Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is a Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium emerged as a leading cause of diarrhea globally. CDI's (Clostridioides difficile infection) impact on healthcare systems is concerning due to high treatment cost and increased hospitalisation …

Clostridioides difficile, a cause of healthcare-associated infections, poses a significant global health threat. This multi-institutional retrospective study focuses on epidemic dynamics, emphasizing minor and toxin-negative clinical isolates through high-resolution genotyping. The genotype of the C …

npj Biofilms and Microbiomes - Adaptation mechanisms of Clostridioides difficile to auranofin and its impact on human gut microbiota

Scientific Reports - Regional and temporal genotype profiling of Clostridioides difficile in a multi-institutional study in Japan

This paper explores the intricate relationship between depression, gut dysbiosis, and Clostridioides difficile infections, collectively termed "The 3 Ds". Depression is a widespread mental disorder increasing in prevalence. It is recognized for its societal burden and complex pathophysiology, encomp …

CDI is uncommon in patients with TB, but it results in a significantly increased mortality rate. Patients being treated for TB should be carefully monitored for the development of CDI. Further clinical research is warranted to identify effective interventions for preventing and controlling CDI durin …

In this study, cancer patients with a good CRP response during antibiotic therapy presented lower mortality and a higher proportion of satisfactory therapeutic responses. CRP can be a useful tool when combined with other clinical information in optimizing the duration of antimicrobial treatment in a …

Nature Communications - The oral antibiotic adsorbent DAV132 can reduce fecal concentrations of antibiotics while preserving their pharmacokinetic properties. Here, in a randomized trial in healthy...

YabG is a sporulation-specific protease that is conserved among sporulating bacteria. Clostridioides difficile YabG processes the cortex destined proteins preproSleC into proSleC and CspBA to CspB and CspA. YabG also affects synthesis of spore coat/exosporium proteins CotA and CdeM. In prior work th …

Scientific Reports - Alpha-1 antitrypsin inhibits Clostridium botulinum C2 toxin, Corynebacterium diphtheriae diphtheria toxin and B. anthracis fusion toxin

COVID fatigue describes brain fog, mental, and physical weakness after infection. This article covers ways to improve fatigue and feel less exhausted.

Scientific Reports - Symptom burden, coagulopathy and heart disease after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection in primary practice

Recent data and conversations with experts highlighted the increasing concern of Long COVID’s impact on the brain in patients who have been previously infected with the virus.

Clostridioides difficile is a bacterium that causes life-threatening intestinal infections. Infection symptoms are mediated by a toxin secreted by the bacterium. Toxin pathogenesis is modulated by the intracellular molecule, inositol-hexakisphosphate (IP6). IP6 binds to a cysteine protease do …

Diverse gut microorganisms present in humans and mice are essential for the prevention of microbial pathogen colonization. However, antibiotic-induced dysbiosis of the gut microbiome reduces microbial diversity and allows C. difficile to colonize the intestine. The Oligo Mouse Microbiota 19.1 …

Biofilm formation and toxin production are some of the virulence factors of Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), which causes hospital-acquired C. difficile infection (HA-CDI). This work investigated the prevalence and distribution of different strains recovered from HA-CDI patients hospitalized …

Scientific Reports - Virulence factors, antibiotic susceptibility and sequence type distribution of hospital-associated Clostridioides difficile isolates in Israel, 2020–2022

Nature - Testosterone treatment boosts levels of an inflammatory protein to those typically seen in cis men, study finds.

IMMUNE INSIGHTS - Researchers have uncovered how hormones profoundly affect our immune systems, explaining why men and women are affected by diseases differently.

The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis in the human gastrointestinal tract. Numerous studies have shown a strong

Scientific Reports - Investigation of risk factors for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis among patients with COVID-19

Bile acids (BAs) play a crucial role in the human body's defense against infections caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses. BAs counteract infections not only through interactions with intestinal bacteria exhibiting bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity but they also directly combat infections. Buildin …

Aberrant preterm infant gut microbiota assembly predisposes to early-life disorders and persistent health problems. Here, we characterize gut microbiome dynamics over the first 3 months of life in 236 preterm infants hospitalized in three neonatal intensive care units using shotgun metagenomics of 2 …

Clostridioides difficile is a pathogen whose transmission relies on the formation of dormant endospores. Spores are highly resilient forms of bacteria that resist environmental and chemical insults. In recent work, we found that C. difficile SspA and SspB, two small acid-soluble proteins (SASPs), pr …

This study demonstrated the potential association between baseline frailty and CDI risk and health outcomes, as well as new-onset frailty diagnoses in patients who develop CDI.

The human gut pathogen Clostridioides difficile displays substantial inter-strain genetic variability and confronts a changeable nutrient landscape in the gut. We examined how human gut microbiota inter-species interactions influence the growth and toxin production of various C. difficile strains ac …

New research into Parkinson's disease is strengthening the connection between an unhealthy gut and brain disorders.

npj Biofilms and Microbiomes - Spaceflight alters host-gut microbiota interactions

“What is so exciting—and so challenging—about being a postdoc is that you’re called to take what you know and apply it to a new problem,” said Damon Runyon Fellow Georgia R. Squyres, PhD. “When you’re stepping out into open space like that, it’s important to feel that you have a net of support under you. The Damon Runyon Fellowship lets us take that leap.”

Researchers have identified two distinct mechanisms of drug resistance in C. difficile, but its ability to withstand antibiotics comes with downsides for the bacteria.