Cancer :: Turning a cellular sentinel into a cancer killer
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have developed two strategies to reactivate the p53 gene in mice, causing blood, bone and liver tumors to self-destruct.
Antibiotic
Flu :: Rapid flu testing is associated with decreased antibiotic use in hospitalized adults
Rapid influenza testing is associated with reductions in the use of antibiotics in hospitalized adults, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the Feb_26, 2007, print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Flu :: Rapid flu tests reduce threat of antibiotic resistance
New tests to rapidly detect the flu are allowing doctors to cut down on the number of hospital patients who receive antibiotics, helping soften the rapidly worsening threat of antibiotic resistance.
Ear :: Treatment guidelines for ear infections
Researchers at Children?s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have launched a major National Institutes of Health-funded study to develop definitive treatment guidelines for the most common pediatric illness ? ear infections.
Skin :: Genetically altered cells may help artificial skin fight infection
Cincinnati burn researchers have created genetically modified skin cells that, when added to cultured skin substitutes, may help fight off potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns. Led by University of Cincinnati scientists, the team found that skin cells that were genetically altered to produce higher levels of a protein known as human beta defensin 4 killed more bacteria than normal skin cells.
Meningitis :: Clinical guidelines help identify children at risk of bacterial meningitis
A set of guidelines have been developed that can help predict the risk of bacterial meningitis for children with cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis (presence of greater number of white blood cells than normal), reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and antibiotics, according to a study in the January 3 issue of JAMA.
Infection :: New drug design targets a large range of bacterial and fungal infections
The “resistance movement” founded by bacteria to combat antibiotics may be losing ground. By combining key properties of two different types of weapons used by the innate defense systems of organisms, a team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science has managed to design a more powerful weapon, hoping that this will provide a basis for novel and more effective antibiotics.
Urinary Tract Infection :: Treatments for urinary infections leave bacteria bald, happy and vulnerable
A different approach to treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) could defeat the bacteria that cause the infections without directly killing them, a strategy that could help slow the growth of antibiotic-resistant infections. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been working to create pharmaceuticals that essentially “defang” the bacteria by preventing them from assembling pili, microscopic hairs that enable the bacteria to invade host cells.
Gene :: Gene chip technology shows potential for identifying life-threatening blood infection
Right now there’s no rapid way to diagnose sepsis, a fast-moving blood infection that is a leading cause of death in hospital intensive care units. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that doctors one day could quickly distinguish sepsis from widespread non-infectious inflammation based on genetic profiles of patients’ blood.
MRSA :: Three more cases of MRSA superbug
Three more cases of a new strain of MRSA have been identified at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire where two people have already died from the “superbug” – Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).