Diarrhea News and Research

Latest Diarrhea News and Research

Seriously ill children administered zinc in addition to antibiotics respond better, more quickly to treatment, study shows

"In a newly released clinical study, conducted in India" and published in the Lancet on Thursday, "hundreds of seriously ill infants who received zinc -- an essential micronutrient for the immune system and human growth -- as well as antibiotics, responded better and more quickly to treatment than those who did not," IRIN reports.

1 Jun 2012

Top-line results from Genzyme’s teriflunomide Phase III trial on MS

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today top-line results from the TOWER (Teriflunomide Oral in people With relapsing remitting multiplE scleRosis) trial that assessed the efficacy and safety of once-daily, oral teriflunomide in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

1 Jun 2012

Study shows how tafamidis drug works against amyloid disease

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Pfizer Inc. have published a new study showing how a new drug called tafamidis (Vyndaqel) works.

31 May 2012

Experimental drug shows promise for elderly chronic leukemia patients

The experimental drug ibrutinib is highly active and well tolerated in elderly, treatment-naive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, US researchers report.

30 May 2012

Corrected interim data from Vertex VX-809, KALYDECO combination Phase 2 study for CF

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today a correction to the previously reported responder analysis, as well as additional data from, the recent interim analysis of an ongoing Phase 2 study of VX-809 and KALYDECO that showed significant improvements in lung function among adults with cystic fibrosis who have two copies of the most common mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene, F508del.

30 May 2012

Scientists solve 50-year mystery behind cholera

For 50 years scientists have been unsure how the bacteria that gives humans cholera manages to resist one of our basic innate immune responses. That mystery has now been solved, thanks to research from biologists at The University of Texas at Austin.

30 May 2012

NAC may be an effective therapy for some features of autism

A specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism, according to a pilot trial from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital that involved 31 children with the disorder.

30 May 2012

Pre-harvest vaccines for management of E. coli in Canadian beef receive favourable conclusion

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced that a Public Health Agency of Canada study assessing the effects of various interventions on the management of E. coli O157:H7 in Canadian beef came to a favourable conclusion with regard to pre-harvest vaccines such as the Company's Econiche cattle vaccine.

29 May 2012

Rwanda accelerates fight against rotavirus

Rwanda today accelerated its fight against rotavirus, the primary cause of deadly diarrhea in young children, when it became the fourth African country to introduce new rotavirus vaccines only recently made available to developing countries. Rotavirus is the primary cause of diarrhea in children. In Rwanda, diarrhea accounts for approximately 23% of child deaths.

28 May 2012

Overgrowth of bacteria in the gut linked to IBS

An overgrowth of bacteria in the gut has been definitively linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the results of a new Cedars-Sinai study which used cultures from the small intestine. This is the first study to use this "gold standard" method of connecting bacteria to the cause of the disease that affects an estimated 30 million people in the United States.

28 May 2012

PSI interviews Gates Foundation official about child health

In this post in PSI's "Healthy Lives" blog, "PSI's Nutrition Research Adviser Dr. Abel Irena talks with Saul Morris, senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, about progress that has been made in child health."

25 May 2012

Bone age necessary to correctly interpret growth status in pediatric Crohn's disease

Measuring bone age should be a standard practice of care for pediatric patients with Crohn's disease, in order to properly interpret growth status and improve treatment, according to a new study from the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.

25 May 2012

Bacteria are key contributors to the cause of IBS, study confirms

25 May 2012

EMA CHMP adopts positive opinion for Pfizer’s axitinib to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma

Pfizer announced today that the Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion regarding the marketing authorization of axitinib in the European Union (EU), for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a type of advanced kidney cancer, after failure of prior treatment with sunitinib or a cytokine.

25 May 2012

Merck welcomes launch of ROTATEQ in Rwanda of Africa’s rotavirus vaccination program

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, welcomes today's launch in Rwanda of Africa's first national rotavirus vaccination program with ROTATEQ (rotavirus vaccine, live, oral, pentavalent), Merck's vaccine for the prevention of rotavirus disease.

25 May 2012

European CHMP issues positive opinion to Vertex's KALYDECO for treatment of CF

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion by consensus recommending the approval of KALYDECO (ivacaftor) for people with cystic fibrosis (CF) ages 6 and older who have at least one copy of the G551D mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.

25 May 2012

Measuring bone age should be part of routine care for pediatric patients with Crohn's disease

25 May 2012

Study reveals why people develop life-threatening drug allergies

A research team led by the University of Melbourne and Monash University, Australia, has discovered why people can develop life-threatening allergies after receiving treatment for conditions such as epilepsy and AIDS.

25 May 2012

FDA advisory committee votes in favor of Pfizer's tafamidis meglumine

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee voted on Pfizer's clinical data package for tafamidis meglumine.

25 May 2012

B cells in breast milk can produce HIV-neutralizing antibodies

Antibodies that help to stop the HIV virus have been found in breast milk. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center isolated the antibodies from immune cells called B cells in the breast milk of infected mothers in Malawi, and showed that the B cells in breast milk can generate neutralizing antibodies that may inhibit the virus that causes AIDS.

23 May 2012