http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Through the serendipity of science, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have discovered a potential treatment for deadly, drug-resistant bacterial infections that uses the same approach that HIV uses to infect cells. The National Institutes of Health-supported discovery will be described in the June issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. It is especially promising in the development of a potential treatment for lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-discovery-potential-drug-resistant-bacteria.html Medical research Tue, 07 May 2013 15:25:26 EST news287159117 A new broad range antibiotic, developed jointly by scientists at The Rockefeller University and Astex Pharmaceuticals, has been found to kill a wide range of bacteria, including drug-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) bacteria that do not respond to traditional drugs, in mice. The antibiotic, Epimerox, targets weaknesses in bacteria that have long been exploited by viruses that attack them, known as phage, and has even been shown to protect animals from fatal infection by Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-scientists-nature-antibiotic-resistance.html Medications Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:00:02 EST news284831058 As public health authorities across the globe grapple with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, Tufts University School of Medicine microbiologists and colleagues have identified the unique resistance mechanisms of a clinical isolate of E. coli resistant to carbapenems. Carbapenems are a class of antibiotics used as a last resort for the treatment of disease-causing bacteria, including E. coli and Klebsiella pneumonia, which can cause serious illness and even death. Infections involving resistant strains fail to respond to antibiotic treatments, which can lead to prolonged illness and greater risk of death, as well as significant public health challenges due to increased transmission of infection. The study, published in the April issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, demonstrates the lengths to which bacteria will go to become resistant to antibiotics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-unique-mechanisms-antibiotic-resistance.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:06:11 EST news283514765 Treatment with a newer antibiotic, tedizolid phosphate, once daily for 6 days was statistically noninferior (no worse than) in efficacy to the antibiotic linezolid twice daily for 10 days for both early (at day 2 to 3) and sustained (at day 11) clinical responses in patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, according to a study appearing in the February 13 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-shorter-course-antibiotic-similar-effectiveness-skin.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:30:02 EST news279906626 (Medical Xpress)—A well-established family of drugs used to treat parasitic diseases is showing surprising potential as a therapy for tuberculosis (TB), according to new research from University of British Columbia microbiologists. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-repurposed-anti-parasite-drug-tb-treatment.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:58:29 EST news272879872 Eight weeks after antibiotic treatment of infants, the diversity of gastrointestinal flora remained diminished, although the number of individual bacteria was back to normal, according to a paper in the November 2012 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Additionally, the potentially disease-causing Proteobacteria were now the dominant population in the treated infants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-antibiotics-disrupt-gut-flora-infants.html Medications Fri, 09 Nov 2012 07:33:53 EST news271668821 Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease. The promising discovery was presented this week at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-non-antibiotic-agents-mrsa-common-strep.html Medical research Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:38:53 EST news266675906 University Hospitals Case Medical Center clinical researchers will present findings about a one-two punch to prevent colds and flu in San Francisco at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) on September 9, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-airborne-germ-killing-oral-effective-colds.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:38:43 EST news266420312 When combined with standard diagnostic tests, functional imaging procedures have been shown to reduce the rate of misdiagnosed cases of infectious endocarditis. According to new research published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) with 99mTc-hexamethylpropleneamine oxime-labeled white blood cells (99mTc-HMPAO-WBC) can improve the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis in hard-to-diagnose cases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-difficult-cases-infectious-endocarditis-spectct.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:40:45 EST news263047228 Ultraviolet (UVC) light can eradicate wound-infecting bacteria on mice increasing both survival and healing rates, according to a paper in the July 2012 issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. The light did not damage the animals' skin or delay wound healing, says principal investigator Michael R. Hamblin, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-uvc-wound-bacteria.html Medical research Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:40:01 EST news262250647 Previous exposure to certain antibiotics could boost the risk of infection with drug-resistant strains of a severe fungal infection. Researchers report their findings in the May 2012 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-antibiotics-boost-infection-antifungal-resistant-candida.html Medications Tue, 22 May 2012 09:00:04 EST news256894390 Infectious diseases specialists from Austin Health are working closely with Microbiologists from the University of Melbourne to understand how Staph is becoming resistant to all antibiotic therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-closer-super-bug-puzzle.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:53:36 EST news240238390 Waters polluted by the ordure of pigs, poultry, or cattle represent a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes, both known and potentially novel. These resistance genes can be spread among different bacterial species by bacteriophage, bacteria-infecting viruses, according to a paper in the October Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-newly-reservoir-antibiotic-resistance-genes.html Medical research Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:09:22 EST news238410548 (Medical Xpress) -- This weekend at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Chicago, Illinois, researchers from two different study groups, one on the east coast and one on the west coast, reported promising results from studies being conducted in gene therapy for the treatment of HIV. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-gene-therapy-hiv-small-trials.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:20:06 EST news235744975 Drugs fed to animals to promote growth and prevent diseases may play a key role in the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, microbiologists said Sunday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-drugs-fed-animals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:46:08 EST news235622757 The emergence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics and efforts by scientists trying to cope with the problem top the agenda at a medical convention under way here this weekend. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-drug-resistant-bacteria-agenda-medical-convention.html Health Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:40:27 EST news235572007 Hospitals struggle to prevent the infections that complicate treatment for cancer, joint replacement, heart surgery and other conditions. Hospital-acquired infections are often resistant to multiple antibiotics, leading to approximately 100,000 deaths and more than $30 billion in additional health care costs yearly. New drugs are being developed to combat these infections, but resistance invariably emerges to these last-line drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-insight-drug-resistance-hospital-microbes.html Medical research Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:29:37 EST news229789767 (Medical Xpress) -- An ongoing study led by a University of Pittsburgh researcher has established the first scientifically-based dosing guidelines for a more than 50-year-old drug that has re-emerged as the best, and often only, treatment for some bacterial infections that are resistant to modern therapies. The study appears in the July issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-dosing-1950s-drug-drug-resistant-infections.html Medications Mon, 04 Jul 2011 07:05:06 EST news228981859 A distinctly new type of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that is not detected by traditional genetic screening methods has been discovered in patients in Irish hospitals according to research to be published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. These findings provide significant insights into how new MRSA strains emerge and highlight the potential for the transmission of infectious agents from animals to humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-mrsa-hospitalized-patients-animal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:32:45 EST news226229528 A new vaginal microbicide gel and drug formulation looks promising for empowering women in developing countries to protect themselves from HIV during intercourse, without having to inform their partners, according to research published in the April 2011 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-anti-hiv-vaginal-gel-africa-se.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:02:16 EST news222523318 The prolonged use of tetracycline antibiotics commonly used to treat acne was associated with a reduced prevalence of StaphylococcuS. aureus bacteria and was not associated with increased resistance to the tetracycline antibiotics, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the August print issue of Archives of Dermatology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-long-term-antibiotic-acne-bacterial-resistance.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:00:01 EST news221758596