Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Rutgers' new drug candidate may help fight malaria

Malaria killed about 440,000 people - mostly young children - last year, but a new drug candidate discovered at Rutgers may help fight the long-dreaded disease.

8 Mar 2016

Systemic sclerosis: an interview with Dr Kristin Highland

Systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, is a rare disease characterized by the thickening and scarring of connective tissue of multiple organs in the body

7 Mar 2016

Researchers solve structure of key protein in coronaviruses, like MERS and SARS

When the respiratory illness SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) emerged in 2003, it killed at least 775 people before it was contained. Nine years later, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) began circulating in the human population—and has gone on to have a 36 percent case fatality rate.

7 Mar 2016

Omalizumab treatment significantly decreases colds in inner-city children with allergic asthma

Treatment with omalizumab significantly decreases the number of colds in inner-city children with allergic asthma, researchers reported at a press conference today at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 2016 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. Omalizumab, sold under the brand name Xolair, is an injectable antibody that can be used to treat asthma cases not controlled by inhaled corticosteroids.

7 Mar 2016

RUVICA (ibrutinib) capsules approved for treatment-naïve CLL patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) capsules for treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

4 Mar 2016

Research highlights how the brain handles numbers

Small numbers are processed in the right side of the brain, while large numbers are processed in the left side of the brain, new research suggests.

4 Mar 2016

P53 genetic variant heavily implicated in metabolism, new research finds

The study may also provide an evolutionary explanation for differences in populations living farther away from the Equator. Human ancestors may have undergone this change in R72 to promote energy storage in cold climates and during times of famine. However, in modern society, the need for this type of variant in our genes is unnecessary, leading instead to increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Obesity is also a risk factor for certain types of cancer, so these findings may also explain why the R72 variant of p53 might predispose certain people to cancer.

4 Mar 2016

High school football players with ill-fitting helmets at increased risk for more severe concussions

High school football players with ill-fitting helmets are at greater risk for more severe concussions, according to a study presented today at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

4 Mar 2016

Unlocking H5N1 virus replication: an interview with Martin Blackledge

We were able to show that one small domain of the polymerase, the part that is essential for entry of a piece of the polymerase into the cell nucleus, changes its conformation to allow it to interact with the transporter protein than takes it into the nucleus.

3 Mar 2016

State laws increase vaccination rates among health care workers

State laws mandating influenza immunization for people who work in health care increase their vaccination rates, according to new research led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

3 Mar 2016

Hypothermia associated with increased risk for infection in patients undergoing surgery

A Henry Ford Hospital finds that hypothermia, a relatively common but unintentional occurrence during surgery, is associated with an increased risk for infection in patients who undergo surgery to repair a hip fracture.

3 Mar 2016

First-ever research programme launched to tackle superbugs

To meet the challenge of the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria, national charity ‘Antibiotic Research UK is commissioning the first ever research programme to screen antibiotic resistance breakers against antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria.

2 Mar 2016

Study provides first evidence that Zika virus may cause Guillain-Barré syndrome

Analysis of blood samples from 42 patients diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) during the Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia provides the first evidence that Zika virus might cause GBS, a severe neurological disorder, according to new research published in The Lancet today.

2 Mar 2016

Preventing the spread of Zika: an interview with Professor John Oxford

The link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barré on the one hand, and pregnancy and the virus affecting the fetus in terms of microcephaly on the other, is still not confirmed conclusively.

1 Mar 2016

NHS could continue to waste £10 million per year on treating preventable cold-related illness, NEA warns

Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) is today [26 February] warning that the NHS could continue to waste well over a billion pounds a year on treating preventable cold-related illness.

1 Mar 2016

Young parents call for better advice to deal with fuel poverty

Young parents are calling for better advice to tackle fuel poverty as almost four million children in England live in families that are struggling to pay their energy bills, according to evidence gathered in a new report.

1 Mar 2016

Scientists start clinical trial to test new prostate cancer vaccine

Oxford University scientists have started a clinical trial to test a new vaccine against prostate cancer and are looking for volunteers to take part. The first four participants have already received this experimental vaccine at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, and the second trial site has just been opened at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

1 Mar 2016

Cryo-electron microscopy helps analyze infection mechanisms of coronaviruses in detail

High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy and supercomputing have now made it possible to analyze in detail the infection mechanisms of coronaviruses. These viruses are notorious for attacking the respiratory tract of humans and animals.

27 Feb 2016

Insecticide-treated nets help prevent spread of malaria

Insecticide-treated nets may still help prevent malaria despite mosquitoes developing resistance, according to a new study published in Parasites & Vectors.

27 Feb 2016

Novartis announces FDA approval of Afinitor for progressive, nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors of GI

Novartis today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Afinitor (everolimus) tablets for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, well-differentiated, nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of gastrointestinal (GI) or lung origin that are unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic.

26 Feb 2016