A heat shock protein protects the cells against protein clumping. It degrades, however, over longer treatment periods. Plasmas are used, for example, in wound treatment against pathogens that are resistant to antibiotics. However, bacteria can defend themselves: They employ a heat shock protein that protects them. A research team headed by Professor Julia Bandow and Dr. Tim Dirks from the Chair for Applied Microbiology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, showed that bacteria that overproduce the heat shock protein Hsp33 can withstand plasma treatment more effectively than others. The researchers also demonstrated which components of the plasma activate the heat shock protein. The team published their findings in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface on October 25, 2023. All bacteria inactivated after three minutes When treated with plasma, proteins unfold, lose their natural functions and can clump together. Their clumping is toxic to cells and can lead to their inactivation. ...
Two landmark clinical trials involving researchers at University College London (UCL) have demonstrated that levofloxacin is the first effective treatment to prevent multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Results from both trials were announced at the Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France. Annually, around 500,000 people develop tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria that affects the lungs, that is resistant to multiple antibiotics. Led by Stellenbosch University in South Africa, with the MRC Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) at UCL responsible for trial management and statistical analysis, the TB-CHAMP trial involved 922 children and adolescents exposed to an adult with MDR-TB in their household. Results showed that levofloxacin reduced the risk of MDR-TB disease by 56%, with very few side effects reported. Additionally, after one year, only 1.1% of children developed TB, compared to 2.6% who received a placebo. The second trial, VQUIN, led by the ...
Taking place from 18 to 24 November 2023, World antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Awareness Week will focus on the theme “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together” to combat resistance and improve antimicrobial use in humans around the world. This AMR Awareness Week, leaders and communities across several sectors will work to preserve antimicrobials and protect the health of people, animals, plants and the environment. Designated as one of the top ten global public health threats facing humanity by WHO, AMR occurs when bacteria, fungi and parasites change and adapt to antibiotics over time. Estimated to cost the world’s economy $100trn by 2050 if left unresolved, AMR contributes to approximately five million bacterial infection-related deaths annually. Currently, the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials is one of the biggest drivers of AMR. When antibiotics and other antimicrobial treatments become ineffective, infections become more challenging or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe ...
This year’s European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) focuses on the targets outlined in the 2023 Council Recommendation to step up efforts in the European Union (EU) against antimicrobial resistance in a One Health approach. Those recommendations formulate the 2023 goal to reduce total antibiotic consumption (community and hospital sectors combined) by 20%, using consumption data from 2019 as baseline. Consumption of antibiotics in the community accounts for around 90% of the total use. This means, that a substantial and consistent decline in the use of antibiotics in this sector will be key on the way towards reaching the set goals for 2030 which aim at preventing and reducing antimicrobial resistance overall. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) showed an unprecedented 18.5% decrease in community consumption of antibiotics in 2020 compared with the 2019 baseline. This drop has been related ...
Kesin Pharma has announced the availability of a liquid suspension of antibiotic drug metronidazole to treat patients with bacterial infections.Marketed as Likmez 500mg/5mL, the drug is the first-ever ready-to-use oral suspension of metronidazole to receive US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.The medication requires no refrigeration. Offered in a strawberry peppermint flavour, it has a shelf life of two years. The most common adverse reactions to Likmez include nausea, headache, vomiting and diarrhoea. Through a partnership with Saptalis Pharmaceuticals, Kesin is the exclusive US commercialisation partner for Likmez. New York-based Saptalis Pharmaceuticals specialises in the development and manufacturing of generic and branded products in liquid and semi-solid dosage forms. Metronidazole is used to treat skin infections, rosacea, and mouth infections, including infected gums and dental abscesses. It’s also used to treat conditions such as bacterial vaginosis and pelvic inflammatory disease. Following the approval, Kesin Pharma president and CEO Narasimhan Mani said: ...
Antimicrobial resistance is considered one of the top ten global public health threats Sandoz has announced the opening of two new European facilities in Austria and Germany to strengthen the development and supply of critical medicines in the EU and beyond. The two facilities include a new facility for the production of penicillin at Kundl, Austria, along with a new biosimilar development centre in Holzkirchen, Germany. Both facilities align with Sandoz’s commitment to ensuring sustainable access to quality antibiotics as well as spearheading the development of biosimilars. Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent some types of bacterial infections by killing or stopping them from spreading. Antimicrobial resistance has been declared one of the top ten global public health threats facing humanity by the World Health Organization. Currently, penicillin antibiotics are the leading category of antibiotics worldwide. Sandoz’s new penicillin production process aims to improve its ecological footprint and will ...
Gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted bacterial infection that affects more than 80 million people worldwide every year, has become resistant to almost all known antibiotics. That makes it notoriously difficult to treat, but left untreated, an infection could lead to serious or even fatal complications. It also increases a person’s risk of contracting HIV. A new study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) may help identify a vaccine’s key ingredients. This week in mBio, an international collaboration between academic and commercial researchers reported the identification of 2 promising antigens as candidates for a gonorrhea vaccine. The researchers used an AI model called Efficacy Discriminative Educated Network, or EDEN, to identify the protective proteins. They also used EDEN to generate scores that accurately predicted how well antigen combinations would reduce pathogenic bacterial populations of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the microbe that causes gonorrhea. “To the best of our knowledge, this correlation has not been shown before,” ...
Surgery to straighten a crooked septum (the thin wall of bone and cartilage dividing the space between the two nostrils) is more effective than nasal sprays, and should be offered to adults with at least moderate symptoms such as breathing disruption, suggests a UK trial published by The BMJ today.A crooked (deviated) septum often means that one nasal passage is narrower than the other, making it feel blocked, which can affect breathing, sleep or exercising. Surgery to correct this (septoplasty) is a common operation. In 2019-20, 16,700 septoplasties were carried out in England, but there’s a lack of high quality evidence evaluating septoplasty and therefore no clear guidelines for its use.To address this, a team of UK researchers designed the Nasal Airways Obstruction Study (NAIROS) to provide definitive evidence and recommendations for use of septoplasty. Their aim was to inform guidance on which patients may benefit from this treatment, and ...
New research led by Queen’s University Belfast has made a breakthrough in the field of microbiology, which could lead to the development of new treatments for people with compromised immune systems, such as those with cystic fibrosis. To conduct their study the researchers looked at the bacterium Achromobacter which can cause chronic lung infection and tissue damage in the airways. The study reveals how this bacterium overcomes the body’s immune defenses to multiply and continue to grow. The findings have been published in Cell Reports. Professor Miguel A. Valvano, Chair in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine (WWIEM) at Queen’s University Belfast and lead researcher on the study, explains: “Achromobacter bacteria can cause chronic and potentially severe infections. However, until now, how this opportunistic bacterium interacts with the human immune system has been poorly understood. “These bacteria resist the action of multiple antibiotics; therefore, infection ...
Meridian Bioscience, Inc., a leading global provider of diagnostic testing solutions and life science raw materials, announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted clearance for the company’s new Curian® Shiga Toxin assay. This assay joins Curian HpSA® and Curian Campy as Meridian expands its Curian diagnostic platform to maintain leadership in the gastrointestinal disease testing market. Foodborne illness is a severe global public health problem that causes 48 million people to get sick yearly and 128,000 hospitalizations from common bacterial agents like Campylobacter and E. coli.1 Meridian is expanding its foodborne immunofluorescent testing capabilities beyond Campylobacter by adding Shiga toxin to the Curian platform. Speedy diagnosis is essential with patients suspected of having a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection because the use of antibiotics for treatment can increase Shiga toxin release, leading to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a potentially life-threatening complication. The Curian Shiga ...
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