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GSK receives FDA approval for FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT to treat seasonal flu

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Virus Vaccine) for the immunisation of children (three years and older) and adults to help prevent disease caused by seasonal influenza (flu) virus subtypes A and type B contained in the vaccine.

17 Dec 2012

Maryland researchers launch groundbreaking study into spread of drug-resistant malaria in Burma

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have launched groundbreaking research into the spread of potentially deadly drug-resistant malaria in the developing Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, also known as Burma.

17 Dec 2012

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Global lifespans have risen dramatically in the past 40 years, but the increased life expectancy is not benefitting everybody equally, say University of Toronto researchers. In particular, adult males from low- and middle-income countries are losing ground.

17 Dec 2012

Regenstrief investigator recognized as American College of Medical Informatics fellow

Regenstrief Institute investigator Shaun Grannis M.D., M.S., associate professor of family medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, has been inducted as a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics. He joins a select elected group of individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of biomedical informatics.

17 Dec 2012

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Older people often worry about dementia and while some risks are known, for example alcoholism or stroke, the effects of illness are less clear. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care looks at illness requiring hospitalization and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and finds that infection or severe sepsis, neurological dysfunction, such as delirium, or acute dialysis are all independently associated with an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of dementia.

17 Dec 2012

Strong unadjusted relationship between COPD, pneumonia and lung cancer

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are two of the most important smoking-related diseases worldwide, with a huge combined mortality bur-den. Many consider the presence of COPD itself to be an independent risk factor for lung cancer. Others argue that smoking contributes to both COPD and lung cancer.

17 Dec 2012

Apophysomyces fungus kills 5 people following a massive Joplin tornado

A fast growing, flesh-eating fungus killed 5 people following a massive tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo., according to two new studies based on genomic sequencing by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

16 Dec 2012

Efforts to prevent, treat cervical cancer increasing in Africa

The Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" examines efforts to prevent and treat cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa, where "cervical cancer kills large numbers of women, many of whom are never diagnosed because local hospitals do not recognize the disease until it is too late."

15 Dec 2012

New issue of GHD-NET's Health & Foreign Policy Bulletin available online

The November 2012 issue of the Global Health Diplomacy Network's (GHD-NET) Health & Foreign Policy Bulletin is now available online.

15 Dec 2012

PlusNews reviews AVAC priorities for 2013 HIV prevention agenda

"If the world scales-up HIV treatment and prevention in the next two years, a critical tipping point -- in which those on treatment outnumber those newly infected with the virus -- could be reached, according to the global HIV prevention advocacy organization AVAC," PlusNews reports.

15 Dec 2012

Though progress made, global burden of HIV/AIDS requires greater, 'better' response

"Optimism and momentum has been building around the real possibility that an AIDS-free generation is imminent. Yet, the most recent estimates of HIV prevalence and incidence and of AIDS-related mortality released by UNAIDS, together with data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 in the Lancet, make it clear that AIDS is not over," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe; Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and Mark Dybul, incoming executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, write in a Lancet opinion piece.

15 Dec 2012

Examining developing country contributions to AIDS response

"World AIDS Day 2012 offered numerous personal stories in the global fight against HIV and AIDS, but perhaps the most intriguing story, however, was a policy one: How developing countries are making significant contributions to the fight against AIDS in their own countries,"

15 Dec 2012

WHO releases new guidelines for interventions aimed at protecting sex workers from HIV

The WHO on Wednesday "released new guidelines providing technical recommendations on effective interventions for the prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among sex workers and their clients," New Europe Online reports.

15 Dec 2012

Cempra commences CEM-102 Phase 2 trial in prosthetic joint infections

Cempra, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing antibiotics to meet critical medical needs in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases, today announced the initiation of its Phase 2 clinical trial of CEM-102 in patients with prosthetic joint infections (PJIs).

15 Dec 2012

Global Burden of Disease Study finds people worldwide living longer, but with more illness, disability

"A sharp decline in deaths from malnutrition and infectious diseases like measles and tuberculosis has caused a shift in global mortality patterns over the past 20 years, according to a study released on Thursday, with far more of the world's population now living into old age and dying from diseases mostly associated with rich countries, like cancer and heart disease," the New York Times reports.

15 Dec 2012

Study suggests that existing HIV drug could be a potential therapy for Staph infections

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers suggests that an existing HIV drug called maraviroc could be a potential therapy for Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious and deadly pathogen linked to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations each year.

15 Dec 2012

FDA approves GSK’s raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raxibacumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with inhalational anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs and for prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved raxibacumab injection to treat inhalational anthrax, a form of the infectious disease caused by breathing in the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Raxibacumab also is approved to prevent inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms.

14 Dec 2012

High-dose vitamin D can reduce risk of respiratory tract infections

Treating infection-prone patients over a 12-month period with high doses of vitamin D reduces their risk of developing respiratory tract infection - and consequently their antibiotic requirement. This according to a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital published in the online scientific journal BMJ Open.

14 Dec 2012

Disease/Infection News

GSK receives FDA approval for FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT to treat seasonal flu

Maryland researchers launch groundbreaking study into spread of drug-resistant malaria in Burma

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Regenstrief investigator recognized as American College of Medical Informatics fellow

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Strong unadjusted relationship between COPD, pneumonia and lung cancer

Apophysomyces fungus kills 5 people following a massive Joplin tornado

Efforts to prevent, treat cervical cancer increasing in Africa

New issue of GHD-NET's Health & Foreign Policy Bulletin available online

PlusNews reviews AVAC priorities for 2013 HIV prevention agenda

Though progress made, global burden of HIV/AIDS requires greater, 'better' response

Examining developing country contributions to AIDS response

WHO releases new guidelines for interventions aimed at protecting sex workers from HIV

Cempra commences CEM-102 Phase 2 trial in prosthetic joint infections

Global Burden of Disease Study finds people worldwide living longer, but with more illness, disability

Study suggests that existing HIV drug could be a potential therapy for Staph infections

FDA approves GSK’s raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

GSK receives FDA approval for raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

High-dose vitamin D can reduce risk of respiratory tract infections

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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