Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in one of the deepest, most isolated caves in the world could mean good news in the battle against superbugs. Researchers from McMaster and the University of Akron have discovered a remarkable prevalence of such bacteria in New Mexico's Lechuguilla Cave, a place isolated from human contact until very recently. The discovery that bacteria have developed defenses ... (read more)
Antibiotics won't chase away patients' sniffles any faster than watchful waiting, researchers found. In a randomized trial, patients with acute rhinosinusitis had no differences in symptoms or quality of life three days after starting on amoxicillin compared with patients who received a placebo instead, Jay Piccirillo, MD, of Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues reported in the Journal of the American Medic... (read more)
A team of scientists and clinicians, led by researchers at King's College London and St George's, University of London, are calling for a review of penicillin dosing guidelines for children, that have remained unchanged for nearly 50 years. The call comes as a study published in the British Medical Journal indicates some children may not be receiving effective doses, which could potentially lea... (read more)
Some of the nastiest smelling creatures on Earth have skin that produces the greatest known variety of anti-bacterial substances that hold promise for becoming new weapons in the battle against antibiotic-resistant infections, scientists are reporting. Their research on amphibians so smelly (like rotten fish, for instance) that scientists term them "odorous frogs" appears in ACS' Journal o... (read more)
Young adults who take oral antibiotics for acne may be more likely to get sore throats, according to a new study. While it's not clear that the medications caused the achy throats, researchers say long-term use of antibiotics might change the balance of bacteria in the throat. In principle, that could allow infection-causing strains to multiply. "These people are more prone to upper respiratory tract... (read more)
About 500,000 people in the U.S. become infected with the potentially fatal diarrhea bug Clostridium difficile(C. diff.) each year. Now a new study sheds light on who is most at risk -- and why. Some people show evidence of C. diff in their gut but never have any symptoms. Others develop a range of symptoms from mild diarrhea to severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, bleeding, and fever. C. diff is typically ... (read more)
A tropically stable liquid therapy for leishmaniasis, a disease known as the Baghdad boil, shows a significant decrease in infection after less than a week of treatment. This research is being presented at the 2011 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Oct. 23-27. Leishmaniasis is transmitted by the bite of... (read more)
Children with recurrent upper respiratory infections often undergo surgery to remove their adenoids, but new research suggests that surgery is no more effective than waiting to see if the frequency of infections decreases on its own. In a randomized trial, published online last week in the medical journal BMJ, Dutch researchers studied 111 children ages 1 to 6 with chronic infections, assigning half of th... (read more)
Sharks aren't just tough on the outside—a substance in their bodies can stop viruses in their tracks, a new study says. A cholesterol-like compound found in dogfish sharks' tissue has been shown to combat several viruses that cause hard-to-treat human diseases, such as dengue fever and hepatitis, a new study says. Called squalamine, the compound is already in human clinical trials for cancer and eye... (read more)
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