Infectious diseases approach

Melatonin thus could represent a new approach to the physiological control of stress and stress-related infectious diseases (48). 

In sum, RNAi clearly has the potential to change the nucleic-based therapies for cancer, infectious diseases, and many other diseases. However, the universality of this approach, the types of genes that can be silenced using these strategies in human cells, remain unknown to date. 

Table 74—2 presents the recommended agents for treatment of community-acquired and complicated intraabdominal infections from the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Surgical Infection Society.21-23 These recommendations were formulated using an evidence-based approach. Most community-acquired infections are mild to moderate, whereas health care-associated infections tend to be more severe and difficult to treat. Table 74-3 presents guidelines for treatment and alternative regimens for specific situations. These are general guidelines there are many factors that cannot be incorporated into such a table. 

Assist rather than fight against the therapeutic approach TCM believes that a change of internal harmonious state is the crucial element in the onset and development of any illness, even in infectious diseases. Thus the main therapeutic approach taken by TCM is to assist the patient to rebuild his or her inner harmony rather than killing foreign invaders. 

Ivnitski, D. O Neil, D. J. Gattuso, A. Schlicht, R. Calidonna, M. Fisher, R. Nucleic acid approaches for detection and identification of biological warfare and infectious disease agents. BioTechniques 2003,35, 862-869. 

Vaccination to induce an adaptive immune response is expected for a broad range of infectious diseases and cancers. Traditional vaccines are mainly composed of live attenuated viruses, whole inactivated pathogens, or inactivated bacterial toxins. In general, these approaches have been successful for developing vaccines that can induce an immune response based on antigen-specific antibody and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses, which kill host cells infected with intracellular organisms (Fig. 1) [1,2], One of the most important current issues in vaccinology is the need for new adjuvants (immunostimulants) and delivery systems. Many of the vaccines currently in development are based on purified subunits, recombinant... 

BV being an infectious disease, antibiotics represent the logical therapeutic approach [39]. However, a high spontaneous cure rate in some patients without symptoms has been found [40], For this reason, placebo-controlled groups are recommended for antibiotic effectiveness trials. Besides systemic toxicity [4], antibiotic treatment... 

The application of vaccine technology forms a core element of modern medicinal endeavour. It plays a central role in both human and veterinary medicine and represents the only commonly employed prophylactic (i.e. preventative) approach undertaken to control many infectious diseases. The current (annual) global vaccine market stands at in excess of US 3 billion. Immunization programmes, particularly those undertaken on a multinational scale, have served to reduce dramatically the incidence of many killer/disabling diseases, such as smallpox, polio and tuberculosis. 

An elegant approach is to capture the target DNA or RNA with specific oligonucleotides on to a microwell plate. Synthetic branched DNA bearing multiple alkaline phosphatase-labeled probes hybridizes to the target. A chemiluminescent substrate is added to produce signal. This branched DNA assay has been used in infectious disease detection (W3). 

Infectious diseases do not simply affect isolated individuals. They affect individuals who are living in societies, and the spread of an infectious agent is also affected by the interactions of individuals within a society. Therefore, in combating infectious diseases, it is important to consider society as a whole in planning solutions. This is particularly important for diseases such as AIDS, for which there is currently no cure or preventive vaccine. There are two equally important approaches for society to combat any disease education and research. 

Flamblin MR, Hasan T (2004) Photodynamic therapy a new antimicrobial approach to infectious disease 3 436—450. 

Although this approach and criteria are applicable to many diseases (in particular autoimmune and infectious diseases), its use in antitumor screens is described below. 

Reese RE, Betts RE. A practical approach to infectious diseases. 4th ed. Boston Little, Brown and Company 1996. 

Hamblin, M. R. and Hasan, T. (2004). Photodynamic therapy A new antimicrobial approach to infectious disease. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 3, 436-450. 

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