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NHS Patients To Benefit From New Measures To Improve Access To Drugs, UK

2009-03-03T14:00:00.000+02:00

A package of measures designed to speed up access to new drugs and treatments for NHS patients, was announced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Health Minister Lord Darzi today.

The four proposed changes will ensure that more NHS patients receive the life-saving, clinically and cost effective drugs and treatments they need faster. It will also ensure that where NICE guidance has not yet been issued for a new drug or treatment the local NHS makes more robust and transparent decisions about what treatments it will fund.

The measures announced today by Lord Darzi and NICE are:

- A consultation on a new and faster system for referring drugs to NICE for appraisal - proposals will enable NICE to issue more timely guidance, in turn giving patients faster access to drugs and treatments.

- An additional new appraisal committee - to ensure that NICE has the capacity it needs to appraise new drugs and treatments as promptly as possible;

- Increased investment in "horizon scanning" to ensure that new drugs are identified early on for appraisal; and

- A guidance document for the NHS - detailing good practice on how decisions on new drugs should be made by Primary Care Trusts where there is no existing NICE guidance . This will be supported by a programme of training and support to assist theNHS to implement the guidance.

Announcing the package of measures, Health Minister, Lord Darzi, said:

"Last year in High Quality Care for All I set out our commitment to speed up the NICE process. Together, the measures set out today build on this commitment and will help provide faster and fairer access to new drugs and treatments - great news for patients.

We are delighted to be working in partnership with NICE to ensure that new drugs and treatments are assessed sooner and more quickly in future, leading to improved and higher quality care for patients.

"The guidance for PCTs will help the NHS to ensure that local decisions are robust and transparent, leading to more consistency in those exceptional cases where there is no existing NICE guidance."

Chief Executive of NICE, Andrew Dillon, said:

"This is an important consultation on the way that topics are chosen and referred for NICE's world-leading appraisals of new drugs and treatments. We are very keen to ensure that our guidance is produced as quickly as possible to benefit patients and the NHS.

"Speeding up non-cancer appraisals by at least three months to come in to line with the cancer appraisals, and increasing transparency by clarifying topic selection criteria, are just some of the potential improvements we and the Department of Health are suggesting.

"The views of patients, the public, health professionals and other stakeholders on the proposed changes to the topic selection process will be very helpful, and we look forward to receiving their comments."

The consultation on the proposed changes to the NICE topic selection will run for 3 months whilst the guidance to PCTs will be issued to the NHS with immediate effect.

The new appraisal process which will be consulted on will include the following:

- New joint DH/NICE exclusion and prioritisation criteria for technology appraisals. The new criteria apply to both cancer and non-cancer appraisals. We believe these new criteria will allow NICE to operate the early stage of the process with less DH involvement.

- No "minded" referral stage for any technology appraisal topics. This change will mean there is a single point of Ministerial referral for all drugs.

- Smaller, more frequent batches of topics referred to NICE, up to 6 times a year rather than 3 times as now.

The consultation document can be downloaded from http://www.nice.org.uk/getinvolved

The additional investment in "horizon scanning" capacity will be through the Department of Health's existing contract with the University of Birmingham. The guidance to PCTs sets out in detail the framework for rational decision-making and contains realistic examples of processes that are seen to be working in the NHS. It is intended to be an evolving document, which will be modified to take account of experience. It can be accessed on the National Prescribing Centre's website http://www.npc.co.uk

The measures also support the implementation of the recommendations in Mike Richard's review on the funding of additional private care. Following his review new guidance was issued to the NHS which made clear that the NHS should not withdraw treatment from the few patients who still choose to pay privately for drugs which are not funded by the local NHS

National Prescribing Centre

Carcinoid Cancer Foundation Sets Sights On Raising Awareness

2009-03-03T12:00:00.000+02:00

Several high-profile cancers are infamous for being silent killers - but they are not the only cancers that catch victims by surprise. Carcinoid cancer can go undetected for many years. Over 90% of all carcinoid/neuroendocrine tumor (NET) patients are initially incorrectly diagnosed and treated for the wrong disease. Carcinoid cancers are frequently diagnosed accidentally.

Carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) grow slowly and are found mostly in the gastrointestinal system, but can be in other body parts like the pancreas and lung. It usually takes many years before they cause symptoms. If the disease manifests in advanced stages, it can be deadly. Caught early, however, carcinoid cancer can often be managed or treated, an option not fully realized within the medical community or patient circles, according to Sharon Devereaux, the newly appointed president/CEO of the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation(TM) (CCF, http://www.carcinoid.org). Increasing awareness of this disease and opportunities for early detection are an integral part of the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation's mission, and Devereaux's initiatives include intensification of efforts to accomplish these goals.

"Carcinoid cancer occasionally creeps into the headlines, usually when some public figure is living with it or passes away," Devereaux says. "But that's where the news value ends because it's perceived as rare - 110,000 U.S. patients are experiencing carcinoid cancer today. However, new research and anecdotal evidence suggests that it's more widespread than is documented, yet it's tough to provide treatment because established opportunities for early-diagnostic testing don't exist."

Richard R.P. Warner, MD, Medical Director of CCF and one of the world's leading experts on these rare cancers, explains "that although a number of new drugs are being developed and tested, at present the only cure for carcinoid/NETs is dependent on early detection and surgery before these cancers have spread from their original site of origin." The CCF is a non-profit organization that strives to encourage and support research, in addition to educating the general public and healthcare professionals, about carcinoid cancer and NETs. Recently, the CCF has drawn attention to its cause through its "Zebra Ball - Stars for Stripes" (http://www.thezebraball.com), an annual benefit event held at The Peninsula Chicago to support The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation(tm). This year's ball, so named because zebra stripes symbolize "camouflaged" conditions, featured the stories of carcinoid cancer patient Don Meyer, Northern State University's (Aberdeen, S.D.) basketball coach, and cancer survivor Kari Jones of Indianapolis. The gala coincided with Valentine's Day, which has been designated by Mayor Richard Daley as Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Day in Chicago.

For more information or to donate, visit http://www.carcinoid.org or http://www.firstgiving.com/carcinoid.

About the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation(TM)

The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation(TM) is a non-profit organization chartered by the State of New York in 1968 for the purpose of encouraging and supporting research and education on carcinoid and related neuroendocrine cancers.

Carcinoid Cancer Foundation

Research And Markets: Lymphoma Drug Pipeline Update 2009

2009-03-02T12:00:00.000+02:00

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Lymphoma Drug Pipeline Update 2009" report to their offering.

Lymphoma is a broad term encompassing a variety of cancers of the lymphatic system. There are today more than 200 therapeutics targeting lymphoma in active development, from early preclinical to marketed drugs. In addition, the accumulated number of ceased drugs over the last three years amount to another 50 drugs.

Lymphoma Drug Pipeline Update lists all drugs and gives you a progress analysis on each one of them. Identified drugs are linked to 123 different targets. These targets are further categorized on the CD-ROM by 44 classifications of molecular function and with pathway referrals to BioCarta, KEGG and NetPath. Read more below on how the Lymphoma Drug Pipeline Update is organized.

How May Drug Pipeline Update Be of Use?

- Show investors/board/management that you are right on top of drug development progress in your therapeutic area.

- Find competitors, collaborations partners, M&A candidates etc.

- Jump start competitive drug intelligence operations

- Excellent starting point for worldwide benchmarking

- Compare portfolio and therapy focus with your peers

- Speed up pro-active in-/out licensing strategy work

- Fast and easy way of tracking drugs using search engines; just one click from inside the application and you may search the World Wide Web and PubMed for any drug.

- Drug Pipeline Update is delivered to you as a CD-ROM application, which requires no installation on your computer. Please read more about application features and system requirements below.

For more information visit here.

Research and Markets

Obese Children Should Have Gastric Bands To Manage Diabetes Says UK Expert

2009-03-02T10:00:00.000+02:00

A UK expert is recommending, on the basis of a study, that obese children from the age of 15 onwards who have weight-related diabetes should have gastric bands fitted to make their stomachs much smaller so they lose weight. This should be a last resort because there are serious health risks, and should only be considered when all other methods, such as diet and exercise, have failed.

Weight loss is a recognized way of controlling diabetes, but recent research shows children find it difficult to stick to a strict diet and exercise programme.

The Daily Telegraph reported today, Monday 2 March, that Professor Julian Shield of Bristol University and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, who did a weight loss study of 73 teenagers with type 2 diabetes and found they had increased rather than reduced their weight over 12 months, told the press on Sunday that:

"We have reached the point where it is necessary because of the significant threat of mortality and the morbidity of this disease. There needs to be a formal scientific trial of this method in adolescents."

He said the children they see with type 2 diabetes find it very hard to lose weight by other means and they have all the health problems they see in adults with diabetes.

"They are suffering high blood sugars, they are hypertensive and they have high blood fats. Their health is seriously at risk," said Shield.

A gastric band is an inflatable silicone ring that a surgeon fits around the top of the stomach. The idea is that with a smaller stomach the person can't eat as much. It costs the NHS about 2,500 pounds per procedure. The fatality rate is less than one per cent but up to 10 per cent of patients can have serious complications.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, Shield said that diabetic adults can lose 60 to 70 per cent of their excess weight with gastric banding, which he recommended in preference to gastric bypass surgery because it has fewer potential complications. He said research from the US suggested gastric banding was effective in 90 per cent of cases of adolescents aged 18 and 19.

In the UK doctors have tended to use diet and exercise to help obese diabetic children lose weight, but Shield said this was "tinkering around the edges" and gastric banding was a potential cure for these patients.

Cases of type 2 diabetes have been rising steeply in Britain in line with obesity, although typically a disease of middle age, it is now happening in all age groups. 17 per cent of British children are now obese, about 900,000 in total, said Shield, and about 1,400 of them have type 2 diabetes, at a rate of 100 new cases a year.

A representative of the National Obesity Forum told the Daily Mail that he supported Shield's suggestion.

GP Dr David Haslam told the paper that:

"The epidemic of obesity has reached a desperate place when we are talking about a 15-year-old having surgery but that is the situation we are in, because having type 2 diabetes will knock at least 20 years off their lives."

Gastric banding has been available through the NHS for children under 18 since 2006, but it is only used in very rare cases.

Click here for NHS information on Obesity Treatment.

Sources: Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Obama Administration Expected To Begin Process Of Rescinding HHS Conscience Rule

2009-03-01T10:00:00.000+02:00

The Obama administration is expected to begin the process to rescind the HHS provider "conscience" rule, two months after former President George W. Bush's administration enacted the rule in one of its final policy initiatives, the Los Angeles Times reports. The rule prohibits the allocation of federal funds to health entities that do not accommodate workers who refuse to provide health services or information they object to on moral or religious grounds. Seven states and two family-planning groups have filed lawsuits challenging the rule, claiming that it emphasizes the religious beliefs of medical providers at the expense of patients' health. Some critics also oppose the broad language of the rule, which states that it covers any "activity related in any way to providing medicine, health care and other service relative to health and welfare." Supporters of the regulation maintain that the rule is needed to protect health workers who object to providing certain services, such as prescribing birth control or emergency contraception.

The Times reports that Obama, who supports abortion rights, has been expected to overturn several Bush administration policies that restrict access to reproductive health services. At the same time, Obama "has also been sensitive to the explosiveness of the reproductive rights issue," according to the Times. For example, last month Obama, "without official ceremony," rescinded the "Mexico City" policy, which banned U.S. funding for international groups that use their own funds to provide abortion information or services, the Times reports. According to the Times, HHS' plan to overturn the conscience rule "is being made equally quietly as most of Washington focuses on the president's blockbuster budget plan."

Officials on Thursday said the administration plans to allow a standard 30-day comment period on the conscience rule before it finalizes the decision to overturn the rule. According to one official, who was not authorized to speak on the record about the policy, the administration believes that the rule "is a complex issue that requires a thoughtful process where all voices can be heard." According to officials, the administration is considering drafting a new rule that would clarify what services health workers could reasonably refuse to provide. The officials said the administration aims to clarify the rule rather than to compel physicians to provide abortions. According to one official, the Bush administration's rule "created confusion about the scope and original intent of the law." The official continued, "Not only does it make it harder for women to get the care they need, but it is worded so vaguely, that some have argued it could limit counseling, family planning, even blood transfusions and end-of-life care" (Levey, Los Angeles Times, 2/27).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Siemens Sets A New Standard For Breast Ultrasound

2009-02-28T14:00:00.000+02:00

New automated breast ultrasound system automatically acquires volumes and offers intelligent clinical applications. Siemens Healthcare recently introduced the Acuson S2000 Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS), the first multi-use ultrasound breast system that automatically acquires volume images of the breast. Thanks to the user-independent, standardized image acquisition, the system is ideally suited for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer with ultrasound - especially for women with dense breast tissue.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine1, dense breast tissue increases the risk of breast cancer for a woman up to five-fold. While mammography remains the method of choice in breast cancer screening, a study published by the RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) in 20022 showed that the detection rate for non-palpable, invasive breast cancer increased by 42 percent when mammography was followed by an ultrasound examination.

"I am convinced that automatic ultrasound volume imaging with the Acuson S2000 ABVS can make a significant contribution in diagnostic confidence for women with dense breast tissue or inconclusive mammography findings," said Klaus Hambüchen, CEO, Ultrasound at Siemens Healthcare. Examinations performed with the Acuson S2000 ABVS technique generally take less than 15 minutes. "Time well spent if you consider the extended diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound in dense breasts."

Coronal anatomical view

The system quickly and comfortably acquires and surveys full-field sonographic volume images that provide a more comprehensive overview of the breast. Included is the intuitive, anatomical coronal plane of the breast (from the nipple to the breast wall), which is not available with conventional ultrasound imaging. This view provides a more understandable representation of the global anatomy and architecture of the breast.

The system's automatic image acquisition significantly improves the workflow of a breast ultrasound examination. While hand held examinations usually take up to 30 minutes, with the Acuson S2000 ABVS, the exam can be performed in less than 15 minutes. Semi-automated reporting and comprehensive BI-RADS® ultrasound reporting capabilities further enhance the clinical workflow. This Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) is a classification of the American College of Radiology (ACR) for reporting mammography screenings.

To further optimize high-volume patient care, the system also supports innovative breast imaging applications, such as Fatty Tissue and eSie Touch elasticity imaging. All of these applications help increase diagnostic confidence, while at the same time reducing examination and waiting time for the patient. The new system is an all-round system for ultrasound breast care, from early detection, to diagnosis to aftercare.

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the largest suppliers of healthcare technology in the world. The company is a medical solution provider with core competences and innovative strengths in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as knowledge processing, including information technology and system integration. With its acquisitions in laboratory diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare is the first integrated healthcare company that combines imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy solutions and medical information technology and also supplements these with consultation and services. Siemens Healthcare offers solutions for the entire supply chain under one roof - from prevention and early detection to diagnosis and on to treatment and aftercare. In addition, Siemens Healthcare is the global market leader for innovative hearing instruments. The company employs some 49,000 employees worldwide and is present in more than 130 countries. During fiscal 2008 (ending on September 30), Siemens Healthcare achieved sales of 11.17 billion euros and incoming orders totaling 11.78 billion euros. The Sector profit from operations amounted to 1.23 billion euros.

For more information, go to: www.siemens.com/healthcare

1 N Engl J Med 356;3. Boyd N.F. et Al., Mammographic Density and the Risk and Detection of Breast Cancer 2 Radiology 2002;225:165-175. Kolb T.M. et Al., Comparison of the Performance of Screening

Mammography, Physical Examination, and Breast US and Evaluation of Factors that Influence Them: An Analysis of 27,825 Patient Evaluations

Don't Confuse FEN Death And Investigation With Aid In Dying

2009-02-28T13:00:00.000+02:00

The media has recently reported the arrest of individuals associated with a group known as Final Exit Network (FEN) on charges of assisting a suicide in Arizona, and attempting to engage in similar activity in Georgia. The cases reported in the media this week involving FEN ought not be confused with the choice of aid in dying.

Media accounts of the facts suggest that the Arizona decedent was not terminally ill and may have suffered from impaired judgment and/or mental illness.

It is important to recognize the difference between the choice of a mentally competent, terminally ill patient for a peaceful death via self-administering medications prescribed for this purpose, and the act of a distraught individual who is not dying, who may be suffering from impaired judgment or mental illness, to precipitate death. The former is a practice known as aid in dying, which has strong and growing support among the public and among medical and health policy professionals. The latter is suicide. It is essential to recognize the difference between these.

In 2008, four major national medical professional and health policy organizations adopted policy in support of aid in dying, the practice of a physician providing a prescription to a mentally competent, terminally ill patient that brings about a peaceful death. This represents a significant turning point in American society's evolution to empower terminally ill patients with information and choices about how they will die.

The organizations adopting policy in support of aid in dying include the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA), the American Medical Students' Association (AMSA), the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM), and the American Public Health Association (APHA).

The Oregon Death with Dignity Act (Dignity Act) began implementation in 1998. This law permits mentally competent individuals who have less than six months to live to obtain a prescription for medication that can be self-administered to bring about a peaceful death. It has been implemented without interruption since 1998.

Under the Dignity Act, patients must follow a strict set of procedures to establish eligibility. A physician must determine that the patient has a life expectancy of less than six months; this diagnosis must be confirmed by a second opinion. The patient must make multiple requests, waiting at least fifteen days between the first and last request, must establish capacity to make medical decisions, and must be informed of palliative care options such as hospice, if not already receiving such services. If all of these procedures are followed, and the patient is deemed eligible by the physician to obtain the life-ending medication, an Oregon physician can provide the requested prescription. During the decade that aid in dying has been legal in Oregon, close to 30 terminally ill individuals each year have gone through the process, obtained and taken the medication, and died peacefully. Those present at these deaths, usually close family members, report that the patient was enormously relieved to be able to make this choice. On a date chosen by the patient, loved ones may gather around for a final goodbye.

The patient consumes the medication, becomes drowsy, falls deeply asleep, and after a short period of time ceases to breathe. The long road from diagnosis to curative treatment to palliative care to death has ended on terms acceptable to the patient. More patients obtain the medication than go on to use it: some fraction each year receive the medication, put it in the medicine cabinet, feel comforted to know it is there, and never take it.

Demographic data about the patients who choose to use the Dignity Act show that most are dying of cancer. The next most common terminal illness is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Those using the law are insured, well educated, and are receiving comprehensive pain and symptom management, typically through hospice services. Opponents of the Dignity Act legislation had argued that such a law would be forced upon the uninsured, the poor, minorities, persons without access to hospice, or disabled persons. The data have disproved this conjecture.

In addition, a number of unexpected but significant developments occurred in Oregon following implementation of the Dignity Act. Referral of patients to hospice care increased dramatically, as did physician enrollment in continuing education courses on how to treat pain and symptoms associated with terminal illness. It is likely that physicians want to ensure that no patient makes use of the Dignity Act due to inadequate pain and symptom management. This galvanized both the increase in hospice referrals and physician efforts to learn more about treating pain and symptoms.

Voters in the state of Washington considered the issue in 2008 and adopted the Washington Death with Dignity Act by the significant margin of 59% to 41%. The Washington measure is virtually identical to Oregon's and will begin implementation on March 5, 2009.

As a result of a court case, Montana recently recognized that the freedom of its terminally ill citizens to choose aid in dying is a fundamental right protected by its state constitution's guarantees of privacy and dignity.

Public support for empowering dying patients with the freedom to choose aid in dying is strong. A Harris poll in 2005 found that 70% of U.S. adults favor a law that would "allow doctors to comply with the wishes of a dying patient in severe distress who asks to have his or her life ended."

When a patient does not feel able to discuss the desire for aid in dying with his or her physician, or cannot find a physician willing to provide it, the patient may seek assistance in hastening death from a family member or loved one. Unfortunately, these incidents often involve a violent means to death, such as gunshot.

A fraction of terminally ill patients - including those who have excellent pain and symptom management - confront a dying process so prolonged and marked by such extreme suffering and deterioration that they decide aid in dying is preferable to the alternatives. Having this option harms no one, and greatly benefits both the relatively few patients in extremis who make use of it and many more who draw comfort from knowing it is available should their dying process become intolerable. The trend in policy among mainstream medical and health policy associations is clearly in favor of supporting this compassionate option.

For more information please visit http://www.compassionandchoices.org.

Discovery Provides Hope For Sufferers Of Disfiguring Bone Disease

2009-02-28T10:00:00.000+02:00

Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have made a major genetic discovery that could lead to the effective treatment for sufferers of craniosynostosis - a severe childhood bone disease.

Craniosynostosis develops in the womb and affects one in every 2500 live births. Bones in the skulls and face of sufferers fuse together prematurely causing a range of distressing developmental problems. Some of the affected children also suffer from defects in the limbs, brain, kidneys and lungs. Depending on the severity of their disease and its underlying cause, children suffering with craniosynostosis survive from as little as a few days to as long as early adulthood.

Led by Dr Mohammad Hajihosseini, the UEA scientists focused on Apert Syndrome - the most severe of the craniosynostosis range of diseases that is caused by mutations in a gene called Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 2 (FGFR2). They identified a key offending molecule FGF10 and demonstrated for the first time that 'dampening down' the levels of this offending molecule can reverse the effects of the disease.

Published this month in the journal 'Developmental Dynamics', the findings are the culmination of five years work and vastly increase our understanding of this tragic childhood disease.

"The next step is to research how best to translate this discovery into an effective treatment," said Dr Hajihosseini. "Given the appropriate funding, in the not too distant future a gel or similar vehicle could be developed that can be surgically applied to the fusing joints of the skull thus reversing the effects of the disease."

University of East Anglia

http://www.uea.ac.uk

Alzheimer's Plaques Play Bigger Role

2009-02-27T16:00:00.000+02:00

Researchers in the US studying mice with and without amyloid-beta plaques in their brains (the plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease) found that contrary to current thinking, the plaques don't just damage the neurons they are close to but may well affect signalling in other parts of the brain through their influence on extensive networks of astrocyte brain cells.

The study was the work of researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND) at Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown, and is published in the 27 February online issue of Science.

Simply speaking, mammals have two main types of brain cell: neurons that send electrical and chemical signals and glia cells that support, control, and look after them. An astrocyte is a type of star-shaped glia cell that not only provides passive support to neurons, but as scientists discovered in the 1990s, they also send signals using calcium ions that move from cell to cell like waves, and these waves can travel a long way in the brain.

Astrocytes are found everywhere in the brain and they account for about half the volume of it.

Plaques are left over bits of cell that clump together and stick to neurons, disrupting their ability to send signals; they are more common in older brains and one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

The authors explained in their background information that although we already know that senile plaques disrupt the neurons they stick to (focal disruption), we don't know much about how astrocytes behave in Alzheimer's disease. With this study they showed that senile plaques make astrocytes hyperactive; not just the ones nearby, but also others quite far away from the focal neuron site.

Lead author Kishore Kuchibhotla of MGH-MIND told the press:

"Our work suggests that amyloid plaques might have a more complex role in altering brain function than we had thought."

"Plaques develop rapidly and have been shown to cause relatively acute, localized neuro-toxicity," he added, explaining that their work shows astrocytes "could provide a network mechanism that may stretch the impact of plaques to more distant areas of the brain."

For this study Kuchibhotla and colleagues used a method called "multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy" to measure and trace the calcium waves travelling along astrocyte networks in the brains of gentically altered laboratory mice with and without some of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, such as the amyloid-beta plaques. (Using a dye they "labelled" astrocytes so that when they were active they lit up and when they switched off they went dark).

They found that resting calcium levels were high throughout the astrocyte network in mice with plaques, not just where they happened to be near individual plaques.

Using time-lapsed images they found that changes in calcium waves in astrocytes were more frequent and synchronized across long distances and uncoupled from what was happening near the neurons.

The researchers also found some rare calcium waves travelling between cells: these were only present in mice with amyloid-beta plaques and the waves appeared to start near plaques and spread radially from them for at least 200 micrometers.

They concluded that:

"Although neurotoxicity is observed near amyloid-[beta] deposits, there exists a more general astrocyte-based network response to focal pathology."

Kuchibhotla said that:

"This is the first clear evidence in a live animal model that amyloid plaques perturb calcium signaling across the astrocyte network via a neuron-independent mechanism."

"It has been suggested that these intercellular calcium waves, which previously had been observed only in response to some sort of external stimulus, indicate the existence of or response to a traumatic insult," he added, explaining that while their results support this idea, what we still don't know is whether the calcium signals they observed actually protect or harm cells.

"We've only begun to scratch the surface of how plaque deposition impacts astrocyte function," said Kuchibhotla.

An important question for future research will be how the increased activity of astrocytes affects the ways neurons work, and another will be whether it increases or limits the formation of plaques.

"Synchronous Hyperactivity and Intercellular Calcium Waves in Astrocytes in Alzheimer Mice."

Kishore V. Kuchibhotla, Carli R. Lattarulo, Bradley T. Hyman, and Brian J. Bacskai.

Science 2009, 323 (5918), 1211 published online 27 February 2009.

DOI: 10.1126/science.1169096

Click here for Abstract.

Sources: Journal abstract, Massachusetts General Hospital press statement.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Mesoblast Limited Presents Positive Adult Stem Cell Results To American Academy Of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS)

2009-02-27T12:00:00.000+02:00

Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB)(PINK:MBLTY) Australia's regenerative medicine company today announced that three separate papers disclosing clinical and preclinical trial results were presented this week to orthopaedic specialists attending the 55th annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS). The meetings, underway in Las Vegas, attract an estimated 15,000 orthopedic healthcare professionals from around the world.

A major highlight at the AAOS was the invited presentation given by Mr Richard de Steiger, the Principal Investigator of Mesoblast's long bone non-union clinical trial at The Royal Melbourne Hospital. Mr de Steiger presented the positive results from the company's successful trial in 10 patients treated with the proprietary adult stem cells for non-healing fractures of the tibia and femur.

At the ORS, Dr Tony Goldschlager of Mo! nash University in Melbourne presented results from preclinica! l trials showing that Mesoblast's allogeneic, or "off-the-shelf", cells were safe and highly effective for interbody fusion of the cervical spine in the neck.

Also at the ORS, Professor Peter Ghosh presented preclinical results which showed that a single injection of Mesoblast's allogeneic cells into knee joints with pre-existing osteoarthritis reduced disease progression and supported reconstitution of knee joint cartilage six months after administration.

Mesoblast will continue to ensure that its clinical achievements and cutting edge research are highlighted and recognised at respected and prestigious conferences, meetings attended by key opinion leaders, and peer-reviewed publications.

About Mesoblast Limited

Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB)(USOTC:MBLTY) is an Australian biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for orthopaedic conditions, including the rapid commercialisation of a unique adult stem cell technology aimed at the regeneration and repair of bone and cartilage. Our focus is to progress through clinical trials and international regulatory processes necessary to commercialise the technology in as short a timeframe as possible.

Mesoblast has the worldwide exclusive rights for a series of patents and technologies that have been developed over more than 10 years and which relate to the identification, extraction and culture of adult Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs). The Company has also acquired a substantial interest in Angioblast Systems Inc, an American company developing the platform MPC technology for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including repair and regeneration of blood vessels and heart muscle. Mesoblast and Angioblast are jointly funding and progressing the core technology. Mesoblast's strategy is to maximise shareholder value through both corporate partnerships and the rapid and successful completion of clinical milestones.

Mesoblast Limited

Experimental Vaccine Protects Animals From Deadly Ebola Virus; May Prove Effective In Developing The First Human Vaccine

2009-02-27T10:00:00.000+02:00

Protection against Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, can be achieved by a vaccine produced in insect cells, raising prospects for developing an effective vaccine for humans, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.

"The findings are significant in that the vaccine is not only extremely safe and effective, but it is also produced by a method already established in the pharmaceutical industry," says SFBR's Ricardo Carrion, Ph.D., one of the primary authors of the study. "The ability to produce the vaccine efficiently is attractive in that production can be scaled up quickly in the case of an emergency and doses can be produced economically."

The new study was published in the January 2009 issue of the journal Virology, and was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Jean Patterson, Ph.D., also of SFBR, participated in the research.

Ebola viruses, which cause severe bleeding and a high fatality rate in up to 90 percent of patients, have no effective treatment or vaccine. Since its first identification in Africa in 1987, Ebola outbreaks have caused some 1,800 human infections and 1,300 deaths. Outbreaks have become increasingly frequent in recent years, and are likely to be caused by contact with infected animals followed by spread among humans through close person-to-person contacts. Ebola viruses cause acute infection in humans, usually within four to 10 days. Symptoms include headache, chill, muscle pain, followed by weight loss, delirium shock, massive bleeding and organ failure leading to death in two to three weeks.

Ebola viruses are considered a dangerous threat to public health because of their high fatality rate, ability to transmit person-to-person, and low lethal infectious dose. Moreover, their potential to be developed into biological weapons causes grave concern for their use as a bioterrorism agent. While some vaccines show protection in non-human primate studies, the strategies used may not be uniformly effective in the general human population due to pre-existing immunity to the virus-based vaccines.

In the new study, a vaccine using Ebola virus-like particles (VLPs) was produced in insect cells using traditional bio-engineering techniques and injected into laboratory mice. A VLP vaccine is based upon proteins produced in the laboratory that assemble into a particle that, to the human immune system, looks like the virus but cannot cause disease.

Two high-dose VLP immunizations produced a high level immune response in mice. And when the twice-immunized mice were given a lethal dose of Ebola virus, they were completely protected from the disease. In contrast, mice that were not immunized had a very low immune system response and became infected. In another experiment, a three low-dose VLP immunization effectively boosted immune system response in mice and protected them against the Ebola virus. This finding is important because it demonstrates that since the vaccine produces immunization in dilute quantities, many more vaccine doses can be generated compared with a poorly immunogenic vaccine.

VLPs are attractive candidates for vaccine development because they lack viral genomic material and thus are not infectious, are safe for broad application, and can be administered repeatedly to vaccinated individuals to boost immune responses.

The findings will be validated in additional animal systems. The vaccine will then undergo FDA safety and efficacy testing prior to use in humans in potentially five years.

Collaborators on the study included Richard Compans, Ph.D., and Chinglai Yang, Ph.D., of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

SFBR is one of the world's leading independent biomedical research institutions dedicated to advancing health worldwide through innovative biomedical research. Located on a 332-acre campus on the northwest side of San Antonio, Texas, SFBR partners with hundreds of researchers and institutions around the world, targeting advances in the fight against cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, psychiatric disorders, problems of pregnancy, AIDS, hepatitis, malaria, parasitic infections and a host of other infectious diseases. For more information on SFBR, go to http://www.sfbr.org.

Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR)

PO Box 760549

San Antonio

TX 78245-0549

United States

http://www.sfbr.org

The Latest DRX9000™ Study Data Published In Peer-Reviewed Journal!

2009-02-26T14:00:00.000+02:00

A study titled, "Prospective Evaluation of the Efficacy of Spinal Decompression via the DRX9000™ for Chronic Low Back Pain" was published in the December issue of The Journal of Medicine. The study authored by Dr. John Leslie, Mayo Clinic, et al, was designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the DRX9000™ in the treatment of chronic lower back pain. Patients enrolled in the study had suffered an overall average of 266 weeks of low back pain. At the conclusion of the study, 16 of the 18 patients reported improvement in low back pain, greater than 50%. The authors state, "Patients also reported having better daily activity function as measured by the Oswestry Disability Index." Reprints are available through Axiom Worldwide. To view this article please visit here.

About Axiom Worldwide

Axiom Worldwide manufactures and distributes its flagship products, the DRX9000 True Non-surgical Spinal Decompression System™, DRX9000C™, and DRX9500™ in medical markets around the globe. Axiom also manufactures a digital electroceutical device, the EPS8000™, for use in relieving pain and for use in muscular rehabilitation. Axiom prides itself on providing safe, non-surgical alternatives that patients should consider prior to undergoing surgery. For additional information please visit: http://www.AxiomWorldwide.com. To schedule an interview please contact: Amber Pacetti, Marketing at: telephone: 001-813-249-6444 or email: apacetti@axiomworldwide.com.

Axiom Worldwide

Annual Event For Entrepreneurs In Biotech, Pharma And Healthcare - France

2009-02-26T12:00:00.000+02:00

Profession Bio-Entrepreneur, France's annual event for entrepreneurs in biotech, pharma and healthcare will take place this year on Thursday and Friday 12-13 March. It is organized by Centrale-Santé, part of the association of the Ecole Centrale, one of France's top graduate schools in partnership with MEDEC, France's annual healthcare show and conference. There is no charge for entry and registration may be done on-line (as long as space is available).

This 8th edition of the forum takes place at a time of great financial uncertainty and offers industry professionals two days of intense debate and networking to identify new issues and opportunities which will enable them to be better "bio-entrepreneurs".

This year's theme is "The convergence of diagnostics, therapeutics, imaging, medical devices and engineering".

The forum will also focus on Switzerland, the country which is this year's guest of honour, and which is a leading player in the international life sciences industry. Representatives of Roche, Merck-Serono, Debiopharm, Addex Pharmaceuticals, the Swiss Biotech Association, Biocartis and the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne) are all planning to take part.

You can download the provisional programme of Bio-Entrepreneur 2009 and register for free on http://www.bio-entrepreneur.net.

Event partners include bodies such as the Adebiotech biotech association, ACIP (Association des Cadres de l'Industrie Pharmaceutique - Pharma industry managers' association), AMIPS (Association des Médecins des Industries des Produits de Santé - doctor's association), Leem (Les Entreprises du Médicament - French pharmaceutical industry association), Catalyse Biosciences, a group of regional bodies responsible for encouraging the life science industries, and Interbiotech, an association to stimulate networking and business development across all life sciences. Media partners are Biotech Info, Innovation, Pharmaceutiques with Andrew Lloyd & Associates handling the public relations. There are also a number of industry partners.

http://www.bio-entrepreneur.net

Cannabis Researchers In Appeal For Volunteers

2009-02-26T10:00:00.000+02:00

People are being urged to take part in a new study which aims to investigate the links between cannabis use and mental health. Past and present cannabis users, as well as those who have never touched the drug, are needed to take part in the project, which is being led by researchers at Nottingham Trent University.

The project involves participants responding to an anonymous survey via an online link: http://tinyurl.com/ntusurvey.

The research team, based in the university's School of Social Sciences, is looking to establish whether users are more prone to developing schizotypal personality, and whether that risk is lessened if they stop using the drug. They also want to examine if the effects of cannabis consumption on schizotypal personality are reversible and if there are differences in the levels of schizotypal personality traits between low, medium and high users.

Finally, they will be exploring whether having a family history of schizophrenia could increase levels of schizotypal traits.

Researcher Dr Antonio Castro said: "We need as many people as possible to take part in the online survey so we get a good cross-section of participants before we begin to analyse the results. The study comes at an extremely interesting time, following the government's reclassification of cannabis from a Class C to a Class B drug."

Nottingham Trent University

Women With Oestrogen Receptor Positive Early Breast Cancer Should Receive Aromatase Inhibitors Upfront According To New NICE Clinical Guidelines

2009-02-25T14:00:00.000+02:00

AstraZeneca welcomes the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Early Breast Cancer (EBC) clinical guideline (1) that recommends upfront use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs), such as anastrozole (Arimidex),Anastrozole (Arimdex)(2) in women who are not deemed to be low risk, which will help to ensure that postmenopausal women with oestrogen (ER) positive EBC receive the most appropriate treatment available. Published today, the NICE Breast Cancer (early and locally advanced): Diagnosis and Treatment clinical guideline (1) elevates AIs over the previous gold standard treatment, tamoxifen, for newly diagnosed breast cancer sufferers who are not deemed to be low risk.

Astra Zeneca welcomes this recommendation as it will encourage more consistency in treatment practices across the country for early breast cancer - meaning that the 23,000 postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year(3) are more likely to be treated with AIs immediately after surgery to help reduce the risk of early recurrence.

Professor Michael Baum, Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Visiting Professor of Medical Humanities, University College London said: "It is great news that NICE has acknowledged the wealth of data that supports the initiation of AIs immediately after surgery. All women with early breast cancer are at the greatest risk of recurrence in the first 2-3 years after surgery, regardless of the factors affecting the course of the disease. This guideline will help ensure women receive the most appropriate hormonal treatments available - ultimately helping to prevent their cancer returning."

AstraZeneca acknowledges the recommendation to offer a baseline bone scan to assess bone mineral density to all women starting an AI. (1) In the Arimidex, Tamoxifen Alone or in Combination (ATAC) trial women who had normal bone mineral density when entering the trial did not become osteoporotic after 5 years of treatment with anastrozole.(4) Data from the ATAC 100 trial showed the increased yearly fracture rate noted during treatment did not continue into the post-treatment follow-up period, where the fracture rate on anastrozole at 9 years was very similar to that with tamoxifen.(5)

AstraZeneca also acknowledges the NICE recommendation to offer an AI, such as anastrozole, instead of tamoxifen to postmenopausal women with ER positive EBC, who are not low risk and who have been treated with tamoxifen for 2-3 years. (1) However AstraZeneca would like to emphasize that there is no evidence that a planned sequencing strategy is superior to a 5 year AI strategy for newly diagnosed women with early breast cancer.

Advanced Breast Cancer

Today, NICE also published a clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer (ABC) which highlights the place of endocrine therapies in this setting, including AIs and fulvestrant (Faslodex). Fulvestrant (Faslodex) (6).However, AstraZenca is disappointed that there is no mention of fulvestrant in the final recommendations, despite it being proven to be at least as effective as anastrozole in the treatment of postmenopausal women with advanced hormone receptor positive breast cancer, whose disease has relapsed on or after adjuvant antioestrogen therapy or progressed on therapy with an antioestrogen.(7 -9),

Professor Baum commented "Women should be fully informed of the advantages and disadvantages of medical and surgical treatment, understanding the overall benefits of treatment and the impact treatment has on quality of life. In the unfortunate instance that a women's breast cancer has progressed, it is important that everything possible is done to improve the patient's quality of life. Use of fulvestrant increases the options available to clinicians, delaying the need to start chemotherapy following failure of prior endocrine therapy."

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of meaningful prescription medicines and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of US$ 31.6 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines. For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca.com

References

1. NICE (February 2009) Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and treatment.

2. Anastrozole (Arimdex) SmPC. http://www.medicines.org.uk/

3. Technology Assessment Report commissioned by the HTA. Programme on behalf of The National Institute for Clinical Excellence. 'Hormonal therapies for early breast cancer: systematic review and economic evaluation'.

4. Coleman R. Effect of anastrozole on bone mineral density and bone fractures: results from the 'Arimidex'' (anastrozole), tamoxifen, alone or in combination (ATAC) trial. European Journal of Cancer Supplements 2004;2(3):140, Abs 289.

5. The ATAC Trialists' Group. Effect of anastrozole and tamoxifen as adjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer; 100- month analysis of the ATAC trial. The Lancet Oncology , 2008; 9 (1) 45-53.

6. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) SmPC. http://www.medicines.org.uk/

7 Robertson JF, Osborne CK, Howell Aet al. Fulvestrant versus anastrozole for the treatment of advanced breast carcinoma in postmenopausal women. Cancer 2003; 98 (2): 229-238. 8 Howell, A. et al. Fulvestrant, Formerly ICI 182,780, Is as Effective as Anastrozole in Postmenopausal Women With Advanced Breast Cancer Progressing After 9 Prior Endocrine Treatment. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2002; 20 (16):3396-3403. 9 Osborne C.K et al. Double blind, randomised trial comparing the efficacy and tolerability of fulvestrant versus anastrozole in postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer progressing on with prior endocrine therapy: Results from a North American Trial. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2002; 20 (16):3386-3395. AstraZeneca

Government's GP Extended Opening Policy Widens Rich-Poor Gap, United Kingdom

2009-02-25T12:00:00.000+02:00

The UK Government's extended hours initiative has deprived small GP practices, and those in the poorest areas of the country, of millions in funding according to a major Pulse investigation.

Smaller practices find it far more difficult to offer evening and weekend appointments compared to those with a large number of GPs, disadvantaging their patients and reducing their funding by thousands of pounds.

There is also evidence the extended hours policy is widening the gap between rich and poor. Only 61% of urban practices in the highest quartile for deprivation will qualify for the average £18,000 annual payment for providing extended hours, compared with 75% of those in the lowest quartile for deprivation.

Only 44% of one-GP practices and 60% of those with two or three partners are currently offering extended hours, compared to 83% of those with eight or more partners, shows our analysis of 200 randomly selected practices from more than 100 PCTs.

Payments were recycled from other parts of the contract, meaning practices that are not offering extended hours are receiving less funding compared to one year ago.

Official government figures show the proportion of practices not offering extended opening has stabilised at almost 30%.

Pulse's investigation identifies for the first time specifically which practices are opening longer - based on calls to each practice to confirm extended opening, data on practice size from NHS Choices and indices of deprivation data from the Office for National Statistics.

The location of a practice is also a key factor, says the report. Some 68% of urban practices offer extended hours, compared with 59% in rural areas.

Dr Asad Mubarik, a GP in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, said his 'semi-rural' practice could not afford to open longer. "We would make a loss if we did,' he said, adding practices in deprived urban areas also faced safety concerns. Opening in deprived urban areas can be very scary. I know a GP who was assaulted after work and ended up in intensive care. The number of staff you would have to have working in the evening would be significant."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "The issue is not the size of practice, their location or the patients they treat - it is whether GPs make the decision to provide extended hours for their patients. In some PCTs, nearly 100% of practices, from singlehanded to large surgeries and in both urban and rural areas, are delivering extended hours."

Richard Hoey, deputy editor of Pulse, said: "The Government insists that whether a GP practice offers extended opening is purely a matter of choice, but our statistics show that it is much easier for some practices than others. That means some groups of patients miss out twice over, because they don't get access to longer hours, and neither does their practice receive as much money for their healthcare. What's worse is that it is often poorer patients who are missing out, and it is they who often find it hardest to take time off work to see a GP."

About PulseToday

PulseToday is the GP's website in the UK providing general practice news, clinical education and practice information to GPs and primary care staff.

www.pulsetoday.co.uk

Written by - Christian Nordqvist

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Update Presented On Disease In Pork Plant Workers

2009-02-25T10:00:00.000+02:00

More than a year after developing a unique neurological disorder, the affected pork processing plant workers have improved, but all have some continuing symptoms and many have ongoing mild pain, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.

The workers developed symptoms such as walking difficulties, weakness, numbness and tingling in the arms and legs, pain and fatigue. All had worked in or near the area where compressed air was used to extract pig brains. All plants have discontinued the practice.

For the study, researchers reexamined 24 of the workers affected at plants in Minnesota and Indiana. Of those, 17 were treated with immune therapy such as steroids. Sixteen people improved with treatment; 12 had marked improvement, two had moderate improvement and two had mild improvement. Six of the people who had no treatment also improved after they were no longer exposed to the pig brain mist.

Neurologists have identified the illness as a new disorder that is a sensory predominant polyradiculoneuropathy. The patients all have a unique antibody not seen before. The disease affects the nerves, and can usually be identified by standard tests (nerve conduction studies and EMG), although in four mild cases specialized tests were needed to detect the abnormalities. The disease seems to improve with treatment and removal of exposure to pig brain.

The disorder likely has an autoimmune basis, with workers exposed to the pig brains developing an autoimmune response that caused nerve damage. The researchers hope that further studies on this disease will aid understanding of other autoimmune disorders. "There are other autoimmune disorders where the trigger is not known, so this case with a known trigger could provide us with an opportunity to understand how an antigen can trigger the body's immune system to produce disease," said study author P. James B. Dyck, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

Additional details on the patients' testing and outcomes will be presented at the AAN Annual Meeting.

The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, restless legs syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, narcolepsy, and stroke.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com.

The AAN 61st Annual Meeting, the world's largest gathering of neurology professionals, takes place April 25 to May 2, 2009, in Seattle. Visit http://www.aan.com/am for more information.

To access 2009 AAN Annual Meeting abstracts available February 25, 2009, visit http://www.aan.com/go/science/abstracts.

Late-breaking abstracts will be featured in press release at the 2009 AAN Annual Meeting in Seattle.

American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

1080 Montreal Ave.

St. Paul

MN 55116

United States

http://www.neurology.org

Diabetes Rising Faster In UK Than America

2009-02-24T12:00:00.000+02:00

A new study found that the rate of new cases of diabetes in the UK rose by 74 per cent between 1997 and 2003, and has now overtaken the rate in North America, which has one of the highest incidences of diabetes in the world.

The study's lead author is Elvira Massó González of the Spanish Centre for Pharmacoepidemiologic Research in Madrid, and is to be published this week in the online issue of Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

According to the Telegraph, Massó González told the press:

"Our results suggest that, although the incidence of diabetes remains lower in the UK than in the USA or Canada, it appears to be increasing at a faster pace."

The study looked at new and existing cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the UK, using data from the Health Improvement Network database between 1996 and 2005.

The researchers found that over those ten years, 42,642 people in the UK were diagnosed either with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 usually affects younger people, and type 2 usually develops later in life due to being obese or overweight, but in recent years patients have been getting younger, some as young as seven, said a report from the BBC.

Of those newly diagnosed cases, just over 1,250 were for type 1 and more than 41,000 were for type 2 diabetes.

The results showed that the overall prevalence of diabetes went up from 2.8 per cent of the population in 1996 to 4.3 per cent in 2005, equal to an annual rise of just under 5 per cent and an increase of 54 per cent over the decade. The prevalence was found to be 29 per cent higher among men than among men.

The rise is predominantly due to a rise in type 2 cases: new cases of type 1 have remained much the same every year for those ten years, but type 2 new cases went up from 2.6 to 4.31 cases per 1,000 patient years, equivalent to a rise of 69 per cent over the decade, and rising even more rapidly in the latter part: by 74 per cent between 1997 and 2003.

Diabetes UK reports that the study shows obesity playing a significant role in the sharp rise of type 2 diabetes in the UK.

In 1996 of the people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, 38 per cent were overweight and 46 per cent were obese. In 2005, these figures were 32 and 56 per cent respectively.

2.5 million of people in the UK have been diagnosed with diabetes and another half million have it and don't know it.

Douglas Smallwood, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK , said in a press statement:

"This research is a sad indictment of the current state of the UK's health."

"Sadly, the statistics are not surprising, as we know that the soaring rates of type 2 diabetes are strongly linked to the country's expanding waistline," he added.

Studies show it's possible for people to significantly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by keeping to a healthy weight and waistline.

"It is imperative that we raise awareness of the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet and doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day if we want to make any headway in defusing the diabetes time bomb," warned Smallwood.

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said that future projections show there is worse to come.

"Rates of obesity and diabetes will continue to rise unless we do something urgently," Fry told the BBC.

BBC News also reported that Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said early detection and treatment was vital.

"We must do whatever we can to find the half-million people who don't know they've got it," said Maryon-Davis.

Diabetes UK estimates that the NHS spends ten per cent of its budget, about 1 million pounds an hour, treating diabetes and its complications.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health told the BBC that the rise in recorded cases could be partly due to improved diagnosis, as well as rising obesity rates and an ageing population.

Click here for Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Sources:Diabetes UK, BBC News, Telegraph.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Marshall Lindheimer, M.D., Of The University Of Chicago Receives 2009 DeLee Humanitarian Award

2009-02-24T10:00:00.000+02:00

An internationally recognized authority on kidney disease and hypertension during pregnancy, Marshal D. Lindheimer, MD, professor emeritus in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and of Medicine and in the Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics at the University of Chicago, will receive the 2009 Joseph Bolivar DeLee Humanitarian Award from the Board of Directors of Chicago Lying-in Hospital, part of the University of Chicago Medical Center.

The award will be presented at the board's annual dinner on Saturday evening, March 7, 2009, at the Standard Club, 320 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago.

Named after Joseph Bolivar DeLee, MD, a pioneer in the field of obstetrics and founder of the Chicago Lying-in Hospital, the award is presented annually to an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to the health care of women and infants.

Previous winners include Lasker Award-winner Elwood V. Jensen, PhD; human genetics pioneer Mary-Claire King, PhD; M. Jocelyn Elders, MD, the first African American appointed as Surgeon General of the United States; Robert G. Edwards PhD, the scientist who made in-vitro fertilization possible; as well as Georgeanna Seegar Jones, MD, and Howard W. Jones, MD, who opened the first successful in-vitro fertilization clinic in the United States.

"Marshall Lindheimer has changed the way we think about the kidney during pregnancy," said Arthur Haney, MD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago. "He brought a new level of rigor to the study of hypertension, especially during pregnancy, and in the process has taught us all a lot about how the kidney responds to the unusual physical stresses related to reproduction. He is also a devoted clinician, sought after by other physicians for his expertise in medical problems during pregnancy."

One of the world's leading authorities on kidney function, blood pressure control, and water-level maintenance during pregnancy, Lindheimer is widely known for his research on preeclampsia, a form of hypertension that remains a leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality worldwide.

In collaboration with Adrian Katz he described how the kidney reabsorbs the large increases in filtered sodium during pregnancy. With another University of Chicago colleague, Edward Ehrlich, Lindheimer elucidated the roles of the hormones aldosterone and progesterone in sodium and potassium regulation during pregnancy.

Working with John Davison, of Newcastle upon Tyne University, England, Lindheimer mapped out how regulation of the hormone vasopressin affected fluid retention during pregnancy. Understanding this process led them to predict the existence of an as-yet-unrecognized disease, now known as "transient diabetes insipidus during pregnancy." After finding such patients they were able to treat them.

More recently, Lindheimer focused on clinical trials and translational studies designed to prevent preeclampsia, such as a large multicenter randomized trials testing low-dose aspirin and supplemental dietary calcium to prevent this disease. He also was involved in a large observational trial centered in underdeveloped nations to determine if measuring circulating antiangiogenic proteins could predict preeclampsia.

"By bringing the subject of the kidney and pregnancy to the attention of internists and obstetricians in a readable and comprehensible way, and by his own contributions to our collective base of knowledge, he has made an outstanding contribution that has directly impacted the care of patients with renal disease and changed the clinical practice of nephrology," said Arthur Herbst, MD, Joseph B. DeLee Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago.

The author of more than 250 original articles, 115 chapters and 7 edited texts, Lindheimer's contributions have earned him several honors, including the Chesley Award for Research in Hypertension in Pregnancy, a Lifetime of Service award from the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, a Lifetime of Advocacy award from the Preeclampsia Foundation, and the Belding Scribner Award from the American Society of Nephrology. He and his wife, Jacqueline celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary last November.

The DeLee Award is presented each year by the Chicago Lying-in Hospital Board of Directors, which supports programs to advance education, research and patient care relating to women's and infants' health at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Joseph Bolivar DeLee was a leading advocate for greater safety in childbirth. His concern for women in labor led him to open a small dispensary on Chicago's Maxwell Street in 1895, which became known as the Chicago Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary. The facility and its services grew in size and reputation. In 1931, DeLee opened the 140-bed Chicago Lying-in Hospital on the Medical Center campus and became the first chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago.

----------------------------

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

----------------------------

Chicago Lying-in board members Lee and Arthur Herbst will serve as honorary chair for the annual dinner. Jenny L. Whitlock and Marjorie E. Sherman serve as chair and co-chair.

Source: John Easton

University of Chicago Medical Center

Mail And Electronic Reminders May Increase Colon Cancer Screening

2009-02-23T22:00:00.000+02:00

Mailed reminders to patients appear to promote colon cancer screening, according to a report in the February 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, electronic reminders to physicians appear to increase screening among patients with more frequent primary care visits.

"Colorectal cancer is the secondary leading cause of cancer mortality [death] in the United States," according to background information in the article. "Screening programs involving fecal occult blood testing, flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy lower the incidence of colorectal cancer by removing precancerous adenomas, detect cancers at more curable early stages and reduce colorectal cancer mortality." Although national guidelines suggest that average-risk adults age 50 and older should be screened for colorectal cancer, only 60 percent report up-to-date testing.

Thomas D. Sequist, M.D., M.P.H., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues studied screening rates and colorectal adenoma (tumor) detection for 21,860 patients (age 50 to 80) of 110 physicians from April 2006 to June 2007. Fifty-five physicians were randomly assigned to receive electronic reminders during office visits with patients overdue for screening. Additionally, 10,930 patients were randomly assigned to receive mailings containing an educational pamphlet, a fecal occult blood test kit and instructions for direct scheduling of flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. Screening rates and detection of colorectal adenomas (tumors) were noted 15 months after the start of the intervention.

Screening rates for patients who received mailings were higher than for those who did not (44 percent vs. 38.1 percent). The mailings were more effective among older patients - patients age 50 to 59 experienced a 3.7 percent increase, patients age 60 to 69 had a 7.3 percent increase and patients age 70 to 80 experienced a 10.1 percent increase in screening rates. While patients of physicians receiving electronic reminders had screening rates similar to patients of physicians who did not receive reminders (41.9 percent vs. 40.2 percent), electronic reminders tended to increase screening rates among patients with three or more primary care visits (59.5 percent vs. 52.7 percent).

"Detection of adenomas tended to increase with patient mailings (5.7 percent vs. 5.2 percent) and physician reminders (6 percent vs. 4.9 percent)," the authors write, but these increases were not statistically significant.

"Patient mailings produced modest increases in rates of colorectal cancer screening, whereas electronic physician reminders tended to promote screening only among patients who have more frequent primary care visits," they conclude. "These complementary approaches have the potential to promote the overarching goal of widespread screening to reduce the incidence, morbidity and mortality of colorectal cancer."

Arch Intern Med. 2009;169[4]:364-371.

Archives of Internal Medicine

Alabama Receives Grant To Combat Obesity

2009-02-23T14:00:00.000+02:00

The Alabama Department of Public Health is one of eight state health departments selected to receive grants to support the development of physical activity and nutrition programs in partnership with selected communities. Because of the BITE (Balancing InTake and Expenditure) grant, the department will provide $15,000 directly to community groups.

Alabama has developed a competitive process to select at least five local communities to receive grants by April 2009. Successful community applicants will demonstrate that partnerships are in place to effectively plan and implement physical activity and nutrition projects to reduce community risks for obesity.

Community groups interested in this funding opportunity and who would like to obtain a request for funding application should contact Miriam Gaines, Nutrition and Physical Activity director, at (334) 206-5226 or by e-mail at mgaines@adph.state.al.us by March 16, 2009.

Community applicants will be expected to convene and coordinate a coalition of organizations that are vested in improving physical activity opportunities and improving nutritional status of their residents. These groups and their members will become part of a research project that will test various methods of project management. The planning and implementation of community projects will take place during the 13-month period from July 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010. The local project coordinator or chair will become a member of the state's Obesity Task Force. The community groups receiving awards will be encouraged to embrace combating obesity as a continuous priority.

Eligible applicants for BITE grants were the 15 states with the highest overweight and obesity rates in the U.S. The state grants were awarded based on the strength of the state's history and current ability to build and sustain partnerships with state and community-level organizations with capacity to build community-based health initiatives in obesity prevention.

Other states selected were Delaware, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. Each of these states had some of the highest obesity prevalence rates in the nation in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; from 27.4 percent in Delaware to 32 percent in Mississippi. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, an Atlanta-based, national association of state health agency chronic disease prevention professionals, is pleased to award these funds as part of a collaborative research grant from Klein Buendel, Inc., a Golden, Colo., health education media research firm and the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to assist communities in implementing programs targeting improvements in physical activity and healthy nutrition.

Alabama Department of Public Health

DWP Minister Replies To UKAF On Autism And Winter Fuel Poverty

2009-02-23T12:00:00.000+02:00

DWP Minister Rosie Winterton MP, (who is the Minister with responsibility for the Winter Fuel Payment) has replied to the call made by the UK Autism Foundation for urgent help for families and adults with autism and Asperger's Syndrome who are below the poverty line.

While Winter Fuel Payments are directed towards the elderly, the UK Autism Foundation has appealed to the Chancellor Alistair Darling to help all families with autism and Asperger's Syndrome who are in low-income households. There are families with autism who who have had to choose between heating and eating as they struggle to cope with life during the economic crisis.

Ivan Corea of the UK Autism Foundation said: 'We are delighted that DWP Minister Rosie Winterton is taking a long hard look at Autism and Winter Fuel Poverty. We urge Rose Winterton and Her Majesty's Government to look at the whole issue of Winter Fuel Payments and increase them for families with autism and Asperger's Syndrome in the 2009 Budget. The recession is affecting so many families with autism. Life is hard in any case, on a daily basis and the deepening recession is making matters worse. Parents, carers,children and adults with autism and Asperger's Syndrome in the UK need urgent financial help and support.'

Support for the UKAF's call came from parliamentarians of all parties in the House of Commons, in Westminster, with 55 MPs signing an early day motion (EDM 281) tabled by Rudi Vis MP on Autism and Winter Fuel Poverty in December last year.

DWP Minister Rosie Winterton has replied Ivan Corea's call to the Chancellor Alistair Darling to increase Winter Fuel Payments. The Minster said: ' We have negotiated a voluntary agreement with energy suppliers which means that the total level of assistance offered to vulnerable households by suppliers will increase to £150 million a year by 2011.' She added 'You may be interested to know that, as the Chancellor announced in his Pre-Budget report in November last year, for 2008/09 only, an extra payment of £60 will be made on top of the £10 Christmas Bonus. The Christmas Bonus is payable to those in receipt of a qualifying benefit during the relevant week.'

The DWP has also requested people to contact the following helpines regarding winter fuel payments:

* Disability Living Allowance and the disability premiums in the income-related benefits provide additional weekly payments and are related to the individual's circumstances. The most severely disabled people receive an additional amount of almost £8,000 per year in recognition of their extra costs. Employment and Support Allowance customers can receive an additional component for disability after 13 weeks rather than waiting 52 weeks for the payment of a disability premium as with Income Support. Where the support component is payable, there is also automatic entitlement to the enhanced disability premium (currently £12.60 for a single person).People can find out more about these benefits by telephoning the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 88 22 00.

* For information on the Warm Front, the main programme for tackling winter fuel poverty in the private sector in England, providing grants for insulation and home improvements to households in receipt of qualifying benefits - householders should call 0800 316 6011. Householders in Wales should call 0800 316 2815, householders in Scotland should call 0800 316 6009 to find out more about Warm Deal or 0800 316 1653 to find out more about the Central Heating Programme, householders in Northern Ireland should call 0800 181 667 to find out more about the Warm Homes scheme.

* To check whether a competing energy supplier can offer a better deal customers can can contact Consumer Direct on its consumer helpline, 08454 04 05 06. The Home Heat Helpline, 0800 33 66 99, run by the energy companies can also supply on fuel matters, including discounts that are available to certain groups of people.

UK Autism Foundation

Woodford Business Centre

113-115 George Lane

South Woodford

London E18 1AB

United Kingdom

http://www.ukautismfoundation.org

Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Crossover Study With Tolterodine And Darifenacin In Healthy Participants > Or = 50 Years

2009-02-23T10:00:00.000+02:00

UroToday.com - The measurement of heart rate is increasingly being recognized as an important prognostic indictor1, 2. Higher heart rates are associated with greater risk of myocardial infarction and total mortality. Large long-term follow-up studies have been performed in healthy males, females, hypertensive patients, those with structural heart disease and other populations3-7. All the data are consistent - higher heart rates are associated with a poorer prognosis. The mechanism by which higher heart rates are associated with adverse outcomes remains uncertain. Several possibilities exist including the following:

1. There may be a direct effect of heart rate itself,

2. Heart rate may be a marker of cardiac parasympathetic tone8,

3. Heart rate may reflect sympathetic activation.

It is likely that reduced parasympathetic tone at least in part is an important contributor. Higher vagal tone has been consistently documented as a marker of improved survival. Whatever may be the mechanism, even small increments in heart rate (as low as 3 beat/minute increments) is associated with a poorer prognosis9. Move than just that, changes in heart rate over time are associated with outcomes and small changes upward and downward with the same magnitude is related to outcomes.

The best marker for heart rate changes is uncertain. This may be one of the reasons only recently that this issue has been carefully evaluated and yet now it is being considered a low tech predictor of coronary events6. A resting pulse can be challenging as a predictor since it reflects only one point in time and that point can be influenced by many extraneous variables. Alternatively it may be time to redefine what we consider to be tachycardia even from a resting heart rate measurement10.

In our study11, we performed a carefully controlled assessment of heart rate evaluating it over a 24-hour period. There was a significant difference between tolterodine and darifenacin when compared to placebo. Tolterodine was associated with an increase in heart rate versus darifenacin and versus placebo. Darifenacin was not associated with any increase in heart rate versus placebo. This was true considering the mean heart rate and the increase in heart rate greater than 5 beats/minute using a categorical analysis.

These data are consistent with the present knowledge of the drugs - tolterodine is a relatively nonselective antimuscarinic and darifenacin is relatively selective for the M3 receptors. Since M2 receptor activation is responsible for sinus node slowing but M3 receptor activation does not have any substantial effect on the sinus node, blockade of this receptor selectively should not affect heart rate by blocking the effects of vagal activation of the sinus node.

The implications of this study are that there are differences in cardiovascular effects of antimuscarinics when treating patients with overactive bladder. Vagal tone can be in part abolished by antimuscarinics that are relatively non-selective. While no cardiovascular outcomes data yet support the use of one antimuscarinic over another, based on data in many populations indicating that an increased heart rate indicates increased risk of mortality and other concerning endpoints, these data should warrant careful consideration about the use of non-selective antimuscarinic to treat overactive bladder.

1. Greenland P, Daviglus ML, Dyer AR, Liu K, Huang CF, Goldberger JJ, Stamler J. Resting heart rate is a risk factor for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality: the Chicago Heart Association Detection Project in Industry. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;149(9):853-862.

2. Mensink GB, Hoffmeister H. The relationship between resting heart rate and all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality. Eur Heart J. 1997;18(9):1404-1410.

3. Jouven X, Empana JP, Schwartz PJ, Desnos M, Courbon D, Ducimetiere P. Heart-rate profile during exercise as a predictor of sudden death. N Engl J Med. 2005;352(19):1951-1958.

4. Fox K, Borer JS, Camm AJ, Danchin N, Ferrari R, Lopez Sendon JL, Steg PG, Tardif JC, Tavazzi L, Tendera M. Resting heart rate in cardiovascular disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;50(9):823-830.

5. Fox K, Ford I, Steg PG, Tendera M, Robertson M, Ferrari R. Heart rate as a prognostic risk factor in patients with coronary artery disease and left-ventricular systolic dysfunction (BEAUTIFUL): a subgroup analysis of a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2008;372(9641):817-821.

6. Hsia J, Larson JC, Ockene JK, Sarto GE, Allison MA, Hendrix SL, Robinson JG, LaCroix AZ, Manson JE. Resting heart rate as a low tech predictor of coronary events in women: prospective cohort study. Bmj. 2009;338:b219.

7. Okin PM, Wachtell K, Kjeldsen SE, Julius S, Lindholm LH, Dahlof B, Hille DA, Nieminen MS, Edelman JM, Devereux RB. Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation in Relation to Changing Heart Rate over Time in Hypertensive Patients: The LIFE Study. Circ Arrhythmia Electrophysiol. 2008;1:337-343.

8. Olshansky B, Sabbah HN, Hauptman PJ, Colucci WS. Parasympathetic nervous system and heart failure: pathophysiology and potential implications for therapy. Circulation. 2008;118(8):863-871.

9. Jouven X, Empana JP, Escolano S, Buyck JF, Tafflet M, Desnos M, Ducimetiere P. Relation of heart rate at rest and long-term (>20 years) death rate in initially healthy middle-aged men. Am J Cardiol. 2009;103(2):279-283.

10. Gopinathannair R, Sullivan RM, Olshansky B. Slower Heart Rates for Healthy Hearts: Time to Redefine Tachycardia? Circ Arrhythmia Electrophysiol. 2008;1(1):321-322.

11. Olshansky B, Ebinger U, Brum J, Egermark M, Viegas A, Rekeda L. Differential pharmacological effects of antimuscarinic drugs on heart rate: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study with tolterodine and darifenacin in healthy participants > or = 50 years. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther. 2008;13(4):241-251.

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To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com

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Peanut Product Recall Taken Over By Texas Dept Of Health After PCA-Plainview Fails To Respond

2009-02-21T16:00:00.000+02:00

The DSHS (Texas Department of State Health Services) issued a recall order to the Peanut Corporation of America's Plainview plant - but got no response. Consequently, the DSHA says it is taking over the recall of products shipped from Peanut Corporation of America's Planview plant.

The DSHA says that all manufacturers, distributors and retails who have received products from the company in 2008 should take appropriate action to protect consumers. The DSHS expects to find more customer lists from previous years in the company's records.

On Feb. 12 the Texas Health Dept. ordered The Peanut Corporation of America's Plainview plant to recall all products after one of its inspectors found dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers in a crawl space and an unsealed air handling system that was pulling debris from the crawl space into production areas of the plant. The recall refers to goods shipped from the company since it started in March 2005.

Some firms that had received goods from PCA-Plainview have already issued recall notices after seeing news media coverage of the recall order. Notices are posted online at http://www.fda.gov. Consumers are being asked to watch for additional notices. Companies that may have received peanut products from PCA-Plainview are advised to contact their immediate suppliers for more information.

The DSHS has written to Stewart Parnell, PCA-Plainview Director, saying it will seek payment form PCA for the cost of carrying out the recall.

Source - Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHA)

Written by Christian Nordqvist

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Bacteria In Urinary Infections Make Burglar's Tools

2009-02-21T10:00:00.000+02:00

Bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) make more tools for stealing from their host than friendly versions of the same bacteria found in the gut, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Washington have found.

The tools, compounds called siderophores, allow the bad bacteria to steal iron from their hosts, making it easier for the bacteria to survive and reproduce. But they also provide a potential way to target the bad strains of bacteria for eradication without adversely affecting the good strains, researchers report in a study published online Feb. 20 by PLoS Pathogens.

"When we treat an infection with antibiotics, it's like dropping a bomb nearly everything gets wiped out, regardless of whether it's helpful or harmful," says lead author Jeff Henderson, M.D., Ph.D., a Washington University infectious disease specialist who treats patients with UTIs at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "We'd like to find ways to target the bad bacteria and leave the good bacteria alone, and these siderophores are a great lead in that direction."

UTIs are one of the most common infections, causing around $1.6 billion in medical expenses every year in the United States. Half of all women will experience a UTI at some point in their lives, and recurrent UTIs affect 20 to 40 percent of these patients. Scientists believe 90 percent of all UTIs are caused by the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli).

The E. coli that cause UTIs may come from the human gut, where several strains of the bacteria reside. Scientists think some of those strains help their human hosts by aiding digestion and blocking other infectious organisms. To study how friendly and infection-causing E. coli strains differ, Henderson and colleagues at the Center for Women's Infectious Disease Research at Washington University used a new approach called metabolomics. Instead of examining genes, metabolomics analyzes all the chemicals produced by a cell, which includes bacterial growth signals, toxins and waste products.

"This allows us to look at the end products of many genes working together," says senior author Scott Hultgren, Ph.D., the Helen L. Stoever Professor of Molecular Microbiology. "We assess what all the various assembly lines are producing and which products disease-causing bacteria prefer to make, such as certain siderophores."

Bacteria studied in the experiment came from recurrent UTI patients treated at the University of Washington. Researchers cultured both E. coli from stool samples and urine samples. They found that the strains from urine made more yersiniabactin and salmochelin, two siderophores that help bacteria scavenge iron to support their own survival.

Iron is an important nutrient typically kept under tight control by the host, and there's evidence that a back-and-forth contest centered on iron has been raging for millennia between disease-causing microbes and the hosts they exploit. For example, studies suggest that humans may make a protein that specifically blocks particular bacterial siderophores.

There may be multiple ways to take advantage of the infectious bacterial strains' reliance on siderophores. Researchers will try to block or disrupt the activity of the proteins that make siderophores, but they also may use what Henderson calls a "Trojan horse" strategy.

"To steal iron, siderophores have to be sent out from the cell, bind to the iron, and then be taken back into the cell," he explains. "If we can design an antibiotic that looks like a siderophore, we might be able to trick only disease-causing bacteria into taking up the drug while leaving other bacteria alone."

Henderson JP, Crowley JR, Pinkner JS, Walker JN, Tsukayama P, Stamm WE, Hooton TM, Hultgren SJ. Quantitative metabolomics reveals an epigenetic blueprint for iron acquisition in uropathogenic Escherichia coli. PLoS Pathogens 5(2): e1000305. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000305

Funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the National Institutes of Health supported this research.

Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

Washington University in St. Louis

1 Brookings Dr., Campus Box 1070

St. Louis

MO 63130

United States

http:// www.wustl.edu

Focusing On Nanotechnology At American Chemical Society National Meeting, March 22-26

2009-02-21T09:00:00.000+02:00

The scientific field that focuses on the ultra-small - nanotechnology - will play the biggest single role in the 237th National Meeting & Exhibition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), which takes place here from March 22-26. ACS, the world's largest scientific society, has scheduled more than 135 major symposia on aspects of nanotechnology. The topics, which will be discussed in nearly 1,000 research papers, range from "green" manufacturing processes to the medical, commercial, and industrial applications of nanotech that are predicted to spawn new multi-billion-dollar industries.

The nanotech sessions are part of a larger program, expected to bring more than 11,000 scientists and others to the capital city of Utah. The scientific sessions include 7,200 presentations on new discoveries that span science's horizons, from astronomy to zoology. The topics include food and nutrition, medicine, health, energy, the environment, and other fields where chemistry plays a central role. Sessions will be held in the Salt Palace Convention Center and downtown hotels. In addition, the meeting - among the largest scientific gatherings of 2009 - will feature a sprawling exhibit area, with more than 200 exhibits of scientific instrumentation, journals, and other items.

In keeping with the meeting theme, "Nanoscience: Challenges for the Future," several special Presidential Events will be held, organized by ACS President Thomas H. Lane, Ph.D. Among them are a keynote address, "From Nature and Back Again: Giving New Life to Materials for Energy," March 22 , by noted Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist Angela Belcher, Ph.D.; "The Kavli Foundation ACS Presidential Plenary Session on Challenges in Nanoscience," on March 23; and "Naturally Nano," a symposium on March 24.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Source: Michael Woods

American Chemical Society

European Commisssion Grants Ferring Pharmaceuticals Approval Of FIRMAGON(R) (Degarelix) For Treatment Of Prostate Cancer

2009-02-20T14:00:00.000+02:00

Ferring Pharmaceuticals announced that it has received marketing authorisation from the European Commission, for FIRMAGON(R) (degarelix), a new GnRH receptor antagonist indicated for patients with advanced, hormone-dependent prostate cancer.

In Phase III studies degarelix produced a significant reduction in levels of testosterone (i,ii) within three days in more than 96% of study patients.(ii) Testosterone plays a major role in the growth and spread of prostate cancer cells.

The data show that degarelix provided an extremely fast effect on testosterone levels, close to the immediate effect achieved with surgery (orchidectomy).(ii,iii)

"We are delighted with the approval of FIRMAGON(R) (degarelix), which demonstrated in clinical trials both an immediate onset of action and a profound long-term suppression of testosterone and PSA" commented Dr. Pascal Danglas, Executive Vice President Clinical & Product Development at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. "We will work with local authorities to ensure the launch of FIRMAGON to patients across European Union countries as soon as possible."

The European Commission approval for FIRMAGON(R) (degarelix) follows approval from the FDA in the US in December 2008.

About Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, and the second leading cause of cancer death. In the US 218,890 new cases were estimated for 2007, with a mortality rate of 27,050. In 2005 127,490 new cases were diagnosed in the 5 biggest European countries and 18,310 in Japan.

About degarelix

Degarelix is a GnRH receptor antagonist indicated for advanced prostate cancer. Ferring plans to communicate a range of information about the treatment at the European Academy of Urology (EAU) congress in Stockholm in March.

About Ferring

Ferring is a Swiss-headquartered, research driven, speciality biopharmaceutical group active in global markets. The company identifies, develops and markets innovative products in the areas of urology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, gynaecology, and fertility. In recent years Ferring has expanded beyond its traditional European base and now has offices in over 45 countries. To learn more about Ferring or our products please visit http://www.ferring.com

(i) Van Poppel H, De La Rosette JJ, Persson B.E, Oleson TK, Degarelix Study Group; Long-term evaluation of degarelix, a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor blocker, investigated in a multicentre randomised study in prostate cancer (CAP) patients. Abstract (23.) Euro Urol Suppl 2007;6(2):28

(ii) Boccon-Gibod L, Klotz L, Schröder FH, Andreou C, Persson BE, Cantor P, Jensen JK, Olesen TK; Degarelix compared to leuprolide depot 7.5 mg in a 12-month randomised, open-label, parallel-group phase III study in prostate cancer patients. Abstract 537 presented at the 23rd EAU Congress, Milan, Italy, 2008.

(iii) Nielsen S, Connolly M, Persson B, Variation between countries in the perceived use of antiandrogens to prevent flare symptoms: results of a comprehensive survey. Abstract 539 presented at the 23rd EAU Congress, Milan, Italy, 2008

Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Unhealthy Living Doubles Stroke Risk, Study

2009-02-20T10:00:00.000+02:00

Researchers who studied 20,000 middle aged and elderly UK residents for 10 years found that those who lived unhealthy lives characterized by smoking, lack of exercise, drinking too much alcohol and not eating enough fruit and vegetables, were twice as likely to have a stroke as counterparts with much healthier lifestyles.

The study was the work of first author Dr Phyo K Myint, clinical senior lecturer in the School of Medicine at the University of East Anglia in Norwich and in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, and colleagues and was published online in the BMJ on 19 February.

While there is clear evidence that individual lifestyle factors such as smoking and diet are linked with higher risk of heart attack and stroke, the impact of several factors combined has been less clear until now.

For the study, Myint and colleagues examined data from the Norfolk cohort of participants enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The whole of EPIC involves over half a million adults from all over Europe who enrolled in the 1990s.

The Norfolk contingent comprised 20,040 community-dwelling men and women aged 40 to 79 with no history of stroke or heart attack when they joined in 1993 to 1997 and were followed unto 2007.

The researchers gave one point for each of four health behaviours: being a current non-smoker, not being physically inactive, drinking only a moderate amount of alcohol (one to 14 units a week) and eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. The fruit and vegetable intake was assessed as blood levels of vitamin C (greater than or equal to 50 micromol per litre).

Thus a person who scored 4 had the "healthiest" lifestyle while a person who scored 0 had the "unhealthiest" lifestyle, based on these four health behaviours.

The results showed that:

There were 599 incident strokes over an average follow up of 11.5 years (total of 229,993 person-years).

After adjusting for other potential confounders such as age, sex, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, use of aspirin, socioeconomic status, there was a significant trend (P
The relative risk of stroke for participants who scored 3 out of 4 on health behaviours was 1.15 compared to those who scored 4 out of 4.

For participants who scored 2 out of 4 the relative risk was 1.58 and those who scored 1 out 4 it was 2.18.

And the relative risk for participants who scored 0 out of 4 was 2.31.

These patterns remained when the researchers looked at the figures in subgroups according to sex, age, BMI, socioeconomic status and after excluding deaths within two years.

A significantly higher percentage of women scored 4 than men.

About 260 participants (one per cent of the cohort) scored 0; this was linked to an absolute stroke rate of 5.8 per cent (15 of them had a stroke during the follow up).

About 5,000 of the cohort (25 per cent) had a maximum score of 4; this was linked with an absolute stroke risk of 1.7 per cent.

The authors concluded that:

"Four health behaviours combined predict more than a twofold difference in incidence of stroke in men and women."

They said these findings support the idea that small changes to lifestyle can change one's chances of having a stroke.

BBC News reported that Myint told to the press:

"Over the study period we observed six people for every 100 participants who had no health behaviours suffered a stroke compared to about one to two people for every 100 participants who had four positive health behaviours."

"Together with the substantial existing body of evidence about modifiable behaviours and stroke risk, this may provide further encouragement to make entirely feasible changes which have the potential to have a major impact on stroke."

A stroke is when part of the brain stops working because of a lack of blood supply, for instance due to a blockage, or a hemhorrage. It is the leading cause of disability in adults in Europe and the US. In the UK it is the second leading cause of death, with heart attacks being the first and cancer the third.

"Combined effect of health behaviours and risk of first ever stroke in 20 040 men and women over 11 years' follow-up in Norfolk cohort of European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC Norfolk): prospective population study."

Phyo K Myint, Robert N Luben, Nicholas J Wareham, Sheila A Bingham, Kay-Tee Khaw.

BMJ 2009;338:b349.

Published online 19 February 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b349

Click here for Abstract.

Sources: Journal abstract, BBC News.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Misdiagnosis Of Some Young Adult Stroke Patients In ER

2009-02-19T14:00:00.000+02:00

Young adults with stroke symptoms are sometimes misdiagnosed in emergency rooms - making them miss effective early treatment - according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2009.

In the Misdiagnosis of Acute Stroke in the Young During Initial Presentation in the Emergency Room study, researchers reviewed data on 57 patients, ages 16 to 50 years old, enrolled since 2001 in the Young Stroke Registry at the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich.

Four males and four females (14 percent), average age 34, were misdiagnosed as having vertigo, migraine, alcohol intoxication or other conditions. They were discharged from the hospital and later discovered to have suffered a stroke. Those misdiagnosed included:

an 18-year-old man who reported numbness on his left side but was diagnosed with alcohol intoxication;
a 37-year-old woman who arrived with difficulty speaking and was diagnosed with a seizure;
a 48-year-old woman with sudden blurred vision, an off-balance walk, lack of muscle coordination, difficulty speaking and weakness in her left hand, who was told she had an inner ear disorder.

"Accurate diagnosis of stroke on initial presentation in young adults can reduce the number of patients who have continued paralysis and continued speech problems," said Seemant Chaturvedi, M.D., senior author of the study and a professor of neurology and director of the stroke program at Wayne State.

"We have seen several young patients who presented to emergency rooms with stroke-like symptoms within three to six hours of symptom onset, and these patients did not get proper treatment due to misdiagnosis. The first hours are really critical."

Intravenous delivery of the clot-busting drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the only U.S. government-approved treatment for acute stroke. It must be delivered within three hours of symptom onset to reduce permanent disability caused by stroke. Chaturvedi said experimental interventional stroke treatment such as intra-arterial clot busters and mechanical clot retrieval may be an option for some patients three to eight hours after symptoms.

"Part of the problem is that the emergency room staff may not be thinking stroke when the patient is under 45 years old," Chaturvedi said. "Physicians must realize that a stroke is the sudden onset of these symptoms."

Patients arriving with "seemingly trivial symptoms like vertigo and nausea" should be assessed meticulously, he said.

"Some people believe that younger people may respond better to stroke treatments, so that makes it doubly important to recognize when a stroke is happening. After 48 to 72 hours, there are no major interventions available to improve stroke outcome."

No matter the age, people must also get to the hospital quickly if these stroke symptoms occur:

sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body;
sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding;
sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes;
sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; and/or
sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and one of the top causes of disability in the United States. "Early intervention is the most critical component of effective stroke care," said Abraham Kuruvilla, M.D., the study's lead author and a stroke fellow in the neurology department at Wayne State University. "Early intervention will reduce the burden of disability of the young patients afflicted with stroke disability and the associated high cost of medical care in this population."

The other co-author is Kumar Rajamani, M.D. Individual author disclosures are on the abstract.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association advocates for stroke telemedicine programs that provide effective stroke treatment to underserved areas and the elimination of disparities in stroke awareness and care. For more information, please visit http://www.strokeassociation.org/yourethecure.

Statements and conclusions of study authors that are presented at American Heart Association/American Stroke Association scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect association policy or position. The association makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at http://www.americanheart.org/corporatefunding.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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NR09-1015 (ISC09/Chaturvedi)

Source: Bridgette McNeill

American Heart Association

Gene Therapy Study Shows Method Is Safe, Somewhat Beneficial, Researchers Report

2009-02-19T12:00:00.000+02:00

A study of gene therapy to treat HIV has shown that the treatment is safe and somewhat beneficial -- a "major advance" in efforts to combat the virus -- researchers said in a study published recently in the journal Nature Medicine, AFP/Google.com reports. According to the researchers, the study -- which was headed by Ronald Mitsuyasu of the University of California-Los Angeles -- confirms that this avenue of gene therapy in HIV research is a valid approach (AFP/Google.com, 2/15). The study involved 74 HIV-positive people, half of whom received blood stem cells that included a molecule, called OZ1, which is designed to block HIV from replicating by targeting two key proteins (BBC News, 2/16). The other half were given a placebo. The study aimed to determine whether the stem cells would survive the body's immune system and if this would curb the replication of HIV. The researchers found that after 48 weeks, there was no statistical difference between the two groups. However, after 100 weeks, the group that received the RNA enzyme gene had higher levels of CD4+ T cells and low HIV viral loads. The study also showed that the new blood stem cells depleted over time -- although DNA tests showing that the modified cells were present in 94% of the gene group at four weeks, this fell to 12% by week 48 and 7% by week 100. According to the researchers, the study's results showed the treatment was "safe" and modestly effective. Mitsuyasu said that instead of putting the technique through to a Phase III trial, the team plans to modify the technique and introduce new tests on a smaller group of participants. He said the study "gives some hope" to the gene therapy approach as a treatment for HIV and other diseases, such as cancer, adding, "It's a positive finding for the field and should move the field forward" (AFP/Google.com, 2/15).

Reaction

Mitsuyasu said that the treatment is "not yet as effective or as complete as current antiretroviral therapy in controlling HIV," although the recent study "did show proof" that using a single gene in an HIV-positive patient's own blood cells could reduce the spread of the virus. Jo Robinson of the HIV/AIDS organization Terrence Higgins Trust said, "Gene therapy is an exciting area which aims to create a one off treatment for HIV, avoiding the need for people to take daily medication," adding that the therapy is in its "early days in research terms, so we're a long way from something like this being on the market." Robinson said that the new study "has shown some promising results, which definitely warrant further investigation." Keith Alcorn of the U.K.-based HIV information service NAM added that although the study's results are "very modest," the researchers showed "enough of an effect for us to be hopeful that a gene therapy approach to HIV treatment might eventually deliver effective treatments for the disease" (BBC News, 2/16).

An abstract of the study is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Women Only: Cramps, Bloating And Now, Tooth Erosion?

2009-02-19T10:00:00.000+02:00

Monthly menstrual cycles produce many uncomfortable, and sometimes painful, symptoms, which can include cramps, headaches and bloating. With more intense, painful menstruation, a condition otherwise known as dysmenorrhea, regular vomiting also is a symptom. This monthly recurrence can cause severe tooth erosion, according to a study in the November/December 2008 issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal.

This condition often masquerades as an eating disorder, since both dysmenorrhea and bulimia nervosa cause noticeable erosion on the back of the front teeth of the top jaw as a result of the exposure to stomach acid. However, it is imperative that patients understand the main distinguishing factor between the two conditions.

"Whereas bulimia nervosa is a voluntary act - the woman induces vomiting herself - dysmenorrhea is involuntary," says Mohamed Bassiouny, DMD, MSc, PhD, author of the study. "Contractions in the uterus or the abdominal wall force the patient to vomit without any cause."

Due to its uncontrollable force, dysmenorrhea also creates a different erosion pattern on the teeth. "A dentist can tell when a patient suffers from bulimia or dysmenorrhea, due to the distinct erosion patterns," says Dr. Bassiouny. "When vomiting is voluntary, the individual controls the direction and force," he says. "The tongue creates a tunnel which protects, in most instances the back teeth. When a patient has dysmenorrhea, the erosion affects almost all surfaces of the dentition to varying extents."

Dr. Bassiouny also notes that many women are affected by dysmenorrhea without knowing that the condition exists. "Roughly 52 percent of the population suffers from the condition," he says, "and women who are affected by dysmenorrhea usually do not detect the damage to their teeth until later in life." In his research, women become aware of dysmenorrhea's effects on teeth in their 50s or 60s, whereas women who suffer from bulimia do so most commonly in their 20s or 30s due to the fast rate of destruction by the frequent voluntary vomiting. The symptoms of dysmenorrhea, he says, can occur every three to four weeks and even outside of the traditional cycle, and last between 10-12 days.

When severe erosion occurs, "the tooth enamel is worn down, exposing the nerve endings of the teeth, which results in tooth sensitivity," says Connie White, DDS, FAGD, spokesperson for the AGD. Although erosion is not reversible, Dr. White says, dentists can help reduce the effects of the acid on the teeth by advising them on proper care. Patients should "rinse the mouth thoroughly during episodes of vomiting and avoid immediate brushing of the area. Brushing right after vomiting actually worsens the effects of the acid because it rubs the acid into the teeth."

According to Dr. Bassiouny, to treat the condition it is imperative that women inform all health professionals of the symptoms. "The condition and associated dental fallout are not purely medical or purely dental," he says. "Women who suffer from dysmenorrhea need to be treated by a gynecologist for internal causes and by the dentist to restore and prevent further damage to the dentition. This coordinated effort of management is the best course of action."

Dental effects of dysmenorrhea:

-- Teeth may show loss of enamel

-- Exposed dentin of affected teeth may appear brownish

-- Sensitivity due to dental erosion

-- Teeth appear shorter

-- Disfigurement of facial esthetics

The AGD is a professional association of more than 35,000 general dentists dedicated to staying up-to-date in the profession through continuing education. Founded in 1952, the AGD has grown to become the world's second largest dental association, which is the only association that exclusively represents the needs and interests of general dentists.

More than 786,000 persons are employed directly in the field of general dentistry. A general dentist is the primary care provider for patients of all ages and is responsible for the diagnosis, treatment, management and overall coordination of services related to patients' oral health needs.

Academy of General Dentistry

http://www.agd.org

Pluristem Therapeutics To Present At Italian CREM Workshop Focused On Placental-Derived Cells

2009-02-18T14:00:00.001+02:00

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NasdaqCM:PSTI) (DAX:PJT), a bio-therapeutics company dedicated to the commercialization of unrelated donor-patient (allogeneic) cell therapy products for a variety of disorders, announced today that Racheli Ofir, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at Pluristem, has been invited by the Centro di Ricerca E. Menni (CREM), Fondazione Poliambulanza, Brescia, Italy, to present at a workshop titled "Placenta-Derived Cells for Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases: Moving Toward Clinical Applications", on Friday, March 13, 2009. Dr. Ofir's presentation is titled "The Role of the Placental-Derived Mesenchymal-like Stromal Cell (PLX-PAD) in the Treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI)".

"The research and medical communities are very interested in the placenta as a superior source for cell therapy. This entire workshop is devoted to studies performed on placental cells and their potential for becoming therapeutic products. At Pluristem, we believe the placenta will play a major role in the developing cell therapy market," stated Zami Aberman, Chairman, President and CEO of Pluristem. "Based on substantial pre-clinical data, we have developed a pipeline of placental-derived mesenchymal-like stromal cell products, the first one being PLX-PAD for the treatment of critical limb ischemia," he added.

About CREM

Centro di Ricerca E. Menni (CREM) is a research center affiliated with the Poliambulanza Foundation and dedicated to the memory of Mother Eugenia Menni, whose wish was to establish a research center in conjunction with a working structure for the care of the sick. The objective of this center is to integrate two complementary aspects of modern medicine: research and patient care.

About Pluristem

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. is a bio-therapeutics company dedicated to the commercialization of unrelated donor-patient (allogeneic) cell therapy products for the treatment of several severe degenerative, ischemic and autoimmune disorders. The Company is developing a pipeline of products, stored ready-to-use, that are derived from human placenta, a non-controversial, non-embryonic, adult stem cell source.

These placental adherent stromal cells (ASCs) are expanded in the Company's proprietary PluriXTM 3D bioreactor, which imitates the natural 3D microenvironment of these cells and does not require supplemental growth factors or other exogenous materials. Pluristem believes that the resultant PLX (PLacental eXpanded) cells' efficacy may be related to the secretion of cytokines or other potent immune modulators. Furthermore, PLX cells are immune privileged and possess immunomodulatory properties, thus protecting the recipient from immunological reactions that often accompany transplantations.

Pluristem's first product in development, PLX-PAD, is intended to improve the quality of life of millions of people suffering from peripheral artery disease (PAD). The Company's products in development also include PLX-IBD, targeting Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD); PLX-MS, targeting Multiple Sclerosis; PLX-BMT, targeting the global shortfall of matched tissue for bone marrow transplantation (BMT) by improving the engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) contained in umbilical cord blood; and PLX-STROKE, targeting ischemic stroke.

Pluristem has offices in the USA with research and manufacturing facilities in Israel.

See our product animation on YouTube: Animation

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and federal securities laws. For example, when we say that we believe the placenta will play a major role in the developing cell therapy market, we are using forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Pluristem only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: changes in technology and market requirements; our technology may not be validated as we progress further and our methods may not be accepted by the scientific community; we may be unable to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products; unforeseen scientific difficulties may develop with our process; results in the laboratory may not translate to equally good results in real surgical settings; our patents may not be sufficient; our products may harm recipients; changes in legislation; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition, which could cause the actual results or performance of Pluristem to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, Pluristem undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. For a more detailed description of the risk and uncertainties affecting Pluristem, reference is made to Pluristem's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.

Drug To Treat Opioid Addiction Identified By Stanford Scientists

2009-02-18T14:00:00.000+02:00

Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that a commonly available non-addictive drug can prevent symptoms of withdrawal from opioids with little likelihood of serious side effects. The drug, ondansetron, which is already approved to treat nausea and vomiting, appears to avoid some of the problems that accompany existing treatments for addiction to these powerful painkillers, the scientists said.

Opioids encompass a diverse array of prescription and illegal drugs, including codeine, morphine and heroin. In 2007, about 12.5 million Americans aged 12 and older used prescription pain medications for non-medical purposes, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, administered by the federal government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"Opioid abuse is rising at a faster rate than any other type of illicit drug use, yet only about a quarter of those dependent on opioids seek treatment," said Larry F. Chu, MD, assistant professor of anesthesia at the School of Medicine and lead author of the study that will be published online Feb. 17 in the Journal of Pharmacogenetics and Genomics. "One barrier to treatment is that when you abruptly stop taking the drugs, there is a constellation of symptoms associated with withdrawal." Chu described opioid withdrawal as a "bad flu," characterized by agitation, insomnia, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

Current methods of treatment are not completely effective, according to Chu. One drug used for withdrawal, clonidine, requires close medical supervision as it can cause severe side effects, while two others, methadone and buprenorphine, don't provide a satisfactory solution because they act through the same mechanism as the abused drugs. "It's like replacing one drug with another," said co-investigator Gary Peltz, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesia.

"What we need is a magic bullet," said Chu. "Something that treats the symptoms of withdrawal, does not lead to addiction and can be taken at home."

The researchers' investigation led them to the drug ondansetron, after they determined that it would block certain receptors involved in withdrawal symptoms.

The scientists were able to make this connection thanks to their having a good animal model for opioid dependence. Mice given morphine for several days develop the mouse equivalent of addiction. Researchers then stop providing morphine to trigger withdrawal symptoms. Strikingly, these mice, when placed into a plastic cylinder, will start to jump into the air. One can measure how dependent these mice are by counting how many times they jump. Like humans, dependent mice also become very sensitive to pain when they stop receiving morphine.

But the responses vary among the laboratory animals. There are "different flavors of mice," explained Peltz. "Some strains of mice are more likely to become dependent on opioids." By comparing the withdrawal symptoms and genomes of these different strains, it's possible to figure out which genes play a major role in addiction.

To accomplish this feat, Peltz and his colleagues used a powerful computational "haplotype-based" genetic mapping method that he had recently developed, which can sample a large portion of the genome within just a few hours. This method pinpoints genes responsible for the variation in withdrawal symptoms across these strains of mice.

The analysis revealed an unambiguous result: One particular gene determined the severity of withdrawal. That gene codes for the 5-HT3 receptor, a protein that responds to the brain-signaling chemical serotonin.

To confirm these results, the researchers injected the dependent mice with ondansetron, a drug that specifically blocks 5-HT3 receptors. The drug significantly reduced the jumping behavior of mice as well as pain sensitivity - two signs of addiction.

The scientists were able to jump from "from mouse to man" by sheer luck: It turns out that ondansetron is already on the market for the treatment of pain and nausea. As a result, they were able to immediately use this drug, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, in eight healthy, non-opioid-dependent humans. In one session, they received only a single large dose of morphine, and in another session that was separated by at least week, they took ondansetron in combination with morphine. They were then given questionnaires to assess their withdrawal symptoms.

Similar to mice, humans treated with ondansetron before or while receiving morphine showed a significant reduction in withdrawal signs compared with when they received morphine but not ondansetron. "A major accomplishment of this study was to take lab findings and translate them to humans," said principal investigator J. David Clark, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesia at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

Chu plans on conducting a clinical study to confirm the effectiveness of another ondansetron-like drug in treating opioid withdrawal symptoms in a larger group of healthy humans. And the research team will continue to test the effectiveness of ondansetron in treating opioid addiction.

The scientists warned that ondansetron will not by itself resolve the problems that arise with continued use of these painkillers. Addiction is a long-term, complex process, involving both physical and psychological factors that lead to compulsive drug use. "This is not a cure for addiction," said Clark. "It's naïve to think that any one receptor is a panacea for treatment. Treating the withdrawal component is only one way of alleviating the suffering. With luck and determination, we can identify additional targets and put together a comprehensive treatment program."

Collaborators on this study included De-Yong Liang, PhD, the study's co-lead author, previously a research associate in the Department of Anesthesia and currently a research associate at the Palo Alto Institute for Research and Education; Xiangqi Li, MD, a life science research assistant in the department; Nicole D'Arcy, a medical student: Peyman Sahbaie, MD, a research associate at the institute; and Guochun Liao, PhD, of the pharmaceutical company Hoffman-La Roche. This work was supported by grants to Clark from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and grants to Chu from the NIH and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

The researchers are working with the Stanford University Office of Technology Licensing to seek a patent for the use of ondansetron and related medicines in the treatment of drug addiction.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions - Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center's Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.

Source: Rosanne Spector

Stanford University Medical Center

Vitamin Supplements May Protect Against Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

2009-02-18T12:00:00.001+02:00

Vitamin supplements can prevent hearing loss in laboratory animals, according to two new studies, bringing investigators one step closer to the development of a pill that could stave off noise-induced and perhaps even age-related hearing loss in humans.

The findings will be reported Wednesday at the Association for Research in Otolaryngology's annual conference in Baltimore by senior author Colleen Le Prell, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Florida.

The supplements used in the research studies are composed of antioxidants - beta carotene and vitamins C and E - and the mineral magnesium. When administered prior to exposure to loud noise, the supplements prevented both temporary and permanent hearing loss in test animals.

"What is appealing about this vitamin 'cocktail' is that previous studies in humans, including those demonstrating successful use of these supplements in protecting eye health, have shown that supplements of these particular vitamins are safe for long-term use," said Le Prell, an associate professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions' department of communicative disorders.

About 26 million Americans have noise-induced hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the agency that funded the studies.

In the first study, UF, University of Michigan and OtoMedicine scientists gave guinea pigs the vitamin supplements prior to a four-hour exposure to noise at 110 decibels, similar to levels reached at a loud concert. Researchers assessed the animals' hearing by measuring sound-evoked neural activity and found that the treatment successfully prevented temporary hearing loss in the animals.

In humans, temporary noise-induced hearing loss, often accompanied by ringing in the ears, typically goes away after a few hours or days as the cells in the inner ear heal. Because repeated temporary hearing loss can lead to permanent hearing loss, the scientists speculate that prevention of temporary changes may ultimately prevent permanent changes.

In the second, related study in mice, UF, Washington University in St. Louis and OtoMedicine researchers showed that the supplements prevented permanent noise-induced hearing loss that occurs after a single loud sound exposure. The researchers found that the supplements prevented cell loss in an inner ear structure called the lateral wall, which is linked to age-related hearing loss, leading the scientists to believe these micronutrients may protect the ear against age-related changes in hearing.

"I am very encouraged by these results that we may be able to find a way to diminish permanent threshold shift with noise exposure," said Debara Tucci, M.D., an associate professor of surgery in the otolaryngology division at Duke University Medical Center. "I look forward to hearing Dr. Le Prell's work and reviewing her data."

The research builds on previous studies that demonstrated hearing loss is not just caused by intense vibrations produced by loud noises that tear the delicate structures of the inner ear, as once thought, said Josef Miller, Ph.D., who has studied the mechanisms of hearing impairment for more than 20 years and is a frequent collaborator of Le Prell's. Researchers now know noise-induced hearing loss is largely caused by the production of free radicals, which destroy healthy inner ear cells.

"The free radicals literally punch holes in the membrane of the cells," said Miller, the Townsend professor of communicative disorders at the University of Michigan.

Miller is the co-founder of OtoMedicine, a University of Michigan spinoff company that has patented AuraQuell, the vitamin supplement formula used in the studies.

The antioxidant vitamins prevent hearing damage by "scavenging" the free radicals. Magnesium, which is not a traditional antioxidant, is added to the supplement mix to preserve blood flow to the inner ear and aid in healing.

Antioxidant supplements can also provide "post-noise rescue," Le Prell said. A previous study by Le Prell and Miller showed that antioxidants can protect hearing days after exposure to loud noise.

"We found that the antioxidant combination of vitamin E and salicylate - the active agent in aspirin - ffectively prevented cell death and permanent noise-induced hearing loss even when treatments were delayed up to three days after noise insult," she said.

The researchers are collaborating on National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trials of the vitamin supplements in college students at UF who wear MP3 music players, and noise-exposed military troops and factory workers in Sweden and Spain.

If the trials show that the vitamins are as effective in preventing noise-induced hearing loss in humans as they have been in animals, Le Prell and Miller envision an easy-to-use supplement that could come in the form of a pill for people headed to a rock concert, a daily supplement for factory workers or a nutritional bar included in soldiers' rations.

"Ear protection, such as ear plugs, is always the best practice for the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, but in those populations who don't or can't wear hearing protection, for people in which mechanical devices just aren't enough, and for people who may experience unexpected noise insult, these supplements could provide an opportunity for additional protection," Le Prell said.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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Source: Jill Pease

University of Florida

Arthritis Drug Linked To Shingles Risk

2009-02-18T12:00:00.000+02:00

German scientists found that some arthritis drugs may be linked to an increased risk of developing shingles (herpes zoster), an infection that causes painful blisters.

The research was the work of Dr Anja Strangfeld of the German Rheumatism Research Center in Berlin, and colleagues, and is published in the 18 February issue of JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association.

They found that use of certain drugs classed as monoclonal anti-tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) antibodies which are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis may be linked to a higher risk of developing herpes zoster (shingles).

Previous studies have suggested that treatment with anti-TNF-α agents puts rheumatoid arthritis patients at higher risk of bacterial infections but there have been few investigations into how they affect the risk of infection by viruses like shingles.

There are a number of anti-TNF-α drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. They all act on the cytokine TNF (tumor necrosis factor), a chemical messenger in the immune system that sends signals to increase inflammation. TNF does other things as well (such as trigger cell death), but as far as rheumatoid arthritis is concerned it is its role in the promotion of inflammation that is important.

Anti-TNF-α agents stop TNF from binding to particular receptors on certain cells and prevents them from triggering an inflammatory response. Many arthritis patients produce too much TNF.

For this study the researchers looked at data on over 5,000 rheumatoid arthritis patients who were registed with RABBIT, a German biologics register, between May 2001 and December 2006. They enrolled on the register when they started treatment with infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, or anakinra, or when they changed to a conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD).

Infliximab and adalimumab are monoclonal antibodies and etanercept is a fusion protein and all three work by inhibiting TNF-α. Anakinra is not a TNF-α inhibitor, it blocks another inflammation signalling path that uses the interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor.

Rheumatologists regularly assessed participants' treatment, clinical status and adverse events during follow up.

The aim of the study was to compare the number of times shingles was observed in patients receiving the various different treatments. In particular the researchers wanted to see if the TNF-α inhibitors together as a class, or separately either as anti-TNF-α antibodies (infliximab and adalimumab), or a fusion protein (etanercept), were related to higher rates of herpes zoster (shingles).

The results showed that:

There were 86 episodes of herpes zoster (shingles) recorded among 82 patients.

39 of the episodes were attributed to treatment with monoclonal anti-TNF-α antibodies, 23 to the fusion protein etanercept, and 24 to conventional DMARDs.

The crude incidence rate was 11.1 per 1,000 patient years for monoclonal anti-TNF-α antibodies, 8.9 for etanercept, and 5.6 for conventional DMARDs.

After adjusting for age, severity of disease, and use of glucocorticoid, the increased risk for treatment with monoclonal anti-TNF-α antibodies was a significant 1.82, but this was not high enough to reach clinical significance.

No significant links were found for use of etanercept (fusion protein) or for TNF-α inhibitors together as a class.

The authors concluded that:

"Treatment with monoclonal anti-TNF-{alpha} antibodies may be associated with increased risk of herpes zoster, but this requires further study."

They added that:

"Based on our data, we recommend careful monitoring of patients treated with monoclonal anti-TNF-α antibodies for early signs and symptoms of herpes zoster."

In an accompanying editorial, Drs Richard J. Whitley and John W. Gnann of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, commented on the findings:

"The TNF-α inhibitors provide tremendous benefit to a broad spectrum of patients with systemic inflammatory diseases. As with any therapy, time is required for all of the safety concerns related to these potent medications to become apparent. TNF-α inhibitors have revolutionized the management of a number of difficult diseases, especially inflammatory arthritis, but clinicians must continue to remain aware of the potential for serious infectious complications, which now include herpes zoster."

"Risk of Herpes Zoster in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated With Anti-TNF-{alpha} Agents."

Anja Strangfeld; Joachim Listing; Peter Herzer; Anke Liebhaber; Karin Rockwitz; Constanze Richter; Angela Zink

JAMA . Vol. 301 No. 7, pp 737-744, February 18, 2009.

Click here for Abstract.

Sources: JAMA media and journal abstract.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Temple Research Finds An ADHD Drug Could Help Individuals With Aphasia Regain Language Abilities.

2009-02-18T10:00:00.001+02:00

When ABC journalist Bob Woodruff was injured while reporting in Iraq in 2006, he suffered severe head injuries that caused him to lose his ability to recall and produce common words - a condition called aphasia. Today, Woodruff has recovered most of his language skills thanks to intensive behavioral therapy - reading and repeating words and sounds.

"The standard of care for patients with aphasia has always been and will always be speech/language therapy, but a new area is opening up that looks at what drugs can be used in combination with therapy to enhance recovery from brain damage and help the brain repair itself," said Gerry Stefanatos, D.Phil., an associate professor of communication sciences and disorders in the College of Health Professions. "We're looking at the mechanism of how this combination works - it's underlying effect on patients with aphasia."

In research presented at the International Neurological Society this month, Stefanatos found that dextroamphetamine (D-AMPH), a drug commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, improved the processing of speech among those suffering from Broca's aphasia and the similar Anomic aphasia.

"Improving a patient's attention and working memory may allow them to better focus and process information during therapy sessions," said Stefanatos. "Attention is critically important for learning and relearning skills, and could be helpful in forging new neural pathways in the brain."

The National Aphasia Association estimates some one million people in the United States live with aphasia, which is caused by lesions to the language centers of the brain. These lesions are often due to stroke or brain injury, but can also be the result of a brain tumor or progressive disease such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. Types of aphasia can range from a patient having difficulty finding and producing a word to a patient having no ability at all to speak or understand language.

Stefanatos' study looked at the use of D-AMPH in ten aphasia patients. All were also given a placebo for comparison purposes. In each condition, participants were asked to make decisions about different types of speech sounds (vowels, consonant-vowels) and complex tones. Their brain's electrical response to each was recorded via an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Those who took the D-AMPH had a strong reaction to the sounds - even to consonant-vowel sounds, which are more often difficult for individuals with aphasia to process.

"This tells us that D-AMPH may help the left hemisphere of the brain regain the ability to perform its functions," said Stefanatos. "Understanding why the drug is having this effect allows us to start to think about how to tailor treatments to make them more effective or explore alternative drugs or drug combinations."

Stefanatos said he and his team chose to look at this particular drug because in patients with ADHD it has been shown to stimulate the release of dopamine and epinephrine, which help in attention and learning. But he notes that some people aren't good candidates for this particular drug.

"Now that we have a rudimentary understanding of why the drug may work to enhance the results of therapy, our next step is to look at dose effects and perhaps other drugs with more favorable side effect profiles," said Stefanatos.

With collaborators from the departments of Radiology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Stefanatos will next study functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the effects of D-AMPH on cerebral metabolism and where in the brain of individuals with aphasia it has the greatest effect.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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Other authors on this study are Andrew DeMarco at Temple University, Robert Segal at McGill University in Quebec, and Arthur Gershoff, M.D. and Y. Ieuji of the Moss Rehab Stroke and Neurological Diseases Program, part of the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia. This work was funded by grants from the National Institute of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Source: Renee Cree

Temple University

Fifth U.S. Hand Transplant Patient Heads Home To NY

2009-02-18T10:00:00.000+02:00

The United States' fifth hand transplant recipient, Jan "Erik" Hondusky, is heading back home to Massena, New York this week after a three-month stay in Louisville under the care of Kleinert Kutz and University of Louisville surgeons.

Kleinert Kutz and UofL hand surgeons performed the Hondusky's hand transplant at Louisville's Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center on November 24, 2008, during a record nine-hour surgical procedure. Warren C. Breidenbach, M.D., with Kleinert Kutz and University of Louisville assistant clinical professor of surgery, led the team of five hand surgeons, 10 hand fellows and a two-member anesthesiology team from Hand Care Center Anesthesia.

"I cannot wait to get home and pick up my granddaughter with two hands and give big two-handed hugs to all my family and friends, said Hondusky. "This has been an awesome event in my life and I have made many new friends here in Louisville. I cannot thank everyone enough -- the doctors, nurses, therapists, donor family and others who have helped me here in Louisville."

The New York resident is a 43-year-old production worker who injured his dominant right hand in a furnace accident on April 12, 2006, when his hand was crushed and burned thus requiring amputation. He used a prosthetic hand to perform daily living activities before the transplant procedure.

Lead hand transplant surgeon Dr. Breidenbach said, "Erik continues to work on mobility exercises and strengthening the muscle groups in the hand and arm using light weights. Functional activities for grasping, releasing and pinching continue to improve, as well. He can perform such daily living activities as washing his hair with both hands, holding a phone with his new right hand, shaking hands in greeting, opening a door, writing with a pen, grasping a water bottle, throwing and bouncing a ball, and picking up objects three inches wide. He can lift a bucket weighing 12 pounds with his right hand and a 20 pound crate with two hands." Hondusky will continue therapy three times week after returning home.

Kadiyala Ravindra, M.D., University of Louisville assistant professor of surgery, who manages the anti-rejection drug therapy for Hondusky said, "Erik has had a few mild rejection episodes over the past three months, which were not surprising, and we were able to treat each with medication. He is doing remarkably well and we expect him to continue to do so."

Hondusky received one dose of Campath, an immunosuppressive medication, during surgery and is on mono-therapy -- one drug for most of the past three months. Maintaining a patient on one drug as opposed to two or three, reduces the risk of rejection. Risks associated with immunosuppressive drugs include a higher incidence of cancer, infections and other disorders.

"Reducing the number of drugs a patient is on will continue to reduce the risks associated with hand transplantation and we believe we can achieve this with our patients going forward," said Ravindra. "We will also continue to monitor him very closely for signs of rejection with biopsies and other laboratory tests."

A hand transplant, unlike a solid organ transplant, involves multiple tissues (skin, muscle, tendon, bone, cartilage, fat, nerves and blood vessels) and is called composite tissue allotransplantation.

A partnership of physicians and researchers at Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center, Kleinert Kutz and the University of Louisville developed the pioneering procedure. Breidenbach and his team are the only surgeons to perform hand transplants in the U.S. To date, there have been a total of 40 hands transplanted on 32 patients around the world.

Kentuckiana Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) worked very closely with the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization to coordinate the hand donation with the family and hospital. Without the help of these organ procurement agencies and the family, this procedure could not have taken place.

The fifth U.S. hand transplant is sponsored by the Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research and Office of Army Research to further research in the composite tissue allotransplantation program.

Jewish Hospital

http://www.jewishhospital.org

BDA Reaction To ITV Tonight Programme, UK

2009-02-17T16:00:00.000+02:00

The BDA has moved to reassure patients about the safety of their mercury amalgam fillings after the screening on 16 February of an ITV Tonight programme. The programme, while noting the longstanding use of mercury amalgam fillings and a consensus across all four UK Departments of Health that they are safe, may nonetheless have prompted patients to question the safety of fillings they may already have or are intending to have.

Allergic reactions to mercury in dental amalgam have been reported, but according to the European Commission these are very rare. Some local adverse effects are occasionally seen with filling materials, including allergic reactions, but the incidence is low and normally readily managed. Patients who are concerned should talk to their dentist.

Speaking after the programme, BDA Scientific Adviser Professor Damien Walmsley said:

"It is important to remember that dental amalgam has been used as a safe, durable and cost-effective material for more than 150 years. Its safety has been the subject of numerous reviews, including a recent one by the EU Commission's Scientific Committee. That review concluded that there was no evidence of increased risk of adverse systemic effects. However, pregnant women should avoid or delay any dental intervention or medication during pregnancy."

The British Dental Association publishes two briefing documents on dental fillings. The Dental Amalgam Fact File The Dental Amalgam Fact File provides a full consideration of the evidence for the safety of amalgam fillings. Dental Fillings The Facts is a patient leaflet that provides information about the advantages and disadvantages of the various materials available for use in dental restorations, including amalgam.

British Dental Association

Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd Withdraws Its Marketing Authorisation Application For Vorinostat MSD (vorinostat)

2009-02-17T14:00:00.001+02:00

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has been formally notified by Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd of its decision to withdraw its application for a centralised marketing authorisation for the medicine Vorinostat MSD (vorinostat), 100 mg hard capsules.

Vorinostat MSD was expected to be used for the treatment of patients with advanced stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who have progressive, persistent or recurrent disease, and who have failed at least two prior systemic therapies. Vorinostat MSD was designated as an orphan medicine on 21 June 2004.

The application for the marketing authorisation for Vorinostat MSD was submitted to the EMEA on 29 October 2007. At the time of the withdrawal, it was under review by the Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

In its official letter, the company stated that the withdrawal of the application was based on the CHMP's view that the data provided were not sufficient to allow the Committee to conclude on a positive benefit-risk balance for Vorinostat MSD at that time.

More information about Vorinostat MSD and the state of the scientific assessment at the time of withdrawal will be made available in a question-and-answer document. This document, together with the withdrawal letter from the company, will be published on the EMEA website in due course.

Notes

1. Withdrawal of an application does not prejudice the possibility of a company making a new application at a later stage.

2. This press release, together with other information on the work of the EMEA, can be found on the EMEA website: http://www.emea.europa.eu

European Medicines Agency

Compound Can Distinguish Between Benign, Localized And Metastatic Prostate Cancer

2009-02-17T14:00:00.000+02:00

Researchers have determined that a molecule produced by the body's metabolism could be used to differentiate between benign prostate tissue vs. localized and metastatic prostate cancer. They also found that this molecule, known as sarcosine, may be associated with prostate cancer invasiveness and aggressiveness. The findings were reported by researchers at the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, Ann Arbor, and were supported by the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Early Detection Research Network (EDRN). The research appears in the Feb. 12, 2009 issue of Nature. NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health.

"Current biomarkers for detection or progression of prostate cancer are not as precise as we would like. Therefore, a more accurate indicator of cancer is of great interest," said Sudhir Srivastava, Ph.D., chief of NCI's Cancer Biomarkers Research Group. "Sarcosine and some other select metabolites may be excellent indicators of cancer progression."

Multiple, complex molecular events characterize cancer development and progression. Determining which molecular networks dictate whether cancer will be confined to the prostate or spread to other parts of the body could lead to the identification of critical biomarkers associated with prostate cancer invasion and aggressiveness.

Although many genes and proteins related to cancer have been extensively characterized by genomic and proteomic studies, little is known about metabolomic changes that mark a tumor's progression. Metabolomics, upon which this current finding is based, is the study of the unique chemical fingerprints that cellular processes leave behind, which can help scientists understand the makeup of a cell. One of the challenges that scientists currently face is integrating genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic information to give a more complete picture of living organisms and the diseases that afflict them.

Using a long-established laboratory technique called mass spectrometry, which sorts chemical compounds by their molecular weight, the researchers profiled more than 1126 metabolites from 262 clinical samples related to prostate cancer (42 tissue samples, 110 urine samples and 110 samples of blood plasma). These metabolomic profiles enabled researchers to distinguish between benign prostate tissue, clinically localized prostate cancer, and metastatic disease. Sixty metabolites were identified in localized and/or metastatic prostate tumors that were not present in benign prostate tissue. Ultimately, six metabolites, including sarcosine, were found to be significantly elevated during progression from benign tissue to localized cancer to metastatic disease. Sarcosine was also detected in the urine of men with prostate cancer. Because this metabolite showed progressive elevation from benign tissue to localized prostate cancer to metastatic disease, it was selected for further study.

To investigate the role of sarcosine in prostate cancer progression, the researchers performed analyses of laboratory-grown cells. They found that sarcosine levels were higher in invasive prostate cancer cells than in benign prostate cells. Moreover, the addition of sarcosine to benign prostate cells caused them to become invasive. By manipulating levels of the enzymes that regulate sarcosine metabolism, the researchers found they were able to control the invasiveness of benign and malignant prostate cells.

"Components of the sarcosine pathway could serve as novel avenues for therapeutic intervention," said Arul M. Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., Michigan Center for Translational Pathology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "Our next step will be to confirm these findings in a greater number of specimens and to have our results validated by other laboratories."

Sreekumar A, Poisson LM, Rajendiran TM, Khan AP, Cao Q, Yu J, Laxman B, Mehra R, Lonigro RJ, Yong L, Nyati MK, Ahsan A, Kalyana-Sundaram S, Han B, Cao X, Byun J, Omenn GS, Ghosh D, Pennathur S, Alexander DC, Berger A, Shuster JR, Wei JT, Varambally S, Beecher C, and Chinnaiyan AM. Metabolomic profiles delineate potential role for sarcosine in prostate cancer progression. Nature. February 12, 2009.

For more information on Dr. Chinnaiyan's research, please go here.

For more information on NCI's EDRN, please go to: http://edrn.nci.nih.gov.

NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov or call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

The University of Michigan Health System includes three hospitals, approximately 40 health centers and 120 outpatient clinics, the University of Michigan Medical School and its Faculty Group Practice, the University of Michigan School of Nursing and the Michigan Health Corp. People come from around the world seeking care, resulting in 1.6 million outpatient visits, more than 43,000 admissions, 75,000 ER visits and 64,600 surgical cases annually. UMHS is ranked among the top medical institutions and medical schools in the United States every year.

University of Michigan Health System

News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine Feb. 17, 2009

2009-02-17T12:00:00.001+02:00

1. Telephone Support for Lifestyle Changes May Help Obese Patients on Medication Lose More Weight

There is no magic pill for weight loss. Some studies have shown that obese patients can achieve greater weight-loss success with a combination of pharmacotherapy and a lifestyle modification program that includes a low-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavioral changes. Researchers measured weight loss in 376 obese patients taking a daily dose of sibutramine to determine which method of delivering support for a lifestyle modification program would produce the most weight loss. Patients were randomly assigned to high-frequency face-to-face counseling, low-frequency face-to-face counseling, high-frequency telephone counseling, high-frequency e-mail counseling, or no dietician contact. After six months, the patients assigned to high-frequency telephone contact with a dietician lost the same amount of weight as those assigned to high-frequency face-to-face counseling. Researchers conclude that telephone counseling could be a viable and cost-effective way for primary care physicians to help their obese patients lose more weight.

2. Depending on Cost, Wider Use of Statins Could be a Good Strategy to Prevent Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Statins lower cholesterol and prevent coronary heart disease events and mortality. However, statins are expensive and sometimes cause side effects, so physicians and policymakers find it difficult to determine who should receive them. The Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) developed recommendations on when and how to treat high cholesterol with statins. They recommended statins for patients with higher cholesterol and more risk factors for coronary heart disease. Because of poor adherence to ATP III guidelines, researchers sought to determine the strategy's cost, complexity, and efficiency. They found that while the guidelines are complex, they are relatively cost-effective in comparison with alternatives and would be the preferred strategy if statin pill costs are moderate. However, if statin pill costs were lower, extending statin use to lower-risk patients as well would be better. The public health benefit of wider statin use could justify the substantial economic investment.

3. State Laws May Obstruct CDC HIV Screening Recommendations

HIV affects more than one million people in the United States. Every year, about 20,000 new infections are caused by individuals who are unaware that they are infected with HIV. Timely identification of undiagnosed cases of HIV can help prevent further transmission. According to CDC guidelines, all patients should be offered HIV screening without requiring health care settings to obtain written consent or provide prevention counseling. However, state laws may make it difficult for physicians to adhere to these guidelines. Researchers systematically reviewed and analyzed laws in all 50 states and Washington D.C. to determine which states' laws would interfere with implementing the guidelines. They found that 34 states and Washington D.C. had laws that were either consistent or neutral to the recommendations, allowing for full implementation. The other 16 states had laws that would preclude implementation of one or more of the novel provisions for HIV screening. While state laws are evolving toward greater compliance with the CDC recommendations, the authors urge policymakers, provider groups, consumer advocates, and other stakeholders to review their state laws and advocate for amending laws that interfere with implementing the CDC recommendations.

4. Survey Data Highlights Primary Care Challenges Associated with Patient Care Coordination

Primary care physicians must coordinate care for their patients with other specialists who care for the same patients. Efficient care coordination is critical because it may improve health outcomes and reduce costs, especially for patients with multiple chronic conditions. However, coordination may be particularly difficult in the fee-for-service Medicare program, which lacks defined provider networks, providers designated to guide referrals, systems to track referrals, and explicit incentives to coordinate care. Researchers analyzed survey data from 2,284 primary care physicians and Medicare claims for their patients. For every 100 patients they cared for, physicians must interact with as many as 99 other physicians in 53 different practices. Models that try to improve patient care, such as the patient-centered medical home, must have systems that support the coordination of care.

EARLY RELEASE: Facts Boxes on DTC Ads Improve Knowledge of Drug Benefits and Risks, Prompt Better Patient Decisions

The FDA has recognized the need to improve direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads. Currently, DTC prescription drug ads typically fail to provide basic information that consumers need to make good decisions, such as how well the drug works and the frequency of adverse effects. Researchers conducted two randomized trials to see if providing consumers with a drug facts box (a table quantifying outcomes with and without the drug) would improve knowledge and affect patient judgements about which prescription drugs are more effective. Researchers found that after reading the ads with fact boxes, consumers made better choices between drugs for current symptoms. In addition, they were better informed about the actual benefit of drugs intended for prevention. This report is an early release, and will appear on http://www.annals.org on February 17. The article will appear in print in the April 21 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

----------------------------

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

----------------------------

Source: Angela Collom

American College of Physicians

Roche Reinstated To ABPI Membership, UK

2009-02-17T12:00:00.000+02:00

Roche Products Limited has been reinstated to membership of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) following the company's suspension from 14 July 2008. The ABPI Board of Management decided that Roche should be reinstated to membership with effect from February 16, but that the ABPI Board would review the report of a further audit to be held in November 2009 to ensure that progress was being maintained.

Roche was suspended from membership for a minimum of six months after it was found to be in breach of the Code, including Clause 2 which deals with activities that bring discredit on, or reduce confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry. ABPI Press Release, Monday 14 July 2008 - http://www.pmcpa.org.uk/?q=node/614

ABPI

Sandoz Receives European Commission Approval For Biosimilar Filgrastim

2009-02-17T10:00:00.001+02:00

Sandoz has received final approval for its third biosimilar, filgrastim, paving the way for this important oncology medicine to be made available to patients across the European Union.

Filgrastim is indicated for the treatment of neutropenia, a condition characterized by a lack of neutrophils - one of the most common types of white blood cells - whose role is to fight infection in the body. Neutropenia is often associated with chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants, as well as advanced HIV infections. Filgrastim is a natural protein produced commercially by recombinant DNA technology, which stimulates production of white blood cells.

The Sandoz product is approved for the same range of indications as the reference product, Neupogen®[1] and offers patients comparable quality, safety and efficacy combined with greater cost-effectiveness. The novel Sandoz filgrastim needlestick protection device decreases the risks of injury and exposure to blood-born infection, thus contributing significantly to protecting health professionals.

Sandoz CEO Jeff George says: "As the pioneer of biosimilars and a company with a global reputation for offering high quality medicines at affordable prices to patients and payors worldwide, Sandoz is looking forward to providing this important new cost-effective option for oncology patients. "Filgrastim particularly helps patients receiving chemotherapy to increase their neutrophil counts, meaning they can better avoid the risk of the serious life threatening infections that so often force clinicians to change their optimal therapeutic chemotherapy regimen, dose or schedule." Sandoz is the only company with marketing authorization for more than one biosimilar medicine. In a precedent-setting decision in April 2006, Sandoz received the first-ever EU approval for a biosimilar medicine, human growth hormone Omnitrope®. Binocrit® / Epoetin alfa Hexal®, the first follow-on erythropoetin and the first complex (glycoprotein) biosimilar, was approved in the EU in August 2007 and launched the same year. Sandoz has a comprehensive biopharmaceuticals pipeline, with numerous projects at various stages of development.

The European Commission approval followed a positive opinion issued in November by the European Medicines Agency's Committee on Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), which provides scientific reviews of medicines for the Commission.

Disclaimer

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "committed," "looking forward," "pipeline," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals for other biosimilar products, or regarding potential future revenues from filgrastim or other biosimilar products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that other biosimilar products will be submitted for approval or approved for sale in any market. Nor can there be any guarantee that filgrastim, or other biosimilar products, will achieve any particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding these products could be affected by, among other things, unexpected developmental delays, including unexpected clinical or other laboratory data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Sandoz

Sandoz, a Division of the Novartis group, is a global leader in the field of generic pharmaceuticals, offering a wide array of high-quality, affordable products that are no longer protected by patents. Sandoz has a portfolio of approximately 1000 compounds and sells its products in more than 130 countries. Key product groups include antibiotics, treatments for central nervous system disorders, gastrointestinal medicines, cardiovascular treatments and hormone therapies. Sandoz develops, produces and markets these medicines along with pharmaceutical and biotechnological active substances and anti-infectives. In addition to strong organic growth in recent years, Sandoz has made a series of acquisitions including Lek (Slovenia), Sabex (Canada), Hexal (Germany) and Eon Labs (US). In 2008, Sandoz employed around 23,000 people worldwide and posted sales of USD 7.6 billion.

[1] Neupogen® is a registered trademark of Amgen

Novartis

http://www.novartis.com

CMA Praises Changes In HIT Funding That Will Allow Many California Pediatricians To Participate

2009-02-17T10:00:00.000+02:00

The California Medical Association applauded congressional leaders today for passing an economic stimulus package that extends Health Information Technology (HIT) funding to many pediatricians who would have been excluded under previous versions of the legislation.

The compromise package cleared the House and is expected to pass the Senate later today and be signed by President Obama next week.

"Federal funding for electronic medical record systems is great news for physicians and their patients, who will see their care enhanced as a result," said Dr. Dev A. GnanaDev, CMA President. "CMA is especially grateful to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Henry Waxman for listening to our concerns about HIT funding and making changes to ensure that pediatricians in our state can benefit, too."

The stimulus package establishes national standards for electronic medical records systems and provides $20 billion for doctors to acquire them.

In order to qualify, physicians must take Medicare patients or treat at least 30 percent of their patients through Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). At CMA's urging, congressional leaders added language to the legislation to allow different standards to be used for pediatricians, many of whom do not meet the 30 percent threshold in California, and flexibility to take into account other factors unique to individual states.

The California Medical Association represents more than 35,000 physicians in all modes of practice and specialties. CMA is dedicated to the health of all patients in California.

California Medical Association

Analysis Of Intramuscular EMG Signals

2009-02-16T16:00:00.000+02:00

Muscle contraction is associated to electrical signals. Heart contraction generates ECG signals. Muscle contraction generates EMG signals.

EMG signals may be picked up using intramuscular needles, intramuscular wires or surface (non invasive) electrodes. The review discusses the modalities of intramuscular detection and their combination with surface detection to extract information about central and peripheral phenomena.

Such information provides insight into fatigue mechanisms and motor control strategies as well as on certain pathologies of the neuromuscular system.

Philosophical Transactions A

Each issue of Philosophical Transactions A is devoted to a specific area of the mathematical, physical and engineering sciences. This area will define a research frontier that is advancing rapidly, often bridging traditional disciplines.

Philosophical Transactions A is essential reading for mathematicians, physicists, engineers and other physical scientists. Find out more about the journal.

Editor: Sir Michael Pepper, FRS

Impact Factor 2007: 1.520

Citation: Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A

Frequency: Every two weeks

The Royal Society

Compensating Time Delays With Neural Predictions: Are Predictions Sensory Or Motor?

2009-02-16T14:00:00.001+02:00

Neutral delays are a general property of computations carried out by neural circuits. Delays are a natural consequence of temporal summation and coding used by the nervous system to integrate information from multiple resources.

For adaptive behaviour, however, these delays must be compensated. In order to sense and interact with moving objects, for example, the visual system must predict the future position of the object to compensate for delays.

In this paper, we address two critical questions concerning the implementation of the compensation mechanisms in the brain, namely, where does compensation occur and how is it realized. We present evidence showing that compensation can happen in both motor and sensory systems, and that compensation using 'diagonal neural pathways' is one suitable strategy for implementing compensation in the visual system. In this strategy, neural signals in the early stage of information processing are sent to the future cortical positions that correspond to the distance the object will travel in the period of transmission delay. We propose a computational model to elucidate this using the retinal visual information pathway.

Philosophical Transactions A

Each issue of Philosophical Transactions A is devoted to a specific area of the mathematical, physical and engineering sciences. This area will define a research frontier that is advancing rapidly, often bridging traditional disciplines.

Philosophical Transactions A is essential reading for mathematicians, physicists, engineers and other physical scientists. Find out more about the journal.

Editor: Sir Michael Pepper, FRS

Impact Factor 2007: 1.520

Citation: Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A

Frequency: Every two weeks

The Royal Society

Delays In Activity Based Neural Networks

2009-02-16T14:00:00.000+02:00

In this paper we study the effect of two distinct discrete delays on the dynamics of a Wilson-Cowan neural network. This activity based model describes the dynamics of synaptically interacting excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations. We discuss the interpretation of the delays in the language of neurobiology and show how they can contribute to the generation of network rhythms.

First we focus on the use of linear stability theory to show how to destabilise a fixed point, leading to the onset of oscillatory behaviour. Next we show for the choice of a Heaviside nonlinearity for the firing rate that such emergent oscillations can be either synchronous or anti-synchronous depending on whether inhibition or excitation dominates the network architecture.

To probe the behaviour of smooth (sigmoidal) nonlinear firing rates we use a mixture of numerical bifurcation analysis and direct simulations, and uncover parameter windows that support chaotic behaviour.

Finally we comment on the role of delays in the generation of bursting oscillations, and discuss natural extensions of the work in this paper.

Philosophical Transactions A

Each issue of Philosophical Transactions A is devoted to a specific area of the mathematical, physical and engineering sciences. This area will define a research frontier that is advancing rapidly, often bridging traditional disciplines.

Philosophical Transactions A is essential reading for mathematicians, physicists, engineers and other physical scientists. Find out more about the journal.

Editor: Sir Michael Pepper, FRS

Impact Factor 2007: 1.520

Citation: Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A

Frequency: Every two weeks

The Royal Society

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) And Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Partner To Fund $500,000 In Cancer Stem Cell Research Grants

2009-02-16T12:00:00.001+02:00

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) have partnered to award William Matsui, MD, Johns Hopkins University, and Irving Weissman, MD, Stanford University, research grants totaling $500,000 to study the multiple myeloma cancer stem cell. Each individual grant is valued at $250,000.

These grants, developed in response to input from leading cancer stem cell experts who participated in the 2008 MMRF Myeloma Cancer Stem Cell Research Roundtable, provide an unprecedented opportunity to apply existing knowledge of cancer stem cells to multiple myeloma. Ultimately, the identification and characterization of the multiple myeloma cancer stem cell will advance our understanding of drug resistance and relapse in patients with multiple myeloma and potentially lead to the development of targeted therapies that effectively treat the disease.

"The emerging field of cancer stem cell research holds enormous promise for patients-particularly those with an orphan disease, such as multiple myeloma, for which effective treatments remain limited," said Louise Perkins, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of the MMRF. "The MMRF is pleased to partner with LLS to advance this important research effort and lay the groundwork for the development of better, more effective treatments."

Many researchers believe that cancer stem cells, although few in number, are responsible for cancer's development, metastases, and recurrence.

"By putting our resources together, LLS and MMRF have identified some of the most promising researchers in the field of stem cell biology as it relates to myeloma," said John Walter, President and Chief Executive Officer of LLS. "Ultimately, the identification and characterization of cancer stem cells in myeloma may enable the development of more effective therapies."

About Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer of the plasma cell. The five-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is approximately 35%, one of the lowest of all cancers. In 2008, an estimated 19,920 adults (11,190 men and 8,730 women) in the United States were diagnosed with multiple myeloma and an estimated 10,690 people died from the disease.

About the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) was established in 1998 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization by twin sisters Karen Andrews and Kathy Giusti, soon after Kathy's diagnosis with multiple myeloma. The mission of the MMRF is relentlessly pursue innovative means that accelerate the development of next-generation multiple myeloma treatments to extend the lives of patients and lead to a cure. As the world's number-one funder of multiple myeloma research, the MMRF has raised over $110 million since its inception to fund more than 100 laboratories worldwide. The payback on its investment has been significant, including the approval of four new treatments in four years alone. Today, the MMRF is supporting 40 new compounds and approaches now in clinical trials and pre-clinical studies and has facilitated 17 clinical trials through its sister organization, the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). For more information about the MMRF, please visit http://www.themmrf.org.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society®

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society®, headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 68 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The LLS mission: cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, LLS made 6.3 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

VGX Pharmaceuticals Announces Filing Of Device Master File Amendment With The FDA For CELLECTRA Device - Intradermal Electroporation (ID-EP)

2009-02-16T12:00:00.000+02:00

VGX Pharmaceuticals announced the filing of a Device Master File (MAF) amendment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its patented CELLECTRA® adaptive constant current electroporation device for use with intradermal electroporation (ID-EP). The Company has been developing the CELLECTRA® device as its lead clinical device for delivering DNA vaccine and therapy products. Numerous preclinical efficacy studies have shown that delivery of DNA-based product candidates with the CELLECTRA® device optimizes DNA uptake and its subsequent expression in the target tissue, and results in enhanced immune responses in animals.

The company previously filed a MAF in January 2008 covering the use of the CELLECTRA® electroporation device for intramuscular (IM-EP) delivery of DNA. The present filing covering intradermal EP is an add-on to the previously filed MAF. Filing of the amended MAF, which includes technical, manufacturing, and non-clinical information about the medical device covering both ID-EP and IM-EP, marks an important milestone for VGX Pharmaceuticals. It facilitates the FDA review of the CELLECTRA® device when Investigational New Drug (IND) applications for DNA-based product candidates are filed that reference its use.

The company has initiated Phase I studies with the IM-EP device used in conjunction with its therapeutic cervical cancer vaccine (VGX-3100). Separately, in a study involving 10 healthy volunteers administered with saline followed by IM-EP from this device, the CELLECTRA® device was found to be generally safe and well tolerated.

In October 2008, VGX was awarded a $23.5 million contract, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, to develop a preventive HIV DNA vaccine candidate in conjunction with its constant current electroporation technology for ID delivery of DNA vaccines. The company is presently focused on optimizing the combination of the HIV vaccine candidate and ID delivery parameters in pre-clinical studies under the contract.

"The addition of the ID delivery to the MAF submission for the CELLECTRA® device provides us and our partners with different choices for the optimal delivery of DNA vaccines and therapies based on the desired target specific immune responses," stated Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our aggressive development strategy will continue to validate the value of our vertically-integrated DNA Vaccines and Therapeutics Platform, which includes SynCon™ DNA-based product candidates, the CELLECTRA® device, and access to efficient and scalable cGMP manufacturing facilities."

The Company has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Inovio Biomedical Corporation (INO: NYSE Alternext).

About VGX Pharmaceuticals

More information about VGX can be found at http://www.vgxp.com.

VGX Pharmaceuticals

Running Rodents And Tapping Fingers Produce Electricity Using Nanogenerators

2009-02-16T10:00:00.001+02:00

Could hamsters help solve the world's energy crisis? Probably not, but a hamster wearing a power-generating jacket is doing its own small part to provide a new and renewable source of electricity.

And using the same nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have also generated electrical current from a tapping finger - moving the users of BlackBerry devices, cell phones and other handhelds one step closer to powering them with their own typing.

"Using nanotechnology, we have demonstrated ways to convert even irregular biomechanical energy into electricity," said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regent's professor in the Georgia Tech School of Materials Science and Engineering. "This technology can convert any mechanical disturbance into electrical energy."

The demonstrations of harnessing biomechanical energy to produce electricity were reported February 11 in the online version of the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters. The research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Air Force, and the Emory-Georgia Tech Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence.

The study demonstrates that nanogenerators - which Wang's team has been developing since 2005 - can be driven by irregular mechanical motion, such as the vibration of vocal cords, flapping of a flag in the breeze, tapping of fingers or hamsters running on exercise wheels. Scavenging such low-frequency energy from irregular motion is significant because much biomechanical energy is variable, unlike the regular mechanical motion used to generate most large-scale electricity today.

The nanogenerator power is produced by the piezoelectric effect, a phenomenon in which certain materials - such as zinc oxide wires - produce electrical charges when they are bent and then relaxed. The wires are between 100 and 800 nanometers in diameter, and between 100 and 500 microns in length.

To make their generators, Wang's research team encapsulated single zinc oxide wires in a flexible polymer substrate, the wires anchored at each end with an electrical contact, and with a Shottky Barrier at one end to control current flow. They then attached one of these single-wire generators to the joint area of an index finger, or combined four of the single-wire devices on a "yellow jacket" worn by the hamster.

The running and scratching of the hamster - and the tapping of the finger - flexed the substrate in which the nanowires were encapsulated, producing tiny amounts of alternating electrical current. Integrating four nanogenerators on the hamster's jacket generated up to up to 0.5 nanoamps; less current was produced by the single generator on the finger.

Wang estimates that powering a handheld device such as a Bluetooth headset would require at least thousands of these single-wire generators, which could be built up in three-dimensional modules.

Beyond the finger-tapping and hamster-running, Wang believe his modules could be implanted into the body to harvest energy from such sources as muscle movements or pulsating blood vessels. In the body, they could be used to power nanodevices to measure blood pressure or other vital signs.

Because the devices produce alternating current, synchronizing the four generators on the hamster's back was vital to maximizing current production. Without the synchronization, current flow from one generator could cancel out the flow from another.

The research team - which also included Rusen Yang, Yong Qin, Cheng Li and Guang Zhu - solved that problem by using a substrate that was flexible in only one direction, forcing the generators to flex together. Still, there was substantial variation in the output from each generator. The differences result from variations in the amount of flexing and from inconsistencies in the hand-built devices.

"The nanogenerators have to be synchronized, with the output of all of them coordinated so the current adds up constructively," Wang noted. "Through engineering, we would expect this can be resolved in the future through improved design and more consistent manufacturing."

To ensure that the current measured was actually produced by the generators, the researchers took several precautions. For instance, they substituted carbon fibers - which are not piezoelectric - for the zinc oxide nanowires and measured no output electrical signal.

The research team encountered a number of obstacles related to its four-legged subjects. Wang's team first tried to outfit a rat with the power-generating jacket, but found that the creature wasn't very interested in running.

At the suggestion of Wang's daughter, Melissa, the researchers found that hamsters are more active creatures - but only after 11 p.m. They had to experiment with a jacket configuration that was tight enough to stay on and to wrinkle the nanogenerator substrate - but not so tight as to make the hamster uncomfortable.

"We believe this is the first demonstration of using a live animal to produce current with nanogenerators," Wang added. "This study shows that we really can harness human or animal motion to generate current."

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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Source: John Toon

Georgia Institute of Technology Research News

Peanut Product Recall Spurs Six In Ten Americans To Take Steps To Reduce Risk Of Sickness

2009-02-16T10:00:00.000+02:00

Many mistakenly believe recall involves national brands of peanut butter and are not aware of the range of products involved

A new national survey conducted by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health finds that the vast majority (93%) of Americans have heard or read about the recent ongoing recall of peanut products. Among those who are aware of the recall, about six in ten (61%) say they have taken one or more precautions to reduce their risk of getting sick from contaminated peanut products. Specifically, about one in four say they have checked ingredient lists on foods in the grocery store to make sure they know which products contain peanuts (27%), thrown away foods in their home that they think might be on the recall list (25%), stopped ordering foods containing peanuts in restaurants (22%), and stopped eating those foods they heard were in the recall (28%), while 15% say they have stopped eating all foods containing peanuts.

The poll also finds that among those who are aware of the recall, one in four (25%) mistakenly believe that major national brands of peanut butter are involved in the recall. Seventy percent correctly identify peanut butter crackers as being involved. However, less than half are aware that several other products containing peanuts have been recalled, including some in each of the following food categories: snack bars (49%), cakes, brownies, and cookies (45%), pet treats (43%), candy (39%), pre-packaged meals (36%), ice cream (27%), and jars or cans of dry-roasted peanuts (23%).

The survey was conducted between February 4-8, 2009, during the peanut product recall that began on January 12, 2009.

Links to the survey topline data and charts

"There's a striking level of awareness of this recall, and many people have taken action. But they're not aware of the range of products involved in the recall," said Robert J. Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health. "People should check the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall list routinely, since the number of products is still growing."

Consumers can search the recall list online at http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm

Fourteen percent of those who were aware of the recall report having checked the Food and Drug Administration's online list of foods involved and 19% have looked for more information about the recall.

About three-fourths (77%) of those who are aware of the recall do know that it involves contamination by salmonella.

The poll finds low levels of public confidence in groups involved in food production and inspection. More than six in ten Americans express only some or very little confidence in food manufacturers (67%) and the government inspections system (62%) to keep food safe. In addition, a slight majority (52%) say they have only some or very little confidence in grocery stores to keep food safe.

"The results suggest that all those involved in the food safety system need to act quickly to fix the problems and increase public confidence," said Blendon.

Methodology

This is the 28th in a series of studies on the public and biological security by the Harvard Opinion Research Program (HORP) at Harvard School of Public Health. The study was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). The project director is Robert J. Blendon of the Harvard School of Public Health. The research team also includes Kathleen J. Weldon and John M. Benson of the Harvard School of Public Health, and Melissa J. Herrmann of ICR/International Communications Research. Fieldwork was conducted via telephone (including both landline and cell phone) for HORP by ICR/International Communications Research of Media (PA) between February 4 and February 8, 2009.

The survey was conducted with a representative national sample of 1,283 adults age 18 and over, including oversamples of African Americans and Hispanics. Altogether 133 African Americans and 124 Hispanics were interviewed. In the overall results, these groups were weighted to their actual proportion of the total adult population.

The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points

Possible sources of non-sampling error include non-response bias, as well as question wording and ordering effects. Non-response in telephone surveys produces some known biases in survey-derived estimates because participation tends to vary for different subgroups of the population. To compensate for these known biases, sample data are weighted to the most recent Census data available from the Current Population Survey for gender, age, race, education, region, and number of adults in the household. Other techniques, including random-digit dialing, replicate subsamples, callbacks staggered over times of day and days of the week, and systematic respondent selection within households, are used to ensure that the sample is representative.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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This Harvard School of Public Health series is funded under a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The award enables HORP to provide technical assistance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as to other national and state government health officials in order to support two critical goals: 1) to better understand the general public's response to public health emergencies, including biological threats and natural disasters; and 2) to improve related public health communications.

Contact: Todd Datz

Harvard School of Public Health

Electro-Optical Sciences Announces Positive Top-Line Results From Landmark MelaFind(R) Pivotal Trial

2009-02-15T10:00:00.001+02:00

Electro-Optical Sciences, Inc. ("EOS") (NASDAQ: MELA) announced positive top-line results of its pivotal trial of MelaFind, a non-invasive, point-of-care instrument to assist in the early detection of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The blinded study, conducted at seven centers across the US, included 1,831 pigmented skin lesions from 1,383 patients, making this the largest prospective study ever conducted in melanoma detection. EOS is working to complete its Pre-Market Approval (PMA) application and expects to file it with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shortly.

"MelaFind appears to be an excellent tool to help detect melanoma at the earliest, most treatable stage," said Gary D. Monheit, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and the lead investigator for the MelaFind pivotal trial. "With no cure for late stage melanoma, early detection is our best defense against this cancer, which has reached epidemic proportions."

Prior to the start of the study, EOS and the FDA entered into a binding protocol agreement to stipulate the sensitivity and specificity endpoints that should be used to determine the safety and effectiveness of MelaFind.

MelaFind detected 112 of 114 (98% sensitivity; lower confidence bound of 95%) melanomas that were eligible and evaluable for primary sensitivity endpoint analysis, and 125 of 127 (98% sensitivity; lower confidence bound greater than 95%) melanomas overall. The protocol agreement calls for sensitivity endpoints of greater than 95% lower confidence bound(footnote 1).

MelaFind's specificity, the ability to accurately rule out disease, was significantly superior (9.5%) to that of the study dermatologists (3.7%), who are skin cancer experts (p-value less than 0.02). The protocol agreement calls for MelaFind to be more specific than the study physicians at a p-value(footnote 2) of less than 0.05.

Almost half of the melanomas in the study were melanoma in situ, the most curable yet most difficult form of melanoma to detect.

"These clinically compelling data suggest that MelaFind may help detect melanoma earlier, and more accurately differentiate many of the non-malignant lesions that mimic melanoma," said Darrell Rigel, MD, Clinical Professor of Dermatology at New York University Medical School. "This should lead to improved biopsy efficiency and help reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies, which can be painful and scarring."

The skin cancer experts who participated in this study had previously made the decision to biopsy all 1,831 pigmented skin lesions prior to enrolling the patients in the MelaFind clinical trial.

In order to generate a comparison with dermatologists' ability to accurately detect melanoma, EOS conducted a parallel pilot readers' study with a different group of 39 dermatologists. Using images and clinical histories of 23 randomly-selected melanomas from the pivotal study, this group of dermatologists, on average, would have decided to biopsy only approximately 18 (80%) of the melanomas, whereas the MelaFind result would have led to a biopsy of 22 of the melanomas (biopsy sensitivity of 96%). A larger readers' study to provide additional data regarding the sensitivity of MelaFind relative to physicians will commence shortly. Data from these studies will be submitted to the FDA.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the pivotal study and are now focused on completing our PMA to submit to the FDA as quickly as possible," said Joseph V. Gulfo, MD, President and CEO of EOS. "Our mission with MelaFind has always been to provide a useful tool to aid in detecting melanoma at its earliest, most curable stage. We look forward to discussing these data with the agency."

The company chose the final classification algorithm based on its success at identifying melanomas in a series of large, blinded and sequential internal classifier selection studies conducted immediately prior to the analysis of the pivotal trial data. Including the pivotal trial, the MelaFind classifier successfully detected 430 of the 432 melanomas against which it was tested.

There were no adverse events associated with the use of MelaFind.

The FDA has notified EOS that the MelaFind PMA will receive Expedited Review once the application is submitted. EOS plans to submit the findings from the pivotal study and the readers' studies to peer-reviewed journals for publication.

MelaFind uses 10 different wavelengths of light to see where a clinician cannot -- up to 2.5 millimeters below the skin's surface. Using advanced algorithms, trained and developed on a database of 9,000 pigmented skin lesions and over 600 melanomas, including those from the pivotal study, the system provides an immediate result that informs the decision to biopsy.

About Melanoma

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, responsible for approximately 80% of skin cancer fatalities. The melanoma rate has continued to increase with an estimated 120,000 new cases projected in 2009. A recent National Cancer Institute report published in the July 10 online edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology indicates that annual incidence of melanoma among young adult Caucasian women rose 50% between 1980 and 2004. Melanoma is the most common cancer in women age 25 to 29 and the number one cancer killer of women age 30 to 35. Although no cure is currently available for advanced-stage melanoma, if caught early, melanoma is virtually 100% curable.

About Electro-Optical Sciences

EOS is a medical device company focused on designing and developing a non-invasive, point-of-care instrument to assist in the early detection of melanoma. MelaFind features a hand-held imaging device that emits light of multiple wavelengths to capture images of suspicious pigmented skin lesions and extract data. Using sophisticated algorithms, the data are then analyzed against a proprietary database of melanomas and benign lesions in order to provide information to assist in the determination of whether the lesion should be biopsied.

Safe Harbor

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include but are not limited to our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that contain words such as "expects," "contemplates," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "believes" and variations of such words or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that do not relate to historical matters. These statements are based on our current beliefs or expectations and are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and changes in circumstances, many of which are beyond our control. There can be no assurance that our beliefs or expectations will be achieved. Actual results may differ materially from our beliefs or expectations due to economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors.

Electro-Optical Sciences

Immunohistochemical Basis For Adjuvant Anti-Angiogenic Targeted Therapy For Renal Carcinoid: Initial Case Report

2009-02-15T10:00:00.000+02:00

UroToday.com - Although primary renal carcinoids (PRC) are rare tumors, they represent a therapeutic dilemma for urologic oncologists due to tumor heterogeneity and their often unpredictable behavior. While these neuroendocrine tumors have traditionally been classified as low-grade tumors there have been cases associated with progression to metastatic disease and death. The largest clinicopathologic study to date was from Hansel and Epstein (Am J Surg Pathol 2007 Oct; 31(10):1539-44) who documented 21 tumors. Thirteen of the 21 patients had metastatic disease. Of the 15 patients that had extended follow-up, one died of disease 8 months after surgery. Few other series exist and as such no clear adjuvant therapy has been established.

In the current study, we presented a case of a young female with a PRC and with positive lymph nodes at the time of nephrectomy. Because of the intense vascularity of the tumor, we stained it for VEGF and found it to be strongly positive suggesting that targeted therapy with sunitinib (a multikinase inhibitor) might be beneficial. To date, she has been free of disease for 3 years on sunitinib. This information represents the first immunohistochemical evidence to guide a rational choice for adjuvant therapy for PRC. Of note, there have been studies showing activity of sunitinib in patients with other types of advanced neuroendocrine tumors supporting our rationale (Kulke MH, Lenz H-J, Meropol NJ, et al: Activity of sunitinib in patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors. J Clin Oncol 26:3403-3410, 2008).

Because PRC can have a very protracted course, however, long-term follow-up and additional patients are needed to confirm whether or not sunitinib actually played a role in her favorable outcome.

Written by David S. Finley, MD as part of Beyond the Abstract on UroToday.com

UroToday - the only urology website with original content written by global urology key opinion leaders actively engaged in clinical practice.

To access the latest urology news releases from UroToday, go to: www.urotoday.com

Copyright © 2009 - UroToday

How Omega-3 Fatty Acids Protect Against Liver Damage And Insulin Resistance

2009-02-15T09:00:00.001+02:00

According to a recent study published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids protect the liver from damage caused by obesity and the insulin resistance it provokes. This research should give doctors and nutritionists valuable information when recommending and formulating weight-loss diets and help explain why some obese patients are more likely to suffer some complications associated with obesity. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in canola oil and fish.

"Our study shows for the first time that lipids called protectins and resolvins derived from omega-3 fatty acids can actually reduce the instance of liver complications, such as hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance, in obese people," stated Joan Claria, a professor from the University of Barcelona and one of the researchers involved in the work.

The scientists found that two types of lipids in omega-3 fatty acids - protectins and resolvins - were the cause of the protective effect. To reach this conclusion, they studied four groups of mice with an altered gene making them obese and diabetic. One group was given an omega-3-enriched diet and the second group was given a control diet. The third group was given docosahexaenoic acid, and the fourth received only the lipid resolvin. After five weeks, blood serum and liver samples from the test mice were examined. The mice given the omega-3-rich diet exhibited less hepatic inflammation and improved insulin tolerance. This was due to the formation of protectins and resolvins from omega-3 fatty acids.

"Doctors are always looking for simple and easy ways to counter the harmful effects of obesity, and the great thing about this study is that the information can be used at dinner tonight," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "It's not unlikely that eating lots more fish or a simple switch to canola oil will make a difference."

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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Article details: Ana González-Périz, Raquel Horrillo, Natàlia Ferré, Karsten Gronert, Baiyan Dong, Eva Morán-Salvador, Esther Titos, Marcos Martínez-Clemente, Marta López-Parra, Vicente Arroyo, and Joan Clària. Obesity-induced insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis are alleviated by -3 fatty acids: a role for resolvins and protectins. doi:10.1096/fj.08-125674. http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/fj.08-125674v1

The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and is the most cited journal worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information. FASEB comprises 22 nonprofit societies with more than 80,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. FASEB advances biological science through collaborative advocacy for research policies that promote scientific progress and education and lead to improvements in human health.

Source: Cody Mooneyhan

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Chronic Infection May Add To Developing-world Deaths - MIT Study Points To Hidden Threat Stalking Many Diarrhea Patients

2009-02-15T09:00:00.000+02:00

Worldwide, nearly 2 million people per year die from diarrhea, the vast majority of them in poor countries in Africa and Asia. The disease accounts for 18 percent of all deaths among children - and yet is almost always preventable with proper treatment. Now, new research from MIT indicates that underlying, low-level undiagnosed infection may greatly add to the severity of a significant number of these cases. This realization could lead to changes in health-care strategies to address the problem.

The findings, reported by MIT Professor of Biological Engineering and Comparative Medicine David Schauer, show that these undiagnosed gastrointestinal infections increase the severity of and delay recovery from acute diarrhea, and the analysis provides a model that could allow public health officials to evaluate new preventive strategies or therapeutic treatments.

The work grew out of the increasing recognition of the relationship between persistent, chronic infections many people carry and the outcomes of later disease infection.

"It seemed likely that persistent enteric infection with bacterial agents would also elicit immune responses that could have similar effects. However, this had not been previously studied," Schauer says. "We wanted to provide proof of principle, and begin to define the mechanism for such an interaction."

To study the possible effects of these chronic infections, Schauer and his team used laboratory mice infected first with a strain of bacteria that causes a chronic condition but produces no symptoms, and then with a second infectious agent that causes acute diarrhea. They found that even though the underlying chronic infection did not cause disease on its own, it did make the acute infection much worse than in a control group that was only exposed to the second agent.

Schauer and his team say as far as they know this is the first time, for any kind of disease, that an underlying "subclinical" infection has been shown to make a later bacterial infection more severe. And in the case of diarrhea, this may play a significant role, since about 50 percent of the world population carries a chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach-lining inflammation but usually no clinical symptoms, and which is closely related to the initial infectious agent used in the mouse experiments.

"It may be that an individual's infection status with these or other agents is important in determining outcome of infection, immune-mediated disease or even immunization," Schauer says.

The work may also be significant in terms of understanding the results of much clinical research using rodent models. Infections similar to the chronic H. pylori "are now known to be widespread in many rodent facilities, and infection with these Helicobacter species does not cause clinical disease except in certain genetically engineered lines of mice," Schauer says, so "it is important to be aware of infection status with these agents when conducting research with laboratory rodents."

A report on the research was published last November in the journal Infection and Immunity, and was highlighted in December in Microbe magazine, both from the American Society for Microbiology. The work was carried out by Schauer and his students Megan E. McBee and Patricia Z. Zheng in the Department of Biological Engineering, and Arlin B. Rogers and James G. Fox in the Division of Comparative Medicine, all at MIT. The work was supported by a U.S. Public Health Service grant.

Written by David Chandler, MIT News Office

MIT

Required Online Course Provides Diabetes Education, Tools To Fight Obesity

2009-02-14T11:00:00.001+02:00

There is another tool to manage diabetes and fight obesity the Internet, specifically, an online, university-based program on obesity and physical activity that can apply to diabetes education.

The University of Houston department of health and human performance developed Public Health Issues in Physical Activity and Obesity (Kinesiology 1304) because of the prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity on campus.

"One strategy to prevent the development of obesity and manage diabetes centers on the aggressive development and use of educational programs," said Brian McFarlin, assistant professor and developer of the online class. "This course was designed for freshman and has been accepted as part of the undergraduate university's core requirements."

The course consists of eight bi-weekly learning modules, which highlight the role of obesity and physical inactivity to disease processes, such as the onset of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Each learning module is narrated by McFarlin and concludes with a quiz to determine the student's level of understanding.

Learning modules include topics such as the physiology of obesity, cardiovascular disease risk, diabetes, cancer, designing and implementing an exercise program, basic nutrition and health concerns for the 21st century.

"In addition, we've included online forums for students to discuss topics pertinent to obesity and physical activity," McFarlin said. Students have used that venue to talk about diet drugs, exercise devices and public misconceptions about dietary habits, he said.

The course has been a work-in-progress since 2005, as students have indicated the kind of technology that would be most beneficial to them. To that end, McFarlin has progressively changed the media used in his course to adapt to the ever-changing information needs of today's college students. One innovative area he is exploring is related to the use of the virtual world of Second Life as a teaching/demonstration tool. McFarlin and his key collaborator (Dr. Tony Jackson) recently published a report regarding the anti-diabetes education program in the journal, Diabetes Educator.

The course grew out of a National Institutes of Health funded project titled, Training Interventions and Genetics of Exercise Response, which examines how an individual's DNA sequence influences that person's body fatness and fitness. Dr. Molly Bray is the principal investigator of this NIH-funded project.

For more information on the UH department of health and human performance, visit http://hhp.uh.edu For more information on the research of Brian McFarlin, visit http://hhp.uh.edu/brian

University of Houston

4800 Calhoun Rd.

Houston

TX 77204-2163

United States

http://www.uh.edu

Diabetes Research Expert Available

2009-02-14T11:00:00.000+02:00

The director of the Center for Diabetes Research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is available to talk about the leading edge of multidisciplinary research to overcome diabetes mellitus -- the pandemic of this millennium. Wake Forest Baptist researchers are studying genetics of diabetes, diabetes in minority populations, diabetes and aging, childhood obesity and diabetes prevention, and applying the possibilities of stem cell research and regenerative medicine. Multiple NIH-funded studies are working to create detailed fingerprinting of the genome to identify genes that affect diabetes risk, insulin sensitivity, beta cell function and measures of obesity. Diabetes-related studies across the full spectrum of research account for more than $23 million of research funding in the current financial year at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Web address: http://www1.wfubmc.edu/DiabetesResearch

Donald Bowden, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Diabetes Research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, has written more than 150 scientific publications, most on diabetes. His specialty is genetics of diabetes. Currently he is leading a study focused on identifying the genetic causes of Type 2 diabetes in African Americans. In 2004 he reported a gene called PTPN1, found on chromosome 20, is involved in the body's response to insulin and leads to Type 2 diabetes. He earned his doctorate at University of California-Berkeley and was a fellow at Duke University Medical Center prior to joining the faculty at Wake Forest Baptist in 1989. He has directed the Center for Diabetes Research since its founding in 2006.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

Medical Center Blvd.

Winston-Salem

NC 27157-1015

United States

http://www1.wfubmc.edu

Evolutionary Link To Modern-Day Obesity, Other Problems

2009-02-13T14:00:00.001+02:00

That irresistible craving for a cheeseburger has its roots in the dramatic growth of the human brain and body that resulted from environmental changes some 2 million years ago.

Higher quality, nutritionally dense diets became necessary to fuel the high-energy demands of humans' exceptionally large brains and for developing the first rudimentary hunting and gathering economy.

But the transition from a subsistence to a modern, sedentary lifestyle has created energy imbalances that have increased rapidly -- evolutionarily speaking -- in recent years and now play a major role in obesity.

Activity patterns must get every bit as much attention as consumption of unhealthy foods in any attempt to reverse the modern-day permeations of an evolutionary trend that now contributes to obesity worldwide, according to William Leonard.

Leonard, chair and professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, discussed his work during the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Chicago at a press briefing on Feb. 12 and during a symposium from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Feb. 13.

Two million years ago shifts in foraging behavior and dietary quality helped to provide the energy and nutrition to support the rapid evolutionary increases in both the brain and body sizes of our ancestors.

Today modern humans use nearly a quarter of their resting energy needs to feed our brains, considerably more than other primates (about 8 to 10 percent) or other mammals (3 to 5 percent). To support the high-energy costs of our large brains, humans consume diets that are much richer in calories and nutrients than those of other primates.

"While our large-bodied ape relatives -- chimps, gorillas and orangutans -- can subsist on leaves and fruit, we needed to consume meat and other energy-rich foods to support our metabolic demands," Leonard said.

Staple foods for all human societies are much more nutritionally dense than those of other large-bodied primates. "To obtain these higher-quality diets, our foraging ancestors would have had to have moved over larger areas than our ape relatives, requiring large activity budgets," he said.

But substantial reductions of intense physical activities for adults living a modern lifestyle in the industrialized world have dramatically lowered the metabolic costs of survival.

The differences between energy in and energy out widen as we increase the nutritional density of our diets while reducing the time and energy associated with obtaining food. "Think about our ancestors," Leonard said. "Human hunter-gatherers typically move 8 miles per day in the search for food. In contrast, we can simply pick up the phone to get a meal delivered to our door."

That decline in daily energy expenditures contributes not only to obesity, but also to other chronic diseases of the modern world, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. "In a sense, those modern diseases represent where we started early in our evolutionary history," Leonard said.

The data clearly suggest the obesity epidemic cannot be understood solely by looking at consumption, he stressed. "Throughout most of our evolutionary history, the acquisition of our high-quality diets required substantial expenditure of energy and movement over much larger areas than for other primates."

The imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure today, Leonard concludes, is the root cause of obesity in the industrialized world.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive, Acapulco Room

(Leonard's AAAS talks will highlight the work that he and his colleagues -- Marcia L. Robertson, Josh Snodgrass, Mark V. Sorensen and Northwestern's Christopher Kuzawa --have been doing on the evolution of human nutritional requirements over the last 15 years. The work has been featured in prominent publications such as Scientific American and the Annual Review of Nutrition, and in books, recent and forthcoming, on the evolutionary perspectives on health and nutrition.)

Source: Pat Vaughan Tremmel

Northwestern University

Warfarin Does Not Reduce Catheter-Related Or Other Thromboses In Cancer Patients, So New Treatments Are Needed (Warp Study)

2009-02-13T14:00:00.000+02:00

Prophylactic warfarin is not associated with a reduction in catheter-related or other thromboses in cancer patients, and thus new treatments are needed. These are the conclusions of authors of an Article published in this week's edition of The Lancet, written by Annie Young, Cancer Research UK Trials Unit, Institute for Cancer Studies, University of Birmingham, UK, and colleagues. This trial (the WARP study) was funded by both Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council, UK.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a well known complication of cancer and is related to the production of a range of pro-clotting factors by tumours, certain chemotherapies and hormone therapies, and the use of central venous catheters (CVCs). Around 50% of patients with cancer have VTE, but it remains an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition. The use of CVCs to deliver infusional chemotherapy has increased enormously in the past decade, as has recognition of catheter-related thrombosis as a source of considerable complications. The use of warfarin with CVCs to prevent VTE is controversial because previous studies have produced mixed results and there is as yet no clear evidence of its efficacy. The authors assessed whether warfarin reduces catheter-related thrombosis compared with no warfarin, and whether any success of warfarin treatment is dose-dependent.

This randomised trial, at 68 centres in the UK, studied 1590 patients aged at least 16 years with cancer who were receiving chemotherapy through CVCs. Patients were randomised to no warfarin, fixed-dose warfarin 1 mg per day, or dose-adjusted warfarin per day. However, if the clinicians were certain of the indication of warfarin, they could randomise between 1mg wafarin and dose adjusted warfarin. The researchers found that any warfarin did not reduce the level of catheter-related thromboses compared with no warfarin (6% vs 6%) However dose-adjusted warfarin did reduce catheter-related thromboses versus fixed-dose warfarin (3% vs 7%), although major bleeding events were highest in the dose-adjusted warfarin group (16) versus the fixed-dose warfarin group (7). The combination of thrombosis and bleeding event data showed no clear benefit in any group, including no survival benefit.

The authors conclude: "The rate of symptomatic catheter-related thromboses reported in clinical trials has fallen substantially over the past decade. The improvements in catheter technology, placement, and aftercare are contributing to this reduction. When any benefit of thromboprophylaxis was balanced against the risk of major bleeding, the combined outcome showed no advantage with the use of any dose of warfarin. These findings only add to the assertion that the time has come to move on from warfarin for thromboprophylaxis in patients with cancer...We should consider newer treatments."

In an accompanying Comment, Dr Paolo Prandoni, Thromboembolism Unit, University of Padua, Italy says that while there is no evidence for the benefit of warfarin an effort should be made to identify those patients at highest risk of VTE and therefore who may benefit from thromboprophylaxis.

The Lancet

How Do You Mend A Broken Heart? Maybe Someday With Stem Cells Made From Your Skin

2009-02-13T12:00:00.002+02:00

A little more than a year after University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists showed they could turn skin cells back into stem cells, they have pulsating proof that these "induced" stem cells can indeed form the specialized cells that make up heart muscle.

In a study published online in Circulation Research, a journal of the American Heart Association, UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health professor of medicine Tim Kamp and his research team showed that they were able to grow working heart-muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) from induced pluripotent stem cells, known as iPS cells.

The heart cells were originally reprogrammed from human skin cells by James Thomson and Junying Yu, two of Kamp's co-authors on the study.

"It's an encouraging result because it shows that those cells will be useful for research and may someday be useful in therapy," says Kamp, who is also a cardiologist with UW Health. "If you have a heart failure patient who is in dire straits - and there are never enough donor hearts for transplantation - we may be able to make heart cells from the patient's skin cells and use them to repair heart muscle. That's pretty exciting."

It's also a few more discoveries away. The researchers used a virus to insert four transcription factors into the genes of the skin cell, reprogramming it back to an embryo-like state. Because the virus is taken up by the new cell, there is a possibility it eventually could cause cancer, so therapies from reprogrammed skin cells will likely have to wait until new methods are perfected.

Still, the iPS cardiomyocytes should prove immediately useful for research. And Kamp says the speed at which knowledge is progressing is very encouraging.

Jianhua Zhang, lead author on the study, noted that it took 17 years, from when a mouse embryonic stem cells were first created in 1981, to 1998, when Thomson created the first human embryonic stem cells. In contrast, the first mouse iPS stem cells were created in 2006, and Thomson and Yu published their paper in November 2007, announcing the creation of human iPS stem cells that began as skin cells.

While research on embryonic stem cells is controversial, because it destroys a human embryo, lessons learned through such research apply to current work with iPS cells made from adult cells.

"That's one of the important things that have come out of the research with embryonic stem cells, it taught us how human pluripotent stem cells behave and how to work with them," Kamp says. "Things are able to progress much more quickly thanks to all the research already done with embryonic stem cells."

Many types of heart disease have known genetic causes, so creating cardiomyocytes grown from patients who have those diseases will likely be some of the next steps in the research. One of Kamp's colleagues, Clive Svendsen, a UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health professor of neurology and anatomy, has grown the iPS cells into disease-specific neural cells. Kamp and Svendsen are also on the faculty of the Waisman Center and the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.

Kamp's latest research, proving that iPS cells can become functional heart cells, is just one step along the way to better understanding and treatment of disease.

"We're excited about it, because it's the some of the first research to show it can be done, but in the future, we'll probably say, 'Well, of course it can be done,'" he says. "But you don't know until you do it. It's a very mysterious and complicated dance to get these cells to go from skin cells to stem cells to heart cells."

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Millions Around World To Observe Rare Disease Day

2009-02-13T12:00:00.001+02:00

The last day of February has been designated as worldwide "Rare Disease Day" to call attention to the public health issues associated with rare diseases, which affect nearly 30 million Americans and countless others around the world.

"People with rare diseases remain a medically underserved population in every country," said Peter L. Saltonstall, president of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), which is sponsoring Rare Disease Day in the U.S. "This day is intended to bring together the patients and families with rare diseases to discuss the need for greater awareness, more research, and better access to diagnosis and treatment."

More than 200 organizations, institutions and companies have signed on as "Rare Disease Day Partners" in a U.S. coalition supporting the special observance. The coalition, being coordinated by NORD, includes patient organizations, professional societies, government agencies, medical researchers, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Rare Disease Day activities in the U.S. will include a nationwide network of online videos, patient stories and blogs; newspaper, radio, and television reports; state and municipal proclamations; a Rare Disease Hall of Fame for researchers; and other activities designed to raise awareness of what it means to have a rare disease.

A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there are nearly 7,000 such diseases affecting nearly 30 million Americans.

"People with rare diseases often face challenges that occur less frequently with more common diseases," Saltonstall said. "These include delay in getting an accurate diagnosis, few treatment options, and difficulty finding medical experts. Many rare diseases have no approved treatment, and insurance may not cover treatments that aren't approved. Medical and social services may be denied because those making the decisions are not familiar with the diseases. Also, treatments for rare diseases tend to be more expensive than treatments for more common diseases."

In 1983, the Orphan Drug Act was passed by Congress to create financial incentives for companies to develop treatments for rare diseases. Since then, nearly 330 "orphan" (for rare diseases) drugs and biologics have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA estimates that from 11 to 14 million Americans benefit from these products. However, that still leaves more than 15 million Americans with diseases for which there is no approved treatment.

Rare Disease Day also will highlight the unique partnership that exists among the patient community, government entities such as the NIH Office of Rare Diseases and FDA Office of Orphan Products Development, medical professionals, researchers, and companies developing orphan products.

Although this is the first Rare Disease Day observance in the U.S., it is the second globally. The concept was launched in Europe last year by the European Rare Disease Organization, EURORDIS, a sister organization to NORD. This year, Rare Disease Day also is being observed in other parts of the world, including Canada, Australia, and China. The plan is to have a global Rare Disease Day on the last day of February each year.

NORD, a federation of individuals and patient organizations, was established in 1983 by the patient leaders who worked to get the Orphan Drug Act passed. It provides advocacy in Washington, DC, on behalf of the rare disease community; research grants and fellowships; educational services for patients, the public, and medical professionals; and patient assistance programs.

For more information about Rare Disease Day activities in the U.S., go to NORD's website (http://www.rarediseases.org). For information about the global observance, go to http://www.rarediseases.org).

Rare Disease Day

Rise In Use Of Common Osteoporosis Drugs Among Canadian Seniors

2009-02-13T12:00:00.000+02:00

The number of Canadian seniors using a common drug therapy to prevent bone deterioration due to osteoporosis increased significantly over the past six years, but a new study shows men are far less likely than women to be using the drugs. The study, published today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), examines trends in public drug claims among seniors for bisphosphonates, a class of drugs used to treat osteoporosis and prevent fractures. The study looked at the drug claims of more than one million seniors from six provinces - Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of seniors using the three bisphosphonates studied (etidronate, alendronate and risedronate) increased in each of the studied provinces. The overall rate of bisphosphonate use among seniors grew by 45%, from 8.9% to 12.9%. When bisphosphonate use due to the growth in the senior claimant population (9%) during this time period is added, there was a 55% increase in the number of bisphosphonate users.

"Osteoporosis affects up to one in four women and one in eight men over the age of 50 in Canada. But while women are twice as likely to have the disorder, CIHI's study shows they are six times more likely to be using bisphosphonates," says Dr. Diane Thériault, Medical Director at the Dartmouth Osteoporosis Multidisciplinary Education Program in Nova Scotia. "This raises questions about whether men are being under-diagnosed and under-treated for the disorder, which could have serious consequences for seniors and their families."

In 2006-2007, 20.4% of Canadian senior women across the provinces included in the study were using bisphosphonates (or 1 in 5 senior women), compared to 3.3% of all men 65 and older (or 1 in 30 senior men).

"One of the greatest concerns for osteoporosis patients and their families is hip fractures and their associated complications," says Michael Hunt, Manager of Pharmaceuticals at CIHI. "An estimated 70% of hip fractures in Canada are osteoporosis related. Monitoring the use of preventive therapies for hip fractures, such as bisphosphonates, can help practitioners understand what is and what isn't working for these patients."

Introduction of new therapies led to shifts in bisphosphonate use

Bisphosphonates were first introduced in 1995 in the form of a daily-dose therapy, followed by the introduction, in 2002, of a weekly therapy. This resulted in a significant shift toward the use of bisphosphonates on a weekly regimen. Of the daily bisphosphonates users in 2001-2002 who were still on drug therapy in 2006-2007, just more than 59% had switched to weekly bisphosphonate therapy in 2006-2007.

About CIHI

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) collects and analyzes information on health and health care in Canada and makes it publicly available. Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments created CIHI as a not-for-profit, independent organization dedicated to forging a common approach to Canadian health information. CIHI's goal: to provide timely, accurate and comparable information. CIHI's data and reports inform health policies, support the effective delivery of health services and raise awareness among Canadians of the factors that contribute to good health.

Canadian Institute for Health Information

Medical Defence Union Urges Government Not To Water Down Deprivation Of Liberty Safeguards, UK

2009-02-13T10:00:00.001+02:00

Assessments carried out to determine whether it is appropriate for a patient with a mental disorder to be detained for care or treatment by a care home or hospital should only be done by a healthcare professional with insurance in order to help safeguard the rights of vulnerable patients says the MDU, the UK's leading medical defence organisation.

The assessments were introduced as part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which are due to come into effect on 1 April 20091. However, the DoH now proposes to amend regulations2 defining the criteria for eligibility of healthcare professionals to carry out the assessments, so that assessors will no longer need to prove they are "insured in respect of any liabilities that may arise". Instead it is proposed that they will only have to show that they have an "adequate and appropriate indemnity arrangement which provides cover in respect of any liabilities that might arise." This may be a policy of insurance, an arrangement made for the purposes of indemnifying a person, or a combination of the two. While this change is proposed to include healthcare professionals who are covered by NHS indemnity, which is not insurance, this amendment would also have the unfortunate effect of allowing indemnity to be provided on a discretionary basis.

Dr Christine Tomkins, MDU Deputy Chief Executive explains: "This proposal would weaken the safeguards for vulnerable patients as if there is no contract of insurance, how can someone harmed by a negligent deprivation of liberty assessment be sure they will receive their rightful compensation? We believe that the current regulations already allow for NHS indemnity and there is no need to change them. The amendment proposed is an unnecessary dilution of the existing regulations and risks allowing discretionary indemnity by the back door.

"Doctors who are reliant on discretionary indemnity have no right to be given assistance with a claim; only to seek assistance and for that request to be considered. The decision to indemnify or not can only be made when they present the indemnifier with the facts of the case for which they are seeking help. By contrast, insurance is regulated and provides a contractual right to assistance, subject only to the terms of the policy. This is an important distinction as far as the interests of patients and the public are concerned, because regulation provides a high degree of consumer protection that is not available with unregulated financial services.

"For example, an insurance policyholder who is refused assistance is entitled to an explanation for that refusal and has a range of other options such as asking the Financial Ombudsman Service to investigate or taking legal action. A discretionary organisation is not obliged to give any reasons for the refusal and, as there is no contract of indemnity, doctors reliant on discretionary indemnity cannot seek redress for breach of contract. Insurance is also supported by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which exists to pay claims in the event that an insurer or other provider of financial services fails. Discretionary providers do not come within this scheme and their members and their patients do not have this protection."

Further information

1 The Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty: Standard Authorisations, Assessments and Ordinary Residence) Regulations 2008 (England), OPSI, 9 July 2008

2 Consultation on the Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty: Monitoring and Reporting) and (Deprivation of Liberty: Standard Authorisations, Assessments and Ordinary Residence) (Amendment) Regulations 2009, DoH, 19 December 2008

From April 2009, care homes or hospitals, which believe it is necessary and in patients' best interests to deprive them of liberty in order to provide care or treatment, must apply for authorisation from a supervisory body, usually a local authority or PCT. These supervisory bodies must then ensure that the patient is properly assessed to determine whether deprivation of liberty would be appropriate. The Mental Capacity (Deprivation of Liberty: Standard Authorisations, Assessments and Ordinary Residence) Regulations 2008 (England), which came into effect on 3 November 2008, set out the eligibility requirements for those who can carry out such assessments, including their qualifications, skills and training. The DoH consultation concerns amendments to these regulations.

The MDU

The MDU is a mutual, not for profit, organisation owned by our members who include over 50 per cent of the UK's hospital doctors and GPs. Established in 1885, we were the world's first medical defence organisation. We defend the professional reputations of our members when their clinical performance is called into question. Our benefits of membership include insurance for claims of clinical negligence and a wide range of medico-legal advisory services.

The MDU

Scientists Unravel Genetic Codes And Family Trees Of Common Cold Viruses

2009-02-13T10:00:00.000+02:00

US scientists have unravelled the genetic code of all known strains of the common cold virus; by completing their diverse genomic sequences they were able to map not only their RNA configurations but also determine their family trees to reveal how closely they may be related and what characteristics they may or may not share as a result of mutating through neighbouring or distant evolutionary branches. The results will provide a useful platform for researching and developing vaccines against the common cold, they said.

The study was the work of researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is published online before print in the 12 February issue of Science.

The authors wrote that human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are a major cause of diseases in the upper and lower respiratory tract of humans worldwide and there are many different phenotypes or strains.

Senior author, Dr Stephen B Liggett, professor of medicine and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of its Cardiopulmonary Genomics Program, said in a separate statement:

"There has been no success in developing effective drugs to cure the common cold, which we believe is due to incomplete information about the genetic composition of all these strains."

Liggett, who is a pulmonologist and molecular geneticist, said that we tend to think of colds as more of a nuisance than anything, but they can be risky for the very young and the elderly, and can trigger asthma attacks at any age.

"Also, recent studies indicate that early rhinovirus infection in children can program their immune system to develop asthma by adolescence," said Liggett.

Liggett and colleagues discovered that human rhinoviruses that cause the common cold are organized in about 15 family groups, each with its own ancestral path, which may explain why no one anti-viral drug works against all of them.

"Perhaps several anti-viral drugs could be developed, targeted to specific genetic regions of certain groups," explained Liggett, adding that, "the choice of which drug to prescribe would be based on the genetic characteristics of a patient's rhinovirus infection."

Liggett said that while anti-virals may be the best option, their data also suggests that vaccines might be an effective route as well, particularly as they get more and more samples from patients and can quickly sequence the whole genome of the viruses and see how often they mutate in one season. He said that kind of work was already taking place, suggesting that vaccine development for the common cold (notorious for frequent mutation) may not be as difficult as people might think.

Co-investigator Dr Claire M Fraser-Liggett, director of the Institute for Genome Sciences and professor of medicine and microbiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, spoke of what she described as a "new insight" discovered by the study: that the human rhinovirus takes a shortcut when it starts making protein in the host cell, it skips a step, and this may explain why people feel ill so soon after becoming infected.

"We would not have had any sort of intuition about this had it not been revealed through genome analysis," said Fraser-Liggett.

"Information that comes from this discovery might present a completely different approach in terms of therapy," she added.

The researchers also discovered that human rhinoviruses are capable of doing something not thought possible in that type of virus: they recombine to form new strains. Two different strains can infect the same person and exchange material to form a third strain, known as a recombination, which may account for the speed with which new strains emerge within one season.

They found as many as 800 new mutations in virus samples taken from patients with colds, which they compared to older strains. Liggett said they found mutations in all parts of the genome.

Lead author, Dr Ann C Palmenberg, professor of biochemistry and chair of the Institute for Molecular Virology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said:

"As we begin to accumulate additional samples from a large number of patients, it is likely that hotspots for mutation or recombination will become apparent, and other regions resistant to mutational change may emerge."

This will help scientists work out how flexible the virus is in response to changes in its environment, which is valuable information for therapy developers.

Before this study, scientists had only mapped a few dozen rhinovirus genomes, but as work began, other scientists came forward with new maps, so that the collection began to expand to a size bigger than was first thought. As Fraser-Liggett explained:

"It was clear to us that the spectrum of rhinoviruses out there was probably much greater than we realized."

She said they realized they needed to develop a framework to study ways of combating the viruses and use their genetic signatures to predict how they might affect the people they infect.

The researchers modeled and compared each sequence to each other, so that they now have enough pieces of the jigsaw to be able to answer questions like how the rhinoviruses might mutate as they spread from host to host; which ones are more closely linked to asthma; and which ones might cause asthma later in life when exposed to in infancy.

"With all this information at hand, we see strong potential for the development of the long-sought cure for the common cold, using modern genomic and molecular techniques," said Fraser-Liggett.

New DNA sequencing tools means that researchers can look at whole genomes much more quickly, and "answer multiple questions in parallel", she added.

"Sequencing and Analyses of All Known Human Rhinovirus Genomes Reveals Structure and Evolution."

Palmenberg AC, Spiro D, Kuzmickas R, Wang S, Djikeng A, Rathe JA, Fraser-Liggett CM, Liggett SB.

Science,Published Online February 12, 2009

DOI: 10.1126/science.1165557

Click here for Abstract.

Sources: Journal abstract, University of Maryland Medical Center.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

ACP Commends Congress For Including Health Care Reform In Economic Stimulus Legislation

2009-02-12T14:00:00.005+02:00

"The House of Representatives and the Senate are to be commended for including an important 'down payment' on health care reform in the economic stimulus bills," Jeffrey P. Harris, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians, said.

"I urge conferees to come to an agreement that will provide adequate funding for critical health care issues - including coverage, health information technology, comparative effectiveness and primary care. These investments will provide short- and long-term benefits to the economy," noted Dr. Harris.

Specifically, Dr. Harris urged House and Senate negotiators to:

Retain more than $20 billion in funding to help physicians and other clinicians acquire health information technology (HIT).for purposes such as quality reporting, prevention and coordination of care. Dr. Harris urged the conferees to adopt language from the Senate bill to continue to build upon the work being done by public and private multi-stakeholder groups to develop standards and certify that electronic health records have essential capabilities and functions. His letter also expressed support for providing positive financial incentives for HIT adoption as included in both the House and Senate bills, but asked conferees to accept language in the House of Representatives bill to provide a longer timeframe and increased assistance to smaller physician practices before any penalties for non-compliance are imposed.
Provide more than $1 billion in funding for comparative effectiveness research as a first step to creating and funding an independent entity to conduct rigorous, evidence-based evaluations of the effectiveness of different medical treatments.
Retain the $600 million to fund training of primary care physicians under the National Health Services Corps and Title VII health professions programs that is included in the House bill.

"The U.S. needs more than 16,000 additional primary care physicians to meet the needs of currently underserved areas of the country, according to the Institute of Medicine," noted Dr. Harris. "Many more will be needed as coverage is expanded to additional persons. Studies show that primary care is consistently associated with better outcomes and lower costs of care, but there is a growing shortage of primary care doctors. The Senate regrettably left funding for primary care out of its bill."
Include funding to help low-income unemployed persons keep their COBRA or enroll in Medicaid. Dr. Harris expressed a preference for the higher levels of COBRA subsidies - 65 percent in the House bill - over the 50 percent subsidy in the Senate bill. Dr. Harris also urged that the final agreement include the House's proposal to provide additional funds to states to enroll low-income persons who temporarily lose their jobs in the state's Medicaid program.

"Some say that Congress must choose between short-term measures to stimulate the economy and longer-term health care reforms. This is a false choice," declared Dr. Harris. "We need to make sure that people who lose their jobs are able to obtain affordable coverage. We need to make the investments in health information technology, primary care, and effectiveness research that that will create jobs today - and make health care more affordable tomorrow."

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 126,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internists specialize in the prevention, detection and treatment of illness in adults.

Source: David Kinsman

American College of Physicians

A Look At Romantic Love On Life Lines Podcast - For Valentine's Day

2009-02-12T14:00:00.004+02:00

Love is usually associated with the heart: Valentine's Day chocolates, for example, often come in a (stylized) heart-shaped box. But recent studies by neuroscientists show that love is actually very much in our heads.

Dr. Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, has studied the brain during various stages of romantic love using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). She describes these studies in the most recent episode of the APS podcast, Life Lines (http://www.lifelines.tv).

The episode is entitled Where Love Begins: In the Brain and can be found by clicking on Episode 18 at http://www.lifelines.tv.

This audio podcast recounts the portions of the brain that are active for people who are:

newly in love
recently been rejected by a lover (unhappily in love)
in a longterm romantic relationship

Among Dr. Brown's findings that you can hear in this interview:

romantic love appears to be a drive, rather than an emotion
chocolate activates the same area of the brain that is activated during romantic love
the areas of the brain that are activated by romantic love overlap with areas of the brain that are active when people feel the rush of cocaine
people in longterm relationships who report they are still very much in love showed activity in the same area of the brain activated during early-stage romantic love

There is also some research that suggests that couples that do new and challenging things together tend to keep their relationships fresher and more exciting. Please listen to this and other episodes at http://www.lifelines.tv.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease. The American Physiological Society (http://www.The-APS.org/press) has been an integral part of this discovery process since it was established in 1887.

Source: Christine Guilfoy

American Physiological Society

Mikai(R) Introduces New Minimally Invasive Falena(R) Interspinous Device To Treat Common Degenerative Spinal Disorders

2009-02-12T14:00:00.003+02:00

Mikai, S.p.A. ®, a privately held medical device company, announced the market launch of its patented Falena® Interspinous Decompression Device. Falena®, a small titanium and PEEK implant inserted during minimally invasive back surgery, treats lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) providing patient pain relief.

LSS is a narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back that can irritate the nerves that branch from the spinal cord and is most often a result of aging and everyday wear on the spine commonly occurring in people over age 50. LSS may cause progressive low back pain with or without radiation, numbness or weakness in the buttocks and legs and symptoms that improve with resting, lying down or bending forward.

"Using local anesthesia, we found the Falena® procedure simple and straightforward. The initial post-surgery results are excellent with spinal decompression and flexion preservation achieved and almost immediate patient pain relief," according to Prof. Giovanni Simonetti and Prof. Salvatore Masala of University Hospital Tor Vergata in Rome, Italy.

The patented Falena® device is a winged structure manufactured in titanium with a "C" shaped spacer in PEEK OPTIMA® to extend a rigidity and elasticity similar to bone with high biocompatibility and wear resistance.

The Falena® procedure is an alternative to spinal fusion and is typically performed in less than an hour under local or general anesthesia using dedicated instrumentation. The procedure is reversible with an average recovery time from two to seven weeks. Falena® limits the extension of the spine at the symptomatic levels and preserves flexion, axial rotation, lateral bending and mobility of the symptomatic vertebral section. Falena® is positioned in and preserves the interspinous ligament which contributes to the equilibrium and stabilization of the spine.

Falena®, currently not available for sale in the U.S., will be exhibited at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons meeting in Las Vegas, NV, February 25-28 at booth #1330, Hall A.

About Mikai, S.p.A. ®

Mikai, S.p.A. ®, a privately held company based in Genova, Italy, is dedicated to the development, manufacture and marketing of novel minimally invasive technologies to treat degenerative spinal disorders.

Patent and Trademark Notice

Falena® is protected by U.S. patent applications and/or their foreign equivalents.

Falena® and Mikai® are logos and trademarks of Mikai, S.p.A. and are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and/or their foreign equivalents.

Mikai, S.p.A.

Guided Therapeutics, Inc. Reports Preliminary Findings From FDA Pivotal Clinical Trial

2009-02-12T14:00:00.002+02:00

Guided Therapeutics, Inc. (GT) (Pink Sheets: GTHP) today announced that its LightTouch™ non-invasive cervical cancer detection technology properly identified cervical disease missed by Pap tests and conventional pathology in a multi-site Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pivotal clinical trial. Based on the outcome of the study, GT plans to submit the trial results to the FDA as part of the Premarket Approval (PMA) application for the LightTouch.

"We are very pleased that the results of the study indicate that the LightTouch is capable of discovering disease that may be missed by conventional cervical disease detection," said Mark L. Faupel, Ph.D., GT President and CEO at the Southeastern Medical Device Association annual conference in Atlanta. "Based on the study results, we believe that our technology also demonstrates the capability to detect cervical disease early, when it is most effectively treated."

Since the pivotal trial began, more than 1,900 women were tested to demonstrate the technology's safety and efficacy in detecting cervical disease, including an arm of the study that assessed effectiveness of an investigational commercial version of the device and single-use disposable.

The study protocol indicated that all subjects were referred after undergoing a Pap test, or had some other risk factor that fulfilled the referral criteria of the study. Each subject was tested with the LightTouch investigational device and underwent an additional Pap test, colposcopic exam and biopsy. Two generations of the investigational LightTouch were used in the trial.

Preliminary results from the study showed that the LightTouch performed better than the Pap test. The investigational commercial version of the LightTouch detected approximately 46 percent more cervical disease than the Pap test - a statistically significant improvement.

The company expects to complete analyzing the study results and present the findings to the FDA in the second quarter of 2009.

The GT LightTouch technology systematically and rapidly scans the cervix to identify cancer and pre-cancer painlessly and non-invasively by analyzing the wavelengths of light reflected from cervical tissue. The technology distinguishes between normal and diseased tissue by detecting biochemical and morphological changes at the cellular level. Unlike Pap or HPV tests, the LightTouch test does not require a tissue sample or laboratory analysis, and is designed to provide results immediately.

Clinical trial sites include the University of Miami, The University of Texas Southwest, Emory University/Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA, St. Francis Hospital/University of Connecticut in Hartford, Orange Coast Women's Center and Saddleback Women's Center in California.

According to studies published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, the non-invasive LightTouch test has the potential to be significantly more accurate when compared to the Pap test and Human Papilloma Virus test, two standard tests women currently undergo for cervical screening and diagnosis.

About Guided Therapeutics

Guided Therapeutics, Inc. (Pink Sheets: GTHP) is developing a rapid and painless test for the early detection of disease that leads to cervical cancer. The technology is designed to provide an objective result at the point of care thereby improving the management of cervical disease. Unlike Pap and HPV tests, the device does not require a painful tissue sample and results are known immediately. The company also owns technology for measuring substances in interstitial fluid, a secondary circulatory system in the body that surrounds the cells. For more information, visit GT's web site http://www.guidedinc.com.

The Guided Therapeutics LightTouch™ Non-invasive Cervical Cancer Detection Device is an investigational device and is limited by federal law to investigational use.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. A number of the matters and subject areas discussed in this news release that are not historical or current facts deal with potential future circumstances and developments. The discussion of such matters and subject areas is qualified by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally and also may materially differ from Guided Therapeutics' actual future experience involving any of or more of such matters and subject areas. Such risks and uncertainties include: the early stage of products in development, the uncertainty of market acceptance of products, the uncertainty of development or effectiveness of distribution channels, the intense competition in the medical device industry, the uncertainty of capital to develop products, the uncertainty of regulatory approval of products, dependence on licensed intellectual property, as well as those that are more fully described from time to time under the heading "Risk Factors" in Guided Therapeutics' reports filed with the SEC, including Guided Therapeutics' Annual Report on Form 10-KA for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and subsequent quarterly reports.

Guided Therapeutics

Alliance Between Arizona's TGen And Michigan's Van Andel Research Institute To Promote Worldwide Science And Health

2009-02-12T14:00:00.001+02:00

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) will forge a strategic alliance that will enable both to maximize their worldwide contributions to science and health.

The non-profit research institutes jointly announced today the initiation of an "alliance and affiliation agreement."

The partnership between Phoenix, Ariz.-based TGen and Grand Rapids, Mich.-based VARI will enable both institutes to speed up their mutual goals of moving research discoveries about cancer and other debilitating medical conditions as quickly as possible from laboratories to patient care.

"Combining many of the scientific, educational, financial and business potentials of TGen and VARI will advance the research of both institutions and enhance the economic development of both Arizona and Western Michigan," said Dr. Jeffrey Trent, President and Scientific Director of TGen since its founding in 2002

. "This alliance will elevate both organizations in the world of scientific research," said Dr. Trent, who will retain his roles at TGen, but upon implementation of the agreement also will become President and Research Director of VARI.

VARI is the research arm of the Van Andel Institute (VAI), established in 1996 as a philanthropic research and educational organization by the late Jay and Betty Van Andel.

"We are excited to welcome Dr. Trent and TGen as they combine forces with us in our mission to conquer cancer and human disease," said VAI Chairman and CEO David Van Andel. "This alliance demonstrates that VARI and TGen are at the forefront of redefining a borderless, collaborative, national and international scientific community that transcends geographical limitations."

The alliance combines the groundbreaking basic research expertise of VARI with the cutting-edge translational genomics and analysis of TGen.

Dr. Trent will replace Dr. George Vande Woude, who in 1998 was appointed the founding Director of VARI.

"The search for a new director has ended with the best possible results - a renowned, research director in Dr. Trent, who will now lead VARI, and an alliance that strengthens two of the nation's fast-emerging leaders in biomedical research," David Van Andel said.

Dr. Vande Woude, a member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, will remain at VARI as head of the Laboratory of Molecular Oncology. Dr. Vande Woude, who held top-level administrative posts at the National Cancer Institute since the early 1980's, will be able to achieve a long-held desire to return to the lab full-time.

"This is a great moment for both Institutions. I have known Dr.Trent professionally for nearly 20 years and have always admired him as one of the nation's leading scientists. One of Dr. Trent's greatest attributes is bringing together researchers from many disciplines to work on problems that will improve human health," Dr. Vande Woude said.

TGen is dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders, diabetes and infectious diseases. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research, in which investigators unravel the genetic basis of complex diseases and medical conditions.

VARI opened its facility in 2000. Its 18 research laboratories are primarily dedicated to molecular cancer research, but it also focuses on conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, and heart disease. VARI will open a 240,000 square-foot building expansion this fall, which will allow it to broaden its efforts to include additional neurological disorders and chronic illnesses. VARI's primary work has been in basic research - looking for what occurs to cause disease in individual cells, and using that information to identify "biomarkers" that can help predict and diagnose diseases, and lead to the development of safer, more effective drugs.

"VARI is on the verge of expanding its already strong basic research programs and implementing further translational research," said Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, TGen's Physician-In-Chief and a world-renowned cancer scientist.

"TGen is poised to translate the discoveries generated in laboratories from both organizations into real solutions for patients," said Dr. Von Hoff, who also is Chief Scientific Officer of TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare. "This is a terrific opportunity to work together and increase our chances of making a difference for our patients."

Both TGen and VARI are relatively young organizations that have triggered regional growth of the life sciences and biomedical industries in Arizona and Western Michigan.

Both organizations have a strong focus on cancer, collaborations and expansion locally, nationally and internationally.

The "alliance and affiliation agreement" is expected to become effective July 1, 2009.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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About TGen

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research where investigators are able to unravel the genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For additional media resources and more information, visit: http://www.tgen.org/news/index.cfm?pageid=57&newsid=1404.

About Van Andel Research Institute

Established by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, Van Andel Institute (VAI) is an independent research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process. VARI, the research arm of VAI, is dedicated to probing the genetic, cellular and molecular origins of cancer, Parkinson and other diseases and working to translate those findings into effective therapies. This is accomplished through the work of over 200 researchers in 18 on-site laboratories, in laboratories in Singapore and Nanjing, and in collaborative partnerships that span the globe. For more information, visit: http://www.vai.org.

Source: Steve Yozwiak, TGen Senior Science Writer

The Translational Genomics Research Institute

Celsion Commences Pivotal Phase I/II Study Of ThermoDox(R) In The Treatment Of Recurrent Chest Wall Breast Cancer

2009-02-12T14:00:00.000+02:00

Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN), an oncology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers, announced today that it has initiated a pivotal Phase I/II study of ThermoDox® in combination with hyperthermia, or heat, to treat recurrent chest wall breast cancer, a disease with a very poor patient prognosis and limited treatment options.

The open-label, dose-escalating pivotal trial has been designed to measure durable local complete response at the tumor site. Celsion expects to enroll approximately 100 patients across the United States and to complete the study by the first half of 2010. Study locations include the Florida Cancer Institute in Hudson, FL led by Principal Investigator Arthur Maztkowitz, MD, New York University Hospital in New York, NY led by Silvia Formenti, MD, and the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Tulsa, OK led by Petra Ketterl, MD. Additional information on the study may be found at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Michael H. Tardugno, Celsion's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented "We are pleased to update our partners, particularly our shareholders, on the significant progress that has been made on our recurrent chest wall cancer program just three months after submitting our final protocol to the FDA. The clinical staff has brought us one step closer to delivering on the potential of ThermoDox to a cancer population that is truly in need of effective treatment options, given the debilitating nature of this disease, and we are extremely proud of their hard work and commitment to this initiative."

"Recurrent cancer at the chest wall can affect a significant number of breast cancer patients who have had a mastectomy", noted Dr. Nicholas Borys, Celsion's VP and Chief Medical Officer. "With no current standard of care, women with this type of recurrence often cannot be adequately treated with surgery, radiation, or existing chemotherapy. We believe that the DIGNITY study will demonstrate that ThermoDox in combination with hyperthermia will provide local tumor control and improve quality of life."

About Recurrent Chest Wall Cancer

Depending on risk factors, up to 40% of women with mastectomies may experience recurrent chest wall cancer (RCW). The disease is generally defined as the recurrence of tumor to the area of the initial definitive treatment such as mastectomy. There are a significant number of women diagnosed with RCW who frequently cannot be treated with further surgical resection, radiation or existing chemotherapy because they have exhausted available treatment options.

About ThermoDox®

ThermoDox® is Celsion's proprietary heat-sensitive liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin, an approved and frequently used anti-cancer drug used in the treatment of various cancers. Localized heat (at 40-42 degrees Celsius and above) releases the entrapped doxorubicin from the liposome. This delivery technology enables high concentrations of doxorubicin to be deposited preferentially in a targeted tumor.

About Celsion

Celsion is dedicated to the development and commercialization of oncology drugs including tumor-targeting treatments using focused heat energy in combination with heat-activated drug delivery systems. Celsion has research, license or commercialization agreements with leading institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, Duke University Medical Center, University of Hong Kong, Cleveland Clinic, North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System.

For more information on Celsion, visit our website: http://www.celsion.com.

Celsion wishes to inform readers that forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, unforeseen changes in the course of research and development activities and in clinical trials by others; possible acquisitions of other technologies, assets or businesses; possible actions by customers, suppliers, competitors, regulatory authorities; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Celsion

City Awards First Workplace Wellbeing Hallmark, UK

2009-02-12T12:00:00.001+02:00

Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust has become the first employer in the city to be awarded the Workplace Health and Wellbeing Hallmark (WHWH).

The endorsement from Portsmouth City Council recognises organisations that have made steps towards developing a healthier, fitter workforce and a more rewarding workplace for their employees. The PCT, which is part of the NHS, has over 2,500 staff and commissions healthcare and provides Community and Mental Health services.

The WHWH scheme was launched just a year ago and currently 10 employers have committed to working towards the standard. The PCT submitted a portfolio of evidence including updated policies and staff benefits which gained the city council's stamp of approval.

Lee Loveless Programme Lead, at Portsmouth City Council said: "I am surprised and delighted that we have been able to award our first hallmark this early into the scheme. It seems fitting that a health organisation should be leading the way."

Caroline Curtis Wellness Lead and workforce coordinator at Portsmouth City Primary Care Trust said: "We are very proud to receive the WHWH Hallmark. Working on the WHWH portfolio has helped bring a lot of existing work related to wellbeing together, so we can see the gaps and decide what actions to take next. I believe every employer has a moral responsibility to look after their staff, and that employees will repay you many times over when they feel valued and supported."

Explaining the purpose of the scheme, Lee added: "A healthy workplace is good for people and has business benefits. Introducing wellbeing schemes can improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and staff turnover, improve staff morale and even cut accidents and insurance claims." The hallmark is open to large and small employers alike. Organisations receive support to introduce initiatives and can benefit from template documents and sharing experiences with other workplaces taking part in the scheme.

Portsmouth City Council

Welsh NHS Trust Data Loss Could Easily Have Been Avoided

2009-02-12T12:00:00.000+02:00

Credant Technologies, the military grade encryption specialist, says that a Welsh NHS Trust, which has been rapped over the knuckles for being in breach of the Data Protection Act after losing data on 5,000 patients held on a laptop, could very easily have avoided the problem had it used encryption technology.

"The Information Commissioner's Office has quite rightly found the Abertawe Bo Morgannwg trust to be in breach of the DPA for losing the data on the South Wales patients in its area," said Michael Callahan, Credant's vice president.

"It's good to see that the ICO has elicited an agreement with the Trust to encrypt all of its patient data in future, and step up IT security generally," he added.

According to Callahan, had the Trust used encryption on the laptop -in line with security policies in a growing number of companies in the private sector - then the embarrassment and possible litigation from the patients concerned could have been avoided.

Whilst the data held on the laptop was password protected, Callahan says that breaking Windows password protection is now relatively easy on a notebook, especially if the hard drive is removed and installed on a hacker's test bench.

"Criminals are becoming highly sophisticated in their approach to IT these days. They are becoming aware of the value of the data on the notebook's hard drive, as well as the inherent value of the hardware, so anyone storing sensitive data on notebooks should use encryption as a matter of routine," he explained.

For more on the Welsh NHS Trust laptop fiasco: http://tinyurl.com/d27ndu

For more on Credant Technologies: http://www.credant.com

Credant Technologies

New Study Shows Large Volumes Of Cellulosic Biofuels Can Be Sustainably Produced By 2030

2009-02-12T10:00:00.002+02:00

Large-scale production of advanced biofuels beyond the level of the Renewable Fuel Standard is achievable and sustainable by 2030, with accelerated development of biofuel and agricultural technology. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today welcomed the release of The 90-Billion Gallon Biofuel Deployment Study, a new report by Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors Corp. that investigates the challenges and feasibility of increasing biofuel production targets to 90 billion gallons. Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO's Industrial and Environmental Section, hailed the findings, saying, "This new study shows clearly that building U.S. production of cellulosic biofuels is a sound way to significantly reduce U.S. reliance on imported petroleum in the transportation sector. The study uses relatively conservative assumptions about the development of cellulosic biorefineries as well as the availability and possible yields of biomass to show that large-scale production of cellulosic biofuels can be done. Moreover, cellulosic biofuels can compete with high prices for oil while requiring investment equal to or less than that needed to find and develop new sources of domestic oil. And this large volume can be produced without reducing existing grain production.

"The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard sets a target of producing 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2022. This study shows that a modest target of 45 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels by 2030 can be achieved by maintaining the same pace of technology development and using available crop and forest residues as well as dedicated energy crops and trees. It also shows that as technology development and biomass availability accelerate, targets up to 90 billion gallons can be reached. Continued federal support can help the industry quicken the development of the necessary technology and weather the risk of oil price volatility."

Sandia National Laboratories' Biofuels Deployment Model was used to complete the 90 billion gallon study, which would displace nearly a third of projected transportation fuel use in 2030. The key findings include:

- Producing 90 billion gallons of biofuels could reduce direct U.S. greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 87 coal-fired electricity plants.

- Large volumes of cellulosic biofuels can be produced from already identified biomass and resources without displacing crop production.

- Cellulosic biofuels could compete without incentives with oil priced between $70 and $90 per barrel in 2030, with accelerated development of technology and feedstocks.

- The investment in cellulosic biorefineries would be comparable to that required to expand domestic oil exploration and production to equivalent levels.

- Building the necessary transportation and distribution infrastructure is a challenge but not an insurmountable obstacle.

Neal Gutterson, president & CEO of Mendel Biotechnology, a developer of sustainable, dedicated energy crops, noted, "The 90-Billion Gallon Biofuel Deployment Study is broadly consistent with our own view on the sustainability of large-scale cellulosic biofuel production. It is particularly encouraging, as their assumptions on the rates of yield improvement with perennial grasses are very conservative. The tools of biotechnology are being deployed to great effect by Mendel and other developers, such as Ceres, to accelerate the yield improvement curve for dedicated energy crops."

"Non-food, dedicated energy crops are available today and will play a key role in simultaneously advancing the scale and sustainability of the cellulosic biofuels industry," said Richard Hamilton, chief executive of Ceres, Inc. "This study used very conservative yield projections but still demonstrates we are pursuing the right technologies and public policy choices. Biofuels from non-food dedicated energy crops can make a very large dent in petroleum dependence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Tjerk de Ruiter, CEO of Genencor - Division of Danisco, added, "We believe continued commitment from industry and government will ensure a future for biofuels, as the Sandia research confirms. Genencor's technology is helping both to increase efficiency of current ethanol and also fast-track ethanol from biomass. The study makes clear that continued support of R&D and initial commercialization, along with infrastructure investment, will be critical to meet production targets and large-scale deployment of 2nd generation biofuels."

"Novozymes applauds and encourages scientific research to ensure that policies and future direction for biofuels are well-founded. The GM-Sandia study confirms the very favorable long-term outlook for biofuels. From our perspective, Novozymes will be ready with commercial-scale volumes of enzymes for cellulosic biofuels in 2010 to support this growing industry," added Lars Hansen, President, Novozymes North America.

Erickson continued, "The biotechnology and advanced biofuels industry is working diligently to make commercial production of cellulosic biofuels a reality in the near future. There are more than 30 existing and planned cellulosic biorefineries set to begin production of advanced biofuels within the next few years. Many other projects and promising technologies are on the drawing board. These pioneer cellulosic biofuel facilities will prove that the technology works and that the industry can meet and exceed the goals established in the Renewable Fuel Standard. As oil prices rise, the need for domestically produced advanced biofuels should remain a priority for U.S. policymakers and consumers."

A map of these cellulosic biofuel facilities is available on the web at http://biofuelsandclimate.wordpress.com/about/.

The Advanced Biofuels & Climate Change Information Center presents the latest commentary and data on the environmental, greenhouse gas and other impacts of biofuel production. Drop in and add your comments, at http://biofuelsandclimate.wordpress.com/.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO CEO & Investor Conference 2009

February 9-10, 2009

New York, New York

BIO-Europe Spring

March 16-18, 2009

Milan, Italy

BIO IP Counsels' Committee Conference

March 25-27, 2009

Phoenix, AZ

BIO National Venture Conference

March 31-April 1,2009

Boston, MA

BIO Windhover 2009

April 13-15, 2009

New York, New York

BIO-LES Business Development Basics Course

May 15-17, 2009

Atlanta, GA

BIO-LES Advanced Business Development Course

May 15-17, 2009

Atlanta, GA

BIO Executive Presentation Workshop

May 17, 2009

Atlanta, GA

2009 BIO International Convention

May 18-21, 2009

Atlanta, Ga.

BioEquity Europe

June 9-10, 2009

Munich, Germany

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing

July 19-22, 2009

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

BIO

Breakthrough's Comment On New Research On HRT And Breast Cancer Risk

2009-02-12T10:00:00.001+02:00

Older women are at a far reduced risk of breast cancer once they stop hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr Sarah Cant, Policy Manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said:

"We've known for some time that taking HRT can increase the risk of developing breast cancer; however, short-term use is likely to have only a small effect.

"Previous research has suggested that women who have stopped taking HRT are no longer at increased risk of breast cancer after five years. This study suggests the fall in risk happens within one year. We would need further research results before we can be sure of the accuracy of these new findings.

"Women who are concerned should contact their GP before starting, stopping or changing their HRT."

Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Workers Paid To Quit Smoking

2009-02-12T10:00:00.000+02:00

Researchers found that paying workers in a large US company to quit smoking was more successful than just giving them information about the benefits of quitting, as reflected in higher rates of enrollment in and completion of cessation programs, and managing to quit within 6 months of joining the study.

The study was the work of lead author Kevin G Volpp from the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in the University of Pennsylvania, and researchers from other parts of the US, and is published online in the 12 February issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM.

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of early death in the US. The authors wrote that previous studies looking at the effect of financial incentives had not shown promising results, but these could have been due to insufficient incentives and insufficient numbers in the studies.

For this study, the researchers recruited 878 participants, all employees of the multinational General Electric company working in 85 sites across the United States, and randomly assigned them to one of two groups.

One group (442 workers) received information about giving up smoking, and the other group (436 workers) got the same information plus financial incentives comprising 100 dollars if they completed a smoking cessation program, 250 dollars if they quit within 6 months of enrolling in the study, and 400 dollars if they abstained from smoking for another 6 months.

The workers also underwent biochemical tests to confirm their reported smoking status; it was not just down to what they said.

The researchers also noted other data about the participants, such as their work site, type of work (heavy or non heavy), how much they smoked and their income.

The main outcome measure was smoking cessation at 9 or 12 months after enrolling in the study, depending on whether they stopped smoking at 3 or 6 months. The secondary outcome measures were smoking cessation within 6 months of enrolling in the study, and the numbers who took part in and completed the cessation programs.

The results showed that:

At 9 or 12 months after joining the study, the group that was paid to quit (the incentive group) had significantly higher rates of smoking cessation than the group that only received educational materials (14.7 vs 5.0 per cent respectively, P
At 15 or 18 months after study enrollment, the gap was still there (9.4 vs 3.6 per cent, P
The incentive group also had significantly higher rates of enrollment (15.4 vs 5.4 per cent, P
The incentive group also had a higher rate of quitting smoking within the first 6 months after joining the study compared with the group that just received educational materials (20.9 vs 11.8 per cent, P

The authors concluded that:

"In this study of employees of one large company, financial incentives for smoking cessation significantly increased the rates of smoking cessation."

Commenting on the study, Volpp told Reuters news agency that incentive programs only work if they have enough financial backing and are well designed; low budget ones will have little effect.

"Our study shows that if you're able to get people smoke-free and keep them smoke-free for six months or more, there's a fighting chance they can stay smoke-free on their own," said Volpp in a phone interview.

According to Reuters, nearly all the participants in this study were highly educated white volunteers, and one can't say if the findings apply to other groups or whether the results would be different for different sizes of incentive.

"A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Financial Incentives for Smoking Cessation."

Volpp, Kevin G., Troxel, Andrea B., Pauly, Mark V., Glick, Henry A., Puig, Andrea, Asch, David A., Galvin, Robert, Zhu, Jingsan, Wan, Fei, DeGuzman, Jill, Corbett, Elizabeth, Weiner, Janet, Audrain-McGovern, Janet.

N Engl J Med Volume 360, Number 7, pp 699-709, February 12, 2009

Click here for Abstract.

Sources: NEJM, Reuters.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Circulating Tumor Cells As Indicators Of Prostate Cancer Status

2009-02-11T18:00:00.000+02:00

A new study suggests that monitoring circulating tumor cells (CTCs), the cells that have broken free from the tumor, may be a useful way to assess the status of prostate cancer that is more reliable than the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test, although the findings would need to be confirmed in clinical trials, said the authors.

The study was the work of researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, other research centers in the US and the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, UK, and is published in the early online issue of the The Lancet Oncology on 11 February.

The main purpose of the study was to find another way to monitor progress in drug trials that gives reliable intermediate results so that approval timescales can be shortened. The authors decided to investigate whether measuring CTCs might be a useful way to predict survival in patients who are undergoing chemotherapy to treat progressive prostate cancer that has started to spread.

For the study, the researchers identified 164 men with progressive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who were undergoing first line chemotherapy in the IMMC38 trial. In this trial, the CTCs were isolated from blood samples using a method called immunomagnetic capture; this was done at the start and end of the trial.

The researchers analysed the association between survival and the before and after values of a number of variables, including CTC count, levels of PSA, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and others, and assessed how well they identified patients at high and low risk of survival.

The results showed that:

Variables linked to a high risk of death included: high LDH, high CTC, and high PSA, low albumin and low haemoglobin at baseline (start of study).

After 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks, changes in CTC counts were strongly linked to risk, whereas PSA was not.

The strongest predictors for survival were LDH concentration and CTC counts.

The authors concluded that:

"CTC number, analysed as a continuous variable, can be used to monitor disease status [of prostate cancer] and might be useful as an intermediate endpoint of survival in clinical trials. "

They suggested the results were strong enough to warrant "prospective recording of CTC number as an intermediate endpoint of survival in randomised clinical trials".

Commenting on the findings, John Neate, Chief Executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity in the UK told the press that:

"Once prostate cancer has advanced to the stage where chemotherapy is an option -- which is at a late stage of the disease, unlike in many other cancers -- one of the problems that doctors face is uncertainty about the effectiveness of the treatment. "

He said that current tests aren't very effective at tracking progress of the disease in chemotherapy, they work reasonably well, but something better is needed, he said.

"Whilst further trials are necessary, this new research shows that measuring the number of circulating tumour cells seems to improve prediction of how men will respond to chemotherapy," said Neate, adding that measuring CTCs seems to be:

"More finely attuned to the effects of the chemotherapy than previously thought. There are, therefore, circumstances where some men will benefit from further courses of chemotherapy treatment when at present they may not be offered it," explained Neate.

He also said that a more accurate measure may help to reduce the anxiety that comes when there is insufficient clarity about the progress of the disease adding to the difficulty of deciding if the treatment is working or not.

"Circulating tumour cells as prognostic markers in progressive, castration-resistant prostate cancer: a reanalysis of IMMC38 trial data."

Howard I Scher, Xiaoyu Jia, Johann S de Bono, Martin Fleisher, Kenneth J Pienta, Derek Raghavan, Glenn Heller.

The Lancet Oncology, Early Online Publication, 11 February 2009.

doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(08)70340-1

Click here for Abstract.

Sources: Journal abstract, The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Cancer Research UK's Race For Life 2009 - Every Woman Is Invited

2009-02-11T14:00:00.003+02:00

Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 2009 event series is now open for entries and the charity is inviting every woman to enter, take part and experience the true spirit of Race for Life! This year Cancer Research UK is hoping hundreds of thousands of women of all ages come together and walk, jog, run and have fun at the 5k events across the UK, to help raise as much money as possible to beat cancer.

Now in its 16th year, Cancer Research UK's Race for Life continues to be the most successful and largest women's only fundraising event across the UK. Whether you have a personal reason for entering, are taking part with a group of friends or are simply keen to raise as much money as possible for a great cause, Race for Life is a fun day out and a heart warming experience for everyone involved.

For those who feel daunted by the 5k distance - there really is no need as 5k isn't that far and is totally achievable. You'd probably spend more time doing your weekly food shop than it'll take to complete your Race for Life!

Last year over 687,000 women came together at more than 250 events across the UK. At each event, thousands of women of all ages, shapes and sizes inspired each other to complete the 5k course. Some women chose to wear fancy dress and walked the event; friends, sisters, daughters and mothers chatted and jogged their way around; and others took part in their full sports kit trying to beat their target time - but all of them were united in their goal of raising money to help beat cancer.

Since Race for Life began in 1994, over 4 million inspiring women have raised an incredible £240 million for Cancer Research UK's life saving work. By entering this year and taking part in one of over 230 events from May to end July, you can be part of the true spirit of Race for Life. Your support and dedication will help to celebrate the lives of those who have been affected by cancer and raise vital funds to beat the disease.

Nell McAndrew, Race for Life supporter and participant for the past seven years said:

"I'm extremely proud to be supporting and taking part in the Race for Life series again for 2009. I would really urge everyone to join in and take part at one of the many 5k events local to you this year.

The great passion and sense of achievement that you feel at the finish line is overwhelming and the genuine emotion shown by women across the UK creates the Race for Life atmosphere that is truly inspiring. By joining in with family and friends and taking part this year, you'll be helping to fund the charity's life saving work."

To enter Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 2009 or for more information, visit Race for Life 2009 or call the hotline on 0871 641 2282.

Race for Life 2009

- Over 230 events taking place across the UK from May until end July 2009

- Race for Life opens for entries on 19 January 2009 and entry fee is £12.99

- Enter by visiting www.raceforlife.org or calling 0871 641 2282

- Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 2009 is supported by Tesco and Nivea

About Cancer Research UK

- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.

- Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.

- Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.

- Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.

- Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.

Cancer Research UK

Liz McClarnon Gets Fashion Pulses Racing For Cancer Research UK

2009-02-11T14:00:00.002+02:00

LIZ McCLARNON has already proved herself a talented songstress, television presenter and master chef. Now she is adding another string to her bow as the designer of a stylish limited edition t-shirt to launch Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 2009 series.

A fresh design for spring/summer 2009, Liz's white t-shirt features a feminine print with pretty flower detailing in bright pink, one of the season's hottest shades as seen at the Matthew Williamson and Alexander Wang catwalk shows. Channelling the strong, positive messages of Race for Life, the t-shirt is set to become a must have item for every style conscious woman's wardrobe, while also raising vital funds for research into beating cancer.

Race for Life is the UK's biggest women-only fundraising event and this year 680,000 women are expected to come together to walk, jog or run 5k in over 230 events taking place across the UK.

Liz said: "I was inspired after I took part in Race for Life last year and I wanted my design to be a celebration of life with a bright, vibrant splash of colour. The florals represent femininity, while the clustered and intertwined flowers symbolise the thousands of women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds coming together as one to make a big impact for a fantastic cause.

"I'm really proud to have designed the Race for Life 2009 t-shirt. I hope it helps to raise lots of money for Cancer Research UK and encourages even more women to sign up for a Race for Life event this year and support the charity's life-saving work."

Liz's limited edition Race for Life t-shirt retails at £15.99 and is available to purchase through the Race for Life website, http://www.raceforlife.org. which is open for entries for the 2009 series.

The Race for Life series runs from May until the end of July 2009. For more information or to find your nearest event visit http://www.raceforlife.org or call 0871 641 2282.

Notes

Race for Life 2009

- Over 230 events taking place across the UK May until the end of July 2009

- Race for Life opens for entries on 19 January 2009

- Enter by visiting http://www.raceforlife.org or calling 0871 641 2282

- Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 2009 is supported by Tesco and Nivea

About Cancer Research UK

- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.

- Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.

- Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.

- Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.

- Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.

Cancer Research UK

American Chemical Society Weekly News - Feb. 4, 2009

2009-02-11T14:00:00.001+02:00

Mars Rover device gets new mission on Earth

Developed to sniff out extraterrestrial life on other planets, a portable device known as the Mars Organic Analyzer (MOA) is taking on a new role in detecting air pollutants on Earth. Researchers in California report the development of a modified MOA able to detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), potentially carcinogenic molecules from cigarette smoke and wood smoke, volcanic ash, and other sources. The report appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of ACS' semi-monthly journal Analytical Chemistry.

In the report, Richard A. Mathies and colleagues indicate that current earthbound PAH detection focuses on the cleanup of environmental contamination sites. On other planets, the concentration of organic PAH molecules can provide valuable insight into environmental conditions and the potential for extraterrestrial life. But existing PAH detection methods are slow and costly. Scientists thus are seeking an inexpensive, rapid and nondestructive technique for the measurement of PAH contamination.

The researchers tested samples from Lake Erie and a hydrothermal vent from the Gulf of California, as well as a Martian analogue sample from the Mars-like Atacama Desert, one of the driest spots on earth. They found that the detection sensitivity of the device was on par with current laboratory methods. "The method of PAH analysis developed here significantly advances the MOA's capabilities for organic carbon detection and may also prove useful for environmental monitoring," says Mathies. - AD

ARTICLE: "Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Analysis with the Mars Organic Analyzer Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis System"

CONTACT:

Richard A. Mathies, Ph.D.

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720

Nanotubes trigger biochemical "cross talk" for consumer protection tests

Researchers in West Virginia and Japan are reporting an advance toward a blood test that could help protect consumers from new products containing potentially harmful kinds of nanotubes. These ultra small wisps of carbon - 1/5,000th the width a single human hair - may become the basis for multibillion-dollar medical, consumer electronics, and other industries in the future.

Their report is appeared in the Jan. 14 issue of ACS' Nano Letters, a monthly journal.

Petia Simeonova and colleagues cite hints from past studies that nanotubes are toxic to the lungs of laboratory animals. Those findings emphasized the need for tests to check on the toxicity before products containing these particles hit the market.

In the new research, scientists deposited nanotubes in the lung of lab mice, and discovered the existence of a "cross-talk" mechanism, in which the animals' lungs alerted the rest of the body to the nanotubes presence. The alert caused specific genes in the animals to kick into action and produce certain proteins. The resulting biochemical signature of nanotube exposure could become a biomarker for exposure to harmful nanoparticles, the researchers say. - MTS

ARTICLE: "Cross-Talk between Lung and Systemic Circulation during Carbon Nanotube Respiratory Exposure. Potential Biomarkers"

CONTACT:

Petia Simeonova, Ph.D.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Morgantown, West Virginia 26505

Nanoparticles in dietary supplements cause health concerns, regulatory challenges

An increase in the number of dietary supplements made with nanoparticles - so called "nanoceuticals" - is raising growing concerns about their potential for toxicity in the wake of little government oversight, according to an article scheduled for the Feb. 9 online issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

In the article, C&EN Associate Editor Britt Erickson notes that manufacturers of dietary supplements are increasingly using nano-sized particles (about 1/5000th the width of a single human hair) to boost nutrient absorption, enhance mental focus and creativity, and other health-promoting functions. One nonprofit organization that tracks nanotechnology estimates at least 44 "nanoceuticals" are currently on the market, quadruple the number that existed three years ago.

But consumers have no way of knowing whether a "nanoceutical" is safe or whether it does what it claims to do, the article notes. Unlike drugs, dietary supplements do not need to be reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration for safety and effectiveness before marketing. This lack of government oversight, coupled with growing concerns about the potential toxicity of nanoparticles, has led consumer groups to urge regulators to do more to ensure that nanoceuticals are safe and effective.

Notes one regulatory expert, "If FDA waits much longer, we are going to be faced with hundreds of products and hundreds of companies and a much more difficult situation."

ARTICLE: "Nanoceuticals"

----------------------------

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

----------------------------

The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Source: Michael Woods

American Chemical Society

Paul Weller Set To Perform At Cancer Research UK's Sound & Vision 2009

2009-02-11T14:00:00.000+02:00

Cancer Research UK has announced that the UK's legendary modfather, Paul Weller, will appear at their annual heritage music event, Sound & Vision, taking place at the iconic Abbey Road Studios on 26th February 2009.

Cancer Research UK has announced today that the UK's legendary modfather, Paul Weller, will appear at their annual heritage music event, Sound & Vision, taking place at the iconic Abbey Road Studios on 26th February 2009.

Now in its fourth year, Sound & Vision has raised over £400,000 for Cancer Research UK's lifesaving work, which has saved millions of lives in the UK and across the world. This imaginative fundraising event is a hot ticket for the capacity audience, and will include a performance on the main stage from special guest Paul Weller. Lemar and Diana Jones, new emerging Americana artist hailed by Bob Harris as 'the voice of 2009' will perform during the VIP reception in the famous Studio 2.

Paul Weller commented, "I'm proud to be associated with this event and to be supporting Cancer Research UK's amazing work."

The event also features a one-night only exhibition and auction of powerful music imagery by leading rock photographers including Tom Bailey, Gered Mankowitz, Adrian Boot, Jill Furmanovsky and Terry O'Neill. There will also be a live auction of music memorabilia, giving guests the chance to own a piece of music history. Items up for auction include an Epiphone guitar donated from Gibson exclusively signed by Paul Weller, Slash, Brian May and Justin Hawkins.

Celebrated former Jam and Style Council frontman Paul Weller is one of the UK's most iconic musicians. Hailed as the main influence on the Britpop era of the 90's and also for newer acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Paul has continued to innovate and be a hugely successful solo artist. Following the release of his critically acclaimed, Number 1 double album 22 Dreams in June 2008, Paul has just been nominated for the British Male Award at this year's BRITs.

This year, the inimitable DJ Bob Harris, who was recently treated for prostate cancer, has become Sound & Vision's Patron, joining Founding Patron Sir George Martin. Bob has played a crucial role in pulling the evening together and will be co-hosting the event with fellow Radio 2 star Dermot O'Leary.

Following the high demand for Sound & Vision tickets, Cancer Research UK will be auctioning off the final few tickets for this sell-out event online. The auction includes three pairs of tickets to the main event, plus one pair of VIP tickets giving the top bidder access to Sound & Vision, as well as the VIP reception and the Green Room, where they will get the chance to meet the artists. They will also have their picture taken with Paul Weller as a memento of the night.

To find out more about how to bid for the final Sound & Vision tickets, visit www.soundandvisionofficial.com and check the 'Latest News' section for details.

Sound & Vision 2009 is sponsored by Sound Advice, Sony Music, Live Nation, Jaguar and Shepperton Ltd. Absolute Radio, Stylorouge and Q Magazine are among the partners supporting the event. The new Sound & Vision website was created by Wham.

About Cancer Research UK

- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.

- Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.

- Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.

- Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.

- Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.

Cancer Research UK

Alice Jacobs, Boston Medical Center Cardiologist Receives Drake Award

2009-02-11T12:00:00.012+02:00

Newton resident Alice Jacobs, MD, FACC, FAHA, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Interventional Cardiology at Boston Medical Center is the recipient of the Drake Award. The award was presented at the Annual Maine Scientific Session's 59th annual conference in Bethel, Maine.

The Drake Award is presented every year in memory of Dr. Eugene Drake, considered to be the first physician in Maine to specialize in the treatment of heart disease. He was also co-founder of the American Heart Association, Maine Affiliate and dedicated his career to carrying out the American Heart Association mission. This award is given to physicians who have made significant contributions in cardiovascular disease research, treatment and education.

The conference was geared toward improving the knowledge and awareness of cardiovascular and stroke issues in acute-care areas to health-care professionals in the hopes of improving patient outcomes. In addition to being presented with the award during the weekend conference, Jacobs also gave a presentation on the current concepts and controversies surrounding myocardial infarction. Jacobs gave an update on the current status of reperfusion therapy for a STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) heart attack, as well as discussing the barriers to widespread implementation of systems of care for STEMI patients.

Jacobs is a professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and past president of the American Heart Association (AHA). She was also a member of several American College of Cardiology (ACC) writing groups establishing training criteria in interventional cardiology, assessing and maintaining competence in interventional cardiology, and updating the ACC/AHA guidelines for the performance of percutaneous coronary intervention.

She serves as chair of the ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines, vice president of the Association of University Cardiologists, and is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Interventional Cardiology Self-Assessment Test Committee and the New York State Cardiac Advisory Committee.

Jacobs major research interest is in coronary revascularization strategies. She is also interested in cardiovascular disease in women and the gender differences in the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of ischemic heart disease. Currently, she is leading the AHA's Mission: Lifeline, a community-based, national initiative to develop strategies to increase the number of ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients with timely access to primary PCI. She is the principal investigator of the MASS COMM trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of coronary angioplasty performed in community hospitals without on-site cardiac surgery in Massachusetts.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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The 59th Annual Maine Scientific Session was sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency whose goal is to reduce coronary heart disease, stroke and risk by 25 percent by 2010. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association that focuses on reducing risk, disability and death from stroke through research, education, fund raising and advocacy.

Source: Michelle Roberts

Boston University

William C. Reeves New Investigator Award Won By UC Davis Malaria Researcher Win Surachetpong

2009-02-11T12:00:00.011+02:00

Malaria researcher Win Surachetpong, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Davis, is the 2009 winner of the William C. Reeves New Investigator Award, given to the best scientific paper presented at the annual Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC) meeting.

Surachetpong received $1000 and a plaque at the 77th annual MVCAC meeting, held in Burlingame. His scientific paper focused on regulating the development of malaria parasites.

"Win is a very talented, dedicated student and I have been extremely fortunate to have him in my lab," said his major professor and malaria researcher Shirley Luckhart, an associate professor of medical microbiology and immunology at the UC Davis School of Medicine, and a faculty member of the Graduate Groups of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Microbiology; Immunology; and the Graduate Program in Entomology.

"His work," she said, "has been the foundation of the development of a completely new area of work for us that will probably keep us busy for years to come."

The award memorializes a renowned entomologist and professor at UC Berkeley who was widely regarded as the world's foremost authority on the spread and control of mosquito-borne diseases. Reeves (1916-2004) was a frequent visitor to the UC Davis campus.

Surachetpong said that malaria "remains an enormous public health burden, especially in developing countries." Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium and transmitted by infected anopheline mosquitoes, strikes some 350 to 500 million people a year, killing more than a million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"New strategies including integrated vector management in combination with current conventional malaria control efforts such as drug treatment and bednet usage could synergistically reduce malaria transmission," Surachetpong said.

"However, our current knowledge of vector-host-parasite interactions is limited," he noted. "For example, how mosquito innate immune responses control malaria parasite development and how blood-derived factors modulate mosquito biology remain interesting topics."

"In this study, we reveal the role of MEK-ERK (mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase) signaling in regulation of malaria parasite development by an ingested blood-derived, mammalian cytokine in the mosquito host."

The results, the researchers said, "provide new insights into the host-parasite-vector relationship that could be utilized as a foundation for new strategies to reduce malaria transmission."

Surachetpong titled his paper "MAPK/ERK Signaling Regulates the TGF-Betal Dependent Mosquito Response to Plasmodium falciparum." TGF-beta is a transforming growth factor beta synthesized by skeletal cells and found in most species.

A native of Thailand, Surachetpong joined the Luckhart lab and the Immunology Graduate Group in 2005. He is seeking his doctorate in immunology, with a designated emphasis in vectorborne diseases. His doctoral thesis is "MAPK Signaling Pathways Regulate Anti-Malarial Response in Anopheles Mosquitoes."

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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Last year Surachetpong was awarded a prestigious Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation health travel award to present his research at a Keystone Symposia conference in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting focused on the pathogenesis and control of emerging infections and drug-resistant organisms. Surachetpong received his doctorate of veterinary science degree at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok in 2000, ranking first in his class, and his master of science degree in pathobiology in 2005 from the University of Arizona, with high honors.

Source: Kathy Keatley Garvey

University of California - Davis

New Book Written By Anesthesiologist - Before The Scalpel: What Everyone Should Know About Anesthesia

2009-02-11T12:00:00.010+02:00

The decision has been made: You are going to have surgery. You've met with your surgeon. You have a good idea what will happen during the operation. But how much do you know about the anesthesia?

A new book by Dr. Panchali Dhar, an anesthesiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, called "Before the Scalpel: What Everyone Should Know About Anesthesia" (Tell Me Press) demystifies the process and terms associated with anesthesia and arranges the information in an easy-to-understand, topic-by-topic sourcebook.

The book explores such real-life topics as:

Pain-relief options during labor and delivery.
Facts to know before deciding on plastic and cosmetic surgery.
Why children are not just "small adults" when it comes to anesthesia.
How obesity adds risk to surgery and anesthesia.
The common fear of awareness during anesthesia.

"By the age of 50, most people have had at least three encounters with some form of anesthesia. Before you or a loved one undergoes another surgery or medical procedure, it's important to empower yourself and learn the basic questions to ask about anesthesia in order to ensure a safe and pain-free experience," says Dr. Dhar, who is an assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Individual chapters in Dr. Dhar's book focus on how anesthesia is used in plastic and cosmetic surgery, during labor, and for dental care. Other chapters explore the special needs of babies and children, how surgeons and anesthesiologists have adapted their techniques in response to increased obesity rates, and how to avoid post-operative nausea and vomiting. Each chapter ends with an invaluable checklist, called "prescriptives," that highlights key points and provides space to take notes - something Dr. Dhar anticipates will be useful when the patient meets with a surgeon or anesthesia provider.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

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NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances - from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, the first indication of bone marrow's critical role in tumor growth, and, most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian, which is ranked sixth on the U.S.News & World Report list of top hospitals, also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree overseas and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar. For more information, visit http://www.nyp.org and http://www.med.cornell.edu/.

Source: Lezlie Greenberg

New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College