Breast-Feeding Now Safer for Infants of HIV-Infected Mothers
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First solid evidence that viral transmission through breast milk can be prevented by a drug (Oral presentation #43, Rooms #302-304, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Mass.)
An antiretroviral drug already in widespread use in the developing world to prevent the transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their newborns during childbirth has also been found to substantially cut the risk of subsequent HIV transmission during breast-feeding.
In a study presented Feb. 4 at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, an international team of AIDS experts reports that nevirapine given once daily to breast-feeding infants from 8 to 42 days old decreased by almost half the rate of HIV transmission via breast-feeding at 6 weeks of age. The decrease occurred in comparison to a single dose of nevirapine given to infants at birth, the current standard of care. At 6 months of age, the risk of postnatal HIV infection or death in infants who received the six-week regimen was almost one-third less than the risk for infants given only a single dose. The study was led by three teams of investigators at The Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with investigators in Ethiopia, India and Uganda.
Older Women More Likely to Become, Remain Depressed Than Older Men
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Older women appear more susceptible to depression and more likely to stay depressed but less likely to die while depressed than older men, factors that contribute to the higher burden of depression among older women, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Major depression affects approximately 1 percent to 2 percent of older adults living in the community, but as many as 20 percent experience symptoms of depression, according to background information in the article. These symptoms are more likely to affect older women than older men for reasons that are unclear.
Lisa C. Barry, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., and colleagues evaluated a group of 754 individuals age 70 and older (average age 78.4) beginning in 1998. At the beginning of the study and at follow-up assessments conducted every 18 months, participants were asked to provide demographic information, take cognitive tests and report any medical conditions. They also were screened for symptoms of depression—such as lack of appetite, feeling sad or sleep problems—during the previous week.
No Treatment for Prostate Cancer Proven Superior
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Patients who undergo complete prostate removal are less likely to experience urinary incontinence or other complications if the operation is done by an experienced surgeon in a hospital that does many of the procedures, according to a report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
However, the new report concludes that scientific evidence has not established surgery or any other single treatment as superior for all men. The analysis compared the effectiveness and risks of eight prostate cancer treatments, ranging from prostate removal to radioactive implants to no treatment. An article based on the report is posted today in the online version of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“This report is a reminder that patient outcomes may vary according to treatment settings,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “But this analysis also underscores a broader message: when it comes to prostate cancer, we have much to learn about which treatments work best, and patients should be informed about the benefits and harms of treatment options.”
Common gene determines if breast is best
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Breastfeeding is best for your child’s brain as long as a variation of a common gene is present in the baby, researchers say.
Breastfed children with a variant of the FADS2 gene, which is involved in processing fatty acids, score up to seven points higher in IQ tests than bottle-fed children.
But for those children without the variant gene, breastfeeding makes no difference to their intelligence levels.
Homeopathy ‘in crisis’ as NHS trusts drop services
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NHS trusts are dropping homeopathic treatments following debate over whether they work. A study has found that only 37 per cent of 132 primary care trusts still have contracts for homeopathic services while more than a quarter have stopped or reduced funding in the past two years.
Homeopathy is based on diluting substances – that could otherwise be poisonous – in water or alcohol. Some scientists say homeopathic solutions are diluted so many times they are unlikely to contain any active ingredients at all. There has also been controversy over accreditation.
Morgellons Disease
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Its know as ‘Morgellons Disease’ - have you ever heard of it?
The condition was not even described as a disease until 2002. Mary Leitao’s 2 year old son developed sores under his lip in 2001. He began to complain of ‘bugs’. Lietao examined the sores and discovered ‘bundles of fibers’ in red, blue, black and white. She took her son to multiple doctors who could not find any disease, allergy or other explanation for his symptoms. Her son developed more sores. Fibers continued to poke out of them. Leitao, a trained biologist, named the condition Morgellons disease, from a description advanced by Sir Thomas Browne in a 1690 monograph. There is no suggestion that the two conditions are linked.
Tiny gene differences make us who we are
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Scientists have found more than 500 genes that account for variations across human populations including skin colour, height and vulnerability to disease, according to a new study.
By comparing millions of fragments of genetic code from individuals in four groups - from Nigeria, China, Japan and northwest Europe - researchers say that natural selection has played a key role in these differences.
The findings, which are published online ahead of print in the journal Nature Genetics, hold particular promise for understanding the genetic underpinning of certain diseases.
No Link Found Between Personality Traits and Cancer Risk
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In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute of January 29, 2008, Eveline Bleiker, PhD, at The Netherlands Cancer Institute, and colleagues at the VU University Medical Center and Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, report on a large prospective study on psychological risk factors for breast cancer. In addition to looking at individual personality traits, they also examined how interactions between personality traits influenced breast cancer risk.
In 1989 -1990, about 9,700 women completed a personality survey that assessed anxiety, anger, depression, rationality, anti-emotionality, understanding, optimism, social support, and emotional expression and control.
Middle age is truly depressing, says study
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A global study on happiness shows middle age is truly miserable, although an Australian researcher says this is not necessarily so.
A study using data from around 80 countries has found happiness is greatest in youth and old age with depression being most common among men and women in their forties
“In a remarkably regular way throughout the world people slide down a U-shaped level of happiness and mental health throughout their lives,” says researcher Professor Andrew Oswald at Warwick University in the UK.
Australia Day award for infertility expert
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An infertility expert whose scientific interest was sparked while growing up on a sheep station is among those recognised this Australia Day.
Professor Jock Findlay of Prince Henry’s Institute in Melbourne, has been made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for his contribution to the field of reproductive endocrinology.
It is the latest in a line of honours for Findlay, who is one of the original collaborators on a paper in the journal Nature that reported the first successful in vitro fertilisation pregnancy using hormone replacement to prepare the uterus.
Bone Mineral Content Continues to Increase in Obese Adolescents During Weight Loss
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Obese teenagers who succeeded in losing weight in a year-long medically supervised weight control program also saw their bone mineral content increase over that period, say researchers from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The finding was reassuring, because adolescence is a critical period for bone health in later life.
A study in the current issue of the journal Obesity studied 62 adolescents between the ages of nine and 17 years who participated in a trial looking at the effectiveness of a comprehensive, family-based, behavioral weight control program in conjunction with a weight loss drug, sibutramine. The researchers previously reported the combination of behavioral changes and medication helped very obese teenagers lose weight.
In adults, obesity is associated with increased bone mineral density and voluntary weight loss is associated with a decrease in bone mineral density. The findings in this study show that bone mineral content continues to increase in this adolescent population despite weight loss.
Women on methadone may safely breast-feed
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In women on methadone maintenance who have recently given birth, concentrations of the drug in breast milk are low and have no apparent behavioral or neurological effects on their breast-fed infants, according to the results of a small study.
Dr. Lauren M. Jansson, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues evaluated the concentrations of methadone in the breast milk and blood of eight women at 1, 2, 3, 4, 14 and 30 days after delivery.
Ipods show no effects on heart pacemakers
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Ipods and other portable media players are unlikely to interfere with heart pacemakers, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration researcher reported on Thursday.
His tests of a variety of iPods showed they did not produce enough of an electromagnetic field to interfere with the devices.
FDA researcher Howard Bassen and colleagues set up a complex experiment using a saline-filled bag to simulate the human body and a coil sensor designed to pick up electromagnetic emissions.
PLMI predicts total sleep time in older people with cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance
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A higher periodic leg movement index (PLMI) predicted less sleep at night in older people with cognitive impairment and sleep disturbance, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
The study, authored by Kathy C. Richards, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, focused on 102 people (58 men and 44 women) between the ages of 59-96 years who had a clinical diagnosis of cognitive impairment (categorized as unspecified, Alzheimer disease, other, mixed, multi-infarct, and mild cognitive impairment) as well as average nightly sleep of seven or less hours and daytime sleep of 30 minutes or longer.
Ten characteristics associated with sleep disturbance (including PLMI, time in bed, cognitive status, painful conditions and depression) were assessed with one night of polysomnography.
4 days of REM sleep deprivation contributes to a reduction of cell proliferation in rats
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Four days’ exposure to a REM sleep deprivation procedure reduces cell proliferation in the part of the forebrain that contributes to long-term memory of rats, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
The study, authored by Dennis McGinty, PhD, of the V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, focused on male Sprague-Dawley rats. REM sleep deprivation was achieved by a brief treadmill movement initiated by automatic online detection of REM sleep. A yoked-control (YC) rat was placed in the same treadmill and experienced the identical movement regardless of the stage of the sleep-wake cycle.
According to the results, REM sleep was reduced by 85 percent in REM sleep deprived rats and by 43 percent in YC rats. Cell proliferation was reduced by 63 percent in REM sleep deprived rats compared with YC rats. Across all animals, cell proliferation exhibited a positive correlation with the percentage of REM sleep.
