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Scientists identify nicotinamidase enzyme as new drug target for Leishmaniasis

IRD scientist and their research partners recently identified the key role of nicotinamidase, an enzyme in the parasite Leishmania, essential for its survival but which does not exist in humans. The pathogen is incapable of developing in mammals In the absence of this enzyme. Specific targeting of this enzyme could lead to more effective ways of controlling this neglected tropical disease.

29 Oct 2011

Thyroidectomy reduces snoring associated with obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea, caused by narrowing or blockage of the airways when a person is asleep affects about 20% of the population. Typically a person with OSA will begin snoring loudly on falling asleep. If not treated, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can increase a person's risk of death. It is not clear whether an enlarged thyroid gland, known as a goiter, can worsen cause or worsen symptoms of OSA by compressing the airway.

29 Oct 2011

NIH awards NYUCN $7.56M grant to study HIV risk among heterosexuals

New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) received a five-year, $7.56 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a peer-driven intervention to seek out heterosexuals at high risk for HIV in their communities, test them for HIV, and link them to care in a timely fashion if they are found to be HIV infected.

29 Oct 2011

Specific metabolic disturbances precede children's progression to Type 1 diabetes

New potential avenues for early disease detection and prevention: A study led by Matej Orešič from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland suggests that autoimmune diabetes is preceded by diminished gut microbial diversity of the Clostridium leptum subgroup, elevated plasma leptin and enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

29 Oct 2011

New vaccine to eradicate meningitis

Outbreaks of meningitis can quickly reach epidemic proportions across a number of African countries, afflicting tens of thousands of people. Now a new vaccine appears capable of completely eradicating the disease.

28 Oct 2011

Providing free health care more complex than usually thought

Over the last years, many low and middle-income countries have removed user fees in their health care sector. Researchers from Africa, Asia, Northern America and Europe have studied these policies; their findings are gathered in a supplement of the scientific journal Health Policy & Planning, coordinated by Bruno Meesen from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical medicine.

28 Oct 2011

Atwater collection of AIDS education posters now available online

When Edward Atwater, M.D., boarded a subway car on Boston's Red Line in the early 90s, he found himself staring at a poster unlike any he had seen before. It showed two hands, a condom wrapper, and text reading, "Prevent AIDS. Use One." Intrigued by what he saw, Atwater began to track how different societies viewed and responded to the worldwide epidemic through posters and other public messages, eventually gathering together the largest collection of AIDS posters in the world.

28 Oct 2011

Longer looks: Looking for the inventor of the individual mandate, Miss. abortion referendum may have wider effects

In the course of defending the health care bill he passed in Massachusetts, Mitt Romney told Newt Gingrich that he got the idea for the individual mandate -- a rule dictating that everyone must buy health insurance or pay a penalty -- from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington, D.C. think tank. Is it really responsible for creating the policy that is now so anathema to conservatives?

28 Oct 2011

Over-the-counter 'thyroid support' supplements could be dangerous

People who use over-the-counter "thyroid support" supplements may be putting their health at risk, according to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association. The supplements contain varying amounts of two different kinds of thyroid hormones apparently derived in large part from chopped up animal thyroid glands, says the study's senior investigator, Victor Bernet, M.D., an endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

28 Oct 2011

Insight into role of cytokines in autoimmune diseases

Cytokines, a varied group of signaling chemicals in the body, have been described as the software that runs the immune system, but when that software malfunctions, dysregulation of the immune system can result in debilitating autoimmune diseases such as lupus, arthritis, and diabetes. Leading experts in the field of cytokine research present their most up-to-date findings and unique perspectives on the role of cytokines in autoimmune diseases in a special issue of Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, a peer-reviewed publication of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

28 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Gephardt and Leavitt's bipartisan push for biomedical innovation; suggestions for the super committee

We Americans are rightfully proud of our can-do spirit. We know that our nation is capable of uniting for a common goal - and triumphing. In this time of economic challenge and political divisiveness, we are proposing an idea for our country's next common mission: biomedical innovation. From our combined decades of experience leading in the Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we see the biomedical frontier as America's greatest opportunity to align our nation's competencies and resources for a better future.

28 Oct 2011

Roundup: Mass. offers plan to cut costs for dual eligibles; Oregon's high hopes for coordinated care organizations

The governor of Massachusetts wants to hire private insurers or other third parties to manage care for the poor and chronically ill patients who use a disproportionate share of public health-care dollars. The proposal comes as state and federal officials search for a cheaper way to deliver health care to people known as "dual eligibles." These are the 9.2 million in the U.S. who receive both Medicare, the federal program for those 65 and older or disabled, and Medicaid, the joint state-federal health plan for the poor.

28 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 27, 2011

In today's news reports, details of the Super Committee's latest action -- the Dems' $3 Trillion Debt Deal, which includes a $400 Million Medicare Plan; and the GOP counter appoach.

27 Oct 2011

New MRSA strains are not directly descended from old ones: Study

Check into a hospital and you run the risk of infection with a methicillin-resistant strain of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. But present day MRSA might have been worse if it had descended directly from a 1950s version of the bug, according to a study co-authored by Barry N. Kreiswirth, PhD, a professor at the Public Health Research Institute of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Oct 2011

Study: pGJA-P/VAX vaccine shows promise against dental caries

In a report on a preclinical investigation titled "Flagellin Enhances Saliva IgA Response and Protection of Anti-caries DNA Vaccine," lead author Wei Shi, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team of researchers demonstrate that anti-caries DNA vaccines, including pGJA-P/VAX, are promising for preventing dental caries. However, challenges remain because of the low immunogenicity of DNA vaccines.

27 Oct 2011

New genomic approach can trace food-borne bacteria with unprecedented accuracy

With salmonella-tainted ground turkey sickening more than 100 people and listeria-contaminated cantaloupes killing 15 this year, the ability to detect outbreaks of food-borne illness and determine their sources has become a top public health priority.

27 Oct 2011

Drug-resistant infections may not contribute to higher surgical ICU death rates

The rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) have increased over the last decade. But new research from the University of Virginia suggests that surgical ICU death rates may, in fact, be declining and that drug-resistant infections are not likely to be a significant factor in overall mortality rates.

27 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: The health law and Wal-Mart; congressional probe into Planned Parenthood; trimming Medicare

When Wal-Mart endorsed President Obama's health care plan in 2009, CEO Mike Duke said it did so "to remove the burden that is crushing America's businesses and hampering our competitiveness in the global economy." That doesn't seem to be working out too well - for all Americans, and especially for Wal-Mart's employees.

27 Oct 2011

Routine HPV vaccine for boys advised by health advisory panel

A government advisory panel on Tuesday decided that the vaccine against cervical cancer causing virus – HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) should also be given to boys, in part to help prevent the cancer-causing virus through sex. The HPV virus has been recommended for girls aged 9 to 26 since 2006.

26 Oct 2011

Effectiveness of present flu vaccines may not be satisfactory: Study

According to a report published online October 25 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases there are gaps in the evidence for the effectiveness of licensed influenza vaccines in the United States. Individuals who are at risk for medical complications or people who are aged 65 years or older are especially affected by the gaps, the researchers write.

26 Oct 2011