Tuberculosis

News • Elusive variants

Rare genetic markers of drug-resistant tuberculosis identified

The search for rare mutations in bacterial genome could lead to better diagnostics and treatments – reducing morbidity caused by the deadly disease.

News • 'CRyPTIC' research

Global tuberculosis study identifies genetic causes of drug resistance

Using cutting-edge genomic sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Oxford have identified almost all the genomic variation that gives people resistance to 13 of the most common tuberculosis (TB) drug treatments. The Comprehensive Resistance Prediction for Tuberculosis International Consortium (CRyPTIC) research project has collected the largest ever global dataset of clinical M.…

News • TB drug development cooperation

Unite4TB: A new era in Tuberculosis treatment development

To advance anti-tuberculosis (TB) science and enable the progression of new, safe, and affordable treatment solutions for TB patients worldwide, a new consortium of 30 partners from 13 countries has officially launched. The 7-year, €185 million project called Unite4TB, aims to accelerate and improve the clinical evaluation of combinations of existing and novel drugs, with the goal of developing…

News • Bioorganic chemistry

Why M. tuberculosis is so resistant to drugs and immune defenses

A consortium of researchers from Russia, Belarus, Japan, Germany and France led by the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology have uncovered the way in which Mycobacterium tuberculosis survives in iron-deficient conditions by utilizing rubredoxin B, a protein from a rubredoxin family that play an important role in adaptation to changing environmental conditions.

News • TB test shows promise

New method to assist fast-tracking of vaccines

With Covid-19 dominating medical science and human concern, chemists at the University of Sydney have developed a method to quickly and safely synthesise protein vaccines for respiratory diseases for pre-clinical tests. Their approach can be used to test vaccine strategies against novel pandemic pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

News • Immune system

Tuberculosis vaccine also makes less susceptible to other infections

A tuberculosis vaccine developed 100 years ago also makes vaccinated persons less susceptible to other infections. While this effect has been recognized for a long time, it is not known what causes it. Together with colleagues from Australia and Denmark, researchers from Radboud university medical center the universities of Nijmegen and Bonn have now presented a possible answer to this question.

News • BCG vs tumour recurrence

Modified tuberculosis vaccine shows promise against bladder cancer

The human immune system can recognize and eliminate not only germs but also cancer cells. This is why treatments with weakened germs can help the immune system in its fight against cancer. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin have genetically modified the tuberculosis vaccine BCG in a way that it stimulates the immune system more specifically. Consequently, the…

News • Epidemiology

Tuberculosis: A quarter of the world's population at risk

A new study from Aarhus University Hospital and Aarhus University has shown that probably 1 in 4 people in the world carry the tuberculosis bacterium in the body. The disease tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, which affects more than 10 million people every year, and kills up to 2 million, making it the most deadly of the infectious diseases.

News • Tuberculosis

So did drug resistant TB evolve and spread globally

The most common form of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) originated in Europe and spread to Asia, Africa and the Americas with European explorers and colonialists, reveals a new study led by UCL and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

News • Infections

Tuberculosis: new substance to counteract antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise worldwide. This is becoming a problem for infectious diseases like tuberculosis as there are only a few active substances available to combat such diseases. Pharmacists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have now found a way to increase the efficacy of a common tuberculosis agent while, at the same time, reducing resistance to it. The…

Article • The impact of AI

Radiology and radiologists: a painful divorce

AI-based applications will replace radiologists in some areas, the physicist Bram van Ginneken predicts. ‘The profession of radiologist will change profoundly,’ predicts Gram van Ginneken, Professor of Medical Image Analysis at Radboud University Medical Centre. The cause is automatic image analysis by computers (first published in a paper in 1963) and deep learning.

News • Tuberculosis

New blood test predicts TB onset up to two years in advance

A new blood test has been found to more accurately predict the development of tuberculosis up to two years before its onset in people living with someone with active TB, according to research published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, an American Thoracic Society journal. Those living with someone with active TB are at highest risk for developing the…

News • Multidrug-resistant TB

Another facet to the migration crisis in Europe

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is widespread globally, with an estimated 480,000 cases in 2014.Although rare in European countries, the risks posed by the current migrant crisis makes MDR-TB an important and urgent public health priority.

News • Looking inside

A new method of viewing TB bacteria

Although tuberculosis (TB) is commonly thought of as being a disease that mainly affects nineteenth century poets and Victor Hugo characters, it is still the second-most common cause of mortality from an infectious disease in the world, killing nearly three people every minute.

Test could identify resistant tuberculosis faster

The time needed to genetically sequence the bacteria causing tuberculosis (Mtb) from patient samples has been reduced from weeks to days using a new technique developed by a team at University College London (UCL). This could help health service providers to better treat disease, control transmission of this infection, and monitor outbreaks.

Innovation: UK hand-held device could challenge ELISA’s position

UK scientists are developing a hand-held testing device for use at the point of care and provide a disease diagnosis on the same day.

Redefining diagnostics

New molecular technologies to screen drug-resistant TB are replacing, for example, culture-based tests that are slow, require experienced personnel, and need stringent microbiological safety precautions.

Same-day diagnosis from hand-held device

Scientists in the UK are working to develop a hand-held testing device to provide same day diagnosis from a patient’s bedside. The device will use disposable cartridges and utilise printed circuit board technology (PCB) that will allow a fast and low-cost diagnosis.

Fighting tuberculosis in Russia remains a challenge

Approximately 1.7 billion people worldwide carry Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), i.e. about one-third of the population. The rate of new infections is highest in Africa, followed by certain Asian regions, including areas in Russia.