Disease/Infection News

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WHO report shows significant progress in global malaria fight, highlights need for continued funding

Since 2008, global malaria control efforts have "helped reduce infections across Africa and [eliminate] the disease in Morocco and Turkmenistan, but a slowdown in funding risks undoing those achievements," according to the WHO's annual malaria report, which was released on Tuesday, Reuters reports (Nebehay, 12/14).

16 Dec 2010

Neuroscientist explains how to use hoppocampus to reduce risk of dementia

Véronique Bohbot, PhD., neuroscientist at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and associate professor at McGill University, leads studies on navigational strategies. She presented her findings at the recent meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, which could bring light into how we can make better use of our hippocampus in order to reduce the risk of dementia.

16 Dec 2010

Study finds occurrence of infection following surgical procedures

Delaying elective surgical procedures after a patient has been admitted to the hospital significantly increases the risk of infectious complications and raises hospital costs, according to the results of a new study in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

16 Dec 2010

New study says celiac disease patients should go on gluten-free diet

Findings from a new study of 141 adults add to an ongoing medical debate over which patients with symptoms of celiac disease should go on a gluten-free diet. Published in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, the study concludes that people currently diagnosed as "potential" celiac disease patients and not advised to follow a gluten-free diet may not be "potential" patients at all. Rather, the scientists found that these patients have the same distinctive metabolic fingerprint as patients with full-blown disease who do benefit from gluten-free diets.

16 Dec 2010

New finding sheds light on how HIV eludes treatment by mutating

The virus that causes AIDS is chameleon-like in its replication. As HIV copies itself in humans, it constantly mutates into forms that can evade even the best cocktail of current therapies. Understanding exactly how HIV cells change as they reproduce is key to developing better tests and treatments for patients.

16 Dec 2010

Study confirms Carrageenan as effective antiviral against H1N1 influenza strain

Carrageenan, is a polymer derived from red seaweed which helps to create a protective physical barrier in the nasal cavity and has proven to be an effective antiviral in the treatment of the common cold.

16 Dec 2010

New nanotechnology based technique to detect pneumonia within minutes

University of Georgia researchers have developed a technique that can diagnose a common type of pneumonia within minutes, potentially replacing existing tests that can take several days for results.

15 Dec 2010

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Long considered a freewheeling loner, the Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness has revealed a totally unexpected social side, opening a potential chink in the behavioral armor of this and other supposedly solitary human parasites, according to research presented at the American Society for Cell Biology's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

15 Dec 2010

Profectus' GENEVAX IL-12 pDNA adjuvant improves vaccine-induced response rate in Phase I HIV study

Profectus Biosciences, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers, announced today that its GENEVAX™ IL-12 pDNA adjuvant has significantly improved the vaccine-induced response rate in a Phase I clinical study of an experimental DNA vaccine for the prevention of HIV infection.

15 Dec 2010

Global Fund to draw up action plan against drug theft, invites stakeholders to participate

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Friday appealed to international donors to join them in an effort to fight medicine theft, SAPA/News24 reports.

15 Dec 2010

Researchers introduce new class of drugs for HCV patients

To improve the care for individuals infected with the hepatitis C virus, a major health problem and a leading cause of chronic liver disease around the world, nearly 200 international hepatitis experts have taken an important step in escalating the introduction of a new class of targeted therapies for HCV – direct-acting antivirals.

15 Dec 2010

Plasma technology safe, effective alternative to antibiotics to treat multi-drug resistant infections

Cold plasma jets could be a safe, effective alternative to antibiotics to treat multi-drug resistant infections, says a study published this week in the January issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

15 Dec 2010

New device gathers reliable data about risky sexual behavior among Ethiopian teenagers

Brown University sociologists have developed a device to gather more reliable data about risky sexual behavior among Ethiopian teenagers and young adults than conventional face-to-face interviews can produce.

15 Dec 2010

Sniffer rats detect TB more accurately than traditional microscopic analysis

Trained giant African rats increased positive TB detection rates by 44 percent over microscopy, the most commonly-used technique for diagnosing TB, according to a new study released in the December issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

15 Dec 2010

Reuters looks at cost-effectiveness of pursuing malaria vaccine, eradication

Reuters examines the effort to create an effective malaria vaccine and asks: "[I]s the vaccine - and the global health community's aim of completely eradicating a disease that kills a child every 45 seconds - really worth the money?"

15 Dec 2010

Leeds scientists develop new vaccine to eliminate polio disease

Scientists at the University of Leeds are joining the global fight to eradicate polio by developing a new type of vaccine that can trick the body to develop immunity against the disease.

15 Dec 2010

Unique device eliminates cold and flu germs in eco-friendly way

Bresslergroup, an award-winning new product development firm, has designed a unique device that allows a person to easily disinfect an entire room without labor or hazardous chemicals.

15 Dec 2010

Flu vaccination during pregnancy prevents infant hospitalization

A three-year study by Yale School of Medicine researchers has found that vaccinating pregnant women against influenza is over 90 percent effective in preventing their infants from being hospitalized with influenza in the first six months of life.

15 Dec 2010

MVI, Merck and NYU collaborate to research potential malaria vaccine

Development of a vaccine to prevent the malaria parasite from entering the human liver is the goal of a new collaboration announced today by global leaders in malaria research and vaccine development. The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), Merck (known outside the US and Canada as MSD), and NYU Langone Medical Center are working together to evaluate an approach targeting a novel part of a major surface protein on the malaria parasite. Malaria is estimated to kill close to 900,000 people each year with the majority of deaths occurring in children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.

14 Dec 2010

Program reduces cervical cancer deaths among HIV-infected women in Zambia

A new study undertaken in Zambia shows that, using setting-appropriate human resources and technology, morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer among HIV-infected women can be reduced. The study’s lead author is Dr Groesbeck Parham, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Program. The research was published in the December issue of HIV Therapy.

14 Dec 2010