News
Baker’s yeast protects against fatal infections
Injecting mice with simple baker’s yeast protects against the fatal fungal infection, aspergillosis, according to research published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. The work could lead to the development of a human vaccine that protects immunocompromised people against a range of life-threatening fungal infections, for which current therapy often fails.
Researchers from the California Institute for Medical Research, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Stanford University gave mice three injections of killed Saccharomyces (baker’s yeast), one week apart. Vaccinated mice were able to survive high doses of Aspergillus – the fungus that causes aspergillosis. Mice that survived also showed a reduced infection load in their organs.
Grant received from Gilead Sciences for Chagas Disease research
The California Institute for Medical Research (CIMR), San Jose is pleased to announce the award of a grant from Gilead Sciences to support an international team of researchers, to develop a new therapy for a parasitic disease of the Americas. The disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and is also known as “Chagas’ disease” (for its Brazilian discoverer, over 100 years ago). The disease principally affects the blood, heart and gastrointestinal tract, and is carried by a biting insect. It is estimated 14-16 million people are currently infected worldwide, mostly in Latin America, although there are 300,000 persons infected in the USA. Current treatments are prolonged, toxic and incompletely effective.
