http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A neuropeptide called Substance P is the cause of seizures in patients with brains infected by the pork tapeworm (Taenia solium), said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online in the open access journal PLoS Pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-seizures-patients-pork-tapeworm-substance.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:00:12 EST news248008658 Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have demonstrated that the Anopheles mosquito's innate immune system could be genetically engineered to block the transmission of malaria-causing parasites to humans. In addition, they showed that the genetic modification had limited impact on the mosquito's fitness under laboratory conditions. The researchers' findings are published December 22nd in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-scientists-mosquito-immune-malaria.html Immunology Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:25:06 EST news243800698 Scientists have found the 'key' that HIV uses to enter our cells' nuclei, allowing it to disable the immune system and cause AIDS The finding, published today in the open access journal PLoS Pathogens, provides a potential new target for anti-AIDS drugs that could be more effective against drug-resistant strains of the virus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-hiv-discovery-scientists-block-virus.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:00:01 EST news242575016 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 An international team of scientists led by Monash University researchers has uncovered how a common hospital bacterium becomes a deadly superbug that kills increasing numbers of hospital patients worldwide and accounts for an estimated $3.2 billion each year in health care costs in the US alone. Their findings appear October 13th in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-hospital-superbug-debugged.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:30:51 EST news237745839 Targeting a toxin released by virtually all strains of MRSA could help scientists develop new drugs that can fight the superbug, research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-scientists-superbugs-toxin-virtually-strains.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:00:01 EST news237733190 A novel mechanism has been identified in which Chlamydia trachomatis tricks host cells into taking up the bacteria. Researchers from University of California San Francisco, led by Joanne Engel, report their findings in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens on October 6th. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-chlamydia-trojan-horse-tactics-infect.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:00:08 EST news237128697 When the virus that causes AIDS infects the central nervous system, it can lead to the development of a severe neurological disease called HIV-associated dementia (HAD). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-distinct-aids-viruses-cerebrospinal-fluid.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:00:06 EST news237127776 A researcher at MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer research has identified a gene that controls the process by which antibodies gain their ability to combat retroviruses. Edward Browne shows that the gene TLR7 allows the antibody generating B cells to detect the presence of a retrovirus and promotes a process by which antibodies gain strength and potency, called a germinal center reaction. The findings are published in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens on October 6th. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-ancient-gene-potent-antibody-response.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:00:04 EST news237128736 Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a therapy for a potentially deadly type of infection common in catheters, artificial joints and other "in-dwelling" medical devices. Their findings appear in the Open Access Journal PLoS Pathogens on September 8th. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-combination-therapy-common-infection-implanted.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:45:51 EST news234722492 Most AIDS patients, when diagnosed with a fungal infection known simply as cryptococcosis, are assumed to have an infection with Cryptococcus neoformans, but a recent study from Duke University Medical Center suggests that a sibling species, Cryptococcus gattii, is a more common cause than was previously known. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-cryptococcus-infections-misdiagnosed-aids-patients.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 01 Sep 2011 17:35:52 EST news234117337 Canadian researchers have discovered that a tumor cell marker is a receptor for measles virus, suggesting the possible use of measles virus to help fight cancer. Their findings appear in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens on August 25th. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-cell-receptor-measles-virus-tumors.html Cancer Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:48:13 EST news233513282 Researchers have developed a new candidate vaccine to protect against chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen that produces an intensely painful and often chronic arthritic disease that has stricken millions of people in India, Southeast Asia and Africa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-experimental-vaccine-chikungunya-virus.html Medications Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:13:54 EST news232370010 Wolbachia are bacteria that infect many insects, including mosquitoes. However, Wolbachia do not naturally infect Anopheles mosquitoes, which are the type that spreads malaria to humans. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that artificial infection with different Wolbachia strains can significantly reduce levels of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, in the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. The investigators also determined that one of the Wolbachia strains rapidly killed the mosquito after it fed on blood. According to the researchers, Wolbachia could potentially be used as part of a strategy to control malaria if stable infections can be established in Anopheles. Their study is published in the May 19 edition PLoS Pathogens. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-wolbachia-bacteria-parasite-mosquito-malaria.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 19 May 2011 17:31:17 EST news225045046