Leprosy News and Research

Latest Leprosy News and Research

New leprosy test, experimental vaccine might hasten disease elimination, Slate reports

Slate examines a new rapid diagnostic test and an experimental vaccine for leprosy, both developed by the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle, writing, "The two tools together could finally free humans from the vicious cycle of a disease that has afflicted the population for at least 4,000 years."

22 Feb 2013

New test for leprosy gives results in less than 10 minutes, New York Times reports

"A simple, fast and inexpensive new test for leprosy offers hope that, even in the poorest countries, victims can be found and cured before they become permanently disabled or disfigured like the shunned lepers of yore," the New York Times reports.

21 Feb 2013

Leprosy bacteria able to change the make-up of Schwann cells

A discovery about the way in which bugs spread throughout the body could help to develop stem cell treatments.

19 Jan 2013

WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases

WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases, thanks to a new global strategy, a regular supply of quality assured, cost-effective medicines and support from global partners.

17 Jan 2013

Researchers uncover new way that some bacteria survive when under siege by antibiotics

Researchers have uncovered a new way that some bacteria survive when under siege by antibiotics.

4 Jan 2013

Ultrasound applied to fingertips can stimulate sensory pathways leading to the brain

A century after the world's first ultrasonic detection device - invented in response to the sinking of the Titanic -Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists have provided the first neurophysiological evidence for something that researchers have long suspected: ultrasound applied to the periphery, such as the fingertips, can stimulate different sensory pathways leading to the brain.

7 Dec 2012

Nostrum, VCU sign license agreement to develop inhaled dapsone for respiratory diseases

Virginia Commonwealth University and Nostrum Pharmaceuticals, LLC, are pleased to announce the signing of a license agreement for the development of inhaled dapsone for the treatment of respiratory diseases.

17 Aug 2012

Vietnam asks for international help to tackle mystery skin disease

Vietnam has asked for international aid to get to the bottom of a mystery skin infection that has already killed 19 people. More than 170 people in the country's central province of Quang Ngai have reported symptoms reports say.

23 Apr 2012

BuruliVac project getting closer to a vaccine

During a meeting in Lisbon, the partners of the BuruliVac research consortium found the project to be running smoothly, and getting closer to a vaccine against Buruli ulcer, a disfiguring and mutilating disease that causes a lot of suffering and now is difficult to treat. Several vaccine candidates work well in mice and are ready for further testing on blood of patients; one is ready for testing in mice.

19 Apr 2012

Researchers pinpoint new mechanism that potently activates T-cells in leprosy

UCLA researchers pinpointed a new mechanism that potently activates T-cells, the group of white blood cells that play a major role in fighting infections.

26 Mar 2012

Transforming biomedical research to develop TB vaccines

In the past decade, scientists have made significant progress building the critical knowledge and infrastructure needed to identify and develop novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidates and move the most promising ones into human clinical trials. The results of those trials, coupled with advances from other TB studies, have paved the way for the next 10 years of research on TB vaccines, a critical component of TB control efforts, note scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

21 Mar 2012

IDRI receives $1 million RHSC grant to eliminate leprosy

Leprosy, otherwise referred to as Hansen's Disease, is one of the most ancient diseases known to humans. Although the World Health Organization declared leprosy to be under control in many previously endemic countries, most experts agree that current approaches to treating the disease are not sufficient to eliminate the disease as a public health problem. Currently, 1.6 billion people are considered at risk of exposure to leprosy, while over 800 new cases occur every day.

9 Mar 2012

Study examines relationship between conflict, rise in NTDs in Middle East, North Africa

A study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease on Tuesday examines the relationship between political conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and "the spread or re-emergence of a variety of tropical diseases -- some previously eliminated or controlled -- affecting an estimated 65 million people" in the region, VOA News reports.

3 Mar 2012

Kenya's ability to diagnose, treat MDR-TB questioned after mismanagement of patient's case

"The Kenyan government's recent failure to adequately treat a patient with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) has some civil society organizations questioning whether the country's TB program is equipped to diagnose and treat such patients," PlusNews reports.

2 Mar 2012

Ugandan official expresses concern over rise in TB, emergence of drug-resistant strains

In an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday, Francis Adatu, head of the national leprosy and tuberculosis (TB) program in Uganda, warned that TB "remains a major public health problem" and that multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) has emerged in the country, the news service writes.

1 Mar 2012

WHO warns battle against leprosy not over in Western Pacific region

"The World Health Organization warned Monday that the battle against the age-old scourge of leprosy is not yet over, with more than 5,000 new cases reported yearly in the Western Pacific, where the disease was declared eliminated in 1991," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (2/13).

14 Feb 2012

Pilot program in Tanzania to improve TB detection shows promise, IRIN reports

"A pilot community program to improve [tuberculosis (TB)] detection in northern Tanzania has shown good results and could be replicated nationwide as the country seeks to improve its TB treatment and prevention systems," IRIN reports.

2 Feb 2012

Major effort to tackle neglected tropical diseases

Thirteen drug companies, the governments of the United States, Britain and the United Arab Emirates, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lions Club and other smaller charitable organizations on Monday announced a joint effort to tackle 10 neglected tropical diseases in a coordinated fashion.

31 Jan 2012

Abbott, DNDi partner to research on new treatments for NTDs

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Abbott have signed a four-year joint research and non-exclusive licensing agreement to undertake research on new treatments for several of the world's most neglected tropical diseases, including Chagas disease, helminth infections, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness.

31 Jan 2012

Leprosy pathogen exploits micro-RNAs to weaken immune response

A team of UCLA scientists has found that the pathogen that causes leprosy has a remarkable ability to avoid the human immune system by inhibiting the antimicrobial responses important to our defenses.

30 Jan 2012

Leprosy News and Research

Latest Leprosy News and Research

New leprosy test, experimental vaccine might hasten disease elimination, Slate reports

New test for leprosy gives results in less than 10 minutes, New York Times reports

Leprosy bacteria able to change the make-up of Schwann cells

WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases

Researchers uncover new way that some bacteria survive when under siege by antibiotics

Ultrasound applied to fingertips can stimulate sensory pathways leading to the brain

Nostrum, VCU sign license agreement to develop inhaled dapsone for respiratory diseases

Vietnam asks for international help to tackle mystery skin disease

BuruliVac project getting closer to a vaccine

Researchers pinpoint new mechanism that potently activates T-cells in leprosy

Transforming biomedical research to develop TB vaccines

IDRI receives $1 million RHSC grant to eliminate leprosy

Study examines relationship between conflict, rise in NTDs in Middle East, North Africa

Kenya's ability to diagnose, treat MDR-TB questioned after mismanagement of patient's case

Ugandan official expresses concern over rise in TB, emergence of drug-resistant strains

WHO warns battle against leprosy not over in Western Pacific region

Pilot program in Tanzania to improve TB detection shows promise, IRIN reports

Major effort to tackle neglected tropical diseases

Abbott, DNDi partner to research on new treatments for NTDs

Leprosy pathogen exploits micro-RNAs to weaken immune response

Micro Products with Macro Impact; The Role of Microplate Readers in Life Sciences

Insight into Sustained-Release Drug Delivery Systems

Using AI to predict heart attacks

Leprosy News and Research

Latest Leprosy News and Research

Micro Products with Macro Impact; The Role of Microplate Readers in Life Sciences

Insight into Sustained-Release Drug Delivery Systems

Using AI to predict heart attacks

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