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Leading the News
Topology of cell receptors may predict H5N1's ability to latch on to humans, study suggests.The AFP (1/7) reports that scientists have "figured out how influenza viruses carried by birds latch on to humans, a discovery that may open the way to a vaccine against not just deadly avian flu but against all flu types." According to a report detailed in the British journal Nature Biotechnology, the research community has "long known that whether an influenza strain infects humans depends on the ability of a protein on the surface of the virus, called hemagglutinin, to bind to a sugar receptor in the respiratory tract." Moreover, "scientists believed it was a genetic switch in the virus that allowed it to bind to human rather than bird receptors, thus making the much-feared 'species jump' possible." But Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers maintain that "the shape of cell receptors to which invading avian viruses can attach and where those receptors are found in the upper airways and lungs of humans" are keys to whether the virus is transmissible, the Candian Press (1/7) adds. Furthermore, H5N1 viruses that "currently latch on to cone-like receptors," would now "have to mutate to be able to dock to the [lung's] umbrella-like receptors," said lead study author Ram Sasisekharan, a professor of biological engineering at MIT. Sasisekharan likens 'the process to a lock-and-key scenario." Moreover, the new study reveals that "it is the ability of a flu virus to bind to a certain shape, or topology, of specific alpha 2-6 glycan receptor that determines whether it will infect humans," Science Daily (1/7) notes. This new paradigm, which "explains inconsistencies that plagued the previous model," may enable "researchers [to] develop a better way to track the evolution of avian flu," now that "they know to look for avian viruses that have evolved the ability to bind to umbrella-shaped alpha 2-6 receptors," said Sasisekharan said. The findings may also help researchers "create vaccines tailored to combat a potential pandemic." Wired (1/7, Keim) quotes Richard Cummings, "an Emory University biochemist and influenza cell specialist who did not participate in the study," as saying, "We're like a sitting duck, waiting for an H5N1 virus that can attach to us," but this "research moves us to the point where we can start anticipating what might happen." Furthermore, the research community "can now search for evidence of necessary configurations in new strains of H5N1, perhaps stifling them before the transformation is complete." According to Wired, since "its 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong," the virus has been "constantly evolving" and "has spread rapidly around the world -- first in poultry, then in wild birds." And "[w]hat H5N1 lacks in human infectiousness, however, it makes up for in lethality: of 348 people in 14 countries infected by H5N1 since 2003, 216 died." Tennessee set to distribute antiviral agents, track infections during possible bird flu outbreak. Tennessee's Chattanooga Times Free Press (1/5) reported that the "local health department will track infections and distribute antiviral agents and vaccines should an outbreak of bird flu occur in humans" in the region. Last year, health officials "partnered with the University of Tennessee extension service to create a local disaster animal response team program," which would "help the state veterinarian's office do surveillance and manage infected livestock, county director Ray Burden said." Although Burden maintains that "an outbreak of bird flu is less likely to occur in the United States because of the highly industrialized nature of the poultry industry," the virus "can be fatal for domesticated birds and humans," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pathology and Laboratory MedicineTiny genetic mutations led to virulent form of chlamydia, research suggests.The BBC (1/7) reports that a team of international researchers found that "[t]iny genetic mutations were enough to create a virulent form of chlamydia" known as lymphogranuloma vernerum. According to a study appearing in Genome Research, the small differences within the strain "could provide new markers for better diagnosis." The strain, "which until this century was rarely seen in Europe," is "virtually identical to one isolated 40 years ago, suggesting that 'we are not facing a novel, more dangerous organism.'" The ability to pinpoint such minute changes may enable scientists to tweak certain genes, altering "the ability of the disease to thrive once it entered the body." Dr. Gillian Vanhegan, medical spokesperson for Brook Advisory Centers, said, "The prospect that you could alter the gene sequence so it could not be replicated is very exciting indeed." Study traces genetic mutation linked to colon cancer back to family in the 1630s.The Los Angeles Times (1/5, Maugh II) reported on a genetic mutation linked to colon cancer that was traced back to an English couple who arrived in the North American colonies in about 1630. The "mutation in a gene called APC...increases the risk of developing colon cancer 17-fold," according to findings published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The mutation "produces a condition called attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis, or AFAP. Those with the mutation have a 69 percent chance of developing colon cancer by the time they are 80, compared with slightly less than a 4 percent chance among the general population." WebMD (1/5, Hitti) added that the researchers suggested "that 'genetic testing should be considered' for people with a family history of 10 or more colon polyps." Medical ResearchStudy links alpha-synuclein protein to hampered brain cell autophagy mechanism in Parkinson's disease.HealthDay (1/5, Mozes) reported that in Parkinson's disease, "an apparently toxic mix of the protein alpha-synuclein and the critical neurotransmitter dopamine" causes a change which "short-circuits" the process allowing "aging nerve cells" to purge "themselves of damaged molecules," according to a rat study appearing in the Jan. 2 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Ana Maria Cuervo, M.D., Ph.D., of Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City, "conducted the study...in collaboration with scientists from Columbia University in New York City, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard Medical School in Boston." The researchers found that the brain cells' autophagy mechanism fails as a result "of the formation of this particular modified [alpha-synuclein] protein, which acts kind of like chewing gum in the middle of the nerve cell." Dr. Cuervo stated, "Normally...this garbage is removed before it builds up." She cautioned, however, that "translating the latest findings into new preventive and curative interventions will require a lot more research and time." General Health News
Increased longevity may cause HIV patients to face unexpected medical conditions.In a front-page article, the New York Times (1/6, A1, Gross) reported that many HIV/AIDS patients are living longer "thanks to a cocktail of drugs that changed the course of an epidemic," but with "longevity has come a host of unexpected medical conditions, which challenge the prevailing view of AIDS as a manageable, chronic disease." As the "the first wave of AIDS survivors... reach late middle age," a "constellation of ailments," including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rectal cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, and severe depression, are "showing up prematurely or in disproportionate numbers." Moreover, some "experts are coming to believe that the immune system and organs of long-term survivors took an irreversible beating before the advent of lifesaving drugs, and that those very drugs then produced additional complications because of their toxicity." Although definitive research linking this trend to HIV medication instead of the natural aging process has yet to be published, "the rates and the timing, and the association with certain drugs, makes everyone feel this is a different problem," said Dr. Tom Barrett, medical director of Howard Brown. The UPI (1/7) also covers the story. Depressed HIV patients more likely to follow medicinal regimens when treated with SSRIs, study suggests. HealthDay (1/5, Vann) reported that depressed HIV patients "are much less likely to stick with their treatment regimens," however, treating "their depression with widely used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants can get them back on track," according to Kaiser Permanente researchers. During the meta-analysis, which appears in the current online issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, the team reviewed "the mental health, disease progression, and treatment data of almost 3,400 HIV-infected patients nationwide between 2000 and 2003." They found that 42 percent of the study participants showed symptoms of depression and low viral response. But patients who received a regimen of prescribed SSRIs, "which include drugs such as Celexa (Citalopram Hydrobromide), Paxil (Paroxetine Hydrochloride), Prozac (Fluoxetine Hcl), and Zoloft (Sertraline Hcl)," showed a similar outcome as HIV patients without depression. Medical tourists seek experimental stem cell treatments in China.The AP (1/7, Bodeen, Zagier) reports that a number of Americans "search the Internet for experimental treatments," and often land on websites promoting stem cell treatments in China." Although many patients "claim some success when they return home," some medical professionals "warn that patients are serving as guinea pigs in a country that isn't doing the rigorous lab and human tests that are needed to prove a treatment is safe and effective." A study conducted by three physicians even found that "seven patients with spinal cord injuries, who chose to get fetal brain tissue injections at one hospital in China," showed "'no clinically useful improvements." Moreover, five "developed complications such as meningitis." Still, many medical tourists "say they accept those risks" because they "simply don't have time to wait for more conclusive evidence," and for "many, the trip to China is a journey of hope." Infectious DiseaseIllinois health officials testing individuals that flew with TB-infected passenger.In continuing coverage a previous briefing, the Chicago Tribune (1/6, Mitchum) reported that officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health "have tested four Illinois residents for tuberculosis infection after they shared a December flight from India to Chicago with a woman who was sick with a drug-resistant strain of the disease." Department of Public Health spokesperson Melanie Arnold said that, "[a]s of Friday afternoon,...four of the eight Illinois passengers had been checked via a chest X-ray or a skin test," but she "declined to discuss the results." That "information is being sent to the" Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and to date, the CDC has also yet to release "information about the results of the investigation." CDC officials are still "trying to contact 44 people from 17 [other] states and advise them to be tested by local health departments." Norovirus strain sickens thousands of Britons, prompts hospital closures.The AP (1/5) reports that "[t]housands of people in Britain have been sickened by the biggest outbreak of a winter vomiting virus in five years," and health officials estimate that thousands more "may be affected by norovirus in the coming days." The Health Protection Agency maintains that there are usually "between 600,000 and 1 million cases of norovirus [reported] in the U.K. every year," and this "year's figures are not yet exceptional." But the "virus is highly contagious, and is easily transmitted between people via contact with contaminated surfaces, or sharing contaminated food or water." According to the UPI (1/6), the outbreak and the expected case surge has "prompted hospitals to stop accepting new patients as more than 100,000 people per week contract the stomach bug." Moreover, the U.K.'s Sunday Herald (1/6, Duffy) added that the virus "forced at least 98 wards in 44 hospitals across the U.K. last week to close," as health experts "warned that a more aggressive strain may be in circulation, because of a pattern of an unusually high number of NHS staff affected by the illness and symptoms of the bug appearing to last longer."
Cambodian Dengue fever outbreak in 2007 killed over 400.The AP (1/5) reported that "Dengue fever killed 407 people in Cambodia last year, the highest number of fatalities in nearly a decade," and the majority "of those who died from the disease were children," according to Ngan Chantha, director of the National Anti-Dengue Fever Program. As "[m]ore than 40,000 dengue patients were admitted to Cambodian hospitals last year, compared to 16,650 in 2006," the "death toll from 2007 was the largest since 1998, when 474 people died from Dengue fever." Although, Dengue "is a chronic problem in Cambodia," health officials attribute last year's spike "to the early arrival of the rainy season, which typically runs from May through November." In an effort to prepare for the season this year, government officials are conducting an "intense public awareness campaign with the help of foreign aid donors," warning "residents not to keep still water in containers around their houses where mosquitoes can breed." In 2007, "large outbreaks also reported in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand." Medical/Legal IssuesSupreme Court to hear lethal injection challenge today.The Los Angeles Times (1/7, Weinstein) reports that the "legal battle over lethal injection...comes before the U.S. Supreme Court today." Death-row inmates' lawyers have maintained that "the execution method inflicts unnecessary pain," and "complain that judges have denied them access to crucial information, including the identity of [the] executioner, and details about the drug cocktail used in the fatal injections." Yet, "[s]tate officials have successfully argued that releasing such information could compromise prison security, and the safety of personnel." The Washington Post (1/6, A3, Barnes) reported that the case before the Supreme Court today "is brought by two Kentucky death row inmates" who are "challenging their manner of execution." The plaintiff's lawyers "argue that poorly trained personnel could inadequately administer the drugs, and that the paralyzing agent masks what could be a torturous death." Inmates "[i]n 29 states are first administered an anesthesia known as sodium thiopental followed by the paralytic pancuronium bromide, which does not block pain but prevents voluntary muscle movement," the UPI (1/7) adds. Next, "they are injected with potassium chloride, which stops the heart from beating." Patient SafetyKentucky proposal to track superbugs may cause unnecessary alarm, health official says.Kentucky's Lexington Herald-Leader (1/5, Alessi) reported that "[a]fter several flare-ups of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Kentucky schools last year, health advocates and some lawmakers are pushing a proposal to better keep tabs of when and where such super bacteria strike." To date, public places "aren't required to tell the state public health department when they have confirmed cases of antibiotic-resistant staph infections" like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pneumonia. But some health officials maintain that "better reporting could keep the public informed and make people more vigilant about taking precautions to avoid getting sick." Moreover, state Rep. Tom Burch (D-Louisville) and state Sen. Vernie McGaha (R-Russell Springs) "are expected to carry the legislation, which would put MRSA and other superbugs in the same category to be tracked as tuberculosis and smallpox." Yet some "public health officials say such a measure might not be necessary, because of the nature of the superbugs." Dr. William Hacker, commissioner of the public health department, said that "the reporting regulations in place are broad and flexible enough for officials to respond quickly to outbreaks and disease trends without being cumbersome or confusing or causing unnecessary alarm." Treating MRSA patients at home may reduce costs, report says. A U.K. publication, The Times (1/7, Rose) reports that, according to some British physicians, "[p]atients who are suffering from MRSA infections should be sent home to prevent the bug from spreading in hospitals." But a Pfizer-funded report released by the National Concern for Healthcare Infections "suggests that they pose no risk to healthy adults and nearly one in three of those infected by MRSA could return home after a few days of treatment, if patients were given antibiotics." Moreover, the report's authors maintain that "treating people in the community is unlikely to spread illness because it generally only infects through open wounds or medical devices." Mark Wilcox, a professor of medical microbiology at the University of Leeds, "said that the traditional method of treating an infection with intravenous antibiotics could be replicated easily at home, and that about 30 percent of cases might be able to benefit in this way." Wilcox added, "People with MRSA infection are not a danger to healthy people, and treating them at home offers multiple benefits in terms of infection control, and reducing...costs and resource use." Washington state health officials request FDA to ban unproven medical devices.The Seattle Times (1/4, Willimsen, Berens) reported that "Washington state officials are urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban numerous unproven and dangerous medical devices, saying their sale and use is 'a national problem.'" The state's department of health and Attorney General Rob McKenna were spurred into action after a "Seattle Times investigation highlighted problems with unproven 'energy medicine' devices," which gained popularity amongst critically ill people, diverting them "from lifesaving care and drain[ing] their bank accounts." In a letter to the FDA, McKenna wrote that the agency should "step up enforcement against those who are taking consumers' money and risking their health." According to FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley, the agency "is reviewing the state's request." Public Health
Texas sees an increase in HPV vaccinations after governor's mandate attempt.The AP (1/7) reports that a number of "pediatricians say last year's controversy over whether the state should mandate Texas schoolgirls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) has translated into more individuals getting the vaccine." According to Chris Turley, vice chair for clinical services at the University of Texas Medical Branch's (UTMB) Pediatrics Department, since July, "Galveston-based UTMB pediatric clinics have been administering about 60 doses a month." Gov. Rick Perry (R), who "set off [the] political furor," said that "he is pleased his actions have prompted Texas families to talk about the vaccine." Although "Perry can't legally order the HPV vaccine for schoolgirls for at least three more years," his spokeswomen, Krista Piferrer, said that "he hasn't given up the fight." But there "are still some unanswered questions -- such as who would pay for the vaccine and what sort of demand would it create on its manufacturer -- that still make the idea of mandating the vaccine premature," said UTMB pediatrics professor Dr. Martin Myers. Healthcare PolicyAIDS relief project may potentially be President Bush's most lasting legacy.In a front-page story, the New York Times (1/5, A1, Stolberg) reported that the "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) may be the most lasting bipartisan accomplishment of the Bush presidency." Under the program, approximately "1.4 million AIDS patients have received lifesaving medicine paid for with American dollars, up from 50,000 before the initiative." In light of PEPFAR's effectiveness, "[e]ven Mr. Bush's most ardent foes...find it difficult to argue with the numbers." Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said, "I think it represents a tremendous accomplishment for the country." The Times notes that President Bush "is pressing for a new five-year commitment of $30 billion," and he "will travel to Africa in February to make his case." But some "[c]ritics, including Mr. Kerry, are particularly incensed by the requirement that one-third of the prevention funds be spent teaching abstinence, despite a lack of scientific consensus that such programs reduce the spread of HIV." Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance, "says the Bush program has been hamstrung by 'ideologically driven policies.'" | ||||||||||
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