Sepsis News and Research

Latest Sepsis News and Research

Drug abuse linked to brain hemmorhage in young adults

A fifth of young adults whose blood vessels ruptured inside their brain abused drugs and more than 40 percent had malformed blood vessels, according to a study reported Feb. 17 at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2006 in Kissimmee, FL.

20 Feb 2006

Topical anaesthesia and morphine effective in treating procedural pain in newborn infants

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found that intravenous morphine used alone or with a topical anaesthetic (tetracaine) effectively reduced levels of pain in newborn infants undergoing insertion of central venous catheters (central lines).

17 Feb 2006

Less is more hypothesis - gene loss may explain unique human traits

Humans and chimps share most of their genes, yet they differ dramatically in many ways - their walk, the sizes of their brains and their capacities for speech and language, for example.

16 Feb 2006

Gut protein protects against infection and intestinal breakdown

A protein that binds to bile in the small intestine may hold the key to preventing infection and intestinal breakdown in people with conditions such as obstructive jaundice or irritable bowel syndrome, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered.

12 Feb 2006

Researchers define a new "first step" that initiates sepsis

A Mayo Clinic research team has challenged the accepted theory on the cause of sepsis -- a condition in which the body's cells generate fever, shock and often death. Sepsis is thought to occur when poisons from bacterial infection interfere with the cells.

9 Feb 2006

Patients checking into a top rated hospital have a 27 percent lower chance of mortality

Patients checking into a hospital rated in the top five percent in the country have, on average, a 27 percent lower chance of mortality and a 14 percent lower risk of complications, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings company.

7 Feb 2006

Statins cut the risk of serious infection

According to scientists Cholesterol-lowering drugs, known as statins, can reduce the risk of severe infection in patients suffering from heart disease or stroke.

26 Jan 2006

Fundamental flaws in many medical studies must be fixed in order to catch signs of harm

Only by analyzing results using a statistical method that considers several factors at once -- for instance, overall heart attack risk, rather than just individual risk factors such as age -- will researchers truly be able to see how the risks and benefits of a treatment vary from patient to patient, the study suggests.

14 Nov 2005

HIV-positive patients have shorter survival periods while awaiting liver transplants

A new study on HIV-positive patients eligible for liver transplants found that their survival while waiting for a transplant is significantly shorter than patients who are HIV-negative.

7 Nov 2005

New fungal defensin, plectasin, possesses as much power as penicillin

A peptide identified in a fungus found in northern European pine forests possesses as much power as penicillin as well as vancomycin, according to an international team of researchers.

12 Oct 2005

Increasingly virulent Staph infections

In a "Brief Report" in the 22 September 2005 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at the University of Chicago describe three cases of rapidly progressive and ultimately fatal Staphylococcus aureus infections in small children.

26 Sep 2005

Adult sickle cell drug hydroxyurea proves effective in young children

A drug used for the treatment of sickle cell anemia in adults has now been shown to cause significant improvements in very young children with the disorder.

20 Sep 2005

More than 15 percent of our genes are mobilized to defend against microbial attacks

The body's overwhelming genetic defense, which has implications for the survival of patients who are severely burned or injured, was revealed in a sweeping analysis of gene activity in volunteers who were injected with a bacterial product that temporarily created flu-like symptoms.

1 Sep 2005

When it comes to inflammation, too much of a good thing can be deadly

In some severely injured patients, this normal healing process can develop into a lethal, whole-body response, including bloodstream infection (sepsis) and multiple organ failure. How and why inflammation turns from healing to harming is still mysterious, so doctors can't accurately predict how each injured patient will fare.

31 Aug 2005

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has broken the immune system's code

The human opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, has broken the immune system's code, report researchers from the University of Chicago, enabling the bacteria to recognize when its host is most vulnerable and to launch an attack before the weakened host can muster its defenses.

1 Aug 2005

Blood pressure enzyme linked to SARS virus, could help fight diseases that cause lung failure

Researchers in Austria say that an enzyme that regulates blood pressure is also involved in the SARS virus, and the discovery could lead to new ways of treating diseases that cause lung failure.

11 Jul 2005

HIF-1alpha expression regulates the bactericidal capacity of phagocytes

When microorganisms invade the body, immune mechanisms kick in to fight them off. The infected tissues typically show depleted oxygen levels, and a protein called HIF-1 alpha regulates this. Interestingly, the cells responsible for destroying the foreign pathogens are effective in this low-oxygen environment.

6 Jul 2005

$5.1 billion could save 6 million children

Six million children could be saved if $5.1 billion in new resources for preventive and therapeutic interventions were provided each year, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

27 Jun 2005

FDA approves Xeloda (capecitabine) oral chemotherapy

Roche announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Xeloda (capecitabine) -- an innovative oral chemotherapy -- for the adjuvant (post-surgery) treatment of patients with Dukes' C colon cancer.

15 Jun 2005

Competition from specialty hospitals promotes high-quality patient care

Specialty hospitals provide quality care to patients by offering new choices, and this hospital competition should not be stifled, the American Medical Association (AMA) testified to a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs this week.

26 May 2005