http://medicalxpress.com/diseases-news/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on diseases, disease research, disease studies, conditions, syndromes, health and medicine. Researchers have identified a new virus in patients with severe brain infections in Vietnam. Further research is needed to determine whether the virus is responsible for the symptoms of disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-virus-isolated-patients-severe-brain.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:03 EST news290710830 An international team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has identified a highly promising new anti-tuberculosis compound that attacks the tuberculosis (TB) bacterium in two different ways. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-compound-excels-persistent-drug-resistant-tuberculosis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:43:31 EST news290709792 New research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases provides the first complete viral load profile— a comprehensive clinical description of where and how much of the virus circulates through the body— of a patient infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-latest-coronavirus-reveals-important-differences.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:01 EST news290625672 (HealthDay)—This past flu season started earlier, peaked earlier and led to more adult hospitalizations and child deaths than most flu seasons, U.S. health officials reported Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-early-severe-flu-season-big.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:00:01 EST news290435878 Pyrazinamide (PZA)—a frontline tuberculosis (TB) drug—kills dormant persister bacteria and plays a critical role in shortening TB therapy. PZA is used for treating both drug susceptible and multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) but resistance to PZA occurs frequently and can compromise treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-mechanism-tb-drug-resistance.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:20:34 EST news290269225 A team of Johns Hopkins researchers working with animals has developed a vaccine that prevents the virulent TB bacterium from invading the brain and causing the highly lethal condition TB meningitis, a disease that disproportionately occurs in TB-infected children and in adults with compromised immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-experimental-vaccine-tb-meningitis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:59:42 EST news290188773 The huge value of vaccinating more children and young adults for influenza is being seriously underestimated, experts say in a new report, while conventional wisdom and historic vaccine programs have concentrated on the elderly and those at higher risk of death and serious complications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-flu-vaccines-aimed-younger-populations.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:40:50 EST news290184030 Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than 170 million people worldwide. Approximately 80 percent of infections lead to chronic illness including fibrosis, cirrhosis, cancer and also hepatic iron overload. A new study completed by researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine reveals that HCV not only alters expression of the iron-uptake receptor known as transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) but that TfR1 also mediates HCV entry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-hepatitis-virus-entry-factor-disruption.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:22:57 EST news290103763 Bird flu viruses are potentially highly lethal and pose a global threat, but relatively little is known about why certain strains spread more easily to humans than others. Two studies published today in the journal Cell identify mutations that increase the infectivity of H5N1 and H7N9 viruses through improved binding to receptors in the human respiratory tract. The findings offer much-needed strategies for monitoring the emergence of dangerous bird flu strains capable of infecting humans and for developing more effective vaccines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-bird-flu-viruses-humans-surveillance.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:00:14 EST news289724802 Urban epidemics resulting from viral diseases, such as West Nile fever and chikungunya fever, are transmitted by infected mosquitoes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-mosquitoes-reared-cooler-temperatures-susceptible.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:54:19 EST news289500850 Mice engineered with a human gene for schizophrenia and exposed to lead during early life exhibited behaviors and structural changes in their brains consistent with schizophrenia. Scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say their findings suggest a synergistic effect between lead exposure and a genetic risk factor, and open an avenue to better understanding the complex gene-environment interactions that put people at risk for schizophrenia and other mental disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-trigger-schizophrenia.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 31 May 2013 11:44:42 EST news289219475 Giving double doses of the antiviral drug oseltamivir, or Tamiflu, offers no clinical or virological advantages over a standard dose for patients admitted to hospital with severe influenza infection, according to a randomised trial published today and funded by the Wellcome Trust, US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Singapore National Medical Research Council. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-dose-antiviral-drug-added-benefit.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 30 May 2013 18:30:01 EST news289153205 Beaumont Health System research finds that symptoms of overactive bladder, or OAB, were reduced in those who received tibial nerve stimulation. The three-year results published in the June issue of The Journal of Urology show participants with urinary frequency, urgency and involuntary loss of urine maintained significant improvement in their symptoms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-nerve-overactive-bladder.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 30 May 2013 15:19:53 EST news289145984 (HealthDay)—Women appear to have a natural defense against the world's most common sexually transmitted infection, a new study says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-women-natural-defense-common-std.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 30 May 2013 11:27:57 EST news289131984 A detailed look at two cases of a deadly new respiratory virus called MERS suggests people who have the disease should be isolated for at least 12 days to avoid spreading it, doctors reported Wednesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-mers-longer-quarantines.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 29 May 2013 12:20:01 EST news289048117 Laboratory tests have revealed resistance in some H7N9 bird flu patients to the only available treatment, said virologists who unveiled "concerning" study results on Tuesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cases-h7n9-bird-flu-drug.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 28 May 2013 09:50:01 EST news288952459 Chinese and U.S. scientists have used virus isolated from a person who died from H7N9 avian influenza infection to determine whether the virus could infect and be transmitted between ferrets. Ferrets are often used as a mammalian model in influenza research, and efficient transmission of influenza virus between ferrets can provide clues as to how well the same process might occur in people. The research was supported, in part, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-ferrets-pigs-susceptible-h7n9-avian.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 15:16:52 EST news288540994 A known difficulty in fighting influenza (flu) is the ability of the flu viruses to mutate and thus evade various medications that were previously found to be effective. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown recently that another, more promising, approach is to focus on improving drugs that boost the body's natural flu killer system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-boosting-body-natural-flu-killers.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 23 May 2013 11:06:47 EST news288525999 A new approach for immunizing against influenza elicited a more potent immune response and broader protection than the currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines when tested in mice and ferrets. The vaccine concept, which was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), represents an important step forward in the quest to develop a universal influenza vaccine—one that would protect against most or all influenza strains without the need for an annual vaccination. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-approach-influenza-vaccination-early-animal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 22 May 2013 15:38:42 EST news288455916 The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population level study to examine human immunity to the virus, which was previously only found in birds. The findings have implications for planning the public health response to this pandemic threat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-reveal-population-immunity-bird-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 11:46:37 EST news288355588 In a striking, unexpected discovery, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have determined that vitamin C kills drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in laboratory culture. The finding suggests that vitamin C added to existing TB drugs could shorten TB therapy, and it highlights a new area for drug design. The study was published today in the online journal Nature Communications. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-vitamin-drug-resistant-tb-video.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 11:34:25 EST news288354848 (HealthDay)—Obese and overweight men and women who suffer from heartburn often report relief when they lose weight, a new study shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-weight-ease-chronic-heartburn.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 21 May 2013 07:40:02 EST news288336812 A new diagnostic test for a worm infection that can lead to severe enlargement and deformities of the legs and genitals is far more sensitive than the currently used test, according to results of a field study in Liberia, in West Africa, where the infection is endemic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-elephantiasis-worm-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 May 2013 17:44:05 EST news288290637 Whooping cough has exploded in the United States and some other developed countries in recent decades, and many experts suspect ineffective childhood vaccines for the alarming resurgence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-explanations-whooping-resurgence-dont-scrutiny.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:15 EST news288270470 More than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of now discredited research that linked the vaccine to autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-measles-surges-uk-years-vaccine.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 May 2013 06:13:41 EST news288249210 Regular consumption of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), an autoimmune liver disease, Mayo Clinic research shows. The findings were being presented at the Digestive Disease Week 2013 conference in Orlando, Fla. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-consuming-coffee-linked-detrimental-liver.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 19 May 2013 01:37:30 EST news288146235 (HealthDay)—Few randomized clinical trials have been done to assess clinical prediction rules for patients with lower back pain, and the trials that have been done are of low quality and do not provide sufficient evidence to support their use, according to a review published in the April 20 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-evidence-pain.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 17 May 2013 15:50:01 EST news288020678 Pharmaceuticals that inhibit a specific enzyme may be useful in treating progeria, or accelerated aging in children. A new study performed at the Sahlgrenska Academy indicates that the development of progeria in mice was inhibited upon reducing the production of this enzyme. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-treatment-progeria.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:12 EST news287931297 Scientists at the University of California, Davis, detected the H1N1 (2009) virus in free-ranging northern elephant seals off the central California coast a year after the human pandemic began, according to a study published today, May 15, in the journal PLOS ONE. It is the first report of that flu strain in any marine mammal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-h1n1-marine-mammals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:24 EST news287856012 A combination of two FDA-approved osteoporosis drugs with different mechanisms of action was found to increase bone density better than treatment with either drug alone in a small clinical trial. As reported in paper receiving Online First publication in The Lancet, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators found that treatment combining denosumab (Prolia) and teriparatide (Forteo) was superior to single-agent treatment in a 12-month trial in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The authors note that additional study is required before their findings should be put into clinical practice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-osteoporosis-drug-combination-outperforms-current.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 14 May 2013 18:30:02 EST news287758995