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Opinion pieces address World Malaria Day

On Thursday, the international community recognized World Malaria Day, observed annually on April 25. This year's theme was "Invest in the future. Defeat malaria."

29 Apr 2013

NIH halts large clinical trial of HIV vaccine candidate

"The National Institutes of Health on Thursday halted a study testing an experimental HIV vaccine after an independent review board found the vaccine did not prevent HIV infection and did not reduce the amount of HIV in the blood," Reuters reports (Steenhuysen, 4/25).

29 Apr 2013

DKT Ethiopia using GIS technology to improve family planning, HIV prevention programs

"In just six years, DKT Ethiopia has transformed its system for tracking contraceptive sales from pins and pencils to computers and satellites and, in the process, helped create a family planning and HIV prevention success story in the Horn of Africa," David Olson, a global development communications consultant, writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

29 Apr 2013

Continued political, financial support needed to reduce global malaria incidence

"With the globally agreed target of reversing the incidence rate of malaria by 2015 now in sight, top United Nations officials [on Thursday] urged the international community to stay committed to protecting people from this preventable disease and to scale up key interventions such as the provision of insecticide-treated mosquito nets," the U.N. News Centre reports, noting April 25 marked the annual World Malaria Day, with this year's theme, "Invest in the future. Defeat malaria."

29 Apr 2013

Cempra demonstrates solithromycin's potential against urogenital infections at ECCMID

Cempra, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing differentiated antibiotics to meet critical medical needs in the treatment of bacterial infections, today announced that it will present data at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Berlin, demonstrating solithromycin's potential to treat urogenital infections and combat challenging pathogens such as enterococci and Legionella pneumophila.

29 Apr 2013

GS-9620 therapy suppresses hepatitis B virus infection

A novel drug developed by Gilead Sciences and tested in an animal model at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio suppresses hepatitis B virus infection by stimulating the immune system and inducing loss of infected cells.

29 Apr 2013

New treatment options for influenza

The flu is caused by an infection with the influenza virus, which mainly attacks the upper respiratory tract - the nose, throat and bronchi and rarely also the lungs. According to the World Health Organization, around five to 15 percent of the population are affected by upper respiratory tract infections during seasonal flu outbreaks, and between 250 000-500 000 people die of the illness every year.

29 Apr 2013

Pfizer reports that Prevenar 13 Phase 3 study meets all primary, secondary objectives

Pfizer Inc. presented today the results from a Phase 3 study investigating immunogenicity, tolerability and safety of Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]) in adults 18 to 49 years of age.

From Pfizer, Inc. 29 Apr 2013

Antihistamine drugs work by preventing histamine from attaching to H1 receptors

Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, running nose--it's allergy season! What triggers these allergic reactions, and how do allergy medications work?

26 Apr 2013

Study demonstrates accuracy of non-invasive test for NASH diagnosis

A Chinese study presented at the International Liver CongressTM 2013 has demonstrated the accuracy of a non-invasive test for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) diagnosis.

26 Apr 2013

Researchers call H7N9 bird flu strain 'one of the most lethal'; first case outside China reported by Taiwan

Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens.

26 Apr 2013

U.N. urges sustained support for prevention, treatment activities on World Malaria Day

On World Malaria Day (April 25), the U.N. "warned ... that malaria maintains its impact on less developed countries, mainly in Africa, where millions of people lack needed attention," and in a message marking the day, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "urged political leaders and health authorities of states where malaria is endemic to keep their commitment to achieve universal access to prevention and treatment of malaria".

26 Apr 2013

Calcipotriol drug offers a potential treatment option for fibrotic diseases

Liver fibrosis results from an excessive accumulation of tough, fibrous scar tissue and occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases. In industrialized countries, the main causes of liver injury leading to fibrosis include chronic hepatitis virus infection, excess alcohol consumption and, increasingly, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

26 Apr 2013

Opinion pieces published in recognition of World Malaria Day

Wednesday is World Malaria Day, observed annually on April 25. This year's theme is "Invest in the future: defeat malaria." The following is a summary of opinion pieces published in recognition of the day.

26 Apr 2013

New research collaboration may help in developing TB vaccine for bovines and humans

Scientists at The University of Nottingham are studying whether harmful bacteria found in cattle could be harnessed to protect livestock from the devastating disease bovine tuberculosis (TB).

26 Apr 2013

Obama administration loss in anti-prostitution pledge Supreme Court case would be 'victory for health and human rights'

"No one denies that prostitution can be dangerous, demeaning work. But health experts long ago recognized that sanctions and stigma make it far more harmful," MSNBC.com health policy reporter Geoffrey Cowley writes in an MSNBC.com opinion piece."

26 Apr 2013

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB): an interview with Dr. Jennifer Cohn, Médecins Sans Frontières

MDR-TB is tuberculosis, a mycobacterial infection, that has developed resistance to two important and powerful first-line anti-TB drugs, INH and rifampin.

26 Apr 2013

U.S. CDC, FDA, armed forces taking action to fight malaria

Testifying before Congress this week, CDC Director Thomas Frieden "said the challenge in the fight against malaria, which in Africa alone kills one child every minute, is staying one step ahead of the malaria parasite" and "cited the need for better public health surveillance, and urged Congress to fund better detection tools".

26 Apr 2013

Kaiser Family Foundation, CSIS host panel discussion on IOM's PEPFAR evaluation

On Tuesday, April 30, from 2:00-3:30 p.m., the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center will host a panel discussion, titled "The Policy Implications of the Institute of Medicine's Evaluation of PEPFAR," at the CSIS conference center in Washington, D.C.

26 Apr 2013

GI nematode infections combat obesity and improve related metabolic disorders

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, have shown in a mouse model that infection with nematodes (also known as roundworms) can not only combat obesity but ameliorate related metabolic disorders.

26 Apr 2013

Disease/Infection News

Opinion pieces address World Malaria Day

NIH halts large clinical trial of HIV vaccine candidate

DKT Ethiopia using GIS technology to improve family planning, HIV prevention programs

Continued political, financial support needed to reduce global malaria incidence

Cempra demonstrates solithromycin's potential against urogenital infections at ECCMID

GS-9620 therapy suppresses hepatitis B virus infection

New treatment options for influenza

Pfizer reports that Prevenar 13 Phase 3 study meets all primary, secondary objectives

Antihistamine drugs work by preventing histamine from attaching to H1 receptors

Study demonstrates accuracy of non-invasive test for NASH diagnosis

Researchers call H7N9 bird flu strain 'one of the most lethal'; first case outside China reported by Taiwan

U.N. urges sustained support for prevention, treatment activities on World Malaria Day

Calcipotriol drug offers a potential treatment option for fibrotic diseases

Opinion pieces published in recognition of World Malaria Day

New research collaboration may help in developing TB vaccine for bovines and humans

Obama administration loss in anti-prostitution pledge Supreme Court case would be 'victory for health and human rights'

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB): an interview with Dr. Jennifer Cohn, Médecins Sans Frontières

U.S. CDC, FDA, armed forces taking action to fight malaria

Kaiser Family Foundation, CSIS host panel discussion on IOM's PEPFAR evaluation

GI nematode infections combat obesity and improve related metabolic disorders

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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