RxPG News Feed for RxPG News

Medical Research Health Special Topics World
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
  AIDS
  Anthrax
  Dengue
  Ebola
  HCV
  Influenza
  Leishmaniasis
  Malaria
  MRSA
  Mumps
  Pertussis
  Prion Diseases
  SARS
  Shigella
  Small Pox
  Tuberculosis
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2012 - 10:22:56 PM
MRSA Channel

subscribe to MRSA newsletter
Latest Research : Infectious Diseases : MRSA

   EMAIL   |   PRINT
New drugs could counter antibiotic resistant hospital infections

Apr 9, 2009 - 3:59:35 PM
'It is almost as if the bacterium sense when to strike,' said John Alverdy, study co-author and professor of surgery at the U-C Medical Center. 'That should come as no surprise since the bacteria are smart, having been around for two billion years.'

 
[RxPG] Washington, April 9 - Latest research findings that lack of sufficient phosphate in a bacterium could turn it into a killer could help develop new drugs to disarm the antibiotic resistant pathogens that cause serious hospital-acquired infections.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that is a common cause of lung infections, also infests the intestinal tract of 20 percent of all Americans and 50 percent of hospitalised patients in the US.

It is one of the hundreds of bacteria that colonise the human intestinal tract, usually causing no apparent harm. It might even be beneficial to its host.

However, once the host is weakened by an illness, surgical procedure or immunosuppressive drugs, the bacteria can cause infection, inflammation, sepsis - and death.

Why P. aeruginosa can suddenly turn on its host has eluded researchers - until now. Scientists have long known that after an operation or organ surgery, levels of inorganic phosphate fall.

The study authors, led by scientists of University of Chicago -, hypothesised that phosphate depletion in the stressed intestinal tract signals P. aeruginosa to become lethal.

To test this theory, they let worms - feed on 'lawns' of P. aeruginosa and Escherichia coli grown in both low-phosphate and high-phosphate media.

Only the worms that ate P. aeruginosa with low levels of phosphate died. The researchers dubbed the phenomenon 'Red Death' since unexpected large red spots appeared on the worms before they died, according to an U-C release.

'These findings provide novel insight into the mechanisms by which P. aeruginosa is able to shift from indolent coloniser to a lethal pathogen when present in the intestinal tract of a stressed host,' said Alexander Zaborin, lead author of the study and a research professional at the U-C Department of Surgery.

'It is almost as if the bacterium sense when to strike,' said John Alverdy, study co-author and professor of surgery at the U-C Medical Center. 'That should come as no surprise since the bacteria are smart, having been around for two billion years.'

The study will be published in the April 14 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.





Advertise in this space for $10 per month. Contact us today.


Related MRSA News
New drugs could counter antibiotic resistant hospital infections
High-tech system to cut hospital infections by half
MRSA nasal screening not so important
Transmission of MRSA Linked to Previous Intensive Care Unit Room Occupants
Study shows rising incidence of CA-MRSA muscle infections
Acanthamoeba polyphagam acts as an incubator for MRSA
MRSA infects and replicates in amoebae
Two Million Americans Harbor MRSA Superbug
25% Of Hospital MRSA Bacteraemia Occurs In New Arrivals
Zyvox® More Effective than Vancomycin in Treating Complicated Soft Tissue Infections

Subscribe to MRSA Newsletter

Enter your email address:


 Feedback
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 
Contact us

RxPG Online

Nerve

 

    Full Text RSS

© All rights reserved by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited (India)