Polio News and Research

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Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralyzed, 5-10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. Naturally occurring polio was eliminated in the U.S. in 1979 and in the Western Hemisphere by 1991; however, worldwide efforts are continuing towards eradication of this contagious and devastating disease.

Rotary International, Itzhak Perlman join Chicago Symphony Orchestra to present Concert to End Polio

Rotary International, violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman and guest conductor James DePreist join members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to present the Concert to End Polio to benefit the global effort to eradicate this disabling childhood disease.

5 Mar 2011

Genetic switch increases blood vessels in skeletal muscle of non-exercising mice

Many people suffer from a devastating condition known as critical limb ischemia (CLI) that can lead to muscle wasting and even amputation. The disease is linked to the blockage of blood flow to the skeletal muscle and current treatment options include rehabilitative exercise and surgical bypass of blood vessels. New preclinical research suggests there may be a way to restore blood supply in skeletal muscle without traditional intervention.

2 Mar 2011

Sanofi Pasteur to participate in first international bell-ringing event to eradicate polio

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, today will participate in the first international bell-ringing event by a company listed on NYSE Euronext. The events will acknowledge past successes and future challenges in the battle to eradicate polio at the stock exchanges in New York, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon.

24 Feb 2011

Progeria-derived iPS cells may treat aging-related disease in children

The current pace of population aging is without parallel in human history but surprisingly little is known about the human aging process, because lifespans of eight decades or more make it difficult to study. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have replicated premature aging in the lab, allowing them to study aging-related disease in a dish.

24 Feb 2011

Polio: Myanmar plans vaccination campaign after confirming first new case in three years; India fights disease in rural areas

UNICEF said that Myanmar is planning a mass polio vaccination campaign of children under age five after the country confirmed its first case of the disease in three years, Agence France-Presse reports.

24 Feb 2011

Mass polio vaccination campaigns in Burma and Sudan

After a seven-month-old baby was diagnosed with polio, Myanmar is planning a mass polio vaccination said the United Nations Children’s Fund. UNICEF revealed that just one case is enough to trigger an “emergency response”, and health officials promptly vaccinated 10,000 children in the Mandalay region, central Myanmar, after the illness was first suspected in December 2010.

23 Feb 2011

New nanoparticle can help develop vaccines against HIV, malaria

MIT engineers have designed a new type of nanoparticle that could safely and effectively deliver vaccines for diseases such as HIV and malaria.

23 Feb 2011

Salk receives $2 million gift to establish Endowed Chair in Vision Research

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies today announced a generous gift from Mr. Conrad Prebys, a Salk Trustee, to establish the Conrad T. Prebys Endowed Chair in Vision Research for Dr. Tom Albright. As part of their senior scientist endowed chair challenge, Joan and Irwin Jacobs will match the donor's gift with an additional $1,000,000 to establish the donor's named chair at $3,000,000.

19 Feb 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

Factors Contributing to Health Of Women Worldwide: The Kaiser Family Foundation features a narrated slide tutorial by epidemiologist Laurel Spielberg on the health issues facing women around the world. The tutorial touches on issues such as economic status and biological, social, and cultural factors that affect women's health, as well as access to health services such as family planning (2/17).

19 Feb 2011

Rotary club plans variety of awareness and fundraising activities to eradicate polio

What do Italy's Trevi Fountain, India's Charminar monument, and the New York Stock Exchange building have in common? Each of these iconic landmarks will provide a dramatic backdrop for an equally dramatic message: End Polio Now. Those three words – representing Rotary's pledge to rid the world of this crippling childhood disease -- will be projected onto each structure during the week surrounding Feb. 23, the humanitarian service organization's 106th anniversary.

18 Feb 2011

Deactivation of CRTC1 protein increases lifespan

Substantial evidence suggests that lifespan is increased if an organism restricts its daily calorie intake, a spartan regime that some say works by just making life seem longer. A team of scientists from the Salk Institute of Biological Studies has discovered a molecular switch flipped by hunger that could not only make longevity more appetizing but identify drug targets for patients with aging-related diseases such as type II diabetes or cancer.

17 Feb 2011

Obama's 2012 budget proposal requests boost for GHI funding, slight core budget increases for State, USAID

President Barack Obama "released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 on Monday," the New York Times reports. The president's "fiscal 2012 budget allocates $47 billion for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which reflects only a 1 percent increase over 2010 levels for the core budget," National Journal writes.

16 Feb 2011

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Polio eradication

"Over the past few weeks, I've had a chance to interview some amazing people," ranging from Bill Gates to scientists and teachers, who are all concerned about impending budget cuts, the New York Times' David Brooks writes in a column. Brooks explains that the "coming budget cuts have nothing to do with merit. They have to do with the inexorable logic of mathematics."

14 Feb 2011

Global Health Consortium to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever

The International Vaccine Institute today announced the launch of the Dengue Vaccine Initiative, in collaboration with the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the Johns Hopkins University, and the World Health Organization, to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever, a widespread and expanding hemorrhagic fever that is endemic in most tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

10 Feb 2011

Opinions: Polio vaccines; Alternatives to DDT, insecticides; Food price volatility; Global poverty; Foreign aid for vaccines

"No one denies" that the oral polio vaccine "has considerable merits. It's cheap to make. It's easy to administer; you don't need a trained nurse with a clean syringe [like the inactive vaccine needs], just a volunteer with a dropper. And it gives excellent immunity. ... But there are problems with the method," Wendy Orent, author of the book Plague: The Mysterious Past and Terrifying Future of the World's Most Dangerous Disease, writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece.

10 Feb 2011

Salk Institute receives $2.3 million CIRM grant for translational research on Parkinson's disease

The Salk Institute has been awarded a $2.3 million grant by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for translational research focusing on developing a novel stem cell based therapy for Parkinson's disease.

4 Feb 2011

Bill Gates' annual letter calls for focus on eradicating polio, governments to sustain foreign aid

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "urged developed nations to help him wipe out polio 'once and for all' at an event to release his third annual letter [.pdf] Monday," Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Feb 2011

Public services supporting California's low-income, disabled elderly is fragile, says study

The network of public services that supports California's low-income, disabled elderly is fragile, affecting the ability of these vulnerable residents to live independent lives in their own homes, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

1 Feb 2011

Bill Gates argues the case for polio eradication and expanded childhood immunization

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, argues the case for polio eradication and expanded childhood immunization in his third annual letter released today. The letter, a personal account of his priorities, also calls on governments to invest in foreign aid, even in the face of a tough economic climate.

1 Feb 2011

U.K., Gates Foundation announce extra funding for global polio eradication as WEF wraps up

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Friday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, announced "extra financing for polio eradication, easing a shortfall in funding that hinders a global effort to stop the crippling virus," Bloomberg reports.

1 Feb 2011

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

Rotary International, Itzhak Perlman join Chicago Symphony Orchestra to present Concert to End Polio

Genetic switch increases blood vessels in skeletal muscle of non-exercising mice

Sanofi Pasteur to participate in first international bell-ringing event to eradicate polio

Progeria-derived iPS cells may treat aging-related disease in children

Polio: Myanmar plans vaccination campaign after confirming first new case in three years; India fights disease in rural areas

Mass polio vaccination campaigns in Burma and Sudan

New nanoparticle can help develop vaccines against HIV, malaria

Salk receives $2 million gift to establish Endowed Chair in Vision Research

Recent releases in Global Health

Rotary club plans variety of awareness and fundraising activities to eradicate polio

Deactivation of CRTC1 protein increases lifespan

Obama's 2012 budget proposal requests boost for GHI funding, slight core budget increases for State, USAID

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Polio eradication

Global Health Consortium to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever

Opinions: Polio vaccines; Alternatives to DDT, insecticides; Food price volatility; Global poverty; Foreign aid for vaccines

Salk Institute receives $2.3 million CIRM grant for translational research on Parkinson's disease

Bill Gates' annual letter calls for focus on eradicating polio, governments to sustain foreign aid

Public services supporting California's low-income, disabled elderly is fragile, says study

Bill Gates argues the case for polio eradication and expanded childhood immunization

U.K., Gates Foundation announce extra funding for global polio eradication as WEF wraps up

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Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

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