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FDA grants Premarket Approval for Roche Diagnostics' Elecsys Antibody to hepatitis C virus assay

Roche Diagnostics announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Premarket Approval for its Elecsys Antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) assay. The Elecsys Anti-HCV assay is an in-vitro diagnostic test for the qualitative detection of total antibodies to hepatitis C virus in human serum or plasma.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 28 May 2010

Small molecule ramps up interferon production in host cells, launching potent immune response

Many disease-causing microbes carry pumps that expel antibiotics, making the bugs hard to kill with standard drugs. Ironically, these same pumps could be the bugs' Achilles heel.

28 May 2010

Progenics presents preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by C. difficile

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). The monoclonal antibodies effectively neutralized the cell-killing activities of the toxins in vitro and significantly improved survival in a stringent animal model of C. difficile infection. C. difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in the United States and represents a growing global public health challenge.

28 May 2010

E. coli O157:H7 is rare in some wildlife species of California's Central Coast region: Researchers

The disease-causing bacterium E. coli O157:H7 is present but rare in some wildlife species of California's agriculturally rich Central Coast region, an area often referred to as the nation's "salad bowl," reports a team or researchers led by a UC Davis scientist.

28 May 2010

MSF report warns of effects of international donor 'backtracking' in global fight against HIV/AIDS

"Backtracking by international donors in funding for HIV/AIDS may undermine years of progress and is already putting lives at risk," according to a report released Thursday by Medecins Sans Frontieres, Reuters reports (Kelland, 5/27).

28 May 2010

ART associated with reduced risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners, study shows

Research published in the Lancet online Thursday "provides the strongest evidence to date" that antiretroviral therapy might also be used to prevent transmission of HIV, Agence France-Presse reports. The observational study found that treating HIV-positive patients with ART reduced the risk of HIV transmission to their sexual partners by 92 percent (5/26).

28 May 2010

Research finding may offer future alternative to antibiotics

A team of scientists from government, academia and private industry has developed a novel treatment that protects mice from infection with the bacterium that causes tularemia, a highly infectious disease of rodents, sometimes transmitted to people, and also known as rabbit fever. In additional experiments with human immune cells, the treatment also demonstrated protection against three other types of disease-causing bacteria that, like the tularemia bacteria, occur naturally, can be highly virulent, and are considered possible agents of bioterrorism.

28 May 2010

ARCA receives approval to begin enrollment of first therapeutic trial with GeoVax vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines, announced today The AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta has received approval to begin enrollment of the first therapeutic trial ever conducted using a promising HIV vaccine candidate from GeoVax, Inc.

28 May 2010

HIV positive acrobat may have affected hundreds nationwide

HIV infected acrobat, 32 year old Godfrey Zaburoni allegedly infected hundreds of women all over Australia and a special task force will help track down all of these women.

27 May 2010

Use of lubricants with anal sex associated with increased risk of rectal sexually transmitted infections

The risk of acquiring HIV through unprotected anal sex is at least 20 times greater than with unprotected vaginal sex and increases if other infections are already present in the rectal lining. Could the use of lubricants - at least certain kinds - be another risk factor among men and women who engage in receptive anal intercourse? Two studies presented today at the International Microbicides Conference in Pittsburgh, suggest the answer is yes.

27 May 2010

Study of GCF advances efforts to develop early test for gum disease

A little-known fluid produced in tiny amounts in the gums, those tough pink tissues that hold the teeth in place, has become a hot topic for scientists trying to develop an early, non-invasive test for gum disease, the No. 1 cause of tooth loss in adults. It's not saliva, a quart of which people produce each day, but gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), produced at the rate of millionths of a quart per tooth. The study, the most comprehensive analysis of GCF to date, appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research.

27 May 2010

Physicians diagnose rare parasitic infection in people who consumed raw crayfish

If you're headed to a freshwater stream this summer and a friend dares you to eat a raw crayfish - don't do it. You could end up in the hospital with a severe parasitic infection.

27 May 2010

Infants born with complex congenital heart disease also at risk for life-threatening gastrointestinal diseases

Infants born with complex congenital heart disease are not only at risk for serious heart-related complications, but also for developing a deadly bowel disease, regardless of the type of surgical intervention they receive for their heart. These are the findings from a study by Nationwide Children's Hospital, and appearing in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine published online May 6 ahead of print.

27 May 2010

Fear of H1N1 appears to be the driving factor behind adoption of preventive behaviors: Study

Fear of the H1N1 virus appears to be the driving factor behind the adoption of preventive behaviors, according to a study published in the June issue of AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

27 May 2010

KPBS examines microbicide research as M2010 concludes

KPBS reports on researchers' efforts to develop novel methods to protect women from HIV infection that have been examined at the International Microbicides Conference (M2010) in Pittsburgh this week. In sub-Saharan Africa, one of the region's hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, "six out of ten adults living with the virus are women," KPBS writes.

27 May 2010

Space Shuttle Atlantis returns from International Space Station with tenth scientific payload for Astrogenetix

Space Shuttle Atlantis returned from the International Space Station (ISS) landing at the Kennedy Space Center this morning with the tenth scientific payload for Astrogenetix, a commercial biotech company based out of Austin, Texas. Astrogenetix is conducting research on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as part of the ISS National Laboratory Pathfinder Vaccine (NLP-V) missions.

27 May 2010

Restanza shows greater efficacy against species of Plasmodium that cause malaria

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced positive results from in vitro and in vivo studies assessing the efficacy of Restanza (cethromycin), its novel oral antibiotic, against the species of Plasmodium that cause malaria.

27 May 2010

Experimental Hendra virus treatment offered to mother and daughter

After recent reports of a horse being put down for being infected with the deadly Hendra virus, new reports of an experimental treatment have surfaced. At Queensland's Sunshine Coast a mother and daughter duo, Rebecca Day and her 12 year old girl Mollie, who had been exposed to the virus, have been offered the experimental treatment.

27 May 2010

A step closer to a universal influenza virus vaccine

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a new influenza vaccine that brings science one step closer to a universal influenza vaccine that would eliminate the need for seasonal flu shots. The new findings can be found in the inaugural issue of mBio-, the first online, open-access journal published by the American Society for Microbiology.

26 May 2010

Presidio Pharmaceuticals to advance PPI-1301 inhibitor from HCV NS5A program into clinical development

Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that they have selected a second clinical candidate, PPI-1301, from their hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5A program for advancement into clinical development. Presidio's first NS5A inhibitor, PPI-461, is currently undergoing evaluation in a Phase 1a clinical study.

26 May 2010

Disease/Infection News

FDA grants Premarket Approval for Roche Diagnostics' Elecsys Antibody to hepatitis C virus assay

Small molecule ramps up interferon production in host cells, launching potent immune response

Progenics presents preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by C. difficile

E. coli O157:H7 is rare in some wildlife species of California's Central Coast region: Researchers

MSF report warns of effects of international donor 'backtracking' in global fight against HIV/AIDS

ART associated with reduced risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners, study shows

Research finding may offer future alternative to antibiotics

ARCA receives approval to begin enrollment of first therapeutic trial with GeoVax vaccine

HIV positive acrobat may have affected hundreds nationwide

Use of lubricants with anal sex associated with increased risk of rectal sexually transmitted infections

Study of GCF advances efforts to develop early test for gum disease

Physicians diagnose rare parasitic infection in people who consumed raw crayfish

Infants born with complex congenital heart disease also at risk for life-threatening gastrointestinal diseases

Fear of H1N1 appears to be the driving factor behind adoption of preventive behaviors: Study

KPBS examines microbicide research as M2010 concludes

Space Shuttle Atlantis returns from International Space Station with tenth scientific payload for Astrogenetix

Restanza shows greater efficacy against species of Plasmodium that cause malaria

Experimental Hendra virus treatment offered to mother and daughter

A step closer to a universal influenza virus vaccine

Presidio Pharmaceuticals to advance PPI-1301 inhibitor from HCV NS5A program into clinical development

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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