http://www.medindia.net/healthnews/Tuberculosis-news.asp Medindia largest health website in india. en-us Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Fri, 25 May 2012 07:30:15 GMT http://www.medindia.net/news/possible-link-between-air-pollution-and-tuberculosis-100156-1.htm A possible association between a common component of urban air pollution and tuberculosis has been determined in a recent study. In their finding, a team of researchers, led by Dr. Stephan Schwander, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Public Health (UMDNJ-SPH) scientists in describe that exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) suppresses the function of phagocytic immune cells (a type of white blood cells that ingest foreign particles, such as bacteria) on a cellular level....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/possible-link-between-air-pollution-and-tuberculosis-100156-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/new-guidelines-issued-on-tuberculosis-care-in-europe-99556-1.htm The European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have jointly developed new guidelines for tuberculosis (TB) care in Europe. The 21 patient-centred standards aim to guide clinicians and public health workers to ensure optimal diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis (TB) in Europe - with nearly 74,000 reported TB cases in the EU/EEA in 2010 clearly showing that TB remains a public health challenge across the region. The ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/new-guidelines-issued-on-tuberculosis-care-in-europe-99556-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/two-drug-combination-shows-promise-against-tuberculosis-99411-1.htm Two drugs show promising results against tuberculosis (TB) - a disease that kills 2 million people annually, reports scientist. The treatment, which combines two medications already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), delivers a knockout punch to forms of TB that shrug off other antibiotics. ACS, the world's largest scientific society, is meeting here this week, with almost 12,000 reports on new advances in science on the agenda. John Blanchard, Ph.D., pointed out ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/two-drug-combination-shows-promise-against-tuberculosis-99411-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/in-areas-with-high-hiv-rates-tuberculosis-is-still-very-prevalent-99380-1.htm New research indicates that tuberculosis continues to remain a deadly threat worldwide, particularly in places with high HIV rates. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, 8.8 million people contracted TB in 2010, with 1.4 million consequently dying from it. More than 95 percent of TB deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. "TB, like many diseases, disproportionally affects the poor," CBS News quoted Dr. Steve Neri, the Africa regional director for Project HOPE, as telling HealthPop....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/in-areas-with-high-hiv-rates-tuberculosis-is-still-very-prevalent-99380-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/world-tuberculosis-day-2012-stopping-tb-in-my-lifetime-99190-1.htm bWorld Tuberculosis Day/b is an occasion to raise public awareness on a contagious disease that is treatable and preventable and yet has spread to epidemic proportions and continues to kill millions of people each year, especially in the developing world. The theme of bWorld TB Day 2012/b "bStopping TB in my lifetime/b" lends immediacy to the mission to halt TB and underlines the fact that everyone can make it his or her responsibility to eliminate the deadly disease from the face of the earth in the foreseeable future....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/world-tuberculosis-day-2012-stopping-tb-in-my-lifetime-99190-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/tuberculosis-kills-70000-children-every-year-says-who-99145-1.htm Tuberculosis (TB) is a curable disease, but it often goes unnoticed due to a failure by health workers to recognise the symptoms, as a result of which about 70,000 children are dying every year from tuberculosis, the WHO said Wednesday. "Often TB is undiagnosed in children... because the symptoms in children are not very specific," said Malgosia Grzemska, coordinator at the World Health Organization's Stop TB department. Unlike adults who often cough incessantly when infected with the disease, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/tuberculosis-kills-70000-children-every-year-says-who-99145-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/gates-foundation-grants-220-million-for-tuberculosis-vaccine-project-98884-1.htm Aeras, one of the world's largest not-for-profit biotechs receives a grant of up to US (Dollor) 220 million to develop new tuberculosis vaccine. The grant to Rockville, Maryland based firm places it at the forefront of a global scientific initiative aimed at developing safe, effective vaccines against tuberculosis, a disease that infects two billion people worldwide. The WHO estimates the global economic burden of TB at nearly (Dollor) 12 billion a year, with India and China together accounting for more than half the global economic toll....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/gates-foundation-grants-220-million-for-tuberculosis-vaccine-project-98884-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/prevention-treatment-beneficial-for-children-exposed-to-multidrug-resistant-tuberculosis-bacterium-98717-1.htm biChildren who are exposed to people infected with multidrug resistant tuberculosis may benefit from prevention programs, suggest study./i/b Prevention is always better than cure especially in the case of fatal diseases where the causative agents remain resistive to many therapeutic drugs and the treatment is expensive. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis with a high mortality rate is highly resistant to the standard drugs, rifampicin and isoniazid, commonly used to treat the tuberculosis disease....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/prevention-treatment-beneficial-for-children-exposed-to-multidrug-resistant-tuberculosis-bacterium-98717-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/novel-tuberculosis-research-technology-promises-new-tb-treatments-97552-1.htm Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are developing a new way of culturing tuberculosis bacteria, which could lead to new insights and treatments. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one-third of the world's population is currently infected with tuberculosis bacteria. The bacteria is incredibly resistant to treatment, and despite its prevalence, very little is known about why it is so stress tolerant. "This is a significant step forward in TB research," said paper-author Dr....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/novel-tuberculosis-research-technology-promises-new-tb-treatments-97552-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/genetics-may-be-able-to-guide-treatment-for-tuberculosis-97319-1.htm New breakthrough research has indicated that a gene that influences the inflammatory response to infection may also predict the effectiveness of drug treatment for a deadly form of tuberculosis. An international collaboration between researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle, Duke University, Harvard University, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam and Kings College London reported these findings Feb. 3 in the journal iCell/i. These results suggest ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/genetics-may-be-able-to-guide-treatment-for-tuberculosis-97319-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-More-Likely-To-Affect-New-Mums-Study-94633-1.htm Women who have recently given birth are under the potential risk of contracting tuberculosis, according to a new UK-wide cohort study. In the joint study between the Health Protection Agency and the University of East Anglia, researchers analyzed data on all women with pregnancies between 1996 and 2008 from the General Practice Research Database, which contains records from 460 practices across the UK, representing 5.5 percent of the UK population. The findings were published online ahead of ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-More-Likely-To-Affect-New-Mums-Study-94633-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/CDC-Recommends-Short-term-Treatment-for-Tuberculosis-94517-1.htm US health authorities have urged to shorten the treatment of latent tuberculosis from nine months to three. People age 12 and over who test positive for TB or have been exposed but show no symptoms are among those who could benefit from the shorter treatment, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. A total of 8.8 million people around the world fell ill with the contagious lung disease last year and 1.4 million died, according to the World Health Organization. Three randomized ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/CDC-Recommends-Short-term-Treatment-for-Tuberculosis-94517-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Research-Movement-Need-of-the-Hour-94190-1.htm In this week's iPLoS Medicine/i, Christian Lienhardt from the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland and colleagues announce that the Stop TB Partnership and the WHO Stop TB Department have launched the TB Research Movement. In the article the authors describe the development of the Research Movement strategic plan, highlighting progress in its two key components: (1) the analysis of the global funding landscape for TB research, and (2) the development of a global TB research agenda. The problem remains vast....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Research-Movement-Need-of-the-Hour-94190-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Discover-Protein-That-Fools-Immune-Cells-in-Tuberculosis-93565-1.htm A special protein that tricks human immune cells and blocks their ability to recognize and destroy invading bacteria in tuberculosis has been identified by researchers. Tuberculosis, which kills over 2 million people each year, is caused primarily by infectious bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis - or Mtb. Mtb targets human immune cells as part of its strategy to avoid detection, effectively neutralizing the body's immune response. Up until now, scientists had a general understanding ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Discover-Protein-That-Fools-Immune-Cells-in-Tuberculosis-93565-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Electronic-Nose-to-Detect-Tuberculosis-93070-1.htm An "electronic nose" can sniff out tuberculosis on the breath, say Indian researchers. The "E-Nose" is a battery-operated, hand-held unit, similar to a police breathalyser used to catch drunk drivers. A patient blows into the device and sensors pick up TB biomarkers in the breath droplets, resulting in an almost instantaneous and highly accurate diagnosis. The "E-Nose" is a collaboration between the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in New Delhi and Next Dimension Technologies in California....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Electronic-Nose-to-Detect-Tuberculosis-93070-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Community-Counseling-Reduced-The-Prevalence-Of-Tuberculosis-92710-1.htm A large-scale community-randomized trial showed that the Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction (ZAMSTAR) project reduced the prevalence of tuberculosis by 22%. The intervention lasted for three years (2006 - 2009), during which the ZAMSTAR communities (in conjunction with the district and provincial health services) received support to improve TB (and) HIV care and service integration, including improved and community-wide TB testing and TB (and) HIV counselling within communities and households to facilitate prompt diagnosis and treatment....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Community-Counseling-Reduced-The-Prevalence-Of-Tuberculosis-92710-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-New-Finding-92190-1.htm A link between the development of new lymphoid tissue within the lung and protection against tuberculosis has been established by Trudeau Institute researchers. Tuberculosis (TB for short) is a deadly infectious disease caused by infection with IMycobacterium tuberculosis/I that affects many people throughout the world. Tuberculosis normally attacks the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air when people with active TB infection cough, sneeze or otherwise transmit their saliva through the air....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-New-Finding-92190-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Alert-Against-Drug-resistant-Tuberculosis-90555-1.htm In Europe multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is spreading at an alarming rate, warns WHO. The WHO hopes its action plan, published Wednesday, will prevent 263,000 cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and the more lethal extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) between 2011 and 2015. "TB is an old disease that never went away," said Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe. "Now it is evolving with a vengeance and we have to find new weapons to fight it," she ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Alert-Against-Drug-resistant-Tuberculosis-90555-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Vaccine-Against-Tuberculosis-90113-1.htm New tuberculosis vaccine developed by researchers in United States shows promising results in mice, reveals study. Tuberculosis kills some 1.7 million people each year, with one in three people around the globe infected, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The only vaccine currently in use is notoriously inconsistent. Researchers led by William Jacobs, a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, determined that the key to warding off TB was to better understand ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Vaccine-Against-Tuberculosis-90113-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Genotype-Could-Make-Customized-Tuberculosis-Therapies-Possible-88568-1.htm Are you genetically predisposed to tuberculosis? Scientists may now be able to answer this question and doctors may be able to adjust their therapeutic approach based on what they learn. That's because new research presented in the iJournal of Leukocyte Biology/i (a href="http:www.jleukbio.org"http:www.jleukbio.org/a) suggests that two frequent mutations in an immune system gene called TLR1 are responsible for cellular changes that ultimately make us less likely to resist the disease. ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Genotype-Could-Make-Customized-Tuberculosis-Therapies-Possible-88568-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Newer-Treatments-to-Avert-Tuberculosis-in-HIV-Infected-Adults-88376-1.htm Tuberculosis together with HIV infections in adults is the leading cause of death in Africa. Tuberculosis is a deadly infectious disease caused by the tuberculosis bacteria which affects the lung and other parts of the body. Most infections are inactive and without any symptoms in the beginning but can progress to an active tubercular disease which can be fatal if left untreated. AIDS or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, as the name suggests, is an infection caused by the virus HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Newer-Treatments-to-Avert-Tuberculosis-in-HIV-Infected-Adults-88376-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Tuberculosis-Test-Shows-Promise-88287-1.htm Researchers have developed a new automated DNA test for tuberculosis that can increase TB detection rate compared to other tests, particularly in HIV positive patients who have a high risk of being infected with TB. The test can detect TB within 2hours. An accompanying Essay and Perspective highlight the economic challenges and implications of such diagnostic tests. In the first study, led by Stephen Lawn from the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Tuberculosis-Test-Shows-Promise-88287-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/People-With-Diabetes-At-Higher-Risk-of-Developing-Tuberculosis-85454-1.htm A recent study has found that diabetics have a three to five times higher risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) than those without the disease. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) analyzed 233 patients with TB living in Texas and Mexico along the border to confirm the findings. "With the increase in diabetes patients in TB-endemic areas, our findings highlight the re-emerging impact of diabetes mellitus, known as type 2, on TB control in regions ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/People-With-Diabetes-At-Higher-Risk-of-Developing-Tuberculosis-85454-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Biomagnetics-Develops-First-Urine-Based-Test-to-Diagnose-Tuberculosis-85099-1.htm ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Biomagnetics-Develops-First-Urine-Based-Test-to-Diagnose-Tuberculosis-85099-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Private-Market-for-Tuberculosis-Drugs-84613-1.htm It is quite clear that tuberculosis (TB) is widely considered a public health concern and its treatment a public sector responsibility. But according to a study published today in the journal IPLoS ONE/I, the private sector for TB treatment is ignored at our peril. Across 10 high-burden countries, there is as much TB drug volume in the private sector as in the public sector-and at least a third of all private sector dosages of first-line TB drugs fall outside of national and international treatment recommendations....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Private-Market-for-Tuberculosis-Drugs-84613-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Finding-may-Help-Fight-Tuberculosis-84155-1.htm Scientists have isolated an enzyme called MMP-1, that aids in the destruction of the lung tissue. This discovery could pave way for better treatment of tuberculosis, says US-British study. Tuberculosis is a highly contagious and often fatal disease that kills two million people worldwide each year. Even though the disease has been around for thousands of years, scientists are only now learning how it works. The enzyme that drives the destruction of lung tissue is called MMP-1, and enzyme-inhibitors ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Finding-may-Help-Fight-Tuberculosis-84155-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Linked-to-Marijuana-83208-1.htm Tuberculosis has been revealed to have a strong connection with the smoking of marijuana waterpipes or, as they are known, bongs by doctors in Australia. In New South Wales, three young patients who were heavy marijuana users were diagnosed with TB, enabling doctors to come to the conclusion that both events were linked. And tests on their close associates revealed that there was a six-fold increase in the chance they had the disease in its dormant form. The research brings to light that pulmonary ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Linked-to-Marijuana-83208-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Diagnostic-to-Rapidly-Distinguish-Infection-from-Tuberculosis-83165-1.htm A group of scientists have developed a potential new experimental diagnostic test that is able to quickly distinguish individuals with active tuberculosis (TB) from those with latent TB infection. If the preliminary results of the study will be confirmed in a larger population sample, the new diagnostic system could allow more effective strategies to control the spread of the re-emerging pathology. The work was performed by a group of scientists from the Catholic University of Rome, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases "L....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Diagnostic-to-Rapidly-Distinguish-Infection-from-Tuberculosis-83165-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/US-Misses-Goal-to-Eradicate-Tuberculosis-by-2010-82743-1.htm The United States last year saw a sizable drop in the number of tuberculosis cases, but missed its goal of eradicating the disease by 2010, US health officials said Thursday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that the number of TB cases hit an all-time low in 2010, with only 11,181 cases reported to public health authorities, a 3.9 percent drop in the number of cases compared to one year earlier. But the US had hoped to ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/US-Misses-Goal-to-Eradicate-Tuberculosis-by-2010-82743-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Rising-Cases-of-Tuberculosis-of-Spine-Cause-Concern-82738-1.htm Leading doctors in the country are worried over the rising rates of tuberculosis of the spine with the medical experts saying that people should check up with their doctors at the first sign of the disease's symptoms. Known as Pott's disease, the tuberculosis of spine affects more than 1.5 lakh Indians. The symptoms of the disease include low fever, persistent backache, loss of appetite and a hump in the back. Later on the patient may even suffer from paralysis of limbs while the bacteria are also responsible for the destruction of bones....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Rising-Cases-of-Tuberculosis-of-Spine-Cause-Concern-82738-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/National-Tuberculosis-Control-Program-NTCP-is-All-Set-to-be-Revised-82692-1.htm The National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP) is all set to be revised. For the past 3 consecutive years, the Government has been successful in achieving the global objectives of 70% new case detection and 85% treatment success rate and so NTCP will be revised. 'Universal access to quality tuberculosis (TB) care for all the TB patients' will be the new objective of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) so that all TB patients in the community will have access ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/National-Tuberculosis-Control-Program-NTCP-is-All-Set-to-be-Revised-82692-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/World-Tuberculosis-Day-2011-On-the-Move-Against-Tuberculosis-Transforming-the-Fight-Towards-Elimination-of-TB-82622-1.htm bWorld TB Day 2011/b falling on 24 March is geared to step up global awareness about the epidemic of tuberculosis and to renew efforts to eliminate the disease. Though factors like growing drug resistance and the deadly connection between TB and HIV are posing a great challenge to the treatment of the disease, btuberculosis is preventable and curable/b if necessary precautions are taken and patients stick to the drug regimen. It was on 24 March 1882 that Dr. Robert Koch made a great ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/World-Tuberculosis-Day-2011-On-the-Move-Against-Tuberculosis-Transforming-the-Fight-Towards-Elimination-of-TB-82622-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/68000-People-in-Pakistan-Lose-Their-Lives-Every-Year-Due-to-Tuberculosis-82531-1.htm Statistics reveal that about 68,000 people in Pakistan have to lose their life due to tuberculosis (TB) as an untreated patient transfers this infection to an average 10-15 people. Carelessness, negligence and lack of awareness about tuberculosis lead to complication of the disease known as 'Multi Drug Resistant-Tuberculosis'. On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day on Saturday the secretary of health, Hashim Raza Zaidi, revealed that Pakistan has about 700,000 tuberculosis patients....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/68000-People-in-Pakistan-Lose-Their-Lives-Every-Year-Due-to-Tuberculosis-82531-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Retreatment-Failing-in-Developing-World-82432-1.htm The standard methods to retreat tuberculosis (TB) is failing in low and middle-income settings, says study. Researchers have called for improved access to rapid diagnostics for drug resistant TB, second-line TB treatment and antiretroviral HIV therapy. Each year, between one in ten and one in five patients treated for TB see their disease return after failing, interrupting or relapsing from treatment. This results in an estimated one million people in 90 countries being treated with an 8 month long regimen of five drugs....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Retreatment-Failing-in-Developing-World-82432-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Diagnostic-Tool-for-Quick-Identification-of-Tuberculosis-81228-1.htm Scientists have developed a new diagnostic tool to identify active tuberculosis more quickly and effectively. Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most pressing public health priorities for the 21st century, with over one third of the world population infected. Active TB disease is a major issue both for the patients who require specific treatment and at a population level, since these patients are contagious. Diagnosis of active TB disease (from latent asymptomatic infection) requires several ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Diagnostic-Tool-for-Quick-Identification-of-Tuberculosis-81228-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Researchers-Optimistic-About-New-Tuberculosis-Vaccine-80840-1.htm Collaboration and funding are some of the major requirements for delivering new, more effective and safer vaccines against tuberculosis (TB). This was a much-heard statement during the annual research meeting of the TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI). 'Challenging' would be an understatement when it comes to describing the WHO's latest plan for eliminating tuberculosis. Challenging. But certainly not impossible. In fact, TBVI's research partners, many of whom came together in Switzerland in ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Researchers-Optimistic-About-New-Tuberculosis-Vaccine-80840-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-Side-Effects-in-Latent-Tuberculosis-Therapy-79317-1.htm In a recent study it has been found that there is an increased risk of side effects requiring hospitalization in people over the age of 65 who are going through latent tuberculosis infection therapy. The study is published in ICMAJ/I (ICanadian Medical Association Journal/I. Latent tuberculosis therapy has been shown to reduce the development of active tuberculosis (TB) disease and is used as a way to control tuberculosis in Canada and the United States. Deciding to treat a person with ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-of-Side-Effects-in-Latent-Tuberculosis-Therapy-79317-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Patients-Vulnerable-To-Lung-Cancer-Too-78846-1.htm Tuberculosis patients seem to be more vulnerable to lung cancer than others, new study says. Researchers at China Medical University and Hospital in Taiwan randomly selected 1 million patients covered under the country's National Health Insurance (NHI) program. All patients aged 20 years and older with a new diagnosis of tuberculosis between 1998 and 2000 were identified as the exposed cohort and all people without tuberculosis history were the non-exposed cohort. Patients with any cancer diagnosis ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Patients-Vulnerable-To-Lung-Cancer-Too-78846-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-on-a-Rise-in-UK-and-London-78209-1.htm According to a paper published in The Lancet, London has become the 'tuberculosis capital of Europe'. It is largely due to immigration. With more than 9000 cases of tuberculosis diagnosed annually, Britain is now the only Western European country with rising rates of the disease. 4 in 10 of these cases are diagnosed in London alone. Prof Alimuddin Zumla of University College London, a tuberculosis expert said, "Poor housing, inadequate ventilation, and overcrowding- conditions prevalent in Victorian ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-on-a-Rise-in-UK-and-London-78209-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Drug-Improves-Social-Skills-In-Kids-With-Autism-77871-1.htm Scientists have identified a potential novel treatment strategy for the social impairment of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), an aspect of the condition that has a profound impact on quality of life. The study has been conducted by Eastern Virginia Medical School researchers. "Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders are either disinterested in social interactions or find them unpleasant. They often don't understand what other people are thinking or feeling and misinterpret social cues," said Stephen I....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tuberculosis-Drug-Improves-Social-Skills-In-Kids-With-Autism-77871-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Enzyme-a-Target-for-New-Drugs-Against-Tuberculosis-Identified-76944-1.htm A key enzyme in Mycobacterium tuberculosis helping the microbe to multiply rapidly has been discovered by scientists who view it as the target for new drugs to treat tuberculosis (TB). The human equivalent of this enzyme has been targeted in some cancer treatments as well as in immunosuppressive chemotherapies. Scientists at the University of Birmingham have now shown that inhibiting the same enzyme in M. tuberculosis effectively kills the bacterial cells. The enzyme called ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Enzyme-a-Target-for-New-Drugs-Against-Tuberculosis-Identified-76944-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Poverty-Significantly-Increases-Vulnerability-to-Tuberculosis-76511-1.htm "So little attention has been given to the tuberculosis (TB) pandemic because it's a disease of the poor" had said Dr Nils Billo, Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) at the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa in 2007. In 2010, before the 41st Union World Conference on Lung Health opens in Berlin, Germany (11-15 November 2010), the issues around TB and poverty have only become more severe....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Poverty-Significantly-Increases-Vulnerability-to-Tuberculosis-76511-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/One-in-five-Tuberculosis-Deaths-Attributed-to-Tobacco-Use-75984-1.htm With the 41st Union World Conference on Lung Health hardly two weeks ahead of us, the issues which emerged at the 39th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France, where CNS was present, are worth re-visiting. With 50% of all deaths from lung disease linked to tobacco use, control of the tobacco related substances was high on the agenda of the 39th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Paris, France (2007). This year 2010, is also declared as Year of the Lung. "Up to ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/One-in-five-Tuberculosis-Deaths-Attributed-to-Tobacco-Use-75984-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Research-Reveals-New-Tool-in-the-Fight-Against-Tuberculosis-75158-1.htm A way to harness the prodigious quantities of both genomic and metabolic data being generated with high-throughput genomics and other techniques have been developed by researchers at the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois. They have developed an algorithm that automatically integrates both data sets. The model, called probabilistic regulation of metabolism (PROM), enables researchers to perturb a given regulatory gene or metabolic process and see how that affects the entire network....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Research-Reveals-New-Tool-in-the-Fight-Against-Tuberculosis-75158-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Tuberculosis-Pathogen-Identified-by-Scientists-74845-1.htm Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex - that's a new tuberculosis (TB) species that scientists have discovered; a group of pathogens that have adapted by using mammals as hosts. It has been nearly two decades since a new organism was identified in this group; the majority were discovered in the early and mid 20th century. Kathleen Alexander of the Virginia Tech University discovered that banded mongoose - a species common in central and eastern Africa - that were living closely with humans ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Tuberculosis-Pathogen-Identified-by-Scientists-74845-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Vaccines-Could-Revolutionize-the-Fight-Against-Tuberculosis-74457-1.htm Despite progress made in recent years, tuberculosis (TB) remains a challenge for the world, participants heard at the special opening session of the Second Global Forum on TB Vaccines in Tallinn, Estonia. New vaccines could make a significant difference. Christopher Dye of the World Health Organization in Geneva pointed out that treatment success and case detection has shown tremendous improvement in the past decades. "The TB incidence rate is going down, but the problem is that it is going down slowly," Dye explained....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Vaccines-Could-Revolutionize-the-Fight-Against-Tuberculosis-74457-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Boffins-Uncover-Potential-Persistence-Switch-for-Tuberculosis-74254-1.htm Rice University bioengineers, on examining a portion of the tuberculosis genome that responds to stress, have found a network of genes that may "switch" the disease into dormancy. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB), Mycobacterium tuberculosis, can transition into a dormant state to ward off attacks from antibiotics and the immune system. Oleg Igoshin and Abhinav Tiwari examined a network of genes that may make this possible. A computer model of the network ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Boffins-Uncover-Potential-Persistence-Switch-for-Tuberculosis-74254-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Make-Breakthrough-in-Tuberculosis-Research-New-Dual-Recognition-Mechanism-73896-1.htm A recent discovery by scientists at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine holds hope for new approaches to the prevention and treatment of TB. The team's discovery of a novel mechanism that may contribute to immune recognition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is published in the September issue of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. Most individuals with TB recover from the initial infection and become asymptomatic, but the bacterium persists ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Make-Breakthrough-in-Tuberculosis-Research-New-Dual-Recognition-Mechanism-73896-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Genomic-Marker-may-Help-Identify-Patients-Who-Carry-Risk-of-Tuberculosis-73361-1.htm It may soon be possible to identify patients who would develop tuberculosis as scientists are now able to spot changes in the blood specific to the disease. "Tools to diagnose infections like TB, bronchiolitis and pneumonia have been developed and are actively used to classify patients as being infected with specific pathogens, but we are still unable to predict how each person is going to react to the infection," Nature quoted Octavio Ramilo of Infectious Diseases at Nationwide Children's Hospital....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Genomic-Marker-may-Help-Identify-Patients-Who-Carry-Risk-of-Tuberculosis-73361-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Genomic-Marker-for-Tuberculosis-Uncovered-73338-1.htm Scientists have identified changes in the blood specific to tuberculosis. This finding means it may soon be possible to identify patients who will develop tuberculosis. These findings are from an international study published in the August 19 issue of INature/I and conducted by doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital using blood profiling techniques to understand infections. Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually attacks ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/New-Genomic-Marker-for-Tuberculosis-Uncovered-73338-1.htm