RxPG News
Court allows woman to get kidney from relative
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, May 15 - The Delhi High Court Tuesday allowed a 58-year-old woman, waiting for kidney transplant from June last year, to go ahead with the surgery with the organ donated by her niece.
Justice Vipin Sanghvi quashed the order of the Authorisation Committee for Human Organ Transplant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital - and the appellate authority, the Director General of Health Services, which had rejected Parveen Begum's plea to get kidney from her niece Israt. They had contended that the organ donation could involve monetary favours as there is difference between the financial status of the two.
The driving force behind the decision of petitioner No.2 - to donate one of her kidneys to petitioner No.1 - clearly is her sense of love, affection, and gratitude for petitioner No.1, and is not commercial gain, the court held.
The court opined that mere existence of disparity in the income of the donor and the recipient by itself could not have been a reason to reject the plea.
Observing that Parveen Begum has been in need of kidney replacement from June 2011, and as the joint application seeking the Authorisation Committee's approval was submitted in August 2011, the court noted that over this period of time, Parveen Begum's condition has only deteriorated.
Considering the urgency of the matter, I am inclined to require the Authorisation Committee to forthwith grant its approval to the petitioners for donation of one kidney by petitioner No.2 - to petitioner No.1 in terms of their application. The formal approval should be granted within two days, failing which it shall be deemed that the said formal approval stands granted, the court ordered.
The petitioners had moved the court after the two committees rejected their plea for the organ transplant.
Justice Vipin Sanghvi quashed the order of the Authorisation Committee for Human Organ Transplant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital - and the appellate authority, the Director General of Health Services, which had rejected Parveen Begum's plea to get kidney from her niece Israt. They had contended that the organ donation could involve monetary favours as there is difference between the financial status of the two.
The driving force behind the decision of petitioner No.2 - to donate one of her kidneys to petitioner No.1 - clearly is her sense of love, affection, and gratitude for petitioner No.1, and is not commercial gain, the court held.
The court opined that mere existence of disparity in the income of the donor and the recipient by itself could not have been a reason to reject the plea.
Observing that Parveen Begum has been in need of kidney replacement from June 2011, and as the joint application seeking the Authorisation Committee's approval was submitted in August 2011, the court noted that over this period of time, Parveen Begum's condition has only deteriorated.
Considering the urgency of the matter, I am inclined to require the Authorisation Committee to forthwith grant its approval to the petitioners for donation of one kidney by petitioner No.2 - to petitioner No.1 in terms of their application. The formal approval should be granted within two days, failing which it shall be deemed that the said formal approval stands granted, the court ordered.
The petitioners had moved the court after the two committees rejected their plea for the organ transplant.
Palpitations predictive of future atrial fibrillation
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A large cohort study has found that the strongest risk factors for atrial fibrillation in both men and women were a history of palpitations and hypertension. While hypertension is a well known risk factor for AF, the investigators note that "the impact of self-reported palpitations on later occurrence of AF has not been documented earlier".
Atrial fibrillation is currently the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is a major risk factor for heart failure (risk tripled), stroke (risk increased up to five times) and overall mortality (risk doubled). A recent consensus statement described AF as "one of the major common and chronic disorders in modern cardiology", adding that mortality and morbidity associated with AF "remain unacceptably high".
The emergence of palpitations as a risk factor for AF is reported today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, with results from the Troms Study, a large prospective follow-up of the general population of this region of Norway. Participants in this study were recruited in 1994-95 and included all inhabitants in the region over the age of 25. After exclusions, 22,815 people aged between 25 and 96 were included and followed up for a mean time of 11.1 years. Mean age at baseline was 46 years.
Information on palpitations was included at baseline along with measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. All subjects were cross-linked to the local diagnostic registry and to the national death register for information on AF documented by electrocardiogram (ECG). Hospital records were searched for subjects with diagnoses of cerebrovascular or cardiovascular events but without a recorded registry diagnosis of arrhythmia.
Results showed that AF was recorded in 361 women (3.0%) and 461 men (4.2%) during the 11.1 years of follow-up, an incidence rate of 2.71 per thousand per year for women and 3.87 for men. Age, self-reported palpitations and hypertension were the strongest risk factors for AF.
Palpitations, which the investigators described as "frequent" in the total study group, increased the risk of AF in women by 62% (a hazard ratio of 1.62) and in men by 91% (HR 1.91).
The investigators also examined separately the predictors for palpitations and for AF (in order to exclude any common overlapping risk factors). This analysis found that for palpitations (but not for AF) several significant risk factors were related to lifestyle, while the most prominent risk factors for AF were biological (such as age, blood pressure, height, body mass index and diabetes). And although height, antihypertensive treatment and coronary heart disease were found to be risk factors for both palpitations and AF, the investigators nevertheless concluded "that palpitations are probably causally associated with atrial fibrillation".
"Although the occurrence of palpitations was assessed before a diagnosis of AF and the association remained significant even after adjustment for other AF risk factors, we cannot conclude with certainty that the association is causal," said first author Dr Audhild Nyrnes from the Department of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway. "However, in this case it is not unreasonable to propose a causal relationship. 'Palpitations' are used subjectively to describe irregular heart beats or accelerated heart rate, and it is likely that a proportion of palpitations also represent cases of irregular heart rhythm, which is a main characteristic of AF."
A much cited US study of 190 patients presenting to hospital with palpitations concluded that cardiac arrhythmias were diagnosed in 40%, with the remainder of varied - or unknown - cause.This and other studies suggest that palpitations can represent heterogeneous mechanisms, with highly different clinical implications.
"However," said Dr Nyrnes, " palpitations per se are not harmful. They are in fact mostly harmless; the challenge is to detect those which might signify an underlying condition and future AF.
"Thus, while palpitations might be reduced by modifying lifestyle factors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking, both of which increase heart rate, it is still unclear if this will reduce the risk of AF. It was interesting that our study found no significant association between lifestyle factors and future AF - and only with palpitations."
However, the study did confirm that hypertension is a significant risk factor for AF. Raised blood pressure at baseline (defined as above 140/90 mmHg) almost doubled the risk of AF in women (HR 1.98) and increased by 40% (HR 1.40)) in men. The clinical implications of this, say the investigators, would be "to emphasise the importance of adequate treatment of high blood pressure". They also add that subjects with palpitations could have paroxysms of AF, and should also be investigated further, with prolonged ECG monitoring.
Atrial fibrillation is currently the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is a major risk factor for heart failure (risk tripled), stroke (risk increased up to five times) and overall mortality (risk doubled). A recent consensus statement described AF as "one of the major common and chronic disorders in modern cardiology", adding that mortality and morbidity associated with AF "remain unacceptably high".
The emergence of palpitations as a risk factor for AF is reported today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, with results from the Troms Study, a large prospective follow-up of the general population of this region of Norway. Participants in this study were recruited in 1994-95 and included all inhabitants in the region over the age of 25. After exclusions, 22,815 people aged between 25 and 96 were included and followed up for a mean time of 11.1 years. Mean age at baseline was 46 years.
Information on palpitations was included at baseline along with measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. All subjects were cross-linked to the local diagnostic registry and to the national death register for information on AF documented by electrocardiogram (ECG). Hospital records were searched for subjects with diagnoses of cerebrovascular or cardiovascular events but without a recorded registry diagnosis of arrhythmia.
Results showed that AF was recorded in 361 women (3.0%) and 461 men (4.2%) during the 11.1 years of follow-up, an incidence rate of 2.71 per thousand per year for women and 3.87 for men. Age, self-reported palpitations and hypertension were the strongest risk factors for AF.
Palpitations, which the investigators described as "frequent" in the total study group, increased the risk of AF in women by 62% (a hazard ratio of 1.62) and in men by 91% (HR 1.91).
The investigators also examined separately the predictors for palpitations and for AF (in order to exclude any common overlapping risk factors). This analysis found that for palpitations (but not for AF) several significant risk factors were related to lifestyle, while the most prominent risk factors for AF were biological (such as age, blood pressure, height, body mass index and diabetes). And although height, antihypertensive treatment and coronary heart disease were found to be risk factors for both palpitations and AF, the investigators nevertheless concluded "that palpitations are probably causally associated with atrial fibrillation".
"Although the occurrence of palpitations was assessed before a diagnosis of AF and the association remained significant even after adjustment for other AF risk factors, we cannot conclude with certainty that the association is causal," said first author Dr Audhild Nyrnes from the Department of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway. "However, in this case it is not unreasonable to propose a causal relationship. 'Palpitations' are used subjectively to describe irregular heart beats or accelerated heart rate, and it is likely that a proportion of palpitations also represent cases of irregular heart rhythm, which is a main characteristic of AF."
A much cited US study of 190 patients presenting to hospital with palpitations concluded that cardiac arrhythmias were diagnosed in 40%, with the remainder of varied - or unknown - cause.This and other studies suggest that palpitations can represent heterogeneous mechanisms, with highly different clinical implications.
"However," said Dr Nyrnes, " palpitations per se are not harmful. They are in fact mostly harmless; the challenge is to detect those which might signify an underlying condition and future AF.
"Thus, while palpitations might be reduced by modifying lifestyle factors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking, both of which increase heart rate, it is still unclear if this will reduce the risk of AF. It was interesting that our study found no significant association between lifestyle factors and future AF - and only with palpitations."
However, the study did confirm that hypertension is a significant risk factor for AF. Raised blood pressure at baseline (defined as above 140/90 mmHg) almost doubled the risk of AF in women (HR 1.98) and increased by 40% (HR 1.40)) in men. The clinical implications of this, say the investigators, would be "to emphasise the importance of adequate treatment of high blood pressure". They also add that subjects with palpitations could have paroxysms of AF, and should also be investigated further, with prolonged ECG monitoring.
DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes to treat rheumatoid arthritis
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report.
Within a few hours of injecting empty-handed DNA nanoparticles, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers were surprised to see increased expression of an enzyme that calms the immune response.
In an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, the enhanced expression of indoleomine 2,3 dioxygenase, or IDO, significantly reduced the hallmark limb joint swelling and inflammation of this debilitating autoimmune disease, researchers report in the study featured on the cover of The Journal of Immunology.
"It's like pouring water on a fire," said Dr. Andrew L. Mellor, Director of the GHSU's Medical College of Georgia Immunotherapy Center and the study's corresponding author. "The fire is burning down the house, which in this case is the tissue normally required for your joints to work smoothly," Mellor said of the immune system's inexplicable attack on bone-cushioning cartilage. "When IDO levels are high, there is more water to control the fire."
Several delivery systems are used for gene therapy, which is used to treat conditions including cancer, HIV infection and Parkinson's disease. The new findings suggest the DNA nanoparticle technique has value as well for autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, type 1 diabetes and lupus. "We want to induce IDO because it protects healthy tissue from destruction by the immune system," Mellor said.
The researchers were exploring IDO's autoimmune treatment potential by inserting the human IDO gene into DNA nanoparticles. They hoped to enhance IDO expression in their arthritis model when Dr. Lei Huang, Assistant Research Scientist and the paper's first author, serendipitously found that the DNA nanoparticle itself produced the desired result. Exactly how and why is still being pursued. Early evidence suggests that immune cells called phagocytes, white blood cells that gobble up undesirables like bacteria and dying cells, start making more IDO in response to the DNA nanoparticle's arrival. "Phagocytes eat it and respond quickly to it and the effect we measure is IDO," Mellor said.
Dr. Tracy L. McGaha, GHSU immunologist and a co-author on the current study, recently discovered that similar cells also prevented development of systemic lupus erythematosus in mice.
Follow-up studies include documenting all cells that respond by producing more IDO. GHSU researchers already are working with biopolymer experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkeley and the Georgia Institute of Technology to identify the optimal polymer.
The polymer used in the study is not biodegradable so the researchers need one that will eventually safely degrade in the body. Ideally, they'd also like it to target specific cells, such as those near inflamed joints, to minimize any potential ill effects.
"It's like a bead and you wrap the DNA around it," Mellor said of the polymer. While the DNA does not have to carry anything to get the desired response in this case, DNA itself is essential to make cells express IDO. To ensure that IDO expression was responsible for the improvements, they also performed experiments in mice given an IDO inhibitor in their drinking water and in mice genetically altered to not express IDO. "Without access to the IDO pathway, the therapy no longer works," Mellor said.
Drs. Andrew Mellor and David Munn reported in 1998 in the journal Science that the fetus expresses IDO to help avoid rejection by the mother's immune system. Subsequent studies have shown tumors also use IDO for protection and clinical trials are studying the tumor-fighting potential of an IDO inhibitor. On the flip side, there is evidence that increasing IDO expression can protect transplanted organs and counter autoimmune disease.
Within a few hours of injecting empty-handed DNA nanoparticles, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers were surprised to see increased expression of an enzyme that calms the immune response.
In an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, the enhanced expression of indoleomine 2,3 dioxygenase, or IDO, significantly reduced the hallmark limb joint swelling and inflammation of this debilitating autoimmune disease, researchers report in the study featured on the cover of The Journal of Immunology.
"It's like pouring water on a fire," said Dr. Andrew L. Mellor, Director of the GHSU's Medical College of Georgia Immunotherapy Center and the study's corresponding author. "The fire is burning down the house, which in this case is the tissue normally required for your joints to work smoothly," Mellor said of the immune system's inexplicable attack on bone-cushioning cartilage. "When IDO levels are high, there is more water to control the fire."
Several delivery systems are used for gene therapy, which is used to treat conditions including cancer, HIV infection and Parkinson's disease. The new findings suggest the DNA nanoparticle technique has value as well for autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, type 1 diabetes and lupus. "We want to induce IDO because it protects healthy tissue from destruction by the immune system," Mellor said.
The researchers were exploring IDO's autoimmune treatment potential by inserting the human IDO gene into DNA nanoparticles. They hoped to enhance IDO expression in their arthritis model when Dr. Lei Huang, Assistant Research Scientist and the paper's first author, serendipitously found that the DNA nanoparticle itself produced the desired result. Exactly how and why is still being pursued. Early evidence suggests that immune cells called phagocytes, white blood cells that gobble up undesirables like bacteria and dying cells, start making more IDO in response to the DNA nanoparticle's arrival. "Phagocytes eat it and respond quickly to it and the effect we measure is IDO," Mellor said.
Dr. Tracy L. McGaha, GHSU immunologist and a co-author on the current study, recently discovered that similar cells also prevented development of systemic lupus erythematosus in mice.
Follow-up studies include documenting all cells that respond by producing more IDO. GHSU researchers already are working with biopolymer experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkeley and the Georgia Institute of Technology to identify the optimal polymer.
The polymer used in the study is not biodegradable so the researchers need one that will eventually safely degrade in the body. Ideally, they'd also like it to target specific cells, such as those near inflamed joints, to minimize any potential ill effects.
"It's like a bead and you wrap the DNA around it," Mellor said of the polymer. While the DNA does not have to carry anything to get the desired response in this case, DNA itself is essential to make cells express IDO. To ensure that IDO expression was responsible for the improvements, they also performed experiments in mice given an IDO inhibitor in their drinking water and in mice genetically altered to not express IDO. "Without access to the IDO pathway, the therapy no longer works," Mellor said.
Drs. Andrew Mellor and David Munn reported in 1998 in the journal Science that the fetus expresses IDO to help avoid rejection by the mother's immune system. Subsequent studies have shown tumors also use IDO for protection and clinical trials are studying the tumor-fighting potential of an IDO inhibitor. On the flip side, there is evidence that increasing IDO expression can protect transplanted organs and counter autoimmune disease.
Secret soil cracks linger, despite surface sealing
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Sydney, Australia - Deep cracks in soil can remain open underground even after they have visibly sealed on the surface, a new study has found.
The results could have important implications for agricultural management around the timing and intensity of water and pesticide applications.
These soils are very fertile and provide the most productive agricultural land in Australia, said lead author Dr Anna-Katrin Greve, a postdoctoral fellow with UNSW's Connected Waters Initiative.
Lower water application intensity will give soil cracks time to close and more frequent irrigations could prevent the soil cracks from reforming.
These cracks provide preferential pathways allowing water to flow much faster than it would through non-cracked soil, rapidly transporting nutrients and pesticides beyond the crops' root-zone. If the plants can't access the water it has effectively been wasted.
By sending an electrical current through the ground at different angles, the UNSW researchers can measure directional differences in current conduction, which offers clues about how water is moving through the soil.
This innovative technique means they can, for the first time, detect the exact time when preferential sub-surface pathways close. This is important for irrigators, as water flow through non-cracked soil is far more predictable.
Their findings, which have been accepted for publication in the journal Geoderma, reveal that surface appearances can be deceiving.
We showed that soil cracks that developed in dry periods remain open as preferential flow paths, even after the cracks are visually closed, said Greve.
Researchers measured the flow of electrical current through a soil profile that was set-up over several years. The soil was contained in a fiberglass barrel, which had a small drain at the base.
Two irrigation events were carried out approximately 14 days apart. Each event used water from different sources, meaning the two samples had different stable isotope signatures, allowing researchers to distinguish between them.
At the time of the first irrigation event there were visible cracks upwards of three centimetres wide in the soil. By the time of the second irrigation, these cracks had visibly closed.
Despite this surface closure, the water from the second irrigation actually drained faster. It bypassed the sections of the soil where water from the first event was presumably stored and drained with signs of limited mixing, researchers said, meaning preferential flow paths must have remained open.
Greve's study was awarded best paper at a geoscience conference in Europe in 2011 and she recently presented her findings at a conference in Arizona.
The results could have important implications for agricultural management around the timing and intensity of water and pesticide applications.
These soils are very fertile and provide the most productive agricultural land in Australia, said lead author Dr Anna-Katrin Greve, a postdoctoral fellow with UNSW's Connected Waters Initiative.
Lower water application intensity will give soil cracks time to close and more frequent irrigations could prevent the soil cracks from reforming.
These cracks provide preferential pathways allowing water to flow much faster than it would through non-cracked soil, rapidly transporting nutrients and pesticides beyond the crops' root-zone. If the plants can't access the water it has effectively been wasted.
By sending an electrical current through the ground at different angles, the UNSW researchers can measure directional differences in current conduction, which offers clues about how water is moving through the soil.
This innovative technique means they can, for the first time, detect the exact time when preferential sub-surface pathways close. This is important for irrigators, as water flow through non-cracked soil is far more predictable.
Their findings, which have been accepted for publication in the journal Geoderma, reveal that surface appearances can be deceiving.
We showed that soil cracks that developed in dry periods remain open as preferential flow paths, even after the cracks are visually closed, said Greve.
Researchers measured the flow of electrical current through a soil profile that was set-up over several years. The soil was contained in a fiberglass barrel, which had a small drain at the base.
Two irrigation events were carried out approximately 14 days apart. Each event used water from different sources, meaning the two samples had different stable isotope signatures, allowing researchers to distinguish between them.
At the time of the first irrigation event there were visible cracks upwards of three centimetres wide in the soil. By the time of the second irrigation, these cracks had visibly closed.
Despite this surface closure, the water from the second irrigation actually drained faster. It bypassed the sections of the soil where water from the first event was presumably stored and drained with signs of limited mixing, researchers said, meaning preferential flow paths must have remained open.
Greve's study was awarded best paper at a geoscience conference in Europe in 2011 and she recently presented her findings at a conference in Arizona.
Panel to look into irregularities in drug trials
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, May 11 - After a report from a parliamentary standing committee pointed out huge irregularities in the functioning of the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation -, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Friday announced that a three-member committee would examine the issue.
The committee would comprise of Indian Council of Medical Research director-general V.M. Katoch, National Brain Research Centre president P.N. Tandon, and Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, former director S.S. Aggarwal. It will submit its report in two months.
The committee will examine the validity of the scientific and statutory basis adopted for approval of new drugs without clinical trials, outline appropriate measures to bring about systemic improvements in the processing and grant of statutory approvals, and suggest steps to institutionalise improvements in other procedural aspects of functioning of the CDSCO, a statement issued here said.
According to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, huge irregularities were found in the functioning of the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation -. The parliamentary panel pointed out that at least 33 drugs have been allowed to be sold in India without proper trials.
The report says at least 33 drugs were approved for sale in India during 2008-10 without conducting trials on Indian patients, and there was no scientific evidence to show that these drugs were really effective and safe for use.
The panel also pointed out that there was an apparent nexus between drug manufacturers and experts, whose opinion matters so much in the decision making process at the CDSCO.
On an average, the DCGI - is approving one drug every month without trials. This cannot be in public interest by any stretch of imagination, the panel observed.
It also gave examples where the opinions of experts were based simply on personal perception.
The committee would comprise of Indian Council of Medical Research director-general V.M. Katoch, National Brain Research Centre president P.N. Tandon, and Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, former director S.S. Aggarwal. It will submit its report in two months.
The committee will examine the validity of the scientific and statutory basis adopted for approval of new drugs without clinical trials, outline appropriate measures to bring about systemic improvements in the processing and grant of statutory approvals, and suggest steps to institutionalise improvements in other procedural aspects of functioning of the CDSCO, a statement issued here said.
According to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, huge irregularities were found in the functioning of the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation -. The parliamentary panel pointed out that at least 33 drugs have been allowed to be sold in India without proper trials.
The report says at least 33 drugs were approved for sale in India during 2008-10 without conducting trials on Indian patients, and there was no scientific evidence to show that these drugs were really effective and safe for use.
The panel also pointed out that there was an apparent nexus between drug manufacturers and experts, whose opinion matters so much in the decision making process at the CDSCO.
On an average, the DCGI - is approving one drug every month without trials. This cannot be in public interest by any stretch of imagination, the panel observed.
It also gave examples where the opinions of experts were based simply on personal perception.
A*STAR scientists discover 'switch' to boost anti-viral response to fight infectious diseases
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Singapore scientists from Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) under the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have for the first time, identified the molecular 'switch' that directly triggers the body's first line of defence against pathogens, more accurately known as the body's innate immunity. The scientists found that this 'switch' called Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) when turned on, activates the production of interferons - a potent class of virus killers that enables the body to fight harmful pathogens such as dengue and influenza viruses.
While there are anti-viral drugs to treat influenza, the high rates of mutation that are characteristic of the influenza [1] virus have made it difficult to treat with one universal drug or vaccine. As for dengue [2], there are currently no clinically approved vaccines or cures either. This discovery of BTK's role as a critical 'switch' that boosts the body's anti-viral response, paves the way for developing anti-viral drugs that target the BTK 'switch' to fight infectious diseases.
To investigate the role of BTK in innate immunity, the research team from BTI extracted a class of innate immune cells known as macrophages [3] from both normal mice and from mice deficient in BTK and challenged them with the dengue virus. They found that the BTK-deficient immune cells were unable to produce interferons, and hence had much higher viral counts compared to the healthy immune cells that had high-levels of interferons to fight the virus effectively.
To further demonstrate the critical role of BTK in anti-viral response, the team focussed on BTK's role in Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) signaling. TLR3 is needed for cells to activate the interferon response when cells are infected by viruses. The team examined the effect of having a perpetually-on or -off BTK 'switch' in TLR3 signaling. They uncovered that a constitutively active or on BTK 'switch' enhanced the production of interferon, resulting in a stronger and more lasting anti-viral response with significant reduction in Dengue viral counts. In contrast, a perpetually off BTK 'switch' led to a poor anti-viral response with very low levels of inteferons produced, and little protection against Dengue virus infection.
Previously, scientists have always thought that BTK is important primarily in antibody production due to observations made of an inherited genetic disorder in humans called X-linked Agammaglobulinemia (XLA). These patients do not have a functional BTK 'switch', and are unable to produce antibodies because defects in BTK cripple maturation of B cells, a type of white blood cell that produces antibodies.
We are very excited because this is the first time that the link between BTK and its critical role in the immediate anti-viral responses of the immune system, triggered in response to invading viruses like Dengue, is definitively demonstrated, said Dr. Koon-Guan Lee, the first author of this paper.
Said Professor Kong-Peng Lam, Acting Executive Director of BTI and the Head of the Immunology Group that conducted the research, This study adds new insights to the understanding of how the body's innate immunity is triggered to create an effective immune response. It is a prime example of how better understanding in basic biological systems brings us a step closer to understanding the mechanism of human diseases, and enables us to find more effective treatment strategies to combat deadly viral diseases, which we have yet to find cures for.
While there are anti-viral drugs to treat influenza, the high rates of mutation that are characteristic of the influenza [1] virus have made it difficult to treat with one universal drug or vaccine. As for dengue [2], there are currently no clinically approved vaccines or cures either. This discovery of BTK's role as a critical 'switch' that boosts the body's anti-viral response, paves the way for developing anti-viral drugs that target the BTK 'switch' to fight infectious diseases.
To investigate the role of BTK in innate immunity, the research team from BTI extracted a class of innate immune cells known as macrophages [3] from both normal mice and from mice deficient in BTK and challenged them with the dengue virus. They found that the BTK-deficient immune cells were unable to produce interferons, and hence had much higher viral counts compared to the healthy immune cells that had high-levels of interferons to fight the virus effectively.
To further demonstrate the critical role of BTK in anti-viral response, the team focussed on BTK's role in Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) signaling. TLR3 is needed for cells to activate the interferon response when cells are infected by viruses. The team examined the effect of having a perpetually-on or -off BTK 'switch' in TLR3 signaling. They uncovered that a constitutively active or on BTK 'switch' enhanced the production of interferon, resulting in a stronger and more lasting anti-viral response with significant reduction in Dengue viral counts. In contrast, a perpetually off BTK 'switch' led to a poor anti-viral response with very low levels of inteferons produced, and little protection against Dengue virus infection.
Previously, scientists have always thought that BTK is important primarily in antibody production due to observations made of an inherited genetic disorder in humans called X-linked Agammaglobulinemia (XLA). These patients do not have a functional BTK 'switch', and are unable to produce antibodies because defects in BTK cripple maturation of B cells, a type of white blood cell that produces antibodies.
We are very excited because this is the first time that the link between BTK and its critical role in the immediate anti-viral responses of the immune system, triggered in response to invading viruses like Dengue, is definitively demonstrated, said Dr. Koon-Guan Lee, the first author of this paper.
Said Professor Kong-Peng Lam, Acting Executive Director of BTI and the Head of the Immunology Group that conducted the research, This study adds new insights to the understanding of how the body's innate immunity is triggered to create an effective immune response. It is a prime example of how better understanding in basic biological systems brings us a step closer to understanding the mechanism of human diseases, and enables us to find more effective treatment strategies to combat deadly viral diseases, which we have yet to find cures for.
Most senior citizens in Delhi NCR have bone ailments: Study
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, May 10 - As many as 85 percent of senior citizens in the national capital region - have bone and joint ailments, restricting their mobility, a study released here Thursday said demanding a national programme to deal with the issue.
The epidemiological study by the Arthritis Federation of India -, conducted among 1,300 senior citizens living in residences on the second floor and above, revealed that 10 percent of the elderly in the age group of 60-65 and 17 percent of those above 66 were not able to walk down to the ground floor.
Just 56 percent of the people between 60-65 and 37 among the above 66 age group could manage to walk down to the ground floor thrice a day.
Further, almost 60 percent were not able to manage personal cleanliness while 84 percent are not fit enough to travel alone.
However, the good news is that 81 percent of the senior citizens have consulted specialised orthopaedic doctors and physician specialists, which indicates a high level of awareness, said AFI chairman Sushil Sharma.
We reiterate the demand for a national programme on bone and joint diseases as the economic burden is estimated to be about Rs.8,000-10,000 crore per year which makes it very difficult for a developing country like India, he added.
Sharma further said that the programme should be on the lines of the national programme for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes but should not be an appendage to any other programme.
The epidemiological study by the Arthritis Federation of India -, conducted among 1,300 senior citizens living in residences on the second floor and above, revealed that 10 percent of the elderly in the age group of 60-65 and 17 percent of those above 66 were not able to walk down to the ground floor.
Just 56 percent of the people between 60-65 and 37 among the above 66 age group could manage to walk down to the ground floor thrice a day.
Further, almost 60 percent were not able to manage personal cleanliness while 84 percent are not fit enough to travel alone.
However, the good news is that 81 percent of the senior citizens have consulted specialised orthopaedic doctors and physician specialists, which indicates a high level of awareness, said AFI chairman Sushil Sharma.
We reiterate the demand for a national programme on bone and joint diseases as the economic burden is estimated to be about Rs.8,000-10,000 crore per year which makes it very difficult for a developing country like India, he added.
Sharma further said that the programme should be on the lines of the national programme for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes but should not be an appendage to any other programme.
Soni Sori admitted to AIIMS
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, May 10 - Suspected Maoist conduit Soni Sori was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences - here Thursday for an independent medical examination on whether she was tortured in Chattisgarh Police custody.
She was admitted to AIIMS around 12 noon. As per the Supreme Court's directive, the AIIMS director has constituted a three-member board for the medical examination, sources from the premier health institute told IANS.
The 35-year-old tribal teacher from conflict-ridden Dantewada district was admitted to AIIMS after the Supreme Court directed the premier health institute for the medical examination to ascertain charges of torture. The board of doctors has to submit its report to the apex court before July 10.
The board includes the head of the department of gynaecology, a cardiac specialist and an endocrinologist to examine and provide her adequate treatment.
The report will be submitted within the stipulated time. She has been admitted to an undisclosed isolation ward in the emergency department, the source added.
Accused of receiving 'protection money' from the Essar group on behalf of the rebels, Sori was brought to Delhi early Wednesday. However, she was could not be admitted to AIIMS due to unavailability of beds, the AIIMS management said.
We never refused treatment to her. There was some logistics problem as the beds were not available when she was brought here, a senior official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
While the hospital management stated its own reasons, Sori's counsel said it was wrong to keep her in a police lockup as her health was deteriorating.
Soni has complained of blisters in her vaginal area and burning sensation. There is some swelling in legs and her deteriorating health is worrying, counsel Colin Gonsalves told IANS.
She was kept at a police lock-up near AIIMS which is wrong. She wants the examination to happen soonest, Gonsalves added.
Sori was arrested Oct 4 in South Delhi by a Chhattisgarh police team and was taken to Dantewada. A special team from a Kolkata hospital had earlier submitted a report to the apex Court stating that it had recovered a certain foreign particle from her body, but could not identify the reasons how it got embedded in her private parts.
Sori's husband and nephew are also in jail for allegedly being in league with the insurgency groups, while her father was shot at by Maoist rebels on suspicion of being in cohorts with police.
She was admitted to AIIMS around 12 noon. As per the Supreme Court's directive, the AIIMS director has constituted a three-member board for the medical examination, sources from the premier health institute told IANS.
The 35-year-old tribal teacher from conflict-ridden Dantewada district was admitted to AIIMS after the Supreme Court directed the premier health institute for the medical examination to ascertain charges of torture. The board of doctors has to submit its report to the apex court before July 10.
The board includes the head of the department of gynaecology, a cardiac specialist and an endocrinologist to examine and provide her adequate treatment.
The report will be submitted within the stipulated time. She has been admitted to an undisclosed isolation ward in the emergency department, the source added.
Accused of receiving 'protection money' from the Essar group on behalf of the rebels, Sori was brought to Delhi early Wednesday. However, she was could not be admitted to AIIMS due to unavailability of beds, the AIIMS management said.
We never refused treatment to her. There was some logistics problem as the beds were not available when she was brought here, a senior official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
While the hospital management stated its own reasons, Sori's counsel said it was wrong to keep her in a police lockup as her health was deteriorating.
Soni has complained of blisters in her vaginal area and burning sensation. There is some swelling in legs and her deteriorating health is worrying, counsel Colin Gonsalves told IANS.
She was kept at a police lock-up near AIIMS which is wrong. She wants the examination to happen soonest, Gonsalves added.
Sori was arrested Oct 4 in South Delhi by a Chhattisgarh police team and was taken to Dantewada. A special team from a Kolkata hospital had earlier submitted a report to the apex Court stating that it had recovered a certain foreign particle from her body, but could not identify the reasons how it got embedded in her private parts.
Sori's husband and nephew are also in jail for allegedly being in league with the insurgency groups, while her father was shot at by Maoist rebels on suspicion of being in cohorts with police.
Health ministry probing irregularities in drug trials
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, May 10 - The health ministry Thursday said it has already taken several steps to plug loopholes in the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation, which has been pulled up by a parliamentary panel for allowing at least 33 drugs to be sold in India without proper trials.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, in its latest report, said at least 33 drugs were approved for sale in India during 2008-10 without conducting trials on Indian patients, and there was no scientific evidence to show that they are really effective and safe for them.
Reacting to this, the ministry said it was examining the report and would take appropriate action after the scrutiny.
After receipt of inputs from CDSCO - on the report and thorough its scrutiny, appropriate action will be taken by the ministry wherever required, the ministry said in a statement Thursday.
It also said the ministry had already initiated several steps to strengthen the CDSCO and streamline its functioning, but gave no details about the steps.
The panel in its report pointed out that there was an apparent nexus between drug manufacturers and experts, whose opinion matters so much in the decision making process at the CDSCO.
On an average, the DCGI - is approving one drug every month without trials. This cannot be in public interest by any stretch of imagination, the panel observed.
It also gave examples where the opinions of experts were based simply on personal perception.
In case of clevusine -, three experts - located at different places thousands of miles apart from each other, sent word to word identical letters of recommendation, it said pointing out one of many such cases.
Is the committee mistaken in coming to the conclusion that all these letters were collected by the interested party, it said, adding that the cases pointed to an apparent nexus.
The panel has also asked the ministry to conduct an enquiry and take appropriate action against the officials.
Among the 33 drugs which have been allowed without trial, the panel says, the ministry in the information given to the panel, missed name of two controversial drugs, 'ademetionine' and 'FDC of pregabalin'.
Pregabalin is not allowed to be sold in developed countries.
The panel also pointed out that out of randomly picked drugs which the panel wanted to check for the record of trials, the ministry could not provide the files of three drugs -- 'pefloxacin, lomefloxacin, and sparfloxacin'.
Strangely, all these cases also happened to be controversial drugs; one was never marketed in US, Canada, Britain, Australia, and other countries with well developed regulatory systems while the other two were discontinued later on, it added.
All three drugs are currently being sold in India and the panel has asked the ministry to reconstruct and review the files.
On the rest of the 39 random drugs, the panel found at least 13 drugs - which did not have permission for sale in any of the major developed countries.
The list includes drugs like Buclizine -, nimeslide injection -, pregabalin, which was missing from the government list for not having proper trial, and ofloxacin in combination with ornidazole, which is commonly used for gastrointestinal infections, among others.
As per the rules, a new drug discovered outside India, should conduct trials in India on no less than 100 patients at three or four different hospitals. However, as many as 11 drugs out of these 39 never conducted any trial but were allowed to be sold. At least seven other drugs also flouted the norms of trial, but were allowed.
In 64 percent of the drugs, no medical approval was taken.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, in its latest report, said at least 33 drugs were approved for sale in India during 2008-10 without conducting trials on Indian patients, and there was no scientific evidence to show that they are really effective and safe for them.
Reacting to this, the ministry said it was examining the report and would take appropriate action after the scrutiny.
After receipt of inputs from CDSCO - on the report and thorough its scrutiny, appropriate action will be taken by the ministry wherever required, the ministry said in a statement Thursday.
It also said the ministry had already initiated several steps to strengthen the CDSCO and streamline its functioning, but gave no details about the steps.
The panel in its report pointed out that there was an apparent nexus between drug manufacturers and experts, whose opinion matters so much in the decision making process at the CDSCO.
On an average, the DCGI - is approving one drug every month without trials. This cannot be in public interest by any stretch of imagination, the panel observed.
It also gave examples where the opinions of experts were based simply on personal perception.
In case of clevusine -, three experts - located at different places thousands of miles apart from each other, sent word to word identical letters of recommendation, it said pointing out one of many such cases.
Is the committee mistaken in coming to the conclusion that all these letters were collected by the interested party, it said, adding that the cases pointed to an apparent nexus.
The panel has also asked the ministry to conduct an enquiry and take appropriate action against the officials.
Among the 33 drugs which have been allowed without trial, the panel says, the ministry in the information given to the panel, missed name of two controversial drugs, 'ademetionine' and 'FDC of pregabalin'.
Pregabalin is not allowed to be sold in developed countries.
The panel also pointed out that out of randomly picked drugs which the panel wanted to check for the record of trials, the ministry could not provide the files of three drugs -- 'pefloxacin, lomefloxacin, and sparfloxacin'.
Strangely, all these cases also happened to be controversial drugs; one was never marketed in US, Canada, Britain, Australia, and other countries with well developed regulatory systems while the other two were discontinued later on, it added.
All three drugs are currently being sold in India and the panel has asked the ministry to reconstruct and review the files.
On the rest of the 39 random drugs, the panel found at least 13 drugs - which did not have permission for sale in any of the major developed countries.
The list includes drugs like Buclizine -, nimeslide injection -, pregabalin, which was missing from the government list for not having proper trial, and ofloxacin in combination with ornidazole, which is commonly used for gastrointestinal infections, among others.
As per the rules, a new drug discovered outside India, should conduct trials in India on no less than 100 patients at three or four different hospitals. However, as many as 11 drugs out of these 39 never conducted any trial but were allowed to be sold. At least seven other drugs also flouted the norms of trial, but were allowed.
In 64 percent of the drugs, no medical approval was taken.
Hyderabad foundation gets $100,000 grant for polio vaccine
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Hyderabad, May 10 - Ella Foundation has won a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations - grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a virus against polio after the phasing out of the oral poliovirus - vaccine, the Hyderabad-based scientific research group said Thursday.
Such a vaccine could carry the beneficial effects of an oral polio vaccine - namely safety, efficacy, ease of manufacture, distribution and administration along with the safety profile of an injectable polio vaccine by eliminating vaccine derived polio virus -, said a statement from Ella Foundation.
Vaccines play a crucial role in the eradication of diseases that affect millions of lives worldwide. The grant will help us accelerate the pace of research programmes and explore new solutions in global health priority areas, said Krishna Ella, co-founder of the Ella Foundation.
GCE funds individuals worldwide to explore ideas that help solve persistent global health and development challenges.
It is a $100 million initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2008, over 600 people in 45 countries have received GCE grants.
Located in Genome Valley in Hyderabad, Ella Foundation - founded by Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella - is an independent scientific and industrial research organisation. Set up in 2002, its research activities focus on infectious diseases.
Such a vaccine could carry the beneficial effects of an oral polio vaccine - namely safety, efficacy, ease of manufacture, distribution and administration along with the safety profile of an injectable polio vaccine by eliminating vaccine derived polio virus -, said a statement from Ella Foundation.
Vaccines play a crucial role in the eradication of diseases that affect millions of lives worldwide. The grant will help us accelerate the pace of research programmes and explore new solutions in global health priority areas, said Krishna Ella, co-founder of the Ella Foundation.
GCE funds individuals worldwide to explore ideas that help solve persistent global health and development challenges.
It is a $100 million initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2008, over 600 people in 45 countries have received GCE grants.
Located in Genome Valley in Hyderabad, Ella Foundation - founded by Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella - is an independent scientific and industrial research organisation. Set up in 2002, its research activities focus on infectious diseases.
Delhi hospital launches helpline for strokes
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) With the number of strokes on the rise, Delhi's Fortis hospital Tuesday launched a toll-free helpline for victims.
A statement from the hospital chain said its helpline number 1800-200-3060 can be accessed from both mobiles and landlines in Delhi and the NCR.
The goal is to get the stroke victim to a hospital as quickly as possible to confirm the diagnosis because every minute is important. FEHI has a dedicated expert team 24*7 - a neurologist, a neuro-surgeon, emergency room, critical care, a cardiologist and radiologist - to provide comprehensive stroke treatment, a statement from the hospital said.
A stroke is a brain disease caused by either blockage of blood supply or rupture of a blood vessel to a particular part of the brain. This results in reduction of blood and oxygen supply to the affected part of brain resulting in loss of function. After 3-6 hours, the brain cells are irreversibly damaged and any form of treatment cannot completely reverse the damage.
A stroke is a major cause for loss of life, limbs and speech in India, with the Indian Council of Medical Research estimating that in 2004, there were 9.3 lakh cases of stroke and 6.4 lakh deaths due to stroke in India, most of the people being less than 45 years old.
WHO estimates suggest that by 2050, 80 percent of stroke cases in the world would occur in low and middle income countries, mainly India and China.
A statement from the hospital chain said its helpline number 1800-200-3060 can be accessed from both mobiles and landlines in Delhi and the NCR.
The goal is to get the stroke victim to a hospital as quickly as possible to confirm the diagnosis because every minute is important. FEHI has a dedicated expert team 24*7 - a neurologist, a neuro-surgeon, emergency room, critical care, a cardiologist and radiologist - to provide comprehensive stroke treatment, a statement from the hospital said.
A stroke is a brain disease caused by either blockage of blood supply or rupture of a blood vessel to a particular part of the brain. This results in reduction of blood and oxygen supply to the affected part of brain resulting in loss of function. After 3-6 hours, the brain cells are irreversibly damaged and any form of treatment cannot completely reverse the damage.
A stroke is a major cause for loss of life, limbs and speech in India, with the Indian Council of Medical Research estimating that in 2004, there were 9.3 lakh cases of stroke and 6.4 lakh deaths due to stroke in India, most of the people being less than 45 years old.
WHO estimates suggest that by 2050, 80 percent of stroke cases in the world would occur in low and middle income countries, mainly India and China.
Harris Lewin elected to National Academy of Sciences
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Harris Lewin has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), it was announced today. Lewin, an emeritus faculty member in the Department of Animal Sciences and founding director of the Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), was recognized for research he conducted during his 27 years at the University of Illinois. He is now vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Davis, where he earned his doctorate in 1984.
Lewin joins an august body of approximately 2,200 members and 420 foreign associates. Members are elected to the NAS in recognition of their distinguished research achievements. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest professional honors a scientist can receive.
As a faculty colleague since his arrival on the Illinois campus 27 years ago I am absolutely delighted that Harris has been selected for this recognition, said Robert Easter, president-designate of the University of Illinois. It is a wonderful honor for him and for the University of Illinois.
Lewin is widely known for his research in comparative mammalian genomics and immunogenetics.
Harris has made fundamental contributions to biology, says Gene Robinson, professor of entomology, director of the IGB and also an NAS member, and he always will be remembered on this campus for his visionary leadership in helping to establish and then direct the IGB.
Harris's involvement in sequencing both the bovine and swine genomes has placed the University of Illinois in a unique position to be an international leader in functional genomics of these major food-producing animals, says Neal Merchen, head of the Department of Animal Sciences.
Lewin's research has advanced the understanding of mammalian chromosome evolution. He led research that showed that different parts of the genome have different evolutionary histories and that areas of the chromosome more prone to breakage are a rich source of genetic variation.
The IGB, which has made the University of Illinois a leader in interdisciplinary research in genomics, would not exist without Lewin's vision and energy. Lewin served as the IGB director for eight years, from its founding until last year.
The creation of the IGB has been a major factor in making the University of Illinois a leading institution in 21st century biology, and Harris was instrumental in that, says Robinson.
In 2010 Lewin also received the Wolf Award (described by some as the Nobel Prize in Agriculture) for his bovine leukemia work. Lewin also is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Lewin joins an august body of approximately 2,200 members and 420 foreign associates. Members are elected to the NAS in recognition of their distinguished research achievements. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest professional honors a scientist can receive.
As a faculty colleague since his arrival on the Illinois campus 27 years ago I am absolutely delighted that Harris has been selected for this recognition, said Robert Easter, president-designate of the University of Illinois. It is a wonderful honor for him and for the University of Illinois.
Lewin is widely known for his research in comparative mammalian genomics and immunogenetics.
Harris has made fundamental contributions to biology, says Gene Robinson, professor of entomology, director of the IGB and also an NAS member, and he always will be remembered on this campus for his visionary leadership in helping to establish and then direct the IGB.
Harris's involvement in sequencing both the bovine and swine genomes has placed the University of Illinois in a unique position to be an international leader in functional genomics of these major food-producing animals, says Neal Merchen, head of the Department of Animal Sciences.
Lewin's research has advanced the understanding of mammalian chromosome evolution. He led research that showed that different parts of the genome have different evolutionary histories and that areas of the chromosome more prone to breakage are a rich source of genetic variation.
The IGB, which has made the University of Illinois a leader in interdisciplinary research in genomics, would not exist without Lewin's vision and energy. Lewin served as the IGB director for eight years, from its founding until last year.
The creation of the IGB has been a major factor in making the University of Illinois a leading institution in 21st century biology, and Harris was instrumental in that, says Robinson.
In 2010 Lewin also received the Wolf Award (described by some as the Nobel Prize in Agriculture) for his bovine leukemia work. Lewin also is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Inexpensive, abundant starch fibers could lead to ouchless bandages
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A process that spins starch into fine strands could take the sting out of removing bandages, as well as produce less expensive and more environmentally-friendly toilet paper, napkins and other products, according to Penn State food scientists.
There are many applications for starch fibers, said Lingyan Kong, graduate student, food science, Starch is the most abundant and also the least expensive of natural polymers.
Kong, who worked with Greg Ziegler, professor of food science, used a solvent to dissolve the starch into a fluid that can then be spun into long strands, or fibers. These fibers can be combined and formed into paper-like mats similar to napkins, tissues and other types of paper products.
Once the process is scaled to industrial size, companies could make bandages and other medical dressings using starch fibers. Unlike bandages that are currently on the market that must be -- often painfully -- removed, starch bandages would degrade into glucose, a substance the body safely absorbs.
Starch is easily biodegradable, so bandages made from it would, over time, be absorbed by the body, said Kong. So, you wouldn't have to remove them.
Starch is a polymer made of amylose and amylopectin. Polymers are large molecules that are composed of chains of smaller, repeating molecules. Starches, typically found in corn, potatoes, arrowroot and other plants, are most familiar to consumers as cornstarch, potato starch and tapioca starch.
Starch does not completely dissolve in water but instead becomes a gel -- or, starch paste -- that is too thick to make fibers. To solve the problem, the researchers added a solvent to help the solution dissolve the starch, but not destroy its molecular structure, Kong said.
The researchers used an electrospinning device that, in addition to the solvent, helped stretch the starch solution into fibers. The device uses a high voltage electrical charge to create a charge repulsion to overcome surface tension, which stretches the droplets of starch into long strands.
Kong said companies could modify the technique to scale the process for industrial uses.
During experiments on starch fibers, the researchers successfully used an extended range of amylose concentrations from 25 to 100 percent. Kong noted that because starch is so abundant, it is less expensive than other materials currently used to form fibers. Cellulose, typically derived from trees, is one of the most common sources of polymers. Petroleum-based polymers are also used as raw materials. However, both cellulose and petroleum-based materials continue to increase in price, as well as present environmental challenges.
The researchers have filed a provisional patent for this work. The U.S. Department of Agriculture supported this work.
There are many applications for starch fibers, said Lingyan Kong, graduate student, food science, Starch is the most abundant and also the least expensive of natural polymers.
Kong, who worked with Greg Ziegler, professor of food science, used a solvent to dissolve the starch into a fluid that can then be spun into long strands, or fibers. These fibers can be combined and formed into paper-like mats similar to napkins, tissues and other types of paper products.
Once the process is scaled to industrial size, companies could make bandages and other medical dressings using starch fibers. Unlike bandages that are currently on the market that must be -- often painfully -- removed, starch bandages would degrade into glucose, a substance the body safely absorbs.
Starch is easily biodegradable, so bandages made from it would, over time, be absorbed by the body, said Kong. So, you wouldn't have to remove them.
Starch is a polymer made of amylose and amylopectin. Polymers are large molecules that are composed of chains of smaller, repeating molecules. Starches, typically found in corn, potatoes, arrowroot and other plants, are most familiar to consumers as cornstarch, potato starch and tapioca starch.
Starch does not completely dissolve in water but instead becomes a gel -- or, starch paste -- that is too thick to make fibers. To solve the problem, the researchers added a solvent to help the solution dissolve the starch, but not destroy its molecular structure, Kong said.
The researchers used an electrospinning device that, in addition to the solvent, helped stretch the starch solution into fibers. The device uses a high voltage electrical charge to create a charge repulsion to overcome surface tension, which stretches the droplets of starch into long strands.
Kong said companies could modify the technique to scale the process for industrial uses.
During experiments on starch fibers, the researchers successfully used an extended range of amylose concentrations from 25 to 100 percent. Kong noted that because starch is so abundant, it is less expensive than other materials currently used to form fibers. Cellulose, typically derived from trees, is one of the most common sources of polymers. Petroleum-based polymers are also used as raw materials. However, both cellulose and petroleum-based materials continue to increase in price, as well as present environmental challenges.
The researchers have filed a provisional patent for this work. The U.S. Department of Agriculture supported this work.
UC Santa Cruz builds national data center for cancer genome research
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) SANTA CRUZ, CA--The emerging field of personalized or precision medicine holds great promise in the fight against cancer. If scientists can identify the genetic changes that drive each patient's cancer cells, they can use that information to develop targeted treatments. But achieving this goal will require massive amounts of genomic and clinical data and a sophisticated infrastructure to manage and analyze the data.
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has now completed a first step in building this infrastructure, said UC Santa Cruz bioinformatics expert David Haussler. Haussler's team has established the Cancer Genomics Hub (CGHub), a large-scale data repository and user portal for the National Cancer Institute's cancer genome research programs. CGHub's initial beta release is providing cancer researchers with efficient access to a large and rapidly growing store of valuable biomedical data. The project is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) through a $10.3 million subcontract with SAIC-Frederick Inc., the prime contractor for the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.
By providing researchers with comprehensive catalogs of the key genomic changes in many major types and subtypes of cancer, these efforts will support the development of more effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer, said Haussler, a distinguished professor of biomolecular engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering at UCSC and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
In personalized care, doctors design treatments to target specific genetic changes found in a patient's cancer cells. Researchers are trying to catalog all the genetic abnormalities found in different types of cancers and find connections between specific genetic changes and how patients respond to different treatments. The scale and complexity of the information being gathered creates a critical challenge in the area of data management.
Although recent studies using genetically targeted treatments have shown promising results, much more research is needed to enable their widespread use, Haussler said. There won't be one magic bullet, because cancer is not one disease, or even 100 diseases. Every instance of cancer is different. We have to improve our understanding of the molecular biology of cancer and develop computer algorithms so that we can analyze the genetic changes in each individual patient. It will take time. But with cancer genomics, we will eventually know our enemy completely.
Haussler's team assembled the first draft of the human genome sequence in 2000 and created and maintains the UCSC Genome Browser, a web-based tool that is used extensively in biomedical research and serves as the platform for several large-scale genomics projects. His group's contributions to cancer genomics research include creation of a Cancer Genomics Browser for analyzing data from large-scale cancer studies.
Haussler's group built CGHub to support all three major NCI cancer genome sequencing programs: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET), and the Cancer Genome Characterization Initiative (CGCI). TCGA is a collaborative effort led by NCI and the National Human Genome Research Institute to map the genomic changes that occur in at least 20 major types and subtypes of adult cancer. The TARGET program is a related effort focusing on the five most common childhood cancers, and the CGCI makes available genomic data from HIV-associated cancers and certain lymphoid and childhood cancers.
These programs are laying the foundation for personalized cancer care by creating a database that scientists around the world can use to connect specific genomic changes with clinical outcomes. Haussler's group has been closely involved in data analysis for TCGA.
TCGA is allowing us for the first time to look at cancer in full molecular detail, Haussler said. Cancer is a disease caused by disruption of DNA molecules within the cell. When life starts, every cell in the body has the same DNA. In the course of a person's lifetime, however, some cells may accumulate changes in their DNA that cause them to go rogue and multiply without control, creating the disease we call cancer. For the first time now, we are able to look into an individual patient's cancer cells and see all the genetic disruptions, among which are the molecular drivers of that person's cancer.
There are currently only a few situations in which doctors can prescribe a treatment plan based on the specific genetic mutations in a patient's cancer cells. That is expected to change as projects like TCGA, TARGET, and CGCI yield a comprehensive catalog that researchers can use to find new targets for medicines and discover clues to improve patient outcomes. But there is an urgent need for an efficient and user-friendly portal to give researchers access to the data. The NCI genome projects are producing staggering amounts of data.
The scale of this is far beyond anything faced in medical research before, Haussler said. Each genome file, the DNA record from a tumor or normal tissue, is 300 billion bytes. And for every case there are two of these files, the cancer genome and the normal genome. Add to this RNA sequence data, and the prospect of deeper sequencing in the future, and we must plan for up to a terabyte (1,000 billion bytes) for each case.
TCGA currently generates about 10 terabytes of data each month. For comparison, the Hubble Space Telescope amassed about 45 terabytes of data in its first 20 years of operation. TCGA's output will increase tenfold or more over the next two years. Over the next four years, if the project produces a terabyte of DNA and RNA data from each of more than 10,000 patients, it will have produced 10 petabytes of data (a petabyte is 1,000 terabytes). And TCGA is just the beginning of the data deluge, Haussler said, noting that 10,000 cases is a small fraction of the 1.5 million new cancer cases diagnosed every year in the United States alone.
New data compression schemes are expected to reduce the total storage space needed, so the CGHub repository is designed initially to hold 5 petabytes and to allow further growth as needed. That is still a massive amount of data, and CGHub will need to accommodate transfers of extremely large data files.
Managed by the UCSC team, the CGHub computer system is located at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. It is connected by high-performance national research networks to major centers nationwide that are participating in these projects, including UCSC. Haussler's team designed and oversees the storage and computing infrastructure for the repository, which has an automated query and download interface for large-scale, high-speed use. It will eventually also include an interactive web-based interface to allow researchers to browse and query the system and download custom datasets.
It may take years for cancer genomics research to bring about major changes in cancer care. The first step, and the focus of the NCI cancer genomics programs, is to determine which genomic changes are involved in each type of cancer and to understand the molecular and clinical effects of those changes. Then biomedical researchers must identify or develop treatments to block those effects.
Right now, cancer research needs something on a very large scale, like the Large Hadron Collider in physics, Haussler said. Instead of bringing subatomic particles together in high-energy collisions and computing their behavior, we're bringing cancer genomes together in a common database and computing the disease drivers.
CGHub program director is Robert Zimmerman, and project team members include technical director Mark Diekhans; operations manager Linda Rosewood; hardware systems lead Erich Weiler; engineering lead Chris Wilks; engineering consultant Brian Craft; and networking consultants Brad Smith and Jim Warner. The core code, including GT software for downloading data, was licensed from Annai Systems. The cancer genomics group at UCSC also includes co-principal investigator Joshua Stuart, an associate professor of biomolecular engineering at UCSC; assistant research scientist Jing Zhu; engineers Kyle Ellrott, Teresa Swatloski, and Singer Ma; user testing engineer Mary Goldman; postdoctoral scholars Adam Ewing, Benedict Paten, and Daniel Zerbino; research associate Charlie Vaske; and graduate students Tracy Ballinger, Steve Benz, Daniel Carlin, James Durbin, Ted Goldstein, Mia Grifford, Sam Ng, Amie Radenbaugh, Zack Sanborn, and Chris Szeto.
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has now completed a first step in building this infrastructure, said UC Santa Cruz bioinformatics expert David Haussler. Haussler's team has established the Cancer Genomics Hub (CGHub), a large-scale data repository and user portal for the National Cancer Institute's cancer genome research programs. CGHub's initial beta release is providing cancer researchers with efficient access to a large and rapidly growing store of valuable biomedical data. The project is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) through a $10.3 million subcontract with SAIC-Frederick Inc., the prime contractor for the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.
By providing researchers with comprehensive catalogs of the key genomic changes in many major types and subtypes of cancer, these efforts will support the development of more effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer, said Haussler, a distinguished professor of biomolecular engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering at UCSC and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
In personalized care, doctors design treatments to target specific genetic changes found in a patient's cancer cells. Researchers are trying to catalog all the genetic abnormalities found in different types of cancers and find connections between specific genetic changes and how patients respond to different treatments. The scale and complexity of the information being gathered creates a critical challenge in the area of data management.
Although recent studies using genetically targeted treatments have shown promising results, much more research is needed to enable their widespread use, Haussler said. There won't be one magic bullet, because cancer is not one disease, or even 100 diseases. Every instance of cancer is different. We have to improve our understanding of the molecular biology of cancer and develop computer algorithms so that we can analyze the genetic changes in each individual patient. It will take time. But with cancer genomics, we will eventually know our enemy completely.
Haussler's team assembled the first draft of the human genome sequence in 2000 and created and maintains the UCSC Genome Browser, a web-based tool that is used extensively in biomedical research and serves as the platform for several large-scale genomics projects. His group's contributions to cancer genomics research include creation of a Cancer Genomics Browser for analyzing data from large-scale cancer studies.
Haussler's group built CGHub to support all three major NCI cancer genome sequencing programs: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET), and the Cancer Genome Characterization Initiative (CGCI). TCGA is a collaborative effort led by NCI and the National Human Genome Research Institute to map the genomic changes that occur in at least 20 major types and subtypes of adult cancer. The TARGET program is a related effort focusing on the five most common childhood cancers, and the CGCI makes available genomic data from HIV-associated cancers and certain lymphoid and childhood cancers.
These programs are laying the foundation for personalized cancer care by creating a database that scientists around the world can use to connect specific genomic changes with clinical outcomes. Haussler's group has been closely involved in data analysis for TCGA.
TCGA is allowing us for the first time to look at cancer in full molecular detail, Haussler said. Cancer is a disease caused by disruption of DNA molecules within the cell. When life starts, every cell in the body has the same DNA. In the course of a person's lifetime, however, some cells may accumulate changes in their DNA that cause them to go rogue and multiply without control, creating the disease we call cancer. For the first time now, we are able to look into an individual patient's cancer cells and see all the genetic disruptions, among which are the molecular drivers of that person's cancer.
There are currently only a few situations in which doctors can prescribe a treatment plan based on the specific genetic mutations in a patient's cancer cells. That is expected to change as projects like TCGA, TARGET, and CGCI yield a comprehensive catalog that researchers can use to find new targets for medicines and discover clues to improve patient outcomes. But there is an urgent need for an efficient and user-friendly portal to give researchers access to the data. The NCI genome projects are producing staggering amounts of data.
The scale of this is far beyond anything faced in medical research before, Haussler said. Each genome file, the DNA record from a tumor or normal tissue, is 300 billion bytes. And for every case there are two of these files, the cancer genome and the normal genome. Add to this RNA sequence data, and the prospect of deeper sequencing in the future, and we must plan for up to a terabyte (1,000 billion bytes) for each case.
TCGA currently generates about 10 terabytes of data each month. For comparison, the Hubble Space Telescope amassed about 45 terabytes of data in its first 20 years of operation. TCGA's output will increase tenfold or more over the next two years. Over the next four years, if the project produces a terabyte of DNA and RNA data from each of more than 10,000 patients, it will have produced 10 petabytes of data (a petabyte is 1,000 terabytes). And TCGA is just the beginning of the data deluge, Haussler said, noting that 10,000 cases is a small fraction of the 1.5 million new cancer cases diagnosed every year in the United States alone.
New data compression schemes are expected to reduce the total storage space needed, so the CGHub repository is designed initially to hold 5 petabytes and to allow further growth as needed. That is still a massive amount of data, and CGHub will need to accommodate transfers of extremely large data files.
Managed by the UCSC team, the CGHub computer system is located at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. It is connected by high-performance national research networks to major centers nationwide that are participating in these projects, including UCSC. Haussler's team designed and oversees the storage and computing infrastructure for the repository, which has an automated query and download interface for large-scale, high-speed use. It will eventually also include an interactive web-based interface to allow researchers to browse and query the system and download custom datasets.
It may take years for cancer genomics research to bring about major changes in cancer care. The first step, and the focus of the NCI cancer genomics programs, is to determine which genomic changes are involved in each type of cancer and to understand the molecular and clinical effects of those changes. Then biomedical researchers must identify or develop treatments to block those effects.
Right now, cancer research needs something on a very large scale, like the Large Hadron Collider in physics, Haussler said. Instead of bringing subatomic particles together in high-energy collisions and computing their behavior, we're bringing cancer genomes together in a common database and computing the disease drivers.
CGHub program director is Robert Zimmerman, and project team members include technical director Mark Diekhans; operations manager Linda Rosewood; hardware systems lead Erich Weiler; engineering lead Chris Wilks; engineering consultant Brian Craft; and networking consultants Brad Smith and Jim Warner. The core code, including GT software for downloading data, was licensed from Annai Systems. The cancer genomics group at UCSC also includes co-principal investigator Joshua Stuart, an associate professor of biomolecular engineering at UCSC; assistant research scientist Jing Zhu; engineers Kyle Ellrott, Teresa Swatloski, and Singer Ma; user testing engineer Mary Goldman; postdoctoral scholars Adam Ewing, Benedict Paten, and Daniel Zerbino; research associate Charlie Vaske; and graduate students Tracy Ballinger, Steve Benz, Daniel Carlin, James Durbin, Ted Goldstein, Mia Grifford, Sam Ng, Amie Radenbaugh, Zack Sanborn, and Chris Szeto.
Smart gas sensors for better chemical detection
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) ANN ARBOR, Mich.--- Portable gas sensors can allow you to search for explosives, diagnose medical conditions through a patient's breath, and decide whether it's safe to stay in a mine.
These devices do all this by identifying and measuring airborne chemicals, and a new, more sensitive, smart model is under development at the University of Michigan. The smart sensor could detect chemical weapon vapors or indicators of disease better than the current design. It also consumes less power, crucial for stretching battery life down a mineshaft or in isolated clinics.
In the gold standard method of gas detection, chemicals are separated before they are measured, said Xudong Sherman Fan, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
In a vapor mixture, it's very difficult to tell chemicals apart, he said.
The main advance of the sensor under development by Fan and his colleagues at U-M and the University of Missouri, Columbia, is a better approach to divvying up the chemicals. The researchers have demonstrated their concept on a table-top set-up, and they hope to produce a hand-held device in the future.
You can think of the different chemical vapors as tiny clouds, all overlapping in the original gas. In most gas sensors today, researchers separate the chemicals into smaller clouds by sending the gas through two tubes in sequence. A polymer coating on the inside of the first tube slows down heavier molecules, roughly separating the chemicals according to weight. The time it takes to get through the tube is the first clue to a chemical's identity, Fan explained.
A pump and compressor collect gas from the first tube and then send it into the second tube at regular intervals. The second tube is typically coated with polar polymers, which are positively charged at one end and negatively charged at the other. This coating slows down polar gas molecules, allowing the non-polar molecules to pass through more quickly. With this second clue, the researchers can identify the chemicals in the gas.
The decision-maker added by Fan's group consists of a detector and computer that watch for the beginnings and ends of partially separated chemical clouds. Under its direction, the compressor only runs when there is a complete cloud to send through. In addition to consuming one-tenth to one-hundredth of the energy expended by the compressor in typical systems, this approach makes data analysis easier by keeping all molecules of one type together, said Jing Liu, a graduate student in Fan's group.
It can save a lot of power, so our system can be used in remote areas, she said.
Because no gas can enter the second tube until the previous chunk has gone all the way through, the smart system takes up to twice as long to fully analyze the gas. However, adding alternative tubes for the second leg of the journey can get the system up to speed. Then, the decision-maker acts like a telephone operator.
It can tell if one tube is 'busy' and send the gas to another line, Fan said.
This way, the device never stops the flow of the gas from the first tube. These second tubes can be customized for separating specific gasses, made to various lengths and with different coatings. As an example, Fan suggested that a dedicated tube for sensing specific molecules could serve as a hotline.
If we have suspicion that there are chemical weapon vapors, then we send that particular batch of molecules to this hotline, said Fan. It could identify them with really high sensitivity.
Fan's team will study these sophisticated setups in the future. For now, they have proven that their decision-maker can distribute gas between two secondary tubes. Their smart sensors fully identified gasses containing up to 20 different chemicals, as well as compounds emitted by plants.
These devices do all this by identifying and measuring airborne chemicals, and a new, more sensitive, smart model is under development at the University of Michigan. The smart sensor could detect chemical weapon vapors or indicators of disease better than the current design. It also consumes less power, crucial for stretching battery life down a mineshaft or in isolated clinics.
In the gold standard method of gas detection, chemicals are separated before they are measured, said Xudong Sherman Fan, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
In a vapor mixture, it's very difficult to tell chemicals apart, he said.
The main advance of the sensor under development by Fan and his colleagues at U-M and the University of Missouri, Columbia, is a better approach to divvying up the chemicals. The researchers have demonstrated their concept on a table-top set-up, and they hope to produce a hand-held device in the future.
You can think of the different chemical vapors as tiny clouds, all overlapping in the original gas. In most gas sensors today, researchers separate the chemicals into smaller clouds by sending the gas through two tubes in sequence. A polymer coating on the inside of the first tube slows down heavier molecules, roughly separating the chemicals according to weight. The time it takes to get through the tube is the first clue to a chemical's identity, Fan explained.
A pump and compressor collect gas from the first tube and then send it into the second tube at regular intervals. The second tube is typically coated with polar polymers, which are positively charged at one end and negatively charged at the other. This coating slows down polar gas molecules, allowing the non-polar molecules to pass through more quickly. With this second clue, the researchers can identify the chemicals in the gas.
The decision-maker added by Fan's group consists of a detector and computer that watch for the beginnings and ends of partially separated chemical clouds. Under its direction, the compressor only runs when there is a complete cloud to send through. In addition to consuming one-tenth to one-hundredth of the energy expended by the compressor in typical systems, this approach makes data analysis easier by keeping all molecules of one type together, said Jing Liu, a graduate student in Fan's group.
It can save a lot of power, so our system can be used in remote areas, she said.
Because no gas can enter the second tube until the previous chunk has gone all the way through, the smart system takes up to twice as long to fully analyze the gas. However, adding alternative tubes for the second leg of the journey can get the system up to speed. Then, the decision-maker acts like a telephone operator.
It can tell if one tube is 'busy' and send the gas to another line, Fan said.
This way, the device never stops the flow of the gas from the first tube. These second tubes can be customized for separating specific gasses, made to various lengths and with different coatings. As an example, Fan suggested that a dedicated tube for sensing specific molecules could serve as a hotline.
If we have suspicion that there are chemical weapon vapors, then we send that particular batch of molecules to this hotline, said Fan. It could identify them with really high sensitivity.
Fan's team will study these sophisticated setups in the future. For now, they have proven that their decision-maker can distribute gas between two secondary tubes. Their smart sensors fully identified gasses containing up to 20 different chemicals, as well as compounds emitted by plants.
Measles kills four kids, affects over 80 in Odisha
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Bhubaneswar, April 30 - An outbreak of measles has killed four children and affected over 80 people - mostly young ones aged below five - in Odisha's Rayagada district in the past week, officials said Monday.
The first case of the contagious viral disease was detected April 23 in a hilly village, located 90 km from the district headquarters of Rayagada. Later, it spread to three more nearby villages, chief district medical officer K.V.S. Chowdhury told IANS.
Currently at least 84 people, mostly children below the age of five, are undergoing treatment. The condition of about 10 is critical, he said. The villages affected by the disease include Salapash, Katraguda and Railighati.
One needs to walk several kilometres to reach to these patients as there is no motorable road to access these villages.
The villagers are mostly tribal and they don't get their children vaccinated. The superstitious residents also perform religious rites instead of seeking medical help, he added.
The disease which mostly infects children starts with fever. Subsequently a patient also gets cough, running nose, blurred vision and body rashes.
The first case of the contagious viral disease was detected April 23 in a hilly village, located 90 km from the district headquarters of Rayagada. Later, it spread to three more nearby villages, chief district medical officer K.V.S. Chowdhury told IANS.
Currently at least 84 people, mostly children below the age of five, are undergoing treatment. The condition of about 10 is critical, he said. The villages affected by the disease include Salapash, Katraguda and Railighati.
One needs to walk several kilometres to reach to these patients as there is no motorable road to access these villages.
The villagers are mostly tribal and they don't get their children vaccinated. The superstitious residents also perform religious rites instead of seeking medical help, he added.
The disease which mostly infects children starts with fever. Subsequently a patient also gets cough, running nose, blurred vision and body rashes.
New research expands understanding of psychoactive medication use among children in foster care
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Philadelphia -- A few months after the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on the use of psychoactive drugs by children in foster care in five states, a national study from PolicyLab at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia describes prescription patterns over time in 48 states. The updated findings show the percentage of children in foster care taking antipsychotics--a class of psychoactive drugs associated with serious side effects for children-- continued to climb in the last decade. At the same time, a slight decline was seen in the use of other psychoactive medications, including the percentage of children receiving 3 or more classes of these medications at once (polypharmacy).
As public scrutiny has increased about the use of psychoactive medication by children over the past decade, children in foster care continue to be prescribed these drugs at exceptionally high rates compared with the general population of U.S. children. According to the PolicyLab study, 1 in 10 school-aged children (aged 6-11) and 1 in 6 adolescents (aged 12-18) in foster care were taking antipsychotics by 2007.
The research team looked at the 686,000 foster-care children enrolled in Medicaid annually in 48 states from 2002-2007, and saw that both overall psychoactive use and polypharmacy-- the practice of prescribing multiple classes of psychoactive drugs at once-- increased from 2002 to 2004, and then began to decline from 2005 to 2007. Prescriptions for antipsychotics, on the other hand, increased each year from 2002 to 2007.
While it is encouraging to see fewer kids being prescribed multiple classes of drugs, and--to some degree--a slowing rate of growth in the use of antipsychotics by 2007, these medications are still being prescribed much too frequently to children in the foster care system, said David Rubin,MD, MSCE, one of the study's authors and Director of PolicyLab.
Previous studies have established that children in foster care experience trauma and behavioral problems at higher rates than other children, and therefore use mental health services-- including psychoactive medications-- more frequently. Recent research demonstrating serious side effects of these medications in children has focused attention on their use and prompted policy evaluation at both the federal and state level, particularly among high-risk populations like children in foster care.
We're not saying these medications should never be used for children, but the high rate at which they're used by children in foster care indicates that other interventions and supports, such as trauma-based counseling, may not be in place for them. In other words, health care providers may not have other, non-medication, tools to offer families dealing with mental health concerns, said Rubin. Responding to high and growing levels of antipsychotic use will not simply require efforts to restrict their use, but calls for larger investments in mental health programs that help these children cope with trauma psychologically.
Prescription rates for both antipsychotic use and polypharmacy varied widely from state to state. Over the six-year period, antipsychotic use increased in all but three states. Conversely, 18 states showed an increase in polypharmacy, while 19 states showed decline and 11 no change. In 2007, states reported prescriptions of antipsychotics ranging from 2.8 percent to 21.7 percent of the foster care population, and from 0.5 percent to 13.6 percent for children receiving multiple classes of psychoactive drugs. The authors note, however, that it's not possible to use this study to compare states against one another.
In illustrating both the national and state-specific trends in the use of psychoactive medications over time, we hope to provide a resource to officials at both the federal and state levels to help identify progress and prioritize intervention areas, noted Meredith Matone, MHS, a research scientist at PolicyLab who co-authored the study currently published online in the journal
As public scrutiny has increased about the use of psychoactive medication by children over the past decade, children in foster care continue to be prescribed these drugs at exceptionally high rates compared with the general population of U.S. children. According to the PolicyLab study, 1 in 10 school-aged children (aged 6-11) and 1 in 6 adolescents (aged 12-18) in foster care were taking antipsychotics by 2007.
The research team looked at the 686,000 foster-care children enrolled in Medicaid annually in 48 states from 2002-2007, and saw that both overall psychoactive use and polypharmacy-- the practice of prescribing multiple classes of psychoactive drugs at once-- increased from 2002 to 2004, and then began to decline from 2005 to 2007. Prescriptions for antipsychotics, on the other hand, increased each year from 2002 to 2007.
While it is encouraging to see fewer kids being prescribed multiple classes of drugs, and--to some degree--a slowing rate of growth in the use of antipsychotics by 2007, these medications are still being prescribed much too frequently to children in the foster care system, said David Rubin,MD, MSCE, one of the study's authors and Director of PolicyLab.
Previous studies have established that children in foster care experience trauma and behavioral problems at higher rates than other children, and therefore use mental health services-- including psychoactive medications-- more frequently. Recent research demonstrating serious side effects of these medications in children has focused attention on their use and prompted policy evaluation at both the federal and state level, particularly among high-risk populations like children in foster care.
We're not saying these medications should never be used for children, but the high rate at which they're used by children in foster care indicates that other interventions and supports, such as trauma-based counseling, may not be in place for them. In other words, health care providers may not have other, non-medication, tools to offer families dealing with mental health concerns, said Rubin. Responding to high and growing levels of antipsychotic use will not simply require efforts to restrict their use, but calls for larger investments in mental health programs that help these children cope with trauma psychologically.
Prescription rates for both antipsychotic use and polypharmacy varied widely from state to state. Over the six-year period, antipsychotic use increased in all but three states. Conversely, 18 states showed an increase in polypharmacy, while 19 states showed decline and 11 no change. In 2007, states reported prescriptions of antipsychotics ranging from 2.8 percent to 21.7 percent of the foster care population, and from 0.5 percent to 13.6 percent for children receiving multiple classes of psychoactive drugs. The authors note, however, that it's not possible to use this study to compare states against one another.
In illustrating both the national and state-specific trends in the use of psychoactive medications over time, we hope to provide a resource to officials at both the federal and state levels to help identify progress and prioritize intervention areas, noted Meredith Matone, MHS, a research scientist at PolicyLab who co-authored the study currently published online in the journal
Ban to meet business leaders for UN health agenda
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Mumbai, April 28 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will later Saturday meet business and social leaders here to discuss ways and means to achieve the health-related UN Millennium Development Goals -, an official said.
According to the official, top global business leaders will meet Ban and heads of UN health agencies to discuss progress towards achieving the MDGs. Senior officials from the Indian health and finance ministries, and representatives of leading NGOs will also join the meeting.
It will be an honour to meet with the UN secretary-general and discuss how we in the business community can improve the health sector in India, said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries Ltd.
In tangible ways, we can use our business acumen to advance progress already under way to ensure healthier and better future for women and children, Ambani said.
To achieve the MDGs in India, Ban in 2010 had launched the Every Woman Every Child programme, which aimed to save 16 million women and children in the country by 2015.
Much progress has been made in India, but to meet the MDGs and save the lives of 16 million women and children, a collective effort from all sectors is required. The private sector, a critical partner in the initiative, can lead the way, said the UN chief, currently on a three-day visit to India.
He added that maternal, child and infant death rates in India were among the highest in the world with 63,000 women and 1.70 million aged under five dying each year due to causes that could be prevented.
While some Indian states have achieved the MDGs, more progress is needed in others to achieve the targets, Ban said.
A key agenda of Saturday's meeting will be significant market opportunities for India's business community to scale up optimal, affordable and high-quality products and services to accelerate the country's progress towards MDGs.
Focusing on the public-private partnership model to promote health, the discussions will be on efforts to end child deaths due to diarrhoea.
Around 237,000 children under five years of age die each year from dehydration caused by diarrhoea, but 90 percent of these deaths could be prevented if the children were routinely given ORS with zinc.
Other areas of focus will be the private sector's participation in effective malaria diagnosis and treatment and how Indian pharma companies can introduce the next generation of affordable drugs for treatment of multi-drug resistant TB -, a top official accompanying Moon said.
India's global innovation and technological achievements can translate into victories at home as the private sector champions key interventions in health. The world can meet the health MDGs with India leading the way, said Ray Chambers, Ban's Special Envoy for Malaria.
Later today, Ban, World Health Organisation director general Margaret Chan, UN Population Fund executive director Babatunde Osotimehin, UNAIDS executive director Michele Sidibe and UNICEF deputy executive director Geeta Rao Gupta will visit two health facilities in Mumbai.
In the evening, Mukesh Ambani and Chambers will host an event for representatives of private, non-profit, government and creative sectors, highlighting ways in which each sector can help to ensure better health for women and children in India.
Ambani and Chambers are among a handful of eminent leaders appointed by Ban to support achievement of the MDGs by 2015.
According to the official, top global business leaders will meet Ban and heads of UN health agencies to discuss progress towards achieving the MDGs. Senior officials from the Indian health and finance ministries, and representatives of leading NGOs will also join the meeting.
It will be an honour to meet with the UN secretary-general and discuss how we in the business community can improve the health sector in India, said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries Ltd.
In tangible ways, we can use our business acumen to advance progress already under way to ensure healthier and better future for women and children, Ambani said.
To achieve the MDGs in India, Ban in 2010 had launched the Every Woman Every Child programme, which aimed to save 16 million women and children in the country by 2015.
Much progress has been made in India, but to meet the MDGs and save the lives of 16 million women and children, a collective effort from all sectors is required. The private sector, a critical partner in the initiative, can lead the way, said the UN chief, currently on a three-day visit to India.
He added that maternal, child and infant death rates in India were among the highest in the world with 63,000 women and 1.70 million aged under five dying each year due to causes that could be prevented.
While some Indian states have achieved the MDGs, more progress is needed in others to achieve the targets, Ban said.
A key agenda of Saturday's meeting will be significant market opportunities for India's business community to scale up optimal, affordable and high-quality products and services to accelerate the country's progress towards MDGs.
Focusing on the public-private partnership model to promote health, the discussions will be on efforts to end child deaths due to diarrhoea.
Around 237,000 children under five years of age die each year from dehydration caused by diarrhoea, but 90 percent of these deaths could be prevented if the children were routinely given ORS with zinc.
Other areas of focus will be the private sector's participation in effective malaria diagnosis and treatment and how Indian pharma companies can introduce the next generation of affordable drugs for treatment of multi-drug resistant TB -, a top official accompanying Moon said.
India's global innovation and technological achievements can translate into victories at home as the private sector champions key interventions in health. The world can meet the health MDGs with India leading the way, said Ray Chambers, Ban's Special Envoy for Malaria.
Later today, Ban, World Health Organisation director general Margaret Chan, UN Population Fund executive director Babatunde Osotimehin, UNAIDS executive director Michele Sidibe and UNICEF deputy executive director Geeta Rao Gupta will visit two health facilities in Mumbai.
In the evening, Mukesh Ambani and Chambers will host an event for representatives of private, non-profit, government and creative sectors, highlighting ways in which each sector can help to ensure better health for women and children in India.
Ambani and Chambers are among a handful of eminent leaders appointed by Ban to support achievement of the MDGs by 2015.
'NACO merger with NRHM not insensitive'
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, April 27 - The convergence of India's AIDS control mission with the government's flagship National Rural Health Mission - is not going to be insensitive for the communities and the vulnerable sections involved, Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed said here Friday.
The whole idea behind integration is not to do it in a ham-handed manner and reversing the AIDS control department's achievements. We are not going to be insensitive to the needs of the vulnerable communities involved, said Hameed, head of the steering committee on health in the plan panel.
The steering committee for the 12th plan had proposed to the Commission to integrate the two-decade old National AIDS Control Organisation - with the NRHM that functions across the country to provide basic healthcare delivery and strengthening community health structure. NACO, established with the mission of prevention, care and support of people living and affected by HIV, is under the ministry of health and family welfare.
The merger had raised apprehensions on the delivery of services to the marginalized communities affected by HIV-AIDS who are already facing the burden of stigma and discrimination. India has a population of around 2.5 million HIV positive, third largest across the globe.
Referring to the B.K Chaturvedi report on restructuring centrally-sponsored schemes, Hameed said the Plan panel will keep in minds the importance of the AIDS control schemes.
We have been reminded again and again that there are a lot of centrally sponsored schemes with the same purpose on health. Some programmes of NACO are already taking place in convergence with NRHM and we will ensure the convergence is done in the right manner, she said.
The NACO is currently in the concluding phase of its national AIDS control programme - phase 3. NACP 4 has been rolled out April 1, the department says. While the NACO has adopted a work approach through communities, civil societies and government, the NRHM works on various vertices of disease control and prevention nationwide.
The three-day conference was organised by NACO in coordination with USAID, UNAIDS, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other development partners with participation from 500 delegates from 25 states.
The whole idea behind integration is not to do it in a ham-handed manner and reversing the AIDS control department's achievements. We are not going to be insensitive to the needs of the vulnerable communities involved, said Hameed, head of the steering committee on health in the plan panel.
The steering committee for the 12th plan had proposed to the Commission to integrate the two-decade old National AIDS Control Organisation - with the NRHM that functions across the country to provide basic healthcare delivery and strengthening community health structure. NACO, established with the mission of prevention, care and support of people living and affected by HIV, is under the ministry of health and family welfare.
The merger had raised apprehensions on the delivery of services to the marginalized communities affected by HIV-AIDS who are already facing the burden of stigma and discrimination. India has a population of around 2.5 million HIV positive, third largest across the globe.
Referring to the B.K Chaturvedi report on restructuring centrally-sponsored schemes, Hameed said the Plan panel will keep in minds the importance of the AIDS control schemes.
We have been reminded again and again that there are a lot of centrally sponsored schemes with the same purpose on health. Some programmes of NACO are already taking place in convergence with NRHM and we will ensure the convergence is done in the right manner, she said.
The NACO is currently in the concluding phase of its national AIDS control programme - phase 3. NACP 4 has been rolled out April 1, the department says. While the NACO has adopted a work approach through communities, civil societies and government, the NRHM works on various vertices of disease control and prevention nationwide.
The three-day conference was organised by NACO in coordination with USAID, UNAIDS, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other development partners with participation from 500 delegates from 25 states.
Kashmiri youth survives tumor size of a cricket ball
( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, April 27 - It was a life-saving miracle for 22-year-old Kashmiri youth Majid Khan, who was operated upon at a hospital here for a tumor the size of a cricket ball, doctors said Friday. The condition was rare as the tumor burst into a blood vessel making Khan's condition potentially fatal.
Majid had severe allergic attacks and difficulty in breathing. After series of investigations, we found that a large hydrated tumor in the chest had burst into the aorta - a blood vessel in the body, said Deep Goel, director of the department of minimal access, bariatric and surgical gastroenterology at west Delhi's BLK Hospital.
The aorta is the large artery that carries all the blood from the heart to various organs of the body. The tumor was stuck between the heart and spine. The surgery cost Khan's family around Rs.2 lakh.
This was a rare condition because aorta is a very crucial blood vessel and we were expecting huge amount of bleeding during the surgery, Goel told IANS.
Khan, 22, from a village near Srinagar, had visited various hospitals where he faced problems in diagnosis. Around two months back, the team of doctors from bariartric and cardiac department of BLK Hopsital planned the surgery on Khan.
The tumor of the size of a cricket ball has been removed. Such an operation involves controlling flow of blood in the aorta and is considered risky as vital organs of the body like the spinal cord and kidney can be affected, said J.C. Vij, a cardiac surgeon from the hospital.
When the aorta was clamped, special techniques and expertise were employed to successfully remove this tumor and repair the hole in the aorta, added Vij.
Majid had severe allergic attacks and difficulty in breathing. After series of investigations, we found that a large hydrated tumor in the chest had burst into the aorta - a blood vessel in the body, said Deep Goel, director of the department of minimal access, bariatric and surgical gastroenterology at west Delhi's BLK Hospital.
The aorta is the large artery that carries all the blood from the heart to various organs of the body. The tumor was stuck between the heart and spine. The surgery cost Khan's family around Rs.2 lakh.
This was a rare condition because aorta is a very crucial blood vessel and we were expecting huge amount of bleeding during the surgery, Goel told IANS.
Khan, 22, from a village near Srinagar, had visited various hospitals where he faced problems in diagnosis. Around two months back, the team of doctors from bariartric and cardiac department of BLK Hopsital planned the surgery on Khan.
The tumor of the size of a cricket ball has been removed. Such an operation involves controlling flow of blood in the aorta and is considered risky as vital organs of the body like the spinal cord and kidney can be affected, said J.C. Vij, a cardiac surgeon from the hospital.
When the aorta was clamped, special techniques and expertise were employed to successfully remove this tumor and repair the hole in the aorta, added Vij.