Europe is facing an increasing threat from superbugs, which are becoming resistant to last-resort powerful antibiotics referred to as carbapenems, said the disease-monitoring agency in the European Union on Friday.

This is the latest in a number of warnings related to antibiotic resistance from authorities in healthcare across the globe who fear that in the near future simple types of infections might not respond any longer to medical treatment.

Misuse as well as overuse of antibiotics had driven the rise in infections that are drug-resistance and medical experts are alarmed in particular about bacteria that are unable to be killed with the carbapenems, which is the most powerful type of antibiotic drug.

The proportions of resistant infections to carbapenems is increasing especially over the past four years, particularly in the region of southern Europe and nearly every European country has reported cases, said the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

The cases that are most severe involved infections in the bloodstream, but the superbugs that are drug resistant can also cause more serious problems in the urinary and respiratory tracts.

The ECDC showed data that indicated the proportion of Klebsiella pneumonia, a cause of sickness in patients at hospitals, that were carbapenems resistant was 5% as of 2012 in five European countries – Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Slovakia and Romania.

Back in 2009, only Cyprus and Greece were above that mark of 5%.

The ECDC also said another concern is the emergence of the Acinetobacter bacteria, which is carbapenem-resistant and now represents over 25% of the infections in eight of the 18 countries that reported data.

The director of the ECDC warned that the carbapenems were the last line of defense for antibiotics and the situation was becoming worrisome.

Since 2009, it is more common in hospitals to face treating patients with infections that are resistant to carbapenems, often meaning old and toxic medications need to be used.

In addition, there is a need for antibiotics to be used more prudently including more awareness amongst the public that they do not kill viruses. Of recent, pharmaceutical companies are shying away from researching of these antibiotics, are finding problems with leads for antimicrobial drugs, and have turned to drugs that are more profitable.

Singer Chris Brown was released from jail after his felony assault charge was lowered to a misdemeanor. Brown had been arrested outside a hotel on Sunday morning in Washington D.C. following an altercation where he is alleged to have broken a man’s nose after punching him.

Brown made a plea of not guilty and was released without bail from jail on Monday. The 24-year old singer was ordered to not come within 100 yards of the alleged victim.

It is unclear why the charge of assault was reduced, but it might be due to the injuries not being as serious as first thought. The victim alleges that Brown broke his nose, but police state the victim had been treated for a fractured nasal bone.

The first report the police made said it was one of Brown’s bodyguards who had thrown the punch, but the charge against the bodyguard was also reduce to just a misdemeanor.

The singer and Christopher Hollosy are alleged to have punched the man outside the W Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. at around 4.25 a.m. on Sunday, said sources close to law enforcement.

Brown denied throwing any punches, claiming the alleged victim attempted to board his bus and his bodyguard in turn handled the situation.

Brown was also accused of yelling a homophobic slur while the altercation was taking place that led to him being arrested.

Isaac Adams Parker, the alleged victim told local police that Brown said he was not down with gay s**t.

Parker said both Brown and his bodyguard punched him and the R&B singer then stood behind his bodyguard and ordered Parker to leave.

Because of this altercation, the Probation Department from Los Angeles County was launching an investigation to determine if the charges against Brown violated his terms of probation with them.

People without type 2 diabetes but with high blood sugar performed worse when they took memory tests than people with lower levels of blood sugar revealed a study this week.

Researchers from Germany used 141 people whose average age was 63 and all did not have pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes and did not show any signs of memory problems.

The participants in the study took a series of tests dealing with memory and their blood sugar was tested. They had brain scans that measured their hippocampus’ size. This area plays an important part in an individual’s memory.

Researchers said they correlated the levels of long-term blood sugar with the amount of words people were able to recall on a test.

The researchers found that higher levels of long-term blood sugar went together with recalling fewer words. The researchers also found that those individuals with blood-sugar levels that were higher had hippocampus’ that had smaller sizes.

The findings, said researchers suggest that for people in the normal range for blood sugar, reducing the level might be a way to prevent problems with memory, as they get older.

The lead researcher pointed out that the study was small and did not prove a cause and effect. However, the researcher said that large clinical studies to test if lowering the glucose level will help prevent dementia are needed.

A member of the Alzheimer’s Association said if something happens to the ability of the body to regulate its glucose levels, the brain cannot work the best it should.

If the glucose is not properly functioning, it could affect brain health and function over a long period of time, said a research scientist with Kaiser Permanente.