Therapy, Health and Fitness

No Side Effects in Trial of Swine Flu Shot

2009-08-23T15:17:29Z

WHO says swine flu will continue to spread in an “explosion” of cases in the coming months, jeopardizing the health of many around the world.

WHO’s Western Pacific director cautions of an “explosion in case numbers” in many countries, which could see H1N1 incidences double every three to four days for several months as temperatures decrease.

The virus has already claimed the lives of almost 1,800 people worldwide and will continue to cause deaths internationally, especially in developing countries, which are ill-equipped to battle the strain.

Federal health official: There have been no serious side effects from the first set of injections of the new swine flu vaccine.

Clinical trials in adults began on Aug. 7. “There are no red flags regarding safety,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is overseeing the trials.

The vaccine will be tested in about 4,500 people. That is far too few to pick up subtle side effects, but the virus strain in the vaccine is close enough to one strain in seasonal shots so that side effects are expected to be similar.

The trials will help officials decide whether to recommend one dose or two. Even with seasonal flu shots, young children who have never had the flu sometimes need two doses to get a “take” — vaccinologist jargon for a protective immune response.

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What You Should Know About Arthritis

2009-08-22T12:09:23Z

Arthritis, which comes in different forms, is inflammation of the joints. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout are the three most common forms of arthritis among seniors. Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent. None is contagious.

Osteoarthritis

You get osteoarthritis when cartilage – the cushioning tissue within the joints – wears down. This produces stiffness and pain. The disease affects both men and women. By age 65, more than 50 percent of us have osteoarthritis in at least one joint.

You can get osteoarthritis in any joint, but it usually strikes those that support weight. Common signs of osteoarthritis include joint pain, swelling, and tenderness. However, only a third of people whose x-rays show osteoarthritis report any symptoms.

Treatments for osteoarthritis include exercise, joint care, dieting, medicines and surgery. For pain relief, doctors usually start with acetaminophen, the medicine in Tylenol, because the side effects are minimal. If acetaminophen does not relieve pain, then non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen may be used.

The dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are used by many who say the supplements can relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis, which is characterized by inflammation of the joint lining, is very different from osteoarthritis. It occurs when the immune system turns against the body. It not only affects the joints, but may also attack other parts of the body such as the lungs and eyes. People with rheumatoid arthritis may feel sick.

There’s a symmetry to rheumatoid arthritis. For example, if the right knee is affected, it’s likely the left knee will suffer, too. Women are much more likely than men to get rheumatoid arthritis.

Treatments for rheumatoid arthritis include exercise, medication and surgery. Reducing stress is important.

Some drugs for rheumatoid arthritis relieve pain. Some reduce inflammation. And then there are the DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs), which can often slow the disease.

Gout

Gout usually attacks at night. Stress, alcohol, drugs or an illness can trigger gout. It’s caused by a build-up of crystals of uric acid in a joint. Uric acid is in all human tissue and is found in foods.

Often, gout affects joints in the lower part of the body such as the ankles, heels, knees, and especially the big toes. The disease is more common in men. Early attacks usually subside within 3 to 10 days, even without treatment, and the next attack may not occur for months or even years.

Most people with gout are able to control their symptoms with treatment. The most common treatments are high doses of oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or corticosteroids, which are taken by mouth or injected into the affected joint. Patients often begin to improve within a few hours of treatment.

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A Better Therapy for Lung Cancer

2009-08-21T15:35:40Z

Researchers found AstraZeneca’s lung cancer pill Iressa, or gefitinib, worked far better than chemotherapy in people from East Asia whose tumors had specific mutations in genes for the epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR.

In another, a Spanish team found that people in Europe whose tumors also had mutations in the EGFR gene were more likely to be helped by Roche’s erlotinib, brand name Tarceva, than other lung cancer patients.

Both studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, reinforce prior findings and offer new evidence that screening tests may be useful to match patients with the best therapy.

“Given the fact that the cost of these drugs is exceedingly high … I think we have to use them in selective subtypes, the ones most likely to respond,” Dr. Adi Gazdar of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who wrote a commentary, said in a telephone interview.

“If you can select out the right subtype, that is an important finding, and an important cost savings as well.”

Gazdar said the findings in the East Asians were strong enough to suggest that Iressa might be effective as a first choice therapy for carefully selected patients.

IMPROVING ODDS

Drug companies and regulators increasingly are turning to so-called companion diagnostics — tests that look for specific genes or proteins — as a way to increase the odds a high-cost biotechnology drug will work in specific patients.

AstraZeneca stopped most U.S. sales of Iressa in 2004 after it was found to help only about 10 percent to 15 percent of lung cancer patients. But several studies have suggested that some people — notably nonsmokers, Asians and women — did better on Iressa.

In the latest study, Dr. Masahiro Fukuoka of Kinki University in Osaka, Japan, and Dr. Tony Mok of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and colleagues analyzed data on a group of 261 East Asians who had been nonsmokers or light smokers and whose tumors had the EGFR mutation.

Nearly 25 percent of people who had the mutations and who took Iressa survived a year without their cancer advancing, compared with just 6.7 percent of those who got chemotherapy.

Gazdar said while Iressa did not save any lives in the end, that may be because it is often not offered until other treatments failed. “I think they make a good case that it should be used as first-line therapy,” he said.

For the second study, a team lead by Dr. Rafael Rosell of the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Spain screened more than 2,100 patients with non-small cell lung cancer for EGFR mutations.

Like earlier studies in East Asians, they found people who had the mutations were more likely to respond to Tarceva. And it showed that diagnostic testing for EGFR mutations can be done quickly, and on a large scale, Gazdar said.

“The evidence is building that there is potentially a particular benefit for the group of people who have EGFR mutations,” said Charlotte Arnold, a spokeswoman for Genentech, now wholly owned by Roche.

She said Roche is conducting a late-stage study in Europe looking at the effectiveness of Tarceva as a first-line treatment for lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations. The study incorporates the use of a companion diagnostic test.

Tarceva, which costs about $3,600 per month, is already approved for lung cancer patients who have failed at least one round of chemotherapy.

Lung cancer kills 1.2 million people a year and is the top cause of cancer death globally.

By Julie Steenhuysen, Maggie Fox and Xavier Briand, Reuters

Fed: No fish can escape mercury pollution.

2009-08-20T09:56:36Z

The study by the U.S. Geological Survey is the most comprehensive look to date at mercury in the nation’s streams. From 1998 to 2005, scientists collected and tested more than a thousand fish, including bass, trout and catfish, from 291 streams nationwide.

“This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation’s waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.

Mercury consumed by eating fish can damage the nervous system and cause learning disabilities in developing fetuses and young children. The main source of mercury to most of the streams tested, according to the researchers, is emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The mercury released from smokestacks here and abroad rains down into waterways, where natural processes convert it into methylmercury — a form that allows the toxin to wind its way up the food chain into fish.

Some of the highest levels in fish were detected in the remote blackwater streams along the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, where bacteria in surrounding forests and wetlands help in the conversion. The second-highest concentration of mercury was detected in largemouth bass from the North Fork of the Edisto River near Fairview Crossroads, S.C.

“Unfortunately, it’s the case that almost any fish you test will have mercury now,” said Andrew Rypel, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Mississippi who has studied mercury contamination in fish throughout the Southeast. He said other research has shown mercury in fish from isolated areas of Alaska and Canada, and species that live in the deep ocean.

Mercury was also found in high concentrations in western streams that drain areas mined for mercury and gold. The most contaminated sample came from smallmouth bass collected from the Carson River at Dayton, Nev., an area tainted with mercury from gold mining. At 58 other streams, mostly in the West, the acidic conditions created by mining could also be contributing to the mercury levels, the researchers said.

“Some ecosystems are more sensitive than others,” said Barbara Scudder, the lead USGS scientist on the study.

All but two states — Alaska and Wyoming — have issued fish-consumption advisories because of mercury contamination. Some of the streams studied already had warnings.

“This is showing that the problem is much more widespread,” said Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst for the Environmental Working Group, which has pushed for stronger advisories on consumption of mercury-laden fish and controls on the sources of mercury pollution. “If you are living in an area that doesn’t have a mercury advisory, you should use caution.”

Earlier this year, the Obama administration said it would begin crafting a new regulations to control mercury emissions from power plants after a federal appeals court threw out plans drafted by the Bush administration and favored by industry. The Bush rule would have allowed power plants to buy and sell pollution credits, instead of requiring each plant to install equipment to reduce mercury pollution.

The EPA also has also proposed a new regulation to clamp down on emissions of mercury from cement plants.

By DINA CAPPIELLO, via Yahoo

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U.S. Geological Survey: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/mercury/

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Study: Uterine Disorder Without Surgery

2009-08-20T09:50:20Z

Endometriosis is a chronic gynaecological disease in which cells from the lining of the uterus grow in other regions, especially the fallopian tubes and ovaries.

The condition, which affects 10 to 15 percent of women of reproductive age, can cause infertility, painful periods and pain during sexual intercourse.

To date, the only sure way to diagnose endometriosis has been a form of surgery known as laparoscopy whereby a telescope lens is inserted into the body cavity through a small incision.

While relatively non-invasive, this so-called “key-hole” surgery can also aggravate infertility.

The new technique avoids surgery altogether, according to the study.

Researchers led by Ian Fraser at the University of Sydney and Maomar al-Jefout of Mu’tah University in Karak, Jordan, found that a small tissue sample taken from the uterine lining with a device inserted through the vagina works just as well.

By checking for the presence of telltale nerve-fibers, the test provides an accurate diagnosis for endometriosis, they reported in Human Reproduction.

In a separate study in the same journal, a team led by Thomas D’Hooghe at the University of Leuven Fertility Centre in Belgium showed that the density of nerve fibres in the lining of the uterus, known as the endometrium, was about 14 times higher in women with the condition.

A specific marker used to identify nerve fibres predicted with nearly 100 percent accuracy the presence of endometriosis.

A clinical comparison with diagnosis via laparoscopy showed that the biopsy technique correctly identified the disorder 98 percent of the time.

For just under 20 percent of women who did not have endometriosis, however, the new test registered “false positives”.

“Endometrial biopsy is clearly less invasive than laparoscopy, and this test could help to reduce the current lengthy delay in diagnosis of the condition,” Jefout said in a statement.

Cannabis Based Medicines May Help Fight Prostate Cancer

2009-08-19T09:52:05Z

Cannabinoids, a chemicals in cannabis have been found to fight and stop prostate cancer cells from growing in the laboratory. Ines Diaz-Laviada and colleagues from the University of Alcala in Madrid also tested one compound on mice and discovered it produced a significant reduction in tumor growth.

Their research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, underlines the growing interest in the medical use of active chemicals called cannabinoids, which are found in marijuana.

Experts, however, stressed that the research was still exploratory and many more years of testing would be needed to work out how to apply the findings to the treatment of cancer in humans.

“This is interesting research which opens a new avenue to explore potential drug targets but it is at a very early stage,” said Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, which owns the journal.

“It absolutely isn’t the case that men might be able to fight prostate cancer by smoking cannabis,” she added

The cannabinoids tested by the Spanish team are thought to work against prostate cancer because they block a receptor, or molecular doorway, on the surface of tumour cells. This stops them from dividing.

In effect, the cancer cell receptors can recognize and “talk to” chemicals found in cannabis, said Diaz-Laviada.

“These chemicals can stop the division and growth of prostate cancer cells and could become a target for new research into potential drugs to treat prostate cancer,” she said.

Her team’s work with two cannabinoids — called methanandamide and JWH-015 — is the first demonstration that such cannabis chemicals prevent cancer cells from multiplying.

Some drug companies are already exploring the possibilities of cannabinoids in cancer, including British-based cannabis medicine specialist GW Pharmaceuticals.

It is collaborating with Japan’s Otsuka on early-stage research into using cannabis extracts to tackle prostate cancer — the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men — as well as breast and brain cancer.

GW has already developed an under-the-tongue spray called Sativex for the relief of some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, which it plans to market in Europe with Bayer and Almirall.

Other attempts to exploit the cannibinoid system have met with mixed success. Sanofi-Aventis was forced to withdraw its weight-loss drug Acomplia from the market last year because of links to mental disorders.

By Ben Hirschler (Reuters)

Tobacco To Fight Against Stomach Virus

2009-08-19T09:45:05Z

Tobacco plants might yield a cheap and easy-to-administer vaccine against a pesky stomach virus called norovirus, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

They found a way to make tobacco produce a protein that can be used to make a nasal vaccine against norovirus, which causes diarrhea and vomiting, especially on cruise ships, in restaurants, schools and on military bases.

“Under appropriate medical care it is not life-threatening. It is just very, very inconvenient,” Charles Arntzen, a plant biologist at Arizona State University, told a news conference at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 23 million cases a year of acute gastroenteritis — stomach and intestinal upset — are due to norovirus, also known as Norwalk virus.

Arntzen and colleagues used a genetically engineered plant virus called the tobacco mosaic virus to start their vaccine.

“We force it to make the protein which is the vaccine against norovirus,” Arntzen told the news conference. “We call them nanoparticle vaccines because the protein we produce in our tobacco plant self-assembles into a little round ball.”

The immune system recognizes this ball, called a virus-like particle or a capsid, as if it were a virus and attacks it, Arntzen said. “It is empty. It cannot cause disease,” he said.

Tests have suggested the vaccine would work better in the nose than taken orally, probably because immune cells in the nasal passages are more inclined to take up the vaccine.

PREPARING TESTS

Arntzen said his team has U.S. National Institutes of Health support for a clinical trial in people. “But we have been waiting until we can get the best formulation,” he said.

ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., a subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings Inc, said on Tuesday it had a collaborative relationship with Arizona State University to use its immune system booster Viprovex with the vaccine.

Arntzen, who has also tested potato-based vaccines, noted that other teams are making plant-based vaccines.

A team at Stanford University reported last year it used tobacco to make a so-called therapeutic vaccine to treat a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“I would say 2009-2010 are going to be breakthrough years for plant technology in the vaccine field,” Arntzen said.

He is not sure of the potential market for his vaccine.

“It probably will be an electable vaccine — that is, adults will choose to buy it. It is not something that doctors will tell them they must have.”

Hospitals, travelers and the military are potential customers, he said. Norovirus sticks to surfaces well and can live a long time unless thoroughly cleaned off.

“If someone has diarrhea and they touch a doorknob or something the next person walking through has a very good chance of picking up that disease,” Arntzen said.

The technology could be applied to other vaccines, Arntzen said — an issue that has become important as companies race to make vaccines against the new pandemic H1N1 swine flu virus. Making influenza vaccines in eggs takes five to six months.

Plants grow quickly and Arntzen said enough vaccine for clinical trials could be ready within eight to 10 weeks. Vaccine maker Novavax Inc. said on Tuesday it made its H1N1 vaccine, which uses virus-like particles grown in caterpillar cells, in four weeks.

by Maggie Fox,Todd Eastham

WHO Chief Urges Swine Flu Vigilance

2009-08-18T10:00:34Z

The world must remain on its guard against H1N1 influenza, which has been mild so far but could become more serious as the northern hemisphere heads into winter, the head of the World Health Organization said on Sunday.

Margaret Chan, on a visit to Tanzania, noted that most people infected with swine flu had suffered only mild symptoms but it affected certain groups such as pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions much more severely.

“Looking ahead in the weeks and months ahead, especially for countries in the northern hemisphere, when they will be going into the winter, we need to maintain our vigilance and see how the disease will evolve,” Chan told reporters.

The Geneva-based United Nations agency declared H1N1 a full pandemic in June. It has now spread to nearly 180 countries.

In its latest update last week, the WHO said laboratory-confirmed deaths from the flu strain totalled at least 1,462. While the WHO says at least 177,000 people have caught the disease the real number is probably in the millions.

Chan noted that many people in Africa already suffer from diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, or are undernourished, putting them in the vulnerable category.

“These people would be at greater risk of getting severe disease,” she said.

Chan repeated the WHO’s promise to ensure that developing countries receive supplies of vaccines against H1N1 when they are available, recalling that France’s Sanofi-Aventis and Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline had pledged to donate 150 million and 50 million doses respectively.

But with the northern hemisphere heading into winter, the priority would be developing countries there, she said.

She was talking on her arrival in Tanzania for a visit focusing on efforts to prevent malaria.
by George Obulutsa, Jonathan Lynn

Study: Gene Predicts Response to Hepatitis C Drugs

2009-08-17T11:10:33Z

A slight difference in a person’s genetic code could determine whether they respond to a grueling round of treatment for hepatitis C infection or not, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.

Tests looking for that deviation could be used to help decide which patients are most likely to benefit, they said. The finding may also explain why some racial and ethnic groups fare more poorly on standard treatments than others.

“This discovery enables us to give patients valuable information that will help them and their doctors decide what is best for them,” genetics researcher David Goldstein of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said in a statement.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne liver disease that can lead to chronic liver problems, liver cancer, cirrhosis and death. The virus affects an estimated 3.2 million people in the United States alone and 170 million worldwide.

Treatment typically involves 48 weeks of interferon plus the antiviral drug ribavirin. Some patients develop such taxing side effects that they stop treatment. Blacks are less likely to respond than whites.

Until now, no one has known why.

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Osteoporosis drugs effective in killing flu viruses

2009-08-16T12:20:35Z

Two existing drugs used to treat osteoporosis may be effective in killing influenza viruses, including the new H1N1 swine flu and the H5N1 bird flu viruses, researchers in Hong Kong have found.

The two drugs are pamidronate and zoledronate, which are marketed by Novartis AG under the brand names Aredia and Reclast, respectively.

In their experiment, the researchers exposed human cells that had been infected with the influenza viruses to the two drugs.

They observed that the drugs triggered extra production of a type of white blood cell called yd-T cells, which went on to kill human cells that were infected with the flu viruses.

Flu viruses can only replicate in living human or animal cells and killing infected cells would stop the viruses from replicating, the researchers said.

Professor Lau Yu-lung at the University of Hong Kong’s pediatrics and adolescent medicine department described the infected human cells as “factories that will produce viruses.”

“These drugs attack the viruses specifically … This approach kills the factories that are producing viruses.”

Malik Peiris, also part of the research team, said the drugs could enhance immune responses of the human body.

That was especially important as flu viruses mutate constantly, which reduces the efficacy of vaccines, he added.

The researchers plan to move next into animal and then human clinical testing.

by Tan Ee Lyn; Editing by Bill Tarrant

Therapy, Health and Fitness

No Side Effects in Trial of Swine Flu Shot

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WHO Chief Urges Swine Flu Vigilance

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