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.