Disease/Infection News

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Scientists provide first-ever glimpse of HIV protein structure

Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have provided the first-ever glimpse of the structure of a key protein-gp120-found on the surface of a specific subgroup of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV-1.

3 Apr 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"Achieving the [Millennium Development Goal] MDG 4 target of reducing newborn and child mortality will require concerted efforts to scale up evidence-based interventions, especially community-based preventive and therapeutic strategies in primary care," according to a Lancet comment that reflects on the challenges associated with developing "the appropriate mix of strategies" to improve maternal health.

3 Apr 2010

Premature fall in the swine flu vaccination rates worries health officials

Last fall there was a mad rush for the HINI vaccine for the deadly swine flu that had gripped countries across the world. H1N1 flu has killed about 12,000 Americans and put 265,000 into the hospital in the last pandemic. This year has seen a few signs of seasonal flu, which kills about 36,000 people in the United States each year and puts 200,000 in the hospital.

2 Apr 2010

Utilizing "synthetic population" in simulating spread of infectious outbreaks

Did you know that filling out your census card will help computer scientists model how diseases spread in the United States?

2 Apr 2010

Variant of ATG16L1 gene associated with higher risk for Crohn's disease

The ATG16L1 gene is located on chromosome 2 and encodes a protein involved in the formation of autophagosomes during autophagy. Autophagy is a cytoplasmic process that keeps a cell stable. Hampe et al first identified ATG16L1 as a Crohn's disease (CD) susceptibility gene in 2007, and many other studies have arisen since then. However, the definite relationship of variants of ATG16L1 with IBD remains unclear.

2 Apr 2010

Practicing safer sex: New condom technology to keep partners "in the moment"

Each year there are an estimated 19 million new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) diagnosed in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Today, more than 68 million Americans live with STIs despite the fact that a condom could prevent them. A recent Kinsey Report points to disruption of "the mood" as a main barrier to condom use.

2 Apr 2010

Nonromantic sexual partnerships: Risks and rewards

A University of Iowa study found that one-third of sexual relationships in the Chicago area lack exclusivity. One in 10 men and women reported that both they and their partner had slept with other people.

2 Apr 2010

Scientists identify potential new method for treating sleeping sickness

Scientists have identified a potential new approach to treat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, which afflicts "tens of thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa" annually, IRIN reports. By targeting an enzyme the sleeping sickness parasite needs in order to survive, researchers say they can kill it without causing harm to the patient (4/1).

2 Apr 2010

Hepatitis C infected donor kidneys thrown away despite urgent need

More than half of donor kidneys in the United State infected with hepatitis C are thrown away, despite the need among hepatitis C patients who may die waiting for an infection-free organ, Johns Hopkins research suggests.

2 Apr 2010

Passengers on Brisbane train may have been exposed to measles

A NSW man who was diagnosed with measles travelled in a train from the Brisbane International Airport to South Brisbane about 8am on Saturday.

2 Apr 2010

2010 DDW conference to highlight breakthrough research on GI health

Thousands of physicians, researchers and academics from around the world will gather in New Orleans in early May for Digestive Disease Week- (DDW-), the premiere scientific conference in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

2 Apr 2010

Reform promotes patient safety by creating payment incentives, making mistakes public

The Albany Times Union: "More than a million Americans are harmed each year as a result of their medical care — not their underlying condition — and an estimated 100,000 die. Another 100,000 people die from hospital-acquired infections. In addition to expanding coverage to the uninsured, the health reform law attacks the problem of medical errors on two fronts: It establishes new payment incentives for safer care, and makes some mistakes public."

2 Apr 2010

Opinion: Job development for Haiti; NTDs in Africa; U.S. investment in TB

"Even before the earthquake, the Haitian economy was already on shaky ground. There is 70 to 80 percent unemployment in the formal economy. ... U.S. policy helped build this disastrous economy," AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker writes in a Miami Herald opinion piece. Baker says previous employment efforts in Haiti resulted in "stop-gap jobs," which do not provide "employment stability or social protections."

2 Apr 2010

Bloomberg examines potential benefits, drawbacks to PrEP

"Gilead Sciences Inc. may learn this year whether its drugs for treating HIV can also stop people from catching the virus in the first place," Bloomberg writes in a piece that examines the potential benefits and drawbacks to using low-doses of HIV/AIDS medications to reduce a person's risk of becoming infected with HIV. According to the news service, the initial results of 10 trials including more than 20,000 people could be available as early as July.

2 Apr 2010

New clues into genomic complexity of Mimivirus

A study published online today in the journal Genome Research offers surprising new clues into the genomic complexity of the giant Mimivirus, the largest known virus in the world. Previous studies have shown that unlike most viruses, the Mimivirus has more genes than many bacteria and performs functions that normally occur only in cellular organisms.

2 Apr 2010

Donors pledge $5.3B over 18 months to help rebuild Haiti

Donors at a conference Wednesday pledged to provide Haiti with $5.3 billion over the next 18 months to help the country rebuild after the January earthquake, the Wall Street Journal reports (Rhoads/Lauria, 3/31).

2 Apr 2010

Liver function tests misinterpreted in majority of children's hospitals

New research led by physician-scientists at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows that the test most commonly used to screen pediatric patients for chronic liver disease is often incorrectly interpreted in many children's hospitals throughout the United States.

2 Apr 2010

New development in treatment of African Sleeping Sickness

African sleeping sickness or Human African Typanosomiasis is a potentially fatal disease affecting 50 to 70 thousand Africans each year. Carried by the bite tsetse fly this fatal disease is actually caused by a tiny parasite that attacks the nervous system, brain, spinal column resulting in mental confusion and finally death.

1 Apr 2010

Health law includes $250 million for abstinence education

The new health care law contains "a renewal of $50 million per year for five years for abstinence-focused education," CNN reports. "Programs that receive this funding must 'teach that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems,' according to the Department of Health and Human Services. To qualify, they must also teach that sex before marriage is "likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects'..."

1 Apr 2010

Florida AIDS Walk 2010: Thousands help raise over $460,000

Thousands of dedicated individuals from across the state helped raise nearly half a million dollars for crucial lifesaving HIV/AIDS services in South Florida on Sunday March 28th by joining together to participate in the lively Florida AIDS Walk 2010. The Walk, which started and ended at Huizenga Plaza in Ft. Lauderdale, was a 10k walk (optional 5k) fundraiser to raise awareness about and help reverse the continuing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in South Florida.

1 Apr 2010