Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

Flu virus suppresses body's ability to defend against bacteria

When infected with influenza, the body becomes an easy target for bacteria. The flu virus alters the host's immune system and compromises its capacity to effectively fight off bacterial infections. Now, a team of immunologists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and cooperation partners has discovered that an immune system molecule called TLR7 is partly to blame. The molecule recognizes the viral genome - and then signals scavenger cells of the immune system to ingest fewer bacteria.

15 Nov 2012

Certain UTI-causing bacteria become more difficult to treat with current antibiotics

Certain types of bacteria responsible for causing urinary tract infections (UTIs), the second-most-common infection in the United States, are becoming more difficult to treat with current antibiotics, according to new research from Extending the Cure (ETC), a project of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.

14 Nov 2012

U.N., partners call for greater efforts to fight number one killer of children on World Pneumonia Day

On World Pneumonia Day (WPD), recognized on November 12, "the United Nations and its partners ... called for greater efforts to eradicate pneumonia, the number one killer of children under the age of five," the U.N. News Centre reports.

14 Nov 2012

Abbott releases details on phase 3 hepatitis C registrational program

Abbott today released details on its phase 3 hepatitis C registrational program following promising results from its phase 2b clinical trial, known as Aviator, presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) in Boston.

13 Nov 2012

Calcium-related hormone could help identify pneumonia

Serum procalcitonin measurements could improve the accuracy of pneumonia diagnoses when chest radiographs give indeterminate results, indicate US study findings.

12 Nov 2012

Semprus BioSciences to develop surface-modified endotracheal tube

Teleflex Incorporated, a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, has announced that Semprus BioSciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated, has been awarded the initial phase of a $2.3 million research grant from the U.S. Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), located at Fort Detrick, MD.

9 Nov 2012

Pay-for-performance schemes may help save lives of NHS patients

New research into controversial pay-for-performance schemes has suggested they may help to save the lives of NHS patients.

From The University of Manchester 8 Nov 2012

State roundup: Examining health issues on state ballots

Sprinkled throughout ballots across the country are state initiatives that run the gamut from education to animal rights to marriage. And health care is well-represented, too. The National Conference of State Legislatures labels health a "key issue" in this cycle's roundup of state ballot questions.

6 Nov 2012

University of Alberta medical research supports the 'obesity paradox'

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta studied the records of nearly 1000 patients who were admitted to hospital with pneumonia and noted those who were obese were more apt to survive compared to those who were of normal weight.

6 Nov 2012

Sapacitabine tolerated, efficacious in elderly leukemia patients

The nucleoside analog sapacitabine appears to be “active and tolerable” in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia, say authors of a phase II study reported in the Lancet Oncology.

5 Nov 2012

Genetic polymorphisms linked with community-acquired pneumonia

Seven genetic polymorphisms have been shown to be associated with community-acquired pneumonia, research shows.

5 Nov 2012

FDA accepts Sunovion’s two LATUDA sNDAs for review

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review two supplemental New Drug Applications (sNDAs) for the use of LATUDA as 1) monotherapy and 2) adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate, both to treat adult patients with depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (bipolar depression).

31 Oct 2012

$Most refractory status epilepticus patients have poor functional outcome$

Most refractory status epilepticus patients have poor functional outcome

Three-quarters of refractory status epilepticus patients have a poor functional outcome, which is linked to drug-induced coma and severe encephalographic suppression, say US scientists.

30 Oct 2012

Artificial CSP proteins reduce S. pneumoniae competence y more than 90%

The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae - which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis - likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment.

26 Oct 2012

CINJ makes experts available during National Lung Cancer Awareness Month

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 6,000 new cases of lung cancer are expected to be diagnosed in New Jersey this year, and 4,200 people will die from the disease.

25 Oct 2012

Are some factors related to readmissions beyond hospitals' control?

Reuters reports on a "fresh look at past research" that finds several non-medical variables may be central to how some patients do once they are discharged from the hospital.

22 Oct 2012

MRSA-related pneumonia can be effectively treated in half the recommended time

The national practice guideline for treating MRSA-related pneumonia is seven to 21 days. A Henry Ford Hospital study found that effective treatment can be done in half the time.

20 Oct 2012

Henry Ford study evaluates length of treatment for MRSA-related pneumonia

The national practice guideline for treating MRSA-related pneumonia is seven to 21 days. A Henry Ford Hospital study found that effective treatment can be done in half the time.

20 Oct 2012

Babies born to HIV positive mothers more likely to acquire measles

Non-infected babies born to HIV positive mothers should be vaccinated early against measles, to avoid them acquiring the virus or passing it on to others.

19 Oct 2012

Public-private partnership will promote handwashing to help reduce child mortality in Africa

Though the number of children dying of preventable and treatable diseases worldwide has dropped significantly since 1990, there is "realistic hope for much more" progress, particularly if "improved hygiene and sanitation ... play a key role in the next stage," Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, write in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

17 Oct 2012