Sunday, August 12, 2007
Fewer Vaccines Available For Vulnerable Children
The study, led by Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston Assistant Professor Grace Lee, found that many underinsured children are unable to receive publicly purchased vaccines in either the private or public sector. The authors state, "The most commonly cited barriers to implementation in underinsured children were lack of sufficient federal and state funding to purchase vaccines." "Childhood immunization is ranked as one of the most important preventive health services we can offer," says Dr. Lee, who is a member of the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention at the medical school and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. "Due to the increased cost of recently recommended vaccines and the lack of available funding, many states have been forced to adopt more restrictive policies for the provision of publicly purchased vaccines. Underinsured children, who used to be able to rely on public health clinics as a safety net in the past, are now at risk of not getting immunized for serious childhood illnesses."
Childhood vaccines are funded by a patchwork of public and private sources. While some private health insurance plans cover recommended vaccines for children, an increasing number of plans require patients to pay out of pocket for many of these vaccines. However, children who are either uninsured or publicly insured through Medicaid can receive vaccines through the federal entitlement program Vaccines for Children Program (VFC).
According to Dr. Lee, many survey participants voiced concern about their inability to provide immunizations to underinsured children. In fact, since 2004, 10 states have revised their policies in order to restrict underinsured children's access to select new vaccines. Lee warns that the situation is creating significant ethical dilemmas for public health clinicians who are being forced to turn these children away or ask families to pay for needed vaccinations. "Despite the ability of vaccines to prevent illness and death, our current public safety net for these services is under considerable strain," says Lee. "Strategies are needed to enhance immunization benefits for underinsured children in private health plans and to support the public sector safety net in order to ensure the protection of this vulnerable group of children."
Release link :
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/79122.php
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Evolution Is Driven By Gene Regulation
"We've known for a while that the protein coding genes of humans and chimpanzees are about 99 percent the same," said senior author Michael Snyder, the Cullman Professor of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale.
"The challenge for biologists is accounting for what causes the substantial difference between the person and the chimp." Conventional wisdom has been that if the difference is not the gene content, the difference must be in the way regulation of genes produces their protein products. Comparing gene regulation across similar organisms has been difficult because the nucleotide sequence of DNA regulatory regions, or promoters, are more variable than the sequences of their corresponding protein-coding regions, making them harder to identify by standard computer comparisons. "While many molecules that bind DNA regulatory regions have been identified as transcription factors mediating gene regulation, we have now shown that we can functionally map these interactions and identify the specific targeted promoters," said Snyder.
"We were startled to find that even the closely related species of yeast had extensively differing patterns of regulation." In this study, the authors found the DNA binding sites by aiming at their function, rather than their sequence. First, they isolated transcription factors that were specifically bound to DNA at their promoter sites. Then, they analyzed the sequences that were isolated to determine the similarities and differences in regulatory regions between the different species. "By using a group of closely and more distantly related yeast whose sequences were well documented, we were able to see functional differences that had been invisible to researchers before," said Snyder.
"We expect that this approach will get us closer to understanding the balance between gene content and gene regulation in the question of human-chimp diversity." Other authors on the paper were Mark Gerstein, Anthony R. Borneman, Tara A. Gianoulis, Zhengdong D. Zhang, Haiyuan Yu, Joel Rozowsky and Michael R. Seringhaus at Yale and Lu Yong Wang at Siemans Corporate Research, Princeton NJ. The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation.
Reference Link : http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/79324.php
Thursday, August 9, 2007
High-choline diet linked to colorectal polyps in women
The research team, led by Dr. Eunyoung Cho at Brigham and Women' Hospital in Boston, also examined the effects of choline's oxidation product betaine, and observed no significant effect on the incidence of colorectal polyps.Because dietary choline is a methyl-group donor, as is folate, the investigators suspected it would have folate's anti-cancer characteristics.Dr. Cho's group notes that theirs is the first epidemiologic study to evaluate the effect of dietary choline and betaine and the risk of chronic diseases, including colorectal adenoma, probably because food composition databases have only recently been available.
Their analysis included women who had provided diet information in 1984 and underwent a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy between 1984 and 2002 (n = 39,246). Every 2 to 4 years, the subjects completed food frequency questionnaires. During the study period, 2408 women were diagnosed with adenoma (1841 distal colon adenomas and 675 rectal adenomas), Dr. Cho and colleagues report.In multivariable analysis of quintiles of dietary choline, the relative risk increased from 1.00 for the lowest quintile to 1.45 for the top quintile (p < trend =" 0.09).Dr.">
Release link :
http://www.oncolink.org/resources/article.cfm?c=3&s=8&ss=23&Year=2007&Month=08&id=14453
Research Into Memory With Implications For Future Treatment Of Alzheimer's
Location: Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, United States
A research with experimental rats carried out by the Institute of Neuroscience of the UAB describes the brain region connected to how our declarative memory functions. According to this experiment, part of the prefrontal cortex plays a key role in the social transmission of food preference. This research has helped learn more about how this type of memory functions. In the future, this information could be useful to find new treatment for diseases that affect the memory, such as Alzheimer's disease.
Declarative memory is described as a flexible, conscience and associative type of memory (i.e., it is based on relations between different stimuli). It differs from other types of memories that allow us to recall effective or emotionally-charged data, or carry out processes such as riding a bicycle or playing an instrument. Declarative memory allows us to remember things such as specific moments of our lives, names of people, what we ate for lunch, the capitals of the world, etc. The malfunctioning of this type of memory is one of the most common symptoms found in those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. A useful model from which to learn about how declarative memory functions is the social transmission of food preference. In other species, this task is connected to the survival of the species and plays a crucial role in their evolution. In this research, the social transmission of food preference was carried out with experimental rats. When one rodent sniffs another rodent's snout right after the second one has eaten, the first one will later choose to eat the same exact food. Animals learn to remember what their congeners eat and, in that way, lower the risk of eating new foods that could be harmful to them. In addition, they must later use this information acquired during a brief episode of social interaction in very different circumstances. Therefore, they need the flexible expression of memory, which is one of the main traits of declarative memory. This task depends on learning how to associate smells, a function that is commanded by a specific region of the brain, the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), which produces acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter that "transfers information" from one neurone to another through synapses). This chemical substance is essential in making the memory work correctly. The nucleus basalis magnocellularis equivalent in humans is the nucleus basalis Meynert. Precisely this is one of the regions of the brain that shown signs of degeneration among those who suffer from Alzheimer's (and who are often treated with drugs that help to produce acetylcholine). The acetylcholine produced by the nucleus basalis is transferred to other regions of the brain, where it is "recognised" by receptor molecules. The research team examined the possibility of one part of the brain, the prelimbic prefrontal cortex, being linked to the social transmission of food preference. To do so, they applied a chemical compound to the experimental rats that neutralised the acetylcholine receptors (muscarinic cholinergic receptor) of this region. By blocking the receptor, the effect of the neurotransmitter was also neutralised and the changes in the animals' behaviour were observed. The results demonstrated that the social transmission of food preference was clearly affected after neutralising the acetylcholine receptors. Researchers also verified that the effects were not due to other aspects that could alter the experiment, such as lack of olfactory perception, motivation or social interaction. The results therefore suggest that the prelimbic prefrontal cortex, via the use of acetylcholine, regulates cognitive operations (e.g. flexibility in behaviour, attention or strategic planning) that could be needed to correctly express social transmission of food preference, and therefore necessary for our declarative memory.
If you want to know more this research please visit :
http://www.pharmacyka.com/research/Research_Into_Memory_With_Implications_For_Future_Treatment_Of_Alzheimer_s-51.html
Which countries are affected at present and what recommendations are given to travelers?
This epidemic of avian influenza is now endemic on three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. Furthermore, at the end of March 2007, cases where the virus had been transmitted to man were identified in 12 countries (Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Laos and Nigeria). The WHO regularly updates a map of the countries affected by avian influenza as well as the human cases. It is available on the WHO site:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/
The recommendations given to people traveling to, or living in, the affected countries are as follows:
Avoid all contact with live or dead (uncooked) poultry.
Do not visit farms, zoos which have avian fauna, or poultry and bird markets.
Avoid contact with surfaces contaminated by faeces.
Do not bring back birds which originate in these areas.
Do not eat poorly or inadequately cooked poultry or egg-based products.
And, of course, obey the rules of hygiene.
If you have a temperature, breathing difficulties, or a cough, consult a doctor, telling him of any contact with poultry.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Five-year surveillance interval after polypectomy appropriate
Dr. Hermann Brenner, from the German Centre for Research on Ageing in Heidelberg, and colleagues compared the risk of colorectal cancer up to 10 years after large bowel endoscopy in 454 patients who had polypectomy with the risk for 391 matched subjects who had never undergone large bowel endoscopy (the controls).Polypectomy patients had a "strongly and significantly reduced risk" of colorectal cancer up to 5 years after endoscopy, relative to subjects who had never had endoscopy, the investigators report in the August issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Compared to this latter group, the odds ratios of colorectal cancer up to 2 years and 3 to 5 years after polypectomy were 0.16 and 0.27, respectively.Risk of colorectal cancer was significantly reduced (OR, 0.27) within 5 years even after detection and removal of high-risk polyps, Dr. Brenner and colleagues also found.
Although a nonsignificantly increased risk of colorectal cancer was found between 6 and 10 years after polypectomy, overall risk reduction within 10 years following polypectomy remained strong and statistically significant among patients for whom no high-risk adenomas were recorded, the authors report.In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Theodore R. Levin of Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Walnut Creek, California makes the point that post-polypectomy surveillance colonoscopy is "often done sooner than guidelines recommend."Aggressive post-polypectomy surveillance, he warns, "exposes patients to risk of complications, with minimal benefit, (and) diverts colonoscopy resources away from the more valuable practice of primary screening."
Reference :
http://www.oncolink.org/resources/article.cfm?c=3&s=8&ss=23&Year=2007&Month=08&id=14449
Adult Binge Drinkers Prefer Beer
A new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that three quarters of American adults who binge on alcohol prefer to drink beer. The researchers recommend tightening up control of sales and marketing and raising tax on beer to bring it in line with the policies that apply to other alcoholic beverages.
The study is to be published in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and is available as an online pre print edition.Binge drinking, defined as drinking five or more drinks at one sitting, is an important public health problem in the United States, and little is known about the types of drinks consumed by binge drinkers.
Data on what binge drinkers drink could help guide decisions aimed at curbing the problem, especially since beer, wine and liquor are taxed, marketed, sold and distributed differently, they added.Lead author, Dr Timothy Naimi, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC's Division of Adult and Community Health said that:"This study isn't looking at alcohol consumed by people drinking responsibly, or moderately; this is alcohol consumed by people drinking five or more drinks in a sitting, so almost all of them are going to be impaired, if not overtly intoxicated."
"This is exactly the kind of drinking behavior that leads to so many deaths and secondhand problems that inflict real pain and costs on society, not just the drinker," added Naimi.Naimi and colleagues analysed data from 14,150 adult binge drinkers across 18 states who participated in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System binge-drinking survey in 2003 and 2004. This included information on the amount and type of alcohol each participant consumed during their most recent binge session.The overall results showed that: Beer was the predominant or exclusive alcoholic beverage consumed by 74.4 per cent of binge drinkers. 80.5 per cent of binge drinkers drank some beer. Of all binge drinks consumed, beer accounted for 67.1 per cent, liquor for 21.9 per cent, and wine for 10.9 per cent. Beer also accounted for most of the alcohol consumed by those participants at highest risk of becoming harmed or causing harm as a result of drinking alcohol.
Naimi said that some of the most dangerous groups are the underage drinkers, people who drank eight or more drinks in one session, and those who drove while drinking or just afterwards. The researchers found that among those at highest risk of causing or incurring harm as a result of drinking alcohol: For the 18 to 20 year olds, beer accounted for 67 per cent of the drinks consumed. For those who had three or more binge sessions a month, beer accounted for 70.7 per cent of drinks consumed.
For those who drank eight or more drinks per binge session, beer accounted for 69.9 per cent of drinks consumed. For those who binge drank in public places, beer accounted for 64.4 per cent of drinks consumed. For those who drove during or within 2 hours of a binge session, beer accounted for 67.1 per cent of drinks consumed. Naimi and colleagues concluded that:"Beer accounted for two thirds of all alcohol consumed by binge drinkers and accounted for most alcohol consumed by those at greatest risk of causing or incurring alcohol-related harm."Speculating on what might lie behing these statistics, they said that:"Lower excise taxes and relatively permissive sales and marketing practices for beer as compared with other beverage types may account for some of these findings."And they suggested one way to curb the problem of excessive drinking would be to equalize "alcohol control policies at more stringent levels"."Sadly, there's lots of binge drinking going on with all kinds of drinks, and there are lots of effective polices that haven't been widely adopted," said Naimi."And there are other laws, like those related to selling alcohol to minors or selling to those who are already drunk, that aren't reliably enforced," he added.In the US, beer enjoys favourable treatment compared to liquor and wine said the authors. As Naimi explained:"Beer is sold in far more locations, especially outlets like convenience stores and gas stations, where impulse purchases are common. Beer taxes at the state and federal level are low and beer is king in terms of aggressive marketing to young adults, who are especially likely to drink and get drunk."However, the authors were keen to point out these factors are probably only part of the explanation.
Choosing a drink is a complex psychological decision, of which policies surrounding access and availablity is only one factor. There are social factors too, like family habits, culture, country of origin. The authors said this was probably the biggest limitation of their study.
For more Details :
Monday, August 6, 2007
Scientists Discover Clues To Rosacea Skin Ailment
If you want to know more on these news please visit the following link :
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/78839.php
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"Mammogram "High-tech investment with device for breast cancer
Women also need to practice breast self-examination, get regular breast examination by an experienced health care professional, and, in some cases, also get another form of breast imaging, like ultrasound or MRI scanning.4 Important Things to Know About Mammograms1. They can save your life. Finding breast cancer early reduces your risk of dying from the disease by 25 - 30% or more. Women should begin having mammograms yearly at age 40, or earlier if they're at high risk.2. Don't be afraid. It's a fast procedure (about 5 - 10 minutes), and discomfort is minimal. The procedure is safe: there's only a very tiny amount of radiation exposure from a mammogram. To relieve the anxiety of waiting for results, go to a center that will give you results before you leave.3. Get the best quality you can.If you have dense breasts or are under age 50, try to get a digital mammogram.Bring your old mammogram films with you for comparison.Have more than one radiologist read your study.Ask if your center has CAD—computer aided detection—which calls the radiologist's attention to any possible areas of concern.Make sure the doctor who referred you for the mammogram includes an explicit note when ordering the study (providing clinical correlations—e.g. "palpable mass in the upper outer quadrant, rule out abnormality").Correlate your results with other tests you've had done, like ultrasound or MRI.Discuss your family history of breast and other cancers—from both your mother's AND father's side—with your doctor.4. It is our most powerful breast cancer detection tool. However, mammograms can still miss 15—20% of breast cancers that are simply not visible using this technique. Other important tools—such as breast self-exam, clinical breast examination, ultrasound, and MRI—can and should be used as complementary tools, but there are no substitutes or replacements for a mammogram.
Breaking news about current breast cancer research. News articles are continually updated with reviews and commentary from our breastcancer.org experts visit the following link :
http://www.breastcancer.org/