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Research suggests anti-cancer drugs can help treat infectious diseases

Drugs increasingly used to treat cancer could have a major impact on a wide range of infectious diseases, according to new research.

16 Mar 2010

National childhood varicella vaccination program reduces chickenpox hospitalization rates

Since the varicella vaccine was introduced in the mid-1990s, the number of patients receiving medical care for chickenpox in the United States has decreased sharply—particularly among children, according to a study in the March issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

16 Mar 2010

Banana lectin discovery may lead to potential new treatments for preventing sexual transmission of HIV

A potent new inhibitor of HIV, derived from bananas, may open the door to new treatments to prevent sexual transmission of HIV, according to a University of Michigan Medical School study published this week.

16 Mar 2010

Obesity limits body's ability to fight infections

Obesity may limit the body's ability to develop immunity to influenza viruses, particularly secondary infections, by inhibiting the immune system's ability to "remember" how it fought off previous similar bouts of illness, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

16 Mar 2010

International symposium to feature latest findings on vector-borne diseases in humans and plants

Leading insect vector biologists from around the world will gather at the University of California, Riverside for two days this month to discuss their latest research on vector-borne diseases in humans and plants.

16 Mar 2010

Study confirms blood-stage infection is due to population mixing and disease evolution

In a paradigm changing discovery, Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria has been identified in a population historically thought to be resistant to the disease, those who do not express the Duffy blood group protein on their red blood cells, according to researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Pasteur Institute, and the Madagascar Ministry of Health.

16 Mar 2010

Opinions: Discrimination against sexual orientation; WFP in Somalia; Haiti's recovery; WHO's policy role

In a Washington Post opinion piece, Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, speaks out against efforts to deny individuals "their fundamental rights and freedoms" based on their sexual orientation.

16 Mar 2010

Kettering Health Network licenses DIATHERIX Laboratories' TEM-PCR testing process

Kettering Health Network is the nation's first health system to use a new testing process developed by DIATHERIX Laboratories, which dramatically reduces the time it takes to detect H1N1, methicillin resistant staphylococcus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C-diff) and other infectious diseases. Kettering Medical Center will be the first hospital in the network to use the testing system and DIATHERIX will maintain an onsite lab at the facility.

16 Mar 2010

Gardasil vaccine: Two complaints filed in Washington Federal Claims court

Anapol Schwartz attorneys Lawrence Cohan and Melissa Fry Hague recently filed two Gardasil vaccine complaints – one on behalf of a Kensington, Calif., family, whose 15-year old daughter died after suffering from severe adverse reactions, and another on behalf of a 19-year old Lapeer, Mich., woman, who has a chronic, autoimmune disorder. The cases, filed in The Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., seek recovery under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

15 Mar 2010

Experts discuss PEPFAR funding in congressional hearing

At a recent hearing of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, "[i]nternational health organisations working to help check the spread of AIDS in Africa said meagre increases in funds from the U.S. government this year would be a step backwards. Some experts also emphasised that prevention must get appropriate attention in any fight against the disease," Inter Press Service reports.

15 Mar 2010

TCAD therapy superior to double combinations and monotherapy against influenza viruses

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today results from in vivo animal studies and in vitro tests demonstrating that its triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy is superior relative to double combinations and monotherapy against multiple strains of pandemic and avian influenza viruses. Results of these studies were presented Sunday evening in an oral session at the XII International Symposium on Respiratory Viral Infections being held in Taipei.

15 Mar 2010

MicuRx Pharmaceuticals files IND for MRX-I antibiotic drug candidate with Chinese SFDA

MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation antibiotics, today announced that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) in China for MRX-I, its first development-stage antibiotic drug candidate. MRX-I, an orally-administered oxazolidinone, targets multi-drug resistant Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).

15 Mar 2010

Neurologix receives US PTO Notice of Allowance concerning treatment approach for epilepsy

Neurologix, Inc. today announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for intellectual property central to the company’s approach to the treatment of epilepsy. The patent allowance specifically refers to Neurologix’s patent application, “Methods and Compositions for the Treatment of Neurological Disease,” which covers the treatment of seizures associated with temporal lobe epilepsy by direct administration into the brain’s temporal lobe of an AAV vector encoding Neuropeptide Y (NPY).

15 Mar 2010

iGPS urges the U.S. Senate to mandate latest tracking technology in legislation to prevent foodborne illnesses

Cost-effective technology that allows products to be traced through the U.S. supply chain might have helped contain the spread of hydrolyzed vegetable protein products contaminated with Salmonella, Intelligent Global Pooling Systems announced today. iGPS urged the U.S. Senate to mandate the latest tracking technology in legislation pending to overhaul the nation's food safety law.

15 Mar 2010

FDA looks into supply chain of black and red pepper as part of Salmonella Montevideo investigation

As part of the Salmonella Montevideo investigation, the Food and Drug Administration has been actively investigating the supply chain of black and red pepper supplied to Daniele International Inc., Pascoag, R.I.

15 Mar 2010

MPP cell population: A new potential target for treating infections and allergies

Millions of people in both the developing and developed world may benefit from new immune-system research findings from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

15 Mar 2010

Immunizing children against seasonal influenza can protect unvaccinated community against influenza

Results of a clinical trial conducted in a largely self-contained religious community during the 2008-09 influenza season show that immunizing children against seasonal influenza can significantly protect unvaccinated community members against influenza as well. The study was conducted to determine if immunized children could act as a barrier to limit the spread of influenza to the wider, unvaccinated community, a concept known as herd immunity.

15 Mar 2010

Discovery may yield new strategies for blocking malaria transmission

Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito - the main vector of malaria - have found that when the mosquito takes a blood meal, that act triggers two enzymes to form a network of crisscrossing proteins around the ingested blood.

15 Mar 2010

TaiGen Biotechnology's nemonoxacin Phase II study in DFI meets primary endpoints

TaiGen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced today the Phase II trial of nemonoxacin (TG-873870) in Diabetic Foot Infection (DFI) with once-a-day dosing met the primary endpoints and showed promising clinical efficacy and good tolerability.

12 Mar 2010

Antibiotics lower risk of developing gastric cancer

Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium found in about 50% of humans worldwide, can cause stomach ulcers and, in extreme cases, gastric cancer. In an article for F1000 Medicine Reports, Seiji Shiota and Yoshio Yamaoka discuss the possible eradication of H. pylori infections

12 Mar 2010

Disease/Infection News

Research suggests anti-cancer drugs can help treat infectious diseases

National childhood varicella vaccination program reduces chickenpox hospitalization rates

Banana lectin discovery may lead to potential new treatments for preventing sexual transmission of HIV

Obesity limits body's ability to fight infections

International symposium to feature latest findings on vector-borne diseases in humans and plants

Study confirms blood-stage infection is due to population mixing and disease evolution

Opinions: Discrimination against sexual orientation; WFP in Somalia; Haiti's recovery; WHO's policy role

Kettering Health Network licenses DIATHERIX Laboratories' TEM-PCR testing process

Gardasil vaccine: Two complaints filed in Washington Federal Claims court

Experts discuss PEPFAR funding in congressional hearing

TCAD therapy superior to double combinations and monotherapy against influenza viruses

MicuRx Pharmaceuticals files IND for MRX-I antibiotic drug candidate with Chinese SFDA

Neurologix receives US PTO Notice of Allowance concerning treatment approach for epilepsy

iGPS urges the U.S. Senate to mandate latest tracking technology in legislation to prevent foodborne illnesses

FDA looks into supply chain of black and red pepper as part of Salmonella Montevideo investigation

MPP cell population: A new potential target for treating infections and allergies

Immunizing children against seasonal influenza can protect unvaccinated community against influenza

Discovery may yield new strategies for blocking malaria transmission

TaiGen Biotechnology's nemonoxacin Phase II study in DFI meets primary endpoints

Antibiotics lower risk of developing gastric cancer

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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