In a newly published study Swiss researchers document that antiretroviral resistance testing in HIV infected patients with treatment failure not only leads to better health but also saves costs to society. This study will be published on January 24, 2007 in PLoS ONE, the International, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication from the Public Library of Science (PLoS).
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.
Chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancer result in more deaths and account for more years of healthy life lost than most communicable diseases, and yet little international aid is focused on preventing or treating these conditions. Cardiovascular disease causes 30 percent of all deaths globally and 27 percent of deaths in low income countries. By comparison, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, combined, account for 10 percent of all deaths globally and 11 percent of death in developing countries.
The first study examining the relationship between parasite infections and MS in humans suggests that such infections may affect the immune response in a way that alters the course of MS.
Researchers have decoded the genetic makeup of the parasite that causes trichomoniasis, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), revealing potential clues as to why the parasite has become increasingly drug resistant and suggesting possible pathways for new treatments, diagnostics and a potential vaccine strategy. The genome sequencing project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is detailed in the January 12 issue of Science.
The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, the Honourable Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue, and Parliamentary Secretary David Anderson (representing the Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board) announced that Canada`s New Government will invest in an ambitious new vaccine research and development facility at the University of Saskatchewan which will significantly enhance Canada’s capacity to develop vaccines for both humans and animals.
Hong Kong government officials recently announced that a wild bird found dead near a busy shopping district on Dec_31 tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza.
Thai researchers have discovered that patients who fail treatment with a commonly used, inexpensive, first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) are also usually resistant to other, similar drugs, leaving progressively fewer options for replacement therapies. Since catching treatment failure early is key to preventing further resistance, this research, published in the February 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases also argues for greater access in the developing world to tests that detect when the amount of virus in a patient’s blood is increasing.
A preliminary study suggests there may be hope in the offing for some sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome with a new therapy being tested by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) recently gave preliminary approval for field use of the world’s first vaccine to reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle and thereby help keep it out of food.