Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

XDR-TB declining in the U.S.

A new report suggests that the number of cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in the U.S. has declined in the past fifteen years, but new cases continue to be reported, according to the study published in the November 12 issue of JAMA.

11 Nov 2008

Researchers find new path to antibiotics in dirt

A teaspoon of dirt contains an estimated 10,000 species of bacteria, but it's only one percent of these microbial bugs - the ones that can be grown easily in a lab - that have brought us antibiotics, anticancer agents and other useful drugs.

7 Nov 2008

Newly discovered protein may help explain tuberculosis' resiliency

Weill Cornell scientists have located a protein produced by the tuberculosis bacterium that may tell researchers more about how the invader lives so resiliently inside of the body.

6 Nov 2008

Proteomics provides clues to how tuberculosis thwarts the immune system

A link between the immune system and the self-cleaning system by which biological cells rid themselves of obsolete or toxic parts may one day yield new weapons in the fight against tuberculosis and other deadly infectious diseases.

6 Nov 2008

Tibotec presents interim findings for TMC435, investigational hepatitis C treatment

New clinical data show antiviral activity of TMC435, an investigational protease inhibitor (PI) being developed by Tibotec BVBA for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

4 Nov 2008

Parasites that live inside cells use loophole to thwart immune system

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered a mechanism by which intracellular pathogens can shut down one of the body's key chemical weapons against them: nitric oxide.

4 Nov 2008

Parasites that live inside cells use loophole to thwart immune system

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered a mechanism by which intracellular pathogens can shut down one of the body's key chemical weapons against them: nitric oxide. The researchers found that the microbes block nitric oxide production by subverting the biochemical machinery used by immune cells called macrophages to produce the chemical.

3 Nov 2008

Persistent bacterial infection exploits killing machinery of immune cells

A new study reveals an important and newly discovered pathway used by disease-causing bacteria to evade the host immune system and survive and grow within the very cells meant to destroy them. This discovery may lead to new treatments and vaccines for tuberculosis (TB) and certain other chronic bacterial and parasitic infections.

3 Nov 2008

Discovery of new pathway used by disease-causing bacteria to evade host immune system and survive

2 Nov 2008

Cimzia study shows reduction of symptoms and progression of rheumatoid arthritis

UCB has announced pivotal RAPID 1 (RA PreventIon of structural Damage) data published in Arthritis & Rheumatism shows CIMZIA (certolizumab pegol), the only PEGylated anti-TNF (Tumour Necrosis Factor alpha), together with methotrexate (MTX), rapidly reduced symptoms of disease and inhibited progression of joint damage in adult patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with sustained results for up to one year.

31 Oct 2008

FDA grants tentative approval for 75th generic anti-retroviral drug

The Food and Drug Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reached the milestone of the 75th anti-retroviral generic drug approved or tentatively approved as part of President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

29 Oct 2008

New tuberculosis vaccine safer, more effective than BCG vaccine for HIV-positive people

A new tuberculosis vaccine could be safer and more effective than the currently available BCG vaccine, particularly for HIV-positive people, according to a study to be published in the November issue of Infection and Immunity, IANS/Times of India reports (IANS/Times of India, 10/24).

28 Oct 2008

Griffith University and Pfizer in new partnership to unlock nature's cure for infections

In the quest to develop the next generation of anti-infective medicine, Griffith University and Pfizer, the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, announced a leading partnership today.

27 Oct 2008

New TB test more accurate in predicting those most susceptible

Scientists have developed a new blood test which promises to more accurately predict those most likely to develop tuberculosis (TB).

22 Oct 2008

Google.org helps identify future disease hot spots

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has announced grants of more than $14 million to support partners working in Southeast Asia and Africa to prevent the next pandemic.

21 Oct 2008

New tuberculosis test reveals patients at risk

A recently introduced blood test can reveal which patients may develop active tuberculosis (TB) much more precisely than the 100-year old TB skin test, according to a new study published today in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

20 Oct 2008

Better TB vaccine in the pipeline

Scientists in the U.S. believe they have a vaccine in the pipeline that offers better protection from tuberculosis (TB).

20 Oct 2008

Governments urged to fight pneumococcal disease

Pneumococcal disease, one of the world's leading causes of death and serious illness, must be recognised as an urgent global health issue together with HIV, malaria and TB, say the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pneumococcal Disease Prevention in the Developing World in a report launching at the House of Lords today. Between 700,000 and one million children under the age of five die each year from pneumococcal disease, equivalent to malaria and more than AIDS and tuberculosis.

16 Oct 2008

Qld uni student diagnosed with tuberculosis

A student at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane has been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) and as a result 160 staff and students at the University are being screened for the disease.

14 Oct 2008

Free treatment program against Buruli ulcer in Cameroon not working

Researchers have found that the fight against Buruli ulcer, a tropical skin disease, has hit a bump in Central Cameroon. Even as organizations provide free-of charge hospitalization care, patients' economic and social costs are preventing and delaying the treatment. Their study results are published October 15 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

14 Oct 2008