Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

A more potent vaccine technology

Virginia Tech virologist Chris Roberts' goal is to develop a platform for a flu vaccine that allows rapid modifications to meet new strains of flu.

4 May 2009

World Health Organisation says wash your hands and sing 'Happy Birthday' twice to avoid swine flu

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as of the 2nd May 2009, 16 countries have now officially reported cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection (swine flu).

3 May 2009

Recent initiatives in global health make progress against child deaths

Recent initiatives in global health have made significant advances in knowledge, prevention and reduction of diseases affecting children in low-income countries.

3 May 2009

Scientists determine key structural features of mimivirus

The mimivirus is the largest virus known to scientists, about half of a micrometre (0.0005 millimeter) in diameter.

30 Apr 2009

Risk factors identified for ventilator-associated pneumonia

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the main cause of nosocomial infection in patients undergoing major heart surgery.

29 Apr 2009

Senior men more likely than women to die after pneumonia

Differing biological response to infection between men and women may explain higher death rates among older men who are hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

29 Apr 2009

WHO response to swine influenza A(H1N1)

In response to cases of swine influenza A(H1N1), reported in Mexico and the United States of America, the Director-General convened a meeting of the Emergency Committee to assess the situation and advise her on appropriate responses.

26 Apr 2009

Swine influenza confirmed in the U.S.

The United States Government has reported seven confirmed human cases of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in the USA (five in California and two in Texas) and nine suspect cases.

26 Apr 2009

DNA biosynthesis discovery could lead to better antibiotics

Combating several human pathogens, including some biological warfare agents, may one day become a bit easier thanks to research reported by a University of Iowa chemist and his colleagues in the April 16 issue of the journal Nature.

16 Apr 2009

Discovery of new chemical reaction for DNA production in bacteria and viruses

A team of researchers has discovered a new chemical reaction for producing one of the four nucleotides, or building blocks, needed to build DNA.

16 Apr 2009

Rib-X granted patent for novel oxazolidinone in China

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Rib-X" or the "Company"), a development-stage company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced the issuance of a key antibiotic patent in China.

15 Apr 2009

Stem cell transplantation helps patients with diabetes become insulin free

The majority of patients with type 1 diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free, several for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Apr 2009

Study looks at functional decline in seniors after hospitalization

Motivation and expectation may be factors in helping older adults regain lost functional ability after hospitalization, say researchers with the Birmingham Veterans Administration Medical Center and UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham).

8 Apr 2009

Intercell starts trial for Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine candidate

Intercell AG has announced that a Phase I clinical trial with the company's vaccine candidate IC47 to prevent disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae has started.

8 Apr 2009

Cigarette smoke changes the immune response to bacteria - culprit behind COPD exacerbations

Smoking cigarettes is not only the principle cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but it may change the body's immune responses to bacteria that commonly cause exacerbations of the disease, according to new research in a mouse model.

8 Apr 2009

Radiation dose can be reduced for 'triple rule-out' coronary CT angiography

Physicians can dramatically reduce the radiation dose delivered to patients undergoing coronary CT angiography in a "triple rule-out" protocol by simply using tube current modulation, according to a study performed at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

6 Apr 2009

One out of five Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within a month

When a patient is discharged from the hospital, just about the last thing he or she wants is to be back in again within the next month.

1 Apr 2009

One of five hospitalized Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within 30 days

One of five Medicare beneficiaries discharged from the hospital is readmitted within 30 days, and half of non-surgical patients are readmitted to the hospital without having seen an outpatient doctor in follow-up, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Apr 2009

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related problems hard to swallow

Patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit a disordered breathing-swallowing pattern that may account for their higher risk of aspiration pneumonia, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh.

29 Mar 2009

Sagent Pharmaceuticals receives FDA approval of Azithromycin for injection

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of azithromycin for injection, a semi-synthetic, macrolide antibiotic that is used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. Sagent will offer azithromycin in a 500 mg vial for intravenous use.

26 Mar 2009