Tuberculosis

Scientists find missing enzyme for tuberculosis iron scavenging pathway

Scientists have discovered that a protein that was originally believed to be involved in tuberculosis antibiotic resistance is actually a "missing enzyme" from the biosynthetic pathway for an agent used by the bacteria to scavenge iron. The research appears as the "Paper of the Week" in the April 8 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molec...

New vaccine protects more effectively against tuberculosis

Max Planck researchers uncover the mechanism by which the new genetically engineered vaccine functionsThe vaccine has been licensed to the Vakzine Projekt Management who will test it in clinical trials early 2006. The responsible mechanisms for the high efficacy of this vaccine has now been deciphered (Journal of Clinical Investigations, August 18, 2005). Globally, tuberculosis remains th...

Boosting The BCG Vaccine To Beat Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis remains a major global health threat. Although more than 3 billion doses of the BCG vaccine have been administered to fight tuberculosis, the ability of the BCG vaccine to protect adults is very limited, as is its efficacy against newly emerging isolates. In a study appearing online on August 18 in advance of print publication of the September 1 issue of the Journal of Clinica...

Researchers Discover Ancient Origins Of Tuberculosis-causing Bacteria

Tuberculosis remains a major global health threat. Although more than 3 billion doses of the BCG vaccine have been administered to fight tuberculosis, the ability of the BCG vaccine to protect adults is very limited, as is its efficacy against newly emerging isolates. In a study appearing online on August 18 in advance of print publication of the September 1 issue of the Journal of Clinica...

Scientists discover gene that controls speed of tuberculosis development

Scientists at the MUHC have discovered a gene that controls the speed at which patients develop tuberculosis--the first time such a gene has been discovered for this disease. The new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) this week provides a new view of the mechanisms underlying the development of tuberculosis and may contribute to public health efforts aime...

Once-dreaded leprosy 'replaced' by tuberculosis, say researchers

What caused leprosy ?a widely dreaded disease in medieval Europe ?to fade from the scene? By the 16th century, the scourge had practically disappeared there. Their conclusion is based upon th...

How does Mycobacterium tuberculosis infect the lung?

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common major infectious disease today. It is estimated that two billion people--or one-third of the world's population--are chronically infected without active symptoms. Nine million new cases of active disease are diagnosed annually, resulting in two million deaths. TB is predominantly a lung disease. It is caused by a microbe called Mycobacterium tuberculosis which...

Gene increases risk of tuberculosis

A study in the December 19 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine identifies a small genetic change that increases the odds of developing active tuberculosis (TB). Pedro Flores-Villanueva and his colleagues at the University of Texas Health Center (Tyler, TX) studied groups of patients in Mexico and Korea and found that individuals who carry this genetic change were more likely to develop...

Tuberculosis still a risk for patients receiving HIV drugs

People taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for HIV infection remain susceptible to tuberculosis, though the risk is lower than for HIV-infected patients not on HAART, according to an article in the Dec. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. Opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis (TB) can be fatal for immunocompromised patients. HAART not on...

Experimental TB drug effective against resistant and latent mycobacterium tuberculosis

An experimental tuberculosis drug may be effective against not only multi drug-resistant forms of the disease but could also be the first compound to treat the latent stage of infection as well. Researchers report their results today at the 2006 ASM Biodefense Research Meeting. "The class of which this compound is the lead has a very different mechanism of action from any other drug curr...

New potential drug target in tuberculosis

Tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest threats to public health. Every year two million people die of the disease, which is caused by the microorganism Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Roughly one third of the world's population is infected and more and more bacterial strains have developed resistance to drugs. Researchers from the Hamburg Outstation of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (E...

Pitt phage hunter takes on tuberculosis

One third of the world's people are infected with tuberculosis, and someone new is infected every second. TB is notoriously hard to treat, requiring a course of multiple antibiotics over six to nine months. Many people don't complete the full course of treatment, which leads to increasing antibiotic resistance against the disease. More effective treatments could be on the way, however, wi...

Tuberculosis: The bacillus takes refuge in adipose cells

A team from the Institut Pasteur has recently shown that the tuberculosis bacillus hides from the immune system in its host's fat cells. This formidable pathogen is protected against even the most powerful antibiotics in these cells, in which it may remain dormant for years. This discovery, published in PLoS ONE, sheds new light on possible strategies for fighting tuberculosis. Attempts to eradic...

World-wide warning of highly drug-resistant tuberculosis

New forms of highly drug-resistant tuberculosis are emerging and action must be taken soon before they become widespread globally, says an editorial in this week's BMJ. Research is also needed to as...

Faster, more accurate tuberculosis test developed

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Imperial College London, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, in Lima, Peru, and other institutions have developed a simple and rapid new tuberculosis (TB) test. The test, called microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility or MODS, is more sensitive, faster and cheaper to perform than current culture-based tests. The study...

New research may overturn conventional wisdom on drug-resistant tuberculosis

A newly released study suggests that the majority of cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) among patients undergoing treatment for the disease may be due to new infections, not acquired resistance. If confirmed in future studies the research, in the March 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, may drive a major shift in strategy for controlling TB. A major difficulty in treati...