Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

Novel treatment strategy for social impairment of people with ASD

Eastern Virginia Medical School researchers have identified a potential novel treatment strategy for the social impairment of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), an aspect of the condition that has a profound impact on quality of life.

9 Dec 2010

WHO endorses rapid TB test

"The World Health Organization endorsed a new, rapid test for tuberculosis Wednesday that cuts the diagnosis time for patients from months to hours," CNN reports (Gray, 12/8).

8 Dec 2010

Rapid TB test endorsed by WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that a new test that can detect tuberculosis (TB), including drug-resistant forms, in less than two hours could revolutionize treatment of the disease. Tuberculosis is still a major killer worldwide killing 4,700 people every day last year. The annual death toll of 1.7 million includes 380,000 people who are at particular risk because they have HIV, the virus that depresses the immune system and causes Aids.

8 Dec 2010

WHO endorses new rapid fully automated nucleic acid amplification test for TB

Today, WHO endorsed a new and novel rapid test for tuberculosis (TB), especially relevant in countries most affected by the disease. The test could revolutionize TB care and control by providing an accurate diagnosis for many patients in about 100 minutes, compared to current tests that can take up to three months to have results.

8 Dec 2010

European Commission must stop attacking generic medicines, says ITPC

On International Human Rights Day, as the European Commission (EC) and the Government of India meet in Brussels to finalise a European Union (EU)-India free trade agreement, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) calls on Indian negotiators to put the right to health of its citizens and of the fifteen million HIV-positive people worldwide needing treatment above the pharmaceutical companies' interests and profits.

8 Dec 2010

Case Western Reserve School of Medicine researchers receive NIH grant for four research endeavors

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine faculty members are reaping the rewards of funding from the National Institutes of Health, in the form of grants and contracts. The funding totals more than $6.4 million for four different research endeavors.

8 Dec 2010

Sequella files SQ109 IND for Phase 2 studies in H. pylori-related duodenal ulcers

Sequella, Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on commercializing novel drugs for treatment of infectious diseases, announced it has successfully filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to test SQ109 in patients suffering from H. pylori-related duodenal ulcers, and can now begin Phase 2 studies.

7 Dec 2010

Health experts, mobile service providers discuss potential for mobile health in Africa at summit

"Some 80 health professionals and telecom operators [met last week for the mHealth Africa Summit] in the Ghanaian capital Accra to explore ways to use mobile phones for better healthcare delivery," IRIN reports in an article that details a variety of successful projects relaying health information through cell phones in Africa. The article describes how mobile phones are being used in Africa to educate populations about HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and improve maternal health, as well as to track medicines and other health supplies, including mosquito nets.

7 Dec 2010

FDA accepts for review Bristol-Myers Squibb's ORENCIA sBLA for severe RA

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the subcutaneous formulation of ORENCIA® (abatacept), a treatment for adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) administered through an injection into the skin. Bristol-Myers Squibb submitted the sBLA to the FDA for the subcutaneous formulation of ORENCIA and received confirmation of its receipt on October 4, 2010.

7 Dec 2010

HP, mPedigree Network introduce life-saving service to fight counterfeit drugs in Africa

HP and African social enterprise mPedigree Network have introduced a potentially life-saving service that targets counterfeit pharmaceuticals by enabling people in Nigeria and Ghana to easily check the authenticity of their malaria medication.

6 Dec 2010

IDRI awarded $1.8M contract to develop adjuvant formulations for pandemic influenza

The Infectious Disease Research Institute has been awarded an $1.8 million contract from the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority. IDRI's work will focus on development of adjuvant formulations with options up to $8.5 million over three years when further development and manufacture of priority candidates are approved by the agency.

4 Dec 2010

IDRI receives $790,200 BARDA grant to develop pandemic flu vaccine

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) today announced it has received a $790,200 grant from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The grant enables technology transfer between IDRI and the Cantacuzino National Institute of Research and Development for Microbiology and Immunology (Bucharest, Romania), with the goal of producing a pandemic flu vaccine.

4 Dec 2010

HIV/AIDS opinions

"Promising scientific developments to prevent AIDS, not just treat its victims, have sparked hope among health officials, researchers and advocacy groups struggling to control the epidemic. Unfortunately, the global recession and soaring deficits in advanced nations have made it unlikely that sufficient money will be available to fully seize the new opportunities," according to a New York Times editorial, which postures, "[s]ome agonizing choices will have to be made."

4 Dec 2010

Biomagnetics updates prototype bench top version of IOBS biosensor

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria detection, and other innovative technologies, today announced that an updated prototype bench top version of the Integrated Optical Biosensor, originally developed at Los Alamos for research purposes, is now complete.

3 Dec 2010

White House marks World AIDS Day

Commemorating World AIDS Day on Wednesday President Barack Obama called for continuing to fight HIV/AIDS domestically and abroad, Agence France-Presse reports (12/1).

2 Dec 2010

Research: Environmental bacteria compromises effectiveness of BCG vaccine

A new discovery may explain why a tuberculosis vaccine is not as effective for some people as anticipated, and potentially explains why other vaccines do not work as well for some as they do for others.

2 Dec 2010

Regular, low-cost preventive medication can protect people with HIV from TB

Children and adults living with HIV can be protected from one of their deadliest threats - tuberculosis (TB) - with a regular, low-cost preventive medication according to new guidelines launched today by the WHO. Of the nearly two million AIDS-related deaths each year, a quarter of them are associated with TB.

2 Dec 2010

Biomagnetics identifies second biomarker for tuberculosis assay

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria detection, and other innovative technologies, today announced the identification of a second biomarker for development of a tuberculosis assay.

2 Dec 2010

USA today examines why aid for Haiti goes unspent

Ten months after the magnitude-7 earthquake that killed 230,000 people and destroyed at least 60% of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, some relief agencies have not spent the bulk of the donations they raised after the disaster.

2 Dec 2010

Report analyzes global health funding trends, predicts lower funding growth

A report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) finds that the recent global economic downturn "hasn't quelled generous government and private donors from giving record amounts to improve global health," but the analysis also revealed "that growth in funding is beginning to taper off, cut by more than half between 2008 and 2010," the Seattle Times' "The Business of Giving" blog reports (Heim, 11/30).

2 Dec 2010