News by Subject Medicine & Health

A team of Clemson University researchers wants to protect humans and other mammals from the debilitating and even deadly effects of African sleeping sickness. James Morris, a Clemson professor in the College of Science's department of genetics and biochemistry, said that studying the cause of the disease is vital because, although the transmission of African sleeping sickness by tsetse flies has been studied for more than 100 years, the secret to the underlying parasite's success remains largely a mystery.

NTU Singapore scientists have developed a 'contact lens' patch with microneedles that could be a painless and efficient alternative to current methods of treating eye diseases such as glaucoma. Patients are unable to keep up with the prescribed regime of current localised treatment methods like eye drops, which are hindered by the eye's natural defences, blinking and tears. Eye injections can be painful and carry an infection risk and eye damage.

Lowering mutation rates in harmful bacteria might be an as yet untried way to hinder the emergence of antimicrobial pathogens. One target for drug development might be a protein factor, DNA translocase Mfd, that enables bacteria to evolve rapidly by promoting mutations in many different bacterial species. This action speeds antibiotic resistance, including multi-drug resistance. Working on drugs to block Mfd and similar factors could be a revolutionary strategy to address the worldwide crisis of treatment-resistant infectious diseases.

In one of the largest studies to measure the burden of antibiotic resistance in a low- or middle-income country, researchers at the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy report that in-hospital mortality is significantly higher among patients infected with multi-drug resistant (MDR) or extensively drug resistant (XDR) pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii.

'Eureka' moments still happen in scientific research. David P. Cistola, M.D., Ph.D., had his moment in August 2014 when he and his research team discovered a blood biomarker that identifies individuals who could be at risk for Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. That discovery could revolutionize how the early changes that lead to diabetes are detected--giving patients the opportunity to make lifestyle modifications or initiate therapies that prevent the disease from developing in the first place.

Researchers have assembled a new and improved DNA catalogue for the mosquito Aedes aegypti. This tool will help researchers understand the insect's biology, and may lead to new strategies for preventing diseases like Zika and dengue.

A new comprehensive map of mosquito DNA has been assembled using long-read sequencing technology from California-based Pacific Biosciences. The improved reference genome assembly, published in Nature, could help scientists combat the pest and infectious diseases it spreads, including Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

An infectious diseases specialist should review all orders for outpatient IV antimicrobial therapy and adjust as needed, suggest new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).