Disease/Infection News

RSS

Periodontal treatment may decrease medical care costs for people with diabetes

Medical costs are lower for people with diabetes who receive treatment for gum disease, according to a study presented today to the American Association for Dental Research by Dr. Marjorie Jeffcoat of the University of Pennsylvania.

26 Mar 2012

Researchers perform first scientific evaluation of high-fluoride toothpaste

Do you really want to avoid cavities in your teeth? Try massaging them with a high-fluoride toothpaste after lunch. "Rubbing toothpaste onto your teeth increases the fluoride protection by 400%," says Anna Nordström, dentist, PhD and researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

26 Mar 2012

Bacteriophages can tackle drug-resistant bacterial infections

Viruses that can target and destroy bacteria have the potential to be an effective strategy for tackling hard-to-treat bacterial infections. The development of such novel therapies is being accelerated in response to growing antibiotic resistance, says Dr David Harper at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin.

26 Mar 2012

S. gordonii may trigger infective endocarditis

Oral bacteria that escape into the bloodstream are able to cause blood clots and trigger life-threatening endocarditis. Further research could lead to new drugs to tackle infective heart disease, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin this week.

26 Mar 2012

GenVec announces data from respiratory syncytial virus vaccine program

GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNVC) announced today that data were presented on GenVec's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program at the "Keystone Symposium on Viral Immunity and Host Gene Influence", which is taking place in Keystone, Colorado from March 21-26, 2012.

26 Mar 2012

Researchers identify gene that influences how we respond to flu infection

A genetic finding could help explain why influenza becomes a life-threating disease to some people while it has only mild effects in others. New research led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has identified for the first time a human gene that influences how we respond to influenza infection.

26 Mar 2012

Researchers pinpoint new mechanism that potently activates T-cells in leprosy

UCLA researchers pinpointed a new mechanism that potently activates T-cells, the group of white blood cells that play a major role in fighting infections.

26 Mar 2012

New method to easily identify cause of rare diseases

Sanford Health Children's Research Center researcher, Kyle Roux, PhD, has revealed a new method of research that will allow the cause of disease—particularly rare diseases—to become more easily identified.

23 Mar 2012

Polio eradication must be achieved or world risks rise in number of cases

In this BMJ Group blogs post, Richard Smith, editor of the BMJ until 2004 and director of the United Health Group's chronic disease initiative, examines whether efforts to eradicate polio can be successful.

23 Mar 2012

Swazi, South African activists march to U.S. consulate in Johannesburg to call for emergency Global Fund meeting

"Almost a thousand Swazi and South African HIV activists marched to the United States consulate in Johannesburg on [Thursday] to demand that the U.S. continue supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, and safeguard funding of its President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)," PlusNews reports.

23 Mar 2012

U.N. SG calls for 'global solidarity' in fight against TB

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday during a visit to the Institute of Respiratory Medicine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, "urged countries to step up their efforts to prevent tuberculosis (TB)" and "called for 'intensified global solidarity to ensure that the children and people of all the countries get medical support, so that they can breathe with health,'" the U.N. News Centre reports.

23 Mar 2012

Bringing together NTD and WASH sectors of public health

In this post in the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog, Stephanie Ogden -- a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and neglected tropical disease (NTD) consultant with Emory's Center for Global Safe Water, Children Without Worms, and the International Trachoma Initiative -- writes about a partnership among these organizations.

23 Mar 2012

Blog posts comment on World TB Day

Several blog posts recently commented on the upcoming World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, commemorated on March 24. "Despite a clear legislative mandate, the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI) has consistently failed to live up to the goals of" the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria Reauthorization Act, passed by Congress in 2008, John Fawcett, legislative director for RESULTS, writes in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

23 Mar 2012

Lancet editorial calls for TB control, elimination efforts to be on G20 agenda

In anticipation of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, commemorated on March 24, this Lancet editorial examines TB control and elimination efforts in 2012 and beyond. "Tuberculosis killed 1.45 million people in 2010 and about 500,000 people have drug-resistant disease," the editorial states, adding, "Despite a woeful funding gap in 2012 of $1.7 billion, tuberculosis incidence is falling (from 9.4 million in 2009 to 8.8 million in 2010)."

23 Mar 2012

NGOs release joint statement calling for governments to increase payments to Global Fund to fill gap in TB funding

Ahead of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24, three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) released a joint statement warning that "[a] $1.7 billion funding shortfall to fight [TB] over the next five years means 3.4 million patients will go untreated and gains made against the disease will be reversed," Reuters reports.

23 Mar 2012

MSF warns MDR-TB is more widespread than previously thought

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) -- "a form of tuberculosis that does not respond to standard treatment and can kill in a matter of months" -- "is much greater than previously thought," VOA News reports.

23 Mar 2012

Investigators identify proteins that may indicate fetus at risk for UTI-induced prematurity

Investigators in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a mouse model in which a mother's urinary tract infection negatively affects the offspring, an occurrence anecdotally observed in humans. Using this first-of-its-kind model, they have identified proteins in the blood that may indicate whether such an infection might stunt fetal growth.

23 Mar 2012

UC Riverside to study molecular basis of hormonal regulation of mosquito reproduction

Female mosquitoes require energy for their egg development, which they acquire from vertebrate blood. But by sucking on blood, they become vectors of numerous disease pathogens of human and domestic animals. If the mechanisms that govern their egg production are better understood, novel approaches to controlling the reproduction and population of mosquitoes can be devised.

23 Mar 2012

Human Immunity to Tuberculosis conference to take place from April 13-14

Leading international experts in tuberculosis and related diseases from at least 10 countries will gather at a Human Immunity to Tuberculosis conference April 13-14 in Atlanta. The meeting will take place at the Emory Conference Center, 1615 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30329.

23 Mar 2012

U.N.-backed campaign aims to vaccinate 111M children in 20 countries against polio over 4 days

"Some 111.1 million children below the age of five are to be vaccinated against polio in a synchronized campaign covering 20 countries in West and Central Africa starting on Friday," the WHO and UNICEF said in a joint statement on Wednesday, PANA reports.

23 Mar 2012