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Narcolepsy more prevalent in China during April

New research shows that the occurrence of narcolepsy in China is highly correlated to a seasonal pattern, with onset most frequent in April.

22 Aug 2011

Winter airway infections appear to trigger narcolepsy: Study

The onset of narcolepsy appears to follow seasonal patterns of H1N1 and other upper airway infections, according to a new study of patients in China that was led by Stanford University School of Medicine narcolepsy expert Emmanuel Mignot, MD.

22 Aug 2011

New CDI therapeutic approach may offer treatment for other bacterial diseases

Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered a molecular process by which the body can defend against the effects of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), pointing the way to a promising new approach for treating an intestinal disease that has become more common, more severe and harder to cure in recent years.

22 Aug 2011

Hospital roundup: Catholic facilities losing nuns' leadership; Georgia infection rates; new VA system for Louisiana

In 1968, nuns or priests served as chief executives of 770 of the country's 796 Catholic hospitals, according to the Catholic Health Association. Today, they preside over 8 of 636 hospitals. ... The leadership shift has stirred angst in many Catholic hospitals about whether the values imparted by the nuns, concerning the treatment of both patients and employees, can withstand bottom-line forces without their day-to-day vigilance.

22 Aug 2011

AHF: Gilead's campaign for FDA approval of Truvada leads to black marketing in Florida

Today AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) decried the fact that the recent campaign by Gilead Sciences Inc. to obtain approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for Truvada as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) has led to a "black market" for the drug in Florida.

20 Aug 2011

Annual oral rabies vaccination program in eight western Pennsylvania counties

The annual oral rabies vaccination program, which helps control the spread of rabies in wild animals, is underway in eight western Pennsylvania counties.

20 Aug 2011

Disease mapping could help control and eliminate loiasis, other NTDs, study says

In this End the Neglect blog post, Linda Diep, communications and grassroots assistant with the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, discusses how "mapping of Loa Loa Filariasis could help in the innovation of new strategies to eliminate and control onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (LF), according to a recently released article from the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases."

20 Aug 2011

WHO spokesperson addresses health, medical needs for Libya on PBS NewsHour

The WHO "is rushing to secure medical supplies for Libya" after the Dutch government on Monday released nearly $145 million in frozen assets from Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi's regime in response to a direct WHO appeal, PBS NewsHour reports.

20 Aug 2011

VOA News examines new drug compound that shows broad-based efficacy in lab tests

VOA News looks at a new drug compound developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that they say has so far "killed every virus it's been tested on in the laboratory." "The drug - known by the acronym DRACO - works by chemically targeting viral-infected cells and prompting them to self-destruct, eliminating the disease in the process," VOA writes.

20 Aug 2011

FAO holds second emergency meeting on Famine; WHO warns of cholera spread; Turkish PM visits Mogadishu

For the second time in one month, representatives of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) held an emergency meeting on Thursday in Rome "to take stock of the humanitarian disaster" in the Horn of Africa, the Guardian reports.

20 Aug 2011

Researchers turn their attention to Chagas disease as developed countries see rise in infection rates

Chagas disease, a historically neglected tropical disease that the WHO estimates affects about 10 million people worldwide, is drawing increased attention as infection by the parasite spreads from Latin America to developed countries, such as Spain and the United States, Science reports.

20 Aug 2011

Emory team identifies conditions that make memory T cells slip away during chronic infections

After recovering from the flu or another acute infection, your immune system is ready to react quickly if you run into the same virus again. White blood cells called memory T cells develop during the infection and help the immune system remember the virus and attack it if it comes back.

19 Aug 2011

USAID announces expansion of indoor residual spraying program in Africa

USAID is expanding its Indoor Residual Spraying program in Africa, according to a USAID press release. Through a $189 million, three-year contract, "the President's Malaria Initiative … together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will provide technical and financial support to the Ministries of Health and National Malaria Control Programs in African countries to build country-level capacity for malaria prevention activities," according to the release.

19 Aug 2011

Cerus to support ongoing development of INTERCEPT red cell system

Cerus Corporation announced today that it has received a $2.1 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense to support the advanced development of the company's technology for inactivating pathogens and leukocytes in red blood cells.

19 Aug 2011

New quick malaria diagnostic test may help reduce overtreatment

"Health workers often treat patients for malaria even when a test indicates a different cause of the illness," a behavior seen across sub-Saharan Africa "that worries many health experts," PRI's The World reports.

19 Aug 2011

Isolation of HIV antibodies advances search for AIDS vaccine

A team of researchers has "identified 17 potent antibodies whose discovery opened up valuable pathways in the search for an AIDS vaccine," Agence France-Presse reports.

19 Aug 2011

H1N1 vaccine safe, effective for hemodialysis and kidney transplant patients

When the influenza A (H1N1) virus swept around the world in spring 2009, infection was presumed to be more common in immunosuppressed patients, such as those who have had a kidney transplant. Later that year, the International Societies of Transplantation recommended that transplant recipients receive at least one dose of the H1N1 vaccine, although there was no information on the efficacy of the vaccine in that population.

19 Aug 2011

Use of insecticide-treated bednets linked to local resurgence of malaria, study says

"Insecticide-treated bednets, whose use is being widely promoted in Africa to combat malaria, may paradoxically be linked to local resurgence of the disease," according to a study published in the Lancet on Thursday, the Independent reports.

19 Aug 2011

Japan to fund polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing approximately $65 million to Pakistan's government to provide polio vaccination campaigns in the country, "one of the most difficult fronts against the disease as global health organizations risk missing their goal of stopping polio globally the end of 2012," the Wall Street Journal reports.

19 Aug 2011

Prior parasitic worm infections may complicate TB therapy

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major threat to global health, taking the lives of more than a million people worldwide each year. Its greatest impact is often in the most impoverished places on earth, where patients frequently suffer from multiple chronic illnesses at the same time. In such situations, the question of whether each individual illness might make concurrent illnesses more difficult to treat becomes a critical issue both for specific patients and for general public health.

19 Aug 2011

Disease/Infection News

Narcolepsy more prevalent in China during April

Winter airway infections appear to trigger narcolepsy: Study

New CDI therapeutic approach may offer treatment for other bacterial diseases

Hospital roundup: Catholic facilities losing nuns' leadership; Georgia infection rates; new VA system for Louisiana

AHF: Gilead's campaign for FDA approval of Truvada leads to black marketing in Florida

Annual oral rabies vaccination program in eight western Pennsylvania counties

Disease mapping could help control and eliminate loiasis, other NTDs, study says

WHO spokesperson addresses health, medical needs for Libya on PBS NewsHour

VOA News examines new drug compound that shows broad-based efficacy in lab tests

FAO holds second emergency meeting on Famine; WHO warns of cholera spread; Turkish PM visits Mogadishu

Researchers turn their attention to Chagas disease as developed countries see rise in infection rates

Emory team identifies conditions that make memory T cells slip away during chronic infections

USAID announces expansion of indoor residual spraying program in Africa

Cerus to support ongoing development of INTERCEPT red cell system

New quick malaria diagnostic test may help reduce overtreatment

Isolation of HIV antibodies advances search for AIDS vaccine

H1N1 vaccine safe, effective for hemodialysis and kidney transplant patients

Use of insecticide-treated bednets linked to local resurgence of malaria, study says

Japan to fund polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan

Prior parasitic worm infections may complicate TB therapy

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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