Scientists from San Antonio make a breakthrough when they discover a new drug which is said to be greatly effective in curing hepatitis C, a disease that damages the liver of the patient. The hepatitis C virus or HCV is spread by blood to blood contact. Most people infected by the disease do not show any sign or symptoms initially, yet once established, chronic infection can damage the liver. It is estimated that around 300 million people worldwide are infected by hepatitis C.

In a test conducted at the South West Foundation for Biomedical Research, 35 chimpanzees from north-west San Antonio was used to fight against the killing disease. As Chimpanzees are the only animals that can be infected by hepatitis C other than humans, they play a key role in this test.

Over the past few years, Robert Lanford, Ph.D. and his team members had been conducted a half a million study. It is called the locked nucleic acids which is a DNA based therapy that does not directly target the virus, but creates blockage for a molecule in liver that is required for the replication of the virus. In this way, the invader is essentially starved. Result from the study show an amazing 350 fold drop in the virus levels after the treatment. It is more surprising that the virus levels continued to decrease even after 3 months of stopping the therapy.

With the use of liver biopsies, a medical test involving the removal of cells or tissues for examination, scientist found that the livers of the chimpanzees were becoming healthier, even when the experimental therapy was taking place. Lanford added that the best part of the therapy is that no anti-viral resistance was created by the drug.

Santaris Pharma A/S, the company from Denmark which produces the drug, is starting to conduct the test on humans. The company claims that, it will take 3 more years before the drug will become available in the market.

In the mean time, the scientists are happy about what can be a new way for targeting other diseases as well. Lanford said that they already expected that the drug will be effective in lowering HCV levels, but they had no idea that the test will be successful to such a great extent. He said that they feel that it will be a very safe medicine that can be consumed for a long term. As per Lanford’s opinion, this is a key breakthrough.

All around the world, 170 million people are suffering from hepatitis C, which serves as one of the main reasons for liver transplantations. Around 4% of adults in America are infected by the disease and this report should give some new hope to them.

According to a recent study conducted by US researchers, smokers who light up a cigarette first thing in the morning display higher levels of nicotine than those who wait after their breakfast; this is regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke throughout the day. In the study, smoker’s levels of cotinine which reflects the risks of developing lung cancer have been measured. Continine is the metabolic byproduct of nicotine used to measures how much cigarette smoke entering a smoker’s body.

The study conducted by the Penn State College of Medicine suggests that earlier smokers will require more help to give up this habit. The study which include over 250 healthy people who smoke every day was published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. The reasons why these levels were different are still unclear, but they probably reflect more intense smoking manners among those who smoke first thing in the morning. Their need for a cigarette is proved to be greater than the people who can wait.

Smokers who smoke 20 cigarettes in a day have different levels of cotinine, with top levels as much as 75 times higher than the lowest levels. The highest levels are visible among people who smoke within 30 minutes of waking up, the section of people who is categorized in high dependency levels. Joshua Muscat, the professor of public health at the Penn State College of Medicine, says that these people require more intense intervention than the other smokers so that they can quit smoking on a permanent or sustained basis.

Joshua Muscat, the author of the report, says that all smokers are not same. Trying to reduce smoking may require accounts for smoking behavior of the individuals such as frequency and intensity of puffing, physiological symptoms and cravings.

A spokesperson from the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation has appreciated this research and said that it will prove to be helpful in further understanding the smoking habits of people and also their addiction to tobacco. He added that because this is a small study, which include only 252 participants, the results should be observed carefully. It is still not sure that whether other major conclusions regarding smoking cessation in future can be made out of this study, however he agrees with the author of the study that more research is still required in this area.

According to a recent statement made by the medical officials from Europe, children who have received second vaccination injection against the disease of swine flu are likely to develop fever. As per EMEA or European Medicines Agency, parents need to monitor their children’s temperature, especially if they have received a second dose of swine flu vaccine.

According to EMEA, the second dose of Pandemrix, the influenza vaccine, leads to increased reactogenicity, which was unexpected as it was not visible with mock up vaccines. It was apparent only after GlaxoSmithKline; the manufacturer released a fresh data. This warning can result in a shift of the Department of Health’s position, who suggest that only one dose of the vaccine is sufficient for younger children. In contrast to the adults, kids are given 2 half dose shots with a gap of 3 weeks.

As per the notice, the parents and care takers of the young children less than 6 years of age should be careful about occurrence of fever in their children, especially if they have been vaccinated with Pandemrix. This kind of fever can be as high as more than 100.4º F. The temperature of the child should be monitored after each vaccine and they should be given medicine like Paracetamol for controlling fever as needed.
As the manufacturers have reported, the side effects among children between 6 months and 3 years may include drowsiness, loss of appetite, irritability and soreness at the injection site, after the 2nd dose.

However, it has been concluded by the European Agency that one dose of the vaccine can trigger good immunity in younger children but second dose can bring more protection against swine flu. Health authorities of the member states have also recommended that the doctors should continue their vaccine programme despite the fever. Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer of England, warned that the children under 5 years of age are the main sufferers of swine flu, the disease that is responsible for causing difficulty in breathing.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health said that it is a good news that such strong responses are received after only a half dose of Pandemrix given to kids. The current guidance of the department is to give 2 half doses to the children under 10 years of age, with a gap of at least 3 weeks. However, the department is asking advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, an independent advisory committee, on whether a single half dose of the vaccine is enough for protection against the disease among children. New guidance is expected to be developed as needed. A spokesperson said that Pandemrix vaccine is the best defense against the disease. Up to date over 10 million doses of the vaccine had been given out to adults and children across EU, and no unseen safety concerns have emerged so far.

Scientists have reported that a new approach to fight cancer has been found to be hugely successful on mice. In this approach biodegradable polymer implant is used to teach the immune system of the body to attack tumors. The minute implant which is placed under patient’s skin releases antigens specific to the cancerous tumor, thereby reprogramming the body’s immune system to attack and destroy the cancerous cells.

In a recent publication of Science Translational Medicine journal, the scientists have reported that the performance of these implants is satisfactory in eradicating melanoma skin cancer tumors in the mice. David J. Mooney, the leader of the study, also a working professor of Bioengineering in the Harvard’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, says that with this method, the power of applying engineering elements to immunology has been shown.

The new implants made up of plastic seem to be less cumbersome and more effective than injectable vaccines for cancer that are presently under clinical experimentation. In injectable vaccines, immune cells from a person’s body are removed, they are reprogrammed for attacking the nasty tissues and then returned back to the body through injections. But it has been shown in experiments that over 90% of these cells get was destroyed even before they can have any effect on the person’s body.

Mooney’s group develops the implants that are made up of FDA approved biodegradable polymer which releases cytokines, a powerful employers of immune system messengers termed as dendritic cells. The dendritic cells enter into the implant where they get exposed to the antigens which are specified to the kind of cancer tumor under target. Then, these cells report to the nearby lymph nodes, where the T cells of the immune system are directed to locate and destroy the tumor cells.

Mooney says that the implants can be inserted under the person’s skin anywhere, similar to the implantable contraceptives that are placed in a lady’s arm. These implants activate the immune response which works to destroy the tumor cells. Mooney’s study was not aimed at curing melanoma in mice, although complete regression of distant and established melanoma tumors was observed by the researchers. Researchers believe that their study shows the success of implantable vaccines and thus provides a basis for the design new vaccine in future.

In the last few years, a lot of research had been conducted in the field of cancer vaccines. Researchers believe that the approach is more beneficial over chemotherapy and conventional cancer surgery, since it only target cancer cells and no other tissues are damaged in the process. It is even hoped that these vaccines may generate a permanent resistance from the cancerous cells, thus providing long-lasting protection against re-occurrence.

According to Mooney, these implant based vaccines generate several kinds of dendritic cells which direct the immune system to create a potent anti-tumor response. He says that this method can down-regulate the destruction made by the tumor and at the same time up-regulate the immune system.

It has been confirmed by scientists that comfort food is extremely successful in reducing stress and depression. Margaret Morris, the Professor of Pharmacology, says that eating foods that are rich in sugar and fats may change the brain’s chemical composition, thus providing relief to stress.

A recent study conducted on rats by Prof Morris, from University of NSW School of Medical Sciences, shown that the effects of past trauma can be eliminated through intake of delectable food items.

Prof Morris told the AAP that the anxiety of the rats was reversed with this kind of diet, taking them back to their non-stressed state of mind. The reasons for this are still not known but there may be some biochemical links.

Initially, the research had different groups of baby rats. Rats from one group were exposed to normal contact with their mothers while those in the other group had to face separation for long periods of time. Rats that had more traumas in their early lives were seen to have higher stress hormone levels and lesser steroid receptors in the section of their brain that controls behavior. The signs of anxiety and depression were seen to disappear among the rats that were switched to junk food diets at later stages of their lives.

The control group did not have any effect from the diet, but the animals under stress had a deficit which was compensated by this kind of diet. The diet seems to have an affect on the neurogenesis, in the same way as anti-depressants promote growth of nerves in the brain.

Prof Morris warned that while the results of the study were not transferable to people immediately. It showed support to the therapeutic value of the comfort food and showed explanations of others patterns of the human behavior.

She said that if people are asked about what they usually eat while they are stress, they will tell you that they eat more cakes, chocolates and sweets and less fruits, vegetables and fishes. In addition to that, it is also usually found that people who had traumatic experiences in their childhood tend to be over-weight as adults.

Prof Morris said that this study should not be considered as a supporter of consuming junk food. If this is done, people will be exposed to more serious health related problems. Researches in the future will aims at determining whether other beneficial activities, like exercising, also have similar stress relieving affects on the brains of the rats and human.

Diabetes (especially type II diabetes) was not a very common disease in the developing countries, but it has become more common these days. Over the years the incidence of diabetes, especially type II diabetes is becoming equally common in developing and developed countries.

In United States 1 in every 9 are reported to be diabetic and most of them are having type II diabetes, which has a genetic predisposition and develops during adulthood. There are also an additional 57 million (approximately 20% of Americans) individuals in United States who have Pre-Diabetes (blood glucose higher than normal, but not yet diabetic). This is the group which will benefit most from intervention strategies like lifestyle modification. Lifestyle modification can delay to a great extent the development of diabetes in Pre-Diabetes individual.

In a Diabetes Prevention Program which involved 3234 obese and overweight individuals (both men and women) with more than average risk of developing diabetes were divided into three groups for study. The first group was trained intensively about lifestyle modification, the second group received anti-diabetic (oral hypoglycemic) medicine metformin, and the third group was given placebo.

The first group was given low fat diet and regular moderate exercise to reduce body weight by 5-7%. This group on an average exercised 30 minutes a day. As a result they managed to lost 15 pounds. The second group with metformin lost average 5 pounds and the third group of placebo lost less than 2 pounds.
After the study was halted (when it became crystal clear that lifestyle modification is the most effective to delay diabetes) it was seen that those who modified their lifestyle reduced the risk of diabetes by 58% in compare to the placebo group. The group which received metformin reduced the risk of diabetes by 31% in compare to placebo.

Approximately half (total of 1766 and approximately half of every group) of the original study group (3234) was followed up for 10 years and all of them were given lifestyle modification training. After 10 years follow up it was observed that in the original lifestyle modification group, there was a delay of average four years for onset of diabetes in compare to original placebo group and average two years delay in onset of diabetes in the metformin group. Approximately 5% participants in the lifestyle modification group, 8% in the metformin group and 11% in the placebo group developed diabetes every year during the follow up study.

Lifestyle change has become more important because of the spread of diabetes in epidemic throughout the world. The above study clearly indicates it is the most effective way to delay onset of diabetes.

Snoring is a common and irritating problem for many individuals. Snoring can even be a problematic area of marriage. Many partners of snoring patients complain that they can not sleep due to snoring. But with the new treatment to cure snoring which takes as little as two minutes that involve injecting a chemical under local anesthesia into the roof of the mouth of the snoring patient. The technique is known as “snoreplasty” and developed in United States. The technique (snoreplasty) acts by preventing the soft tissues of the back of the mouth from vibrating. Vibration of the soft tissues in the back of the mouth is the cause of snoring.

The uvula which is part of the soft palate vibrates when we breathe in due to high pressure produced during breathing. In the obese and overweight persons the problem (of snoring) is much more than a normal person, due to extra fat in the neck which cause compression of the airway. Snoring can cause many chronic health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, and other heart problems due to un-optimal oxygen intake.

Till the discovery of this technique (snoreplasty) to treat snoring the only treatment modality for snoring was surgery. In the surgical method to treat snoring surgeons use laser or scalpel to trim the size of uvula to make it less able to vibrate. But recovery after surgery may be very long and painful. Eating and drinking can also be a problem after surgery in some patients. Another disadvantage of surgical treatment of snoring is the cost, which is generally more than $3,000 and there is no guarantee of cure after surgery.

There are many over the counter treatment modalities for snoring, which are generally useless as most patients find. The new snoreplasty injection costs less than $5. Most of the patients with snoring prefer snoreplasty these days because it is painless, the recovery time is minimal (patient can go home after receiving the injection and have food after an hour). Surgical correction of snoring can take a week to recover, which makes it costly as well as lose of workdays.

This technique may not be useful in up to 20 % of the patients, who ultimately will require surgical correction. In most of the patients snoring stops for a year after a single injection and in some patients the cure of snoring is permanent.

Researchers are working on a new form of cancer treatment that will most likely become available within 5 years. The treatment works on healthy cells by modifying the function of gene to make the cells immune from huge dose of radiation for treating cancer. Using this technique the researchers have succeeded in killing the cancer cells by using very large dose of radiation, while protecting the normal healthy cells.

Radiotherapy is one of the commonly used modality for treatment of cancer and it is estimated that approximately 50% of cancer patients receive radiotherapy which reduce the tumor size and also reduce distance metastasis. But radiotherapy also destroy the normal healthy cells, cause side effects like severe vomiting, fatigue and weakness and also makes the recipient more prone to develop cancer in the future. Radiation can also weaken our immune system.

Scientists now believe that they have found the solution to above mentioned adverse effects of radiotherapy and radiation. Researchers have found that by blocking the function of a protein (TSP1/CD47), it is possible to make the healthy cells immune to very large dose of radiation in mice and pigs, and they believe that the same will work on humans also. Blocking the function protein TSP1/CD47 might suppress the defense mechanism of cancer cells but not of normal healthy cells.

In a study the researchers pre-treated the hind leg of pigs with the agent that blocks the protein TSP1/CD47, which showed that there were very less hair loss, peeling and ulceration in compare to the hind legs of pigs that were not pretreated with the agent that blocks the protein TSP1/CD47. The researchers were surprised by the result they got from the study, which could pave a new way of treating cancer in the future. The study (by using protein TSP1/CD47) was conducted using normal healthy cells of mice, cows, pigs and rats and living animals like pigs, mice and rats. Doctors now (oncologists and radiotherapists) need not to worry much in applying very large doses of radiation for treatment of cancer.

How the agents acts by blocking the protein TSP1/CD47 is not yet clear to the researchers, but they are working on various options to prevent killing the normal healthy cells whiling destroying the cancer cells. Before the new treatment modality can become available more clinical trials and toxicological studies are required.

More great news to follow as a recent report has revealed that mental illness or problems like schizophrenia and depression could be easily diagnosed by plugging some electrode into the person’s ear and rocking them over a chair. This efficient invention has come from the researchers at the Monash University and they strongly believe that this invention could bring wonders and also revolutionize the treatment and diagnosis of various mental related illness. Brian Lithgow, Biomechanical engineer, Monach University, calls this invention as “electrovestibulography”. Explaining this in common terms, Brain says this method is something similar to an Electrocardiogram, ECG for mind. The new method analyzes the electrical signals in the brain just as ECG which is used to detect heart related problems.

The electrode which is place in the patient’s ear is used to detect the changes in electrical patterns in the balance system of the patient which is normally linked to the naïve parts of one’s brain relating to behavior and emotions. Brain has been working with psychiatrists in running tests and conducting surveys from Monash University’s MAPrc (Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre). He had been doing this to see if he can find out the unique and special electrical signals that are attached to mental illness like bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia.

The university is also developing the new device with some corporate partner in order to get a patent and market the technology. Speaking about this, Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, head of MAPrc, said that the newly invented device could prove to be a finest solution and also a breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. She also insisted that the average time to diagnosis a bipolar disorder today takes around 12 years. She also added that in this time span if the problem was not picked up, it could lead to lots of social, relationships and even career damages and suggested a solution that if these disorders are picked up earlier they could be easily treated with the help of mood stabilizers.

Apart from diagnosing the disease, the new device also helps to track the patient’s response to the medication and can help in finding out whether it works in controlling the disorder. Kulkarni also stressed that it is still early days as only few papers are published and smaller number of people are tested with this new technique. She even said that they wont be confident to say this is the effective solution until it is tested among thousands. Speaking further she said it is too early to clearly say that the device could detect the minute signals to diagnose mental illness which would qualify it for a screening. ”We have to be very careful when thinking about using this device as screening for mental illness as still there is some sigma attached to it,” Kulkarni said to the press.

Hard work never fails has been proven again as a recent medical trial has come out with the first positive step in the long race in search for efficient HIV vaccine. The trials conducted over a period of six years by a group of researchers in Thailand are the most promising ones in this field as it prevents people from the dangerous HIV virus – though it is still not a fully usable vaccine.

For decades researchers had been working to find the effective vaccine for HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus. A recent study was conducted in Thailand that involved sixteen thousand healthy people, aged 18 to 30. The trials were conducted in main areas that are considered as high HIV risk areas. Some areas to name are provinces of Rayon and Chonburi, the city of Pattaya and more. This region was chosen as the perfect place to execute the trial as this was also the hotspot for migration from and to Cambodia.

The trial started 6 years ago in Oct 2003 and was wrapped up some months ago with positive results. The results were really amazing and provided the glimpse of hope that researchers were looking for all these years. It showed that the risk of getting infected by HIV fell almost 30% for those who were vaccinated than those who were not.

When asked about this Dr. Supachai Rerks-Ngarm, Thailand Ministry, Public Health said that it is still unknown as what attributes to the success of the vaccines but the results are a real breakthrough and sign of relief. He also added that it was the first project across the world where a vaccine is designed not only to be safe but also to reduce the probability of the infection. It really gives the hope that an effective HIV vaccine is possible in the near future.

Don Baxter, Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations, however says that it is rather unlikely that this vaccine will be available to general people in the near future. Don also said that this is the first in the class of HIV vaccine that has shown positive results. He added that 30% is really a low number to risk putting this to the general public as this would in turn reduce the use of condom and may result in more infections.

The $140 million trial was funded by US Army in order to ensure that its troops are protected from the virus as they travel to different parts of the world. Speaking about this, Eric G John, United States Ambassador to Thai, said that this trial will surely brings scientists and researchers close to the solution and will help them find the vaccine for the HIV virus. He added that this is the largest attempt in its class that has been concluded with great results and brought scientists closer to the effective HIV vaccine.

United Nations has also welcomed this result as it offers new ray of hope to almost 40 million HIV patients across the world.