Disease/Infection News

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Injection drug use contributes to transmission of syphilis

A binational team of researchers led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that active syphilis infections are significantly greater in female sex workers who inject drugs and share needles than those who don't. The findings suggest that injection drug use may play as big a role as risky sexual behavior in the transmission of syphilis. It may also exacerbate the spread of both HIV and syphilis, as syphilis is frequently a co-factor for HIV infection.

29 Apr 2010

New theory on muscle and bone diseases

Traditionally, doctors and clinicians thought diseases that affect muscles or bones affected those areas specifically. For example, bone diseases only affect bones, or muscle diseases only concerned muscles. But recent evidence supports the notion that bones and muscles are more interconnected than previously thought.

29 Apr 2010

CD8+T cells may aid in developing AIDS vaccine: New Journal of Physics

Limited success in modelling the behaviour of the complex, unusual and unpredictable HIV virus has slowed efforts to develop an effective vaccine to prevent AIDS.

29 Apr 2010

Cambodia closes 64.9 percent of illegal pharmacies

In a major crackdown, Cambodia has forced nearly 65 percent of illegal pharmacies operating in the country to close within the past five months. Led by an Inter-Ministerial Committee to Fight against Counterfeit & Substandard Medicines (IMC), the shops were targeted because of evidence that they were among the primary sources of substandard and counterfeit medicines in the country.

29 Apr 2010

Tulane University researchers urge action to eliminate malaria from Hispaniola

In an editorial in the May 2010 issue of the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Tulane University malaria researchers urge action to eliminate malaria from Hispaniola, the last island in the Caribbean where the disease occurs regularly.

29 Apr 2010

Study examines lifestyle-related causes of death in AIDS patients

The study, by researchers from the University of Bristol and a large group of international collaborators, examined data from the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration (ART-CC) which involved nearly 40,000 patients who started ART between 1996 and 2006 in Europe and North America.

29 Apr 2010

Presence and type of cirrhosis complications are strong predictors of mortality: Study

A recent study by Danish researchers discovered patients with alcoholic cirrhosis had a high prevalence of complications at the time of the disease diagnosis.

29 Apr 2010

Multicenter NIH trial finds combination antibiotics effective against Chlamydia-induced reactive arthritis

Combination antibiotics effectively treat Chlamydia-induced reactive arthritis - a major step toward management, and possibly cure, of this disease, a federal multicenter clinical trial led by the University of South Florida College of Medicine found.

29 Apr 2010

China lifts decades-old HIV/AIDS travel ban

Late Tuesday, China's State Council lifted a decades-old restriction that banned foreigners with HIV/AIDS from entering the country, Reuters reports (Buckley, 4/27). The amended rules, which appear on the government website, also lift a travel ban on foreigners with other sexually transmitted diseases and leprosy, and "narrow the travel restriction on people with tuberculosis, to those with an infectious form of the lung disease," according to Bloomberg Businessweek (Randall, 4/28).

29 Apr 2010

Report: Conditions in Zambian prisons fueling spread of HIV, TB

"Conditions in Zambia's prisons are so overcrowded and medical care so inadequate that they are breeding grounds for disease and pose a serious threat to public health, says a new report by Human Rights Watch, produced in association with the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa and the Prisons Care and Counselling Association," BMJ News reports.

29 Apr 2010

Seasonal flu shots: Are they responsible for the adverse reactions? Investigations on

After the seasonal flu vaccines caused over 250 cases of fever, vomiting and convulsions and one reported death in under-fives there has been intense investigations to detect the cause. Further vaccinations were stopped last Friday.

28 Apr 2010

Scientists discover human DNA that act as a traitor to body's defences

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have discovered that stretches of human DNA act as a traitor to the body's defences by helping viruses infect people and trigger cancer-causing diseases, according to a study published in Nature Cell Biology today.

28 Apr 2010

Stalk structure of Mx protein restrains components of influenza virus in infected cells

When the human body becomes infected with new influenza viruses, the immune system rapidly activates an inborn protective mechanism to inhibit the intruding pathogen. A protein known as Mx plays an important role in this process, keeping the spread of viruses in check. Exactly how Mx accomplishes this task was previously unknown.

28 Apr 2010

Study evaluates cost benefits of new interventions for treating, preventing PDN and PHN

Constantly rising U.S. health care costs could be reduced significantly by preventing and treating neuropathic pain conditions associated with diabetes and herpes zoster virus infections, according to research published in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org and jpain.org.

28 Apr 2010

AHF applauds Merck for doubling Isentress discount rebates and freezing price for ADAPs

Following an innovative, years long advocacy campaign spearheaded by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) that targeted Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing of its AIDS drug Isentress—one of the most expensive first line AIDS therapies on the US market today—officials from AHF lauded Merck today for significant concessions that the drug giant is putting in place on its pricing and rebate policies for the nation's AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP), the federally funded, state run programs that supply lifesaving AIDS drugs to low-income Americans in need.

28 Apr 2010

BiondVax announces successful conclusion of second Phase I/II trial of Multimeric-001 Universal Flu Vaccine

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd., an Israeli biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of global efforts towards the development of a Universal Influenza Vaccine, announced the successful conclusion of the Company's second Phase I/II clinical trial of the Multimeric-001 Universal Influenza Vaccine.

28 Apr 2010

Causes of death in AIDS patients

New research shows that Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) continues to dramatically reduce rates of mortality from HIV infection in high-income countries, such that non-AIDS-related deaths exceed AIDS deaths after approximately four years of taking ART.

28 Apr 2010

State Round-up: Federal prosecutors investigate bid rigging at New York hospitals; Montana prepares for health reform implementation; and Florida spares Medicaid from budget cuts

The Wall Street Journal: "Federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that bid rigging and fraud at Mount Sinai Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital resulted in the hospitals awarding contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to outside contractors. Purchasing officials at the hospitals ... are alleged to have gotten more than a million dollars in payments from companies that were then given lucrative contracts to perform work such as re-insulating pipes and removing asbestos, according to documents filed in the Southern District of New York.

28 Apr 2010

Researchers develop new diagnostic approach to fight against Chagas disease

Chagas disease is one of the most deadly parasitic diseases in the world. It affects more than 10 million people, primarily in the Americas. In South America alone it kills 50 000 people each year. A reliable and rapid diagnosis is the key in the battle against infection but until now, this has been next to impossible.

28 Apr 2010

Trade negotiations between EU, India could affect access to low-cost generics

The Associated Press examines the ongoing free-trade negotiations between the EU and India - a country that according to PricewaterhouseCoopers currently "makes one-fifth of the world's generics." The negotiations "could make it harder for millions … across the developing world to get lifesaving drugs. The deal is taking shape as India tries to transform itself from a generics powerhouse into a base for drug discovery - a trend that could ultimately do more than any trade agreement to curtail its reign as a pharmacy to the poor."

28 Apr 2010

Disease/Infection News

Injection drug use contributes to transmission of syphilis

New theory on muscle and bone diseases

CD8+T cells may aid in developing AIDS vaccine: New Journal of Physics

Cambodia closes 64.9 percent of illegal pharmacies

Tulane University researchers urge action to eliminate malaria from Hispaniola

Study examines lifestyle-related causes of death in AIDS patients

Presence and type of cirrhosis complications are strong predictors of mortality: Study

Multicenter NIH trial finds combination antibiotics effective against Chlamydia-induced reactive arthritis

China lifts decades-old HIV/AIDS travel ban

Report: Conditions in Zambian prisons fueling spread of HIV, TB

Seasonal flu shots: Are they responsible for the adverse reactions? Investigations on

Scientists discover human DNA that act as a traitor to body's defences

Stalk structure of Mx protein restrains components of influenza virus in infected cells

Study evaluates cost benefits of new interventions for treating, preventing PDN and PHN

AHF applauds Merck for doubling Isentress discount rebates and freezing price for ADAPs

BiondVax announces successful conclusion of second Phase I/II trial of Multimeric-001 Universal Flu Vaccine

Causes of death in AIDS patients

State Round-up: Federal prosecutors investigate bid rigging at New York hospitals; Montana prepares for health reform implementation; and Florida spares Medicaid from budget cuts

Researchers develop new diagnostic approach to fight against Chagas disease

Trade negotiations between EU, India could affect access to low-cost generics

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

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