More people in Ontario are living longer after hospitalization than in 1994, with a 22% decrease in the risk of death after 1 year from admission, found an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Hospitals deliver a substantial proportion of health care, from treating acute illness to performing surgery, offering specialist medicine and care for people from birth to death. They are large consumers of health care costs world-wide, and it is important to understand how they are performing as part of the health care system...
Monday, September 30, 2013
Retired people less likely to take medications for hypertension and diabetes
Men and women with hypertension and men with diabetes were 1.3 times to 2.4 times less likely to take their prescription medications after retirement, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Poor adherence to prescription medication is common and can affect the ability to manage hypertension and diabetes, two illnesses linked with heart disease and death...
Canada should screen baby boomers for hepatitis C
Canada should begin screening baby boomers for hepatitis C (HCV), a curable disease that is usually asymptomatic until liver damage is severe, argue several liver specialists in an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "Unlike most chronic viral infections, HCV infection is curable," write Drs. Hemant Shah, Jenny Heathcote and Jordon Feld from the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, University Health Network, Toronto, Ont. "Successful treatment leads to viral eradication, halting the progression of liver disease and decreasing all-cause mortality...
Insertable ring could prevent HIV in women
Scientists from Northwestern University have developed a new intravaginal ring that they say could help prevent women from being infected with HIV.
The device is easily inserted and remains in place for 28 days, delivering a measured amount of the anti-retroviral tenofovir directly to the site of transmission.
HIV affects an estimated 34 million people around the world. In 2011, 2.5 million people were newly diagnosed, and in sub-Saharan Africa, women make up 60% of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Preventative drugs do exist, but many have proved ineffective, especially in developing countries where financial and cultural barriers interrupt their use.
Previous studies have shown that antiviral drugs can prevent HIV infection, but existing delivery methods often fall short: pills need to be taken daily and in high doses, while vaginal gels have to be applied before each sex act, making them inconvenient.
However, the researchers from Northwestern University believe they have found an answer with their new device.
Visiting associate professor Patrick Kiser, an expert in intravaginal drug delivery, claims the ring is easy to use, long-lasting and extremely effective. He says:
"After 10 years of work, we have created an intravaginal ring that can prevent against multiple HIV exposures over an extended period of time, with consistent prevention levels throughout the menstrual cycle."
Unique construction
Psychotropic use in preschool-age children 'stabilizing'
The use of psychotropic prescription medications to treat mental health disorders in very young children is stabilizing, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Psychotropic medications that are commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, mood disorders and other mental health problems include both typical and atypical antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety agents, stimulants and mood stabilizers.
Few of these medications have been approved for use at preschool age by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
However, the researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center say previous studies have shown that psychotropic prescriptions increased two to threefold for preschool children between 1991 and 2001.
For their study, the researchers reviewed two national surveys of children aged between 2 and 5-years-old to determine the use of psychotropic prescription medications in these age groups between 1994 and 2009.
The surveys collected information on 43,000 young patients who visited office-based physician practices and hospital-based outpatient clinics throughout the US.
Psychotropic prescription use has 'leveled off'
Target Meeting's 3rd World Drug Discovery online conference, October 15-17, 2013: join for free��
A Free Virtual Drug Discovery Conference at Targetmeeting.com featuring 55+ live oral presentations from academic and industry experts around the world. The 13 sessions (55+ oral presentations), which will be spread over three days will discuss Biotechnology & biopharmaceuticals, General pharmaceutical research, Herbal drug, Drug delivery & targeting, Gene/cell therapy, Clinical trials, and many more. Attendees can earn the free Certificates of Attendance. Computer and internet connection are required. Do not need any special equipment or software...
Breast cancer spread: clues found in molecular switch
Using state of the art technology, researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have pinpointed molecular mechanisms that they suspect play an important role in breast cancer cell growth and spread (metastasis).
The researchers write about their findings in a recently published issue of the journal Molecular Cell, and they say their discovery may open new avenues for developing targeted drugs and treatments tailored to individual patients.
The surface of every cell is covered with receptors, tiny "switchboards" that control communication between the cell and the world around it.
For instance, only certain proteins are able to dock onto the receptors and thereby deliver molecular signals relevant to particular cell processes, such as growth, division, making of proteins and death.
In this latest study, the Danish team, led by professor and protein researcher Jesper Velgaard Olsen, investigated a cell surface receptor that is known to be important for health and disease, the so-called FGFR2b receptor.
FGFR2b is a fibroblast growth factor receptor that plays an important role in the development of internal organs in the embryo, and the lungs in particular.
If an FGFR2b signal goes wrong, this affects normal development of lung tissue. There is also evidence of FGFR2b playing a role in certain types of breast cancer, write the researchers.
They discovered two signaling proteins that bind to FGFR2b with completely different effects: one affects cell division and the other controls cell movement.
Both processes are key to healthy cell development but have serious consequences if they spin out of control, for instance they can spur cancer cell growth and metastases.
Hope for customized treatments in future
Prof. Olsen, who works in the University's Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, explains what they found:
"In simple terms, we have mapped the molecular switch on the receptor that turns two important biological processes on and off, respectively.
We have, in other words, pinpointed the binding site that can cause increased spreading of breast cancer cells and thus the development of metastases."
For their study, the team used state of the art technology to carry out a large-scale experimental analysis of proteins, an approach known as "functional proteomics."
The technology, which includes advanced mass spectrometry, allows rapid investigation of what happens inside cells when selected proteins combine with a chosen receptor.
The new technology gives protein researchers tools that were once only available to geneticists.
"It was previously a huge challenge to analyze proteins - but today we can study thousands of proteins in a very short time," Prof. Olsen says.
Although their investigation was confined to human cancer cells and mouse tissue, he and his team believe their findings will help improve customized treatments for human breast cancers in the long run.
He says the FGFR2b receptor could become a new biomarker for diagnosing and treating cancers:
"The more we know about the body's transmission systems, the better we become at targeting medical treatment. Hopefully, we will in future be able to offer customized treatment based on the individual patient's cellular profile."
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in the US in 2013 there will be 235,000 new cases of breast cancer, and the disease will claim some 40,000 lives. Most deaths from breast cancer are due to metastasis.
Earlier this year, a team of US researchers revealed how copper depletion therapy showed surprisingly good results in preventing the spread of cancer in high-risk triple-negative breast cancer - a type of breast cancer that is very difficult to treat.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Lung cancer drug doing well in smoker trial
Early results of a trial testing the safety of a new type of drug that helps the immune system attack cancer cells is showing promising results in lung cancer patients, especially in those who are smokers or former smokers.
The experimental drug, called MPDL3280A (made by Roche), is being tested in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Professor Soria, director of the Site de Recherche Intégrée sur le Cancer (SIRIC) Socrate project at the Institut Gustave Roussy in France, presented the latest data from a phase I clinical trial of the drug at the 2013 European Cancer Congress in Amsterdam on Sunday.
He says:
"Our results so far demonstrate that the compound is capable of producing striking and durable responses in non-small cell lung cancer patients with metastatic disease who have failed to respond to previous chemotherapy."
This is good news for patients with lung cancer, particular smokers and former smokers.
Prof. Soria explains that this is the first study to suggest there might be a link between smoking history and response to blocking a pathway that is key to allowing cancer cells to escape detection by the immune system.
Initial results: 26% of smokers responded to treatment
For their international trial, he and his colleagues are recruiting patients with metastatic NSCLC who have failed to respond to chemotherapy.
The trial participants receive an intravenous infusion of MPDL3280A once every 3 weeks.
The initial results include efficacy data for 53 NSCLC patients and safety data for 85 NSCLC patients. It shows 26% of smokers responded to treatment, compared with only 10% of never-smokers.
Prof. Soria says:
"The fact that smokers seemed to respond better is great news for lung cancer patients, because the majority of them are former or current smokers."
He goes on to say that most of the recent advances in fighting lung cancer have focused mostly on never-smokers or light smokers.
However, he cautions that while the data looks promising, it is only preliminary.
Boosting immunity by blocking PD-L1 pathway
Lung cancer is very difficult to treat, and once it has started to spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body, it is incurable. Most cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking.
Cancer cells are a type of errant cell that is usually targeted and eliminated by the immune system. But some have the ability to exploit one of several mechanisms and evade the immune system.
One way cancer cells do this is by co-opting a signaling pathway called PD-L1. Prof. Soria says this pathway is "instrumental in enabling cancer cells to escape detection by the immune system."
The drug that Soria and his colleagues are testing is an example of immunotherapy, or finding ways to boost the immune system's natural ability to fight cancer.
MPDL3280A is an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody that works by blocking the interaction between PD-L1 and the immune system, thereby boosting the patient's anti-cancer immune response.
Some lung cancer patients responded more strongly
Prof. Soria says he and his colleagues had a hunch that because smoking is usually linked with tumors that have more genetic mutations, then perhaps the immune system of such patients might respond more strongly to blocking PD-L1.
"Our results show that this is likely to be the case because more smokers than non-smokers had a partial response to the therapy," he adds.
However, he also points out that while the best results so far have been seen in smokers and former smokers, it does not mean the drug will not work in never-smokers with NSCLC. "Some of them benefited from this compound as well," he adds.
Among the patients who responded to the drug, the treatment lasted between 170 and 534 days. Some patients responded within 6 weeks, and the researchers estimate the median average time to first response is 11.9 weeks.
Potential to screen for patients most likely to respond
Another important result from the trial is that the researchers found patients whose tumors had higher levels of PD-L1 expression were more likely to respond to treatment than patients with low levels of PD-L1 expression.
This could be a new way to screen for patients most likely to respond to treatment.
Prof. Soria concludes:
"Our results so far demonstrate that the compound is capable of producing striking and durable responses in non-small cell lung cancer patients with metastatic disease who have failed to respond to previous chemotherapy. The study defines a novel approach to identifying the patients most likely to respond to treatment and identifies potential association between smoking and responses to MPDL3280A."
He says a robust treatment using just this new drug, which appears to have few serious side-effects and requires the patient to receive only one intravenous infusion every 3 weeks, could be available soon.
While the large phase I trial continues, larger phase II and phase III trials of the drug are already underway.
In 2012, a detailed analysis of national surveillance data suggested that patients with stage I NSCLC who receive radiation therapy are surviving longer.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Parkinson's patients are more mistrustful and more willing to take risks than healthy people
Parkinson's patients seem to have more difficulties than healthy people to trust others. This is demonstrated by a current study, which was presented at the 21st World Congress of Neurology in Vienna. Presently, more than 8,000 experts are discussing the latest developments in this specialty field. "Particularly those brain areas that regulate trust behaviour are affected by the disease: the basal ganglia of the cerebrum, the frontal cortex and the limbic system...
Stress related to Alzheimer's clinical onset
An Argentine research team has found evidence of a possible trigger factor for the onset of Alzheimer's disease: stress. Dr Edgardo Reich (Buenos Aires) presented a study on the subject at the XXI World Congress of Neurology in Vienna. 118 patients with diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease were examined, their average age was 73. An average of 2.4 years had passed between this diagnosis and the onset of symptoms. The group of Alzheimer's patients was compared to a control group of 81 healthy individuals whose age, gender distribution and educational level corresponded to the Alzheimer's group...
LEO Pharma announce the completion of the Phase III FIELD Study 1, evaluating one year treatment outcomes of actinic keratosis
LEO Pharma has announced the completion of the Phase III FIELD Study 1 - the largest[1-3] ever, one year evaluation of field treatment with ingenol mebutate gel for actinic keratosis (AK) after initial cryosurgery of individual AK lesions, compared to cryosurgery followed by a vehicle gel. The study involved more than 300 patients across 35 trial sites and is also the first to evaluate field treatment with ingenol mebutate gel subsequent to cryosurgery. LEO Pharma reported that the study met its efficacy and safety endpoints at 11 weeks and 12 months...
Global heart survey: US walks less than other nations
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer worldwide, and in the lead up to World Heart Day on September 29th, a global survey was conducted about how much time individuals spend walking each day.
Many respondents did not know, and the majority who did know walk less than the recommended daily minimum of 30 minutes.
The survey, conducted by the World Heart Federation, focused on walking because, according to the organization, it is one of the simplest things we can do to protect our heart health.
Six countries - Brazil, China, India, Spain, UK and US - participated in the survey, which was conducted by YouGov and yielded a total of 7,367 respondents over 18 years of age in August 2013.
The survey asked two questions: how much time do you spend walking at a slow pace each day and how much time at a fast pace?
Results from the study show that:
- In the US and UK, one in three adults do not know how much they walk each day, compared with only one in six adults in India.
- In the six countries surveyed, 55% of respondents who reported times walk briskly for less than 30 minutes each day.
- In the US and UK, only about 33% of adults do the recommended 30 minutes of brisk walking each day, compared with about 50% of adults in Brazil and India.
Dr. Kathryn Taubert, chief science officer from the World Heart Federation, says:
"Awareness is the first step to a healthy heart. Paying attention to how much we walk should be as simple as watching what we eat. On World Heart Day, we are urging people to take action to protect their hearts."
"By reaching the recommended guideline of minimum 30 minutes of moderate exercise, which includes brisk walking at least five days a week, many premature deaths can be prevented."
Walking 30 minutes has heart benefits
Life experience 'offsets age-related cognitive decline'
As we get older, there is no doubt that our brains become slower. But new research suggests that life experience may make up for cognitive decline in old age.
Researchers from the School of Business Administration at University of California, Riverside, conducted what they say is the first study to measure a person's decision making over their lifespan through two types of intelligence: fluid and crystalized.
Fluid intelligence is the ability to learn and process information, while crystalized intelligence is experience and accumulated knowledge.
The researchers note that previous studies have suggested that fluid intelligence declines as a person ages, but this hypothesis does not determine whether decision-making abilities also decline with age.
For their study, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, the research team recruited 336 participants. Of these, 173 were aged between 18 and 29, while 163 were aged between 60 and 82.
Participants were asked to answer a series of questions designed to measure economic decision-making traits. These were:
- Temporal discounting - how much people discount future gains and losses
- Loss aversion - how much the valuation of losses outweigh gains of the same magnitude
- Financial literacy - understanding financial decisions and information
- Debt literacy - understanding debt contracts and interest rates.
The participants were also required to complete a series of fluid and crystallized intelligence tests.
Older participants 'wiser' than younger
Results of the study revealed that older participants performed just as well or better than the younger participants in all decision-making measures.
The older group demonstrated greater patience in the temporal discounting area and showed better financial and debt literacy.
The researchers note that the older participants appeared slightly less loss averse, but they say this difference was so small that it was deemed insignificant.
Ye Li, assistant professor of management at the School of Business Administration at the University, says:
"The findings confirm our hypothesis that experience and acquired knowledge from a lifetime of decision-making offset the declining ability to learn new information."
Prof. Li adds that the findings also show help could be given to older people in order to aid their decreased fluid intelligence when making significant financial decisions, such as a financial advisor.
Additionally, he says that younger adults could also benefit more from financial education, so that they gain experience in making major financial decisions in life.
The researchers are in the process of a follow-up study involving adults between the ages of 18 and 80. The team will be asking them specific questions regarding decisions on selecting health care policies, when to start drawing social security, and how to pay off multiple credit card balances.
Medical News Today recently reported that scientists have created a new video game that could combat age-related cognitive decline.
Written by Honor Whiteman
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Zebrafish embryo's cells can move in one direction by creating their own gradient: Study has possible implications for cancer and metastasis
Migrating cells, it seems, cover their tracks not for fear of being followed, but to keep moving forward. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have now shown that cells in a zebrafish embryo determine which direction they move in by effectively erasing the path behind them. The findings, published online in Nature, could have implications not just for development but also for cancer and metastasis. As a zebrafish embryo develops, a group of cells migrate down the side of its body, leaving clumps of cells along the way...
Folic acid deficiencies associated with spina bifida, heart defects and placental abnormalities persist through multiple generations
Folic acid deficiency can cause severe health problems in offspring, including spina bifida, heart defects and placental abnormalities. A study out today reveals that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts the immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects on the next several generations. The new research, which also sheds light on the molecular mechanism of folic acid (also known as folate) during development, was published in the journal Cell...
Researchers explain for the first time the 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' nature of E2F in cancer
The mood changes of a 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' protein, which sometimes boosts tumour cell growth and at other times suppresses it, have been explained in a new study led by Oxford University researchers. The researchers in Britain, with collaborators in Singapore and the USA, carried out a comprehensive biological study of the protein E2F, which is abnormal in the vast majority of cancers. They were able to explain the dual natures it can take up in cells in the body, and indicate how it could be a potent target for developing new cancer drugs...
Understanding RNA biology in dendrites may inform neurological and psychiatric illness therapeutics
Protein synthesis in the extensions of nerve cells, called dendrites, underlies long-term memory formation in the brain, among other functions. "Thousands of messenger RNAs reside in dendrites, yet the dynamics of how multiple dendrite messenger RNAs translate into their final proteins remain elusive," says James Eberwine, PhD, professor of Pharmacology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and co-director of the Penn Genome Frontiers Institute...
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Key to fighting 'superbug' could be restricting antibiotics
New ways are needed to fight the infection Clostridium difficile and better use of antibiotics could be key, according to the authors of ground-breaking research. In a unique United Kingdom study, the team from the University of Leeds, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and Oxford University, mapped all cases of Clostridium difficile (C.diff) in Oxfordshire over a three-year period (2008 to 2011). C. diff causes severe diarrhoea, cramps and sometimes life-threatening complications, and has traditionally been thought to be transmitted within hospitals from other sick C. diff patients...
Advanced form of proton therapy reduces need for feeding tubes by 50 percent
A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center found that the use of feeding tubes in oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC) cancer patients treated with intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) decreased by more than 50 percent compared to patients treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). This suggests that proton therapy may offer vital quality of life benefits for patients with tumors occurring at the back of the throat. The results, presented by the lead researcher, Steven J. Frank, M.D...
Sex trafficking and exploitation of minors in the U.S: A reminder that these people are victims not criminals
Commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors are serious problems in the United States with long-term adverse consequences for children and society as a whole, and federal agencies should work with state and local partners to raise awareness of these issues and train professionals who work with youths to recognize and assist those who are victimized or at risk, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council...
Health impacted when genetic makeup and diet interact with the microbiome
A Mayo Clinic researcher, along with his collaborators, has shown that an individual's genomic makeup and diet interact to determine which microbes exist and how they act in the host intestine. The study was modeled in germ-free knockout mice to mimic a genetic condition that affects 1 in 5 humans and increases the risk for digestive diseases. The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Our data show that factors in the differences in a host's genetic makeup - in this case genes that affect carbohydrates in the gut - interact with the type of food eaten...
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Stem-cell fat grafts effective for plastic surgery
Scientists say that the first randomized human trial using stem-cell enriched fat grafts for reconstructive surgery shows that the procedure is safe, reliable and effective.
Researchers from the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark say the procedure could become central to plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Autologous fat grafting, or lipofilling, is being increasingly used in reconstructive surgery, such as breast reconstruction following cancer, the researchers say.
The procedure involves harvesting a patient's own fat in order to increase the volume of fat in another area of their body.
The researchers point out that the procedure has high resorption rates of up to 80% - the percentage of the transferred fat that does not survive.
But recent animal studies have demonstrated that fat grafts that have been enriched with culture-expanded adipose (fat)-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been shown to significantly improve graft survival.
New pig model for study of immune response to infections that cause peptic ulcers
Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have developed a new large animal model to study how the immune system interacts with the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, the leading cause of peptic ulcer disease. The discovery in the October edition of the journal Infection and Immunity may inform changes in the ways doctors treat patients. An estimated 4 million Americans have sores in the stomach lining known as peptic ulcers, according to the American Gastroenterological Association...
Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs triples the risk of a fatal car crash
Drugged driving has been a safety issue of increasing public concern in the United States and many other countries but its role in motor vehicle crashes had not been adequately examined. In a new study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, researchers assessed the association of driver drug use, as well as the combination of drugs and alcohol, with the risk of fatal crash. They found that drug use is associated with a significantly increased risk of fatal crash involvement, particularly when used in combination with alcohol...
The auditory cortex may perform a role beyond just processing sound
Several studies have shown that expecting a reward or punishment can affect brain activity in areas responsible for processing different senses, including sight or touch. For example, research shows that these brain regions light up on brain scans when humans are expecting a treat. However, researchers know less about what happens when the reward is actually received - or an expected reward is denied. Insight on these scenarios can help researchers better understand how we learn in general...
Friday, September 27, 2013
Flame retardant ban reduces levels in pregnant women
A new study has suggested that phasing out the use of potentially harmful flame retardants in furniture foam, electronics and plastics may be having a positive impact on pregnant women and newborns' exposure to the chemicals.
From the 1970s, manufacturers commonly used flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in electrics, furniture and plastics. But these retardants were found to pose potentially serious health issues to pregnant women and their infants.
In 2011, Medical News Today reported on a study showing evidence that some PBDEs may be undermining thyroid hormone signaling throughout a woman's pregnancy - something which could affect the brain development of the fetus.
Previous evidence has also suggested that exposure to these chemicals during pregnancy, even at low levels, can result in a child experiencing learning and concentration difficulties later in life.
The production of these chemicals ceased in the US in 2004. But until now, it has been unclear whether this has had an impact on human exposure.
Researchers from George Washington University and the University of California, San Francisco/Davis, decided to find out whether human exposure to these chemicals has reduced. Their findings were published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
The research team analyzed the blood samples of 25 pregnant women who visited San Francisco General Hospital between 2008 and 2009, in order to test for the presence of five different PBDEs. These were compared with the blood samples of 36 pregnant women who visited the hospital between 2011 and 2012.
Significant reduction in PBDE exposure
HIV in cells eradicated with antifungal drug
New research by an international team finds that Ciclopirox, an antifungal cream used all over the world, completely eradicates HIV - the virus that leads to AIDS - in cultured cells, and the virus does not return when the treatment stops.
The study also found Deferiprone, a systemic drug used to remove excess iron from the body in people who have beta-thalassaemia major, has the same effect.
The researchers, including a team from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, write about their findings in a paper published online this week in the journal PLOS ONE.
As both drugs are already approved for use in humans - both in the US and Europe - the researchers say this means the normally lengthy process of drug development should be less costly and time-consuming, bringing closer the prospect of global elimination of HIV and AIDS.
Drugs reactivate suicide pathway in HIV-infected cells
Viruses thrive by invading cells and using their resources. The cells of our body have a natural way of stopping this - they kill themselves. When the immune system detects the presence of a virus, it triggers a cell process called apoptosis that makes infected cells commit suicide.
But the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has a way around this: it disables the host cell's ability to commit suicide, allowing it to continue to exploit cellular resources to fuel its growth and spread.
In this new study, the researchers found the drugs work against HIV in two ways: they inhibit expression of certain HIV genes, and they also jam up the host cell's mitochondria, the little powerhouses that supply them with energy. Both these effects reactivate the cell's suicide pathway.
Healthy cells not infected with HIV were not affected. And remarkably, the virus did not bounce back when treatment stopped.
First study to show additional route to cell suicide
While previous research has already found Ciclopirox and Deferiprone can stop HIV by inhibiting some of the virus' genes, this new study is the first to show an additional route to reactivation of cell suicide via mitochondrial interference.
Thanks to these previous results confirmed in this new study, and the fact the systemic drug is already known to be safe in humans, testing the effectiveness of Deferiprone against HIV has already moved directly from cell culture to human trial in South Africa, bypassing the need for animal testing.
Ciclopirox is not approved for systemic use, as it is a topical cream. But the discovery that both drugs, each well-tolerated in humans, are also able to eradicate HIV in cell culture renews hope that HIV and AIDS will one day, in the not too distant future, be wiped from the face of the Earth.
The findings follow other good news released this week - as world leaders meet at the United Nations General Assembly to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, UNAIDS reports a 52% reduction in new HIV infections among children and a combined 33% reduction among adults and children since 2001.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Flu vaccine coverage on the rise in US
US health officials say that vaccination coverage to protect against influenza is on the rise, particularly for children, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Health officials say the data, announced at a news conference held by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NIFD), is reassuring but still falls short of public goals.
When looking at vaccinations given during the 2012-13 season for children aged 6 months to 17 years, coverage was at 56.6% - an increase of 5.1%, compared with the 2011-12 season.
Vaccination coverage for adults aged 18 years and over was at 41.5% for the 2012-13 season, increasing by 2.7%, compared with the 2011-12 season.
Overall, the data showed that 45% of the entire US population aged over 6 months had been vaccinated during the 2012-13 season. This coverage varied across all US states, with 56.7% coverage at the highest and 34.1% at the lowest.
Vaccination increase in younger adults 'pleasing'
European and Brazilian cardiology societies team up to tackle cardiovascular disease
As the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (BSC) team up to deliver key cardio messages at the 68th BSC Congress in Rio de Janeiro (28 September to 1 October 2013), new research underscores the essential role of cardiology specialists in Brazil. Cerebrovascular disease (CBVD) remains the leading cause of death in Rio de Janeiro, with poverty, poor fitness and education levels, and increasing rates of obesity contributing to these deaths annually, said Dr. Regina Fonseca from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro...
Breast health linked to eating peanut butter and nuts
By eating more peanut butter during their high school years, girls could be improving their breast health in adulthood, according to a US study published recently in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.
Dr. Graham Colditz, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues found that girls aged 9 to 15 who ate peanut butter and nuts twice a week were 39% less likely to develop benign breast disease by the age of 30 than girls who did not.
Benign breast disease includes lumps or tender spots that turn out to be fibrous tissue and/or cysts, as well as other conditions like hyperplasia, an overgrowth of the cells that line the ducts in the glandular breast tissue.
Although benign breast disease is not cancerous, it can raise the risk of developing breast cancer later in life.
Dr. Colditz, associate director for cancer prevention and control at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, says:
"These findings suggest that peanut butter could help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women."
For their study, he and his colleagues looked at health data on over 9,000 American schoolgirls recruited to The Growing Up Today Study between 1996 and 2001. This included detailed information about food consumption as captured in food frequency questionnaires that the girls filled in on enrollment.
The data also included reports from the girls between 2005 and 2010, when they were 18 to 30 years old, that indicated whether they had ever been diagnosed with biopsy-confirmed benign breast disease.
When they compared the two sets of data, the researchers found that participants who had eaten peanut butter or nuts twice a week were 39% less likely than peers who never ate those foods to receive a diagnosis for benign breast disease.
The data suggest pulse foods - soy and other beans and lentils - and corn may also be linked to reduced risk of benign breast disease, but because they did not feature as much in the diets of these girls, the evidence was not so strong.
The researchers also note that:
"Girls with a family history of breast cancer had significantly lower risk if they consumed these foods or vegetable fat."
And they concluded that "consumption of vegetable protein, fat, peanut butter, or nuts by older girls may help reduce their risk of BBD [benign breast disease] as young women."
This is not the first study to tie diets rich in vegetable fats - such as those present in peanut butter, nuts and pulse foods - to a lower risk for benign breast disease. But it is the first to find the evidence by comparing data captured during adolescence with followed-up cases of diagnosed disease, as opposed to asking young women to recall what they ate when they were in high school.
Dr. Colditz says girls would do well to eat more peanut butter and nuts and consume less junk foods and sugary drinks, especially in view of the rise in obesity.
Funds from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) helped finance the study.
Another study published recently in the journal BMC Medicine also suggests eating nuts may cut risk of death from cancer and heart disease.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Obesity can be either spurred or stopped by key cellular mechanism in the body's 'battery'
Becoming obese or remaining lean can depend on the dynamics of the mitochondria, the body's energy-producing "battery," according to two new studies by Yale School of Medicine researchers featured as the cover story in the Sept. 26 issue of the journal Cell. Mitochondria are vital cellular organelles that generate and maintain proper energy levels in complex organisms. Using animal models, the Yale research team studied mitochondria in different populations of brain cells known to be involved in the regulation of appetite...
Myriad Genetics' myplan™ lung cancer test meets primary clinical endpoint
Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) has announced new data published in Clinical Cancer Research that showed the myPlan Lung Cancer test is a significant predictor of lung cancer death in patients with early-stage, resectable lung adenocarcinoma and may be a valuable tool for selecting which early-stage patients should be considered for additional post-surgical chemotherapy. "Lung cancer remains one of the most difficult-to-treat cancers...
Common viral disease prevented in stem-cell transplant patients
A new drug can often prevent a common, sometimes severe viral disease in patients receiving a transplant of donated blood-making stem cells, a clinical trial led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital indicates. In a paper in the Sept. 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers report that patients who took the drug CMX001 shortly after transplant were far less likely to develop cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection than were patients who took a placebo...
Vaccine delivery to lungs using nanoparticles
Many viruses and bacteria infect humans through mucosal surfaces, such as those in the lungs, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive tract. To help fight these pathogens, scientists are working on vaccines that can establish a front line of defense at mucosal surfaces. Vaccines can be delivered to the lungs via an aerosol spray, but the lungs often clear away the vaccine before it can provoke an immune response...
New mechanism for protein misfolding may link to ALS
Proteins play important roles in the human body, particularly neuroproteins that maintain proper brain function. Brain diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's are known as "tangle diseases" because they are characterized by misfolded and tangled proteins which accumulate in the brain. A team of Australian and American scientists discovered that an unusual amino acid called BMAA can be inserted into neuroproteins, causing them to misfold and aggregate. BMAA is produced by cyanobacteria, photosynthetic bacteria that form scums or mats in polluted lakes or estuaries...
Repurposed antidepressants have potential to treat small-cell lung cancer
A bioinformatics approach to repurposing drugs resulted in identification of a class of antidepressants as a potential new treatment for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to a study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Based on data generated using bioinformatics, two drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat symptoms of depression were tested on SCLC cells and animal models. Both antidepressants were found to induce SCLC cell death...
Increasing awareness that untreated sore throat can lead to rheumatic heart disease is a huge part of the battle
Without a huge improvement in living conditions, a cure, or a vaccine, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) will continue to blight low-income and middle-income countries. Raising community awareness of the condition, emphasising that untreated sore throat caused by group A streptococcal (GAS) infection can lead to acute rheumatic fever (ARF)/RHD, is a huge part of the battle...
Current estimate of around quarter of a million deaths annually worldwide vastly underestimates true burden of rheumatic heart disease
A paper in the RHD special issue of Global Heart, the journal of the World Heart Federation, analyses the burden of disease and suggests that numbers published to date (ranging from at least 233,000 deaths per year upwards) could be substantial underestimates for a variety of reasons, most commonly lack of high quality (or in some cases any) data from high-prevalence countries and regions...
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Study of 'sister' stem cells uncovers new cancer clue
Scientists have used a brand new technique for examining individual stem cells to uncover dramatic differences in the gene expression levels - which genes are turned 'up' or 'down' - between apparently identical 'sister' pairs. The research, published in Stem Cell Reports, was conducted and funded by The Institute of Cancer Research, London. It provides the latest evidence that despite having identical DNA, sister stem cells can display considerable differences in their molecular characteristics...
Nanoparticle lung vaccine protects against HIV, herpes
Scientists have created a type of nanoparticle that they say can effectively deliver vaccines to the lungs, protecting against numerous infectious diseases. This is according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say the nanoparticle vaccine could help protect against influenza and other respiratory diseases, as well as prevent sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, human papilloma virus and herpes simplex virus.
The scientists note that many viruses and bacteria infect humans through mucosal surfaces, such as those in the lungs. Therefore, they wanted to develop vaccines that are able to establish a "front line of defense" at mucosal surfaces.
Currently, there are limited mucosal vaccines that have been approved for human use. The Sabin polio vaccine is given orally and absorbed in the digestive tract, while a type of flu vaccine is delivered as a nasal spray.
However, the MIT researchers wanted to develop a better way of delivering these vaccines.
To do this, the team, led by Darrell Irvine, a professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering at MIT, built on a nanoparticle that they developed 2 years ago.
Nanoparticles 'help vaccine resist disintegration'
Researchers find why ICU ventilation can cause brain damage
Patients who have been mechanically ventilated in intensive care units have long been known to suffer some form of mental impairment as a result. Now, researchers have uncovered a molecular mechanism that may explain why this happens.
The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, was conducted by researchers from the University of Oviedo in Spain, St. Michael's Hospital in Canada, and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
The researchers say that a minimum of 30% of patients in intensive care units (ICU) suffer some form of mental dysfunction, such as anxiety, depression, and most commonly, delirium. They note that the incidence of delirium in patients who are mechanically ventilated is around 80%.
They hypothesized that this may be partly a result of damage in the hippocampus, but how ventilation causes this damage has been unclear.
Dopamine a cause of apoptosis
First 3D images of chromosomes dispel familiar X-shape
Using powerful leading-edge technology, researchers reveal for the first time that the true 3D structures of chromosomes are far removed from the blurry, slightly distorted X-shape many of us are familiar with. They are, in fact, complex and rather beautiful.
In a paper published online this week in Nature, researchers from The Babraham Institute and the University of Cambridge in the UK, and the Weizmann Institute in Israel, describe how, with the help of powerful computers and the latest DNA sequencers, they produced 3D visualizations of chromosomes by generating thousands of molecular measurements of them in single cells.
Funding for the new technology came from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust.
The new images show that for most of the time, chromosome structures have a rich and beautiful complexity, and they also reveal how the DNA inside them folds up.
Some statins may impair memory
New research suggests some statin drugs may cause memory impairment. A team led by scientists at the University of Bristol in the UK tested two commonly prescribed statins in rats and found one, but not the other, reduced performance of working and recognition memory.
They write about their findings in a recent online issue of the journal PLOS ONE.
Statins are drugs that reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad cholesterol" in the blood and are taken by millions of people worldwide.
Cholesterol is a range of vital fatty substances that all the cells of the body need in order to work properly. It is also an ingredient for making other vital substances.
But having too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to fatty deposits building up in arteries, which raises risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease (angina and heart attack) and stroke.
Statins work by reducing the amount of cholesterol that cells produce, which forces them to get their supply from the bloodstream, thus lowering the amount circulating in arteries.
They are prescribed for healthy people at high risk from heart disease and also to prevent further problems in people who have already had a heart attack or stroke, or who have peripheral artery disease.
Side effects of statins
This new study follows others that have found links between statin use and other health problems.
For instance, earlier this year, a Canadian study published in BMJ found that some statins may increase type 2 diabetes risk, with patients taking atorvastatin (brand name Lipitor), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor) showing the highest risk.
And more recently, a US study published in JAMA Ophthalmology, suggested statin use may raise cataract risk.
There is also evidence that some medications can interact with lovastatin (brand names include Mevacor) and increase the risk of muscle damage.
This last point was made last year in a consumer update on statins by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which also mentioned some statin users had been reporting cognitive problems, such as memory loss, forgetfulness and confusion.
In that update, the FDA said that while the value of statins in preventing heart disease has been clearly established, they would be changing the drug labels of popular statin products to reflect some of these new concerns.
Study tested two commonly used statins
For their study, the researchers tested two commonly prescribed statins, pravastatin (Pravachol) and atorvostatin (Lipitor) in rats.
The results showed pravastatin, but not atorvostatin, impaired the animals' ability to perform simple learning and memory tasks.
They gave rats a daily dose of the statins for 18 days and tested their ability to perform a simple learning task involving finding a food reward - before, during and after treatment.
On the last day of treatment and one week after ceasing treatment, they also tested the rats' ability to recognize a previously encountered object - this tested their recognition memory.
The results showed that over the last few days of treatment, daily medication with pravastatin tended to impair the rats' learning. However, this effect was reversed when treatment ceased.
Also, in the recognition memory test, taking pravastatin reduced rats' ability to discriminate new objects.
However, "no effects were observed for atorvostatin in either task," write the authors, who conclude that "chronic treatment with pravastatin impairs working and recognition memory in rodents."
They note that the reversibility of the cognitive impairment effect of pravastatin is similar to that reported by patients and the fact atorvostatin did not have any effect at all suggests some types of statins may be more likely to impair memory and learning than others.
Lead author Neil Marrion, professor of Neuroscience at Bristol, says:
"This finding is novel and likely reflects both the anecdotal reports and FDA advice. What is most interesting is that it is not a feature of all statins."
"However," he adds, "in order to better understand the relationship between statin treatment and cognitive function, further studies are needed."
A grant from the Wellcome Trust helped finance the study.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Study shows improvements in life expectancy in type 1 diabetes which should now be reflected in life insurance and other relevant policies
A study from the UK reveals that, in the population of Scotland, UK, life expectancy for people with type 1 diabetes has improved substantially, and this improvement should now be reflected in life insurance and other relevant policies for those with the condition. The research is by, Professor Helen Colhoun and Shona Livingstone, University of Dundee, UK, and colleagues on behalf of the Scottish Diabetes Research Network, and is presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain...
Study shows social deprivation a key factor in mortality in type 1 diabetes
Levels of social deprivation, as well as how well a patient controls their blood sugar, is an independent risk factor for mortality in people with type 1 diabetes. These are the findings of new research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Barcelona, Spain. The research is by the Diabetes Clinical Academic Group at King's Healthcare Partners, UK, and presented by Dr Stephen Thomas, Dept of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT), London...
Having children lowers mortality in people with type 1 diabetes, but for women more than men
New research published at this week's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona, Spain, shows that having children lowers mortality in people with type 1 diabetes, but for women more than men. The research is by Dr Lena Sjöberg, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, and National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues. Previous research has shown that type 1 diabetes is associated with increased mortality compared with the general population, from both acute and long-term diabetic complications...
In postmenopausal women, vitamin D alone does little to protect bone health
While calcium supplements noticeably improved bone health in postmenopausal women, vitamin D supplements did not reduce bone turnover, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Bone turnover is the body's natural process for breaking down old bone. In young people, the body forms enough new bone to replace what is lost. After age 30, however, bone mass in women begins to decline and the process speeds up after menopause...
No age-related differences found in post-concussion symptoms
Recent scientific findings have raised the fear that young athletes may fare worse after sustaining a sports-related concussion than older athletes. Researchers from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine compared symptoms associated with concussion in middle/high school - age athletes with those in college-age athletes to determine whether age-related differences exist...
Aggressive boy behavior: 'epigenetic changes may be a cause'
Researchers say that chronic aggressive behavior found in some boys may be a result of epigenetic changes during pregnancy and early childhood, according to two studies published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Both studies were led by Richard E. Tremblay of the University of Montreal and Moshe Szyf of McGill University.
For the first study, the team analyzed the blood samples of 32 male individuals from Quebec with a disadvantaged background, who had suffered from chronic physical aggression since childhood.
The males were selected from two longitudinal studies, conducted by Prof. Tremblay's team, that spanned almost a 30-year follow-up period, following the participants from childhood to adulthood.
Alongside this group, the team also examined the blood samples of a group of males from the same background, but who did not suffer from chronic aggression.
No link between celiac disease and autism, study shows
Though previous case reports have suggested a link between autism and celiac disease, larger studies have shown contradictory results. And now, one of the largest studies of the two conditions found no association between them.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published the results of their study in JAMA Psychiatry.
Dr. Jonas F. Ludvigsson led the study, in which a Swedish national patient register was used to find patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The team also used 28 Swedish biopsy registers to find data about patients with celiac disease (CD).
In total, there were 26,995 patients with CD, 12,304 patients with inflammation of the small intestine, and 3,719 patients with normal mucosa but a positive CD blood test. These groups were compared with a control group of 213,208 individuals.
Results showed that having a diagnosis of ASD was not associated with CD or inflammation. However, an ASD diagnosis was linked to an increased risk of having normal mucosa but a positive antibody test frequently seen with CD.
The researchers say:
"Our data are consistent with earlier research in that we found no convincing evidence that CD is associated with ASD except for a small excess risk noted after CD diagnosis."
Although the researchers note that "the mechanism of association with a positive CD antibody is not clear," they do suggest it could be attributed to "increased mucosal permeability" in some CD patients or in certain individuals with elevated antibody levels.
Autism and intestinal permeability
Autism spectrum disorders, which include infantile autism, Asperger syndrome and pervasive development disorders, are typically noticeable before the age of 3.
The researchers note that celiac disease is an immune disorder occurring in 1-2% of the Western population. Triggered by gluten exposure, CD normally affects patients who have small intestinal villous atrophy and inflammation.
However, the researchers say that recently, there has been evidence that some people with CD have only minor mucosal changes, if any at all.
In an interview with Medical News Today, Dr. Ludvigsson said that "the link to individuals with normal mucosa and increased celiac antibodies is intriguing."
He offered three potential explanations for the link:
- Different testing of children with autism (meaning autistic patients undergo more testing for celiac disease than other individuals, rendering the association false)
- Researchers could find results "just by chance"
- Individuals with autism could have a different intestinal permeability, explaining the association between autism and those with normal mucosa but increased celiac antibodies.
He clarified his last point by noting:
"I think it is reasonable to examine intestinal permeability of patients with autism, but I do not think that celiac disease causes autism."
Written by Marie Ellis
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Study: omega-3 does not combat cognitive decline
There have been many studies advocating how omega-3 fatty acids can benefit our health. But a new study suggests that high levels of omega-3 are of no benefit to cognitive decline in older women.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are types of fats commonly found in plant and marine life.
Of particular interest to nutritionists and health care professionals are two types of omega-3 acids - DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) - due to their rumored health benefits.
The acids are thought to play an important role in reducing inflammation throughout the body.
And studies have shown numerous other health benefits, including the potential to prevent or delay cognitive decline. But researchers from the University of Iowa suggest otherwise.
Their study, published in the journal Neurology, involved 2,157 women aged between 65 and 80, who were enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative clinical trials of hormone therapy.
The research team took blood tests from all women before the beginning of the study, in order to measure the amount of omega-3 present in their blood.
The women were required to complete thinking and memory skills tests annually over an average of 6 years.
The study revealed that there was no difference in results between women who had high levels of omega-3 in their blood at the time the first memory tests were completed and women who had low levels of omega-3 in their blood.
Additionally, the results showed that there was no difference in how fast thinking skills declined over time between women who had high or low levels of omega-3 in their blood.
These results are contrary to earlier studies. Last year, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that increasing consumption of omega-3 may improve the memory of young adults.
More recently, researchers from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine suggested that omega-3 may help prevent alcohol-related dementia.
Eric Ammann, of the University of Iowa and study author, told Medical News Today:
"We found that omega-3 levels were not associated with cognitive change over the course of the study, or with cognitive function at baseline.
Identifying interventions that might delay cognitive decline is an important goal, so a finding of no association is somewhat of a disappointment. But it's important that people have a clear idea of what works and what doesn't."
However, Ammann adds that the researchers do not recommend people change their diet based on these results:
"Our study was observational and should not be viewed as a definitive answer on the relationship between omega-3s and cognitive function. In making health-related decisions about diet and supplements, we would advise people to consider the total body of evidence and to consult with their healthcare providers."
Ammann told Medical News Today that it is likely more randomized trials of omega-3 supplements will be done, which will provide more definitive information on the relationship between omega-3s and cognitive function in older adults.
"In addition," he notes, "longitudinal studies that track people's dietary practices in middle age and later years may provide richer data on the effects of diet on long-term health outcomes."
Doug Brown, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, notes this is not the first study to suggest that omega-3 does not protect against cognitive decline, but he says the results of this study are inconclusive.
"It's important to note that the study looked at cognitive decline due to aging and not specifically at dementia, which is caused by diseases of the brain," he adds.
"Don't avoid your favorite fish supper or a handful of cashews on account of this research. The best thing people can do to try and reduce their risk of developing dementia is to eat a healthy, varied diet and take regular exercise."
Written by Honor Whiteman
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Antidepressants linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes
A new systematic review of published studies suggests when prescribing antidepressant medication, clinicians should be extra aware that they are linked to raised risk for type 2 diabetes, although the study does not suggest the drugs are the direct cause.
Reporting their findings in the latest issue of Diabetes Care, researchers from the University of Southampton say use of antidepressants has risen sharply over recent years, and there are concerns they may have an adverse effect on glucose metabolism.
They note 46.7 million prescriptions for antidepressants were issued in 2011 in the UK.
Antidepressant use has also soared in the US, where a 2011 study found they are now the third most widely prescribed group of drugs.
Several studies have shown that antidepressant use is linked to diabetes, but the results have been varied, depending on the methods and numbers involved and also on the types of drugs themselves.
For instance, one study that found a link between antidepressants and risk for type 2 diabetes discovered the risk almost doubled in patients using two types of drugs at the same time: tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Antidepressant users more likely to have type 2 diabetes
Acupuncture or counseling may help depression
Patients who suffer from depression may benefit more from acupuncture or counseling alongside their usual care, compared with usual care alone. This is according to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
Researchers from the University of York in the UK say that although many patients with depression are interested in receiving non-drug therapies, there is little evidence supporting the use of counseling or acupuncture to treat depression within a primary care environment.
For their study, the researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial of 755 patients with moderate to severe depression from 27 primary care practices in the north of England.
The patients were randomized to one of three treatment groups:
- 302 patients had 12 weekly sessions of acupuncture plus usual care
Soldiers: blast-related brain injuries cause pituitary problems
Estimates show that 19.5% of surviving US troops deployed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have sustained blast traumatic brain injuries (bTBIs) since 2001. And now, new research shows that these injuries can cause pituitary hormone problems.
A Medical Research Council (MRC) study, published in the journal Annals of Neurology, revealed that soldiers who have pituitary gland problems as a result of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) may experience psychological and metabolic symptoms, which get in the way of their recovery.
Researchers, led by Dr. Tony Goldstone, say identifying these soldiers will help to get them appropriate hormone replacement therapy.
To arrive at their results, the team looked at 19 soldiers in the UK with moderate or severe brain injuries that were caused by IED blasts while on duty in Afghanistan. These soldiers were compared with a group of 39 people with moderate or severe brain injuries caused by traffic accidents, falls or assaults.
USC scientists ID protein that regulates cellular trafficking, potential for anti-cancer therapy
Molecular microbiologists at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered intricate regulatory mechanisms within the cell that could lead to novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Their findings, which have long-standing significance in the basic understanding of cell biology, appear in the journal Nature Cell Biology. "Our research reveals a new regulatory mechanism that coordinates two distinct intracellular processes that are critical to cellular homeostasis and disease development," said Chengyu Liang, M.D., Ph.D...
One of the most fundamental changes in the pharma industry today to be discussed at Eyeforpharma Barcelona 2014, March, 18-20
Pharma Gathers to Discuss 'One of the Most Fundamental Changes in the Pharma Industry Today' Representatives from every global pharmaceutical company including UCB, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Bayer and Grunenthal will gather at an annual industry summit to determine the future of patient-centric healthcare, which some believe to be the most fundamental change to the system in decades...
Smartphone photography helps eye disease diagnosis
A US team has devised a smartphone system for capturing high quality photos of retinas to help diagnose eye diseases. The cheap and easy-to-use system could bring the advantages of affordable telemedicine to ophthalmology clinics.
The researchers, from Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, describe the new system and how they tested it in a recent online issue of Journal of Ophthalmology.
The study evaluated the smartphone system's ability to capture photographs of the "fundus," or retina, in human and rabbit eyes.
The equipment comprises a smartphone running an inexpensive app and instruments that can be found in any ophthalmic practice.
Taking photographs of the retina is an essential part of any ophthalmology practice. But current methods rely on fundus cameras that cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Such high price tags are out of reach for many small practices, especially in poorer countries.
The advent of smartphones is starting to change this. These cheap, mobile devices, armed with cameras of increasing quality, are now being used more and more by ophthalmologists to document eye conditions in patients.
'Cheaper and portable option'
Previous studies using Apple's built-in camera app in the iPhone have concluded its video capture is not good enough, as it cannot independently control focus and exposure during filming, which produces glare and results in poor images.
But the system the Massachusetts Eye and Ear team used overcomes this by using an iPhone 4 or iPhone 5 with a more advanced smartphone app, called "Filmic pro," which allows for independent control of focus, exposure and light intensity during filming.
They tested the smartphone's ability to capture retinal images with a 20D lens, with or without a Koeppe lens - a special dome-shaped lens ophthalmologists use to get a direct view of certain parts of the eye, for instance the chambers that are involved in regulating pressure in the eye.
"By using the coaxial light source of the phone, this system works as an indirect ophthalmoscope that creates a digital image of the fundus," they write.
After recording high-definition videos of the fundus or retina, the team was able to extract high-quality still images from the footage.
"Excellent images were acquired with the 20D lens alone in the clinic, and the addition of the Koeppe lens in the operating room resulted in the best quality images," they note.
They tested the system on children under anesthesia, awake adults, and rabbits, and they conclude the system was "able to take consistently high-quality fundus photographs in patients and in animals using readily available instruments that are portable with simple power sources."
Senior author Dr. Shizuo Mukai, a retina specialist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and associate professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, says:
"Our technique provides a simpler and higher quality method to more consistently produce excellent images of a patient's fundus."
He explains that the system has already proved useful in the emergency department, in consultations with in- patients, and during exams under anesthesia.
It provides "a cheaper and portable option for high-quality fundus-image acquisition for documentation and consultation," he adds, noting that it is also well tolerated in awake patients, something he attributes to the fact the light intensity is "often well below that which is used in standard indirect ophthalmoscopy."
Technique 'simple to master'
The team says even first year ophthalmology residents were able to master the new system quite quickly.
Dr. Mukai adds:
"This technique is relatively inexpensive and simple to master, and takes advantage of the expanding mobile- telephone networks for telemedicine."
He also expects the image quality will improve as smartphones with higher resolution cameras gain larger sensors and improved image stabilization.
In 2011, Dutch researchers who carried out a feasibility study of remote diagnosis via camera phones in Uganda, suggested that a 2 megapixel camera would be good enough to capture a clear microscopy image that could be sent to a website for confirmation and additional analysis by a specialist.
And more recently, another group in the US has created a portable smartphone "microscope," which can detect viruses and material less than one-thousandth of the width of a human hair.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Better pain management for patients with dementia
Health care systems need to manage chronic pain better in people with dementia and dispel the notion that people with dementia feel less pain, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "Any notion that people with dementia feel pain less should be dismissed," writes Dr. Ken Flegel, Senior Editor, CMAJ. "Chronic pain is at least as prevalent among people with dementia (up to half) as it is among other elderly people." Chronic pain among people with dementia is often undetected and therefore poorly managed...
Should we carry out mental health screening on schoolchildren?
On bmj.com, a visiting scholar at the Feinberg School of Medicine suggests that mental health screening is carried out in primary schools to enable early identification and potentially save money. In a personal view, Dr Simon Williams agrees with a recent BMJ study which suggests that further research of cognitive behavioural therapy programmes in schools is required. He also believes that school is the most appropriate setting for the identification of mental health problems in younger children...
Should hospitals offer all patients single rooms?
The Scottish government has decided that all new hospitals should have 100% single rooms to offer privacy and reduce hospital acquired infections. On bmj.com, two experts debate the issue. Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, argues that single rooms in hospitals "are important in preventing and controlling healthcare associated infections." They also increase patients' privacy dignity, and confidentiality, as well as facilitating family involvement in patient care and increasing the opportunities for treatment at the bedside, he adds...
Alcohol-related violence dependent on drinking 'context'
Although a high volume and frequency of drinking has been linked to an increase in violence toward a loved one, new research suggests that the context in which drinking occurs can play a role in violence against partners.
Researchers from the Prevention Research Center, California, and Arizona State University analyzed 1,585 couples from over 50 medium-to-large cities across California.
The study, published in the journal Addiction, required each individual to provide information regarding male-to-female and female-to-male intimate partner violence (IPV), drinking contexts and psychosocial and demographic factors.
Individuals were asked to provide information about their drinking volumes in six different contexts:
- Restaurants
- Bars
- Parties at another person's home
- With friends at home
- A quiet evening at home, and
- At parks or other public places.
Results from the analysis revealed that men drinking at parties and bars away from home, and women drinking in parks and public places, were both linked to increased male-to-female partner violence.
Men who drank during quiet evenings at home were linked to increased female-to-male violence.
Additionally, it was found that higher frequency of drinking with friends at home was linked to decreased male-to-female and female-to-male partner violence.
Higher volumes of drinking with friends at home, however, was linked to increased male-to-female and female-to-male partner violence.
The study authors say:
"The analyses presented in this paper indicate that both frequency of drinking and excessive drinking in certain contexts are important predictors of context-specific patterns.
This more nuanced interpretation of the total volume results indicates a need to consider what occurs within drinking contexts, besides alcohol consumption, that might trigger partner aggression."
They note that from a prevention perspective, it is likely easier to encourage a partner to alter their choices regarding alcohol consumption in particular contexts, such as limiting opportunities to drink, rather than trying to influence the amount they drink once in those contexts.
The study authors point out that although the alcohol-IPV link is well-established, this study adds to existing research by using a "dose-response" model to distinguish the influence of each partner's frequency of drinking in specific venues, and the amount consumed in each context in relation to IPV.
"A better understanding of the social interactions that occur in certain environments, and subsequent behaviors, will contribute to understanding what aspects of environments might be amenable to change, and subsequent decreases in problem behaviors such as partner violence," they add.
"The findings, therefore, have critical implications for the prevention of alcohol-related IPV."
Medical News Today recently reported on a study which suggested that alcohol neither causes depression, nor prevents it.
Written by Honor Whiteman
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
How economic development might influence teen obesity, public health
When it comes to addressing the obesity epidemic, fast food restaurants are a favorite target, with some communities, such as the city of Los Angeles, going so far as to ban the construction of new, standalone fast food restaurants in neighborhoods with a high density of fast food restaurants that are also plagued by a high obesity rate. But according to a new study coauthored by Michael Bader, an assistant professor of sociology at American University in Washington, D.C...
Dextrose gel could treat hypoglycemia in newborns
A new study suggests that dextrose gel should be used to treat low blood sugars in newborn babies (neonatal-hypoglycemia) - a common and preventable cause of brain damage.
Dextrose gel is an oral glucose gel, already used as form of treatment for reversal of hypoglycemia in diabetics. But researchers from New Zealand say the gel could be a cheap, effective and easy-to-use treatment for hypoglycemic newborn infants.
At present, treatment for late preterm and term babies suffering from hypoglycemia involves additional feeding and repeated blood tests in order to measure blood sugar levels.
However, many babies are admitted to intensive care and given intravenous glucose as a result of continuous low blood sugar levels.
According to the Yale School of Medicine, around 1 in 3 newborn babies suffer from hypoglycemia. Newborns are at higher risk of the condition if the mother is diabetic, if they are small for their gestational age, or if they are growth-restricted, preterm or born under significant stress.
Severe or prolonged hypoglycemia in newborns could lead to seizures and serious brain injury.
Dextrose gel 'more effective than feeding alone'
The study, published in The Lancet, involved analyzing 514 babies at high risk of hypoglycemia aged 35 weeks' gestation or older. All newborns were enrolled in the study within 48 hours after birth.
Of the newborns, 242 (47%) developed hypoglycemia and were randomly assigned to a treatment of either a 40% dextrose gel or a placebo gel. Six doses were administered over 48 hours by applying the gel to the inside of the babies' cheeks (buccal).
Newborn babies who were treated with dextrose gel revealed a blood glucose concentration of less than 2.6 mmol/L 30 minutes following the second of two doses of gel - showing almost half the risk of treatment failure, compared with the newborns who were treated with the placebo.
Furthermore, babies treated with dextrose gel were less likely to be admitted to intensive care as a result of hypoglycemia, less likely to need additional formula feeds, and were less likely to be formula fed at 2 weeks.
Professor Jane Harding, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, says:
"Our study is the first report in babies showing that dextrose gel massaged into the inside of the cheek is more effective than feeding alone for treating hypoglycemia, and is safe and simple to use.
Dextrose gel treatment costs roughly $2 per baby and could help reduce admissions to neonatal intensive care for treatment with intravenous glucose - not only reducing costs but importantly, keeping mothers and babies together to encourage breastfeeding."
Prof. Harding adds that because the treatment is inexpensive and easy to administer, it should be considered as a first-line treatment of late preterm and term hypoglycemic infants in the first 48 hours after birth.
"[Dextrose gel] can easily be made in the hospital pharmacy, and is stable at room temperature. Therefore, the gel could also be useful in resource-poor settings where hypoglycemia is common and underdiagnosed," she adds.
'Future research needed'
In a linked comment following the study, Neil Marlow, of the Institute for Women's Health at University College London in the UK, says that there is now high-quality evidence that buccal dextrose gel is of value and should be "part of the response to the triggering of treatment."
He notes, however, that further research is needed to refine "operational definitions" of the level of blood glucose that should trigger treatment response:
"Until more information is available, practice will continue to be based on uncertain facts. However, use of buccal dextrose gel should help to minimize unnecessary interventions."
Written by Honor Whiteman
Copyright: Medical News Today
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