Infection | Page 114 of 144

HIV :: New AIDS therapy nukes HIV with radioactive antibodies – Targeted Irradiation

Antiretroviral therapy can keep HIV infection in check and delay and ameliorate the symptoms of HIV/AIDS. However, the drugs do not manage to eradicate the virus completely; individuals have to stay on the drugs permanently. Preclinical studies in mice by Ekatarina Dadachova and colleagues (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) published in the international open-access journal PLoS Medicine now suggest a new strategy to locate and kill many if not all HIV-infected cells in the body.

Health :: IT can boost disease-data exchanges

The Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau should make more use of information technology to speed up the exchange of data regarding pandemics, says Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow.

HIV :: Gene Therapy Shows Promise Against HIV

Gene-base therapy may be effective against HIV, U.S. researchers report. An investigational gene-based immunotherapy called VRX496 suggests it can fight the virus, according to a phase I, open-label, non-randomized clinical trial conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Health :: American Thoracic Society publishes new statement on hepatotoxicity of antituberculosis therapy

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) has published a new statement on the pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of liver damage caused by anti-tuberculosis (TB) medications. The statement, which appeared in the October 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, gives a review of current national and international literature on drug-induced liver injury (DILI) or hepatotoxicity, a potential side effect of more than 700 drugs approved for use in the United States.

Immunity :: Natural compounds block autoimmune response in diabetes, arthritis

Natural compounds derived from a sea anemone extract and a shrub plant have been found to block the autoimmune disease response in type-1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, according to University of California, Irvine researchers.

Pregnancy :: Rare infections after medically induced abortions likely not drug-related

Since 2000, five women in North America who had medically induced abortions died from toxic shock caused by a Clostridium sordellii infection. This has led some people to question the safety of the combination of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol frequently used in MIA procedures.

Ears :: Study shows most ear infections host both bacteria and viruses

Ear infections are among the most common diseases seen in pediatric practice. They have generally been considered bacterial diseases and are therefore usually treated with antibiotics. New research, published in the Dec. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and currently available online, provides evidence that viruses are found in a great many ear infection cases and may complicate treatment.

Cystic Fibrosis :: Researchers identify molecule that causes destructive lung inflammation in cystic fibrosis patients

Scientists at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a protein that is critical to the development of inflammation during lung infection in patients with cystic fibrosis. The identification of this protein, called interleukin-23, is an important finding that gives researchers a specific target for developing new therapies.

Health :: Green plants share bacterial toxin

A toxin that can make bacterial infections turn deadly is also found in higher plants, researchers at UC Davis, the Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass. and the University of Nebraska have found. Lipid A, the core of endotoxin, is located in the chloroplasts, structures that carry out photosynthesis within plant cells.

Health :: MRSA toxin acquitted – Study clears suspected key to severe bacterial illness

Researchers who thought they had identified the bacterial perpetrator of the often severe disease caused by community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) had better keep looking: Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have exonerated a toxin widely thought to be the guilty party.