TB & Outbreaks Week articles from December 2008

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from December 2008

Reports summarize botulism study results from A.N. Sheth and co-researchers.
December 2, 2008... According to a study from the United States, "On 8 September 2006, 3 Georgia residents presented with symptoms of food-borne botulism, a potentially fatal illness caused by Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins. Investigators reviewed medical...

Findings from T.R. Frieden et al in chronic disease reported.
December 2, 2008... According to recent research from the United States, "Long after the leading causes of death in the United States shifted from infectious diseases to chronic diseases, many public health agencies have not established effective policies and...

Studies from University of Pittsburgh in the area of clinical infectious diseases published.
December 2, 2008... According to recent research from the United States, "Cryptococcosis remains a significant opportunistic infection in solid organ transplant recipients." "Disease presentation and outcomes may be affected by, among other factors, the use...

New findings reported from E. Castanysmunoz and co-authors describe advances in drug resistance.
December 2, 2008... "Leishmaniasis treatment is hampered by the increased appearance of treatment failure. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are usually involved in drug resistance both in tumor cells and in microorganisms," investigators in Granada, Spain...

Studies from Texas A&M University describe new findings in Escherichia coli.
December 2, 2008... "We have shown that the quorum-sensing signals acylhomoserine lactones, autoinducer-2 (AI-2) and indole influence the biofilm formation of Escherichia coli. Here, we investigate how the environment, that is, temperature, affects indole and AI-2...

Reports on arthritis findings from University of Maryland provide new insights.
December 9, 2008... "Green tea, a product of the dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. The polyphenolic compounds from green tea (PGT) possess antiinflammatory properties," scientists in the United States report (see...

Study results from O.E. Johansen et al provide new insights into atrial fibrillation.
December 9, 2008... "The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasing world wide and amongst factors that aggravate the risk is diabetes mellitus (DM), also in epidemic development. However, although DM is a potentially modifiable risk factor for AF, few,...

Study findings from D.C. Metz et al broaden understanding of clostridium.
December 9, 2008... "Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have revolutionized the management of acid-related disorders," investigators in the United States report (see also Clostridium). "The potential adverse effects related to PPI use fall into four main...

Research from B. Hopton and co-researchers in the area of diverticular disease described.
December 9, 2008... According to recent research from Keighley, the United Kingdom, "A case report and literature review. To present a case of lumbar spinal infection secondary to colonic diverticular disease, their management and outcome." "To review the...

Scientists at University of Texas target DNA research.(Report)
December 9, 2008... According to recent research published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, "Anthropologists have assumed that reduced genetic diversity in extant Native Americans is due to a founder effect that occurred during the initial...

Data on vector-borne and zoonotic disease discussed by Z. Hubalek and colleagues.
December 9, 2008... "A serosurvey for West Nile virus (WNV) was carried out in 54 domestic birds (geese and ducks bred on fishponds) and 391 wild birds representing 28 migratory and resident species, using a plaque-reduction neutralization microtest with Vero...

Reports summarize vector-borne and zoonotic disease study results from M.P. Tampieri and co-researchers.
December 9, 2008... "Babesia and Theileria species were investigated in wild ungulates of Northern and Central Italy. Of 355 blood samples examined, 108 (30.4%) were positive to molecular diagnostics (polymerase chain reaction [PCR] with specific primers and...

Studies from University of Jaen yield new information about vector-borne and zoonotic disease.
December 9, 2008... "Rodents (87 Mus spretus and 10 Rattus norvegicus) collected in a suburban area of Seville (Andalusia, Spain) between September 2003 and April 2004 were tested by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of Bartonella DNA using primers...

Studies from University of Wisconsin in the area of vector-borne and zoonotic disease published.
December 9, 2008... According to a study from the United States, "In addition to modulating blood meal digestion and protecting the midgut epithelial cells from mechanical and chemical damage, a biological function attributed to the mosquito type I peritrophic...

Study results from G. Lopez and colleagues in the area of vector-borne and zoonotic disease published.
December 9, 2008... According to recent research from Seville, Spain, "West Nile virus (WNV) is a bird flavivirus capable of infecting horses and humans that is transmitted by blood-sucking vectors. In Europe and Africa, sporadic infections and outbreaks causing...

Nordic Naturals Offers Cod Liver Oil Solutions in Response to Recent Vitamin a and Vitamin D Controversy.
December 16, 2008... In response to the commentary entitled "Cod Liver Oil, Vitamin A Toxicity, Frequent Respiratory Infections, and the Vitamin D Deficiency Epidemic" published on November 11th by 16 well known supplement experts, Nordic Naturals announced that...

Research on aspergillosis described by scientists at University of Genoa.
December 16, 2008... "Purpose of review Invasive aspergillosis is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in hematopoietic stem cells transplant recipients. Owing to its intrinsic high mortality rate,early diagnosis and treatment are critical," investigators in...

Researchers from University of London, Imperial College report recent findings in aspergillosis.
December 16, 2008... "Aspergillus fumigatus is a common mould whose spores are a component of the normal airborne flora. Immune dysfunction permits developmental growth of inhaled spores in the human lung causing aspergillosis, a significant threat to human health...

Studies from University of Tehran yield new data on aspergillosis.(Report)
December 16, 2008... "This study was undertaken to describe clinical, mycological and histopathological findings in black neck ostriches affected with severe aspergillosis in a flock including 80 birds, near Tehran, Iran. The signs included anorexia, depression,...

New findings reported from C.Y. Lu and co-authors describe advances in bird flu.
December 16, 2008... According to recent research published in the Chinese Medical Journal, " Southeast China is one of the sites of influenza origin. During 2003-2004, nine avian influenza outbreaks took place in Guangdong Province." "But no human case was...

Findings in clinical microbiology and infectious disease reported from C.J. Bonhomme and co-researchers.(Clinical report)
December 16, 2008... "Whipple's disease is a systemic chronic infection caused by Tropheryma whipplei. Asymptomatic people may carry T. whipplei in their digestive tract and this can be determined by PCR, making serological diagnosis useful to distinguish between...

New sexually transmitted disease research from University of Washington discussed.(Survey)
December 16, 2008... "Little data exist on Internet and email use among STI) clinic patients for research and clinical care communication. An anonymous cross-sectional survey of STI) clinic patients aged >= 18 years in Seattle, WA, March 13 to 22, 2006,"...

Epidemics of Both Type 1 Diabetes (Insulin Dependent) and Type 2 Diabetes (Obesity Related) Are Linked to Immunization.
December 23, 2008... Data by Dr. J. Bart Classen published this week in Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews provides further evidence that epidemics of type 2 diabetes/obesity/metabolic syndrome, like type 1 diabetes, are linked to...

Research from University of Paris broadens understanding of aspergillosis.(Report)
December 23, 2008... "Detection of galactomannan antigen (GMA) in serum is the standard assay for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in high-risk patients with hematological disorders. Detection of Aspergillus DNA in serum has been proposed, but its...

Study data from M. Brock et al provide new insights into aspergillosis.
December 23, 2008... "Aspergillus fumigatus is the main cause of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients, and only a limited number of drugs for treatment are available. A screening method for new antifungal compounds is urgently required, preferably...

Data from M.S.H. Zahid and colleagues advance knowledge in cholera.
December 23, 2008... According to recent research from Dhaka, Bangladesh, "Seasonal epidemics of cholera in Bangladesh are self-limited in nature, presumably due to phage predation of the causative Vibrio cholerae during the late stage of an epidemic, when cholera...

Data on clinical infectious diseases discussed by J.S. Bradley and colleagues.
December 23, 2008... "There are few placebo-controlled, randomized, prospective clinical trials of antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. The reduction in mortality seen in early trials of antibacterials for treatment of bacterial...

Findings from D. Aujesky et al in clinical infectious diseases reported.(Clinical report)
December 23, 2008... According to recent research from Lausanne, Switzerland, "The prognosis of community-acquired pneumonia ranges from rapid resolution of symptoms and full recovery of functional status to the development of severe medical complications and...

New clinical infectious diseases research from Emory University discussed.
December 23, 2008... "Current diagnostic tests lack sensitivity for the identification of the bacterial etiology of pneumonia," investigators in the United States report (see also Clinical Infectious Diseases). "Attempts during the past 2 decades to improve...

Reports outline clinical infectious diseases study results from University of Washington.(Clinical report)
December 23, 2008... According to recent research published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, "When investigators hypothesize that experimental interventions provide advantages other than improved effectiveness, they can use noninferiority (NI) trials to...

New data from Trakya University, Medical Department illuminate research in ankylosing spondylitis.(Report)
December 30, 2008... "In this study, we evaluated the clinical features, treatment modalities, including TNF-blockers, purified protein derivative (PPD) test, chest X-ray and HRCT results in our AS patients. We evaluated the clinical features, disease activity and...

Studies from Johns Hopkins University describe new findings in anti-infectives.
December 30, 2008... According to a study from the United States, "Moxifloxacin-and rifapentine-based regimens are under investigation for the treatment of tuberculosis. However, rifapentine may induce enzymes that metabolize moxifloxacin, resulting in decreased...

Reports by P. Schafer and co-researchers describe recent advances in clinical infectious diseases.(Report)
December 30, 2008... "The value of microbiological culture to diagnose late periprosthetic infection is limited, especially because standard methods may fail to detect biofilm-forming sessile or other fastidious bacteria. There is no agreement on the appropriate...

Studies from University of New South Wales yield new data on clinical infectious diseases.(Report)
December 30, 2008... According to recent research from Sydney, Australia, "Functional polymorphisms in immune response genes are increasingly recognized as important contributors to the marked individual differences in susceptibility to and outcomes of infectious...

New findings reported from A.M. Harris and co-authors describe advances in diarrhea.
December 30, 2008... "Bangladesh experienced severe flooding and diarrheal epidemics in 2007. We compared flood data from 2007 with 2004 and 1998 for diarrheal patients attending the ICDDR,B hospital in Dhaka," investigators in Dhaka, Bangladesh report (see also...