Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

Positive results from Alkermes VIVITROL addiction study

Alkermes plc today presented positive results from a long-term study of VIVITROL (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) at the 24th Annual U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress in Las Vegas, NV.

10 Nov 2011

FDA accepts Genentech's vismodegib NDA for review

Curis, Inc., a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted and filed for review Genentech's new drug application (NDA) for vismodegib for the treatment of adults with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) for whom surgery is considered inappropriate.

9 Nov 2011

Private sector companies should contribute to GAVI Matching Fund

The GAVI Alliance has "announced a major new initiative aimed at engaging private sector leaders: the GAVI Matching Fund," through which "the British Government's Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide a 100 percent match of contributions to GAVI from corporations and foundations as well as their customers, members and employees," Bill Roedy, former CEO of MTV Networks and a GAVI Alliance envoy, writes in a post on the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

8 Nov 2011

Beware mail order Chicken pox warn Doctors

Doctors have warned against a new trend that has emerged via social networking websites like Facebook - one that guides parents through a process of exposing their children to chicken pox, so that they can get the virus, early and avoid any need for vaccination.

7 Nov 2011

Electronic Nose can diagnose TB in symptomatic patients

A new hand-held device called the Electronic Nose, which has the potential to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) in symptomatic patients, was awarded a $950,000 grant from Grand Challenges Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today to support further development and testing of this ground-breaking technology.

7 Nov 2011

MRSA co-infection increases risk of flu-related mortality among children

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, many previously healthy children became critically ill, developing severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, sometimes fatal. The largest nationwide investigation to date of influenza in critically ill children, led by Children's Hospital Boston, found one key risk factor: Simultaneous infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) increased the risk for flu-related mortality 8-fold among previously healthy children.

7 Nov 2011

Children with polyarticular JIA benefit from early and aggressive therapy

Children with juvenile arthritis who are treated early and aggressively have better outcomes, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Doctors may stop anti-TNF medications for RA patients before surgery to reduce disease flares

As guidelines recommend, doctors appear to be stopping anti-TNF medications before surgery, but may be doing so far sooner than is necessary, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. These medications are used to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, and better timing of withdrawal prior to surgery might minimize the risk of disease flares.

6 Nov 2011

Final results from Vertex VX-509 Phase 2a study on RA

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced the final results from a Phase 2a study of the investigational selective oral JAK3 inhibitor VX-509.

6 Nov 2011

Teleflex to showcase respiratory solutions, education programs at AARC Congress

Teleflex Incorporated will showcase a number of respiratory solutions and education programs at the annual American Association of Respiratory Care Congress to be held in Tampa, Florida on November 5-8, 2011.

5 Nov 2011

Human Genome Sciences to present abstracts regarding BENLYSTA, SLE at ACR/ARHP meeting

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. announced today that several abstracts related to BENLYSTA (belimumab) and systemic lupus erythematosus will be presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/ Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, being held in Chicago, IL from November 4 to November 9, 2011.

5 Nov 2011

Supplemental dose of pneumonia vaccine recommended for age-eligible patients

In a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthcare providers are being urged to administer a supplemental dose of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to age-eligible patients as they come in for visits.

5 Nov 2011

AHRQ awarded $34M in fiscal year 2011 to expand fight against HAIs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced that it has awarded $34 million in fiscal year 2011 for grants and contracts to hospitals, academic medical institutions, and health care research organizations to expand the fight against healthcare-associated infections.

5 Nov 2011

UofL intervention program for caregivers of people with IDD

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in family or group homes are less likely to receive routine dental care than those living in institutions, according to University of Louisville School of Dentistry associate professor Catherine Binkley, D.D.S., Ph.D.

4 Nov 2011

Commercial disease management models do not reduce Medicare costs in America

At a time when everyone is looking for ways to reduce health care costs in America, using commercial disease management programs to reduce the fee-for-service Medicare costs associated with chronic conditions among senior citizens seems like a practical approach.

4 Nov 2011

Exercise can prevent inherited obesity & obesity raises injury risk: Two studies

A new study has shown that having an obesity gene should not mean absolute obesity for individuals. The gene may be countered by physical activity.

2 Nov 2011

Takeda receives FDA approval for VELCADE sNDA to treat MM

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company with its parent company Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for VELCADE (bortezomib) for Injection, which updates the label to include additional long-term overall survival (OS) data from the VISTA trial.

2 Nov 2011

Researcher's compound disables bacteria instead of killing them

After 70 years, antibiotics are still the primary treatment for halting the spread of bacterial infections. But the prevalence of antibiotic resistance is now outpacing the rate of new drug discovery and approval. A microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has discovered a different approach: Instead of killing the bacteria, why not disarm them, quashing disease without the worry of antibiotic resistance?

29 Oct 2011

GAVI Alliance brings life-saving pneumococcal vaccine to Nicaragua

In this post in PBS NewsHour's blog "The Rundown," senior correspondent Ray Suarez reports on his time in Nicaragua with the NewsHour's global health unit for the national rollout of a pneumococcal pneumonia immunization campaign.

28 Oct 2011

Evidenced-based best practices can reduce healthcare associated infections

Healthcare associated infections, such as catheter related acute bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), significantly affect hospital morbidity and mortality but by developing evidenced-based, best practices, these occurrences can be minimized, according to research from surgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

28 Oct 2011