Tuberculosis, caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a leading cause of illness and death worldwide, killing >1 million people annually. Current treatment uses multiple drugs, lasts for months and is challenged by increasing drug resistance among strains. Mycobacterial drug resistance is mediated in part by efflux, a pumping mechanism that sheds drugs from theContinueContinue reading “A semi-synthetic approach to treat tuberculosis”
Tag Archives: infectious disease
Genetic variant regulates arthritis severity
Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most prevalent arthropod-borne illness in the US. Disease severity varies greatly, with up to 60% of untreated patients developing a self-limiting, inflammatory arthritis. Even after appropriate antibiotic therapy, 10% of patients may develop chronic arthritis lasting months to years. The spectrum of arthritis severity amongContinueContinue reading “Genetic variant regulates arthritis severity”
Sniffing out a new strategy to control mosquitoes
Female mosquitoes can transmit deadly bloodborne diseases and are of particular concern in developing areas including sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Mosquito repellants like N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) are of limited utility in these regions because they are effective only at short range and are too expensive and unpleasant for daily use. Another control strategy is to burnContinueContinue reading “Sniffing out a new strategy to control mosquitoes”
Vaccine fails to clear pertussis infection in baboons
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It has reemerged as a public health concern as pertussis rates in the US have increased and reached a 50-year high of 42,000 cases in 2012. This resurgence is not completely understood but is believed to be related toContinueContinue reading “Vaccine fails to clear pertussis infection in baboons”
Vaccine clears SIV in rhesus macaques
Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is thought to cause permanent infection that may be controlled by antiretroviral therapies but not eliminated. A recent study, however, led by Louis Picker (Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton) showed immune clearance of highly pathogenic SIV infection in rhesus macaques (Nature doi:10.1038/nature12519; published online 11ContinueContinue reading “Vaccine clears SIV in rhesus macaques”
New models for studying hepatitis C
For decades, chimpanzees have been the primary animal model for studying hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Efforts to develop other animal models have so far failed because chimps are the only species other than humans that are naturally susceptible to HCV. But as regulations surrounding chimpanzee research in the US have become more restrictive, theContinueContinue reading “New models for studying hepatitis C”
A synthetic treatment for tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is a serious public health concern, especially as emerging forms of the disease are increasingly resistant to existing drugs. Thus, the discovery of a synthetic compound with anti-tuberculosis activity in mice brings new hope that effective treatment of the disease is possible. Lab Anim. (NY) 42, 310 (2013). view full text (login required)
First steps toward a filovirus treatment
Infection by filoviruses (Ebola virus and Marburg virus) causes lethal hemorrhagic fever with fatality rates as high as 90%. There are no approved treatments or prophylactics for these viral infections, and concern about their potential for accidental outbreaks or use as biological weapons is great. Research led by Gene Olinger at the US Army MedicalContinueContinue reading “First steps toward a filovirus treatment”
Blocking inflammation to treat influenza
Influenza virus continually evolves, giving rise to both seasonal outbreaks and catastrophic pandemics. Current management strategies involve annual vaccines for prevention and compounds that block the viral surface protein neuraminidase for treatment. But annual vaccines are unlikely to be useful in the event of a pandemic infectious outbreak, and neuraminidase blockers must be taken veryContinueContinue reading “Blocking inflammation to treat influenza”
A new twist in targeting malaria parasites
Malaria is transmitted among humans by mosquitoes carrying sporozoite forms of protozoan Plasmodium species. The sporozoites reproduce abundantly in the liver of an infected person, creating tens of thousands of merozoites in a structure called a schizont, which later ruptures, releasing the parasites into the bloodstream. Some parasites develop into gametocytes that, when ingested byContinueContinue reading “A new twist in targeting malaria parasites”
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