Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

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

Discovery of earliest known cases of human tuberculosis in Neolithic village

The discovery of the earliest known cases of human tuberculosis (TB) in bones found submerged off the coast of Israel shows that the disease is 3000 years older than previously thought. Direct examination of this ancient DNA confirms the latest theory that bovine TB evolved later than human TB.

14 Oct 2008

TB Alliance enters into collaboration with sanofi-aventis to fight tuberculosis

The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) and sanofi-aventis announced today that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to accelerate the discovery, development and clinical use of drugs against tuberculosis (TB). The TB Alliance is a not-for-profit, product development partnership, whose goal is the development of new TB drugs.

14 Oct 2008

TB Alliance receives pledge of up to $40 million from USAID

The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), a not-for-profit, product development partnership leading the development of new and affordable tuberculosis (TB) drugs, announced today a new grant and pledge of up to $40 million over the next five years from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

13 Oct 2008

Workshop in Ghana encourages NGOs, volunteers to bolster TB control efforts

Volunteer community health workers and nongovernmental organizations should collaborate with Ghana's health sector to enhance the country's capacity to curb the spread of tuberculosis, Austin Arinze, national coordinator of the Stop TB Ghana Partnership, said recently in Winneba, Ghana, during a two-day workshop, GNA/My Joy Online reports.

13 Oct 2008

Nanowire sensors show huge potential for point-of-care disease detection

Yale scientists have created nanowire sensors coupled with simple microprocessor electronics that are both sensitive and specific enough to be used for point-of-care (POC) disease detection, according to a report in Nano Letters.

12 Oct 2008