Infectious Disease

LAS VEGAS -- College students with pierced nipples, bellybuttons, and other body parts are risking hepatitis C virus infection when they share their jewelry, according to a study reported here.

GRENOBLE, France -- The risk of deep venous thromboembolism (DVT) in older patients could be significantly reduced if clinicians in post-acute care settings took to heart evidence-based guidelines, according to French researchers.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A lifetime of infections with rhinoviruses, enteroviruses, or other members of the picornavirus family could lead to cumulative memory loss, according to Mayo Clinic neuroscientists.

UTRECHT, The Netherlands -- Reserve antibiotics for children younger than two years old with bilateral acute otitis media infections or for any child with otorrhea, researchers here recommended. For other children, watchful waiting seems justified

LOS ANGELES -- The traveler's diarrhea antibiotic Xifaxan (rifaximin) appears to improve global symptoms and bloating of irritable bowel syndrome, according to researchers here.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Breast reconstruction surgery in extremely obese women is associated with a high rate of complications, reported researchers here.

ATLANTA -- An investigational gene therapy for Parkinson's disease is safe and shows preliminary signs of being effective, researchers reported here.

ATLANTA -- Just because doctors may not have received supplies of flu vaccine yet does not mean there is a shortage, the CDC said today.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA approved Januvia (sitagliptin) today, the first dipetidyl peptidase-4 (DDP-4) inhibitor, an oral agent for type 2 diabetes as monotherapy or in combination with Glucophage (metformin) or a PPAR agonist.

TORONTO -- The Fluzone inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine, which is licensed for children older than six months and adults, is safe and immunogenic in infants from six and 12 weeks old, researchers reported here.

Acute Dx: What Cause of Sudden Illness?

This condition, also known as squamous cell carcinoma in situ, manifests in two thirds of patients as a solitary asymptomatic, slowly enlarging, erythematous, scaly 3-mm to 3-cm hyperkeratotic plaque that is crusted, fissured, or ulcerated.

SEATTLE -- Surgery to correct obstructive sleep apnea (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty) is more likely to have complications if the condition is severe, a concurrent retrolingual procedure is done, BMI is high, or there are medical comorbidities, found a VA study.

TORONTO -- Infectious disease specialists cited a report of Clostridium difficile disease in healthy young women, some of them pregnant, as a sign of an alarming shift of the infection to the community.

TORONTO -- Necrotizing fasciitis may be caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, especially in areas where community-acquired MRSA is prevalent, researchers reported here.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has approved the anti-angiogenic agent Avastin (bevacizumab), in combination with Taxol (paclitaxel) and Paraplatin (carboplatin), as first line therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer.

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario -- The investigational novel antibiotic telavancin is as effective as vancomycin in treating complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, researchers said today.

BOSTON -- National standards for hospital room decontamination do not completely prevent transmission of antibiotic-resistant infections, according to a federally sponsored study.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The long-suspected spread of onychomycosis and other dermatophytic fungal infections among family members has been confirmed, researchers reported here.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Patients with severe refractory anemia caused by myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with a 5q31 deletion could reduce or halt transfusion dependency after treatment with Revlimid (lenalidomide), reported investigators here.

ATLANTA -- While forecasting a bountiful supply of flu vaccine this season, the CDC reported that vaccination rates remain persistently low among the two major high-risk groups, young children and the Medicare set.

LONDON -- A large study of the causes of cerebral palsy found that mothers had a strikingly high rate of urinary tract or other infections during pregnancy.

MIAMI -- Lucentis (ranibizumab) is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, according to a pair of large controlled trials.

BALTIMORE -- An investigational hay fever vaccine appears to reduce the symptoms of ragweed allergy for up to two years after a course of only six injections, according to researchers here.

MILAN, Italy -- A commonly used antibiotic effectively treats lymphoma of the soft tissue, lachrymal glands, and conjunctiva of the eye, according to researchers here.

SAN FRANCISCO -- HIV patients in their 50s do not have a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome than others of that age, researchers reported here.

ATLANTA -- Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S., according to CDC researchers, accounting for at least a third of all babies' deaths in 2002.

SAN FRANCISCO -- One trouble with washing hands is that they won't stay virus-free. But a combination of ethanol and organic acids can transform a pair of hands into a rhinovirus-killing machine for up to four hours.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Children who receive Tamiflu (oseltamivir) within one day of influenza diagnosis are half as likely to develop pneumonia as a complication, researchers said here.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In highly treatment-experienced HIV patients, an investigational integrase inhibitor sharply reduced viral loads compared with placebo, researchers reported here.