WHO Says New Coronavirus May Be Passed Person To Person

The World Health Organization says it appears likely that the novel coronavirus (NCoV) can be passed between people in close contact.

This comes after the French health ministry confirmed a second man had contracted the virus in a possible case of human-to-human transmission.

Two more people in Saudi Arabia are also reported to have died from the virus, according to health officials.

NCoV is known to cause pneumonia and sometimes kidney failure.

World Health Organization (WHO) officials have expressed concern over the clusters of cases of the new coronavirus strain and the potential for it to spread.

Since 2012, there have been 33 confirmed cases across Europe and the Middle East, with 18 deaths, according to a recent WHO update.

Cases have been detected in Saudi Arabia and Jordan and have spread to Germany, the UK and France.

"Of most concern... is the fact that the different clusters seen in multiple countries increasingly support the hypothesis that when there is close contact this novel coronavirus can transmit from person to person," the World Health Organization said on Sunday.

"This pattern of person-to-person transmission has remained limited to some small clusters and so far, there is no evidence to suggest the virus has the capacity to sustain generalised transmission in communities," the statement adds.

France's second confirmed case was a 50-year-old man who had shared a hospital room in Valenciennes, northern France, with a 65-year-old who fell ill with the virus after returning from Dubai.

"Positive results [for the virus] have been confirmed for both patients," the French health ministry said, adding that both men were being treated in isolation wards.

Meanwhile, the Saudi deputy minister of health said on Sunday that two more people had died from the coronavirus, bringing the number of fatalities to nine in the most recent outbreak in al-Ahsa governorate in the east of Saudi Arabia, Reuters news agency reports.

The Saudi health ministry said that 15 people had died out of the 24 cases diagnosed since last summer.

WHO officials have not yet confirmed the latest deaths.

In February, a patient died in a hospital in Birmingham, England, after three members of the same family became infected.

It is thought a family member had picked up the virus while travelling to the Middle East and Pakistan.

Novel coronavirus is from the same family of viruses as the one that caused an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) that emerged in Asia in 2003.

However, NCoV and Sars are distinct from each other, the WHO said in its statement on Sunday.

Coronavirus is known to cause respiratory infections in both humans and animals.

But it is not yet clear whether it is a mutation of an existing virus or an infection in animals that has made the jump to humans.

Source: BBC News

 

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Fame at Young Age May Cause A Short Life

Having a glittering career in the public eye may come at the cost of a shorter life, an analysis of obituaries in a US newspaper suggests.

It showed performers and sports stars tended to die a few years younger than people successful in other careers.

The researchers acknowledge the study does not provide any conclusive answers, but said it asked interesting questions about the cost of fame.

The data was published in QJM: An International Journal of Medicine.

Researchers in Australia looked at 1,000 obituaries in the New York Times between 2009 and 2011.

They showed that performers, such as actors, singers and musicians, as well those who made a career in sport died the youngest - at an average age of 77.

Writers, composers and artists died at 79. Those classed as academics, including historians and economists, survived until 82 on average while those in business or politics made 83.

The researchers, at the University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales, said cancer, particularly tumours in the lungs, was more common in performers.

Professor Richard Epstein said: "A one-off retrospective analysis like this can't prove anything, but it raises some interesting questions.

"First, if it is true that successful performers and sports players tend to enjoy shorter lives, does this imply that fame at younger ages predisposes to poor health behaviours in later life after success has faded?

"Or that psychological and family pressures favouring unusually high public achievement lead to self-destructive tendencies throughout life?

"Or that risk-taking personality traits maximise one's chances of success, with the use of cigarettes, alcohol or illicit drugs improving one's performance output in the short term?"

He added that, whatever the reason, the findings should be considered as a "health warning to young people aspiring to become stars".

Honey Langcaster-James, a psychologist who specialises in celebrity behaviour, said so few people achieved star status that it made it difficult to scientifically study the effect on people's lives.

She said: "The results are interesting of themselves as they suggest an inherent hazard of a public career and that all that glitters is not necessarily gold.

"They may be paying a high price for their career."

However she said it was not easy to come up with a scientific explanation.

On the one hand she said such a career "has unique stressors" such as "the pressure to live up to a public image, which can lead to risky behaviours".

Yet she suspected that "particular personal characteristics predispose people to wanting a career in the public arena", which may also lead to lifestyle choices affecting health.

Source: BBC News

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China Bird Flu: Beijing Reports Its First Case

A girl of seven is being treated in hospital in Beijing, in the first case of H7N9 "bird flu" reported by Chinese officials in the capital.

The child, whose parents are poultry traders, developed a fever, sore throat and headache on Thursday. Her condition is said to be stable.

Two people in close contact with her were quarantined for observation but have shown no symptoms so far.

The UN had recorded 28 cases and nine deaths in China as of Wednesday.

There are no reported cases outside the country, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

China's national disease control centre confirmed on Saturday that the girl take ill in Beijing had the H7N9 virus.

The first cases of the virus were reported in February, in eastern China. According to the WHO, there is no evidence that the H7N9 virus is being transmitted between people, and most cases come from poultry.

International health experts have commended China on its transparency in reporting the spread of the virus, in sharp contrast to its handling of a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003, when 8,096 people were infected worldwide and 744 died.

Source: BBC News

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Male Sex Hormones Drive Breast Cancer

US scientists say they have found a new target to beat breast cancer - male sex hormones, or androgens.

The University of Colorado team discovered that many breast cancers possess androgen receptors on their surface, and that male hormones like testosterone fuel the tumour's growth.

Drugs to block these receptors could offer another way to fight the disease, a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research heard.

They plan clinical trials to test this.

Dr Jennifer Richer and colleagues say more than three-quarters of all breast cancers possess androgen receptors and therefore might benefit from anti-androgen therapy.

This type of treatment is already used for prostate cancer.

Experts already know that some breast cancers grow under the influence of female hormones, like oestrogen and progesterone.

The widely-used breast cancer drug Tamoxifen works by blocking oestrogen receptors to halt these cancers.

Dr Richer's research suggests male hormones are also important drivers.

And adding anti-androgen drugs to our armoury against breast cancer could improve treatment success.

They found many breast tumours possessed both oestrogen and androgen receptors.

These responded to anti-androgen therapy in the laboratory.

Patients who who relapse while on Tamoxifen but who also have androgen receptors might have the most to gain from this new type of treatment, according to Dr Richer.

She said: "We are excited to move towards clinical trials of anti-androgen therapies in breast cancer."

Dr Emma Smith of Cancer Research UK said: "It's still early days for this research but there's growing interest in the androgen receptor's role in breast cancer as a potential new route to tackle the disease.

"Cancer Research UK scientists are among those working on whether targeting this receptor could help treat both those women who develop resistance to other treatments and those who have fewer treatment options."

Source: BBC News

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Emergency Contraception to Be Available on Store Shelves

Statement by Susannah Baruch, Interim President & CEO of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, on Federal District Judge Edward Korman's order directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove the age restriction on emergency contraception within 30 days and allow the product on pharmacy shelves for all women:

"Today we celebrate a long overdue victory for all women. Our decade long struggle is finally over. Emergency contraception will now sit on store shelves allowing timely access to this important product used to prevent unintended pregnancy. We urge Secretary Sebelius and the FDA to move swiftly to put emergency contraception on store shelves and into the hands of women and couples who need it.

"For years, medical experts, including scientists at the Food & Drug Administration, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have agreed that emergency contraception is safe for over-the-counter use by women of all ages.

"Finally science won and the years of unnecessary politicization of a safe and effective contraceptive are over.

"This ruling significantly expands access to comprehensive reproductive health options for women. All women will now have easier access to back-up birth control when they experience a contraceptive failure. A broken condom does not have to mean an unplanned pregnancy. When a woman can plan her pregnancy, there are clear benefits for the health, economic, and social well-being of her and her family."

Emergency contraception is a safe, effective back-up method of birth control that can prevent pregnancy in the first few days after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Current emergency contraceptive products available over-the-counter are Plan B® One-Step and a Plan B generic, Next Choice One Dose®.

Source: Reproductive Health Technologies Project

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Obama Proposes Brain Mapping Project

US President Barack Obama has unveiled a new initiative to map the brain.

Speaking at the White House, he announced an initial $100m investment to shed light on how the brain works and provide insight into diseases such as Alzheimer's and epilepsy.

President Obama said initiatives like the Human Genome Project had transformed genetics; now he wants to do the same with the brain.

The project will be carried out by both public and private-sector scientists.

The project is called Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies - or BRAIN.

Mr Obama said: There is this enormous mystery waiting to be unlocked, and the BRAIN initiative will change that by giving scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action and better understand how we think and learn and remember. And that knowledge will be transformative."

The project will begin in 2014, and will involve the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The $100m investment will be used to develop new technologies to investigate how the billions of individual cells in the human brain interact.

Scientists will also focus on how the brain records, stores and processes information, and investigate how brain function is linked to behaviour.

Mr Obama said that while our understanding of the brain was growing, there was still a long way to go.

"As humans we can identify galaxies light years away, we can study particles smaller than the atom, but we still haven't unlocked the mystery of the 3lb of matter that sits between our ears," he said.

The project will also involve partnerships with the private sector.

This includes the Allen Institute for Brain Science, which has committed to spending $60m annually on projects relating to the BRAIN initiative, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, which has dedicated $28m.

An ethics committee will oversee the work.

Mr Obama said that it was worth investing in science, claiming that it would help to create new jobs and boost the economy.

He said that basic research was "a driver of growth".

"We can't afford to miss these opportunities while the rest of the world races ahead," he added.

The funding announcement comes after recent news of another push in neuroscience in Europe.

About 80 European research institutions and some from outside the EU will take part in the Human Brain Project, which is estimated to cost more than 1bn euros.

The project will use supercomputer-based models and simulations to reconstruct a virtual human brain to develop new treatments for neurological conditions.

Source: BBC News

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Two Men Die Of Bird Flu In China

Two men have died in the Chinese city of Shanghai, after contracting a strain of bird flu not previously known in humans, Chinese officials say.

The men, aged 27 and 87, both fell ill with the H7N9 strain in February and died some weeks later in March, Xinhua news agency reported.

A woman of 35 who caught the virus elsewhere is said to be critically ill.

It is unclear how the strain spread, but the three did not infect each other or any close contacts, officials say.

While both men who died were in Shanghai, the third victim was reported in Chuzhou in the eastern province of Anhui.

According to China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, all three became ill with coughs and fevers before developing pneumonia.

Commission experts said on Saturday the cause had been identified as H7N9, a strain of avian flu not thought to have been transmitted to humans before.

There is no vaccine against the strain, the commission said, adding it was currently testing to assess its ability to infect humans.

Another strain of bird flu, H5N1, has led to more than 360 confirmed human deaths since 2003 and the deaths of tens of millions of birds.

The World Health Organization says that most avian flu viruses do not infect humans and the majority of H5N1 cases have been associated with contact with infected poultry.

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Microchip Could Help Cut Obesity

UK-based scientists have designed an 'intelligent' microchip which they claim can suppress appetite.

Animal trials of the electronic implant are about to begin and its makers say it could provide a more effective alternative to weight-loss surgery.

The chip is attached to the vagus nerve which plays a role in appetite as well as a host of other functions within the body.

Human trials of the implant could begin within three years, say its makers.

The work is being led by Prof Chris Toumazou and Prof Sir Stephen Bloom of Imperial College London.

It involves an 'intelligent implantable modulator', just a few millimetres across, which is attached using cuff electrodes to the vagus nerve within the peritoneal cavity found in the abdomen.

The chip and cuffs are designed to read and process electrical and chemical signatures of appetite within the nerve. The chip can then act upon these readings and send electrical signals to the brain reducing or stopping the urge to eat.

The researchers say identifying chemicals rather than electrical impulses will make for a more selective, precise instrument.

The project has just received over 7m euros (£5.9m; $9m) in funding from the European Research Council.

A similar device designed by the Imperial team has already been developed to reduce epileptic seizures by targeting the same vagus nerve.

"This is a really small microchip and on this chip we've got the intelligence which can actually model the neural signals responsible for appetite control," Prof Toumazou told the BBC.

"And as a result of monitoring these signals we can stimulate the brain to counter whatever we monitor.

"It will be control of appetite rather than saying don't eat completely. So maybe instead of eating fast you'll eat a lot slower."

He said initial laboratory trials had already demonstrated proof of concept.

Prof Bloom, who heads Imperial's diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism division, said the chip could provide an alternative to "gross surgery".

The chip is described as an 'intelligent implantable modulator of vagus nerve function for treatment of obesity'
"There will be a little tiny insert and it will be so designed as to have no side effects, but restrict appetite in a natural way.

"As far as the brain is concerned, it will get the same signals from the intestinal system as it normally gets after a meal, and these signals tell it don't eat any more - the gut's full of food and you don't need to eat any more."

He claimed that unlike gastric banding, the chip would reduce both consumption and hunger pangs, and was therefore more likely to be effective.

Source: BBC News

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Tulsa Dentist May Have Put 7,000 Patients At HIV Risk

Health officials in the US state of Oklahoma have warned 7,000 patients their dentist may have exposed them to HIV and hepatitis B and C.

Patients of Dr W Scott Harrington's practice in Tulsa were advised to test themselves at a free clinic set up by the state, health officials said.

Health inspectors found rusty dental instruments and poor hygiene standards at the clinic.

Dr Harrington has voluntarily closed the practice, officials said.

"Although we do not know whether you were personally exposed to blood-borne viruses," the state health department wrote to patients, "there is a possibility that you may have been exposed to infectious material."

The letters are being sent to patients treated since 2007, but health officials have said they do not know who may have been seen by the dentist before that.

'It looked clean'

The Tulsa Health Department is setting up a clinic to carry out free blood tests for people who may have been exposed.

Former patient Joyce Baylor, 69, who had a tooth removed by Dr Harrington about 18 months ago, said the office looked clean.

"I'm sure he's not suffering financially that he can't afford instruments," she told the Associated Press news agency.

The investigation into the dental practice began after a patient tested positive for both hepatitis C and HIV despite having no associated risk factors.

Officials determined the patient had received dental treatment about the time the exposure was believed to have occurred.

The dentist has voluntarily given up his licence, closed his practice and is co-operating with investigators, the Tulsa Health Department said.

Dr Harrington faces a hearing on 19 April and could have his licence revoked permanently.

Source: BBC News

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TV Does Not Breed Badly Behaved Children

Spending hours watching TV or playing computer games each day does not harm young children's social development, say experts.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) team who studied more than 11,000 primary school pupils says it is wrong to link bad behaviour to TV viewing.

Although researchers found a small correlation between the two, they say other influences, such as parenting styles, most probably explain the link.

But they still say "limit screen time".

This cautionary advice is because spending lots of time in front of the TV every day might reduce how much time a child spends doing other important activities such as playing with friends and doing homework, they say.

US research suggests watching TV in early childhood can cause attention problems at the age of seven.

We found no effect with screen time for most of the behavioural and social problems that we looked at and only a very small effect indeed for conduct problems, such as fighting or bullying”

In the US, paediatric guidelines recommend that total screen time should be limited to less than two hours of educational, non-violent programmes per day. There are currently no formal guidelines in the UK.

For the MRC study, published in Archives of Diseases in Childhood, Dr Alison Parkes and colleagues asked UK mothers from all walks of life to give details about their child's TV viewing habits and general behaviour.

Electronic entertainment
Almost two-thirds (65%) of the 11,014 five-year-olds included in the study watched TV between one and three hours a day, 15% watched more than three hours and less than 2% watched no television at all.

Watching more than three hours' TV a day at this age predicted a very small increase in "conduct" problems at the age of seven.

After their seventh birthday, these boys and girls were slightly more likely to get into fights, tell lies or be bullies than their peers, according to their mothers' reports.

Time spent playing computer games bore no such relationship.

And there was no association between TV or any screen time and other issues such as hyperactivity or problems interacting with friends.

Dr Parkes, head of the MRC's social and public health sciences unit in Glasgow, said it was wrong to blame social problems on TV.

"We found no effect with screen time for most of the behavioural and social problems that we looked at and only a very small effect indeed for conduct problems, such as fighting or bullying.

"Our work suggests that limiting the amount of time children spend in front of the TV is, in itself, unlikely to improve psychosocial adjustment."

She said interventions focusing on the family dynamic and the child were more likely to make a difference and that much may depend on what children are watching and whether they were supervised.

Sonia Livingstone, professor of social psychology, at the London School of Economics, said the findings were a "good reason to ask why some children spend so much time watching television".

Prof Annette Karmiloff-Smith, of Birkbeck, University of London, said that rather than focusing on the possible adverse effects of TV and video games, it would be better to look at what positive impact they could have on children.

Prof Hugh Perry, chair of the MRC's neurosciences and mental health board, said: "We are living in a world that is increasingly dominated by electronic entertainment, and parents are understandably concerned about the impact this might be having on their children's wellbeing and mental health.

"This important study suggests the relationship between TV and video games and health is complex and influenced by many other social and environmental factors."

Source: BBC News

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Bill Gates Offering Up To $1 Million For 'Next-generation' Condom

Philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates is offering start-up funds of $100,000 to anyone who can come up with the “next-generation condom,” according to Grand Challenges in Global Health.

The Round 11 of Grand Challenges Explorations initiative through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is aimed at improving the lives of the world’s poorest people – and a new, innovative condom could do just that.

The condom must be effective at lowering the chance of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases, and offer incentive for men and women to use it.

If chosen, the Foundation would continue to fund the condom up to $1 million.

“To overcome persistent health and development problems, we need new, game-changing ideas,” Chris Wilson, director of Global Health Discovery & Translational Science at the Foundation, said in a press release.  “Inspiration can come from anywhere, and we are hopeful that this new round of Grand Challenges Explorations will uncover innovative approaches to improve lives around the world.”

According to the press release, the new condom will “preserve or enhance the pleasure so as to increase uptake and also promote its regular use.”

The proposals must have a “testable hypothesis . . . an associated plan for how the idea would be validated . . . and would yield . . .an unambiguous data plan in Phase I, to be considered for Phase II.”

Of course, the condom should also be easy to use and include ground-breaking design.

Source: Fox News

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Babies Shouldn't Get Solid Foods Until 6 Months Old

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found many mothers are feeding babies solid foods earlier than the recommended age of six months, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends solid foods are introduced to infants no earlier than six months of age.

“Solid foods were being started before 4 months in about half of those kids,” said Dr. Deb Lonzer, a pediatrician from the Cleveland Clinic, who did not participate in the study. “And in about 10 percent of them, it was actually being started in the first four weeks of life.”

CDC researchers questioned more than 1,300 mothers, and found 40 percent were introducing solid foods before 4 months old.

The top three reasons for doing so included “My baby was old enough;” “My baby seemed hungry,” and “I wanted to feed my baby something in addition to breast milk or formula.”

“They get information from so many sources, from friends, to relatives, to the Internet, that they’re not exactly sure what to do,” Lonzer said. “And they figure, “Hey I may as well try some solid foods. Maybe the baby will sleep better and be happier that way.”

The AAP recommends holding off on solid foods until at least six months of age to be sure the baby is developed enough to handle them.

Babies may have trouble swallowing solid food before 6 months old, and researchers said introducing solid foods any earlier could increase the risk of some chronic diseases – as well as cut short the benefits of breastfeeding.

Lonzer said she agrees with the AAP.

“Solid foods are going to be lower in the good nutrition, and may be higher in calories,” she said. “So there’s a chance we’re causing more obesity in babies; it can cause allergies or eczema; there may be a link to diabetes.”

Lonzer said if you have a fussy baby who never seems satisfied, don’t turn to solid foods – call your pediatrician.

“So, if you have a baby who is under 6 months and is taking in enormous quantities of breast milk or formula or really seems unsatisfied with feeding or who is fussy all of the time, it may have nothing to do with feeding,” she added. “It may be a variety of other behavioral or even medical issues.”

Source: Pediatric Journal

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Bikini Line Waxing And shaving Poses Infection Risk

Men and women seeking a well-groomed bikini line are at greater risk of infections, say researchers.

Waxing and shaving causes micro trauma to the skin, leaving it vulnerable to pathogens like poxvirus, they told a British Medical Journal publication.

The team studied 30 new patients with a poxvirus called molluscum contagiosum who had been treated in a private clinic in France.

They say pubic hair removal is becoming increasingly popular among men too.

Twenty-four of the 30 patients they examined were men.

In all 30 cases, the lesions had appeared in the bikini line area that had been either shaved, waxed or trimmed.

Molluscum contagiousum is highly contagious and easily spread through skin-to-skin contact with someone who is infected or by touching contaminated objects such as a flannel or towel.

It usually clears up on its own and does not cause any symptoms other than raised red spots.

Squeezing the spots that develop is not recommended because it can cause pain and bleeding and it is likely to leave scarring. It also increases the risk of spreading the infection

The researchers say pubic hair removal could also be a risk factor for other 'minor' infections such as genital warts.

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US Panel Backs Trial For Anthrax Vaccine On Children

A US presidential commission has paved the way for testing an anthrax vaccine on children, prompting criticism that participants would be "guinea pigs".

But the bioethical issues report said researchers would have to overcome many hurdles before conducting any trial.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius must decide whether to act on the paper's recommendations.

An earlier biodefence commission said in 2011 that a vaccine should be developed for children.

The National Biodefence Science Board said at the time that any such study would need approval from a bioethics panel first.

One anthrax vaccine, BioThrax, is available for sale in the US. Drug-maker Emergent BioSolutions reported $215.9m (£142.8m) in sales of the vaccine in 2012.

Video-game scenario
Panel chairwoman Amy Gutmann said: "We have to get this precisely right," speaking at a news conference on Tuesday.

She added that "many significant steps would have to be taken" before a trial on children would be allowed to proceed.

But Ms Gutmann said the US must "develop the knowledge needed to save children's lives" if an anthrax attack ever occurred.

The chairwoman said striking the right balance of keeping children safe while understanding what a safe dose of the vaccine might be, made this "one of the most difficult ethical reviews a bioethics board has ever conducted".

Some activists said the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues should have rejected the idea of a trial on children altogether.

Vera Sharav, founder of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, said a trial would cause "moral harm" to the nation and suffering for children.

The issue came up in 2011 when a video game called Dark Zephyr portrayed an anthrax attack on a city modelled on San Francisco. It posed the question of whether children should be vaccinated in the event of an attack.

So far, the anthrax vaccine has been given to about 2.9 million adults - mostly members of the armed forces who were thought to be at risk of exposure to biological weapons in Iraq - and studies on animals.

Source: BBC News

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Early HIV Drugs Functionally Cure About One In 10

Rapid treatment after HIV infection may be enough to "functionally cure" about a 10th of those diagnosed early, say researchers in France.

They have been analysing 14 people who stopped therapy, but have since shown no signs of the virus resurging.

It follows reports of a baby girl being effectively cured after very early treatment in the US.

However, most people infected with HIV do not find out until the virus has fully infiltrated the body.

The group of patients, known as the Visconti cohort, all started treatment within 10 weeks of being infected. The patients were caught early as they turned up in hospital with other conditions and HIV was found in their blood.

They stuck to a course of antiretroviral drugs for three years, on average, but then stopped.

The drugs keep the virus only in check, they cannot eradicate it from its hiding places inside the immune system.

Normally, when the drugs stop, the virus bounces back.

This has not happened in the Visconti patients. Some have been able to control HIV levels for a decade.

Dr Asier Saez-Cirion, from the Institute Pasteur in Paris, said: "Most individuals who follow the same treatment will not control the infection, but there are a few of them who will."

He said 5-15% of patients may be functionally cured, meaning they no longer needed drugs, by attacking the virus soon after infection.

"They still have HIV, it is not eradication of HIV, it is a kind of remission of the infection."

Their latest study, in the journal PLoS Pathogens, analysed what happened to the immune system of the patients.

Early treatment may limit the number of unassailable HIV hideouts that are formed. However, the researchers said it was "unclear" why only some patients were functionally cured.

Dr Andrew Freedman, a reader in infectious diseases at Cardiff University School of Medicine, said the findings were "certainly interesting".

"The presumption is that they've started treatment very early and the virus hasn't spread to so many of the long-term reservoirs and that's why it works.

"Whether they'll control it forever, or whether it'll be for a number of years and subsequently they will progress and the virus will reappear, we don't know."

However, he cautioned that many patients would be diagnosed much later than in this study.

Deborah Jack, the chief executive of the National AIDS Trust said it was "exciting times" in progress towards an HIV cure, but the key was early treatment.

"This just underlines the importance of people being testing and diagnosed early. Currently half of people living with HIV in the UK are diagnosed late - indicating that they are likely to have been infected for five years."

Source: BBC News  

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Dark Chocolate May Lower Blood Pressure

There may be good news for people looking for an excuse to munch on a couple of squares of chocolate after a review showed the treat could reduce blood pressure.

An analysis of 20 studies showed that eating dark chocolate daily resulted in a slight reduction in blood pressure.

The Cochrane Group's report said chemicals in cocoa, chocolate's key ingredient, relaxed blood vessels.

However, there are healthier ways of lowering blood pressure.

The theory is that cocoa contains flavanols which produce a chemical in the body called nitric oxide. This 'relaxes' blood vessels making it easier for blood to pass through them, lowering the blood pressure.

However, studies have thrown up mixed results. The Cochrane analysis combined previous studies to see if there was really an effect.

There was a huge range in the amount of cocoa consumed, from 3g to 105g a day, by each participant. However, the overall picture was a small reduction in blood pressure.

A systolic blood pressure under 120mmHg (millimetres of mercury) is considered normal. Cocoa resulted in a 2-3mmHg reduction in blood pressure. However, the length of the trials was only two weeks so the longer term effects are unknown.

Lead researcher Karin Ried, from the National Institute of Integrative Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, said: "Although we don't yet have evidence for any sustained decrease in blood pressure, the small reduction we saw over the short term might complement other treatment options and might contribute to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease."

High blood pressure is both common and deadly. It has been linked to 54% of strokes worldwide and 47% of cases of coronary heart disease.

However, chocolate packs plenty of fat and sugar as well as cocoa so is not the ideal way of lowering blood pressure.

There has also been a warning in the Lancet medical journal that dark chocolate may contain fewer flavanols than you might think. Dark chocolate contains a higher cocoa count than milk chocolate so should contain more flavanols, however, they can also be removed as they have a bitter taste.

Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "It's difficult to tell exactly what sort of quantities of flavanol-rich cocoa would be needed to observe a beneficial effect and the best way for people to obtain it.

"With most of the studies carried out over a short period of time it's also not possible to know for sure whether the benefits could be sustained in the long term. The 100g of chocolate that had to be consumed daily in a number of the studies would also come with 500 calories - that's a quarter of a woman's recommended daily intake.

"Beans, apricots, blackberries and apples also contain flavanols and, while containing lower amounts than in cocoa, they won't come with the unhealthy extras found in chocolate."

Source: BBC News  

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Caffeine May Provide Some Parkinson's Relief

A new, small study found people with Parkinson's disease who took caffeine pills saw slight but noticeable improvements in movement problems related to the condition.

The findings warrant further study, Canadian researchers said. And there are still questions such as if patients would develop a caffeine tolerance, eventually blunting the benefits of coffee or caffeine pills.

"It's a bit too early to say, 'Everybody should be drinking coffee,'" said lead researcher Dr. Ronald Postuma, from McGill University in Montreal.

"Does it really make a difference over years of Parkinson's disease? I don't think we know."

Still, he said, caffeine is generally safe, so it could be worth trying for some patients with Parkinson's who aren't doing great and also have trouble with sleepiness.

About 50,000 to 60,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease every year, according to the National Parkinson Foundation. Typical symptoms include shaking and trouble with movement and coordination.

There's no cure for the disease, but some medications can make symptoms less severe.

For the new study, Postuma and his colleagues randomly assigned 61 people with Parkinson's and in their mid-60s, on average, to six weeks of caffeine pills or identical drug-free placebo pills.

Participants in the caffeine group took 100 milligrams when they woke up and again after lunch for the first three weeks, then were bumped up to 200 milligrams twice a day for the rest of the study.

In comparison, a cup of brewed coffee typically has about 100 milligrams of caffeine and a 12-ounce soda has between 30 and 50 milligrams.

After the study period, people taking caffeine didn't report a clear improvement in sleepiness. But that group did improve on an overall scale of Parkinson's symptoms, including on measures of muscle rigidity and other movement problems.

The average benefit was a decrease of about five points on the disease rating scale, according to findings published Wednesday in Neurology. Postuma said a typical patient who's had Parkinson's for a few years would have a score of 30 to 40.

"Five points on the scale is enough to say on average, 'Yeah, I feel a bit better, things are a little bit easier,'" he told media.

"It's not a massive difference," he added - but even a small change "can have a real effect on people's lives."

Postuma said the main drug prescribed for Parkinson's, levodopa, has a benefit three to four times greater than what his team found for caffeine pills.

"This would not replace levodopa by any means if it were more clearly demonstrated to help with the symptoms, but it's not trivial either," said Dr. Michael Schwarzschild, a neurologist from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who wrote a commentary published with the study.

About half of patients in both groups had some sort of side effects due to the caffeine or placebo pills, most commonly stomach aches.

People who drink caffeine throughout life are known to have a lower risk of getting Parkinson's in the first place - but that doesn't mean coffee, tea or soda necessarily have a direct effect on the disease and its symptoms.

It could be that there are other differences between coffee drinkers and non-drinkers that put people at risk for disease, or that people with very early, undiagnosed Parkinson's tend to stop using caffeine.

But because of how caffeine acts on in the brain, and the relationship of those actions to other chemicals involved in Parkinson's, it's plausible caffeine could be playing a role itself, according to Postuma.

"For the time being, it does look like it could be a useful thing for Parkinson's disease. Time will tell."

In the meantime, a little extra caffeine probably won't hurt, researchers said.

The pills can be bought over-the-counter for about 10 cents each.

"This isn't yet at the point where it should be considered treatment for Parkinson's," Schwarzschi said "but because it's so pervasive and many if not most patients with Parkinson's consume at least some caffeine, it's reasonable to take into consideration when talking to the doctor... that there may be this additional benefit."

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Grapefruit Juice Can Give Cancer Drugs Dramatic Boost

Drinking a glass of grapefruit juice a day could dramatically increase the effectiveness of cancer drugs, according to a study.

Patients who combined the fruit with a specific anti-cancer drug received the same benefits as they would have from taking more than three times of the medication by itself.

Researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine said the combination could help patients avoid side effects associated with high doses of the drug and reduce the cost of the medication.

Grapefruit juice is known to prevent enzymes in the intestine that break down certain drugs, meaning more can enter the blood stream. This means doctors often tell patients to avoid the fruit when taking particular medications as it can cause serious side-effects or overdose.

Scientists now wanted to see if they could harness this effect. Study leader Dr Ezra Cohen said: 'Grapefruit juice, and drugs with a similar mechanism, can significantly increase blood levels of many drugs.

'But this has long been considered an overdose hazard. Instead, we wanted to see if grapefruit juice can be used in a controlled fashion to increase the availability and efficacy of sirolimus.'

Sirolimus or rapamycin is used to prevent rejection in organ transplantation but is also being tested as a treatment for certain tumours.

In a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, the Chicago team showed that patients who drank eight ounces of grapefruit a day increased their sirolimus levels by 350 per cent.

A drug called ketoconazole that also slows drug metabolism increased sirolimus levels by 500 percent.

The effect of grapefruit on the enzymes in the intestine begins within a few hours of consumption and gradually wears off over a few days.

Dr Cohen and colleagues organized three simultaneous phase-1 trials of sirolimus. Patients received only sirolimus, sirolimus plus ketoconazole, or sirolimus plus grapefruit juice. They enrolled 138 patients with incurable cancer and no known effective therapy.

The first patients started with very low sirolimus doses, but the amounts increased as the study went on, to see how much of the drug was required in each setting to reach targeted levels, so that patients got the greatest anti-cancer effect with the least side effects.

The optimal cancer-fighting dose for those taking sirolimus was about 90 mg per week. At doses above 45 mg, however, the drug caused serious gastrointestinal problems, such as nausea and diarrhea, so patients taking sirolimus alone switched to 45 mg twice a week.

The optimal doses for the other two groups were much lower. Patients taking sirolimus plus ketoconazole, needed only 16 mg per week to maintain the same levels of drug in the blood. Those taking sirolimus plus grapefruit juice, needed between 25 and 35 mg of sirolimus per week.

No patients in the study had a complete response, but about 30 percent of patients in the three trials had stable disease, meaning a period when their cancers did not advance.

One patient receiving grapefruit juice had a partial response - significant tumor shrinkage - that lasted for more than three years.

'This is the first cancer study to harness this drug-food interaction,' the authors noted.

Source: Daily Mail

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US Approves New Weight-loss Pill

US health regulators have approved a weight-loss pill for the first time in 13 years.

Belviq, made by Arena Pharmaceutical, can be used by obese or overweight adults with at least one condition.

The drug achieved only modest results in clinical studies, helping people lose on average about 5% of their body weight.

Belviq was rejected in 2010 because of concerns over tumours that developed in animals tested with the drug.

After San Diego-based Arena resubmitted its application with more data, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found little risk of tumours in humans using the drug.

The medication is expected to launch in 2013.

Belviq is designed to block appetite signals in the brain, making patients feel fuller with smaller amounts of food.

It has been approved for use in obese adults with a body mass index of 30 or greater.

The drug can also be used by overweight adults with a BMI of 27 or greater if they have at least one other condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol.

The FDA warned that Belviq is not for women who are pregnant or nursing.

With US obesity rates approaching 35% in adults and associated healthcare costs on the rise, many doctors have urged health regulators to give the green light to new weight-loss treatments.

But the agency has set high standards for such medication after safety problems with previously popular weight-loss drugs.

The so-called fen-phen combination had to be pulled from the market in 1997 after being linked to heart valve damage.

In a statement, the FDA said Belviq did not appear to carry the same risks.

However, known side effects of Belviq do include depression, migraine and memory lapses.

The FDA-approved label says the drug should not be used for more than 12 weeks if a 5% weight loss does not occur.

Arena will be required to conduct six studies after marketing the drug, including a study on the drug's effect on long-term heart health.

Source: BBC News  

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Genome Of 18-week-old Foetus Deciphered

A blood sample from mum and saliva from dad have been used to sequence the genome of a foetus in the womb, by US researchers.

At the time, the mother was just 18 weeks into the pregnancy.

The doctors said the findings, reported in Science Translational Medicine, could eventually lead to foetuses being screened for thousands of genetic disorders in a single and safe test.

However, they also caution it would raise "many ethical questions".

The scientists at the University of Washington used pieces of the foetus' DNA which naturally float around in the pregnant woman's blood.

These fragments were then pieced together using the parents' DNA as a guide to build a complete 'map' of the foetus's genome.
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    This work opens up the possibility that we will be able to scan the whole genome of the foetus for more than 3,000 single-gene disorders through a single, non-invasive test”

Dr Jay Shendure University of Washington

They then compared the genetic map drawn 18 weeks into pregnancy with the foetus' actual DNA taken from the umbilical cord after birth. It was 98% accurate.
Better tests

The researchers hope their findings will one day be used to test safely for genetic diseases.

Tests do already exist such as those for Down's syndrome. To test for Down's syndrome a sample is taken from the sac around the developing foetus, which comes with a risk of miscarriage.

They also say new genetic defects, which are not present in the parents, could be picked up if the technique could be improved. Such mutations form in the eggs, sperm or at conception.

There were 44 new mutations in the foetus and the screen at 18 weeks found 39 of them. However, the screening also detected 25 million possible new mutations or false positives.

One of the researchers, Dr Jay Shendure, said: "This work opens up the possibility that we will be able to scan the whole genome of the foetus for more than 3,000 single-gene disorders through a single, non-invasive test."
'Challenging'

Professor of molecular medicine at the University of Leeds, David Bonthron, told the BBC: "It's interesting, very clever and also technically very challenging."

He said genetics was advancing at an incredible pace, but cautioned: "I can't envisage clinical use anywhere really for several years at least."

He said such tests would raise the question: "What are you going to do with the information?

"That's a societal question, it's a question about what society thinks is acceptable."

Josephine Quintavalle, from the Pro-life Alliance, said: "Information itself may be neutral but genetic testing in utero currently almost inevitably leads to abortion of the unborn child.

"The easier and more comprehensive the test the more likely it is that such abortions will increase."

Source: BBC News 

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