possible FDA approval of Truvada for PrEP

Achaogen’s plazomicin and levofloxacin safe and effective in treating cUTI, acute pyelonephritis

NPR's 'All Things Considered' examines HIV among India's gay community

Increase in fall death rates in older Americans is likely the effect of improved reporting quality

Researchers eager to teach Swedes about best brushing technique

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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