Staphylococcus aureus News and Research

RSS

Staphylococcus aureus is a spherical bacterium (coccus) which on microscopic examination appears in pairs, short chains, or bunched, grape-like clusters. These organisms are Gram-positive. Some strains are capable of producing a highly heat-stable protein toxin that causes illness in humans.

TAXIS Pharmaceuticals' TXA709 compound shows promise in combating antibiotic resistance

TAXIS Pharmaceuticals, a drug-discovery company focused on developing a new class of antibiotic agents to treat life-threatening, multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, today announced the presentation of data demonstrating the promise of its lead clinical candidate, TXA709, in combating antibiotic resistance.

27 Apr 2015

Actavis reports positive results from phase 3 study of single-dose DALVANCE for treatment of ABSSSI

Actavis plc today announced positive top-line results for study DUR001-303, a phase 3 study comparing a single 1500 mg dose of DALVANCE with the same total dose given as two-doses one week apart, for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

25 Apr 2015

Common tapeworm drug effectively treats MRSA superbugs in lab

A new study provides evidence from lab experiments that a drug already used in people to fight tapeworms might also prove effective against strains of the superbug MRSA, which kills thousands of people a year in the United States.

24 Apr 2015

Rising shortages of key antibiotics raise serious concerns about effects on patient care

Shortages of key antibiotics, including gold-standard therapies and drugs used to treat highly resistant infections, are on the rise, according to a new study of shortages from 2001 to 2013 published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The trends raise serious concerns about the effects on patient care, particularly for infections without effective alternative treatment options.

23 Apr 2015

New UV light method could help stop spread of hospital superbugs

Can a robot clean a hospital room just as well as a person? According to new research out of the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, that is indeed the case. Chetan Jinadatha, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine and chief of infectious diseases at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System in Temple, is studying the effectiveness of a germ-zapping robot to clean hospital rooms, which could hold the key to preventing the spread of "superbugs" - in turn, saving countless dollars and, most importantly, lives.

15 Apr 2015

Infectious diseases experts release new guidance to avoid infections during hospital visits

Leading infectious diseases experts have released new guidance for healthcare facilities looking to establish precautions for visitors of patients with infectious diseases. The guidance looks to reduce the potential for healthcare visitors in spreading dangerous bacteria within the healthcare facility and community.

13 Apr 2015

Dartmouth researchers use new strategies to target drug-resistant pathogens

By engineering antibacterial enzymes, Dartmouth investigators led by Karl Griswold, PhD are using novel strategies to target the prevalent drug-resistant bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.

3 Apr 2015

MRSA bacteria exposed to cigarette smoke become more resistant to antimicrobial peptides

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant superbug, can cause life-threatening skin, bloodstream and surgical site infections or pneumonia. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now report that cigarette smoke may make matters worse.

3 Apr 2015

Aridis Pharmaceuticals begins Aerucin Phase 1 clinical study for treatment of acute pneumonia

Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company applying proprietary technologies to produce novel therapies for infectious diseases, announced today the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study of Aerucin, the Company's fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, which is being developed as an adjunctive treatment for acute pneumonia.

26 Mar 2015

Dipexium Pharmaceuticals reports strong financial results for year ended December 31, 2014

Dipexium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of Locilex® (pexiganan cream 0.8%), a novel, broad spectrum, topical antibiotic peptide, today announced operational, clinical and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2014.

24 Mar 2015

Researchers examine why joint infections persist despite standards of care

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and the National Institutes of Health are building on their research which seeks to understand why joint infections persist despite standards of care designed to stop them.

23 Mar 2015

Two common antibiotic treatments equally effective against MRSA skin infections

Researchers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that two common antibiotic treatments work equally well against bacterial skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) acquired outside of hospital settings.

20 Mar 2015

Antibiotic nanoparticles can help treat lung infection, prevent drug resistance

Treating respiratory disease is often difficult because drugs have to cross biological barriers such as respiratory tissue and mucosa, and must therefore be given in large quantities in order for an effective amount to reach the target.

13 Mar 2015

Study shows that households can serve as reservoir for transmitting MRSA

Households can serve as a reservoir for transmitting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a study published this week in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Once the bacteria enters a home, it can linger for years, spreading from person to person and evolving genetically to become unique to that household.

10 Mar 2015

Diabetes medication can help white blood cells fight bacterial infections

Pioglitazone, a medication approved for treatment of type 2 diabetes, can help bypass genetic defects in chronic granulomatous disease to help white blood cells fight bacterial infections, according to researchers at National Jewish Health.

12 Feb 2015

Synthetic compound shows antibiotic action against MRSA

Microbiologists and chemists at the University of South Florida have developed and patented a synthetic compound that has shown antibiotic action against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, which can cause many serious infections and deaths.

30 Jan 2015

SLU researcher discovers new information about how antibiotics stop staph infections

In research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University Mee-Ngan F. Yap, Ph.D., discovered new information about how antibiotics like azithromycin stop staph infections, and why staph sometimes becomes resistant to drugs.

23 Jan 2015

NIAID awards contracts to support early-stage human clinical trials of infectious disease treatments

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded contracts to three organizations to support early-stage human clinical trials of investigational infectious disease treatments. The new awards for the Phase I Clinical Trial Units for Therapeutics increases the number of funded organizations under the program from two to three, expanding capacity for conducting early safety testing of novel investigational drugs.

15 Jan 2015

MGB Biopharma provides update on business performance for 2014

MGB Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing a truly novel class of anti-infectives, provides an update on its business performance for 2014. MGB Biopharma is developing a pipeline of novel antimicrobials that puts it at the forefront of addressing the major global problem of antimicrobial resistance.

12 Jan 2015

Fat cells below skin help protect from bacteria, say researchers

When it comes to skin infections, a healthy and robust immune response may depend greatly upon what lies beneath. In a new paper published in the January 2, 2015 issue of Science, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report the surprising discovery that fat cells below the skin help protect us from bacteria.

2 Jan 2015