Therapy prevents weight gain from antipsychotics
Early behavioral intervention prevents a significant amount of the weight gain associated with antipsychotic drug therapy, Spanish researchers report.
Up to 80 percent of patients taking antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia and other mental conditions gain a significant amount of weight.
To assess if drug-related weight gain can be attenuated, investigators used early behavioral intervention (EBI), designed to teach patients ways to maximize control over their weight, using nutrition, exercise and behavioral strategies.
High lipoprotein(a) ups heart risk in women
Very high levels of lipoprotein(a), measured by a state-of-the-art assay, are independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in healthy women, Boston-based investigators report.
The investigators note, however, that the finding does not “support generalized screening of lipoprotein(a) in the population as a whole, because only extremely high levels were associated with cardiovascular risk.” Moreover, most lipid-correcting therapies currently available have no effect on lipoprotein(a) concentrations.
Instead, they recommend that high-risk individuals with elevated levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol should be treated aggressively, with a statin or with niacin, when lipoprotein(a) levels are also high.
Cisplatin nanoliposomes for cancer therapy
Cisplatin is one of the most powerful and effective drugs for treating a wide variety of cancers, but many tumors develop resistance to this drug, ultimately limiting its benefits for cancer patients.
Now, however, researchers have developed a nanoparticulate formulation of cisplatin that shows promise for overcoming drug resistance while boosting the amount of drug that accumulates inside malignant cells.
Reporting its work in the journal Langmuir, a team of investigators led by Ratnesh Lal, Ph.D., of the University of California, Santa Barbara, describes its development and characterization of a nanoscale liposome capable of ferrying cisplatin across the cell membrane of tumor cells. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), the researchers were able to fully characterize the size distribution, drug encapsulation efficiency, stability, and cell uptake of their cisplatin liposomes.
Alteon research collaborator receives funding for diabetic complications study
Alteon, Inc., (ALT) announced that one of its collaborators, Mark Cooper, MD, PhD, professor, the Baker Heart Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, has been awarded a grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to help fund a multinational phase II clinical study of the effect of Alteon’s lead compound alagebrium on renal function in patients with type 1 diabetes and microalbuminuria.
An A.G.E. Crosslink Breaker, alagebrium will be tested for its ability to reverse kidney damage caused by diabetes, and to reverse the protein excretion which is characteristic of diabetic nephropathy.
Glycogen phosphorylase inhibition can impair aerobic muscle function in type 2 diabetes
Glycogen phosphorylase inhibition can impair aerobic muscle function during prolonged contraction in type 2 diabetic patients.
According to recent research from Sweden, “Glycogen phosphorylase inhibition represents a promising strategy to suppress inappropriate hepatic glucose output, while muscle glycogen is a major source of fuel during contraction. Glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors (GPi) currently being investigated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes do not demonstrate hepatic versus muscle glycogen phosphorylase isoform selectivity and may therefore impair patient aerobic exercise capabilities.”
Diabetes control related to resident country, disease specifics, and health care features
Diabetes control is related to resident country, disease characteristics, and health care features.
According to recent research from the United States, “The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of patients’ self-reported well-being, self-management, and diabetes control with factors related to the patient’s health care. This was a cross-sectional survey of national samples of patients with diabetes (n=5,104) from the multinational study of Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs (DAWN). Patients from 13 countries in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America reported their level of well-being, self-management, and diabetes control.”
“Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (blocks are countries, respondent characteristics, and health care features) was used to examine predictors of diabetes-related distress and general well-being, adherence to lifestyle and medical treatment recommendations, and perceived diabetes control and hyperglycemic symptoms,” continued R.R. Rubin and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University.
Microalbuminuria and hypertension rates are higher in youth with type 2 diabetes
Microalbuminuria and hypertension rates are higher in youth with type 2 diabetes compared to those with type 1 diabetes.
Researchers in Australia conducted a study “to compare the prevalence of diabetes complications and their risk factors in youth with type 1 versus type 2 diabetes.”
M.C. Eppens and colleagues working with the Children’s Hospital “performed a comparative clinic-based study of 1,433 patients with type 1 diabetes and 68 patients with type 2 diabetes aged <18 years from New South Wales, Australia. Retinopathy was assessed by sevenfield stereoscopic retinal photography; albumin excretion rate from three consecutive, timed, overnight urine collections; peripheral neuropathy by thermal and vibration threshold; and autonomic neuropathy by pupillometry. HbA[1c] (A1C) and lipids were measured in all patients and C-peptide in patients with type 2 diabetes.”
Streptococci from children in Nepal share genetic relatedness with isolates from other countries
Genetically diverse group A streptococci from children in far western Nepal share high genetic relatedness with isolates from other countries.
According to a study from the United States, “The genetic diversity of group A streptococci (GAS) throughout much of the world has not been adequately explored.”
“To assess genetic variation among GAS in western Nepal, 120 noninvasive GAS, collected from eight different villages, were genetically characterized using emm typing, sof sequencing, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). A high level of genetic diversity was observed among these isolates, with 51 genotypes based upon 51 multilocus sequence types (STs), 45 emm sequence types, and 28 sof sequence types,” said Varja Sakota and colleagues at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hepatitis B virus capsid-like particles stimulate protective antibody responses
According to recently published research from Germany, hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsid-like particles (CLPs) can display the complete, dimeric outer surface protein C and stimulate production of protective antibody responses against Borrelia burgdorferi infection.
“HBV CLPs, icosahedral assemblies formed by 90 or 120 core protein dimers, hold promise as immune-enhancing vaccine carriers for heterologous antigens. Insertions into the immunodominant c/e1B cell epitope, a surface-exposed loop, are especially immunogenic.
“However, display of whole proteins, desirable to induce multispecific and possibly neutralizing antibody responses, can be restrained by an unsuitable structure of the foreign protein and by its propensity to undergo homomeric interactions,” wrote C. Skamel and colleagues, University of Freiburg Hospital.
Study ties sleep apnea to depression
Sleep-related breathing disorder has a robust association with depression, according to results of a long-term study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Based on their findings, the investigators suggest that medical treatment with CPAP, for example, or behavioral modification of sleep-related breathing disorder, with weight loss, for example, “may help mitigate or prevent depressive symptoms” in these patients.
The findings are from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study, which began recruitment in 1988 of subjects between 30 and 60 years old. The subjects were scheduled to undergo overnight sleep studies in a laboratory every 4 years. The study cohort was comprised of 1408 participants with 3202 sleep studies.
FDA approves quick test for lead exposure
A new blood test that measures lead exposure and gives results in three minutes has won U.S. approval, a Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said on Monday.
The test, made by privately held Magellan Biosciences Inc., improves on older ones that had to be sent to a laboratory and could take two weeks or more to deliver results, FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro said.
The new test could be especially useful for health-care workers who test children in schools for lead exposure, Bro said. Blood is drawn by pricking a finger.
Low lead levels linked to heart deaths
Research suggests that even low blood levels of lead may raise the risk of adverse heart and circulatory outcomes.
Previous reports have linked lead levels above 10 micrograms per deciliter with increased risks of death. The safety of lower levels, which are present in 99 percent of US adults, was unclear.
To investigate, Dr. Paul Muntner, from Tulane University in New Orleans, and colleagues analyzed data from 13,946 adults who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 1994 and were followed for up to 12 years.
