All posts tagged: infections

Nearly 400 new antibiotic-resistant infections each week in 2024

Nearly 400 new antibiotic-resistant infections each week in 2024

Published by skeptic

National surveillance data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has revealed that the number of antibiotic-resistant infections remains worryingly high. The estimated number of deaths in people with a antibiotic-resistant infection also increased from 2,041 deaths in 2023 to 2,379 deaths in 2024, an increase of 338 deaths in one year. The ‘English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance'(ESPAUR) report offers vital insights into the scale of the problem faced by the UK as it strives to meet the challenging goals and targets set out in the UK National Action Plan 2024 to 2029. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria of any kind are less likely to respond to treatment, causing serious complications, including bacteraemia, sepsis, and hospitalisation. People who get a bacterial infection that is resistant to one or more antibiotics are more likely to die within 30 days compared to those who have an antibiotic-susceptible infection. Limiting antibiotic use to where it is most needed Between 2019 and 2024, NHS primary care antibiotic use decreased (from 14.21 to 13.96 Defined Daily Dose, or DID), while …

Stripe, Anthropic and OpenAI are backing an effort to stop respiratory infections

Stripe, Anthropic and OpenAI are backing an effort to stop respiratory infections

Published by skeptic

The project takes inspiration from efforts to fight the covid-19 virus, where Veesler’s group was among those involved in the speedy development of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and antibodies.  According to Ransohoff, Intercept’s advisors will include Peter Marks, a former top FDA official, as well as Moncef Slaoui, the pharmaceutical executive who led the US coronavirus vaccine effort, Operation Warp Speed. A key challenge for Intercept will be coming up with ways to counter many viruses at one time. That accounts for the interest in air-cleaning technology, such as using strong ultraviolet light to inactivate viruses. The idea, the group says, is to remove them from the air in the same way municipalities remove impurities from the water supply before it’s piped to people’s homes. The US funds about $6.5 billion a year in virus research through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, or NIAID. But that agency’s budget hasn’t grown in recent years, leaving more room for private philanthropy. And Stripe’s Collison brothers have become some of the most reliable philanthropists in viral …

New synthetic antibiotics could defeat MRSA and prevent relapsing infections

New synthetic antibiotics could defeat MRSA and prevent relapsing infections

Published by Jenni Sidey

Antibiotic resistance continues to push modern medicine into dangerous territory. In hospitals around the world, infections once treated easily now survive some of the strongest drugs available. Among the most feared is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA, a bacterium responsible for severe skin infections, bloodstream infections and life-threatening complications. Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden now say they may have found a promising new way forward. In a new study, scientists developed a synthetic class of antibiotics called TriPcides that can kill MRSA, including strains resistant to existing drugs. The compounds also target dormant bacterial cells that often survive treatment and later restart infections. The findings offer rare hope in a field where progress has slowed and resistance continues to rise. “We have developed an entirely new class of compounds with very promising antibacterial properties. What stands out is that the bacteria we have studied do not easily develop resistance to these synthetic antibiotics. We have also not observed any existing resistance in a wide range of clinical isolates, which is encouraging,” said …

Prebiotic chewing gum could be helpful for gum disease

Prebiotic chewing gum could be helpful for gum disease

Published by skeptic

A clinical trial compared the effects of two kinds of chewing gum PeopleImages/Shutterstoc​k People with gum disease could soon benefit from chewing gum containing nitrate, a compound that reduces the growth of inflammatory bacteria. Gum disease, known as gingivitis in its milder form, occurs when a thin film of bacteria, known as plaque, accumulates on teeth, causing inflammation and bleeding in the gums. Brushing your teeth twice a day, cleaning between them with floss or interdental brushes and using antibacterial mouthwash can help to prevent or treat the condition, but this isn’t always easy to do consistently, says Shawn Green at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in West Carson, California. Left untreated, the condition can progress to a more severe form, known as periodontitis, which can lead to mouth abscesses and tooth loss. Prior studies suggest that eating nitrate-rich foods, such as leafy greens and beetroot, reduces gum inflammation by enhancing the growth of anti-inflammatory bacteria – but not everyone has access to, or enjoys eating, such foods, says Green. To test an alternative way to …

Severe infections independently amplify the risk of dementia later in life

Severe infections independently amplify the risk of dementia later in life

Published by José Betancourt

People who experience severe, hospital-treated infections face an elevated risk of developing dementia later in life, and this connection operates independently of other underlying medical conditions. Researchers reached this conclusion by analyzing the vast electronic health records of the Finnish population. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine. Medical professionals have observed a link between infectious diseases and cognitive decline for some time. Proposed explanations revolve around how the immune system interacts with the central nervous system. A severe infection causes widespread inflammation throughout the body. This persistent inflammation can affect the blood-brain barrier, which is a tight layer of cells that normally protects the brain from toxins and pathogens circulating in the bloodstream. When the blood-brain barrier becomes compromised, harmful proteins and inflammatory cells can enter the brain tissue. This infiltration can promote neuroinflammation, a state of chronic immune activation inside the brain. Such an environment plays a role in the destruction of brain cells, a hallmark of dementia cases. Infections also trigger vascular issues across the body, which can involve changes …

Everyday infections, not vaccines, are linked to an increased risk of childhood stroke

Everyday infections, not vaccines, are linked to an increased risk of childhood stroke

Published by José Betancourt

Childhood stroke is a rare but serious medical event, and recent evidence suggests that everyday illnesses might increase the risk of it occurring. A recent study published in Neurology indicates that children who experience an infection have a higher chance of suffering a stroke shortly afterward, while recent vaccinations show no such association. These findings highlight the importance of infection prevention to help protect the vascular health of young people. Strokes happen when blood flow to the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel bursts. While strokes in adults are often tied to conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, children who experience strokes usually do not have these standard risk factors. Instead, childhood strokes tend to stem from genetic diseases, heart defects, or blood clotting disorders. Scientists are increasingly looking into the role of infections as a potential trigger for these events. Previous small scale studies pointed to a possible link between childhood stroke and common illnesses, like respiratory infections. However, comprehensive data tracking entire populations over several years has been lacking. …

This common wildflower has become a promising source to fight antibiotic-resistant infections

This common wildflower has become a promising source to fight antibiotic-resistant infections

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Long before we had modern antibiotics to rely on, people often turned to traditional medicines from plants to treat infections. The root of tormentil (Potentilla erecta), a small yellow wildflower that grows across Ireland, the UK and Europe, was used for centuries in Irish and European traditional medicine. It was used to treat wounds, sore throats, diarrhoea and gum disease. These traditional uses suggested that tormentil could contain compounds powerful enough to kill microbes. Our latest research has now shown that not only does tormentil have antimicrobial activity, it may also be powerful enough to fight microbes that are resistant to modern antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat. This occurs when bacteria evolve to survive the drugs used to treat common infections. This makes some infections very difficult and sometimes impossible to treat. Antimicrobial resistance could be pushing us …

Cystitis or tooth decay could trigger dementia just a few years later

Cystitis or tooth decay could trigger dementia just a few years later

Published by skeptic

A scanning electron micrograph of E. coli (yellow) infecting cells within a human bladder (blue), causing them to secrete thick mucus (orange) PROFESSOR P.M. MOTTA ET AL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Severe cystitis, pneumonia or tooth decay could increase the risk of dementia. A study of hundreds of thousands of people across Finland has found that people who were treated in hospital for these infections were significantly more likely to develop dementia – including an early-onset form of the condition – within the next six years. We increasingly think that dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, could be prevented or delayed through brain-training games, steadfast lifestyle changes and even saunas. Now, the latest research adds to the mounting evidence supporting infection avoidance to further reduce the odds of developing the condition. “It suggests that dementia risk may be partially modifiable,” says Kuan-Ching Wu at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who wasn’t involved in the study. In 2021, Pyry Sipilä at the University of Helsinki and his colleagues noticed that people who were hospitalised with severe infections were more likely …