Diarrhea News and Research

Latest Diarrhea News and Research

UCB and sanofi-aventis U.S. receive FDA's approval for XYZAL to treat allergies in children

UCB and sanofi-aventis U.S. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved XYZAL(R) (levocetirizine dihydrochloride) for children age six months and older for the relief of symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis (indoor allergies) and chronic idiopathic urticaria (chronic hives) and for children age two years and older for symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis (outdoor allergies).

25 Aug 2009

USDA donates funds for teaching food safety awareness to AIDS patients

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate AIDS patients on food safety.

25 Aug 2009

Retigabine's Phase IIa clinical trial preliminary results announced

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International today announced preliminary results from its Phase IIa proof-of-concept clinical trial of retigabine for the treatment of pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a painful and common complication of shingles.

24 Aug 2009

Research reveals that diarrheal bacteria can cause colon cancers

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have figured out how bacteria that cause diarrhea may also be the culprit in some colon cancers. The investigators say that strains of the common Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) dupe immune system cells into permitting runaway colon tissue inflammation, a precursor for malignant growth.

24 Aug 2009

WHO recommends against using homeopathic treatments for HIV, TB, malaria, influenza, infant diarrhea

The WHO has warned that people with conditions such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria should not rely on homeopathic treatments, the BBC reports. The agency was responding to a June letter (full text available here), in which researchers from the Voice of Young Science Network called on the agency "to condemn the promotion of homeopathy for treating TB, infant diarrhoea, influenza, malaria and HIV."

23 Aug 2009

Duke University Medical Center highlights importance of the appendix in human body

The lowly appendix, long-regarded as a useless evolutionary artifact, won newfound respect two years ago when researchers at Duke University Medical Center proposed that it actually serves a critical function. The appendix, they said, is a safe haven where good bacteria could hang out until they were needed to repopulate the gut after a nasty case of diarrhea, for example.

21 Aug 2009

Diarrhea remains second leading cause of death among children, despite effective interventions

Despite the introduction of new treatments for diarrhea more than four years ago, few children in developing countries are receiving these interventions and the disease is still the second leading cause of death among children, according a Bulletin of the World Health Organization report, BMJ reports.

20 Aug 2009

The Gambia introduces pneumococcal immunisation programme

The Gambia, Minister of Health Dr. Mariatou Jallow administered the first dose of the pneumococcal vaccine to Gambian children at a rural clinic outside Banjul today. Joined by the Gambia’s Vice President, Mrs. Isatou Njie-Saidy, Dr. Jallow and hundreds of Gambian citizens celebrated this historic event, which marks the first step in the rollout of the Gambia’s national pneumococcal immunisation programme.

19 Aug 2009

Common-sense precautions for H1N1

Doctors and hospitals nationwide expect a surge in H1N1 influenza cases during the upcoming flu season. In a new video and the tips below, Yvonne Maldonado, MD, chief of infectious disease at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, explains what every parent should know about H1N1 flu as children head back to school.

19 Aug 2009

New production technology to develop vaccine for norovirus

Scientists have used a new vaccine production technology to develop a vaccine for norovirus, a dreaded cause of diarrhea and vomiting that may be the second most common viral infection in the United States after the flu. Sometimes called the "cruise ship virus," this microbe can spread like wildfire through passenger liners, schools, offices and military bases.

19 Aug 2009

Genentech announces Phase III study results for Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemo in HER2-negative breast cancer

Genentech, Inc. today announced that a Phase III study (RIBBON 2) of Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy increased the time women with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer whose initial chemotherapy had stopped working lived without the disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS), compared to chemotherapy alone.

18 Aug 2009

U.S. District Court rules against Lilly regarding Gemzar patent

Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has granted a motion by Sun Pharmaceuticals for partial summary judgment.

17 Aug 2009

New guidance on novel H1N1 influenza for K-12 schools

The Secretary of Health today released guidance on Novel H1N1, also known as swine flu, for elementary and secondary schools in an effort to keep kids and staff healthy and flu-free this school year.

17 Aug 2009

Health Canada approves Multaq (Dronedarone) for atrial fibrillation

Sanofi-aventis Canada announced today that Multaq (dronedarone, 400 mg tablets) has received Health Canada approval for the treatment of patients with a history of, or current atrial fibrillation to reduce their risk of cardiovascular hospitalization due to this condition.

12 Aug 2009

Time examines how zinc supplements may help save children worldwide

TIME examines the "quiet revolution [now] under way" to treat diarrhea using zinc supplements. The magazine reports that globally the disease "kills an astonishing 1.6 million children under 5 every year," according to the WHO.

9 Aug 2009

Genzyme’s Mozobil approved in Europe

Genzyme Corporation announced today that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Mozobil ® (plerixafor injection), providing a significant new option for patients with the blood cancers lymphoma and multiple myeloma who require an autologous stem cell transplant.

6 Aug 2009

New understanding on Gleevec's limitations

University of Michigan researchers have developed an animal model that provides strong evidence why imatinib, marketed as Gleevec, helps patients with chronic myeloid leukemia survive longer, but does not keep the disease from returning if treatment ends.

4 Aug 2009

Breastfeeding can save 1.3 million children annually, WHO says

About 1.3 million children's lives could be saved each year by teaching new mothers how to breastfeed, but many women do not receive help and stop trying, the WHO said on Friday ahead of the start of World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from August 1 through August 7, Reuters reports.

3 Aug 2009

Washington Post examines health toll of Congo conflict

The Washington Post examines the devastating toll the conflict in the Congo has had on the health of the country's displaced civilians, as told through the death of a 36-year-old farmer, who succumbed to typhoid fever far away from the home he abandoned.

3 Aug 2009

Tarceva shown to extend survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer when used after initial chemo

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced further results from the Phase III SATURN study showing that Tarceva® (erlotinib) extended the survival of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when used as single agent, maintenance therapy in patients who did not progress following first-line treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.

2 Aug 2009