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Global Fund approves 79 grants with two-year commitment of $1.7B

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Board of Directors on Wednesday approved 79 grants with a two-year commitment of "$1.7 billion dollars for projects against the diseases, amid warnings that some hard-hit African countries were being left out," Agence France-Presse reports. The commitment, according to Ethiopian Health Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who chairs the Global Fund's board, "shows that even in hard economic times, we can continue to expand the fight against the three diseases" (12/15).

17 Dec 2010

U.S., South Africa sign PEPFAR partnership agreement

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Tuesday signed a "partnership agreement that will guide efforts on fighting HIV/AIDS in the African nation," Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports (Wessels, 12/15).

17 Dec 2010

Anacor Pharmaceuticals initiates AN2690 phase 3 program for onychomycosis fungal infection

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that enrollment has been initiated and the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 3 program of AN2690, a topical antifungal product candidate for the treatment of onychomycosis.

16 Dec 2010

HIV patient cured!

German researchers working with stem cell therapy have claimed they have cured an American patient with HIV and leukemia. Experts are wary of accepting the development at its face value and caution that there is a need for further research. Dr David Scadden, a co-director of the Harvard University Stem Cell Institute added, “Cured is a strong word. But this is very encouraging… from all indications, there was no residual virus… It’s as good an outcome as one could hope for.”

16 Dec 2010

Unclean vehicle cabin air filters more dangerous to children

Though air pollution is still a serious threat to public health, it appears to be even more so to the health of our children, recent studies show. Outdoors, indoors, and even while being driven with the windows rolled up, children are potentially more susceptible to the ill effects of pollution than adults.

16 Dec 2010

Adeona expands and enhances zinc-based product candidate portfolio

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer of innovative medicines for serious central nervous system diseases, announced today that it has acquired access to clinical data supporting a zinc-based therapy for the prevention of infections in the elderly. This acquisition expands and enhances Adeona's zinc-based product candidate portfolio that already includes its proprietary zinc-based tablets for use in the dietary management of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment patients, and age-related macular degeneration.

16 Dec 2010

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

Disease/Infection News

Global Fund approves 79 grants with two-year commitment of $1.7B

U.S., South Africa sign PEPFAR partnership agreement

Anacor Pharmaceuticals initiates AN2690 phase 3 program for onychomycosis fungal infection

HIV patient cured!

Unclean vehicle cabin air filters more dangerous to children

Adeona expands and enhances zinc-based product candidate portfolio

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

Neuroscientist explains how to use hoppocampus to reduce risk of dementia

Study finds occurrence of infection following surgical procedures

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

New finding sheds light on how HIV eludes treatment by mutating

Study confirms Carrageenan as effective antiviral against H1N1 influenza strain

New nanotechnology based technique to detect pneumonia within minutes

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

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

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

Researchers introduce new class of drugs for HCV patients

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

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

Sniffer rats detect TB more accurately than traditional microscopic analysis

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

Exploring electron microscopy for plant and microbial imaging at the John Innes Centre

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