http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A more accurate, faster diagnostic test for Group B Streptococcal infection in babies has been reported in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. The new test could allow better treatment and management of the disease and reduce the risk of mortality among newborns. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-accurate-diagnostic-deaths.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 26 Jun 2012 19:00:03 EST news259944620 Parents of infants who survive bacterial meningitis caused by group B Streptococcus might have to live with the effects of the disease on their children long after they're discharged from the hospital. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-group-streptococcal-meningitis-long-term-effects.html Pediatrics Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:15:36 EST news258740122 Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the protective membrane that covers the spinal cord and brain. Children, elderly patients and immunocompromised patients are at a higher risk for the development of severe bacterial meningitis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-strategy-meningitis-vaccines.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 24 May 2012 12:01:07 EST news257077906 Consumption of probiotics (live microorganisms, which may occur naturally in foods such as yogurt, intended to confer a health benefit when consumed) is associated with a reduced risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, a common adverse effect of antibiotic use, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies published in the May 9 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-probiotics-diarrhea-antibiotic.html Medications Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:07 EST news255710407 An international team of researchers led by Georgia State University scientists have found a key component in the pathological process of pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal disease for which there is currently no cure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-critical-tightly-deadly-pulmonary-fibrosis.html Immunology Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:20:28 EST news253275595 University of Louisville researchers are a step closer to eliminating periodontal disease through their work to develop synthetic molecules that prevent a bacteria responsible for the disease from spreading throughout the mouth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-therapeutic-approach-gum-disease.html Dentistry Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:20:01 EST news252065427 Oral bacteria that escape into the bloodstream are able to cause blood clots and trigger life-threatening endocarditis. Further research could lead to new drugs to tackle infective heart disease, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Dublin this week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-dental-plaque-bacteria-trigger-blood.html Cardiology Mon, 26 Mar 2012 04:54:30 EST news251956461 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the University of Liverpool are examining the evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa over time in the lungs of ten people with cystic fibrosis to understand why it persists in these patients and why its response to antibiotics is so varied. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-parallel-evolution-cystic-fibrosis.html Medical research Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:30:02 EST news250237072 Genetics has provided surprising insights into why vaccines used in both the UK and US to combat serious childhood infections can eventually fail. The study, published today in Nature Genetics, which investigates how bacteria change their disguise to evade the vaccines, has implications for how future vaccines can be made more effective. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-genetics-reveals-pneumococcus-bacteria-evolve.html Genetics Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:00:01 EST news247034324 A study investigating epidemiology of Streptococcus B infection worldwide has shown that the highest levels of infection are found in Africa, followed by the Americas and Europe. The study shows the use of prophylactic antibiotics in mothers at risk of Streptococcus B substantially reduces infection rates in newborns, and that such intervention, widely applied in high-income countries, should also be used in the developing world, at least until vaccines become available. Encouragingly, and unlike some other pathogens, the distribution of strains of Streptococcus B appears similar worldwide, and therefore vaccines in development could have near-universal applicability once licensed. The study is by Dr Karen Edmond, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and colleagues. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-antibiotic-prophylaxis-vital-weapon-streptococcus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:30:02 EST news244915586 Brody Kennedy was a typical sixth-grader who loved to hang out with friends in Castaic, Calif., and play video games. A strep-throat infection in October caused him to miss a couple of days of school, but he was eager to rejoin his classmates, recalls his mother, Tracy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-childhood-disorder-bolsters-infection-link.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:20:02 EST news242912638 Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) researchers have created a vaccine that is more potent than traditional vaccines available today. The glycoconjugate vaccine prototype is 100 times more effective than traditional glycoconjugate vaccines. Their work is published in the December 2011 issue of Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-vaccine-prototype-stronger-traditional-vaccines.html Medical research Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:24:38 EST news241712667 (Medical Xpress) -- A new mouthwash developed by a microbiologist at the UCLA School of Dentistry is highly successful in targeting the harmful Streptococcus mutans bacteria that is the principal cause tooth decay and cavities. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-mouthwash-cavities.html Health Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:47:28 EST news240662842 (AP) -- The family of a California girl whose extremities were amputated because of a lengthy emergency room delay has agreed to a $10 million malpractice settlement. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-10m-okd-girl-amputations-er.html Other Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:19:24 EST news239026717 In a report on a preclinical investigation titled "Flagellin Enhances Saliva IgA Response and Protection of Anti-caries DNA Vaccine," lead author Wei Shi, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team of researchers demonstrate that anti-caries DNA vaccines, including pGJA-P/VAX, are promising for preventing dental caries. However, challenges remain because of the low immunogenicity of DNA vaccines. This study is published in the Journal of Dental Research, the official publication of the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-iadraadr-publish-dental-caries-vaccine.html Other Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:39:59 EST news238771528 Many of the people who died from the new strain of H1N1 influenza that broke out in 2009 were suffering from another infection as well: pneumonia. A new study to be published Tuesday, September 20 in the online journal mBio reveals how the two infections, pandemic influenza and pneumonia, interact to make to make a lethal combination. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-h1n1-pandemic-flu-lungs-opportunities.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:07:26 EST news235674431 The onset of narcolepsy appears to follow seasonal patterns of H1N1 and other upper airway infections, according to a new study of patients in China that was led by Stanford University School of Medicine narcolepsy expert Emmanuel Mignot, MD. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-narcolepsy-influenza.html Neuroscience Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:02 EST news233152947 Two strains of Streptococcus bacteria, that have evolved to cause potentially fatal infections in either horses or humans, use the same box of tricks to cause disease. Exploiting their genetic similarities could lead to novel vaccines for both man and beast, according to a review published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-genome-blueprint-horse-human-vaccines.html Medical research Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:00:01 EST news229875093 A powerful new class of therapeutics, known as recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines (RASV), holds great potential in the fight against fatal diseases including hepatitis B, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid fever, AIDS and pneumonia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-salmonella-based-vaccines-aid-infectious-disease.html Medical research Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:48:50 EST news228570514 (Medical Xpress) -- Scientists have discovered the tool that bacteria normally found in our mouths use to invade heart tissue, causing a dangerous and sometimes lethal infection of the heart known as endocarditis. The work raises the possibility of creating a screening tool – perhaps a swab of the cheek, or a spit test – to gauge a dental patient’s vulnerability to the condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-microbiologists-cavity-causing-microbes-invade-heart.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:41:05 EST news228382828 A team of scientists from Boston has confirmed that the bacterium Streptococcus mutans is a primary culprit in early childhood caries (EEC) cavities on the first set of teeth, and has identified a new species of bacterium, Scardovia wiggsiae, which they suspect is also a major contributor. They report their findings in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-dental-cavity-causing-species.html Medical research Tue, 17 May 2011 11:00:01 EST news224847479 Bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis are only able to spread when individuals are infected with flu, says a scientist reporting at the Society for General Microbiology's Spring Conference in Harrogate. The work could have implications for the management of influenza pandemics and could help reduce incidence of pneumococcal infections in very young children, who are more susceptible to disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-flu-pneumonia.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:10:01 EST news221712862