Infectious Diseases

Studies Examine Effect Of Male Circumcision On Sexual Behavior, Breast-Feeding Interventions For HIV-Positive Women

2007-05-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

The following highlights recently released journal articles on HIV/AIDS.

Male Circumcision in Siaya and Bondo Districts, Kenya: Prospective Cohort Study To Assess Behavioral Disinhibition Following Circumcision," Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes: Kawango Agot -- project coordinator of a collaborative research project among the University of Nairobi, University of Illinois and the University of Manitoba -- and colleagues conducted the study among 324 recently circumcised men and 324 uncircumcised men to determine the effect of circumcision on sexual behavior. The researchers compared the two groups' sexual behaviors at one, three, six, nine and 12 months following circumcision or study enrollment. They found that during the first month following circumcision, men were 63% less likely to report having 0 to 0.5 risky sexual acts weekly than uncircumcised men. The researchers also found that during the first month following circumcision, men were 61% less likely to report having more than 0.5 risky sexual acts weekly than uncircumcised men. The differences in sexual behavior disappeared during the remainder of the follow-up period, and similar results were seen for risky unprotected sexual acts, number of at-risk sexual partners and condom use, according to the researchers. The researchers concluded that during the first year following circumcision, men did not report an increased number of risky sexual acts compared with uncircumcised men -- indicating that "any protective effect of male circumcision on HIV acquisition is unlikely to be offset by an adverse behavioral impact" (Kawango et al., Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 1/1).

Two-Year Morbidity-Mortality and Alternatives to Prolonged Breast-Feeding Among Children Born to HIV-Infected Mothers in Cote d'Ivoire," PLoS Medicine: Renaud Becquet of the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale Unite in France and colleagues conducted the study from 2001 through 2005 among 557 infants born to HIV-positive women in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. After their infants were born, the women, who underwent prenatal antiretroviral prophylaxis, either received breastmilk substitutes or exclusively breast-fed for four months. Nutritional counseling and clinical management were provided for two years, and breastmilk substitutes were provided at no cost. Thirty-four percent of the 262 infants who were breast-fed for an average of four months during the two-year follow-up period did not experience any adverse health outcomes -- which the researchers defined as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections or malnutrition -- compared with 37% of the infants who received breastmilk substitutes. The two-year probability of presenting with a severe health event -- which the researchers defined as hospitalization or death -- was 14% among the breastmilk substitute group, compared with 15% among the breast-fed infants. The researchers concluded that breastmilk substitutes and short-term breast-feeding can be safe interventions aimed at preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in urban African settings where adequate nutritional counseling and care, access to clean water and breastmilk substitutes are available (Becquet et al., PLoS Medicine, January 2007). In a related opinion piece, Grace John-Stewart of the University of Washington writes that the researchers "provide good data to suggest that with appropriate provisos, replacement feeding can be a safe option to consider" for HIV-positive women in urban African settings (John-Stewart, PLoS Medicine, January 2007).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Engineered Immune Cells And AIDS

2007-05-07T10:05:00.001-07:00

Twenty years after its introduction, gene therapy still holds great promise as a way to harness the insidious power of viruses such as human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV). But scientists have yet to solve a vexing problem: developing an efficient transport system that is capable of delivering therapeutic payloads to specific cells.

As challenging as the problem has been, researchers in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering may be turning a corner. With support from a $13.9 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a multi-institutional team of scientists, including Pin Wang of the USC Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, is exploring a completely new way of manipulating the body's natural defense system.

"Rather than focusing on conventional vaccines that boost the immune system, we are experimenting with a way to help the immune system produce antibodies that can neutralize the virus," says Wang. "If we can design a modified virus that will deliver these antibodies to chosen cells, we will be able to insert DNA that will help rather than harm cells."

Viruses are efficient carriers or transport vehicles in the body because they are naturally able to penetrate cells, inserting the genetic material they contain into their new host. By itself, a virus cannot reproduce; it must infect a cell and take control of the host's machinery to make copies.

HIV also possesses an unusual structure and a keen ability to hide from antibodies in a sugar-coated shield. The shield has very few open spaces on its surface, Wang says, which makes it virtually impossible to penetrate. And because the virus also has an uncanny ability to hide, HIV often goes virtually unnoticed by neutralizing antibodies that are roaming the body in search of foreign invaders.

Faced with such a clever adversary, Wang wants to synthetically alter the HIV invaders and use their hollow shells as delivery vehicles to insert DNA that will counteract the infection.

The "Cadillac" of this gene delivery system is an HIV-based "lentiviral vector," a type of retrovirus that uses the backbone of a virus to infect both dividing and nondividing cells. Wang says lentiviral vectors are very efficient delivery vehicles for human cells.

Collaborators on his project are targeting hematopoietic stem cells -- the bone marrow cells that form blood cells - to create B lymphocytes. The researchers want to reprogram these bone marrow cells by adding genes that will instruct the cells to produce rare antibodies such as B12, 4E10, 2G12 and 2F5. Wang says these antibodies are known to neutralize the virus.

"In laboratory tests, we remove harmful genes coding for the HIV virus and engineer the backbone, or spine, of virus so that it is no longer replicable " he says. "Once manufactured recombinantly, this modified virus - the lentiviral vector -- becomes a natural delivery system that can transport useful genes into cells without causing illness."

Although the gene delivery technique looks promising, researchers are still working on ways to manipulate these elusive bone marrow cells and get them to generate "designer immune cells." Another problem seems to be making sure lentiviral vectors target only hematopoietic stem cells, and not other types of cells, to achieve the desired targeted delivery.

With a group of USC biomedical engineering students and Caltech biologists, Wang is experimenting with CD20 as a target antigen for human B cells. His strategy, published in the August 1, 2006 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, targets the human B cells only. After two years of experimentation, the team has been able to demonstrate that they can specifically target human B cells in mice.

"Possibly the most important implication of the work is that gene therapy could now be carried out as an inexpensive procedure, able to be considered even in the less-developed world," Wang and his coauthors wrote.

That's good news for the World Aids Foundation, which announced on World AIDS Day (Dec. 1, 2006) that the disease is on the rise again. More than 39 million people around the world are now infected with HIV, the foundation reported.

"I think we are finally on the right track," Wang says. "If scientists can find a way to genetically engineer immune cells to neutralize HIV, we may be able to develop immunotherapy for HIV-Infected people, as well as find ways to prevent it all together."

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Wang's research is part of the Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, which was launched in 2003 to create "deliverable health tools" that were "not only effective, but also inexpensive to produce, easy to distribute and simple to use in developing countries."

Collaborators on the five-year project, titled "Engineering Immunity Against HIV and Other Dangerous Pathogens," include principal investigator David Baltimore of Caltech, co-principal investigators Pamela Bjorkman of Caltech and Wang of USC. The USC student researchers working on the project are Leslie Bailey, Taehoon Cho, Haiguang Yang and Alex Lei. All four are third-year Viterbi School graduate students majoring in chemical engineering.

Contact: Diane Ainsworth
University of Southern California

China Considering Evidence That Male Circumcision Could Reduce Risk Of HIV Infection, Unlikely To Launch Campaign, Health Official Says

2007-05-07T09:05:00.001-07:00

China is considering evidence that routine male circumcision could reduce a man's risk of HIV infection but likely will not implement such a campaign nationwide, Ru Xiaomei, deputy director general of China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, said on Friday, Reuters U.K. reports (Blanchard, Reuters U.K., 1/19). Data from two studies conducted in Kenya and Uganda released last month by NIH indicate that routine male circumcision could reduce a man's HIV infection risk through heterosexual sex by about 50%. According to researchers, male circumcision eliminates the cells most vulnerable to HIV. In addition, a circumcised penis develops thicker skin that is resistant to HIV infection. The results of the Uganda and Kenya studies were similar to the results of a study conducted in South Africa in 2005 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/14/06).

Comments
According to Ru, Chinese officials have seen the results of the studies conducted in Africa, but the "AIDS situation in China has not yet reached such a large scale (as in Africa)." She added, "I'm not yet totally certain about the evidence for circumcision. We should exercise caution." According to Reuters U.K., the number of circumcisions performed in China is low compared with some Asian countries, including South Korea, Japan and Indonesia. In addition, a wide-scale male circumcision campaign might encounter resistance from China's non-Muslim majority, according to Ru. She added that the cost of such a campaign might present an issue because of China's 1.3 billion population. "It would be a big deal," she said, adding, "It's much more reasonable to get people to use condoms" (Reuters U.K., 1/19). <

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

A Spoonful Of Sugar Makes The Medicine Work

2007-05-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

There will soon be no more bitter pills to swallow, thanks to new research by University of Leeds scientists (UK): a spoonful of sugar will be all we need for our bodies to make their own medicine.

Professor Simon Carding of Leeds' Faculty of Biological Sciences has adapted a bacteria in our own bodies to make it produce a treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Bacteria and viruses have been used before to deliver drugs in this way, but Professor Carding has solved the major problem with this kind of treatment: he uses a sugar to 'switch' the bacteria on and off. By eating the sugar, a patient will set the medicine to work and then can end the treatment simply by stopping consumption of the sugar.

"Current bacteria and virus delivery systems produce their drugs non-stop, but for many treatments there is a narrow concentration range at which drugs are beneficial," said Professor Carding. "Outside of this, the treatment can be counterproductive and make the condition worse. It's vitally important to be able to control when and how much of the drug is administered and we believe our discovery will provide that control."

Professor Carding has modified one of the trillions of bacteria in the human gut so that it will produce human growth factors which help repair the layer of cells lining the colon, so reducing inflammation caused by IBD. But he's also adapted the bacteria so it only activates in the presence of a plant sugar called xylan that is found in tree bark. Xylan is naturally present in food in low concentrations, so by taking it in higher quantities, a patient will be able to produce their own medicine as and when they need it.

"The human gut has a huge number of bacteria, and this treatment simply adapts what's there naturally to treat the disease," said Professor Carding. "We're already looking at using the same technique for colorectal cancer, as we believe we could modify the bacteria to produce factors that will reduce tumour growth. Treatment of diseases elsewhere in the body might also be possible as most things present in the gut can get taken into the blood stream."

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The discovery has been patented - and is being developed further with support from the University's technology transfer partner, Techtran Group Ltd - part of the IP Group plc - and the Medical Research Council. The technique has been shown to work in vitro, but the researchers will be testing the treatment over the next twelve months in preparation for clinical trials.

Contact: Jo Kelly
University of Leeds

Cbl-b Resists Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection

2007-05-07T07:06:00.001-07:00

Infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major problem for patients in hospital, who are at increased risk of infection because they often have a weakened immune system, as well as individuals with cystic fibrosis. One of the things that makes P. aeruginosa so virulent is the expression of a number of proteins that function as a type III secretion system. In a study that appears online on January 18 in advance of publication in the February print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco, have identified Cbl-b as a protein that helps protect mice from infection with P. aeruginosa by targeting one of the components of the type III secretion system, ExoT.

Joanne Engel and colleagues found that in cultured human cells, ExoT was targeted for destruction by the host protein Cbl-b. More importantly, ExoT was shown to be important for bacterial dissemination in mice infected with P. aeruginosa and mice lacking Cbl-b were more susceptible to both intranasal and systemic infection with P. aeruginosa than wild-type mice. This study therefore identifies Cbl-b as a component of early host defense against infection with P. aeruginosa, an observation that could help develop new strategies for the treatment of individuals infected with this major opportunistic pathogen.

TITLE: The ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b limits Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin T-mediated virulence

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Joanne Engel
University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.

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JCI table of contents: Jan. 18, 2007

Contact: Karen Honey
Journal of Clinical Investigation

International Response To Fight HIV/AIDS Among Children 'Tragically Insufficient' But 'Beginning To Change,' U.N. Report Says

2007-04-16T17:06:00.001-07:00

The world's response to fighting HIV/AIDS among vulnerable children remains "tragically insufficient," but some countries are making progress in providing treatment for HIV-positive children and preventing transmission of the virus, according to a report released Tuesday by UNAIDS, UNICEF and the World Health Organization, the New York Times reports (Altman, New York Times, 1/17). The report, released on the first anniversary of the "Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS" program, found 15.2 million children under age 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS-related complications (AFP/Yahoo! News, 1/16). The campaign -- which is a partnership between UNICEF, UNAIDS, and other organizations and agencies -- aims to reduce the incidence of mother-to-child HIV transmission, curb the spread of the virus among young people, and provide protection as well as emotional and financial support to children who have lost parents to AIDS-related illnesses (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/10/05). The report says that 2.3 million children younger than age 15 were living with HIV in 2005 and that 10% of the 780,000 children in need of antiretroviral drugs had access to them during the same time period. About one-third of HIV-positive infants who do not have access to treatment die from AIDS-related complications in their first year, and half of them die from AIDS-related complications by age two, the report found. These statistics indicate that about 380,000 children died from AIDS-related illnesses last year, according to UNICEF. The report identifies seven countries -- Botswana, Cape Verde, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Namibia, Rwanda and Thailand -- that provided antiretrovirals to at least 20% of children in need of the drugs. The lack of access to prevention and treatment interventions has left about 15.2 million children orphaned, and the number is expected to increase to 20 million by 2010, according to the report. About 9% of HIV-positive pregnant women living in low- and middle-income countries in 2005 received antiretrovirals that could prevent MTC HIV transmission, up from 3% in 2003, the report found. About 10% of pregnant women living in sub-Saharan African capital cities are HIV-positive, according to the report. The majority of pregnant women in Africa do not have access to drugs aimed at preventing MTC HIV transmission, meaning that about one-third of their infants will become HIV-positive at or shortly after birth, according to UNICEF (New York Times, 1/17). The report also found that the most successful results occurred in countries that instituted a decentralized approach to HIV/AIDS service and training, demonstrated a political commitment to fighting the disease, and incorporated prevention and treatment to entire families (Leopold, Reuters, 1/16).

Recommendations
"Over the past year, there has been a broad, growing recognition of the need to intensify and accelerate action towards universal access to comprehensive prevention, treatment, care and support" for HIV/AIDS, the report says. It calls on governments to provide at least 10% of their HIV/AIDS funding for children and adolescents. According to the report, about $30 billion is required to address the prevention strategy set out by the Unite for Children campaign, which aims to provide services to 80% of HIV-positive mothers by 2010, provide antiretroviral or antibiotic treatment to 80% of children who need it, and reduce the number of HIV-positive young people by 25% within three years (AFP/Yahoo! News, 1/16).

The report is available online. Note: Adobe Acrobat is needed to view the report.

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

HIV/AIDS PSA Campaign 'Drawing Attention' Because Of Celebrities Involved, Messages, New York Times Reports

2007-04-16T16:26:00.001-07:00

A "provocative" HIV/AIDS public service campaign airing on several media outlets is "drawing attention" nationwide because of the celebrities featured in the announcements and the "frank nature" of their messages, the New York Times reports. The campaign -- called "Look, listen, love, respect" -- has enlisted actresses Whoopi Goldberg, Amanda Peet, Rosie Perez and Susan Sarandon to deliver "candid, no-nonsense" messages linking drug use and risky sexual behavior with the spread of HIV among men who have sex with men, according to the Times. The Internet is a central focus of the campaign, which has launched a Web site, loveandrespect.us. Video clips of the commercials also can be viewed on YouTube and MySpace. The campaign is scheduled to air on two national cable television networks, Here! and Logo, as well as on local cable TV stations owned by companies such as Cablevision, Cox Communications and Time Warner. In addition, there are plans to air the announcements in clubs and bars in cities nationwide and to produce audio versions of the spots for the national Out Q channel of Sirius Satellite Radio, the Times reports. The campaign is a collaboration between the New York City-based organizations HIV Forum NYC and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. It is receiving financial backing from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Cable Positive, the Times reports. Dan Carlson, co-founder of HIV Forum NYC, developed the campaign with Jay Laudato, executive director of Callen-Lorde, and Colin Weil, a writer, director and producer. According to Carlson, the campaign features female actors because they "felt these honest, direct, loving messages would be heard best if told by women we can see as our mothers, best friends, sisters." He added, "They can tell us things we may not be ready to hear from each other" (Elliott, New York Times, 1/16).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

WHO's Plan To Monitor HIV Drug Resistance In Botswana Likely To Fail

2007-04-16T15:06:00.001-07:00

A World Health Organization (WHO) plan to track transmitted resistance to HIV drugs in Botswana could fail because the threshold the organization has set is too high, according to new UCLA research.

The authors of the study, which will be published Jan. 17 in the peer-reviewed online journal PLoS ONE (), based their research on the WHO's Botswana antiretroviral program, which began in 2002 and now treats some 42,000 patients. The program's goal is to treat 85,000 patients by 2009, roughly 30 percent of all those infected in Botswana.

As greater numbers are treated, the likelihood that a small percentage of patients will develop strains of HIV that are resistant to antiretroviral drugs increases. These patients may then transmit the drug-resistant strains to others, but the rates at which this may happen are unclear. The WHO surveillance system is intended to detect transmitted resistance exceeding a 5 percent threshold by 2009, though officials with the organization have not determined at what point this threshold might be reached, if at all.

According to the UCLA study, the WHO's detection test is based on a sophisticated statistical method, but the 5 percent detection threshold is an arbitrary one. Study co-author Sally Blower, UCLA professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and a member of the UCLA AIDS Institute, said the WHO threshold was primarily based on guesswork.

"They did not make any mathematical predictions on how long it would take to get to their threshold," Blower said. "Essentially, they've guessed what would happen. They should have done things on a more quantitative basis."

Blower and co-author Raffaele Vardavas, a postdoctoral fellow in Blower's research group, developed a mathematical model that traces the random evolution of drug-resistant strains of HIV in Botswana through 2009. They found that drug resistance would indeed emerge but likely at a much slower rate than the WHO anticipates, and the organization would not be able to detect it.

Though easy to implement, the WHO's statistical test would detect transmitted resistance only after it has reached 5 percent, and that threshold would likely not be reached by 2009 unless the drug-resistant strains of the virus are extremely transmissible, the authors said.

The authors note that while the WHO's monitoring plan requires a small sample size and is relatively inexpensive, it may not be entirely cost-effective at the early stages of the treatment program due to the high threshhold. Instead, they suggest that checking for transmitted resistance early this year and dropping the threshold to about 3 percent would present a better picture of the situation in Botswana. Although a lower threshold requires a larger sample size and is therefore more expensive, it is much more likely to detect transmitted resistance and therefore would be more useful.

"If transmitted resistance is found to be at or above 3 percent, then repeating the WHO's test in the next scheduled occasion using a 5 percent threshold value would provide more information as to how quickly transmitted resistance is increasing in Botswana," Vardavas said. "Although this would be more expensive, it would probably be more cost-effective than the current strategy."

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The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funded the study.

About the UCLA AIDS Institute

Established in 1992, the UCLA AIDS Institute is a multidisciplinary think tank drawing on the skills of top-flight researchers in the worldwide fight against HIV and AIDS, the first cases of which were reported in 1981 by UCLA physicians. Institute members include researchers in virology and immunology, genetics, cancer, neurology, ophthalmology, epidemiology, social science, public health, nursing, and disease prevention. Their findings have led to advances in treating HIV as well as other diseases, such as hepatitis B and C, influenza, and cancer.

Contact: Enrique Rivero
University of California - Los Angeles

Washington, D.C., Free Clinic To Close, Staff To Join Whitman-Walker Clinic

2007-04-16T14:26:00.001-07:00

The Washington, D.C.-based Washington Free Clinic, which has provided low-cost or no-cost health care services since 1968 to people in the city, is scheduled to close on Friday, and its staff will be joining the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the largest provider of HIV/AIDS services in the region, the Washington Post reports. The Free Clinic serves about 1,800 patients, many of whom are working poor people and immigrants from Central America or Africa without health insurance. The clinic has a staff of about 50 volunteer doctors and nurses. Whitman-Walker -- which was launched by the Washington Free Clinic in 1973 as the Gay Men's VD Clinic and five years later became a separate organization -- is expanding its medical services in the district. Whitman-Walker has 7,000 clients, facilities in the district and Northern Virginia, and a $22 million budget. According to the Post, the alliance between the two clinics also will benefit Whitman-Walker after it experienced financial problems in 2005 that forced its leaders to "reconsider its long-term future," the Post reports. Gardiner Lapham, chair of the Free Clinic board, said, "It does come full circle. [Whitman-Walker is] now taking care of us," adding that closing is "really painful, but it's the right thing for the community." Free Clinic officials said they expect to be treating both Whitman-Walker and former Free Clinic clients by Jan. 29 (Levine, Washington Post, 1/14).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Boston Micromachines' New Deformable Mirror To Enhance Retinal Imaging Systems For Earlier Detection Of Leading Eye Diseases

2007-04-16T13:01:00.001-07:00

Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC), a leading provider of MEMS-based deformable mirror (DM) products for adaptive optics (AO) systems, today announced it has manufactured an enhanced DM capable of meeting the criteria for ultra-high resolution retinal imaging, which is necessary for early detection of ocular diseases. The new mirror will meet the demanding requirements of both OEM retinal imaging systems as well as vision science and microscopy researchers who use AO for biological imaging.

"This new deformable mirror represents a significant scientific advancement in the field of biological imaging, specifically vision science. Until now doctors were limited in their ability to gain a clear view of the human retina due to image distortion caused by tissue-induced wavefront aberration. Our deformable mirror corrects for that wavefront aberration," said Paul Bierden, president of Boston Micromachines. "This marked improvement in retinal imaging will provide doctors the technology necessary to detect the leading diseases of the eye: glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration years earlier than previously possible. Earlier detection will result in earlier diagnosis and earlier treatment."

The new mirror, which is an enhanced version of Boston Micromachines' flagship product the Multi-DM, delivers increased stroke while maintaining the high resolution afforded by its 140 independently controlled actuators. The mirror's 3 kilohertz frequency capability allow for high speed real-time imaging with a 6mm aperture perfectly suited for a dilated pupil. In addition, the new Multi-DM also provides the wavefront amplitude correction needed for older eyes by offering 6 microns of stroke. This translates to 12 microns of wavefront correction, the most wavefront correction demonstrated by any MEMS DM on the market today. The development work on this MEMS device was partially funded by the Center for Adaptive Optics, a NSF Science and Technology Center, and by a National Eye Institute Phase I SBIR.

The improved Multi-DM will also enable enhancements in other biological imaging areas. Biological imaging instruments often suffer from resolution limitations, constraining the ability of researchers and clinicians to detect critical detail. This loss in resolution is due to the wavefront aberrations induced by the tissue media through which light passes to reach the object of interest, such as a cell, retina, or tumor. The Multi-DM's ability to actively correct for these aberrations will restore resolution and enable the extracting of vital information from biological specimens.

"The ever increasing strokes in deformable mirrors, such as the 6um achieved with BMC's new Multi-DM, will allow for deeper AO corrected imaging in biological specimens, more effective correction when used at longer wavelengths, and improved performance specifications in systems such as the Adaptive Scanning Optical Microscope (ASOM) and other AO based imaging systems," said Ben Potsaid, Research Scientist at the Center for Automation Technologies and Systems (CATS) located at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

"Commercial systems require low cost DMs. Never before has there been a compact, affordable DM available with this magnitude of resolution. Ours is the only technology that meets the criteria of resolution, speed, size, stroke," said Bierden. "This will enable adaptive optics to become a reality for commercial instruments."

About the Multi-DM

The Multi-DM is the flagship product in Boston Micromachines' award- winning suite of MEMS deformable mirrors, which are used to improve resolution in microscopes, telescopes, and ophthalmic instruments. The popular and versatile Multi-DM offers sophisticated aberration compensation in an easy-to- use package. Typical applications include advanced retinal imaging systems, laser communication and beam forming.

At Photonics West

Boston Micromachines will be demonstrating the new Multi-DM at Photonics West 2007 (January 20-25) in San Jose, California, at Booth 6180.

Availability

The new Multi-DM is available immediately.

About Boston Micromachines Corporation

Founded in 1999, Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC) is the leading provider of advanced MEMS-based mirror products for use in commercial AO systems, applying wavefront correction to produce high resolution images of the human retina and enhance images blurred by the Earth's atmosphere. The company's suite of award-winning compact DM products are the most economical high-performance mirrors in the market today. They are widely used in vision science applications such as advanced optic retinal imaging, long range laser communications and astronomy, including NASA's search for planets in other solar systems. Customers include leading manufacturers of optical imaging and communication systems, governmental agencies and contractors and vision science research laboratories worldwide, such as NASA, UCal Berkeley, Lockheed Martin and Boston University. Located in Watertown, Mass., BMC is privately held and also offers custom design-manufacturing services. For more information on BMC, please visit http://www.bostonmicromachines.com.

Boston Micromachines Corporation
http://www.bostonmicromachines.com

Health Department Offers Tips To Avoid Norovirus Infection

2007-04-16T12:21:00.001-07:00

With outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis, or "stomach flu," continuing to be reported across the commonwealth and nation, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is reminding the general public about ways they can help to avoid norovirus infection -- a common cause of the illness.

"Norovirus infection is very common this time of year and it's very contagious," said state Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson. "If you have symptoms of norovirus, such as vomiting and diarrhea, you should try to stay home and practice good hygiene, like washing your hands frequently and thoroughly to avoid spreading the illness to others."

Norovirus symptoms often begin suddenly and can include nausea, stomach cramping, vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus illness can be a difficult experience for those affected, but it is normally short-lived and people recover within 12 to 60 hours.

The spread of norovirus can be prevented by following some simple guidelines:

-- Frequently wash your hands, especially after using the bathroom and changing diapers, and before eating or preparing food.

-- Anyone ill with diarrhea should not prepare food for other people. In particular, people with diarrhea should not work in restaurants, day care centers, or medical settings unless they are cleared to do so by their doctor or the local health department.

-- Carefully wash fruits and vegetables, and steam oysters before eating them.

-- Thoroughly clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces immediately after an episode of diarrhea or vomiting by using a bleach-based household cleaner.

-- Immediately remove and wash clothing or linens that may be contaminated with virus after an episode of diarrhea or vomiting (use hot water and soap).

-- Flush or discard any vomit and/or stool in the toilet and make sure that the surrounding area is kept clean.

Because norovirus is very contagious, sudden outbreaks can result when people bring the infection into facilities such as hospitals, residential and nursing homes and schools. No one who has suffered from vomiting and diarrhea should visit or work in crowded places until they have been completely free from symptoms for at least 48 hours.

For most healthy individuals, drinking plenty of fluids and resting at home is sufficient to recover from a norovirus infection and there is no need for hospital treatment. However, the elderly or very young can sometimes get more severe infection and they, or anyone else who is concerned about their medical condition, should talk to their doctor for advice.

For more information about norovirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus.htm.

Pennsylvania Department of Health
http://www.state.pa.us/

Study Uncovers A Lethal Secret Of 1918 Influenza Virus

2007-04-16T11:22:00.001-07:00

In a study of non-human primates infected with the influenza virus that killed 50 million people in 1918, an international team of scientists has found a critical clue to how the virus killed so quickly and efficiently.

Writing this week (Jan. 18, 2007) in the journal Nature, a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka reveals how the 1918 virus - modern history's most savage influenza strain - unleashes an immune response that destroys the lungs in a matter of days, leading to death.

The finding is important because it provides insight into how the virus that swept the world in the closing days of World War I was so efficiently deadly, claiming many of its victims people in the prime of life. The work suggests that it may be possible in future outbreaks of highly pathogenic flu to stem the tide of death through early intervention.

The study "proves the 1918 virus was indeed different from all of the other flu viruses we know of," says Kawaoka, a professor in the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and at the University of Tokyo.

The new study, conducted at the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, utilized the 1918 flu virus, which has been reconstructed by researchers using genes obtained from the tissues of victims of the great pandemic in a reverse genetics process that enables scientists to make fully functioning viruses.

"In 1918, the existence of viruses had barely been recognized. In fact, the influenza virus wasn't identified until 1933. Thanks to recent technological advancements, we are now able to study this virus and how it wreaked havoc around the globe," explains Darwyn Kobasa, research scientist with the Public Health Agency of Canada and lead author of the new study. "This research provides an important piece in the puzzle of the 1918 virus, helping us to better understand influenza viruses and their potential to cause pandemics."

By infecting monkeys with the virus, the team was able to show that the 1918 virus prompted a deadly respiratory infection that echoed historical accounts of how the disease claimed its victims.

Importantly, the new work shows that infection with the virus prompted an immune response that seems to derail the body's typical reaction to viral infection and instead unleashes an attack by the immune system on the lungs. As immune cells attack the respiratory system, the lungs fill with fluid and victims, in essence, drown. The mechanisms that contribute to the lethality of the virus were uncovered by University of Washington researchers using functional genomics, a technique in which researchers analyze the gene functions and interactions. Learning more about the virulence mechanisms of the 1918 flu virus may help researchers understand how to keep the virus from causing such a severe immune response.

"This study in macaques, combined with our earlier research showing the host response in mice infected with the 1918 flu, suggests that the host immune response is out of control in animals infected with the virus," said Michael G. Katze, professor of microbiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, who led the functional genomics portion of the new study and led the previous mouse-based study. "Our analysis revealed potential mechanisms of virulence, which we hope will help us develop novel antiviral strategies to both outwit the virus and moderate the host immune response."

The same excessive immune reaction is characteristic of the deadly complications of H5N1 avian influenza, the strain of bird flu present in Asia and which has claimed nearly 150 human lives but has not yet shown a capacity to spread easily among people.

"What we see with the 1918 virus in infected monkeys is also what we see with H5N1 viruses," Kawaoka says, suggesting that the ability to modulate immune response may be a shared feature of the most virulent influenza viruses.

In the new study, conducted in a high-level biosafety laboratory (BSL 4) at the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory, seven primates were infected with the reconstructed 1918 virus. Clinical signs of disease were apparent within 24 hours of infection and within eight days euthanization was necessary. The rapid course of the disease mirrors how quickly the disease ran its course in its human victims in 1918.

Upon infection, the virus grew rapidly in the infected animals, suggesting the agent somehow sets the stage for virulent infection: "Somehow, early in infection, this virus does something to the host that allows it to grow really well," says Kawaoka. "But we don't know what that is."

Knowing that the virus does something early in infection to trigger such a devastating immune response may provide biomedical researchers with clues about how to intervene and stop or mitigate the virus' potentially lethal effects, Kawaoka says.

"Things may be happening at an early time point (in infection), but we may be able to step in and stop that reaction."

###

In addition to Kawaoka, authors of the new Nature paper include Darwyn Kobasa, Steven M. Jones, Hideki Ebihara, Friederike Feldman, Judie B. Alimonti, Lisa Fernando, Yan Li and Heinz Feldman of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory; Kyoko Shinya of Japan's Tottori University; John C. Kash and Michael G. Katze of the University of Washington; John Copps of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease; and Yasuko Hatta, Jin Hyun Kim, Peter Halfmann and Masato Hatta of UW-Madison.

The new study was supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Japanese Ministries of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and private grants to Kawaoka. - Terry Devitt.

Contact: Yoshihiro Kawaoka
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Built-in Molecular Brakes Curb The Sniffles

2007-04-16T11:10:00.001-07:00

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered how our anti-infection machinery turns itself down and limits the sniffles, congestion and fevers that are a side effect of the campaign against invading viruses. The discovery seems to solve part of the mystery of why the misery of the common cold lasts only so long.

The key to curbing any excess activity by the immune system apparently rests with Carabin, a newly discovered protein made by the specialized white blood cells that march in when a virus attacks.

Results of a study published online this week at Nature show that Carabin "acts like an internal brake to dial down the speed and intensity of an immune response so that it doesn't go too fast or too far, or careen out of control and attack healthy cells," says Jun O. Liu, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology, neuroscience and oncology at Hopkins.

Searching for proteins that control immunity, Liu and his team homed in on those that latch on to parts of cells that are active during an infection. "Carabin popped out," says Liu.

To see what Carabin could do, the research team added it to white blood cells already primed and ready for anti-infection action. The more Carabin in the cells, the less active the cells became.

When people are infected with a cold virus, for example, the virus enters cells and hijacks its works so that the cells become viral factories. The immune system's white blood cells go after these infected cells not only by fielding chemicals that kill them directly, but also by turning on genes that help out. When Liu and his group added Carabin to cells and then studied such genes, they discovered that Carabin disabled the "on" switches, keeping the genes off.

"By now we were pretty convinced that Carabin can turn down the immune system, so the next question was, 'what controls Carabin?'" Liu noted.

Tracking Carabin to its origins, the researchers said they were surprised to learn that viral infection not only turns on the immune system machinery, but also triggers the making of Carabin, which in turn shuts off the immune response.

"It's like having a built-in timer to keep the immune system in check," says Liu.

If Carabin turns out, after further study, to be a keystone natural inhibitor of immune responses, Liu added, it may prove useful in stopping such unwanted immune reactions as the rejection of transplanted organs.

###

The research was funded by the Department of Pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Keck Foundation.

Authors on the paper are Fan Pan, Luo Sun, David Kardian, Katharine Whartenby, Drew Pardoll and Liu, all of Hopkins.

On the Web:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/pharmacology/research/liu.html

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/pharmacology/index.html

http://www.nature.com/

Contact: Audrey Huang
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Association Of Tuberculosis With Smoking And Indoor Air Pollution

2007-04-16T10:32:00.001-07:00

All works published in PLoS Medicine are open access. Everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and otherwise use subject only to the condition that the original authorship is properly attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors. The Public Library of Science uses the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Association of Tuberculosis with smoking and indoor air pollution

Smokers have an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection, TB disease, and of dying from TB compared to people who do not smoke.

A new study from Hsien-Ho Lin and colleagues at Harvard School of Public Health reviewed the published evidence for an association between tobacco smoking, passive smoking, and indoor air pollution from fuels such as wood and charcoal and the risk of infection, disease, and death from TB. Among hundreds of reports from electronic databases, the authors reviewed 33 eligible papers on tobacco smoking and TB, five papers on passive smoking and TB, and five on indoor air pollution and TB.

The researchers separately assessed different aspects of TB risk: TB infection as measured by a positive tuberculin skin test, TB disease, and mortality from TB. They found an approximately 2-fold increase in risk of TB infection among smokers as compared with nonsmokers. The great majority of studies evaluating the link between active smoking and TB disease or TB mortality also showed an association, but these data could not be combined together because of wide potential differences between the studies. In addition, there was some association of TB with passive smoking, and also with indoor air pollution, though the evidence for these associations was more limited, and will need to be confirmed by further work.

The authors conclude that "TB control programs might benefit from a focus on interventions aimed at reducing tobacco and indoor air pollution exposures, especially among those at high risk for exposure to TB".

Citation: Lin H, Ezzati M, Murray M (2007) Tobacco smoke, indoor air pollution and tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med 4(1): e20.

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New Proteomic Method To Detect Inflammation In Amniotic Fluid

2007-04-16T09:21:00.001-07:00

All works published in PLoS Medicine are open access. Everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and otherwise use subject only to the condition that the original authorship is properly attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors. The Public Library of Science uses the Creative Commons Attribution License.

New proteomic method to detect inflammation in amniotic fluid

A score that measures the proteomic profile of amniotic fluid may predict inflammation before delivery. Researchers from Yale University, led by Catalin Buhimschi, have previously identified a set of four protein markers that were closely associated with inflammation in the amniotic fluid, and developed a score based on these proteins Вthe "Mass Restricted" (MR) score. This score has been shown to be able to identify women at risk of preterm delivery. In the current study, the researchers assessed whether MR scores were associated with the outcome of pregnancy; the presence of infection in the placenta, and severe infection in the newborn baby.

169 women recruited into the study had a sample of amniotic fluid taken as part of their routine clinical management from which the protein MR score was calculated, and evidence of bacterial infection was sought. These results were then related to length of time until delivery, presence of placental inflammation after birth, and whether there was evidence of infection in the babies. In line with findings from their previous studies, women with a higher MR score gave birth sooner. There was also agreement between the MR score and evidence of inflammation in the placenta, and mothers with a high MR score were more likely to give birth to babies with suspected or confirmed sepsis.

In this group of women, the MR score seemed to be the most accurate in predicting inflammation when compared with other tests for inflammation such as white cell count, and may therefore provide a useful test for recognizing women at risk of preterm delivery and babies at risk of poor outcome. However, although promising, a further evaluation of the test in different populations will be needed before it could become a standard procedure in the clinic.

Citation: Buhimschi CS, Bhandari V, Hamar BD, Bahtiyar MO, Zhao G, et al. (2007) Proteomic profiling of the amniotic fluid to detect inflammation, infection, and neonatal sepsis. PLoS Med 4(1): e18.

About the PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE

PLoS is a nonprofit organization of scientists whose aim is to make the world's scientific and medical research literature a public resource. We are funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to develop a publishing program based on the Open Access business model, whereby the costs of publication are paid upfront so that anyone with an internet connection can have access to the content, in a free and unrestricted manner. Our immediate goal is to launch two top-tier journals - PLoS Biology (in October, 2003) and PLoS Medicine (in 2004).

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Billions Of Dollars Saved In U.S. By Polio Vaccination

2007-04-16T09:10:00.001-07:00

A new study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds that polio vaccination in the United States has resulted in a net savings of over $180 billion, even without including the large, intangible benefits associated with avoided fear and suffering. This first study to retrospectively demonstrate the enormous benefits of polio vaccination appears as part of a special issue on polio in the December 2006 issue of Risk Analysis.

The history of polio vaccination in the U.S. spans over 50 years and includes different phases of the disease, multiple vaccines, and a sustained significant commitment of financial resources. Lead author of the study, Kimberly Thompson, associate professor of risk analysis and decision science at HSPH, emphasized that this study "should help people understand and better appreciate the huge economic savings that can come from investments in public health interventions."

The researchers, Professor Thompson and Dr. Radboud Duintjer Tebbens, a research associate at HSPH, estimated the costs and the effectiveness of historical polio vaccination strategies. They found that the U.S. invested over $35 billion between 1955 and 2005 and will continue to invest billions into the future to pay for polio vaccination. They estimated that these historical and future investments translate into over 1.7 billion vaccinations that prevent approximately 1.1 million cases of paralytic polio and over 160,000 deaths, thus saving Americans hundreds of billions of dollars in treatment costs.

Dr. Stephen Cochi, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global Immunization Division Senior Advisor and an expert on polio said, "This study documents the extraordinary power of vaccines not only as highly effective tools to prevent disease, disability, and death, but to provide enormous economic savings to society."

Although the last case of paralytic polio from wild poliovirus occurred in the U.S. in 1979, poliovirus outbreaks currently still occur around the world and American children continue to receive polio vaccinations. Dr. Bruce Aylward, Director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative at the World Health Organization, stated that, "as we stand on the brink of eliminating wild polioviruses around the world, these results provide a glimpse of the massive economic benefits of global polio eradication." To date, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has succeeded in reducing the annual cases of paralytic polio from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 to less than 2,000 cases in 2006. The only remaining areas of the world that have not yet disrupted transmission include regions in four countries (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan). Thompson and Duintjer Tebbens also co-authored several other articles in the same issue that characterize the risks and costs of future options for polio risk management, the costs and value of global surveillance, and the trade-offs associated with different choices related to outbreak response.

Support for this study was provided by the Harvard Kids Risk Project. http://www.kidsrisk.harvard.edu/. Support for other studies by the authors in the special issue was provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Harvard School of Public Health is dedicated to advancing the public's health through learning, discovery, and communication. More than 300 faculty members are engaged in teaching and training the 900-plus student body in a broad spectrum of disciplines crucial to the health and well being of individuals and populations around the world. Programs and projects range from the molecular biology of AIDS vaccines to the epidemiology of cancer; from risk analysis to violence prevention; from maternal and children's health to quality of care measurement; from health care management to international health and human rights. For more information on the school visit: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/.

Harvard School of Public Health
677 Huntington Ave, Ste 1014
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Informing Partners Can Help Cut Sexually Transmitted Infections

2007-04-16T08:18:00.001-07:00

Doctors should encourage patients with sexually transmitted infections to tell their partners to seek treatment and, in some cases, provide home testing kits or drugs to help reduce infection rates, says a new study on bmj.com.

Partner notification is an important part of managing most curable sexually transmitted infections, but the stigma attached to sexually transmitted infections often makes this difficult.

Researchers analysed 14 studies involving 12,389 women and men diagnosed with a common sexually transmitted infection, including chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and non-specific urethritis.

Three new strategies were used in these studies that made it easier for patients to share responsibility for the care of their sexual partners: patient delivered partner therapy (where a patient is given drugs or a prescription for their partners), home sampling for partners, and providing additional information for partners.

All three strategies were more effective than simple patient referral (where a patient is simply encouraged to tell their partners to seek treatment).

However, the team found that simple patient referral, with extra information about the infection and its treatment that the patient can give to their partners, seemed to be as effective as patient delivered partner therapy.

Involving patients with sexually transmitted infections in shared responsibility for the care of their sexual partners improves outcomes, say the authors. Health professionals should consider these three strategies for the management of individual patients.

Click here to view paper: http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/january/partners.pdf.

British Medical Journal
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Bacteria In Staph Infections Can Cause Necrotizing Pneumonia

2007-04-16T08:09:00.001-07:00

Researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology at Houston have discovered a toxin present in the bacteria responsible for the current nationwide outbreak of staph infections also has a role in an aggressive pneumonia that is often fatal within 72 hours.

Their study is available online in Science Express and in an upcoming issue of the journal Science.

"The virulence of CA-MRSA (community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) strains that produce the PVL (Panton Valentine leukocidin) toxin presents a nightmare scenario," said M. Gabriela Bowden, Ph.D., research assistant professor at HSC-IBT and co-senior author. "If the community-acquired strain establishes itself in the hospital setting, it will be difficult to contain."

The most common cause of staph infections, S. aureus is a bacteria found on the skin or in the nose of about 25-30 percent of people. It also can be the culprit in minor skin infections like pimples and boils, as well as major diseases like meningitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome and pneumonia.

In their study, Dr. Bowden and her colleagues at the HSC-IBT Center for Extracellular Matrix Biology used mice to analyze S. aureus Panton Valentine leukocidin (PVL), a pore-forming toxin secreted by bacterial strains associated with both the current outbreak of CA-MRSA and necrotizing pneumonia.

CA-MRSA causes serious skin and soft tissue infections in healthy persons who have not been recently hospitalized or undergone invasive medical procedures, while necrotizing pneumonia destroys healthy lung tissue and can be fatal within 72 hours. With the PVL toxin, the bacterium also attacks infection-fighting white blood cells (leukocytes).

In the 1940s, the high mortality rate from S. aureus was abated by penicillin, but the bacteria soon developed a resistance. Methicillin provided new treatment options for infections in the late 1950s, but as of the late 1990s, it has become resistant.

In December, the United Kingdom had its first documented report of fatal necrotizing pneumonia cases caused by PVL-positive CA-MRSA. Eight hospitalized patients developed infections from CA-MRSA, and two died. It was previously believed the hospitals were free of these virulent strains of CA-MRSA.

Testing several bacterial strains, the HSC-IBT researchers learned PVL itself has an enhanced ability to disrupt cells in the body, and PVL-positive S. aureus has a greater capacity to attach to and colonize the lung, the latter resulting in necrotizing pneumonia.

"Our research shows in vivo that PVL is sufficient to cause pneumonia," Dr. Bowden said. "PVL-producing S. aureus overexpress other factors that enhance inflammation and bacterial attachment to the lung. These combined effects result in a vicious cycle of tissue destruction and inflammation, explaining the rapid onset and lethal outcome of this type of pneumonia."

Using these findings, the next step is additional studies to identify targets for potential development of therapies to treat S. aureus infections, including the PVL-positive strain.

"The present study underscores the aggressiveness of these strains and the urgent need to develop new strategies to battle these infections," Dr. Bowden said.

Other Science Express study contributors from the Center for Extracellular Matrix Biology were Magnus HГ¶Г¶k, Ph.D., director and professor; Eric Brown, Ph.D., assistant professor (now at The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston); Maria Labanderia-Rey, postdoctoral fellow; Vanessa Vazquez, graduate student; and Elena Barbu, graduate student. Florence Couzon, Sandrine Boisset, Michele Bes, Yvonne Benito, Jerome Etienne and FranГ§ois Vandenesch from the University of Lyon and Hospices Civils de Lyon (France) also contributed.

Grants from the HSC, French Ministry of Research, National Institutes of Health, and Neva and Wesley West and Hamill Foundations supported this research.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center provides the state with health education, outreach and research. Its six components located in communities throughout Texas are Baylor College of Dentistry, the College of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, and the School of Rural Public Health.

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Americans In The Dark About Shingles

2007-04-16T07:11:00.001-07:00

Thought you were done with the chickenpox as a kid? Think again. Shingles, a disease caused by the same virus as chickenpox, affects roughly one million Americans each year. As people age, their risk of getting shingles increases but despite its incidence many people are completely unaware of the disease.
"People don't really know about shingles unless they know someone who has had shingles, or they develop it themselves," said Stephen Tyring M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

The results of a recent national survey by the American Pain Foundation support Trying's position. The survey revealed that many older adults were not aware of their risk for the disease. More than half of the respondents who reported having heard of shingles were not sure of the risk factors. And many respondents were unaware of the relationship between chickenpox and shingles.

After a person gets the chickenpox, most often during childhood, the inactivated virus can live on in certain nerve cells in the body. In healthy people, the body's immune system usually keeps the virus at bay. As people age or their immune system becomes compromised, the virus can reactivate and result in shingles.

The risk of shingles increases with age. "With each decade, a person's immunity weakens, so that by 60 years of age, the likelihood of shingles significantly increases," says Tyring. "In fact, one out of two people who live to the age of 85 will have had shingles." And although seniors are at higher risk, shingles can affect people of all ages.

The first signs of shingles may not be visually noticeable. People often experience tingling, burning, itching or pain. During the first few days of symptoms, fluid-filled blisters will break out in a rash, usually on one side of the body or face. The rash is often painful and will heal in two to four weeks, in most people. However, some people experience post-herpetic neuralgia, or long-term nerve pain which can persist for months or even years after the initial rash. Long-term nerve pain caused by shingles can vary and has been described as burning, throbbing, stabbing or shooting. The older a person gets, the more he or she is at risk for long-term nerve pain.

Men and women are affected equally by shingles. "I have seen, however, in my practice that women come into the doctor's office sooner, while men tend to wait," Tyring said. Shingles patients, both men and women, are often given analgesics along with antiviral medications for treatment. "Antiviral medicines for shingles may help speed up healing and reduce pain in some patients, but if possible, treatment should begin within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms," according to Tyring.

Although the disease affects the sexes equally, its greater impact on older adults should capture the attention of women.

"Women make up more than 60 percent of population 85 years and older, so any condition that is prone to strike older people is of special concern to women," said Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, president and CEO of the Society for Women's Health Research. "Older Americans should talk to their health care providers about their risk for shingles."

To raise awareness about shingles and complications that can arise from the disease, the American Pain Foundation is sponsoring a national education program called "Spotlight on Shingles" that features a Web site and a toll-free number that people can call to receive a free informational brochure about shingles. For more information, visit http://www.spotlightonshingles.com.

Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR)
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http://www.womenshealthresearch.org

Highly Pathogenic Bird Flu Case Confirmed In South Korea

2007-04-16T07:06:00.001-07:00

South Korean authorities have just confirmed that breeding chickens in Chonan, 55 miles south of the capital Seoul, were infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus strain. This is the fifth outbreak in the country during the last three months.

Preparations are underway to cull over one-quarter of a million birds within half-a-kilometer of the farm, say officials from the Ministry of Agriculture. Measures to stem the spread of the virus also include a total restriction in the movement of birds and eggs within a 10 kilometer radius of the infected area.

Experts were surprised at this latest outbreak. Recently there had been an outbreak at Iksan, to the south of Chonan, where tens of thousands of birds had been culled. Emergency measures at Iksan had been thoroughly carried out. During the last three years over 1.2 million heads of poultry have been culled in South Korea.

Lab tests have revealed a virulent strain of the bird flu virus in bird droppings found at a reservoir about 13 miles from the infected farm in Chonan. Further tests will tell us whether it is the virulent H5N1 strain. If so, we could be looking at migratory birds as the source of the H5N1 bird flu spread.

-- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Rep. of Korea (in English)
-- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Rep. of Korea (in Korean)

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today

Indonesia Confirms New Human Bird Flu Death

2007-04-16T06:19:00.001-07:00

An Indonesian Health Ministry spokesman has confirmed that a woman, aged 19, from the West Java town of Garut, died in hospital last Friday as a result of H5N1 bird flu infection. This brings the total number of human deaths in Indonesia to 62, the highest in the world. This is the fifth human death in the country during the last two weeks - one in Garut, the other four in Jakarta.

It seems Indonesian authorities, long criticized for not doing enough to stem the spread of bird flu, are at last taking serious measures. A massive campaign is underway to eliminate backyard poultry in several provinces. In Jakarta, people have 14 days to get rid of their birds.

Accumulative Total Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1)
Since the beginning of 2003

Azerbaijan
Cases 8 - Deaths 5

Cambodia
Cases 6 - Deaths 6

China
Cases 22 - Deaths 14

Djibouti
Cases 1 - Deaths 0

Egypt
Cases 18 - Deaths 10

Indonesia
Cases 80 - Deaths 62

Iraq
Cases 3 - Deaths 2

Thailand
Cases 25 - Deaths 17

Turkey
Cases 12 - Deaths 4

Viet Nam
Cases 93 - Deaths 42

Total
Cases 268 - Deaths 162

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today

Tuberculosis Experts Outline Proposals To Speed Up Drug Development

2007-04-16T06:08:00.001-07:00

Proposals to accelerate the development of tuberculosis (TB) drugs were outlined today at the conclusion of a two-day symposium titled "No Time to Wait," convened in New York this week by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/MГ©decins Sans Frontires (MSF) with the support of Howard P. Milstein and Weill Cornell Medical College's Abby and Howard P. Milstein Program in Chemical Biology. The symposium brought together more than 100 TB specialists, drug developers and regulators, policy makers, donors and activists to outline practical proposals to fill the gaps in TB drug research and development (R&D).

"We are failing people with TB," said Dr. Tido von Schoen-Angerer, Director of MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. "Diagnosing and treating TB is one of the greatest challenges facing health care providers around the world. Things are going from bad to worse with multi-drug resistant TB and even extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB, particularly in settings with high HIV prevalence. The urgency for new tools could not be greater - there is no time to wait."

TB kills nearly two million people per year, primarily because of inadequate diagnostic and treatment tools. While roughly one drug for HIV has been developed each year since the start of the epidemic 25 years ago, the latest novel TB drug in today's standard therapy was developed in the 1960s. Basic science is not being translated into new TB drugs needed to improve treatment, according to an MSF analysis of the TB drug pipeline. There are not enough promising drugs in the pipeline and serious funding gaps prevent the development of candidate drug compounds through to clinical trials.

Resistance to TB drugs is growing at a rapid pace, with 450,000 new cases of drug-resistant TB detected each year. The recent detection of hundreds of cases of XDR-TB, which is extremely difficult and sometimes impossible to treat, adds further urgency to the situation. TB remains the main killer of people with HIV, in large part because existing TB drugs and tests are poorly adapted for use in people with HIV/AIDS.

"In TB research, there needs to be a convergence of innovation, incentive, and access," said Dr. Carl Nathan, Rees Pritchett Professor of Microbiology and Chairman of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "We need to see openness, leadership and collaboration among all TB actors."

Experts attending the symposium emphasized several actions that urgently need to be taken to improve the situation:

1. Drastically increase funding of TB R&D
2. Accelerate drug discovery
3. Expand clinical trial capacity and speed up clinical development
4. Commit to global TB R&D leadership
5. Support new approaches to R&D, such as a global R&D framework

"We need increased clinical trial capacity, fast-tracked clinical trials, and criteria for compassionate use of important candidate drugs," said Dr. von Schoen-Angerer. "To make any real difference, we need to see a dramatic increase in funding and political will."

The symposium emphasized a need to build a global TB R&D movement, as was critical to the advancements in HIV drug development. Strong political leadership is required to improve collaboration between scientists, drug developers, care providers, and affected individuals. Symposium participants agreed on the need for a massive increase in funding by governments for TB R&D, as current TB drug discovery initiatives are insufficient. Participants voiced support for an effort launched by governments at the World Health Assembly in May 2006 to examine alternative ways to prioritize and finance health-needs-driven R&D.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

The New Form Of Trypanosomiasis Discovered In India Stems From A Deficiency In A Particular Immune-system Protein

2007-04-16T03:40:00.001-07:00

The two known types of human trypanosomiasis, endemic in two regions of the world, are sleeping sickness in Africa, caused by the parasites Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or T. b. rhodiense, and Chagas' disease in South America induced by T. cruzi. Everywhere else, normally only animals are infected by trypanosomes that, although specific for humans are not pathogenic for them. Yet, in 2004, the first case of human trypanosomiasis was formally identified in India by IRD researcher Philippe Truc, working with the WHO and the Maharashtra State Department of Health (1). The patient was a farmer living in this State who proved to be infected by a trypanosome, T. evansi, usually a parasite of camels and cattle. In South America, North Africa and in a great part of Asia including India, where this parasite is present, many human populations are currently living in contact with infected animals.

Scientists from the UniversitГ© Libre de Bruxelles led by Professor Etienne Pays, in conjunction with Philippe Truc and Indian medical specialists, under an agreement with WHO (2), carried out analyses on blood serum from the infected patient, which led them to identify the cause of this first case of human trypanosomiasis in India.

Humans possess natural resistance to this parasite, as they have towards related African trypanosomes, like T. brucei. In the latter case, the innate immunity results from the trypanolytic activity of a specific human protein, apolipoprotein L-1 (APOL-1). Once absorbed inside the parasite, this protein forms pores in the parasite's organelle membrane, thus inducing the destruction of the trypanosome. However, the two subspecies T. brucei rhodesiense and T. b. gambiense have, with time, overcome human immune defences by acquiring resistance to APOL-1 and thereby causing sleeping sickness in Africa. In T. b. rhodesiense, this resistance mechanism involves a protein that is peculiar to this subspecies, named SRA (Serum Resistance-associated protein), which interacts strongly and specifically with APOL -1, effectively blocking its ability to destroy the trypanosomes.

The major question is whether the first case of T. evansi infection identified in India resulted from the appearance of a mechanism of resistance of this parasite or from a deficiency of the patient's immune system., The gene coding for the SRA protein, specific to the subspecies rhodesiense, was not detected in the trypanosome that had infected the Indian patient, as could be expected considering its specificity (3).

The researchers then assessed in vitro the ability of the infected serum to destroy the parasites. In this way they brought into evidence a complete absence of any trypanolytic activity on two strains of T. evansi, but also on T. b. brucei. Conversely, these same strains were destroyed on contact with normal serum. The APOL-1 protein, responsible for the trypanolytic action against T. b. brucei, was subsequently looked for in the infected serum. This serum appeared to be extremely deficient in this protein, with a concentration in APOL-1 at least 125 times lower than in normal human serum. However, the addition of a normal quantity of purified APOL-1 to the infected serum was sufficient to restore the latter's ability to destroy the different strains tested. This APOL-1 deficiency observed in the patient would clearly therefore be the source of the single case of T. evansi infection identified to date.

Analysis of the apoL-1 gene sequence, perfomred on the patient's DNA, showed that the absence of apolipoprotein results from a double mutation affecting its synthesis (4). In the absence of APOL-1, no other component of the human serum seems capable of forming pores in the parasite membrane and killing the trypanosome.

Furthermore, a serological screening, conducted in 2005 by the Indian authorities in the patient's village, with the IRD researcher and assigned by WHO, brought to light an intense exposure of individuals to T. evansi, probably favoured by transmission of the parasite from infected animals to humans, via an insect vector. In fact, out of 1806 people examined, 60 proved to be strongly positive to the specific serological test for this trypanosome, although no parasite was detected in these subjects, and no case of infection has since been recorded in the village (5). However, only study of the frequency of each of the two mutations within exposed populations will allow assessment of the risk of the appearance of other cases and the emergence of this new form of trypanosomiasis.

(1) See scientific sheet n°230, August-September 2005, accessible at: http://www.ird.fr/fr/actualites/fiches/2005/fiche230.htm

(2) This research was conducted by scientists from the 'Laboratoire de Parasitologie MolГ©culaire (IBMM)' of the UniversitГ© Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), jointly with a researcher from IRD research unit UR 177, medical specialists from the Department of Medicine of the Government Medical College of Nagpur (India), from the Department of Health at Mumbai (India) and from the WHO (Geneva, Switzerland).

(3) Philippe Truc et al. - Genetic characterization of Trypanosoma evansi isolated from a patient in India, Infection, Genetics and Evolution, 24 August 2006. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2006.07.004

(4) This occurs in the form of two mutations each of which affects an allele of the same gene apoL-1. The first consists of the absence of two nucleotide bases in position 142, the second is the absence one particular base at position 266. These "frameshift" mutations result in the production of proteins that are cut down in length, and therefore ineffective. And these products are undetectable, as they are probably degraded.

(5) This means that these individuals have been or are still carriers of anti-T. evansi antibodies. They have therefore been carriers of the parasite, no doubt owing to an insufficiency in APOL-1 (mutation of a single allele?). See the reference under "For further information".

About INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DГ‰VELOPPEMENT, PARIS (IRD)

L'institut de recherche pour le dГ©veloppement a pour mission de dГ©velopper des projets scientifiques centrГ©s sur les relations entre l'homme et son environnement dans la zone intertropicale.

INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DГ‰VELOPPEMENT, PARIS (IRD)
213, rue La Fayette
75 480 PARIS Cedex 10
http://www.ird.fr

Defeating Salmonella Requires An Understanding Of Guerrilla Warfare, UK

2007-04-16T03:36:00.001-07:00

New research from scientists at the University of Cambridge has the potential to radically change our understanding of how infection spreads around the body and improve the methods used to control it.

If you are suffering from Salmonella food poisoning or, worse, typhoid fever, you feel like every cell in your body is under attack from an army of invading bacteria. However, rather than the bacteria mounting a mass assault scientists using state-of-the-art microscopy have found that Salmonella bacteria use a guerrilla warfare-like approach to attacking your body's cells. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that the majority of cells infected with bacteria in the body contain just one or two bacteria rather than being overrun as might be expected. Working in collaboration with mathematicians they are now proposing a new model to explain infection. The new explanation shows that a single Salmonella bacterium invades a cell, grows and replicates before its progeny is released when the cell bursts. The released bacteria then fan out each independently infiltrating another cell. This forces the host immune system to fight low numbers of bacteria simultaneously at numerous sites of infection rather than having to deal with a small number of well confined "battlefields" each containing large numbers of Salmonella.

Research leader Dr Pietro Mastroeni explains: "When bacteria infiltrate cells one at a time they gain a head start over your body's immune system. When a bacterium infects a cell it triggers an immune response and the inside of the cell becomes an increasingly hostile environment for the invader. By replicating quickly and escaping the bacteria can individually disseminate in the body and attack many more cells where the immune response has to start again from scratch."

By using mathematical models the researchers have been able to show that as an infection develops most bacteria remain isolated in individual infected cells, even as the number of cells infected grows.

Dr Mastroeni commented: "Understanding the hit-and-run tactics used by infectious bacteria has important healthcare implications. It will help us to identify how different drugs might work most effectively in different combinations and to develop new vaccines. In both cases developments would include a dual approach to slow the replication inside the cell and to attack bacteria on the run outside the cell."

The research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Wellcome Trust, not only has public health implications but also demonstrates the importance of animals in research.

Professor Julia Goodfellow, BBSRC Chief Executive, explained: "Salmonella bacteria cause hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide every year. Without using infected mouse cells we would not understand the behaviour of the bacteria. The combined use of biological data and mathematical models has enabled the researchers to test several and sometimes competing theories about infection, greatly reducing the need for many more animal experiments."

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is the leading funding agency for academic research and training in the biosciences at universities and institutes throughout the UK.

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk

Method Devised For Diagnosis Of Ocular Diseases

2007-04-16T02:52:00.001-07:00

GAIKER-IK4 Technological Centre's Area of Biotechnology, together with the Opthtalmological Surgery Clinical Institute of Bilbao (ICQO) are co-operating in a research project the aim of which is to develop a diagnostic system, based on immunochromatographic techniques, for the specific recognition of proteic markers for ocular pathologies in eye teardrop samples.

This system, carried out with a swab (similar to pregnancy testing), will initially detect specific markers for ocular pathologies such as conjunctivochalasis and keratoconus and will enable, with a sample of teardrop liquid, the diagnosis of the patient with these disorders.

The ease of use of the system and both its speed and simplicity (a positive testing sign in the form of a coloured band) enables the system to be employed on a daily basis in the clinic. The markers on which the design of this diagnostic system is based are being analysed throughout the research project and validated by means of their recognition by specific antibodies in samples from the tears of patients affected by these pathologies.

In the future, towards the end of 2008, those responsible for the project hope to develop a multiple system, capable of detecting the presence of other ocular pathologies, besides the two already established in the initial phase, and with the aim of launching the diagnostic tests on the market.

Pathologies studied

Keratoconus or conic cornea condition is a disorder of the human eye which rarely causes blindness but can considerably interfere with vision. This pathology distorts the usual rounded shape of the cornea and forms acone-shaped prominence. It occurs in one in every two thousand persons and generally it coincides with puberty. Keratoconus does not follow any known geographical cultural or social pattern.

Conjunctivochalasis is the relaxation of the bulbar conjunctive capable of creating conjunctive folds over the lower palpebral rim.

Progress of the research

This research project, started in 2004 and due to terminate next year, is based on a comparative study of proteome in samples of teardrops from patients suffering from keratoconus and conjunctivochalasis and, as a control, in samples of healthy patients.

Proteomics is the tool employed in this study to simultaneously analyse all the proteins involved in a pathology and contained in just one sample of teardrops. This set of proteins, known as "proteome", is what enables the determination of which proteins are affected in their expression in ocular pathology conditions, thus indicating to GAIKER-IK4 researchers which are the potential markers to employ as recognition targets within the diagnostic system being developed.

This approximation is important in as far as just one sample enables the analysis not only of one or two proteins, but of all the proteins contained in the teardrop and that are involved in the evolution of a specific ocular pathology, thus enabling finding various markers, suitable for use in developing multiples diagnosis systems. These new systems will have direct benefits on public health and in future can be linked with innovative technologies such as nano- and microtechnologies, capable of incorporating fragments of biomolecules.

About Elhuyar Fundazioa

Elhuyar Fundazioa is a Science and Technology Foundation. ItВґs first mission is to make science accessible to ordinary people and work with our language euskara. Within our product we have dictionarys, University books, web-pages, journals, radio programs and TV programs.

Elhuyar Fundazioa
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Mozambican Red Cross To Train Hundreds Of Volunteers To Manage Antiretroviral Therapy For HIV-Positive People

2007-04-16T02:41:00.001-07:00

The Mozambican Red Cross plans to begin training hundreds of volunteer health workers to manage antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive people in their care, IRIN News reports. According to the Ministry of Health, the government, with the help of partner organizations, provides antiretroviral treatment to about 34,000 of the estimated 250,000 people living with HIV/AIDS who need treatment. Some nongovernmental organizations in the country have started antiretroviral management training for volunteers, but the NGOs have a limited reach, according to IRIN News. The Red Cross has a nationwide network of 600 volunteers in its home-based care program, which operates in nine of the country's 11 provinces. "This training is extremely important and will improve the work of" Red Cross volunteers, Paula Macava, coordinator of the Red Cross HIV/AIDS program in Mozambique, said, adding that the Red Cross has completed a training course on antiretroviral therapy management that is specifically designed for volunteers. The three-week training course, which is designed for volunteers with at last basic reading and writing skills, includes information on how to judge when an individual is ready to start antiretroviral therapy, and ensuring regimen adherence and good nutrition when taking antiretrovirals. The government aims to provide antiretroviral treatment to about 50,000 people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2007, according to the health ministry (IRIN News, 1/16).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Panelists Urge Businesses In Africa To Support HIV-Positive Employees, Women To Get Tested

2007-04-16T01:50:00.001-07:00

Businesses in Africa should support HIV-positive employees, and more women on the continent should receive HIV tests and empower themselves with knowledge about HIV/AIDS, panelists at a Pan-African leadership summit in Cape Town, South Africa, said recently, allAfrica.com reports. The conference -- called "Vital Voices of Africa," and organized by the Washington, D.C.-based Vital Voices Global Partnership -- aims to develop an action plan to address HIV/AIDS in Africa. The conference also aims to address other issues, such as trade, economic development, good governance and violence against women. At the opening session of the conference, Joelle Tanguy, managing director of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said that 90% of HIV-positive people in Africa are unaware of their status. Grietjie Strydom -- former director of Alexander Forbes Health Management Services in South Africa and a panelists at the conference -- said that HIV/AIDS is having a large impact on South Africa's economy. She added that it is financially more beneficial for companies to provide treatment for HIV-positive employees than to not provide treatment. "The private sector thinks that the government is helping" people living with the disease, but this often is not the case and companies should be encouraged to provide support for HIV-positive employees, she said. According to Strydom, HIV-positive people also need psychological therapy and mental and emotional support. According to Miriam Were, chair of the National AIDS Control Council in Kenya and panelist at the conference, there are more women than men living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. She suggested that a fund be created to provide money and support to women living with HIV/AIDS (Hendricks, allAfrica.com, 1/16).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Nigeria Plans To Pass Law Allowing Local Companies To Produce HIV/AIDS, Malaria Drugs

2007-04-16T01:40:00.001-07:00

Nigeria is close to passing a law that would allow local pharmaceutical companies to manufacture more drugs to treat HIV/AIDS and malaria, Ahmed Abdulkadir, special adviser to the Nigerian president, said this week, Reuters South Africa reports. There are 14 companies that make antiretroviral drugs and eight companies that make artemisinin-based combination therapies in Nigeria, but they are not producing enough drugs to combat the diseases, according to Reuters South Africa. The country needs 109 million doses of ACTs annually to treat malaria, but local companies only meet 30% of the demand, and the rest is covered by treatments imported from China, Reuters South Africa reports. The new law aims to remove barriers to rapid production of the drugs, Abdulkadir said. He added that the legislation process is in the final stages and that the law will be sent to the National Assembly. Abdulkadir also said that Nigerian companies are preparing to boost drug production once the law is passed. "We are trying to get more machinery to produce more," he said, adding, "We don't want to be an importing nation. We want to be producing en masse and also supplying West and Central Africa." In addition, a program to grow Artemisia annua, the plant from which ACTs are derived, in Nigeria is being developed, according to Abdulkadir. Experts from China, where the plant primarily is grown, are advising Nigeria on how to cultivate the plant (Ee Lyn, Reuters South Africa, 1/17).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Scientists Perform 'Tricky' Operation

2007-04-16T00:44:00.001-07:00

Trichomonas vaginalis colonises the urogenital tract and causes the infection also known as "trick", the most common non-viral STI.

University of Queensland PhD scholar Rebecca Dunne was one of a team of 65 scientists that worked on the project to sequence the genome, which could offer clues to better treatments for both men and women.

Ms Dunne said the results would allow researchers to hone in on genes and gene families of interest, particularly those involved in drug resistance.

"The completion of the genome sequence by The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and subsequent annotation of the genome database has opened many avenues of research by providing a searchable data set," Ms Dunne said.

"Drug resistance in many human pathogens is increasing. T. vaginalis is among these, with no alternative drugs approved to treat resistant infections.

"This is particularly an issue in developing countries, where the number of infected individuals is high and the access to public health services is low.

"Now that researchers have access to a complete genome dataset the search for alternative drug targets can really take-off."

Amazingly, the pesky parasite was found to have an exceptionally large collection of DNA, with the possibility of having more genes than humans.

But Ms Dunne said while the sequencing of the genome project has largely elevated awareness of T. vaginalis among researchers, public awareness remains low, especially in developing countries where it has the most impact.

"This is a problem as infection with T. vaginalis increases the transmission and acquisition of many other serious STIs, including HIV.

"Furthermore, prolonged infection with T. vaginalis associates with pre-term birth, low infant birth weight and some cervical cancers.

"Alarmingly, trichomoniasis is not considered a notifiable disease."

Routine gynaecological check-ups do not test for this particular STI and the infection does not require public health notification.

Because of this, and also due to the broad and non-specific nature of symptoms, which can range from severe to negligible depending on the individual, some people pass it on without knowing.

"Furthermore, the non-specific nature (or in some cases, absence) of trichomoniasis symptoms often confuses it with other STIs, making the process of diagnosis itself, difficult," Ms Dunne said.

"Many infections remain undiagnosed as a result."

It is hoped that the results of the project will help research and improve treatments, in turn sponsoring awareness.

Ms Dunne's contribution to the project involved the identification and annotation of several large families of genes related to those involved in various mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance.

As a result of the genome being sequenced, she has since been able to localise specific genes of interest to the whole chromosome and begin the mapping process.

"Mapping the genome is the next step in the genome sequencing of T. vaginalis and will create a visual blueprint of the parasite, allowing researchers to see where their genes fit in to the big picture."

The results of the collaborative project have been published in the prestigious international journal

###

Contact: Lucy Manderson
Research Australia

Parasite Infection May Benefit MS Patients

2007-04-16T00:37:00.001-07:00

A steady rise in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) has been noted in recent decades, and environmental factors could be the cause of this increase. One theory, similar to the "hygiene hypothesis" in which an excessively germ-free environment may contribute to an increase in allergies, holds that a decline in infectious diseases may play a role in increasing autoimmune disease incidence. The first study examining the relationship between parasite infections and MS in humans suggests that such infections may affect the immune response in a way that alters the course of MS. The study was published in the January 2007 issue of Annals of Neurology (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/ana), the official journal of the American Neurological Association.

Previous studies involving animals have shown that parasite infection can influence the course of autoimmune diseases. These studies suggest that individuals with parasite infections have a diminished T cell response when unrelated antigens (foreign substances that generate an immune response) are present. The current study, conducted by Jorge Correale, M.D., and Mauricio Farez, B.Sc., of the RaГєl Carrea Institute for Neurological Research in Buenos Aires, Argentina, involved 12 patients with MS who also had a parasite infection, 12 controls with MS who were uninfected, and 12 healthy individuals. The two groups of MS patients had a similar disease course. Patients had a neurological exam every three months and a brain MRI every 6 months, while immunological evaluations were conducted during the last 12 to 18 months of the study. Patients were followed for an average of 4.6 years.

During the study period, there were three clinical relapses of MS in the infected group and 56 relapses in the uninfected group. Only two infected patients showed minimal Expanded Disability Status Score changes (EDSS is used to measure disability due to MS) that lasted less than three months, while the other 10 had no changes in EDSS scores. In the uninfected group, 11 patients showed an overall increase in EDSS. Since MS involves an inflammatory response associated with the production of certain regulatory proteins known as cytokines, the number of cells producing cytokine suppressants was measured and found to be significantly higher in infected patients.

The authors suggest that their findings provide evidence to support that an autoimmune response as a result of parasite infection can result in a decrease in the normal inflammatory response associated with MS. They note that evidence for production of regulatory T cells (which inhibit the immune response) in parasite infection is now emerging, which offers an explanation for the mechanism by which infected hosts exhibit an altered immune response that affects a secondary antigen, as was the case in the current study. "Thus, parasites may lead to increased regulatory T cell numbers or activity, either by generating new cells or by activating/expanding existing cells," they state.

Because parasites inhabit their hosts for long periods of time, they can develop molecules that generate strong anti-inflammatory responses, which enhance their survival. Further investigation is warranted in order to identify which molecules cause immune system effects that dampen the inflammatory reactions normally seen in autoimmune diseases, the authors note. They conclude that "induction of a regulatory anti-inflammatory network generated by persistent parasite infections may offer a potential explanation for environment-related suppression of MS development in areas with low disease prevalence."

###

Article: "Association Between Parasite Infection and Immune Responses in MS," Jorge Correale, Mauricio Farez, Annals of Neurology, January 2007, (DOI: 10.1002/ana.21067).

Contact: Amy Molnar
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

E.U. Resolution Calls On Libya To Release Medical Workers Sentenced To Death In Libyan HIV Infection Case

2007-04-15T23:39:00.001-07:00

The European Parliament on Thursday in a resolution called on European Union member states to review their trade relations with Libya and to urge Libya to release six medical workers sentenced to death for allegedly intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, Reuters South Africa reports. The resolution called on E.U. members to review "the common policy of engagement with Libya in all relevant fields." Bulgarian E.P. member Philip Dimitrov said the resolution sends a "clear signal of intent to Libya from the E.U. and with the support of the member states and the European Commission, it will show the E.U.'s solidarity on the matter" (Ennis, Reuters South Africa, 1/18). The five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor in May 2004 were sentenced to death by firing squad for allegedly infecting 426 children through contaminated blood products at Al Fateh Children's Hospital in Benghazi, Libya. They also were ordered to pay a total of $1 million to the families of the HIV-positive children. The Libyan Supreme Court in December 2005 overturned the medical workers' convictions and ordered a retrial in a lower court. A court in Tripoli, Libya, last month convicted the health workers and sentenced them to death. The health workers say they are innocent of the charges, claiming that they were forced to confess and that they were tortured by Libyan officials during interrogations (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/11). According to Reuters South Africa, the case has negatively affected Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's efforts to renew the country's ties with Western nations. In addition, some reports have said Gaddafi would release the medical workers if a Libyan who is in a Scottish jail for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing were released and if Libya received financial compensation for the alleged intentional HIV infections. Meglena Kuneva, E.U. consumer affairs commissioner, said there would not be a negotiation (Reuters South Africa, 1/18). "This has nothing to do with the Lockerbie case," Kuneva said, adding, "There isn't the slightest proof that these people are guilty, and the E.U. will not allow any other case to be used as a leverage." Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin last week said the medical workers likely will be in jail for one more year during an appeals process, adding that Bulgaria will increase international pressure if an appeal is unsuccessful. The E.U. on Thursday is expected to vote on the resolution (Ennis, Reuters Health, 1/17). In addition, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Wednesday said that he plans to urge Gaddafi to release the nurses at a Jan. 27 meeting of the African Union (Reuters, 1/17).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Sirion Therapeutics Initiates Enrollment Of Phase III Clinical Trials For The Treatment Of Inflammation Following Ocular Surgery

2007-04-15T23:35:00.001-07:00

Sirion Therapeutics, Inc., an ophthalmic-focused biopharmaceuticals company, announced today that it has begun enrollment of two phase III clinical trials, which will evaluate ST-601 (difluprednate) in the treatment of inflammation following ocular surgery.

ST-601 (difluprednate) was acquired by Sirion last year through an exclusive licensing agreement with Senju Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of Japan. The agreement gives Sirion the U.S. rights to develop and market a topical ophthalmic emulsion containing the steroid compound difluprednate for the treatment of inflammatory eye diseases.

"Initiating patient enrollment in our phase III clinical trials for difluprednate is another important milestone for Sirion," said Barry Butler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sirion Therapeutics, Inc. The company recently announced the initiation of a phase II proof of concept trial for ST- 602 (fenretinide) for the treatment of geographic atrophy. "Difluprednate is a good strategic fit with our company mission of finding treatments for sight threatening diseases and conditions. Inflammation of the eye that is untreated or undertreated can contribute to loss of sight. We hope that difluprednate will offer help to the millions of people in the U.S. that have eye surgery each year," concluded Butler.

About Sirion Therapeutics, Inc. and Sirion Holdings, Inc.

Sirion Therapeutics is a Tampa, Florida based biopharmaceutical company, with additional offices in La Jolla, California, dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative ophthalmic products. Sirion Holdings, Inc. is Sirion's parent company. For more information regarding Sirion and the matters announced in this press release, please visit Sirion's website at http://www.siriontherapeutics.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information about Sirion Holdings, Inc.'s and Sirion Therapeutics, Inc.'s business, product candidates, and product development schedule. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from the results anticipated, expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: the success or failure of research, development and marketing activities, decisions by regulatory authorities regarding whether and when to approve our drug applications, and the speed with which regulatory authorizations may be achieved. Please see Sirion Holdings, Inc.'s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further discussion of these risks, uncertainties and related cautionary statements regarding our business and such forward-looking statements.

Sirion Therapeutics, Inc.
http://www.siriontherapeutics.com/

Sequella Receives FDA Fast Track Status For TB Drug

2007-04-15T22:40:00.001-07:00

Sequella, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing improved treatment paradigms for diseases of epidemic potential, today announced it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SQ109, the company's proprietary lead drug candidate for treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). With a mechanism of action distinct from other antibiotics used in TB therapy, SQ109 shows excellent in vitro activity against drug susceptible and drug resistant TB bacteria, including XDR-TB, as well as potent in vivo activity against pulmonary TB alone and with other TB drugs.

"This FDA Fast Track designation validates SQ109 as a potentially unique addition to the TB therapeutic armamentarium," said Dr. Carol Nacy, CEO of Sequella. "This is an important regulatory milestone and recognition that SQ109 may address unmet needs in TB therapy to improve and shorten the current treatment regimen."

According to a letter from the FDA, SQ109 received fast track designation based on the following: "SQ 109 has the potential to fulfill an unmet medical need, and the preclinical information available thus far demonstrates that SQ 109 has the potential to enhance the treatment of tuberculosis during the first two months of intensive therapy and to treat multi-drug resistant TB." The FDA letter also stated that: "In 2002 the estimated number of active cases of tuberculosis was 9 million, with approximately 2 million deaths, worldwide."

Mandated by the FDA Modernization Act of 1997, Fast Track designation expedites the development and review of a New Drug Application (NDA) for approval.

About Tuberculosis (TB)

TB is a contagious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB bacteria can be inhaled into lungs and are able to avoid destruction by certain white blood cells. Without containment by immune cells, the bacteria can spread throughout the body, multiply, survive and remain dormant for years. TB is the leading cause of global deaths that result from a single-agent infectious disease. Nine million new cases of active TB disease are reported every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one-third of the world's population is infected with TB.

About SQ109

SQ109 is an orally active small molecule antibiotic that inhibits cell wall synthesis and acts on multiple cellular pathways in a select group of microorganisms, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause TB. SQ109 enhances, both in vitro and in vivo, the activity of the anti- tubercular drugs isoniazid and rifampin, thereby shortening by 25% the time required to cure mice of experimental TB. SQ109 is currently in Phase I clinical trials under a US IND, and could replace one or more of the current first-line anti-TB drugs, simplify therapy, and shorten the treatment regimen. Since 2000, Sequella has applied its scientific expertise in TB research and product development to identify, characterize, and complete preclinical evaluation of SQ109. SQ109 was developed in partnership with the NIH, with several grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the assistance of the NIAID and the National Cancer Institute Inter-Institute Program (NCI IIP) for IND-enabling studies.

About Sequella, Inc.

Sequella is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on commercializing improved treatment paradigms for diseases of epidemic potential. The company leverages its global influence, infectious disease expertise, and diverse product portfolio to proactively address emerging health threats with significant market opportunity. The Company's lead drug candidate SQ109, a new orally-active diamine antibiotic for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and other infectious diseases, is presently in Phase I clinical studies. The company's lead diagnostic product candidate, the TB Patch, is completing several international clinical trials in anticipation of world-wide product registration. For more information, please visit http://www.sequella.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and includes statements that are not historical facts. Actual results could differ significantly from results discussed. Sequella disclaims any intent or obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Sequella, Inc.
http://www.sequella.com

Change In Sexual Behaviors Needed To Curb Spread Of HIV In Africa, Some Health Experts Say

2007-04-15T22:36:00.001-07:00

An increasing number of health experts believe that there is a need to change sexual behaviors, including a reduction in the number of sexual partners, to reduce the spread of HIV in Southern Africa, the Financial Times reports. Although a large amount of funding is directed toward HIV prevention programs, "far less effort has gone into persuading people to change their" sexual behaviors, according to the Times. "Prevention has concentrated on testing, condoms, safe blood and mother-to-child transmission -- things that fall easily off bureaucrats' lips," Derek von Wissell -- head of Nercha, Swaziland's official National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS -- said, adding, "Behavior change is the difficult side. It needs a whole societal shift." Recent efforts in Swaziland and other African countries "reflect a new determination to tackle" behavior change -- a "sensitive subject" that has "long been politicized," the Times reports. In the U.S. and other countries, the debate surrounding HIV prevention has become "polarized" around which element of the ABC prevention method -- which stands for abstinence, be faithful and use condoms -- "should receive priority," according to the Times. "There was an immediate polarization between those saying condoms were evil and those who argued that only condoms were good," Daniel Halperin of the Harvard School of Public Health said. Halperin and some other public health experts have said that while all three elements of the ABC method are important, changing sexual behavior and partner reduction efforts have been the "neglected middle child" in ABC. Although condom use has been central to reducing the spread of HIV in countries like Brazil, Cambodia and Thailand, Ambassador Mark Dybul -- who serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and administers the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- said that a decrease in the number of men visiting commercial sex workers also contributed to the reduction in HIV cases. "Applying lessons (of condom use) from a concentrated epidemic to a region where there is a generalized epidemic was bordering on scientific insanity," Dybul said, adding, "We have not listened enough to Africans. It is tough to find one who doesn't say, 'A, B and C is what we need.'"

Movement Toward Behavior Change?
Although there is "no single or satisfactory explanation" for why HIV prevalence is higher in Southern Africa than the rest of the world, a "growing body of evidence points to the predominant role of one aspect of sexual behavior" -- that men and women often have "concurrent sexual partners over months or years," the Times reports. This practice contributes to the spread of HIV because the virus' ability to be transmitted peaks during the weeks after a person becomes infected, meaning that an HIV-positive person with multiple partners can spread the virus quickly to others, according to the Times. In addition, long-term sexual partners are less likely to use condoms -- increasing the likelihood that if one partner is HIV-positive, the virus will be transmitted to the other. The effect of such behaviors on the spread of HIV is beginning to be acknowledged, according to the Times. A report presented last year at a conference convened by the Southern African Development Community examined instances in which the number of HIV cases appeared to be decreasing and linked these reductions to successful behavior change programs in countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe (Jack, Financial Times, 1/18).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

NIH Grant To Develop Rapid Outpatient Device To Detect Bird Flu And Bioterror Agents

2007-04-15T21:38:00.001-07:00

The new integrated device the researchers are developing may allow cost effective, point-of-care diagnosis of bird flu and bioterror agents within one to two hours, according to principal investigator Kelly Henrickson, M.D., professor of pediatrics and microbiology at the Medical College. Dr. Henrickson is also a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

Dr. Henrickson previously developed the Hexaplex diagnostic test, using specialized reagents and genetic data for rapid, accurate simultaneous detection of the seven most common lower respiratory viruses, including several varieties of influenza. This technology is the basis for an array of products for physicians worldwide to rapidly detect the microbes responsible for a variety of illnesses such as aseptic meningitis, chicken pox, chronic cough syndrome, encephalitis, herpes, influenza, pneumonia, SARS, shingles, and West Nile virus.

"Our laboratory has pioneered a flexible, rapid, sensitive and specific method of simultaneously detecting multiple pathogens," says Dr. Henrickson. "We have recently developed two BioTplex assays that detect many (15) category 'A' bioterrorism agents. However, new amplified DNA detection and nucleic acid purification methods beyond those used in the Hexaplex diagnostic test allow for the development of a single 'point-of-care' device that may enhance the speed, flexibility, throughput, and cost effectiveness of multiplex assays."

Infectious agents identified to pose the greatest potential threat (Category "A" agents) include Variola major (smallpox), Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Yersinia pestis (plague), Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism), Francisella tularensis (tularaemia), and a group of RNA viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs).

Another agent of grave concern is avian flu. Additional concern exists over bird-to-human spread of avian flu and the potential adaptation for human-to-human spread. Terrorists could take advantage of avian flu's flexibility and engineer more virulent strains, capable of causing worldwide pandemics. Current diagnostic assays are directed to the common human isolates of influenza A, but no assay is available to detect all of the avian varieties of influenza A, according to Dr. Henrickson.

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The Medical College of Wisconsin, Children's Hospital, Children's Research Institute, and Nanogen Inc. will participate in carrying out the work of the grant.

Contact: elasusa@mcw.edu
Medical College of Wisconsin

Time To Revise Policy On Self-Testing For HIV

2007-04-15T21:35:00.001-07:00

A review of government policy about self-testing for HIV is needed in the UK in order to increase the uptake of HIV testing, according to a Viewpoint in the Lancet.

An estimated 31% of people in the UK are unaware of their HIV-positive status. But early diagnosis is important to manage the illness effectively, and so that people who are HIV positive can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to others. Since 1992 it has been illegal to sell or provide any self-test for HIV to any member of the public in the UK.

Lucy Frith (Division of Primary Care, University of Liverpool, UK) challenges the case against self-testing for HIV in light of new technologies that enable rapid and accurate HIV testing, advances in antiretroviral therapy, and the increasing emphasis on patient autonomy. She notes that the trend in health care towards an emphasis on patient autonomy has led to greater self-diagnosis and screening. People have been encouraged to take responsibility for their own health and to make informed decisions without direct intervention from health-care professionals. She argues that if self-testing for HIV is not harmful, there should be no grounds for keeping it in a clinical setting. She discusses the most common arguments against self-testing-the absence of counselling before and after the test, the accuracy of self-tests, the ability of people to provide adequate samples and interpret the test correctly, and the possibility of abuse or testing someone without their consent-and recent changes in practice and advances in technology that undermine these arguments.

The author concludes: "If practitioners truly believe in patient autonomy, people should be allowed to choose where, when, and how they are tested for HIV, where the technology exists. When appropriate self-test kits become available, the UK needs to be in a position to benefit from their use."

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Contact: Lancet press office
Lancet

Chinese Province Requires People To Provide Real Names, Contact Information When Taking HIV Tests

2007-04-15T20:38:00.001-07:00

China's Yunnan province has begun requiring people to provide their real names and contact information when taking HIV tests, Xinhua/People's Daily reports. According to Lu Lin, director of the Disease Prevention and Control Center of Yunnan, more than 150,000 people volunteered to take HIV tests in the province in 2006, an increase of 30,000 from the previous year. Providing real names and contact information will help medical workers provide follow-up treatment if people test HIV-positive, Lu said, adding that the requirement will enable HIV-positive people to "receive free medical treatment as soon as possible." Lu also pledged to protect the privacy of those who are tested, saying that medical workers will be prosecuted if they reveal HIV-positive people's personal information. Many people who take HIV tests give false personal information because of concerns related to stigma and discrimination, which means they miss the "best time for treatment," Lu said. Yunnan has 210 labs to screen and diagnose HIV/AIDS, and the number of labs might increase in the future, according to Lu (Xinhua/People's Daily, 1/18). According to official statistics, the number of HIV-positive people in Yunnan increased from 14,905 in 2003 to 40,157 by the end of 2005 (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/5/06). By the end of September 2006, the number increased to 47,314 (Xinhua/People's Daily, 1/18). The number of HIV cases in the province now accounts for one-quarter of the national HIV caseload. In addition, the Provincial Committee of AIDS Prevention and Control says HIV/AIDS cases have been detected in 128 of the province's 129 counties (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/5/06).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Press Conference Held On Measles Immunization Strategy

2007-04-15T20:35:00.001-07:00

Participants:

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization (will be the first speaker)

Kathy Bushkin, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, United Nations Foundation

Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H., Director, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairwoman, American Red Cross

Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director, UNICEF

WHEN: Thursday, January 18, 2007,

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Contact: Lancet press office
Lancet

Immunization Strategy Reduces Worldwide Measles Mortality By More Than Half

2007-04-15T19:38:00.001-07:00

The goal to halve worldwide measles mortality during the past six years has been met with a 60% decrease, according to an Article published in the Lancet.

Despite the availability of a safe, effective, and relatively inexpensive measles vaccine for over forty years, at the beginning of the millennium, measles remained a leading cause of childhood mortality, especially for children in developing countries. To address this problem, WHO and UNICEF began to target 45 countries with the highest burden of measles deaths with a comprehensive strategy for measles mortality reduction. The strategy has four components: achieving and maintaining high coverage for routine measles immunisation in every district, ensuring that all children receive a second opportunity for immunisation, effective surveillance for measles cases, and appropriate clinical management of patients with measles. In 2002, the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children adopted a goal to halve measles mortality (based on 1999 estimates) by 2005.

Lara Wolfson (Initiative for Vaccine Research, WHO, Geneva) and colleagues describe the progress made to eliminate measles in developing countries during the past six years and the achievement of the UN's ambitious goal. According to estimates based on the natural history model and corroborated by surveillance data, global measles mortality decreased by 60%, from 873 000 deaths in 1999, to 345 000 deaths in 2005. The largest percentage reduction in estimated measles mortality was in the western Pacific region (81%), followed by Africa (75%). During this period nearly 7.5 million deaths from measles were prevented through immunisation*. The success of these efforts has led to a further goal: to reduce mortality due to measles by 90% between 2000 and 2010.

The authors conclude: "If political will and financial commitments to achieving this goal are maintained, and innovative strategies for linking delivery of measles vaccine with other child survival interventions are used (eg, insecticide treated bednets), there is good reason to believe that this new target can be met, accelerating progress towards achieving one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goal 4, to reduce child mortality by two-thirds."

In an accompanying Comment, David Elliman and Helen Bedford from Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK, state: "For the greatest effect on children's health, immunisation should be delivered as part of a strategy of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness**...this more holistic approach helps to address the five conditions that make up 70% of the deaths in children younger than 5 years-ie, respiratory infections, diarrhoea, measles, malaria, and malnutrition."

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Contact: Lancet press office
Lancet

Australian State Unveils Strategy To Reduce By 25% New HIV Cases By 2009 With Focus On MSM

2007-04-15T19:35:00.001-07:00

The Australian state of New South Wales this week unveiled a new three-year HIV/AIDS strategy that aims to decrease new recorded HIV cases by 25% and that focuses on men who have sex with men, the Sydney Star Observer reports. The strategy includes increasing education about how drug use can lead to risky sexual behavior, as well as improving health services for MSM in regional areas. The plan was announced as New South Wales data indicate that the number of recorded new HIV cases was reaching its lowest levels in years. According to Geoff Honnor, executive officer of People Living With HIV/AIDS-New South Wales, the 340 projected number of HIV notifications for 2006 represents a 14% decrease since 2005. The lowest number of notifications was 339 in 2001, according to Honnor. AIDS Council of New South Wales CEO Stevie Clayton attributed the projected decrease to more consistent condom use and strong collaboration among the state's health organizations. Although Clayton expressed confidence that the new strategy could decrease the number even more, she added that HIV prevention would be an ongoing challenge. While it is a "really good thing to see data produced that's showing there's a reduction in HIV transmissions, we need to stay really vigilant about it and not think that means everyone can breathe a big sigh of relief and not have to worry about safe sex anymore," Clayton said, adding, "It's really important, in the context of a decrease in the rate of transmissions, to reinforce the need for safe sex" (Gould, Sydney Star Observer, 1/18).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Drug Treatment Seekers More Likely To Use Needle Exchange

2007-04-15T18:38:00.001-07:00

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the connection between Baltimore City's needle exchange program and drug treatment programs. Individuals who enter treatment programs for drug addiction were more likely to be HIV-positive females who use the Baltimore City needle exchange programs. The study highlights the need for treatment facilities to address co-occurring problems, such as HIV and mental illness. It is published in the December 2006 edition of the journal Substance Use & Misuse.

"Needle exchange programs and drug user treatment centers are two effective strategies to reduce HIV infections and drug abuse," explained Carl A. Latkin, PhD, lead author of the study and a professor in the Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Health, Behavior and Society. "Needle exchange programs reduce the number of contaminated syringes in a community and drug treatment reduces drug use, which may indirectly reduce HIV transmission."

In their analysis, the study authors included 440 injection drug users who were interviewed from 1997 to 2002 as part of the Self-Help in Eliminating Life-Threatening Diseases (SHIELD) study. At follow-up, 166 of the study participants were enrolled in methadone maintenance or detoxification, or a drug-free residential or outpatient treatment program. Individuals who entered treatment programs were more likely to be female, unemployed and participants in Baltimore City's needle exchange program, compared with individuals who did not enter drug treatment programs. Those in treatment were also more likely to be HIV positive, have a history of mental illness and inject heroin. Individuals who did not enter treatment programs were more likely to sniff or snort cocaine or heroin.

"Needle exchange programs are an important part in linking drug users with treatment. Creating trusting relationships with health care providers may encourage more injection drug users to enter drug treatment programs. Our study results clearly point to the need for strong linkages between needle exchange programs and treatment programs. There is also a need for treatment services that have the capacity to address co-occurring health problems found among drug users in Baltimore City," said Latkin.

The study authors also point out the need to publicize the services offered by needle exchange programs beyond needle distribution and disposal.

###

Authors of the study, from Johns Hopkins, include Carl A. Latkin, Melissa A. Davey and Wei Hua.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Contact: Kenna L. Lowe
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Studies Examine Effect Of Male Circumcision On Sexual Behavior, Breast-Feeding Interventions For HIV-Positive Women

2007-04-15T18:35:00.001-07:00

Engineered Immune Cells And AIDS

2007-04-15T17:38:00.001-07:00

China Considering Evidence That Male Circumcision Could Reduce Risk Of HIV Infection, Unlikely To Launch Campaign, Health Official Says

2007-04-15T17:35:00.001-07:00

A Spoonful Of Sugar Makes The Medicine Work

2007-04-15T16:38:00.001-07:00

Cbl-b Resists Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection

2007-04-15T16:35:00.001-07:00

Renovis Restructures To Focus On Advancing Its Neurological And Inflammatory Disease Programs Into Clinical Trials

2007-04-15T15:38:00.001-07:00

Renovis, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNVS) today announced that it has reduced its workforce by approximately 40 percent of its positions as part of a restructuring plan intended to significantly reduce spending while maintaining the research and development capabilities needed to advance the Company's late-stage preclinical drug discovery programs. The Company's VR1 collaboration with Pfizer and its ability to advance its unpartnered programs focused on antagonists of the purinergic receptors P2X7 and P2X3 are unaffected by the restructuring.

"Each of our proprietary programs has the potential to yield breakthrough treatments for major medical needs in neurological or inflammatory disease indications and this action properly staffs us to advance these late-stage preclinical programs into the clinic with existing financial resources," said Corey S. Goodman, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "The VR1 program with Pfizer is on track to enter clinical development this year and we are targeting 2008 to advance our P2X7 and P2X3 programs into clinical studies for inflammatory disease and pain indications, as appropriate. We are deeply grateful for the contributions and hard work of the talented and dedicated employees who will be leaving Renovis and wish them great success in their future endeavors."

"We recently selected a clinical candidate from our P2X7 program with the intention of initiating IND enabling studies in the first half of this year," said Michael G. Kelly, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Research and Development. "It is particularly difficult to part ways with highly capable employees who have made important contributions to this achievement as well as our progress on the VR1 and P2X3 programs. However, after this action we are well positioned to accomplish our goals and the team is committed to doing so."

The Company is providing severance and career transition assistance to the employees directly affected by the restructuring, and Renovis expects to incur restructuring charges of approximately $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2007, primarily associated with severance benefits. The Company expects to have approximately 70 employees following the workforce reduction. As of September 30, 2006, Renovis had cash, cash-equivalents, and marketable securities of $104.7 million. Based on current projections, the Company expects current cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities to be sufficient to fund projected activities at least through the end of 2009.

Renovis will provide financial guidance for 2007 and review the progress of its programs in its fourth quarter and year-end 2006 financial results announcement scheduled for March 1, 2007.

About Renovis

Renovis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of drugs for major medical needs in the areas of neurological and inflammatory diseases. The Company's proprietary research programs focus on purinergic receptors for the potential treatment of pain and inflammatory diseases. In addition, Renovis has a worldwide collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer to research, develop and commercialize small molecule vanilloid receptor (VR1) antagonists, and a research and development collaboration with Genentech to discover and develop anti-angiogenesis drugs and drugs that promote nerve re-growth following nervous system injury.

For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.renovis.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future financial results, future cost savings, future preclinical and clinical development, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. We may not actually achieve these plans, intentions or expectations and Renovis cautions investors not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. Various important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make are described in greater detail in the reports we file with Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2006, and our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14, 2006. Renovis is providing this information as of the date of this press release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Renovis, Inc.
http://www.renovis.com/

Barr's Subsidiary PLIVA Receives Approval For Generic ZITHROMAX(R) IV, 500 Mg Vial

2007-04-15T15:35:00.001-07:00

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BRL) and its subsidiary PLIVA d.d. (LSE: PLVD; ZSE: PLVA-R-A) today announced that PLIVA has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to manufacture and market Azithromycin for Injection, 500 mg vial, the generic version of Pfizer Labs' ZITHROMAX(R) IV (azithromycin for injection). The Company intends to launch its product during the first quarter of 2007.

Azithromycin for Injection is indicated for the treatment in patients who require intravenous therapy for infections caused by susceptible strains of the designated microorganisms in: 1) Community-acquired pneumonia due to Chlamydia pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Legionella pneumophila, Moraxella catarrhalis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, or Streptococcus pneumoniae; and 2) Pelvic inflammatory disease due to Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, or Mycoplasma hominis. An antimicrobial agent with anaerobic activity should be administered in combination with ZITHROMAX if appropriate.

The Company's Azithromycin for Injection, 500 mg vial will compete in a market that had total U.S. sales of approximately $75 million, based on IMS data for the 12-month period ending November 2006.

About Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical company that operates in more than 30 countries worldwide and is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. A holding company, Barr operates through its principal subsidiaries: Barr Laboratories, Inc., Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and PLIVA d.d. and its subsidiaries. The Company markets more than 120 generic and 25 proprietary products in the U.S. and more than 550 products globally outside of the U.S.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, the statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by their use of words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates" and other words of similar meaning. Because such statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements depending upon a number of factors affecting the Company's business. These factors include, among others: the difficulty in predicting the timing and outcome of legal proceedings, including patent-related matters such as patent challenge settlements and patent infringement cases; the outcome of litigation arising from challenging the validity or non- infringement of patents covering our products; the difficulty of predicting the timing of FDA approvals; court and FDA decisions on exclusivity periods; the ability of competitors to extend exclusivity periods for their products; our ability to complete product development activities in the timeframes and for the costs we expect; market and customer acceptance and demand for our pharmaceutical products; our dependence on revenues from significant customers; reimbursement policies of third party payors; our dependence on revenues from significant products; the use of estimates in the preparation of our financial statements; the impact of competitive products and pricing on products, including the launch of authorized generics; the ability to launch new products in the timeframes we expect; the availability of raw materials; the availability of any product we purchase and sell as a distributor; the regulatory environment; our exposure to product liability and other lawsuits and contingencies; the increasing cost of insurance and the availability of product liability insurance coverage; our timely and successful completion of strategic initiatives, including integrating companies (including PLIVA d.d.) and products we acquire and implementing our new enterprise resource planning system; fluctuations in operating results, including the effects on such results from spending for research and development, sales and marketing activities and patent challenge activities; the inherent uncertainty associated with financial projections; our expansion into international markets through the completion of the PLIVA acquisition, and the resulting currency, governmental, regulatory and other risks involved with international operations; our ability to service our increased debt obligations as a result of the PLIVA acquisition; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; and other risks detailed from time-to-time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statement was made. The Company undertakes no obligation (nor does it intend) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable law.

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
http://www.barrlabs.com/

South Africa Urged To Isolate Patients With New Deadly TB Strain To Avoid Pandemic

2007-04-15T14:38:00.001-07:00

A panel of HIV and bioethics experts are urging South Africa to enforce isolation of patients infected with a new deadly strain of TB to avoid a pandemic in the country where HIV is widespread. They say that the point where the rights of the individual must give way to the interests of public health has been reached and the country must act now to stop a pandemic that could spread to the rest of the world.

The experts have made this policy recommendation in an article published in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine.

The lead author of the report is Jerome Singh, a lawyer at the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in Durban in South Africa. Mr Singh and his colleagues, Ross Upshur and Nesri Padayatchi between them represent the Aids Programme and the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics.

It is thought that the new deadly TB strain may have developed because patients were treated with insufficient medication or because they missed some of their treatments.

Mr Singh and his colleagues consider the threat to be global because South Africa has a fast growing throughput of tourists and is home to millions of migrant workers from surrounding countries. It has a thriving ship and road transport system connecting with many other African nations.

Combined with the high rate of HIV infection in the region, the threat of spread of the new deadly TB strain is high, the authors say. This is emphasized by the fact that XDR-TB is now considered to be endemic in the province of KwaZulu-Natal where the strain was first detected. 39 hospitals in the province and other parts of South Africa have now admitted patients with XDR-TB. The authors say that at least 30 new cases of the deadly strain are being reported in the province every month.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for XDR-TB to be given the same global priority as avian flu. It has asked the governments in the sub-Saharan part of Africa to unite their HIV and TB fighting strategies.

Health Officials in South Africa are grappling with the conflict between the rights of the individual and the public health importance of this new situation. They have consulted with the WHO but have not yet released any information on their decision.

The WHO reported in September last year that the town Tugela Ferry, in KwaZulu-Natal was harbouring a new and deadly strain of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, XDR-TB. Tugela Ferry is also said to be the "epicentre of South Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic".

Of the 544 patients observed in the region in 2005, 221 had developed the multi-drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, MDR-TB, and from these 53 of them had the extensively drug-resistant strain, XDR-TB. Also, 44 of the 53 XDR-TB patients were infected with HIV. 52 of the 53 patients died.

The median survival term after diagnosis for the 52 XDR-TB patients who died was 16 days, showing a fatality rate and speed of development for TB that is unprecedented anywhere in the world. Six of the patients who died, were health workers, and the dead also included those on antiretroviral treatment.

MDR-TB stands for multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, i.e. Mycobacterium tuberculosis that has developed resistance to the antibiotic rifampicin and prodrug isoniazid, and most likely other drugs as well.

XDR-TB is a more resistant version of MDR-TB with additional resistance to at least three of the six classes of second-line anti-TB drugs. A second-line drug is a drug that is either less effective than a first-line drug such as rifampicin, or it could have toxic side-effects.

"XDR-TB in South Africa: No Time for Denial or Complacency."
Jerome Amir Singh, Ross Upshur, Nesri Padayatchi.
PLoS Med 4(1): e50 doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040050

Click here for full text of article (no subscription required).

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today

New AmfAR Research Grants Aim To Advance Understanding And Prevention Of Rectal HIV Transmission

2007-04-15T14:35:00.001-07:00

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, has awarded nearly $1 million for eight new research grants and fellowships aimed at increasing understanding and prevention of rectal HIV transmission, Dr. Rowena Johnston, amfAR's vice president of research announced today.

"Twenty-five years after the first identification of AIDS, the taboos that surround an open discussion of sexual behavior are still haunting us in our efforts to contain this pandemic" said Dr. Johnston. "It is time for us to take an honest and unflinching look at how HIV is spread and how to minimize the risks. This new research should help us to further untangle this riddle."

Sexual transmission accounts for the majority of HIV infections both in the United States and around the world, but how much of that transmission is due to anal intercourse remains unclear.

Although not often acknowledged, many heterosexual couples engage in anal intercourse and may not be aware that they are placing themselves at high risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, Dr. Johnston said. In South Africa, a country with one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, little is known about the extent to which the virus is spread by anal intercourse. Dr. Joanne Mantell, a researcher at the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene in New York, will use amfAR funding to gain insight into the frequency of anal intercourse in South Africa among heterosexuals and the circumstances under which it occurs.

Others, such as Drs. Charlene Dezutti of Magee-Women's Research Institute and Foundation in Pittsburgh and Craig Hendrix of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, will strive to understand the interactions between the virus and the cells in the rectum and colon that can tip the scale towards the establishment of infection.

Understanding the extent to which anal intercourse spreads HIV infection will become increasingly important as researchers race to devise microbicides, which may be effective only when used vaginally. Findings made by these new amfAR researchers will contribute to the development of prevention technologies that can also be used by those engaging in anal intercourse.

The recipients of this $1 million (US) round of funding, and their projects are:

* Alex Carballo-Dieguez, Ph.D. Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc., New York, NY $119,992

Development of a standard rectal microbicide delivery device: Even if an effective rectal microbicide becomes available, people will not use it if it cannot be applied comfortably. Dr. Carballo-Dieguez plans to design a rectal microbicide delivery device that will ensure ease of use and comfort while appropriately delivering the microbicide. Incorrect delivery of such a product could negate its protective effects or even increase the risk of infection. Ultimately such a delivery device might be used in human trials of a rectal microbicide, to ensure that all products are tested in a standardized manner that allows comparison of the effectiveness of each of the microbicides.

* Charlene Dezutti, Ph.D. Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA $120,000

Colorectal explants to study HIV transmission and microbicides: While details about HIV transmission in the female genital tract remain to be clarified, even less is known about such details in the rectum and colon. Dr. Dezzutti will study pieces of human colon and hemorrhoid tissue that will be exposed to HIV in a Petri dish. She will compare the differences in susceptibility to HIV infection of different regions of the colon, versus hemorrhoid tissue, and determine whether such differences are due to variability in the virus and/or in the cells first encountered by the virus. Such studies will allow researchers to develop ways of evaluating the effectiveness of rectal microbicides.

* Craig Hendrix, M.D. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD $120,000

Epithelial injury and HIV penetration after simulated ejaculation: The development of a rectal microbicide is even more complicated than a vaginal microbicide because the area to be protected from infection is so much larger and the tissues more delicate. Dr. Hendrix plans to explore which regions of the rectum and colon are most susceptible to HIV infection following intercourse, which will guide efforts in formulating a microbicide that will be most effective for rectal use. He also plans to delineate mechanisms whereby rectal and colon tissue are more prone to infection by HIV than the vagina, whether because of damage to the tissues due to intercourse itself or perhaps due to the chemical effects of semen.

* Hongjie Liu, Ph.D. Wayne State University, Detroit, MI $119,988

Mediation effects of network function on HIV risk behavior among Chinese MSM: Little is known about the extent to which men who have sex with men (MSM) also engage in sex with women. Dr. Liu plans to study this phenomenon among Chinese MSM, especially as regards their social networks. He will analyze the ways in which social networks, including sex partners, friends, and peers, as well as the Chinese collectivist culture, influence how many men engage in such behavior and how often it occurs. Ultimately Dr. Liu plans to develop an intervention to help reduce the rate at which Chinese MSM engage in unprotected sex with both men and women.

* Joanne Mantell, Ph.D. Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc., New York, NY $119,946

Anal sex practices in high-risk South African women and men: Very little is known about the extent to which anal intercourse contributes to the international HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially among heterosexuals. Dr. Mantell will study the prevalence of anal intercourse in South Africa, a country with one of the highest rates of infection in the world. After designing a culturally sensitive survey, she will describe how often anal intercourse takes place relative to vaginal intercourse, as well as attitudes that influence the likelihood of anal sex. Information about the frequency of condom use during anal versus vaginal intercourse will also help paint a picture of the spread of HIV in South Africa that will inform efforts to develop a rectal microbicide.

* Roberto Speck, M.D. University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland $119,822

Rectal transmission of HIV-1 in a novel mouse model: One of the limitations of HIV/AIDS research is the lack of a suitable animal model to conveniently study many of the biological phenomena associated with the disease. Dr. Speck has designed genetically engineered mice with an immune system that mimics that of humans, allowing him to study rectal transmission of HIV. He also plans to use the animals to discern whether virus-infected cells or virus particles alone are better suited for sexual HIV transmission, which cells are first infected and how, and whether damage to the rectum or colon is necessary for infection to occur.

Fellowships

* Carolina Herrera, Ph.D./Mentor: Robin Shattock, Ph.D. St. George's University of London, London, United Kingdom $125,000

Colorectal responses to HIV-1 and modulation by microbicides: The cellular events leading to disseminated HIV infection following anal intercourse have never been fully elucidated. Dr. Herrera will study pieces of human rectal and colon tissue in a Petri dish to characterize the responses of those tissues after exposure to HIV or semen. In particular, she will look for indications of changes in the function of immune cells, and determine whether such changes always occur or only when HIV infection is established. In addition, she will compare those changes to responses induced by microbicides, which will ultimately help guide the design of a rectal microbicide.

* Marjan Javanbakht, Ph.D./Mentor: Peter Anton, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA $112,193

Anal intercourse, STIs, and HIV among STD clinic clients: The extent to which anal intercourse contributes to the spread of HIV between men who have sex with men, as well as heterosexuals, is not well understood. Dr. Javanbakht will analyze data collected from male clients attending a public STD clinic in Los Angeles, specifically those who have sex with both men and women. Behavioral and biological data will be pooled to form an overview of sexual behaviors that place clients and their partners at risk for HIV infection. The information she gleans will help predict what level of impact a rectal microbicide might have on slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

###

ABOUT amfAR

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since it's founding in 1985, amfAR has been associated with important HIV/AIDS research. It has invested nearly $250 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide since 1985.

Contact: Donald Kaplan
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research

Washington State Legislature To Consider Bill Aimed At Reducing HIV Transmission In Prisons

2007-04-15T13:38:00.001-07:00

Some Washington state legislators are advocating for a bill (HB 1003) that would create a five-year plan to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, among prison inmates in the state, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Jeannie Darneille (D), is advocating that the state distribute condoms to inmates, although it is not specifically mentioned in the bill. The Governor's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in June 2006 recommended to Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) that the state's prison system distribute condoms to inmates as part of a plan to reduce the spread of STIs among inmates. Gregoire has not stated her position on the issue, according to an unnamed spokesperson. Marc Stern, health services director for the state Department of Corrections, said that providing inmates with condoms could be interpreted as "promoting illegal behavior" because it is illegal for inmates to have sex while incarcerated, the Post-Intelligencer reports. "We're trying to send the message that sex in prison is not OK," Stern said, adding, "We're afraid that issuing condoms sends a mixed message." In addition, Stern said it is unknown how many inmates become HIV-positive while in prison. According to the Post-Intelligencer, the state does not require inmates to receive an HIV test before entering the prison system. Inmates in the U.S. are almost five times more likely to be HIV-positive than the general population, according to CDC. According to Stern, the number of HIV transmissions that occur in prison likely is "very small" based on a CDC study released last year that was conducted among male prison inmates in Georgia. He added, "There might be one case of HIV transmitted in prisons in the state of Washington in a four- to five-year period." Jeff Schouten, chair of the Governor's Advisory Council, said the council thought there was a "significant" number of new cases based on the CDC study. In addition, Schouten said there is a demand among inmates for condoms, adding that the CDC study found 30% of inmates who had consensual sex used condoms or an improvised barrier protection method. Another concern is that inmates who contract HIV while in prison could spread it to others when they leave prison, Darneille said. "Ninety percent of people in prison come out, and if they come out in the community and engage in behaviors that put other people at risk, then we have created a pathway for HIV and other transmitted disease if we don't intervene," she said. Stern said that the corrections department is working to improve its STI testing and education programs but added that the current system is effective, the Post-Intelligencer reports (Santos, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1/18).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

A New Form Of Sleeping Sickness Discovered In India

2007-04-15T13:35:00.001-07:00

Human trypanosomiases are commonly known as sleeping sickness in Africa and Chagas disease in South America. The first case of human trypanosomiasis has now been discovered in India. The specialist investigations conducted, at the request of WHO and the Maharashtra Public Health Department, India, by an IRD scientist (1), has led to the identification of the parasite and the treatment of the patient, a farmer from the State of Maharashtra. He proved to be infected by Trypanosoma evansi, a trypanosome which is usually a parasite of various animals, particularly cattle. The mode of infection has not yet been clearly determined, but the discovery of this first human case of T. evansi raises questions both as to the evolution and adaptation of the parasite and on the real size of the problem.

A farmer in India, from the village of Shivani (district of Chandrapur) 140 km from Nagpur in the central State of Maharashtra, has recently been identified as the first confirmed case of human trypanosomiasis recorded in that country. Human trypanosomiases are endemic in Africa and South America : respectively sleeping sickness caused by the parasites Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or T. b. rhodiense, and Chagas disease induced by T. cruzi. In other regions of the world such as India, only animals were up to now known to be infected by certain trypanosomes, which are not pathogenic for humans.

In December 2004, a researcher form the IRD centre in Montpellier, a specialist in the African form of human trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), undertook the identification of the pathogenic agent, at the request of the Indian authorities and mandated by the WHO in collaboration with local medical services (1). Morphological examination of parasites contained in the patient's blood revealed the presence of many trypanosomes belonging to the species T. evansi, which usually infects animals, particularly cattle.

The patient, who had been suffering for several months from recurring bouts of fever, had very high blood parasite count, equal or greater than 106 parasites/ml of blood. Parasitological, serological and molecular analyses confirmed this result. It is the world's first formally identified case of human trypanosomiasis caused by T. evansi. This trypanosome, which was first identified in 1881 India, in the Punjab, in the horse and Bactrian camel, usually causes a disease called "surra " in bovines and camel species. Although cases of human carriers of animal trypanosomiases were recorded during that century in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, these have either never been formally demonstrated or were only very short-lasting infections.

The patient showed no nervous system damage, indicating an early stage of the disease and the researchers could start treatment. Injections of sodium suramine, a medicine usually used in cases of African T. b. rhodesiense trypanosomiases at the same stage, steadily improved the patient's health (2).

The patient, who works in permanent contact with animals, had a cut in his hand when he was admitted to the health care centre. Consequently, he was probably infected directly into the bloodstream from an animal infected with T. evansi. However, that does not exclude another indirect, mechanical infection pathway, by way of blood-sucking insect for example. An insect vector is involved in transmission of both sleeping sickness and Chagas disease (3).

Research continues aiming to unravel the transmission process and mechanisms by which the parasite adapts from animal hosts to humans. It should help determine whether or not this first recorded infection of T. evansi trypanosomiasis in humans is an isolated case. Only the recording and diagnosis of other human cases, by indications of the parasite in biological fluids (blood, lymph or cerebrospinal fluid), could signal the disease as an emerging problem. A survey was launched recently to investigate such a possibility. Commissioned by the DGHS (Directorate General of Health Services of Maharashtra), and supported by the WHO and the IRD, it is expected soon to bring data that might shed light on this question.

Marie Guillaume - DIC

(1) This specialist work was conducted by IRD research unit 177 (Montpellier, France), in collaboration with the WHO, the Health Services Directorate of Bombay (India) and the departments of medicine and microbiology of the Government Medical College of Nagpur (India).

(2) This man has now been cured, but he remains under medical supervision until February 2006, in case of a resurgence of the infection.

(3) The parasite is then transmitted by the tsetse fly in the case of sleeping sickness and by assassin bugs (of the insect sub-family Triatominae) in Chagas disease. Otherwise, the animals can be contaminated mechanically by T. evansi when infected blood passes through the buccal apparatus of blood-sucking insects, or by ingestion of infected raw meat.

RГ©fГ©rences :

P.P Joshi, V.R. Shegokar, R. M. Powar, S. Herder, R. Katti, H.R. Salkar, V.S. Dani, A. Bhargava, J. Jannin and P. Truc - Human trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma evansi in India : the first case report. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2005, in press.

Nouvelle forme de trypanosomiase humaine en Inde - Description du premier cas au monde de Trypanosoma evansi, OMS - Weekly Epidemiological Record n°7, 18 February 2005.

Contact: Marie Guillaume-Signoret
Institut de Recherche Pour le DГ©veloppement

Indian Health Ministry Proposes Fivefold Increase In Funding For HIV/AIDS Programs

2007-04-15T12:38:00.001-07:00

India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed a more than fivefold increase in funding for HIV/AIDS programs in the country, the Hindustan Times reports. The proposed $2.6 billion in funding would be administered by the National AIDS Control Organization under the third phase of the country's National AIDS Control Program, which is scheduled to launch on April 1. It would be allocated over the next five years for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support and treatment. About $466 million was allocated to the second phase of the National AIDS Control Program, according to the Times. About three-fourths of the program's third phase will be funded by the World Bank, and an unnamed NACO official said that the U.N. Development Programme, UNAIDS, the International Labour Organization, the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, USAID and the World Food Programme also will provide support. About one-third of the $2.6 billion in proposed funding would be allocated for HIV/AIDS care, treatment and support, while the remaining funds would be allocated for awareness about the disease. Some HIV/AIDS advocates said that although they welcome the increase in funding for HIV/AIDS awareness, the funding allocated for HIV/AIDS treatment is inadequate. "A lot remains to be done for the care and treatment of HIV-positive people," Nivedita Dasgupta, director of the Modicare Foundation, said. Another unnamed NACO official said that there is "sufficient awareness" about HIV/AIDS in certain states with high HIV prevalence and that India's HIV/AIDS efforts should "focus on the needs of those who have already contracted the disease in such areas." The HIV/AIDS control program's third phase will focus on six states with high HIV prevalence -- Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland -- although district level allocations will be modified to ensure that other states receive adequate funding. The funding increase for the control program's third phase also will be supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other groups, according to the Times (Shrivastava, Hindustan Times, 1/16).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Microwave Kills Kitchen Germs

2007-04-15T12:35:00.001-07:00

US scientists have discovered that microwaving kitchen sponges, cloths and plastic pan scrubbers kills 99 per cent of kitchen germs.

The results of the study are reported in the Journal of Environmental Health.

Gabriel Bitton, Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Florida where the tests were conducted said that "Basically what we find is that we could knock out most bacteria in two minutes." He added that people often put their sponges and pan scrubbers in the dishwasher. This cleans them, but it does not decontaminate them, he said.

Kitchen sponges and dishcloths are a breeding ground for germs such as Salmonella, E. Coli, pseudomonas, staphylococcus and other germs, increasing the risk of potentially fatal foodborne diseases.

Professor Bitton, who is an expert on wastewater microbiology, and his team used a regular off-the-shelf microwave oven to "zap" sponges and plastic pan scrubbers. They microwaved them for different lengths of time, squeezing out the water in between and measuring the microbial load in the water for each duration. These measurements were compared to those taken of water from pads and sponges that had not been microwaved or sterilized in any way.

There were no doubts about the results of the tests. Two minutes in the microwave on full power was enough to kill or neutralize more than 99 per cent of the pathogens that had been living on the sponges and pan scrubbers. The only pathogen that needed longer (about four minutes in the microwave) were spores of Bacillus cereus which causes diarrhea, stomach ache and sometimes vomiting too, with symptoms lingering for about 24 hours.

Professor Bitton said that "the microwave is a very powerful and inexpensive tool for sterilization." Approximately 90 per cent of American homes have a microwave, making this simple but effective technology within the reach of the vast majority of the population.

In a survey conducted in June last year, the UK's Food and Drink Federation found that only 12 per cent of people changed or disinfected their kitchen sponge or cloth once a month, and only 6 per cent did it more often.

Food-borne illnesses affect at least 6 million Americans every year, and are responsible for at least 9,000 deaths.

WARNING: To avoid starting a fire if you do this at home, make sure the cloth or sponge is soaked with water, that the water does not boil away (don't keep microwaving until all the steam has gone), and do it for no more than 2 minutes. And never put metal in the microwave (some cloths and sponges and pan scrubbers, even plastic ones, have metal filaments, don't put those in the microwave). And finally, use tongs to remove the hot cloth or wait until it has cooled before you remove it or you will scald yourself.

"Microbial Inactivation by Microwave Radiation in the Home Environment."
Dong-Kyoo Park, Gabriel Bitton, Ph.D., and Richard Melker, M.D., Ph.D.
Journal of Environmental Health Vol 69, No 5, Dec 2006.

National Environmental Health Association (US).

Gateway to (US) Government Food Safety Information.

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today

Number Of HIV Cases In South Korea Increasing, Report Says

2007-04-15T11:38:00.001-07:00

The number of new HIV cases in South Korea increased by 10.4% in 2006, according to a report released Thursday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Korea Herald reports. According to the report, 751 new cases of HIV were reported in the country in 2006, 689 of which occurred among men and 62 among women. A total of 680 new cases were reported in 2005, according to the Herald (Hae-in, Korean Herald, 1/19). The report also found that 483 new HIV cases were transmitted through unsafe sexual practices -- 273 through heterosexual sex and 210 among men who have sex with men -- and one case was transmitted vertically (Chung-a, Korea Times, 1/19). "Considering that sexual intercourse was the most common form of transmission, it is important to use condoms and other protection," KCDC said, adding, "There is also a need to raise public awareness on the importance of taking voluntary HIV tests." According to the Herald, condom use in the country in 2006 was recorded at 25% (Korea Herald, 1/19).

KFAP Survey
Many middle school and high school students in Seoul, South Korea, lack sufficient knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS and have negative views concerning the disease, according to a recent survey conducted by the Korea Federation for HIV/AIDS Prevention, the Times reports. According to the survey, 64.9% of middle school and high school students said that HIV could be transmitted through mosquito bites; 59.2% said the virus could be transmitted through kissing; 57.5% said sharing water glasses can result in transmission; 54.7% said HIV can be transmitted through toilet seats; and 53.1% said gay relationships can result in transmission. According to the Times, negative views concerning HIV/AIDS also was prevalent, with 58.6% of students saying that HIV/AIDS is a "disgusting disease"; 52.1% said they would not sit next to an HIV-positive person; 43.2% said they would not eat meals with HIV-positive people; and 45.4% said that people living with HIV/AIDS should take full responsibility for the disease, the Times reports (Korea Times, 1/19).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation To File Lawsuit Against Pfizer For Allegedly Promoting Recreational Use Of Erectile Dysfunction Drug

2007-04-15T11:35:00.001-07:00

The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation on Monday is expected to file a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the pharmaceutical company Pfizer for allegedly promoting recreational use of its erectile dysfunction drug Viagra in advertisements, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, AHF said Pfizer's ads for the drug have increased risky sexual behavior, as well as cases of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, among men. The group in draft legal documents said, "Pfizer has created and contributed to the perception of Viagra as a safe, sexy, lifestyle, recreational drug to be frequently used regardless of the degree, or even existence of," erectile dysfunction. AHF in the documents also cited several recent ads, including a 2005 newspaper ad that included a smiling man asking, "What are you doing on New Year's Eve?" Another ad highlighted by AHF ran close to the 2006 Super Bowl and called on men to be "this Sunday's MVP" by asking their doctors about the drug. According to AHF President Michael Weinstein, the ads portray Viagra as a "party drug" that can improve sex for healthy men -- an assertion that has not been approved by FDA. In addition, AHF said that studies have found recreational use of Viagra among men who have sex with men might overcome the erection-inhibiting effects of alcohol or drugs such as crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy. The suit will ask that Pfizer stop running ads that promote Viagra as a lifestyle drug and that the company fund ads promoting awareness about the risks associated with Viagra and STIs, according to Reuters. In addition, the suit will ask that Pfizer forfeit profits gained from the "misleading" ads and pay for AHF's costs of treating cases of HIV/AIDS and other STIs that it has linked to Viagra, Reuters reports. Pfizer spokesperson Shreya Prudio said the company was not aware of the lawsuit. She added that Pfizer is "committed to safe and appropriate use of Viagra," adding that ads for the drug state that it does not "protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV." Viagra had $1.6 billion worldwide in sales in 2005, Reuters reports (Richwine, Reuters, 1/21). AHF in December 2006 launched an ad campaign against Pfizer because it said the company's ads for Viagra promote recreational use. Pfizer at the time denied that the ads encourage recreational use of the drug and said its advertising states that the drug does not protect against STIs (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/15/06). Pfizer in 2004 halted an ad campaign because FDA said the ads made an unproven claim that the drug could help men recover a youthful amount of sexual desire, according to Reuters (Reuters, 1/21).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Rapid Flu Tests May Reduce Threat Of Antibiotic Resistance

2007-04-15T10:38:00.001-07:00

New tests to rapidly detect the flu are allowing doctors to cut down on the number of hospital patients who receive antibiotics, helping soften the rapidly worsening threat of antibiotic resistance, according to a study to appear in the Feb. 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study was posted online by the journal Jan. 22 because of the importance of the findings to public health.

The research was done by infection control experts at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., who are on the faculty at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

"I was pleasantly surprised by the results," said Ann Falsey, M.D., who led the study. "Rapid testing does give physicians evidence to discontinue antibiotics, and some physicians are responding to the evidence.

Falsey's team analyzed the records of 166 patients who definitely had the flu when hospitalized. Eighty-six of the patients tested positive with the rapid test, which gives an answer within minutes, while the 80 others either did not have the rapid test done, or they tested negative at the time but were later found to have the flu. The team checked the subsequent treatment to see if there was a difference in the use of antibiotics, which aren't effective or useful against viruses like the flu.

They found that 86 percent of the patients whose flu was confirmed early on were treated with antibiotics, compared to 99 percent of the patients whose flu wasn't identified immediately. It's not a huge difference in numbers, but the study showed that the difference is significant, demonstrating that the rapid test does reduce the use of antibiotics in the hospital.

"At least some proportion of doctors is willing to stop antibiotics when patients have a documented viral infection," said Falsey. "This is certainly encouraging, but there is a lot more work to do."

The issue is important, says Falsey, because the over-use of antibiotics makes patients and the community more vulnerable to dangerous microbes resistant to most treatments. It's particularly important in hospitals, where people most prone to infection are treated.

Yet, Falsey noted in the study that 61 percent of patients who were generally at low risk for bacterial infection continued to receive antibiotics. She says that the prescription of antibiotics to patients with a viral infection is often done by doctors who believe that their patient may also have a bacterial infection or that antibiotics will prevent subsequent bacterial infections that could occur while the person is weak with the flu or another virus. In the current study, for instance, those patients with the flu who were still receiving antibiotics tended to be older, smokers, and have breathing difficulties. In other words, they were the ones most vulnerable to such an infection.

Nevertheless, Falsey notes that there have been no studies proving that such a practice is effective at preventing infections.

"Doctors are trying to do the right thing by their patients. Sometimes they perceive antibiotics as the safest choice, even though a virus may be the cause of their patient's illness," said Falsey, noting that 90 percent of people with the flu who see a doctor are given antibiotics, even though the drugs won't help.

The simplest solution to antibiotic resistance would be for doctors to not prescribe antibiotics when they're unlikely to help, such as when a patient definitely has the flu, the common cold, or most cases of sore throat. But when patients don't feel well, many march into their doctor's office expecting an answer and feel neglected if they don't receive a prescription in return for their visit. That leaves doctors caught between prescribing medication that probably won't help, vs. appearing unhelpful to their patients.

"Oftentimes people get sick, they just want to feel better, and they assume there is a pill that will make them better quickly," said Falsey. "Unfortunately, that's not the case for many respiratory illnesses that are caused by viruses. Instead they should rest, drink plenty of fluids, and take over-the-counter medications to help ease their symptoms. But many patients don't want to hear that, and it can be difficult for a doctor to deliver the news."

###

The study, conducted with funding from the National Institutes of Health was conducted by Falsey, Edward Walsh, M.D., and Yoshihiko Murata, M.D., Ph.D. All three are involved in infection control at Rochester General Hospital and are on the faculty of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Contact: Tom Rickey
University of Rochester Medical Center

Hundreds With Suspected Stomach Flu On QEII Cruise Ship

2007-04-15T10:35:00.001-07:00

According to US health officials, more than 300 people on board the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship have been struck down with a suspected stomach flu.

A recent report released by Cunard Line says that laboratory tests on board the ship has confirmed the highly infectious gastrointestinal norovirus as the agent of the infection.

The ship docked in San Francisco on Wednesday, having started its 108 day journey in New York on the 8th of January.

The Vessel Sanitation Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported on Monday that 276 of 1652 passengers (17 per cent), and 28 of 1002 crew (3 per cent), on the Cunard Line vessel have contracted an illness whose predominant symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting.

Cunard had informed the CDC on January 11th that there were some passengers on board who had fallen ill with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.

Cunard Line and its staff have taken a number of actions to address the problem. This includes increasing the cleaning and disinfection routines, telling passengers what is happening and what to do to avoid infection. There are also a number of environmental health specialists on board giving advice and support.

Officials from the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program boarded the ship in Acapulco on the 19th of January. They will be investigating the outbreak, conducting an environmental inspection, asking questions of passengers and crew members, including the ones who fell ill, and then making recommendations.

Cunard Line have reported that all but 4 of the passengers have made a full recovery.

The CDC will continue to receive daily updates on the situation until the number of people who are ill recedes to normal levels.

Norovirus, sometimes called winter vomiting disease or stomach flu, is usually transmitted via the fecal-oral route by means of contaminated water or food.

Norovirus outbreaks are common at this time of year and cause the usual gastroenteritis symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Sometimes this is accompanied by mild fever and headaches. The symptoms last for several days and are not normally life-threatening, unless patients who are vulnerable, such as the elderly, very young children and those who are immune-compromised, become dehydrated.

In November last year, 700 passengers and crew on board the cruise ship Liberty, owned by Carnival Cruise Line, fell ill with suspected norovirus.

CDC Vessel Sanitation Program

More information on Norovirus (wikipedia).

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today

Groups Urge FDA To Review Policy That Bans MSM From Donating Blood

2007-04-15T09:38:00.001-07:00

The American Red Cross and other organizations that collect donated blood are urging FDA to review a policy in effect since the early 1980s that prohibits men who have sex with men -- regardless of sexual activity, safer-sex practices or HIV status -- from donating blood, the San Jose Mercury News reports. According to the San Jose Mercury News, potential blood donors are asked to fill out a questionnaire before donating, and MSM, injection drug users, people who got a tattoo within the previous 12 months and pregnant women are prohibited from donating. A California high school student recently was not permitted to donate blood after he identified himself as an MSM, prompting some groups to challenge the FDA policy, which they claim is discriminatory. ARC, the American Association of Blood Banks and America's Blood Centers in March 2006 asked FDA to review the policy, saying that banning MSM from donating blood within 12 months of sexual activity with another man would be more fair than a lifelong ban, the Mercury News reports. The groups say that the likelihood of receiving a unit of HIV-infected blood is one in two million and that blood banks use nucleic acid testing, which detects HIV and hepatitis earlier than older testing methods. Michael Busch, vice president for Research and Scientific Affairs of the Blood Centers of the Pacific, said, "The testing systems are extremely robust because we test for antibodies and the virus itself." In addition, HIV is increasingly transmitted through heterosexual sex, and women account for more than one-quarter of all new HIV/AIDS cases in the U.S., according to CDC. Karen Riley, an FDA spokesperson, said that the agency reviews the policy periodically but that discussions usually support the current policy. "We understand that our recommendation for permanent deferral has the effect of deferring all gay men, but it really comes down to epidemiology," Riley said, adding, "Men who have sex with men are 60 times more likely to be HIV-infected than the general population. ... The policy is in place for the protection of the nation's blood supply." California Assembly member John Laird (D) said, "The FDA policy is out of date and is based on facts that existed a quarter of a century ago," adding, "I'm worried that we're cutting off a potential source of blood that is sorely needed" (Hull, San Jose Mercury News, 1/22).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

New Culture Method For Hepatitis C Virus Uses Primary Hepatocytes And Patient Serum

2007-04-15T09:35:00.001-07:00

Researchers open the way for improved study of hepatitis C virus by devising a novel virus culture system that allows replication of patient-isolated virus in nontransformed hepatocytes, instead of culture-adapted virus strains in transformed cell lines. The related report by LГЎzaro et al, "Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes," appears in the February issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects approximately 170,000,000 people worldwide. HCV liver disease, which may induce liver inflammation, cirrhosis, and/or hepatocellular carcinoma, represents the foremost reason for liver transplantation in much of the U.S.

Study of HCV replication within liver cells, or hepatocytes, has been hampered by a lack of adequate virus culture systems. Some systems allow the virus to infect cells but do not permit prolonged replication and production of virus, while other systems rely on derivatives of permissive virus isolates for efficient replication in transformed (mutated) cell lines. Still lacking has been a system to sustain replication of novel virus isolates from patients using nontransformed hepatocytes.

Nelson Fausto of the University of Washington School of Medicine has crossed this hurdle using a human fetal hepatocyte culture system that was previously developed in his lab. Using this system, his group has demonstrated sustained replication and production of virus particles for at least 2 months, with these virus particles able to infect new cells.

In their first experiments, Fausto and colleagues transfected hepatocyte cultures with HCV genomic RNA and found replication of HCV RNA genomes and production of core protein (for virus particle formation). Release of infectious virus particles was confirmed, as media from these cells were able to infect naive hepatocytes. Finally, virus particles were examined by electron microscopy and shown to possess the expected size and shape of HCV virus particles.

Once the system was established, the group examined whether sera from patients carrying HCV could infect the human fetal hepatocytes. When sera from patients infected with different HCV strains were added to the hepatocyte culture system, viral replication occurred and new virus particles were produced.

In both transfection and infection models, virus particles were released in a cyclical manner, with bursts of virus produced every 10-14 days. This is similar to what has been reported during clinical HCV infection, possibly due to the host's natural defenses. Interestingly, cultured hepatocytes responded to viral replication by displaying signs of distress and cell death and by expressing interferon-beta, a cellular antiviral, in an effort to control the infection.

This culture system provides a breakthrough in studying HCV replication in nontransformed hepatocytes, the natural target of the virus. By allowing infection by patient serum containing a wide array of virus strains, this system may allow better understanding of the differences between different strains, further improving treatment strategies.

###

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Center for AIDS Research.

LГЎzaro CA*, Chang M*, Tang W, Campbell J, Sullivan DG, Gretch DR, Corey L, Coombs RW, Fausto N. Hepatitis C virus replication in transfected and serum-infected cultured human fetal hepatocytes. Am J Pathol 2007 170: 478-489. *These authors contributed equally to this work.

The American Journal of Pathology, the official journal of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), seeks to publish high-quality original papers on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease. The editors accept manuscripts which report important findings on disease pathogenesis or basic biological mechanisms that relate to disease, without preference for a specific method of analysis. High priority is given to studies on human disease and relevant experimental models using cellular, molecular, biological, animal, chemical and immunological approaches in conjunction with morphology.

Contact: Audra Cox
American Journal of Pathology

Widespread Discrimination, Lack Of HIV Education Fueling Spread Of Virus In Caribbean, Health Officials Say

2007-04-15T08:39:00.001-07:00

A widespread lack of HIV/AIDS awareness and education in the Caribbean is hampering efforts to reduce the spread of the virus in the region, health officials said on Sunday at the Caribbean Summit on HIV/AIDS in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports. In addition, HIV-positive people often delay seeking treatment for fear of discrimination by employers and others, and many people in the region perceive HIV/AIDS as a disease that largely affects men who have sex with men, officials said at the conference. "It's going to be a political challenge because, unfortunately, we live in a society that is very homophobic," Douglas Slater, health minister for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said. According to Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.), co-chair of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus, the 15-member Caribbean Community has not obtained sufficient international funding for prevention and treatment efforts in the region. "Caricom needs to step up to the plate and demand these federal funds," Payne said. An estimated 500,000 people in the Caribbean, or 2.4% of the population, are HIV-positive, and the region has the second-highest prevalence after sub-Saharan Africa, the AP/Herald Tribune reports. About 24,000 people in the Caribbean died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2005, making the disease the leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 44, Barry Featherman -- president of the Inter-American Economic Council, which organized the conference -- said. Caribbean-based studies have found businesses that invest in HIV prevention programs save money by reducing health care costs and hiring more productive workers, officials said. However, efforts to educate the population on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment have not been strengthened, Payne said. Albert Ramdin, assistant secretary-general for the Washington, D.C.-based Organization of American States, said, "This (pandemic) has major implications for governance, national security, human security and the economic viability of many of these countries whose resources are already stretched" (AP/International Herald Tribune, 1/21).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Microwave Oven Can Sterilize Sponges, Scrub Pads, Researchers Say

2007-04-15T08:36:00.001-07:00

Microwave ovens may be good for more than just zapping the leftovers; they may also help protect your family.

University of Florida engineering researchers have found that microwaving kitchen sponges and plastic scrubbers - known to be common carriers of the bacteria and viruses that cause food-borne illnesses - sterilizes them rapidly and effectively.

That means that the estimated 90-plus percent of Americans with microwaves in their kitchens have a powerful weapon against E. coli, salmonella and other bugs at the root of increasing incidents of potentially deadly food poisoning and other illnesses.

"Basically what we find is that we could knock out most bacteria in two minutes," said Gabriel Bitton, a UF professor of environmental engineering. "People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave."

Bitton, an expert on wastewater microbiology, co-authored a paper about the research that appears in the December issue of the Journal of Environmental Health, the most recent issue. The other authors are Richard Melker, a UF professor of anesthesiology, and Dong Kyoo Park, a UF biomedical engineering doctoral student.

Food-borne illnesses afflict at least 6 million Americans annually, causing at least 9,000 deaths and $4 billion to $6 billion in medical costs and other expenses. Home kitchens are a common source of contamination, as pathogens from uncooked eggs, meat and vegetables find their way onto countertops, utensils and cleaning tools. Previous studies have shown that sponges and dishcloths are common carriers of the pathogens, in part because they often remain damp, which helps the bugs survive, according to the UF paper.

Bitton said the UF researchers soaked sponges and scrubbing pads in raw wastewater containing a witch's brew of fecal bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores, including Bacillus cereus spores.

Like many other bacterial spores, Bacillus cereus spores are quite resistant to radiation, heat and toxic chemicals, and they are notoriously difficult to kill. The UF researchers used the spores as surrogates for cysts and oocysts of disease-causing parasitic protozoa such as Giardia, the infectious stage of the protozoa. The researchers used bacterial viruses as a substitute for disease-causing food-borne viruses, such as noroviruses and hepatitis A virus.

The researchers used an off-the-shelf microwave oven to zap the sponges and scrub pads for varying lengths of time, wringing them out and determining the microbial load of the water for each test. They compared their findings with water from control sponges and pads not placed in the microwave.

The results were unambiguous: Two minutes of microwaving on full power mode killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of all the living pathogens in the sponges and pads, although the Bacillus cereus spores required four minutes for total inactivation.

Bitton said the heat, rather than the microwave radiation, likely is what proves fatal to the pathogens. Because the microwave works by exciting water molecules, it is better to microwave wet rather than dry sponges or scrub pads, he said.

"The microwave is a very powerful and an inexpensive tool for sterilization," Bitton said, adding that people should microwave their sponges according to how often they cook, with every other day being a good rule of thumb.

Spurred by the trend toward home health care, the researchers also examined the effects of microwaving contaminated syringes. Bitton said the goal in this research was to come up with a way to sterilize syringes and other equipment that, at home, often gets tossed in the household trash, winding up in standard rather than hazardous waste landfills.

The researchers also found that microwaves were effective in decontaminating syringes, but that it generally took far longer, up to 12 minutes for Bacillus cereus spores. The researchers also discovered they could shorten the time required for sterilization by placing the syringes in heat-trapping ceramic bowls.

Bitton said preliminary research also shows that microwaves might be effective against bioterrorism pathogens such as anthrax, used in the deadly, still-unsolved 2001 postal attacks.

Using a dose of Bacillus cereus dried on an envelope as a substitute for mail contaminated by anthrax spores, Bitton said he found he could kill 98 percent of the spores in 10 minutes by microwaving the paper - suggesting, he said, one possible course of action for people who fear mail might be contaminated. However, more research is needed to confirm that this approach works against actual anthrax spores, he said.

Credits

Writer
Aaron Hoover

Source and Contact:
Gabriel Bitton
University of Florida

European Union Offers Improved Relations With Libya If Medical Workers Are Released

2007-04-15T07:35:00.001-07:00

The European Union on Monday said that the body would improve its relations with Libya if the country releases the five Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor sentenced to death for allegedly intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, Reuters Health reports (Brunnstrom [1], Reuters Health, 1/22). The health workers in May 2004 were sentenced to death by firing squad for allegedly infecting 426 children through contaminated blood products at Al Fateh Children's Hospital in Benghazi, Libya. They also were ordered to pay a total of $1 million to the families of the HIV-positive children. The Libyan Supreme Court in December 2005 overturned the medical workers' convictions and ordered a retrial in a lower court. A court in Tripoli, Libya, last month convicted the health workers and sentenced them to death. The health workers say they are innocent of the charges, claiming that they were forced to confess and that they were tortured by Libyan officials during interrogations. The European Parliament on Thursday in a resolution called on E.U. member states to review their trade relations with Libya and to urge Libya to release the medical workers. The resolution called on E.U. members to review "the common policy of engagement with Libya in all relevant fields" (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/18). Foreign ministers from 27 E.U. countries in a statement released after talks in Brussels, Belgium, expressed "grave concern" over last month's verdict (Brunnstrom [1], Reuters Health, 1/22). The ministers called for a "positive, fair and prompt solution" to the case (Brunnstrom [2], Reuters Health, 1/22). "In this context, the relations between the European Union and Libya can further develop," the statement said (Brunnstrom [1], Reuters Health, 1/22). According to an E.U. diplomat, E.U. members "want to send a very firm signal of solidarity with the Bulgarians and to make clear our position that the trial and verdict were not acceptable." Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos before the talks said that Spain has offered to provide treatment for some of the HIV-positive children, although numbers have not been discussed, Reuters Health reports (Brunnstrom [2], Reuters Health, 1/22).

European Parliament Should Not Politicize Case, Libyan Official Says
Seif al-Islam Gaddafi -- the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and head of Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations -- in a statement issued Saturday said that members of the European Parliament should not politicize the case of six medical workers, the AP/Washington Post reports. "Pressures by Europeans on Libya will have a negative impact on the situation of the nurses and the Palestinian doctor and will take the case out of its legal and judicial context to the political arena," Gaddafi in the statement said. He also said that European pressure would "hinder efforts exerted in several directions to reach a just solution and complete settlement for this issue" (El-Deeb, AP/Washington Post, 1/20). Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam, Libyan Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation Minister, speaking to the Libyan General People's Congress on Saturday said the country will not agree to the "unfair" European demands. "The independence of the Libyan judicial system is a red line, being part of our independence and sovereignty, and we can never accept interference in its affairs," Shalgam said, adding, "On the one hand, they (European countries) request the transparency and fairness of the judiciary, but when they see the fairness and transparency of judiciary, they demand the state's interference in the work of judiciary." Shalgam said that the current sentences are not the final word in the case and that decisions from the Supreme Court and the High Judicial Council are expected. "The High Judicial Council alone is the one to ratify the court's ruling," Shalgam said (Sarrar, Reuters, 1/21).

"Reprinted with 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 . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Seasonal Influenza On Increase In Europe

2007-04-15T07:32:00.001-07:00

It is official - this year's influenza season has begun, the European Influenza Surveillance Scheme (EISS) confirmed today. There is currently increased influenza activity reported in five countries: Greece, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Spain and Switzerland, and this has been accompanied by increases in laboratory confirmed influenza cases. This increase in activity signals the start of the influenza season and, based on historical data, influenza activity is expected to increase in many more countries over the coming weeks.

В Laboratory confirmed cases from population based samples for Europe as a whole have risen from less than 100 per week up to week 50/2006 to over 350 in week 2/2007, and are expected to peak at between 1,000 and 2,000 as influenza affects more countries. The majority of influenza virus detections in Europe were reported from England, France, Greece, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and in most other countries across Europe influenza viruses have been detected in low numbers.

В Professor Koos van der Velden, Chairman of EISS, says, "Influenza strikes and spreads quickly, so rapid action is vital. The key to a quick response is accurate and timely surveillance. Data from the EISS network enable us to track influenza across Europe, including the pattern and speed of its spread and the predominant virus strain. We can then alert health care professionals and patients to facilitate rapid diagnosis and treatment and minimise the potential impact of the season."

В This year's (2006-2007) season starts about two weeks earlier than last year's (2005-2006), which had high levels of influenza virus detections in Europe from mid-February to late April[1].В And, unlike last year when influenza B was the dominant virus in Europe, this year's cases to date have primarily been of the H3 strain of the more virulent influenza A virus. Studies have shown that there is significantly higher mortality associated with the influenza A H3 virus compared to the influenza B virus[i].

В Influenza is highly contagious and spreads rapidly by coughs and sneezes from people who are already carrying the virus[ii].В Influenza affects approximately one in 10 people around the world every year[iii], creating substantial demands on healthcare resources and escalating costs due to increases in primary care consultations, hospitalisations, clinical complications, drug treatment and absence from work[iv],[v],[vi],[vii]. During an annual season, or epidemic, the number of deaths from influenza and its complications can be as high 500,000 people around the world every year[viii].

В The EISS network receives data from 30 member countries in Europe tracking clinical activity, geographical spread and virus types. This information is reported in a weekly surveillance report available via the website and is uploaded to an influenza map on the home page. National data is available for all those countries who have reported weekly updates. The supply of timely surveillance information is critical to enable health authorities and health care professionals to respond appropriately.

В "It's all very well having public health systems in place, whether for seasonal or pandemic influenza, but their effectiveness rests on having timely information and the ability to rapidly set the plan in motion when required.В We urge health care providers to take advantage of our extensive resources and ensure they underpin their influenza systems with the most up-to-the-minute tracking data available", said Professor van der Velden.

В The effects of influenza are debilitating, putting people out of action altogether, and recovery can take up to two weeks.В Anyone can get the flu and it can be especially serious for the elderly, children and people with certain medical conditions (commonly defined as high-risk people).В The most common symptoms of influenza include an abrupt onset of fever, headache, muscle ache and a dry cough1.В

В To reduce the risk of infection, particularly high-risk people should get an influenza vaccine as early as possible in the season.В Now that the season has begun, the public should take general health precautions and, where possible, those infected with influenza should try to avoid close contact with others. To help prevent infection or reduce the severity and duration of infection, antiviral medications are available on prescription and are most effective the earlier they are taken in the course of the illness.В

В "Speed is the key to all influenza management", says Professor van der Velden, "Acting swiftly is crucial, both for health authorities and the general public.В Flu is fast, so to beat it we need to be very quick too."

This article is supported by Roche for the advancement and support of medical, scientific and patient initiatives.

В About influenza

Influenza, commonly called "the flu", is an acute respiratory illness that affects the upper and/or lower parts of the respiratory tract and is caused by an influenza virus. В There are three types of influenza viruses: A, B, and C[ix]. Influenza A subtypes and B viruses are classified by 'strains', variations of the virus caused by ongoing mutation.В When a new strain of human influenza virus emerges, antibody protection that may have developed after infection or vaccination with an older strain may not provide protection against the new strain[x].В Seasonal influenza usually occurs in the autumn and winter months, and usually peaks between December and March in the Northern hemisphere[xi].

В About EISS

The European Influenza Surveillance Scheme (EISS), established in 1996, is a modern and efficient European surveillance system that collects high quality data, combining both epidemiological and virological information.В The mission of EISS is to contribute to a reduction in morbidity and mortality from influenza in Europe.В

В The spread of influenza virus strains and their impact in Europe are monitored by EISS in collaboration with the WHO Collaborating Centre in London (United Kingdom) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Stockholm (Sweden).В

-- Graph showing how this year's influenza season compares with last year's

The key services managed by EISS include:

-- Weekly surveillance reports from all 30 member countries (26 EU member states, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and the Ukraine), reported by over 13,500 sentinel physicians and 38 national reference laboratories, covering a total population of over 480 million inhabitants.

-- Influenza surveillance maps of Europe.В (NB. Clicking on the map of a specific country will also link to the website of the national surveillance authority).

-- A weekly surveillance report, posted on the website and distributed at 12pm every Friday to subscribers, featuring the latest information on:
- Consultation rates
- Geographical spread intensity
- Historical time trends
- Virus types and dominant strains

-- A database of research mapping the trends of influenza over the past 10 years, available via the website. Data includes maps and graphical representations of all reporting countries.

В Please visit the EISS website at http://www.eiss.org for further information.

References

i - Thompson et al JAMA January 8 Vol 289(2):179-186. Mortality associated with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in the US.

ii - Department of Health, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Flu Facts, 2006.

iii - European Influenza Surveillance Scheme, Influenza Factsheet.В Accessed 11 January 2007

iv - Meier CR, Napalkov PN et al. Population based study on incidence risk factors, clinical complications and drug utilisation associated with influenza in the United Kingdom. European J Clinical Microbiological Infectious Disease 2000; 19: 834-842

v - Fleming DM. The impact of three influenza epidemics on primary care in England and Wales, PharmacoEconomics 1996; 9 (suppl.3)

vi - Barker. WHO, impact of epidemic type A influenza in a defined adult population. American Journal of Epidemiology 1980; 112 (6)

vii - Keech M et al. The impact of influenza and influenza like illness on productivity and healthcare resource utilization in a working population. Occup Med (Lond). 1998;48(2):85-90

viii - WHO Factsheet 211. Revised March 2003. Accessed 11 January 2007

ix - Department of Health 'Immunisation Against Infectious Disease (The Green Book), Third edition'.В В Chapter 19: Influenza. В London. The Stationery Office December 2006 link here (pdf)

x - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Influenza (flu)

xi - Health Protection Agency 'Frequently asked questions on influenza' Reviewed on 12 December 2005

Researchers Propose Reason For Severe Side-Effects Of Northwick Park Clinical Trial

2007-04-15T06:37:00.001-07:00

A possible reason why the Northwick Park clinical trial of the drug TGN1412 in the UK caused multiple organ failure in human volunteers is revealed in research presented at a conference near Paris.

The research shows that stimulating the molecule CD28 on cells that mediate the immune response, known as T cells, can have an adverse effect if these immune cells have been activated and altered by infection or illness in the past.

The scientists found that when they artificially stimulated CD28 on these previously activated 'memory' T cells, this caused the cells to migrate from the blood stream into organs where there was no infection, causing significant tissue damage. CD28 is an important molecule for activating T cell responses and the TGN1412 drug tested on the human volunteers strongly activates CD28.

Around 50% of adult human T cells are memory cells, having been activated by infections and illnesses during the course of a person's life. However, animal models, such as those used to test TGN1412 before tests were carried out on humans, do not have many memory T cells because they are deliberately kept in a sterile environment where they are shielded from infections.

The research, by scientists from Imperial College London, King's College London, and the Babraham Institute, was presented at the Club de la Transplantation conference in Cernay la Ville, near Paris.

Dr Federica Marelli-Berg, lead author of the research from the Department of Immunology at Imperial College London, explained: "The drug TGN1412 appeared to be relatively safe when it was tested in animal models. However, when the drug was tested on human volunteers, some experienced very severe side-effects.

"Our research suggests that this is because the human subjects' memory T-cells lost their sense of direction and started migrating into several areas of the body where they were not supposed to go, and caused damage."

The researchers reached their conclusions after memory T cells in which CD28 had been previously stimulated were injected into healthy mice. These cells immediately migrated from the blood into many organs including the kidney, the heart and the gut, where they are not normally found unless there is an infection.

TGN1412 was developed to treat chronic inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, leukaemia and multiple sclerosis, which are caused by the body's immune system attacking itself. It was thought that by targeting CD28, the drug could over-stimulate the rogue T cells, making them burn out and die.

###

The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation.

Contact: Laura Gallagher
Imperial College London

Toward Medical Implants With An Antibiotic Coating

2007-04-15T06:34:00.001-07:00

The search for ways to protect polymer-based medical implants -- used in devices ranging from contact lenses to artificial hearts, as well as surgical devices and operating room equipment -- from bacterial infections has led scientists in Mississippi to develop a penicillin-coated version of a key polymer biomaterial.

In a report scheduled for the Feb. 12 edition of ACS' Biomacromolecules, a monthly journal, Marek W. Urban and colleagues describe a new way to modify expanded poly(tetrafluorethylene), or ePTFE, so that penicillin adheres to its surface and remains highly effective. This polymer is used in medical procedures ranging from vascular grafting to plastic and reconstructive surgery. In laboratory experiments, the researchers also demonstrated that the penicillin-coated surfaces showed highly effective antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, which causes many serious human infections.

The researchers believe this is the first study to report such activity. "This approach may serve as a general surface modification process for the development of polymeric surfaces with anti-microbial properties," their report states.

ARTICLE #4
"Antibacterial Surfaces on Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene; Penicillin Attachment"

CONTACT:

Marek W. Urban, Ph.D.
The University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi

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ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- Jan. 17, 2007

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.

Contact: Michael Woods
American Chemical Society

Ureaplasma Urealyticum

2007-03-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

What is ureaplasma urealyticum?

Ureaplasma urealyticum is a bacterial infection, which can cause non-specific urethritis (NSU) in men.

What are the symptoms?

Roughly a third of men with NSU have no symptoms. Those who do experience symptoms get:

Cloudy discharge when they urinate
Stinging or burning when they urinate

What causes it?

Ureaplasma urealyticum is found in the semen of up to 40% of men.
Any form of sexual contact can cause the bacterium to spread, therefore wearing a condom can protect you against it.
The infection can also be transferred on sex toys.
It cannot be transferred on toilet seats, towels or when shaking hands.

Who is at risk?

Ureaplasma urealyticum is thought to be responsible for up to 20% of all cases of NSU in men.

Those most at risk are gay men aged 20 to 35.

Diagnosis and treatment

If you think you've been infected, visit your GP or genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic immediately. They will:

Examine your genital area and swab it for a specimen
Ask for a urine sample
Prescribe antibiotics to clear it up
Avoid sexual contact during treatment and inform any sexual partners, so they can also be treated