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Experimental MRSA Vaccines Successfully Block Staph Infections, New Study Finds
August 17, 2010,
According to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, experimental vaccines were found to effectively treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, which is a drug-resistant infection found in the skin, soft tissue, bloodstream and lungs.
The study found that two new vaccines used in combination may counteract MRSA’s ability to avoid immune system attacks and may disable the way the staph infection damages tissue.
Medical professionals have been attempting to develop a MRSA vaccine since the 1960s and have been unsuccessful until now.
MRSA continually resists and adapts to antibiotics and is the leading cause of death from infectious diseases in the U.S. Because MRSA disables the body’s immune system, the staph infection is not eliminated by the body’s natural defenses and flows into the bloodstream, infects various tissues and multiplies.
"Even when the infection can be cleared with antibiotics and surgery, the patient has no immunity, so these infections often recur," Dr. Olaf Schneewind, professor and chair of microbiology at the University of Chicago, said.
Full article: http://www.drugwatch.com/news/2010/0...w-study-finds/
Studies pinpoint key targets for MRSA vaccine
Two recent studies provide evidence for a new approach to vaccines to prevent infections caused by drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- better known as MRSA – the leading cause of skin and soft tissue, bloodstream and lung infections in the United States. One demonstrates a way to counteract the bacteria's knack for evading the immune system. The other shows how to disrupt the germ's tissue-damaging mechanism.
Each approach dramatically reduced the virulence of staph infections in mice. The combination may protect people from MRSA infections and provide lasting immunity to this virulent and drug-resistant organism, which has become the leading cause of death from infectious disease in the United States.
Since the 1960s, development of a staph vaccine has been a priority for the medical profession--but less so for the pharmaceutical industry, which has veered away from vaccine research. Previous attempts at a MRSA vaccine have failed. In the last decade, however, as staph increased its ability to resist multiple antibiotics and drug-resistant strains came to dominate the community setting, the search for a protective vaccine has moved to center stage.
One of the challenges in creating a vaccine is the ability of this germ to short-circuit the host's defenses. Most bacterial infections trigger an immune counter-attack designed to rid the body of the microbe and prevent subsequent infections. Most vaccines rely on this same strategy. Staph, however, has evolved its own tools to blunt the immune response.
"Staph aureus is the world champion of immune suppression," said the senior author of both studies, Olaf Schneewind, PhD, professor and chair of microbiology at the University of Chicago. This allows the organism to persist long enough to escape the blood stream and settle into various tissues, where it builds a protective capsule, replicates and soon spreads in greater numbers to additional sites.
"Even when the infection can be cleared with antibiotics and surgery, the patient has no immunity," he said. "So these infections often recur."
Full article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-spk081410.php
August 17, 2010,
According to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, experimental vaccines were found to effectively treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, which is a drug-resistant infection found in the skin, soft tissue, bloodstream and lungs.
The study found that two new vaccines used in combination may counteract MRSA’s ability to avoid immune system attacks and may disable the way the staph infection damages tissue.
Medical professionals have been attempting to develop a MRSA vaccine since the 1960s and have been unsuccessful until now.
MRSA continually resists and adapts to antibiotics and is the leading cause of death from infectious diseases in the U.S. Because MRSA disables the body’s immune system, the staph infection is not eliminated by the body’s natural defenses and flows into the bloodstream, infects various tissues and multiplies.
"Even when the infection can be cleared with antibiotics and surgery, the patient has no immunity, so these infections often recur," Dr. Olaf Schneewind, professor and chair of microbiology at the University of Chicago, said.
Full article: http://www.drugwatch.com/news/2010/0...w-study-finds/
Studies pinpoint key targets for MRSA vaccine
Two recent studies provide evidence for a new approach to vaccines to prevent infections caused by drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- better known as MRSA – the leading cause of skin and soft tissue, bloodstream and lung infections in the United States. One demonstrates a way to counteract the bacteria's knack for evading the immune system. The other shows how to disrupt the germ's tissue-damaging mechanism.
Each approach dramatically reduced the virulence of staph infections in mice. The combination may protect people from MRSA infections and provide lasting immunity to this virulent and drug-resistant organism, which has become the leading cause of death from infectious disease in the United States.
Since the 1960s, development of a staph vaccine has been a priority for the medical profession--but less so for the pharmaceutical industry, which has veered away from vaccine research. Previous attempts at a MRSA vaccine have failed. In the last decade, however, as staph increased its ability to resist multiple antibiotics and drug-resistant strains came to dominate the community setting, the search for a protective vaccine has moved to center stage.
One of the challenges in creating a vaccine is the ability of this germ to short-circuit the host's defenses. Most bacterial infections trigger an immune counter-attack designed to rid the body of the microbe and prevent subsequent infections. Most vaccines rely on this same strategy. Staph, however, has evolved its own tools to blunt the immune response.
"Staph aureus is the world champion of immune suppression," said the senior author of both studies, Olaf Schneewind, PhD, professor and chair of microbiology at the University of Chicago. This allows the organism to persist long enough to escape the blood stream and settle into various tissues, where it builds a protective capsule, replicates and soon spreads in greater numbers to additional sites.
"Even when the infection can be cleared with antibiotics and surgery, the patient has no immunity," he said. "So these infections often recur."
Full article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-spk081410.php