DDT returns to battle malaria in Africa
Controlled indoor spraying of the infamous pesticide DDT is poised to make a comeback in countries that have tried and failed to do without it in the battle against malaria, according to a special news feature in the journal Nature Medicine.
Malaria is caused by a parasite known as Plasmodium, which is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Apoorva Mandavilli, senior news editor of the science journal, notes in the article that DDT—short for dichlorodiphenyl-trichloro ethane—is known to be very effective against malaria and helped rid the United States of the disease in the late 1940s.
Blair threatens food and drinks industry with legislation
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has virtually given the food and drinks industry in the UK an ultimatum saying unless the “junk food” industry can sort itself out it will be forced to restrict advertising to children next year.
Mr Blair delivered his strongest threat yet to manufacturers and warned that it would be much better if the industry comes together voluntarily regarding public health but says the government is prepared to act if the voluntary system does not work.
The Government it seems is prepared to use legislation to enforce clear labelling of content such as fat and salt, and wants tougher measures to curb under-age drinking.
Asthma inhaler running out? Hard to tell
Because asthma inhalers do not include dose counters, asthma sufferers may unknowingly run out of their rescue medication, experts warn in a new report. They call for manufacturers of pressurized metered-dose inhalers, or pMDIs, to include dose counters as a standard feature.
These devices are the cornerstone of asthma treatment. They contain a specified number of doses of medication. But after an asthma sufferer has used up the potentially lifesaving medication, pMDI canisters may continue to deliver 20 to 80 percent more puffs containing little more than inactive propellant.
How do patients know when their pMDI is empty or when it’s time to refill their inhaler prescription? Nancy Sander, founder and president of the Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics in Fairfax, Virginia and colleagues surveyed 500 US families with asthma to find out.
Cheaper IVF deal on offer when women donate eggs for stem cell research
British women undergoing IVF procedures will soon be able to subsidise their treatment by donating some of their eggs to research.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has granted a licence to the North East England Stem Cell Institute to allow them to approach women undergoing IVF to donate eggs for therapeutic cloning research in exchange for cheaper treatment.
Therapeutic cloning involves creating early embryos to obtain stem cells, the master cells in the body that can develop into any other cell type in order to treat diseases.
Version of Scorpion Venom Delivers Radioactive Iodine to Brain Tumors
A new method of delivering a dose of radioactive iodine - using a man-made version of scorpion venom as a carrier - targets deadly brain tumors called gliomas without affecting neighboring tissue or body organs. After a Phase I clinical trial conducted in 18 patients showed the approach to be safe, a larger Phase II trial is underway to assess the effectiveness of multiple doses.
Adam N. Mamelak, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, led the Phase I trial and is first author of an article in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The key ingredient is TM-601, a synthetic version of a peptide, or protein particle, that naturally occurs in the venom of the Giant Yellow Israeli scorpion. TM-601 binds to glioma cells and has an unusual ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier that blocks most substances from reaching brain tissue from the bloodstream.
