Parkison’s Disease Drugs Could Treat MDR-TB, XDR-TB

Researchers said “computer models and lab experiments suggest the drugs tolcapone or Tasmar made by Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and entacapone or Comtan made by Novartis AG [used to treat Parkinson’s disease] have the potential to treat” multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant TB, Reuters reports (Steenhuysen, 7/2). The findings are published in the July 3 issue of PLoS Computational Biology, according to HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report (7/3).

HIV/AIDS Seminar Aims To Educated Navy Personnel

The Gambia Armed Forces in collaboration with the U.S. embassy on Thursday at the naval headquarters in Banjul, Gambia, launched an HIV/AIDS education seminar targeted at Gambian navy personnel, Daily Observer/allAfrica.com reports. Barry Wells, the U.S. ambassador to Gambia, and several other officials spoke at the event (7/3).

AllAfrica.com Interviews Obama Administration ‘Point Person’ on Africa

allAfrica.com recently interviewed Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, the Obama administration’s “point person for Africa,” about USAID, the book “Dead Aid,” Somalia and other topics related to U.S.-Africa policy (7/1).

Research Finds Health Delivery Services ‘Deteriorated’ In African Countries Hard Hit By AIDS

IRIN examines new research from Princeton University’s National Bureau of Economic Research, which finds that the “HIV/AIDS pandemic has dealt a body blow to the delivery of health care services in countries hard hit by the disease.” The research compares data from national Demographic and Health Surveys in 14 sub-Saharan African countries. “The authors suggest that non-HIV health services deteriorated in high-prevalence regions because the pandemic reduced the number of trained health personnel, and shifted health budgets and other resources towards caring for HIV patients,” IRIN writes (7/1).