Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Clinical study launched to evaluate effectiveness of new HCV therapy in Washington, D.C.

Officials from the National Institutes of Health and the city of Washington, D.C., launched a clinical trial to examine whether primary care physicians and other health care providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, can use a new antiviral therapy as effectively as specialist physicians to treat people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

9 Mar 2015

Phico Therapeutics gets £2.25M Translation Award to develop SASPject PT4 antibiotic for E. coli, K. pneumoniae

Phico Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing a novel platform technology for a new generation of antibiotics aimed at overcoming antibacterial resistance, has been awarded a £2.25M Translation Award by the Wellcome Trust to develop its SASPject PT4 antibiotic, aimed at Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

9 Mar 2015

Scientists design a promising vaccine for herpes viruses

Herpes simplex virus infections are an enormous global health problem and there is currently no viable vaccine.

9 Mar 2015

New type of vaccine holds promise for prevention of genital herpes

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have designed a new type of vaccine that could be the first-ever for preventing genital herpes--one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, affecting some 500 million people worldwide.

9 Mar 2015

FDA approves Astellas' CRESEMBA for treatment of invasive aspergillosis, invasive mucormycosis

Astellas today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its New Drug Application (NDA) for the use of CRESEMBA (isavuconazonium sulfate), the prodrug for isavuconazole, for patients 18 years of age and older in the treatment of invasive aspergillosis and invasive mucormycosis (also known as zygomycosis).

8 Mar 2015

Adults only really catch flu about twice a decade, suggests study

Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. Flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess how often people are infected by influenza.

6 Mar 2015

Nova Medical Centers announces acquisition of Industrial Medicine

Occupational medicine company, Nova Medical Centers, is excited to announce the acquisition of Industrial Medicine, P.C. in Savannah, GA.

5 Mar 2015

Northwestern scientists map brain circuit that processes temperature information

Innately, we pull our hand away when we touch a hot pan on the stove, but little is known about how our brain processes temperature information. Northwestern University scientists now have discovered how a fruit fly's brain represents temperature, mapping it neuron by neuron, which has implications for understanding the much more complex human brain and how it responds to sensory stimuli.

5 Mar 2015

Kinsa Groups launched to monitor overall health of children in U.S. public schools

Kinsa, the maker of the first FDA approved app-enabled smartphone thermometer, today announced the launch of Kinsa Groups for its iOS and Android apps. The Groups feature is currently available for public schools across the United States. With Kinsa Groups, parents can monitor the overall health at their child's school to better track, treat, and stop the spread of illness at the earliest signs of symptoms.

4 Mar 2015

Halyard Health's net sales increase 2% to $439 million in fourth quarter 2014

Halyard Health, Inc. today reported year-end 2014 results and provided its 2015 outlook and related key planning assumptions.

4 Mar 2015

Life expectancy for Spaniards increases due to 'cardiovascular revolution'

Over the last century, life expectancy for Spaniards has increased by 40 years. A study by the International University of La Rioja highlights the main cause, since 1980, as being the reduced incidence of cardiovascular diseases while other pathologies, such as mental illnesses and certain types of cancer, have been seen to rise. The authors predict that the effects of the economic recession on mortality will show up in the long-term.

4 Mar 2015

Kansas State researchers preparing for next potential influenza strain

As seasonal influenza cases decrease across the United States, Kansas State University researchers are preparing for the next potential virulent strain of flu.

4 Mar 2015

New antibody provides 100% protection against H5N1 influenza virus in animal models

Since 2003, the H5N1 influenza virus, more commonly known as the bird flu, has been responsible for the deaths of millions of chickens and ducks and has infected more than 650 people, leading to a 60 percent mortality rate for the latter. Luckily, this virus has yet to achieve human-to-human transmission, but a small number of mutations could change that, resulting in a pandemic.

4 Mar 2015

Brain scientists map changes in communication between nerve cells in rats

Lights, sound, action: we are constantly learning how to incorporate outside sensations into our reactions in specific situations. In a new study, brain scientists have mapped changes in communication between nerve cells as rats learned to make specific decisions in response to particular sounds. The team then used this map to accurately predict the rats' reactions. These results add to our understanding of how the brain processes sensations and forms memories to inform behavior.

3 Mar 2015

Health systems in developing world need to be strengthened to stop Ebola-style outbreak

Health systems throughout the developing world need to be strengthened to prevent another Ebola-style outbreak, or worse, warns Save the Children in its new report "A Wake Up Call: Lessons from Ebola for the World's Health Systems."

3 Mar 2015

Easy-to-obtain oral swab could be a game changer for TB control

Drawing inspiration from veterinary medicine, researchers at the University of Washington have helped developed a new prospective approach to diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) - easy-to-obtain oral swab samples, greatly improving on standard diagnostics.

3 Mar 2015

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Taking commonly used medications with anticholinergic effects is associated with a significantly higher risk for developing pneumonia in a study of more than 3,000 older Group Health patients living in the community--not in nursing homes.

3 Mar 2015

Study: African Americans who moved from the South during Great Migration face shorter life expectancy

Millions of African Americans moved from the South in the early 20th century to seek better job opportunities and higher wages, but a new study on the historic Great Migration shows that with improved economic conditions came a greater risk of mortality.

28 Feb 2015

Majority of ACS NSQIP hospitals improve surgical outcomes over time

The majority of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project improve surgical outcomes over time, and improvement continues with each year that hospitals participate in the program, according to a new study published online today in Annals of Surgery.

28 Feb 2015

UConn chemists develop more advanced peanut allergy test

Current peanut allergy tests are not very reliable when it comes to diagnosing the severity of an individual's allergic reaction, which can range from hives to life-threatening anaphylactic shock.

27 Feb 2015