Disease/Infection News

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Non-antibiotic compounds can prevent urinary tract infections

The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS') award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series describes a potential new approach for treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) - which affect millions of people annually - without traditional antibiotics. Because it involves non-antibiotic compounds, the approach would not contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or "superbugs."

16 Aug 2012

CSIS report examines global polio eradication efforts

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on Monday released a report called "Eradicating Polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan." According to the report summary, efforts to eradicate the virus globally "have proved largely successful, in part thanks to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), launched by the international community in 1988," and "[t]he number of new cases has dropped in the past decade, even in countries where the virus has never been eradicated."

15 Aug 2012

Recognizing the role of international partnerships in global health

"When you're dealing with a global public health crisis, having an international presence isn't just advisable -- it is imperative," Margaret McGlynn, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), writes in this post in USAID's "Impact" blog, adding, "That's why the [IAVI], in partnership with USAID, has worked diligently over the past several years to establish itself as a truly global non-profit partner."

15 Aug 2012

Universal HIV treatment, if achieved, would not mean eradication of AIDS

In this post in BMJ's "Yankee Doodling," Douglas Kamerow, chief scientist at RTI International and an associate editor for the journal, reflects on the possibility of achieving an AIDS-free generation "if somehow we succeeded in getting all HIV positive people in the world identified and under long term treatment."

15 Aug 2012

U.S. support of PEPFAR, Global Fund helping to achieve global AIDS, TB, malaria goals

In this post in Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, examines "the success of U.S. efforts to promote better global health through support for [PEPFAR] and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria."

15 Aug 2012

Overtreatment of malaria in central, south Asia leading to neglect of other diseases, study finds

"Over diagnosis and mistreatment of malaria in central and south Asia may be widespread, leading to the neglect of other serious illnesses, according to a new study from Afghanistan," published in the British Medical Journal last month, SciDev.Net reports.

15 Aug 2012

Catechins may help reduce neurological complications linked to HIV

Current drug therapy for patients with HIV is unable to control the complete replication of the virus in the brain. The drugs therefore do not have any effect against the complications associated with neurocognitive impairment in patients with HIV. New research by Joseph Steiner and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University has discovered that a group of plant polyphenols known as catechins, which naturally occur in green tea and the seed of the cacao tree, may help in the prevention of these neurological complications.

15 Aug 2012

Antisense therapy shows promise in treating toxoplasmosis

A targeted approach to treating toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease, shows early promise in test-tube and animal studies, where it prevented the parasites from making selected proteins. When tested in newly infected mice, it reduced the number of viable parasites by more than 90 percent, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

14 Aug 2012

Lack of legislative action heading into congressional recess could impact global health funding

"With Congress adjourned until after Labor Day and not a single funding bill for the federal fiscal year beginning October signed into law before the recess even began, the virtual standstill of legislative action could have a mixed impact on global health funding," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

14 Aug 2012

Six manufacturers receive FDA approval to produce 2012-2013 flu vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved the 2012-2013 influenza (flu) vaccine formulation for all six manufacturers licensed to produce and distribute the vaccines in the United States.

14 Aug 2012

Researchers solve hepatitis C vaccine mystery

Researchers at the Burnet Institute have solved a hepatitis C vaccine mystery which, once developed could be the first ever preventative vaccine for the virus.

13 Aug 2012

CBIS initiates CS-TATI-1 GMP development plan

Cannabis Science (CBIS), a pioneering U.S. Biotech Company developing pharmaceutical to meet global public health challenges is pleased to announce the initiation of GMP development plan for CS-TATI-1 with the initial production of CS-TATI-1 to be performed in Colorado under C-GMP conditions evaluated by the FDA for initial human studies to treat HIV associated Kaposi Sarcoma.

13 Aug 2012

Fluorescent molecules 'tag' DNA and monitor looping process

In a new study, UT Dallas researchers outline how they used fluorescent molecules to "tag" DNA and monitor a process called DNA looping, a natural biological mechanism involved in rearranging genetic material in some types of cells.

13 Aug 2012

Wound dressing containing ionic silver capable of killing multidrug-resistant organisms

ConvaTec, a world-leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies for community and hospital care, today announced in vitro study results showing that a wound dressing containing ionic silver is able to kill several strains of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), commonly referred to as 'superbugs.' The study results were published in the August issue of the International Wound Journal.

13 Aug 2012

NIH awards ADi Phase II SBIR grant to scan Plasmodium falciparum proteome for protective antigens

Antigen Discovery, Inc. today announced that it has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation and Research award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. The three-year award, totaling approximately $ 2.5 million, is a continuation of a Phase I SBIR grant to scan the Plasmodium falciparum proteome for protective antigens.

13 Aug 2012

Orally effective FluCide anti-influenza drug candidate

NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that an anti-influenza drug candidate under its FluCide program is effective when given orally. The Company has received information that a FluCide drug candidate designed for oral administration has shown very strong efficacy in corresponding animal studies.

13 Aug 2012

Scientists discover new class of polymers that are resistant to bacterial attachment

Using state-of-the-art technology scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new class of polymers that are resistant to bacterial attachment. These new materials could lead to a significant reduction in hospital infections and medical device failures.

13 Aug 2012

New 3-D view of the body's response to infection

A new 3-D view of the body's response to infection - and the ability to identify proteins involved in the response - could point to novel biomarkers and therapeutic agents for infectious diseases.

13 Aug 2012

Insight into ubiquitin system

A faulty gene linked to a rare blood vessel disorder has led investigators to discover a mechanism involved in determining the fate of possibly thousands of proteins working inside cells.

13 Aug 2012

Reducing copper in the body delays onset of prion disease

Many of us are familiar with prion disease from its most startling and unusual incarnations-the outbreaks of "mad cow" disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) that created a crisis in the global beef industry. Or the strange story of Kuru, a fatal illness affecting a tribe in Papua New Guinea known for its cannibalism. Both are forms of prion disease, caused by the abnormal folding of a protein and resulting in progressive neurodegeneration and death.

13 Aug 2012