Infectious Diseases

Researchers propose social network modeling to fight hospital infections
Two researchers at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business have teamed up with a researcher at American University to develop a framework to help prevent costly and deadly infections acquired by hospitalized patients. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), these transmissions strike one out of every 20 inpatients, drain billions of dollars from the national health care system and cause tens of thousands of deaths annually. Eurekalert!

Insights into how TB tricks the immune system could help combat the disease
Now, in early stage research published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers from Imperial College London and Stanford University have revealed precisely how unusual sugars on the surface of the mycobacteria that cause TB are able to latch onto the macrophages and disarm them. They now hope that scientists at Imperial and elsewhere can use this knowledge to develop small molecule drugs that latch tightly onto the same site. MedicalXpress

Breast milk protein may be key to protecting babies from HIV infection
A substance in breast milk that neutralizes HIV and may protect babies from acquiring HIV from their infected mothers has been identified for the first time by researchers at Duke Medicine. The protein, called Tenascin-C or TNC, had previously been recognized as playing a role in wound healing, but had not been known to have antimicrobial properties. The discovery could lead to potential new HIV-prevention strategies.

Reporting in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of Oct. 21, 2013, the researchers describe how the TNC protein in breast milk binds to and neutralizes the HIV virus, potentially protecting exposed infants who might otherwise become infected from repeated exposures to the virus. MedicalXpress

To halt AIDS, stop brief risk counseling, concentrate on testing, national study says
Published October 23 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study co-led by the Miller School's Daniel Feaster, Ph.D., associate professor of public health sciences, found that the brief patient-centered counseling recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before rapid HIV testing has no significant impact on the subsequent acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and should be reconsidered as an AIDS prevention strategy. Eurekalert!