Disease/Infection News

RSS

Study: 172K polymorphism makes certain forms of HIV less resistant to drugs

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can contain dozens of different mutations, called polymorphisms. In a recent study an international team of researchers, including MU scientists, found that one of those mutations, called 172K, made certain forms of the virus more susceptible to treatment. Soon, doctors will be able to use this knowledge to improve the drug regiment they prescribe to HIV-infected individuals.

14 Sep 2012

Examining effects of reduced AIDS funding for Ethiopia

Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), and Kate McQueston, a program coordinator at CGD, write in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog that a reduction in AIDS funding to Ethiopia from PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria "might be warranted due to epidemiological trends and improved efficiency, or might cripple progress as health programs dependent on external donors are cut back."

13 Sep 2012

Old anti-inflammatory drug possible candidate to treat TB

After testing about 5,600 existing medications for their effectiveness against drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB), researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that oxyphenbutazone, "an anti-inflammatory medication marketed in the 1950s as Tandearil and still used in veterinary medicine," killed both latent and active TB bacteria in test-tube experiments, the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog reports.

13 Sep 2012

Incidence of Acute gastrointestinal illness is likely to rise in coming years

The distribution system piping in U.S. public water systems that rely on non-disinfected well water or "ground water" may be a largely unrecognized cause of up to 1.1 million annual cases of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI), involving nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, scientists are reporting. Their study in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology concludes that such illnesses may become more of a problem as much of the nation's drinking water supply system continues to age and deteriorate.

13 Sep 2012

Pam2Cys nasal spray may be useful agent against pandemics and emerging viral strains

In an advance toward development of a nasal spray that protects against infection with influenza and spread of the disease, scientists are reporting identification of a substance that activates the first-line defense system against infection inside the nose. They describe effects of a synthetic form of a natural substance found in bacterial cell walls in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

13 Sep 2012

WHO says Nigeria not on track to turn back polio despite having tools, capacity

"The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said Nigeria was not on track in the effort to eradicate wild polio virus before the end of December this year," Leadership/AllAfrica.com reports.

13 Sep 2012

Loss of normal microbial diversity may be culprit behind chronic sinusitis

A common bacteria ever-present on the human skin and previously considered harmless, may, in fact, be the culprit behind chronic sinusitis, a painful, recurring swelling of the sinuses that strikes more than one in ten Americans each year, according to a study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.

13 Sep 2012

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

13 Sep 2012

Synthetic biology pioneer wins 2012 Heinz Award

Jay Keasling, a leading authority and pioneer on synthetic biology who has engineered microbial "factories" to manufacture an affordable version of a frontline antimalarial drug and biofuel substitutes for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, has won a 2012 Heinz Award, which is presented by the Heinz Family Foundation and carries with it a cash prize of $250,000.

13 Sep 2012

RPS honors Aston University professor with Pharmaceutical Scientist of the Year Award

Professor Yvonne Perrie, Chair in Drug Delivery at Aston University, Birmingham UK has won the prestigious Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Pharmaceutical Scientist of the Year Award for her contribution to developing a new tuberculosis vaccine.

13 Sep 2012

Positive data from Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals’ eravacycline Phase 2 trial on cIAI

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage life science company developing novel antibiotics effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, presented new, positive Phase 2 clinical data on its lead drug candidate, eravacycline (TP-434), on September 11, 2012, at the 52nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco, CA.

13 Sep 2012

PrimeraDx’s ICEPlex system and C. difficile detection assay receive CE mark

PrimeraDx, a molecular diagnostics company, announced today that the ICEPlex system, a quantitative multiplex PCR system, and their C. difficile detection assay both received the CE mark.

12 Sep 2012

IRIN reports on flooding in Africa

In three separate articles, IRIN reports on the implications of flooding taking place in Africa. "Tens of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in parts of central, eastern and southern Chad following heavy rains in August," the news service writes in the first article, adding that the floods have affected 445,725 people and destroyed 255,720 hectares of cropland.

12 Sep 2012

VOA news examines AIDS among marginalized groups in Burma

VOA News examines AIDS among high-risk groups in Burma, also known as Myanmar. "Burma's AIDS epidemic mostly affects marginalized groups, such as the gay community," the news service writes, adding, "About one percent of Burma's population is HIV-positive," but "among high-risk groups, such as men who have sex with men, health workers estimate as many as 11 percent have HIV."

12 Sep 2012

Leading dengue fever vaccine candidate 30% effective in first large clinical trial

"The leading candidate to become the world's first vaccine against dengue fever was only 30 percent effective in its first large clinical trial, dealing at least a temporary setback to efforts to control a disease that threatens half the world's population," the New York Times reports.

12 Sep 2012

AusAID draft strategy includes more support for research into neglected diseases

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) "is planning to boost support for medical research, technology and innovations," as well as "encourage collaboration and capacity building aimed at poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases," SciDev.Net reports.

12 Sep 2012

Researchers present new results from RV144 HIV vaccine trial at AIDS Vaccine 2012

"A paper published in Nature on Monday sheds light on how a vaccine can turn the immune system against [HIV] and so offer protection from infection," Nature News reports, noting "[t]he results are also being presented at the AIDS Vaccine 2012 conference in Boston, Massachusetts, this week."

12 Sep 2012

Researchers identify novel genes that make some children cope with malaria

Researchers from Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and University of Montreal have identified several novel genes that make some children more efficient than others in the way their immune system responds to malaria infection.

12 Sep 2012

Diet could avert toxic effects of quinine in patients with malaria

Scientists at The University of Nottingham say adverse side-effects caused by the anti-parasitic drug quinine in the treatment of malaria could be controlled by what we eat.

12 Sep 2012

Researchers investigate whether altruism influences parental decisions to vaccinate children

As outbreaks of preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles increase in the United States, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine are investigating whether altruism, known to influence adults' decisions to immunize themselves, influences parental decisions to vaccinate their children.

12 Sep 2012

Disease/Infection News

Study: 172K polymorphism makes certain forms of HIV less resistant to drugs

Examining effects of reduced AIDS funding for Ethiopia

Old anti-inflammatory drug possible candidate to treat TB

Incidence of Acute gastrointestinal illness is likely to rise in coming years

Pam2Cys nasal spray may be useful agent against pandemics and emerging viral strains

WHO says Nigeria not on track to turn back polio despite having tools, capacity

Loss of normal microbial diversity may be culprit behind chronic sinusitis

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Synthetic biology pioneer wins 2012 Heinz Award

RPS honors Aston University professor with Pharmaceutical Scientist of the Year Award

Positive data from Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals’ eravacycline Phase 2 trial on cIAI

PrimeraDx’s ICEPlex system and C. difficile detection assay receive CE mark

IRIN reports on flooding in Africa

VOA news examines AIDS among marginalized groups in Burma

Leading dengue fever vaccine candidate 30% effective in first large clinical trial

AusAID draft strategy includes more support for research into neglected diseases

Researchers present new results from RV144 HIV vaccine trial at AIDS Vaccine 2012

Researchers identify novel genes that make some children cope with malaria

Diet could avert toxic effects of quinine in patients with malaria

Researchers investigate whether altruism influences parental decisions to vaccinate children

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

Shaping the future of lab automation through AI and robotics

Latest News