Disease/Infection News

RSS

African sleeping sickness parasite's previously unrecognized extreme social behavior discovered

Long considered a freewheeling loner, the Trypanosoma brucei parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness has revealed a totally unexpected social side, opening a potential chink in the behavioral armor of this and other supposedly solitary human parasites, according to research presented at the American Society for Cell Biology's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

15 Dec 2010

Profectus' GENEVAX IL-12 pDNA adjuvant improves vaccine-induced response rate in Phase I HIV study

Profectus Biosciences, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against infectious diseases and cancers, announced today that its GENEVAX™ IL-12 pDNA adjuvant has significantly improved the vaccine-induced response rate in a Phase I clinical study of an experimental DNA vaccine for the prevention of HIV infection.

15 Dec 2010

Global Fund to draw up action plan against drug theft, invites stakeholders to participate

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Friday appealed to international donors to join them in an effort to fight medicine theft, SAPA/News24 reports.

15 Dec 2010

Researchers introduce new class of drugs for HCV patients

To improve the care for individuals infected with the hepatitis C virus, a major health problem and a leading cause of chronic liver disease around the world, nearly 200 international hepatitis experts have taken an important step in escalating the introduction of a new class of targeted therapies for HCV – direct-acting antivirals.

15 Dec 2010

Plasma technology safe, effective alternative to antibiotics to treat multi-drug resistant infections

Cold plasma jets could be a safe, effective alternative to antibiotics to treat multi-drug resistant infections, says a study published this week in the January issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

15 Dec 2010

New device gathers reliable data about risky sexual behavior among Ethiopian teenagers

Brown University sociologists have developed a device to gather more reliable data about risky sexual behavior among Ethiopian teenagers and young adults than conventional face-to-face interviews can produce.

15 Dec 2010

Sniffer rats detect TB more accurately than traditional microscopic analysis

Trained giant African rats increased positive TB detection rates by 44 percent over microscopy, the most commonly-used technique for diagnosing TB, according to a new study released in the December issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

15 Dec 2010

Reuters looks at cost-effectiveness of pursuing malaria vaccine, eradication

Reuters examines the effort to create an effective malaria vaccine and asks: "[I]s the vaccine - and the global health community's aim of completely eradicating a disease that kills a child every 45 seconds - really worth the money?"

15 Dec 2010

Leeds scientists develop new vaccine to eliminate polio disease

Scientists at the University of Leeds are joining the global fight to eradicate polio by developing a new type of vaccine that can trick the body to develop immunity against the disease.

15 Dec 2010

Unique device eliminates cold and flu germs in eco-friendly way

Bresslergroup, an award-winning new product development firm, has designed a unique device that allows a person to easily disinfect an entire room without labor or hazardous chemicals.

15 Dec 2010

Flu vaccination during pregnancy prevents infant hospitalization

A three-year study by Yale School of Medicine researchers has found that vaccinating pregnant women against influenza is over 90 percent effective in preventing their infants from being hospitalized with influenza in the first six months of life.

15 Dec 2010

MVI, Merck and NYU collaborate to research potential malaria vaccine

Development of a vaccine to prevent the malaria parasite from entering the human liver is the goal of a new collaboration announced today by global leaders in malaria research and vaccine development. The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), Merck (known outside the US and Canada as MSD), and NYU Langone Medical Center are working together to evaluate an approach targeting a novel part of a major surface protein on the malaria parasite. Malaria is estimated to kill close to 900,000 people each year with the majority of deaths occurring in children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.

14 Dec 2010

Program reduces cervical cancer deaths among HIV-infected women in Zambia

A new study undertaken in Zambia shows that, using setting-appropriate human resources and technology, morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer among HIV-infected women can be reduced. The study’s lead author is Dr Groesbeck Parham, Professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Program. The research was published in the December issue of HIV Therapy.

14 Dec 2010

Adelaide man guilty of deliberately spreading HIV

An Adelaide man, Stuart McDonald, 43, has been accused of deliberately infecting his sexual partners with HIV. He has been found guilty of two counts of endangering life.

14 Dec 2010

DARPA awards Pulmatrix $5.7 million grant to advance iCALM therapies

Pulmatrix, a clinical stage biotechnology company discovering and developing a new class of therapies for the prevention, treatment and control of respiratory diseases, today announced that it has been awarded a grant for $5.7 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a component of the Department of Defense (DOD), focused on identifying and advancing novel technologies to support defense of our nation's soldiers and civilian population.

14 Dec 2010

Provectus commences PH-10 Phase 2c trial for psoriasis

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has initiated a Phase 2c clinical trial of PH-10 for psoriasis. This multicenter, randomized controlled Phase 2c study is expected to enroll up to 90 subjects at four different sites, beginning in late December.

14 Dec 2010

Pharmasset initiates dosing in PSI-7977 exploratory study in HCV

Pharmasset, Inc. announced today that dosing has begun in an exploratory study of PSI-7977, a nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV). The trial will evaluate PSI-7977 400mg QD in combination with ribavirin (RBV), with 0, 4, 8, or 12 weeks of pegylated interferon alfa 2a (Peg-IFN) in treatment-naive patients infected with HCV genotype 2 or 3.

14 Dec 2010

Scientists discover new way in which HPV triggers cancer

University of Manchester scientists have discovered for the first time an important new way in which the human papilloma virus (HPV) triggers cancer in what could lead to new treatments for cervical and mouth cancer.

14 Dec 2010

Scientists perform metagenomic analysis of bacterial immune system for personalized oral health care

The human body is home to a complex ecosystem of microbes increasingly recognized as having a critical role in both health and disease.

14 Dec 2010

Myths and misunderstandings about medical male circumcision for HIV prevention

A new report from the Women's HIV Prevention Tracking Project (WHiPT), a collaborative initiative of AVAC and the ATHENA Network, features an unprecedented collection of voices from Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda reflecting on what male circumcision for HIV prevention means for women. It highlights women's perspectives, advocacy priorities and recommendations on this new prevention strategy.

14 Dec 2010