Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

FDA says beware of glycerin imported from China

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has issued a warning to drug manufacturers, suppliers and health professionals that counterfeit drug additives have been using diethyline glycol, or DEG as a substitute for glycerin in cough medicine, fever medication and injectable drugs.

7 May 2007

Face masks offer little protection from bird flu

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the mass wearing of surgical face masks would do little to reduce the rate of infection in the event of an influenza pandemic.

7 May 2007

Mumps makes a comeback Canada

Health officials in Canada are concerned about an outbreak of mumps which appears to be spreading.

7 May 2007

US control strategies may make flu epidemics worse

Regular as clockwork, the flu arrives every year. And, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population on average will come down with it. About 36,000 people will die.

4 May 2007

Nanoparticles for 'on-the-spot' virus detector

Chemical engineers from the University at Buffalo have collaborated with scientists from other institutions to solve a critical bottleneck in the transport and capture of virus nanoparticles, making possible a device that could rapidly sample and detect infectious biological agents, such as viruses.

4 May 2007

Study shows effectiveness of Peramivir in mouse model of H5N1 virus infection

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has announced that investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, reported favorable results evaluating peramivir treatment in an animal model of influenza using a highly virulent strain of H5N1 virus (an avian influenza strain that had caused fatal human infection in Viet Nam).

4 May 2007

Single gene is responsible for most cool temperature sensation

The discovery, reported in the May 3 issue of the journal Neuron, might one day lead to the development of drugs that induce cold sensation as an analgesic, or block it to prevent certain forms of chronic pain associated with cold sensation.

4 May 2007

Machine preservation may promote more organ sharing

Preserving the kidneys of deceased older donors on a pump, as opposed to the conventional method of storing and transporting organs in a cooler, may lower hospital costs, improve initial organ function, and promote greater use and more sharing of organs, according to new research by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

4 May 2007

LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals presents data showing that immunization with their influenza H1N1-VLP formulation resulted in 100% protection from H1N1 and H3N2

LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals has presented preclinical data showing that immunization with their influenza virus-like particles (VLPs) induced heterosubtypic protection in a virus challenge study.

4 May 2007

Scientists discover molecular mechanism that keeps HSV-1 activation restricted to a single gene for months or even years

By adulthood, most people have suffered at least one bout of painful cold sores brought on by the Herpes simplex virus 1, also known as HSV-1.

4 May 2007

Child infections are an increasing concern in affluent countries

Dr Deborah Lehmann, who leads infectious diseases research at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, said the findings show that infection is an increasing concern in affluent countries.

4 May 2007

Newer flu vaccines may have been less effective than vaccines used in previous years

A new Harris Poll suggests that the flu vaccine used before last winter may have been less effective than the vaccines used in some previous years.

4 May 2007

Novel respiratory antibiotic Cethromycin, shown to be effective against Anthrax

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings has announced that its novel respiratory antibiotic, Cethromycin, was shown to be effective in preventing inhalation anthrax infection.

4 May 2007

Bird flu hits Ghana

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported the first outbreak of bird flu in Ghana.

3 May 2007

Reclast found to cause abnormal heart rhythms

An osteoporosis drug with the potential to cut the risk of spine fractures by 70 percent and the chance of hip fractures by 41 percent, has been found to have an adverse side effect on some women.

3 May 2007

Peramivir shows promise for H5N1 protection

The antiviral drug peramivir might offer humans significant protection during a pandemic of the avian influenza virus H5N1, according to results of mouse studies conducted by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2 May 2007

1758 cases of malaria reported in UK travellers in 2006

1386 of the cases were due to the potentially fatal Plasmodium falciparum which is a major international health risk and which kills more than a million people a year in Africa. 219 were due to Plasmodium vivax which causes a debilitating disease, but is rarely fatal.

2 May 2007

Adverse health outcomes after Hurricane Katrina among children and adolescents with chronic conditions

Children and teenagers in New Orleans with chronic medical conditions at the time of Hurricane Katrina were more likely than other children to have worsening of physical and psychological symptoms, develop new symptoms, miss doctor appointments and run out of medications in the wake of the disaster.

2 May 2007

FDA advisory committee supports Advair 500/50 in reducing COPD exacerbations

An Advisory Committee to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has unanimously agreed that GlaxoSmithKline's Advair Diskus 500/50 (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

2 May 2007

Doctors ill equipped to confront parent smoking

With the growing concerns of children's exposure to secondhand smoke, it has become more critical than ever to involve health care providers such as pediatricians in educating parents about the potential hazardous health consequences.

2 May 2007