TB & Outbreaks Week articles from March 2003

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from March 2003

Phenothiazines, thioxanthenes block S. aureus drug efflux.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers have identified two classes of agents that inhibit staphyloccal drug efflux. "Efflux-related multidrug resistance (MDR) is a significant means...

RWJ-54428 effective against several forms of drug resistance.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in California have provided new information about a novel antibiotic active against several drug-resistant pathogens. RWJ-54428 "is a new...

Direct random insertion mutagenesis effective in Helicobacter pylori.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in the Netherlands have improved the process of random insertion mutagenesis, "a widely used technique for the identification of bacterial virulence genes." "Most strategies for random...

Nipah virus infection affects spinal cord, eyes.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Singapore have provided new insight into the effects of Nipah virus infection. "The Nipah virus is a newly identified paramyxovirus responsible for an outbreak of fatal encephalitis...

Enterobacteriaceae multidrug resistance strongly integron-associated.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in the Netherlands have provided new insight into the development of Enterobacteriaceae drug resistance. M.A. Leverstein-Van Hall and colleagues at University Medical Center Utrecht...

Single-dose ornidazole effective for Turkish children with giardiasis.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A single dose of ornidazole can resolve giardiasis in children, researchers in Turkey say. A. Ozbilgin and coauthors compared "the treatment efficacy of a single dose of ornidazole with five day...

Pathogenic E. coli O78 strain adheres to surfaces of intestinal tract.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The role of fimbria in adherence of an avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) 078 strain 789 to chicken intestine was studied. Bacterial adhesion to tissue sections representing the regions within...

Experiments map topography of oligosaccharides.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "A new saturation transfer difference 1D-TOCSY NMR experiment that allows the investigation of complex ligands interacting with proteins and its application in the mapping of which portions of...

Deaths are underestimated.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The number of deaths from food-borne diseases is likely to be underestimated, finds a new study. Researchers in Denmark identified 48,857 people infected with the bacteria Salmonella,...

Lawmakers seek tougher meat safety requirements.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. government still isn't protecting consumers from contaminated meat a decade after four children died and 700 people were sickened in an E. coli outbreak linked to hamburgers sold by the...

Multiple herpesvirus infections have limited effect on progression rate.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The effects of herpesviruses infection on the progression of HIV disease remain controversial, with some studies showing accelerated progression and others showing no effect," according to recent...

Cytomegalovirus infection may have protective effect.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cytomegalovirus infection may protect against HIV-induced neurological damage, researchers in France say. "Within the brain, glial cells are target cells for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and HIV,"...

Glucocorticoid treatment needed for patients with adrenal insufficiency.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "In human immunodeficiency virus infected individuals, human cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a significant pathogen," according to a recent study from New York University. "The adrenal gland is a...

Listeria radish attachment depends on temperature, flagellar motility.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Outbreaks of listeriosis and febrile gastroenteritis have been linked to produce contamination by Listeria monocytogenes," according to recent research from the United States. "In order to begin...

Ceftazidime use raises risk of resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in Taiwan.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ceftazidime treatment may heighten the risk of developing drug-resistant pneumonia, researchers in Taiwan warn. M.F. Lin and colleagues at Hsin-Chu Hospital conducted a study "to find the risk...

Coagulation, fibrinolysis may not affect dengue-virus infection outcome.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Despite efforts to elucidate the pathogenesis of dengue fever, the progression into severe disease remains poorly understood," according to a recent study from the Netherlands. "In vitro findings...

Homologous antibodies may protect against Norwalk-like viruses.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Host immune responses to human caliciviruses are difficult to study because of the lack of a clear definition of antigenic or serological types," according to recent research from the United States....

Hygroscopic bandages can be source of neonatal Acinetobacter outbreaks.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hygroscopic bandages can be responsible for neonatal Acinetobacter outbreaks, researchers in Israel say. R. Melamed and colleagues at Ben Gurion University of the Negev described "an outbreak of...

Mast cells play key role in early response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Canada have shed new light on the early immune response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. "Mast cells are important as sentinel cells in host defense against bacterial infection,"...

Modified amplification refractory mutation system useful for measles, mumps virus genotyping.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in England have developed a novel assay for genotyping measles and mumps viruses during outbreaks. This test is "based on a modification of the amplification refractory mutation system...

Routine microbiological diagnostics unnecessary for community-acquired pneumonia.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Current guidelines recommend microbiological diagnostic procedures as a part of the management of patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), but the value of such efforts has been...

Survival and growth of Francisella tularensis in Acanthamoeba castellanii.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Sweden have identified an organsim that acts as a reservoir for Francisella tularensis. F. tularensis "is a highly infectious, facultative intracellular bacterium which causes...

Host gene that makes people vulnerable discovered.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An international research team, led by Drs. Erwin Schurr and Thomas Hudson, scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, have identified a gene on human chromosome 6 that...

WHO outlines urgent need to end stigma and isolation.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The world is making great progress toward the goal of eliminating leprosy as a public health problem. But serious concerns remain in several countries, including India, Nepal, and Brazil. This was the...

Prevailing genotype changes frequently in Osaka.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The predominant genotype of measles virus (MV) changes regularly and relatively frequently in Osaka, Japan, researchers there say. The genotypes of a group of 44 MV strains isolated in Osaka between...

Molecular characteristics of Burkina Faso Neisseria meningitidis strains elucidated.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The predominant strain of Neisseria meningitidis in Burkina Faso may be changing, researchers there say. "In the course of an epidemic of meningitis in Burkina Faso in 2001, 27 cerebrospinal fluid...

Incompatible plasmids useful for gene replacement.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in England have identified a novel method for studying mycobacterial genes. "A simple and efficient delivery system was developed for making targeted gene knockouts in Mycobacterium...

Novel antibiotics get patent.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering (UAB-CBSE) and VDDI Pharmaceuticals have announced that their collaboration has received patent number 6,500,852...

IL-10 modulates Pneumocystis carinii-induced lung damage.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Host responses to Pneumocystis carinii infection mediate impairment of pulmonary function and contribute to the pathogenesis of pneumonia," according to a recent study from the University of Kentucky....

Interorgan differences seen in cytokine response to Penicillium marneffei.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Penicillium marneffei is an intracellullar opportunistic fungus causing invasive mycosis in AIDS patients," according to a recent study from the University of Milan. "T cells and macrophages are...

Johns Hopkins awarded $30 million to develop, introduce pneumococcal vaccine.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is receiving $30 million from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and its financing arm, the Vaccine Fund, to accelerate the...

Five dead as virus outbreak, panic grip southern China.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An unidentified virus that causes pneumonia has killed 5 people and left about 300 hospitalized in southern China. Rumors of a surging death toll prompted frightened residents to stock up on...

University of Miami receives $2.5 million grant for children and families.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of Miami's medical school has received a $2.5 million grant to support AIDS, HIV, and tuberculosis research, education, and treatment in South Florida, Haiti, and elsewhere. Steven...

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center licenses promising microbicide.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Instead, Inc. has signed an agreement with Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, under which it has obtained an exclusive worldwide license to develop and sell a microbicide, currently...

Iron-acquisition pathway suggests new treatments for drug-resistant infections.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered how Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of life-threatening infections, manages to acquire iron from its host's red blood cells, a critical...

Outbreaks of drug-resistant staph infections hitting prisons across nation.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drug-resistant bacteria that cause painful and potentially dangerous skin infections are gaining a foothold in the nation's prisons, health officials say. Jails in at least six states have reported...

HHV-7 infection may raise HHV-6 reactivation risk.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human herpesvirus (HHV)-7 may help mediate Roseolovirus (HHV-6) reactivation after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, researchers in France say. HHV-6 and -7 viremia was "evaluated...

Half of adults in U.S. unprotected.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Home improvement expert Bob Vila, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), and the National Coalition for Adult Immunization (NCAI) have teamed up to challenge adults across America to...

DNA vaccine primes CD8+ T cells to control Toxoplasma gondii infection.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from Belgium, "Protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii is known to be mediated mainly by T lymphocytes and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). The contribution of CD4+ and...

Stanford researchers identify genes involved in latency.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tuberculosis is a crafty foe. About 2 billion people are infected worldwide, but most show no symptoms, remaining disease-free for life. However in 10% of these latently infected people, weakening of...

Pulmonary helper T cell cytokine output useful as disease marker.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in England have identified a useful diagnostic marker for tuberculosis (TB) infection. S.M. Barry and colleagues at Royal Free Hospital "examined the cytokine responses of CD4+ T...

Monocyte infection induces unique TNF-alpha enhanceosome.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Harvard University have identified a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha coactivator in tuberculosis-infected monocytes. TNF-alpha "plays an important role in host containment of...

Mycobacteria disrupt TNF-alpha death signals.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have identified a technique used by virulent mycobacteria to protect infected cells from destruction. In a previous study, C. J. Riendeau and...

Mycobacterial glutamine synthetase inhibition effective.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of California have identified a novel and effective strategy for tuberculosis treatment. "Tuberculosis remains one of humankind's greatest killers, and new therapeutic...

Antigen 85A expression enhances immunogenicity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "The immunogenicity of a plasmid DNA vaccine incorporating Sindbis virus RNA replicase functions (pSINCP) and expressing antigen 85A (Ag85A) from...

Condition of patient's eyes may help in diagnosis.
March 4, 2003... 2003 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The condition of a patient's eyes may be one way to diagnose West Nile virus, doctors at Northwestern University say. The doctors described a patient who complained of seeing dots - known as...

Novel bacteriophage effective against murine staph infection.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A novel bacteriophage can protect animals from lethal Staphylococcus aureus infection, researchers in Japan say. Shigenobu Matsuzaki and colleagues at...

Dendritic cells not permissive for mycobacterial growth.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Unlike macrophages, dendritic cells (DCs) are not conducive to mycobacterial growth, researchers in France say. DCs "are likely to play a key role in...

Unsafe healthcare bigger culprit than unsafe sex in African AIDS.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Since the 1980s most experts have assumed that heterosexual sex transmitted 90% of HIV in Africa. But now an international team of HIV specialists presents groundbreaking evidence to challenge this...

Real-time PCR assay quickly detects H. pylori resistance.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay can quickly determine Heliobacter pylori drug resistance "The main cause of failure of H. pylori eradication therapy is resistance to...

Linezolid effective against refractory Gram-positive infections.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Linezolid is effective against highly resistant Gram-positive infections. According to a study from the United States, "linezolid was provided for treatment of multidrug-resistant, Gram-positive...

Terbinafine effective against Aspergillus, Cladosporium fungi.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The antifungal agent terbinafine is effective against pathogenic Aspergillus and Cladosporium species. In a recent study from Turkey, "the in vitro fungicidal and fungistatic activities of...

Overuse cited in Cipro ineffectiveness.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cipro, the antibiotic that became a household word during the 2001 anthrax scare, is becoming increasingly ineffective against other dangerous germs because of overuse, a study found. The...

Bacille Calmette-Guerin infections may appear after cancer immunotherapy.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bacille Calmette-Guerin infection may appear some time after its use in cancer immunotherapy. According to a study from the United States, "intravesical instillation of bacille Calmette-Guerin...

Ecological effects of climate change include human epidemics.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The link between climate and cholera, a serious health problem in many parts of the world, has become stronger in recent decades, according to a University of Michigan scientist who takes an ecological...

U.N. health agency helping to contain deadly outbreak in Congo.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading a joint team of health experts and clinicians rushing to control an outbreak of the Ebola virus, which has reportedly killed more than 60 people in the...

Rabbits lungs produce immune factor that may be a useful microbicide.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A compound produced by the immune cells of rabbits appears to block the spread of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) and could be used as a topical microbicide against the disease, say researchers from...

Cell wall thickening is a common feature of staphylococcal vancomycin resistance.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cell wall thickening is a common feature of staphylococcal vancomycin resistance. Researchers in Japan "have previously shown that a thickened cell wall is responsible for the vancomycin resistance...

Type IV pili not needed for P. aeruginosa exoenzyme delivery.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Type IV pili are not needed for Pseudomonas aeruginosa exoenzyme delivery. P. aeuruginosa's type III secretion system (TTSS) "enables the bacterium to deliver exoenzymes directly into the...

Novel molecular assay rapidly detects resistant staphylococci.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel molecular assay rapidly detects drug-resistant staphylococcal pathogens. According to recent research from Switzerland, "a rapid procedure was developed for detection and identification of...

Artemisa annua extracts potentiate antimicrobial drug activity.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A pair of flavonols derived from the sweet wormwood plant enhance the effects of some antistaphylococcal and antimalarial drugs. According to a study from the United States, "bioassay-guided...

Novel assay effective for measuring serum kanamycin levels.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel assay provides an accurate measure of kanamycin levels in serum. According to recent research from Belgium, "an effective method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) and capillary...

Novel triazole antifungals effective against uncommon Candida strains.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel triazole antifungal agents are effective against uncommon Candida species. Researchers in the United States "determined the in vitro susceptibilities of 314 strains of Candida spp.,...

Thiamphenicol effective against drug-resistant pathogens.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Thiamphenicol is effective against a number of drug-resistant pathogens in vitro. This agent is "a derivative of chloramphenicol characterized by a spectrum comparable to that of the parent...

Ultra-short term prophylaxis effective for laparotomic gynecologic surgery patients.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ultra-short term prophylaxis can effectively prevent infectious morbidity after laparotomic gynecologic operations. Researchers in Italy conducted a study "to compare two antimicrobial regimens,...

Outbreaks in Africa underscore urgency for increased global surveillance.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As the world's influenza experts gathered recently in Geneva to determine next year's vaccine composition, recent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Madagascar illustrate the...

Positive results from FluINsure challenge study announced.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ID Biomedical announced that preliminary data from the most recent clinical study of its FluINsure intranasal, non-live, influenza vaccine showed positive results with respect to both the safety and...

Nitric oxide plays key role in defense.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Utah is a long way from malaria country - but a disease that kills more than 1 million children a year is powerful incentive for medical researchers to bridge the distance. University of Utah (U...

Study of GM mosquitoes highlights difficulties facing malaria control technique.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first laboratory population study of genetically modified mosquitoes identifies issues that need to be faced in the task of turning mosquitoes from disease carriers into disease fighters. ...

Pyrazolylnaphthoquinones could be effective antiprotozoal agents.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pyrazolylnaphthoquinones may be effective antiprotozoal agents. "The importance of American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease) in human pathology is widely known," researchers in Argentina say. ...

Egyptian mummies provide clues to early evolution.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ancient Egyptian mummies have provided new insight into early mycobacterial evolution. According to recent research from Germany, "bone and soft tissue samples from 85 ancient Egyptian mummies were...

Study of hospital workers finds patterns in hygiene habits.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- If the doctor doesn't wash his hands, the nurses, residents, and medical students under his supervision probably won't wash up either, a study found. Overall, hospital staff members in the study...

China outbreak likely caused by chlamydia, officials say.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An unusual strain of chlamydia - one not transmitted through sexual contact - probably caused an illness that killed at least five people, sickened hundreds more with pneumonia, and spread fear in...

Refractory mycobacteria can develop in low-risk areas.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drug-resistant mycobacteria can develop in putatively low-risk areas. According to researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, "there have been ample warnings that multidrug-resistant...

Early myeloblasts express parvovirus B19 receptor.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Early myeloblasts express the parvovirus B19 receptor. According to a study from the United States, "glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are complex macromolecules on cell membranes that have been shown to...

CNS may be cytomegalovirus sanctuary.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The central nervous system may act as a cytomegalovirus sanctuary in stem cell graft recipients. "Preemptive ganciclovir therapy has reduced the occurrence of early cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease...

Refrigerated centrifuge sputum processing does not affect mycobacterial isolation.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The use of a refrigerated centrifuge to process sputum samples does not affect mycobacterial isolation rates although it can speed the isolation process. According to a study from India, "a total...

DC-SIGN is the main mycobacterial receptor on dendritic cells.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- DC-SIGN is the main mycobacterial receptor on human dendritic cells. "Early interactions between lung dendritic cells (LDCs) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis,...

Mycobacteria target DC-SIGN to suppress dendritic cell function.
March 11, 2003... 2003 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mycobacteria - including the pathogen responsible for tuberculosis - target DC-SIGN to suppress dendritic cell function. "Mycobacterium tuberculosis represents a world-wide health risk and...

CD44 plays key role in host immune response.
March 18, 2003... 2003 MAR 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The adhesion molecule CD44 plays a key role in the immune response to tuberculosis, researchers in the Netherlands report. "Cell migration and...

Thioridazine effective against resistant intracellular mycobacteria.
March 18, 2003... 2003 MAR 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antischizophrenia drug thioridazine (TZ) may be a feasible adjunct treatment for patients suffering from refractory tuberculosis, researchers say. TZ...

ADSRRS fingerprinting effective for typing vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium.
March 18, 2003... 2003 MAR 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ADSRRS fingerprinting is an effective tool for typing vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium According to a study from Poland, "in the search for an effective DNA-typing technique for use in...

Two major subclones of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157 prevalent in Germany.
March 18, 2003... 2003 MAR 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two major subclones of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 are predominant in Germany "Shiga toxin (Verocytotoxin) producing E. coli (STEC) O157 were isolated from 168 patients living in...

Rapid dot sputum-serum assay effective.
March 18, 2003... 2003 MAR 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel dot sputum-serum assay can help health care providers quickly diagnose pulmonary tuberculosis. Researchers in Romania described "a rapid direct sputum (Sp.) and/or antibody assay, based on...