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Scientists discover new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes. Their experiments suggest that instead of recognizing and clipping proteins based on sequences of amino acids, these proteases' location within membranes gives them the unique ability to recognize and cut proteins with unstable structures.

17 Nov 2012

HCV medications' side effects can now be replicated and observed in Petri dishes and test tubes

The adverse side effects of certain hepatitis C medications can now be replicated and observed in Petri dishes and test tubes, thanks to a research team led by Craig Cameron, the Paul Berg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State University.

17 Nov 2012

Global Fund Board announces integration of AMFm into core grant system

The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Thursday announced it will "integrate" the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm), implemented in 2010 as a pilot program to provide low-cost artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) in poor and rural areas, "into its existing core system of providing grants to countries to purchase drugs, bed nets and other malaria-control measures," Nature News Blog reports.

17 Nov 2012

Interim results from RTS,S vaccine on-going phase III trial on malaria

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 250 million clinical malaria cases are attributed to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) annually, with over 1.1 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

17 Nov 2012

Global Fund Board votes to begin immediate transition to new funding model

"In a bid to ensure the global fight against three of the world's most devastating diseases remains efficient, the Board of the ... Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria voted Thursday to begin an immediate transition" to a new grant-funding approach, the U.N. News Centre reports.

17 Nov 2012

GlobalPost interviews PATH Malaria Control Program director about global response

In an interview with GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, Kent Campbell, director of the Malaria Control Program at PATH, discusses "achievements in the fight against malaria and what is needed to bring transmission to zero."

17 Nov 2012

Study reveals significant regional variation and trends in antibiotic use between 1999-2010

Research revealed during "Get Smart Week" shows that California joined Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington as the five states with the lowest antibiotic use in the nation in 2010.

17 Nov 2012

New pneumococcal vaccine highly effective in infants

A new conjugate vaccine is highly effective (93–100%) at preventing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD; meningitis, sepsis, bacteremic pneumonia, and other blood-borne infections) in infants younger than 2 years who are the most vulnerable to infection, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet.

16 Nov 2012

USAID helping to move health forward in Burma

Ariel Pablos-Mendez, USAID assistant administrator for global health, writes in the agency's IMPACTblog about his recent trip to Burma and the challenges the country faces as it transitions to an open society.

16 Nov 2012

Global Fund board terminates employment of Inspector General

"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said in a statement Thursday that its board had terminated the employment of Inspector General John Parsons 'after a careful review of his performance, which was found to be unsatisfactory,'" the Associated Press reports.

16 Nov 2012

Vaccinating families could protect young babies against RSV infection

Research by the University of Warwick indicates that vaccinating families could protect young babies against a common winter virus which can be fatal for infants under six months.

16 Nov 2012

FCTC funding cuts could leave world's poorest countries vulnerable to smoking-related diseases

Proposed funding cuts within the international body responsible for tobacco control will leave the world's poorest countries more vulnerable to smoking-related diseases, a study suggests.

16 Nov 2012

Global Fund uncovers 'financial wrongdoing' in some grants to Cambodia

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Wednesday said an investigation by the group's Inspector General into grants in Cambodia "uncovered credible and substantive evidence of serious financial wrongdoing, on procurement and other issues," Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Nov 2012

Meningitis vaccine declared usable without refrigeration for up to four days

"In a breakthrough for the fight against meningitis in poor countries, researchers say the WHO has ruled that a key vaccine can be transported or stored for up to four days without refrigeration," Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Nov 2012

Examining private sector, foreign government involvement in Haiti's health system

With recent suggestions "of privatizing the [U.S.] government's emergency response capability for natural and human-caused disasters and infectious diseases," Henry (Chip) Carey, an associate professor of political science at Georgia State University in Atlanta, writes in the World Policy Blog, "One might want to look at Haiti for a case study in the effects of bypassing the government health sector for private organizations."

16 Nov 2012

New 'people-centered investment approach' could lead to end of global AIDS pandemic

Writing in Huffington Post's "The Big Push" blog, Lucy Chesire, executive director and secretary to the board of the TB ACTION Group, notes "countries from north and south, U.N. organizations, private sector companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are meeting in Geneva [this week] at the Board meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to discuss how best to invest available resources against the three killer diseases."

16 Nov 2012

FDA chief's call for greater oversight of drug compounders triggers Republican skepticism

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday questioned Food and Drug Administration head Margaret Hamburg and the co-owner of a compounding pharmacy linked with a deadly meningitis outbreak. Hamburg called for Congress to give the FDA greater oversight of compounding pharmacies, which was met with skepticism by Republican lawmakers.

16 Nov 2012

Study finds specific way in which Salmonella counteract defense mechanisms of human cells

A new study by researchers at Imperial College London has identified a way in which Salmonella bacteria, which cause gastroenteritis and typhoid fever, counteract the defence mechanisms of human cells.

16 Nov 2012

Researchers discover unlikely recipe to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria

Washington State University researchers have found an unlikely recipe for antibiotic resistant bacteria: Mix cow dung and soil, and add urine infused with metabolized antibiotic. The urine will kill off normal E. coli in the dung-soil mixture. But antibiotic-resistant E. coli will survive in the soil to recolonize in a cow's gut through pasture, forage or bedding.

16 Nov 2012

Simple iron control mechanism can prevent development of severe forms of malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening condition that exposes approximately half of the world's population to the risk of developing a severe and often lethal form of disease. In a study published in the latest issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe*, Miguel Soares and his team at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia (IGC), Portugal, discovered that the development of severe forms of malaria can be prevented by a simple mechanism that controls the accumulation of iron in tissues of the infected host.

15 Nov 2012

Disease/Infection News

Scientists discover new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes

HCV medications' side effects can now be replicated and observed in Petri dishes and test tubes

Global Fund Board announces integration of AMFm into core grant system

Interim results from RTS,S vaccine on-going phase III trial on malaria

Global Fund Board votes to begin immediate transition to new funding model

GlobalPost interviews PATH Malaria Control Program director about global response

Study reveals significant regional variation and trends in antibiotic use between 1999-2010

New pneumococcal vaccine highly effective in infants

USAID helping to move health forward in Burma

Global Fund board terminates employment of Inspector General

Vaccinating families could protect young babies against RSV infection

FCTC funding cuts could leave world's poorest countries vulnerable to smoking-related diseases

Global Fund uncovers 'financial wrongdoing' in some grants to Cambodia

Meningitis vaccine declared usable without refrigeration for up to four days

Examining private sector, foreign government involvement in Haiti's health system

New 'people-centered investment approach' could lead to end of global AIDS pandemic

FDA chief's call for greater oversight of drug compounders triggers Republican skepticism

Study finds specific way in which Salmonella counteract defense mechanisms of human cells

Researchers discover unlikely recipe to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria

Simple iron control mechanism can prevent development of severe forms of malaria

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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