May 31, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

A resident at The Commons on St. Anthony, a healthcare facility in Auburn, NY, has tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease.  Testing was conducted at the facility following this finding and low levels of Legionella were detected in the water system. No other residents have tested positive for Legionella, but the facility is following recommendations provided by the health department. Water restrictions were put in place until water tests were shown to be normal. To read more about this story, please click here.

May 2, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock Treatment of Legionnaires’ disease typically involves a series of antibiotics that seek out and kill the present bacteria in a person’s system. This type of treatment is generally very effective, but as discussed in previous posts on this blog, there is concern about overuse of antibiotics leading to drug-resistant bacteria. However, a new potential treatment method has emerged as a secondary effect of specific cancer drugs. BH3-mimetic drugs target and switch-off BCL-XL proteins inside cells. This helps with cancer treatment because it prevents the cancer cells from surviving apoptosis – programmed cell death. Coincidentally, the BCL-XL protein is…