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BMJ News examines ongoing investigation of WHO's handling of H1N1

BMJ News reports on the ongoing external investigation of the WHO's handling of the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, following recent statements to the WHO's executive board meeting by review committee chairman, Harvey Fineberg.

24 Jan 2011

Also in Global Health News: Cholera death in DR; TB vaccine study; Rising food prices

"Dominican Republic on Sunday confirmed that a 53-year-old Haitian man has become the country's first death from cholera and announced the immediate start of a broad disease control and monitoring operation" around the eastern town of Higuey where he was being treated and later died, Latin American Herald Tribune reports (1/24).

24 Jan 2011

FDA accepts Optimer's fidaxomicin NDA for filing

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing the Company's New Drug Application (NDA) for fidaxomicin for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and for reducing the risk of recurrence when used for treatment of initial CDI.

24 Jan 2011

Positive interim data from ongoing V5 Phase IIb imm01 trial against tuberculosis

Immune Network, a company in the business of development and commercialization of immune therapies, announced today that its newly acquired business, Immunitor, has published interim data from the ongoing Phase IIb imm01 clinical trial of V5 in tuberculosis conducted at its second site in Ukraine.

24 Jan 2011

Research findings reveal HIV's hiding spot, new way to stop the virus

HIV adapts in a surprising way to survive and thrive in its hiding spot within the human immune system, scientists have learned. While the finding helps explain why HIV remains such a formidable foe after three decades of research - more than 30 million people worldwide are infected with HIV - it also offers scientists a new, unexpected way to try to stop the virus.

24 Jan 2011

Eliminating sugary drinks from diet can reduce tooth decay in American Indian children

A study conducted in four American Indian communities in the Pacific Northwest presents an effective strategy to convince mothers to switch young children from drinking sweetened soda to water and shows that eliminating these sugary drinks from the diets of the youngest members of the tribe significantly decreased tooth decay.

24 Jan 2011

Odontoblast cells are part of immune system, protect teeth from decay: New research

It is known that teeth can protect themselves, to some extent, from attack by bacteria but that inflammation within a tooth can be damaging and, in extreme cases, lead to abscess or death of the tooth. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Immunology shows that odontoblast cells are part of the immune system and fight to protect teeth from decay.

23 Jan 2011

Bird flu outbreak in Japan

After six birds were confirmed to have avian flu, the Miyazaki Prefectural Government has begun culling more than 10,000 chickens at a local poultry farm southwest Japan.

23 Jan 2011

AHF proposes funding solutions to current ADAP crisis

In anticipation of an additional round of cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) to be implemented in the next few months, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today proposed three possible funding solutions to the current ADAP crisis—which has left more than 5,000 people on waiting lists to receive lifesaving medications and thousands more scheduled to be disenrolled from the program altogether. Currently,

21 Jan 2011

Vibrio cholerae kills E. coli bacteria

Just over a year after the earthquake in Haiti killed 222,000 people there's a new problem that is killing Haitians. A cholera outbreak has doctors in the area scrambling and the water-borne illness has already claimed 3600 lives according to officials with M-dicin Sans Fronti-res (Doctors without Borders).

21 Jan 2011

WHO executive board meeting addresses agency's policy on counterfeit, substandard medications

According to the news service, WHO "members … raised strong concerns that a working group they mandated last May to address problems with WHO policy on counterfeit and substandard medicines has yet to be formed - with four months remaining before it must report back to members."

21 Jan 2011

Many couples misjudge partners' risk behaviors

While monogamy is often touted as a way to protect against disease, young couples who say they have discussed monogamy can't seem to agree on what they decided. And a significant percentage of those couples who at least agreed that they would be monogamous weren't.

21 Jan 2011

New research says EPO hormone can modulate immune response

New research reveals that a hormone best known for stimulating the production of red blood cells can modulate the immune response. The study, published by Cell Press in the January 27th issue of the journal Immunity, finds that erythropoietin has contrasting influences on infectious and inflammatory diseases and may be useful in the design of new therapeutic strategies.

21 Jan 2011

Scientists find ADAR1 enzyme protect against measles virus

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that a known enzyme in cells protects against measles virus, likely by altering the virus's genetic material, RNA. Cells lacking the enzyme become highly vulnerable to the virus's destructive effects. The enzyme also protects against several other respiratory viruses, including influenza A.

21 Jan 2011

BUSM receives NIH grant to explore how chronic inflammation can lead to systemic diseases

A team of researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have been awarded a five-year, $7.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to explore how chronic inflammation can lead to systemic diseases.

20 Jan 2011

Akonni introduces TruTip kit for extraction of human genomic DNA from fresh, frozen whole blood

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics company focused on providing rapid and highly scalable solutions for infectious and genetic disease testing, today announced the launch of a TruTip kit for extraction of human genomic DNA from fresh or frozen whole blood.

20 Jan 2011

Actor George Clooney contracts malaria

Oscar-winning actor George Clooney contracted malaria during a trip to Sudan earlier this month, but is now fully cured. Clooney, 49, had visited Sudan earlier and on this trip was helping draw attention to a historic referendum on independence for residents of the mainly Christian south.

20 Jan 2011

Routine rotavirus vaccine shows a significant drop in diarrhea cases: Study

A latest study has shown that the rotavirus vaccines have helped drastically reduce hospital visits around the world. Rotavirus can lead to fatal cases of diarrhea in children and causes half a million deaths in kids under five each year around the world. Developing countries are particularly at risk.

20 Jan 2011

FDA accepts Vertex's telaprevir NDA for six-month Priority Review

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the New Drug Application (NDA) for telaprevir and granted the company's request for six-month Priority Review. Telaprevir is Vertex's lead medicine in development for people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

20 Jan 2011

FDA provides tentative approval under PEPFAR for Matrix's Lamivudine and Zidovudine NDA

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its New Drug Application (NDA) for Lamivudine and Zidovudine Tablets, 30 mg/60 mg.

20 Jan 2011

Disease/Infection News

BMJ News examines ongoing investigation of WHO's handling of H1N1

Also in Global Health News: Cholera death in DR; TB vaccine study; Rising food prices

FDA accepts Optimer's fidaxomicin NDA for filing

Positive interim data from ongoing V5 Phase IIb imm01 trial against tuberculosis

Research findings reveal HIV's hiding spot, new way to stop the virus

Eliminating sugary drinks from diet can reduce tooth decay in American Indian children

Odontoblast cells are part of immune system, protect teeth from decay: New research

Bird flu outbreak in Japan

AHF proposes funding solutions to current ADAP crisis

Vibrio cholerae kills E. coli bacteria

WHO executive board meeting addresses agency's policy on counterfeit, substandard medications

Many couples misjudge partners' risk behaviors

New research says EPO hormone can modulate immune response

Scientists find ADAR1 enzyme protect against measles virus

BUSM receives NIH grant to explore how chronic inflammation can lead to systemic diseases

Akonni introduces TruTip kit for extraction of human genomic DNA from fresh, frozen whole blood

Actor George Clooney contracts malaria

Routine rotavirus vaccine shows a significant drop in diarrhea cases: Study

FDA accepts Vertex's telaprevir NDA for six-month Priority Review

FDA provides tentative approval under PEPFAR for Matrix's Lamivudine and Zidovudine NDA

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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