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Senate Appropriations Subcommittee approves FY13 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs on Tuesday approved a $52.1 billion FY 2013 spending bill for state and foreign operations, The Hill's "Global Affairs" blog reports.

24 May 2012

Chronic diseases, bloodstream infections on the rise among HIV+ ICU patients

The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive (HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University.

24 May 2012

PTH boosts AMPs to fend off infection-causing microbes

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate.

24 May 2012

No link between viral infections during infancy and wheezing in childhood

The number of viral infections during infancy is not associated with wheezing later in childhood, according to a new study from researchers in the Netherlands. While viral illnesses with wheezing in infancy predicted wheezing later in childhood, this association was due in part to decreased neonatal lung function.

24 May 2012

Study shows prevalence of drug-resistant HIV strains in Uganda rising, among highest in sub-Saharan Africa

"The prevalence of drug-resistant HIV strains in Uganda has risen from 8.6 percent to 12 percent in the last five years, one of the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent study," PlusNews reports.

24 May 2012

Many women not screened for gonorrhea and chlamydia infection during pregnancy

Many women are not screened for chlamydia and gonorrhea infection during their pregnancy, and follow-up testing is not always performed as medically recommended for those who test positive for chlamydia, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

From Quest Diagnostics 24 May 2012

Acne pills can cause eye infections

Millions of teenagers suffer from acne, and they deal with the embarrassing skin blemishes by taking popular prescription medications such as Accutane or Roaccutane. Now, however, research from Tel Aviv University shows that these pills can also cause eye infections such as conjunctivitis (pink eye) or sties.

24 May 2012

USPTO issues patent to MicuRx’s MRX-I antibacterial agent

MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation antibiotics, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a composition of matter patent covering its clinical candidate, MRX-I. MRX-I is a novel antibacterial oxazolidinone that targets infections due to multi-drug resistant Gram-positive pathogens.

23 May 2012

Severe hypersensitivity reactions to anti-HIV drug occur through autoimmune mechanism

Potentially severe hypersensitivity reactions to the anti-HIV drug abacavir occur through an autoimmune mechanism, resulting from the creation of drug-induced immunogens that are attacked by the body's immune system, according to a study published online by the journal AIDS, official journal of the International AIDS Society.

23 May 2012

Few new chemicals are in development for malaria vector control

"This issue has been building for some time. It is really no surprise as insects have become resistant to nearly all insecticides given time and selection pressure. Few new chemicals are in development for malaria vector control, because there is little profit to be made by the poorest of the world's poor — who feel the brunt of the malaria burden.

23 May 2012

Proper care of diabetic foot infections can save limbs, lives

Diabetic foot infections are an increasingly common problem, but proper care can save limbs and, ultimately, lives, suggest new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

23 May 2012

Scientists determine genetic sequences of all 12 vancomycin-resistant staph strains

National Institutes of Health-funded scientists have determined the genetic sequences of all 12 available strains of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria resistant to vancomycin-an antibiotic of last resort-and have demonstrated that resistance arose independently in each strain after it acquired a specific bit of genetic material called transposon Tn1546

23 May 2012

Mimotopes can help develop new diagnostic tests for sleeping sickness

Each year many thousands of Africans contract sleeping sickness. The cause is a unicellular parasite, a trypanosome, which is transmitted by the bite of tsetse flies. First the parasite multiplies in blood and lymph, while evading the human immune system. It then lodges in organs like heart and kidneys and finally in the brain. Patients become disoriented, their sleeping pattern disintegrates and they get motor and mental problems.

23 May 2012

Scientists trace origin and development of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus

National Institutes of Health-funded scientists have determined the genome sequences of a dozen strains of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria known to be resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic of last resort. The researchers demonstrated -that resistance arose independently in each strain, and identified shared features among the strains that may have helped them acquire vancomycin resistance and evade human immune defenses.

23 May 2012

HVTN opens enrollment in GeoVax’s GM-CSF adjuvanted vaccine Phase 1 trial for HIV

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based biopharmaceutical firm developing vaccines to prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, today announced that the NIH-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) has opened enrollment for a Phase 1 trial for the company's second-generation HIV vaccine.

23 May 2012

Fake, substandard malaria drugs threatening gains made in fight against disease, NIH study warns

"Low-quality and fake anti-malarial drugs flooding into markets in Asia and Africa are driving drug resistance and threatening gains made in the fight against the disease in the past decade, according to a study" conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published Monday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, Reuters reports.

23 May 2012

Researcher restructures innovative virus-tracking software

A biomedical informatics researcher who tracks dangerous viruses as they spread around the globe has restructured his innovative tracking software to promote even wider use of the program around the world.

23 May 2012

B cells in breast milk can produce HIV-neutralizing antibodies

Antibodies that help to stop the HIV virus have been found in breast milk. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center isolated the antibodies from immune cells called B cells in the breast milk of infected mothers in Malawi, and showed that the B cells in breast milk can generate neutralizing antibodies that may inhibit the virus that causes AIDS.

23 May 2012

Sarcoidosis accounts for 25% of all deaths in African-American women

A new study conducted by researchers from Boston University has found that sarcoidosis accounts for 25 percent of all deaths among women in the Black Women's Health Study who have the disease. The study is the largest epidemiologic study to date to specifically address mortality in black females with sarcoidosis.

23 May 2012

H1N1 flu vaccination during pregnancy provides unanticipated benefits to the baby

Getting a flu shot during pregnancy provides unanticipated benefits to the baby, according to the authors of a large population-based study examining the issue. Specifically, the study showed that H1N1 vaccination during the pandemic was associated with a significantly reduced risk of stillbirth, preterm birth and extremely small babies at birth.

23 May 2012