Update on tuberculosis -- 2005
...y fatal infection primarily caused by the airborne bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Factors that contribute to the spread of TB, particularly in developing nations, include: overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions in urban areas, homeless shelters and prisons; the emergence of multi-drug resistant d...Helicobacter-pylori status might predict prognosis after surgery for gastric cancer
Patients who test negative for the bacterium Helicobacter pylori might have a worse prognosis after curative surgery for gastric cancer than those who are positive, according to researchers reporting in the March issue of The Lancet Oncology. "Tumour-specific immune responses might be downregul...Scientists uncover genes for virulence in strain of community-acquired MRSA
...300 has incorporated part of the genome of another bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis into its own genetic make-up. The investigators believe that these incorporated genes enable the strain to evade host immune responses to survive and spread in host tissue. The researchers also report that because these gen...Most effective anthrax treatment: VA-Stanford study finds
...ute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. "It's one of the main agents we're worried about for bioterrorism, because it's available, it can be weaponized, and it can do a spectacular amount of damage in a short period of time," said study senior author Douglas Owens, MD, ...Periodontitis is associated with pregnancy complications
...pregnant women. This might mean that periodontal bacterium could find its way into the bloodstream in patients with periodontal disease. "P. gingivalis has not only been found in the blood circulation but also in atherosclerotic plaques, which has been linked to periodontal disease and cardiovascular diseas...JCI table of contents, January 26, 2006
... Fighting airway infection in cystic fibrosis A bacterium known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important pathogen that is most resistant to therapy when it undergoes a process known as mucoid conversion, forming a biofilm along the airways in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In addition, its presence in the ...Patient safety monitoring at Hopkins Hospital finds law of unintended consequences at work
...imens from infected patients showed that no single bacterium was responsible and that 26 percent of specimens were polymicrobial, containing more than one kind of bacterium. The norm for these kinds of infections was lower, at 8 percent. Having not found human error as the likely cause of infection, the Hopk...Drug-resistant bacteria patterns in intensive care units changing nationally
A dangerous drug-resistant bacterium is becoming more prevalent in many intensive care units, according to an article in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is responsible for a variety of infections ...NIAID researchers show how promising TB drug works
...ermined how a promising drug candidate attacks the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). Published online th....htm .) PA-824 must be chemically activated in the bacterium before it exerts its anti-tubercular effect, notes Dr. Barry. Earlier research had sketched out the ...Whooping cough persistence traced to key toxin
...ate's Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. "The bacterium appears to have a mechanism to resist the effects of antibodies during the first week of infection," he adds. Harvill's group theorized that one or more genes specific to pertussis were somehow delaying the effectiveness of the vaccine. They looked ...Gene increases risk of tuberculosis
...a. Infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, are on the rise, with an estimated eight million new infections and two million TB-induced deaths occurring annually. But not all people who are exposed to this bug become ill -- a phenomenon largely explained by genetic differences ...Mathematics used to discern immune response to infectious diseases
..., which causes TB, and Francisella tularensis, the bacterium responsible for tularemia. Since each of these organisms enters the body via the lung, the investigators will study the specific immune cells recruited to the lung and identify the particular genes expressed and the molecules produced in response to ...Advance in cholera bacteria points to new treatment and vaccine
... of the journal Nature, the study investigates the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and its ability to attach to a hos...S who led the research. "Now that we know what the bacterium attaches to in the intestine, we can find ways to block that initial contact." Cholera and the bacte...Endotoxins in house dust pose a significant risk for asthma
... the bacterial cell wall and are released when the bacterium ruptures or disintegrates. According to the authors, inhalation exposure to endotoxins is common in homes. Indoor sources include: dust, pets, humidifiers, pests, and outdoor air. Past studies have shown that exposure can cause lung inflammation....Dendritic cells offer new therapeutic target for drugs to treat MS and other autoimmune disease
...sts also revealed that mice infected with a potent bacterium survived after treatment with CEP-701. Additional authors include Peter A. Calabresi, Erin McCadden, Bao Nguyen, David Kardian, Tianhong Wang, Claudio Mosse and Drew M. Pardoll from Johns Hopkins....Aspirin may help the heart, but one in ten patients will also develop an ulcer, new research shows
...years and over, as well as those infected with the bacterium 'Helicobacter pylori', three times more at risk. But despite their ulcers, the patients experienced virtually none of the expected warning symptoms, like indigestion, abdominal pain, acid reflux, nausea or bloating. In fact, their ulcers were undetec...Bacterium present in eyes with 'wet' age-related macular degeneration
...ary (MEEI) have found that Chlamydia pneumoniae, a bacterium linked to heart disease and capable of causing chr... susceptible patients. Although C. pneumoniae is a bacterium that might respond to some antibiotics, much more work needs to be done before considering antibioti......asured participants' stomach colonization with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. This year's Nobel Prize in Medicine went to the scientists who some years ago demonstrated that stomach ulcers are almost always caused by H. pylori infection, and that a course of antibiotics could cure most of them. "The indic...Broccoli sprouts, cabbage, ginkgo biloba and garlic: A grocery list for cancer prevention
...lori discovered that sulforaphane acts against the bacterium in vitro, alleviating gastritis in H. pylori-infec...h H. pylori. Another group of 20 infected with the bacterium received alfalfa spouts instead of broccoli sprouts. Each received 100 grams of fresh sprouts daily ...Acellular pertussis vaccine proves effective in adults, adolescents
...ay be to decrease transmission of the B. pertussis bacterium to infants, who are particularly vulnerable to severe illness, complications and death resulting from whooping cough. The illness annually affects 50 million people worldwide. "During the 1990s, the number of reported pertussis cases among adolescent...