Feature Channels: Infectious Diseases

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Released: 12-Sep-2017 10:05 AM EDT
SLU Researcher Discovers How Hibernating Ribosomes Wake Up
Saint Louis University Medical Center

Saint Louis University scientist Mee-Ngan F. Yap, Ph.D.,has uncovered the way a bacterial ribosome moves from an inactive to an active form, and how that "wake up call" is key to its survival.

Released: 11-Sep-2017 1:05 PM EDT
Microfluidic Chip Rapidly IDs Deadly Blood Infection
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Biomedical engineers have developed a microfluidic test that could enable rapid diagnosis and early intervention for sepsis, which accounts for the most deaths and medical expenses in hospitals worldwide.

Released: 8-Sep-2017 8:05 AM EDT
Blocking Sweet Taste Receptors Can Help Body Fight Off Sinus Infections
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Sweet taste receptor, known as T1R, can be activated by certain amino acids secreted by bacteria. Researchers took cells from rhinosinusitis patients and isolated the various communities of bacteria that were present. They found cultures of Staphylococcus bacteria produced two D-amino acids called D-Phe and D-Leu, both of which activate T1R sweet receptors and block the release of antimicrobial peptides.

1-Sep-2017 9:00 AM EDT
HCV Treatment Found Safe and Effective in Individuals with Kidney Disease
American Society of Nephrology (ASN)

• In patients with chronic kidney disease and Hepatitis C virus infection, sofosbuvir-based direct-acting antiviral therapy was safe and effective. • Patients with stage 3 kidney disease who were cured of infection experienced an improvement in their kidney function following treatment.

Released: 7-Sep-2017 4:10 PM EDT
Adding Modified Herpes Virus to Immunotherapy Shows Promise for Treating Advanced Melanoma
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

In a two-year study at UCLA, nearly two-thirds of people with advanced melanoma responded positively to a treatment that combines the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab with a herpes virus called talimogene laherpareovec, or T-VEC. Researchers led by Dr. Antoni Ribas found that the treatment's side effects were manageable, and comparable to side effects for people who took either pembrolizumab or T-VEC as a standalone treatment.

Released: 7-Sep-2017 3:55 PM EDT
CWRU’s Kurt Lu, MD Receives $3.9 Million NIH Grant to Expand Countermeasures against Chemical Threats, Including Mustard Gas
Case Western Reserve University

Kurt Lu, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has received a five year, $3.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand countermeasures against chemical threats, including mustard gas and mustard-related compounds. The molecular action of mustard on DNA leads to strand breaks and eventual cell death. The goal of the grant is to augment the body’s immune system after exposure, reducing skin swelling and pain as well as enhancing tissue repair.

31-Aug-2017 8:00 AM EDT
Study Shows Oral Food Challenges are Safe for Diagnosing Food Allergies
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI)

The best way to find out if someone has a food allergy is through an oral food challenge (OFC) under the supervision of a board-certified allergist. A new study shows that OFCs are extremely safe, with very few people having a reaction of any kind.

5-Sep-2017 11:00 AM EDT
New Insights on Chronic Bronchitis: Diagnostic Test and Better Treatments on the horizon
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Mucin levels – the proteins that make mucus thick – is abnormally high in chronic bronchitis and mucin concentrations are associated with disease severity. This finding could become the first-ever objective marker of chronic bronchitis and lead to the creation of diagnostic and prognostic tools.

Released: 6-Sep-2017 3:15 PM EDT
Honeybees Could Play a Role in Developing New Antibiotics
University of Illinois Chicago

An antimicrobial compound made by honeybees could become the basis for new antibiotics, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

   
Released: 6-Sep-2017 11:05 AM EDT
Malaria: Drug Candidate May Reduce Spread of the Parasite
Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Scientists have identified a class of compounds that can block transmission of the parasite that causes malaria and reduce resistance to currently available drugs.

Released: 5-Sep-2017 9:05 AM EDT
New Insights Into Bacterial Toxins
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)

A toxin produced by a bacterium that causes urinary tract infections is related to, yet different in key ways from, the toxin that causes whooping cough, according to new research. The findings, which will be published in the Sept. 8 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry, could aid in the development of new vaccines.

29-Aug-2017 9:00 AM EDT
Zika Virus Could Be Used to Treat Brain Cancer Patients, Study Suggests
The Rockefeller University Press

Recent outbreaks of Zika virus have revealed that the virus causes brain defects in unborn children. But in a study to be published September 5 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California, San Diego report that the virus could eventually be used to target and kill cancer cells in the brain.

31-Aug-2017 5:05 PM EDT
Zika Virus Kills Brain Cancer Stem Cells
Washington University in St. Louis

While Zika virus causes devastating damage to the brains of developing fetuses, it one day may be an effective treatment for glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows that the virus kills brain cancer stem cells, the kind of cells most resistant to standard treatments.

28-Aug-2017 10:05 AM EDT
White Children More Likely to Get Unnecessary Antibiotics in Pediatric Emergency Departments
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

White children with viral diagnoses treated in pediatric emergency departments were up to twice as likely to receive antibiotics compared to minority children, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Although viral respiratory tract infections do not warrant antibiotic treatment, antibiotics were prescribed for these illnesses to 4.3 percent of white, 1.9 percent of black and 2.6 percent of Hispanic children.

Released: 31-Aug-2017 2:50 PM EDT
New Boarding Procedures, Smaller Cabin Size May Limit Infection on Planes
Florida State University

During major epidemics, cramped airplane cabins are fertile ground for the spread of infection, but new research suggests changing routine boarding protocols could be a key to reducing rampant transmission of disease.

   
Released: 31-Aug-2017 1:05 PM EDT
Study Shows Fungal Infections Reduce Frogs’ Tolerance of Heat
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Fungal diseases are increasing in animals, which might have serious consequences for wildlife living in a hotter world, said a University of Florida scientist. A new study published in the international journal Scientific Reports shows that fungal infections reduced the heat tolerance of frogs by up to 4 degrees Celsius.

28-Aug-2017 10:05 AM EDT
Virus That Causes Mono May Increase Risk of MS for Multiple Races
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

Like whites, Hispanic and black people who have had mononucleosis, commonly known as mono, which is caused by Epstein-Barr virus, may have an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study published in the August 30, 2017, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28-Aug-2017 2:00 PM EDT
Tick Saliva May Hold Potential Treatment for Reducing HIV-linked Heart Disease Risk
Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh

Scientists may have found a clue to why people living with HIV have double the likelihood of developing heart disease. The findings, made by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research and National Institutes of Health, also show that an experimental drug may hold promise as a potential treatment.

   
28-Aug-2017 2:00 PM EDT
Researchers at Queen’s University and The Belfast Trust Tackle Meningitis
Queen's University Belfast

Meningitis and Meningococcal septicaemia (Meningococcal Disease) is caused by a deadly bacteria that can kill in hours. Meningococcal disease is notoriously difficult to diagnose as initial symptoms mimic those of common colds. Researchers at Queen’s University and The Belfast Trust are working to improve testing to prevent unnecessary deaths while at the same time reducing the number of children treated unnecessarily ‘just in case.’



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