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WHO recommends new test, treatment plan for superbug strains of TB

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended a speedier, cheaper treatment plan for patients with superbug forms of tuberculosis (TB) – a change that should help cure thousands of the killer disease. In what the WHO’s leading TB expert said was a critical step forward in tackling the “public health crisis” of multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), the Geneva-based health agency said the new treatment plan could now be completed in 9-12 months rather than the two years previously recommended. The shorter treatment regimen also costs significantly less – at just under $1,000 per patient in developing countries, said Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO’s global TB program.

Nestle pushes further into medicine with planned Alzheimer’s test

Food group Nestle has taken a further step into the medicine business by signing a research collaboration agreement with a Swiss biotech company to develop an Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic test. Nestle’s second medical deal in a week underscores the commitment by the world’s largest packaged food company to the faster-growing, more profitable medical field as sales of processed foods slow in many markets. Tau is a protein that causes tangles in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. The Swiss food maker said last week it had signed a separate deal to develop a new treatment for ulcerative colitis.