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Researchers discover a trigger by which the HCV enters liver cells

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered a trigger by which the Hepatitis C virus enters liver cells ─ shedding light on how this serious and potentially deadly virus can begin to damage the liver.

13 Dec 2012

BBC News examines HIV microbicide research

BBC News examines ongoing efforts to develop a female-controlled microbicide to prevent HIV infection. But so far, "efforts ... have presented a great deal of frustration in the fight against this global epidemic," the news service writes, detailing the history of some failed experiments.

12 Dec 2012

Report analyzes risk factors and infection control strategies taken to prevent spread of NDM1-Kp

As the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant infections continue to rise around the world, a hospital in Canada detected the presence of New Delhi Metallo---lactamase-1-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (NDM1-Kp), a multidrug resistant bacteria that is resistant to carbapenems, one of the last lines of antibiotics.

12 Dec 2012

African scientists gather in Kenya to discuss global response to NTDs

"African scientists from key research institutions and universities have challenged governments to take serious the issues of neglected and tropical disease to curb millions of deaths among the poor," Xinhua reports.

12 Dec 2012

AstraZeneca, Case Western Reserve initiate AZD5847 Phase 2a trial in TB

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced the first patient enrolled in a Phase 2a trial to assess the effectiveness of AZD5847, a new test drug for patients with tuberculosis (TB), including patients with HIV co-infection.

12 Dec 2012

Uganda's proposed anti-homosexuality legislation would inhibit health care access

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines the potential impacts of a proposed anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda, writing that the bill "would stand as an obstacle to both access to health care and to the ability of health care providers to even offer services," making prevention of "the bill's passage a matter of life and death, as well as of rights and dignity."

12 Dec 2012

Contact precautions reduce number of visits by healthcare workers and outside visitors

The prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) can help reduce patient morbidity and mortality, but a common prevention effort for patients with hard to treat infections known as contact precautions, can have positive and negative impacts on patient care.

12 Dec 2012

Study finds important links between Pf malaria and endemic Burkitt Lymphoma

New research, presented this morning at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), has identified important associations between Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria and endemic Burkitt Lymphoma (eBL) that may help researchers identify young children who are more susceptible to eBL.

12 Dec 2012

New collaborative model for drug discovery can ensure antibiotics are not lost to resistance

Noting "multidrug-resistant organisms are showing up in top-flight hospitals" around the world, Carl Nathan, chair of the department of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes in this New York Times opinion piece, "What makes the rapid loss of antibiotics to drug resistance particularly alarming is that we are failing to make new ones."

12 Dec 2012

Researchers decipher mechanism by which anophelin binds to thrombin

An international project lead by the Molecular and Cell Biology Institute of Porto University with the participation of researchers from IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) has, for the first time ever, deciphered the mechanism by which a substance called anophelin binds to an enzyme (thrombin) involved in the process of blood coagulation.

12 Dec 2012

Drugs for Neglected Diseases receives UNITAID grant for paediatric HIV programme

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative welcomes the announcement by UNITAID to grant up to USD 17.3 million to the organization for its paediatric HIV programme.

12 Dec 2012

U.N. officials call on Security Council, international community to tackle complex crisis in Sahel

"Top United Nations officials on Monday called on the Security Council and the wider international community to support efforts to develop an integrated strategy to tackle the complex and multifaceted crisis facing the Sahel region of West Africa," the U.N. News Centre reports.

12 Dec 2012

Researchers shed new light on how salmonella bacteria cause infections

Researchers have found that the bacteria are able to change key cells that line the intestine, enabling the bugs to thrive.

12 Dec 2012

Clinical trial to examine AstraZeneca experimental drug against pulmonary tuberculosis

A clinical trial will examine an investigational drug's early bacteria-killing activity in patients newly diagnosed with drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis.

12 Dec 2012

Bacteriophages may play an important role in competition among bacterial strains

Unique viruses called bacteriophages may play an important role in competition among bacterial strains, influencing the overall ecosystem of the human intestine, scientists at The University of Texas at Arlington and UT Southwestern Medical Center say.

11 Dec 2012

Top-line results from Durata Therapeutics’ dalbavancin Phase 3 study on ABSSSI

Durata Therapeutics, Inc. today announced preliminary, top-line results for its DISCOVER 1 ("Dalbavancin for Infections of the Skin COmpared to Vancomycin at an Early Response") Phase 3 study of dalbavancin, which is under investigation for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by susceptible gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

11 Dec 2012

Roundup: NH hospital at center of hepatitis outbreak details fixes; Report finds racial gap in Colo. dental coverage; Health cuts part of Conn. budget plan

Though Exeter Hospital has fixed problems discovered after a hepatitis C outbreak last spring, federal officials say the hospital initially failed to conduct an adequate investigation. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said last week it no longer plans to terminate the hospital's Medicare funding now that multiple issues raised by inspectors have been addressed.

11 Dec 2012

New coronavirus can infect cells from humans and bats alike

The SARS epidemic of 2002-2003 was short-lived, but a novel type of human coronavirus that is alarming public health authorities can infect cells from humans and bats alike, a fact that could make the animals a continuing source of infection, according to a study to be published in in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on December 11.

11 Dec 2012

Janssen announces U.S. prescribing information update for EDURANT tablets

Janssen Therapeutics, Division of Janssen Products, LP, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a prescribing information update for EDURANT (rilpivirine) tablets to include 96-week pooled data from the Phase 3 ECHO and THRIVE studies, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of EDURANT for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in antiretroviral treatment-naive adults.

11 Dec 2012

Recognizing reproductive rights as human rights

Noting the recognition of International Human Rights Day on December 9, Purnima Mane, president and CEO of Pathfinder International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "Every person should be able to make decisions about her or his body," making reproductive rights a human rights issue.

11 Dec 2012

Disease/Infection News

Researchers discover a trigger by which the HCV enters liver cells

BBC News examines HIV microbicide research

Report analyzes risk factors and infection control strategies taken to prevent spread of NDM1-Kp

African scientists gather in Kenya to discuss global response to NTDs

AstraZeneca, Case Western Reserve initiate AZD5847 Phase 2a trial in TB

Uganda's proposed anti-homosexuality legislation would inhibit health care access

Contact precautions reduce number of visits by healthcare workers and outside visitors

Study finds important links between Pf malaria and endemic Burkitt Lymphoma

New collaborative model for drug discovery can ensure antibiotics are not lost to resistance

Researchers decipher mechanism by which anophelin binds to thrombin

Drugs for Neglected Diseases receives UNITAID grant for paediatric HIV programme

U.N. officials call on Security Council, international community to tackle complex crisis in Sahel

Researchers shed new light on how salmonella bacteria cause infections

Clinical trial to examine AstraZeneca experimental drug against pulmonary tuberculosis

Bacteriophages may play an important role in competition among bacterial strains

Top-line results from Durata Therapeutics’ dalbavancin Phase 3 study on ABSSSI

Roundup: NH hospital at center of hepatitis outbreak details fixes; Report finds racial gap in Colo. dental coverage; Health cuts part of Conn. budget plan

New coronavirus can infect cells from humans and bats alike

Janssen announces U.S. prescribing information update for EDURANT tablets

Recognizing reproductive rights as human rights

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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