Neutralizing antibodies that target resistant bacteria

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Due to numerous resistance mechanisms, infections with the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are particularly feared. Researchers at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the University Hospital Cologne, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf have now discovered antibodies that could lead to a highly potent treatment option of acute and chronic infections with P. aeruginosa. The study was published in the prestigious scientific journal Cell.

CHOP Researchers Reveal How NSAIDs Worsen C. difficile Infections

Why do nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) exacerbate gastrointestinal infections by Clostridioides difficile, the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea worldwide? In a new paper published in Science Advances, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have begun to answer that question, showing that NSAIDs disrupt the mitochondria of cells lining the colon, sensitizing them to damage by pathogenic toxins.

Historical medicine suggests a new way to use modern treatments

The mixture of honey and vinegar, also known as oxymel, has been used as a medical treatment throughout history and now scientists have established that this combination could have modern applications in the treatment of wounds. New research is the first comprehensive exploration of how the mixture could be applied to modern medicine and improve treatments for infections.

New live bacterial product for stubborn superbug improves quality of life

Kevin Garey, professor of pharmacy practice and translational research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy is reporting the first well-controlled study to demonstrate that a microbiome therapeutic, SER-109, is associated with significant quality of life improvement in patients with the debilitating recurrent infection and disease caused by Clostridium difficile (or C. diff).

Tiny swimming robots treat deadly pneumonia in mice

UC San Diego engineers have developed microscopic robots, called microrobots, that can swim around in the lungs, deliver medication and be used to clear up life-threatening cases of bacterial pneumonia. In mice, the microrobots safely eliminated pneumonia-causing bacteria in the lungs and resulted in 100% survival. By contrast, untreated mice all died within three days after infection.

New drug candidate fights off more than 300 drug-resistant bacteria

Urinary tract infections are common, yet can be tough to treat as the bacteria that cause them become resistant to many antibiotics. In ACS Central Science, researchers report a new molecule that inhibits drug-resistant bacteria in lab experiments, as well as in mice with pneumonia and UTIs.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Researchers Identify Approach for Potential Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae Vaccine

Scientists at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified two proteins that could be used for a potential vaccine against nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi). Working in a mouse model, the investigators found that administering two bacterial adhesive proteins that play a key role in helping the bacteria to latch on to respiratory cells and initiate respiratory tract infection stimulated protective immunity against diverse NTHi strains, highlighting the vaccine potential.