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Elevated ST2 biomarker levels strongly indicate heart failure and mortality in HIV patients

Critical Diagnostics, makers of the Presage ST2 Assay, announced today that during a presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles, the results of a study demonstrated that elevated levels of the biomarker ST2 in HIV patients was strongly indicative of the development of heart failure and mortality.

9 Nov 2012

Blog series on global AIDS blueprint features post about harm reduction

As part of its "Blueprint" series discussing the creation of a U.S. global AIDS blueprint called for by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features a guest post by Allan Clear, executive director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, in which he highlights an existing "WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS Technical Guide [.pdf] for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users."

8 Nov 2012

IRIN examines adult male circumcision campaign in Uganda

As part of the Ugandan government's HIV prevention program, "[m]ore than 380,000 Ugandan men have been circumcised in the last two years," according to new data, IRIN reports. "Uganda's male circumcision program was launched in September 2010, targeting 80 percent of uncircumcised men -- about 4.2 million men -- by 2015," the news service writes, adding, "According to the Uganda AIDS Commission's (UAC) annual performance review of the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan (2011/2012), 380,000 men were circumcised by March 2012 under the program."

8 Nov 2012

Knowledge management can help improve health systems

In this post on Management Sciences for Health's "Global Impact Blog," Liz McLean, a senior technical adviser at MSH, writes about a K4Health Malawi project that she says "provides an interesting case study of the connection between improved knowledge management [KM] and health systems strengthening."

8 Nov 2012

Sensory substitution devices provide visual information to the blind via existing senses

Common wisdom has it that if the visual cortex in the brain is deprived of visual information in early infanthood, it may never develop properly its functional specialization, making sight restoration later in life almost impossible.

8 Nov 2012

Blog examines PEPFAR-funded program to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment in Ethiopia

Writing in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Dereje Bisrat, monitoring and evaluation adviser for the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS), discusses the PEPFAR-funded program, which is administered by USAID and "works with Ethiopia's Pharmaceutical Fund and Supply Agency (PFSA), nine regional health bureaus, and more than 1,717 health facilities to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment" in the country.

8 Nov 2012

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine creates International Diagnostics Centre

Today sees the launch of the International Diagnostics Centre (IDC), a global research collaboration hub, created at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to undertake innovative research on the development and deployment of new diagnostic tests that enable patients to be diagnosed faster, more accurately and cost effectively.

8 Nov 2012

Blind people’s brain can learn to process visual input with sounds

Areas of the brain in blind people can learn to process visual input through the use of sound, even after years or perhaps even lifelong blindness, according to new research reported in the November issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron. The findings challenge the common belief that if the visual cortex of the brain is deprived of information in early life, it may never develop functional specialization.

7 Nov 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Monday published Issue 201 of its "Global Fund Observer."

7 Nov 2012

IRIN examines intellectual property protection in South Africa

IRIN examines how patents and intellectual property protection in South Africa affects patients' access to medicines. "A form of intellectual property protection, patents are typically awarded to companies that can prove their product is new," IRIN writes, adding, "Not so in South Africa, say activists and researchers, who claim the country's patent system allows pharmaceutical companies to apply for new patents on existing drugs based on immaterial changes -- like adding table salt to a formulation or changing a pill's color."

7 Nov 2012

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses journal publishes special issue on prevention

The journal of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses has published a special issue examining the "complex factors involved in the sexual transmission of HIV, the urgent need for new preventive approaches, and the most promising methods currently in development," according to a press release from the publisher, Mary Ann Leibert, Inc.

7 Nov 2012

Recent Africa Braintrust 2012 forum 'informative, inspiring' for those committed to continent's advancement

"Recently I attended the Africa Braintrust 2012 forum entitled 'Africa Rising: A Continent of Opportunity,' hosted by U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) as part of their Annual Legislative Conference, in Washington, D.C.," human rights activist Ivanley Noisette writes in the Huffington Post's "World" blog.

7 Nov 2012

Low vitamin D levels mediate racial disparities in pain

A new study reveals that black Americans display lower levels of vitamin D and greater pain sensitivity compared to white Americans. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicate that vitamin D deficiency may be one of many factors that account for increased pain in older black Americans with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

7 Nov 2012

IRIN examines controversy surround AMFm

IRIN examines the controversy surrounding the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm), writing, "The argument over the way it operates has reignited ahead of a board meeting of the [Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria] on 14-15 November, which is due to assess the success of the project and its reliance on private sector providers."

6 Nov 2012

Doctors step up fight for cancer prevention, treatment in developing world

"Doctors were at the forefront of the AIDS treatment revolution a decade ago, denouncing stigmatization and inequality from conference platforms and lobbying politicians alongside the activists," Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley writes in her "Global Health" blog.

6 Nov 2012

AIDS organizations release discussion paper on post-2015 development agenda

The International AIDS Alliance, in collaboration with the Stop AIDS Alliance and STOP AIDS NOW!, has published "a discussion paper to help the HIV community to engage in" discussions surrounding the post-2015 development agenda, the International AIDS Alliance's blog reports.

6 Nov 2012

New insight into process of sensing

Rats use a sense that humans don't: whisking. They move their facial whiskers back and forth about eight times a second to locate objects in their environment. Could humans acquire this sense? And if they can, what could understanding the process of adapting to new sensory input tell us about how humans normally sense? At the Weizmann Institute, researchers explored these questions by attaching plastic "whiskers" to the fingers of blindfolded volunteers and asking them to carry out a location task.

6 Nov 2012

Binghamton researcher invents tiny directional microphone suitable for hearing aids

Binghamton University researcher Ron Miles invented a tiny directional microphone - suitable for use in hearing aids - that filters out unwanted sounds. Now, with help from the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund, he hopes to bring the idea to the marketplace.

6 Nov 2012

WHO’s Surgical Safety Checklist in the operating room reduces risks of perioperative mortality

The use of the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist in the operating room considerably lowers the risks of surgery.

5 Nov 2012

Blog series on global AIDS blueprint interviews NIH investigator

As part of its "Blueprint" series discussing the creation of a U.S. global AIDS blueprint called for by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features an interview with Rochelle Walensky, a member of Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications (CEPAC) and the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council at the NIH/DHS Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents.

3 Nov 2012

AIDS News and Research

Elevated ST2 biomarker levels strongly indicate heart failure and mortality in HIV patients

Blog series on global AIDS blueprint features post about harm reduction

IRIN examines adult male circumcision campaign in Uganda

Knowledge management can help improve health systems

Sensory substitution devices provide visual information to the blind via existing senses

Blog examines PEPFAR-funded program to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment in Ethiopia

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine creates International Diagnostics Centre

Blind people’s brain can learn to process visual input with sounds

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

IRIN examines intellectual property protection in South Africa

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses journal publishes special issue on prevention

Recent Africa Braintrust 2012 forum 'informative, inspiring' for those committed to continent's advancement

Low vitamin D levels mediate racial disparities in pain

IRIN examines controversy surround AMFm

Doctors step up fight for cancer prevention, treatment in developing world

AIDS organizations release discussion paper on post-2015 development agenda

New insight into process of sensing

Binghamton researcher invents tiny directional microphone suitable for hearing aids

WHO’s Surgical Safety Checklist in the operating room reduces risks of perioperative mortality

Blog series on global AIDS blueprint interviews NIH investigator

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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