Health Meaning

The case of Telltale Fingertips -

club-shaped fingers may be a warning sign for serious heart and lung disease, but the cause of the disease remained a mystery for more than 2400 years. Now researchers may have taken a step toward solving the puzzle by identifying the mutation that grows a rare type of clubbing.

Clubbing, or swelling of the fingers, is one of the first symptoms of medical students learn to look for because it can signal lung cancer, heart disease, or other conditions serious. The father of medicine himself, Hippocrates, first described clubbing about 450 BCE, but researchers have yet to understand what triggers swelling.

Seeking a genetic index, a team led by David Bonthron, a clinical geneticist at the University of Leeds, UK, went to get the DNA glitch behind primary OAH (PHO). The rare, representing only 3% to 5% of clubbing, resulting in the end of the extended fingers and joint pain, but does not cause the other underlying disorders - although some patients also develop heart disease

team Bonthron. scanned the genomes of six PHO patients from three different families and found that they all had a mutation in the HPGD gene. The gene encodes an enzyme that breaks down prostaglandins, hormonelike molecules that promote inflammation and help regulate water balance and blood circulation - a process that could affect clubbing. Further examination showed that the patients had levels of PGE2 prostaglandin called higher than normal, confirming that the mutation leads to a defective enzyme that does not break down properly prostaglandins, the researchers report this week Nature Genetics . The discovery suggests that a urine test for elevated prostaglandin levels could help doctors diagnose this type of clubbing and that the condition could be reversed with existing drugs that block prostaglandins.

The overproduction of prostaglandins may also be the cause of the disco associated with lung cancer, heart disease and other diseases, said Bonthron. Although patients with these conditions have no HPGD mutation, he said, other aspects of their conditions, such as tumors that occur with lung cancer, trigger an increase in prostaglandins.

Manuel Martinez-Lavin, rheumatologist at the National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico City, Mexico, agreed that the discovery could offer insight into the cause of other forms of clubbing. But he doubts that high prostaglandins directly produce finger swelling. Indeed, the compounds were used to treat peptic ulcers, and there is no evidence of abnormalities of the fingers in these patients, he noted.

Instead, says Martinez-Lavin, high levels of prostaglandins could somehow afford another molecule called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to cause the disco. Previous studies have shown that PHO patients have high levels of VEGF, which can trigger symptoms of clubbing, including fluid accumulation, he said.

Related Sites

• More clubbing
• Learn more about primary OAH

Pathogens and prayer -

The same diseases that afflict . Humanity can also lead one of the fundamental elements of human culture, a new study suggests. A statistical analysis showed an association between higher rates of infectious diseases and of religious diversity in the world. The results have already sparked debate within the academic community; Critics question the validity of the interpretation, and proponents say the discovery could provide a new perspective on why religions exist and what role they play in society.

The history of individual religions are well documented, but the evolution of religion itself is not well understood. Two schools of thought have dominated the debate. The first view religion as a "byproduct" of other evolutionary adaptations such as large brains. The second religion sees itself as adaptive, arguing the man's role in social cohesion and other traits may have helped him survive.

Corey Fincher, a biologist at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, falls into the second camp. Religion brand group members, he says, and can deter people interact with those outside the group. In areas where there is an infectious disease, it can be an advantage: No foreign means external pathogens. Isolation can also prevent the exchange of ideas, religions or, in this case. This could lead to the rise of many independent religious systems.

Fincher and his colleagues looked for an association between religious diversity and disease rates of a nation. They used World Christian Encyclopedia Barrett count the number of religions in 219 countries and verified against the pervasiveness of the disease in these areas, as indicated in a global database of epidemiology. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between the prevalence of the disease and religious diversity, religion or wealth. This persisted even when the researchers controlled for other variables that could affect the number of religions in a country the size, population, religious freedom, and economic inequality. To correct the different types of human settlement in different parts of the world, they also tested the association of disease and religious diversity in six major regions of the world; the correlation still held true.

The results, published online yesterday by the Proceedings of the Royal Society B , offer a new answer to the question of why religions exist, says Fincher. "Religions are for marking, but at a more fundamental level, may be social in itself remarkable due to stress of infectious diseases."

But Courtney Bender, a sociologist of religion at Columbia University, disagrees. Religions around the beach in the world to be very open very closed to foreigners, she said, "You can not just say religions have strong limits" Indeed, traditional religious communities often interact with those outside. their own group for trade or military alliances, said Richard Sosis, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Connecticut (U Conn), Storrs. Yet Sosis welcomes the study as a "first step" to explain the diversity religious.

"I think [the researchers] are the introduction of an area that has been absent in the development of studies of religion and is potentially important," says anthropologist Candace Alcorta also U Conn Alcorta notes that the existence of large empires in the tropics, the rich diseases -. such as the Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula - seems to contradict the findings of Fincher. But the questions the study raises could inspire research that will advance the field forward, she said.

Pig offers hope for cystic fibrosis -

The gene responsible for cystic fibrosis (CF) was discovered there near 20 years, but since then progress to conquer this devastating lung disease has been slow. Now researchers have a new tool designed to develop pigs CF They are considered a breakthrough because they are born with the disease features as those observed in infants, while mouse models are not.

Approximately a 4,000 babies in the United States is born with CF. It is caused by a defect in the gene CFTR , which generates an ion channel protein that moves salt and water across the cell membrane in certain tissues. The lungs of CF patients are normal at birth, but over time become clogged with sticky mucus and becomes vulnerable to infection; despite new treatments, many patients die in their 20s or 30s. The mouse created for the CFTR default are far from the human reality of the disease: They do not develop disease or lung injury to other organs such as the pancreas. And it also means they do not provide much insight into how the disease progresses in children. So Michael Welsh, physician and molecular physiologist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, sought a better animal model "frustration," he said.

there

Five years, Welsh teamed with animal scientist Randall Prather of the University of Missouri, Columbia, which develops transgenic pigs ( science NOW, January 2, 02). They have disabled the first CFTR existing gene in pig cells then cloned pigs from these cells, which was not easy because the two stages have been developed that in mice. Last April, the researchers reported these findings in Journal of Clinical Investigation , describing the pigs with a silent copy of CFTR . they then mated those pigs to see if the descent with two bad copies of CFTR to develop a CF-like disease. "We did not know if we were to end up with a big mouse," Welsh said.

Instead, they got something much closer to a human with CF, reports of the Welsh team in this week's issue of science . The newborn piglets have many of the same signs of CF observed in infants, including transportation impaired salt, intestinal blockages and pancreas and liver damage. - But normal lungs

One difference is that, although only 15% of infants are born with an intestinal blockage, all pigs were, and many had to be euthanized young. The team performed a surgery to correct the blockage on some pigs and watching as they grow for signs of lung problems. "We're excited, but we're still holding our breath," said Welsh. He and several others founded a company that will sell the pigs to pharmaceutical companies and researchers studying FC

Others in the area are CF announce the arrival of pork. "It is a remarkable seminal achievement," said Eric Sorscher of the University of Alabama, Birmingham. He and others say it should be useful not only for the study of the natural history of the disease, but also for the improvement of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis, which has had limited success. "it is a beautiful piece of work and it's good to see happen," confirms Richard Boucher of the University of Carolina North, Chapel Hill.

FDA Mooooves Away From Ban on antibiotics of cattle -

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Food and Drug Administration of the United States has quietly dropped plans to end the use of certain long-term antibiotics in animals that end up on our plates. Many public health officials have long worried about the overuse of antibiotics in people and animals, which can promote drug resistance, now a major problem in many hospitals. Antibiotics in cattle, pigs and other animals killed for food were particularly controversial. On the one hand, they can protect animals against some infections and growth. On the other hand, for at least 20 years, researchers have known that humans who develop infections, such as salmonella, after eating meat from animals fed large amounts of antibiotics are less likely to respond to related drugs.

In July, the FDA said it would push against the use of cephalosporin antibiotics in animals. In late November, he reversed his decision days before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The FDA said in a notice in the Federal Register he had received "many substantive comments" on the prohibition and was "this action so that it can fully reflect these observations. "A spokesman for the agency said FDA could then implement the ban.

Obama Targets FDA -

It is expected that the Obama administration will appoint one of several major critics of the US Food and Drug Administration to run the beleaguered agency. Yesterday the President pointed out in a pre-Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer on NBC that he is willing to give wide berth the next FDA head in fixing things:

Matt Lauer: He there has been a massive peanut butter product recall in the country in recent weeks. Most track products track down a plant in Georgia that has a bit of a history of sending products even though there were traces of salmonella found.

The question the obvious question people want to know, is the FDA doing its job

tHE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the FDA has not been able to take certain these things as fast as I think they catch. And so we will do a complete review of FDA operations. I do not want to prejudge this particular case, but there have been enough cases in recent years - and the bare minimum we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat Peanut Butter.

Journal Latest to Confront Conflict of interests -

newspaper publishers are always ready to ask authors to disclose individual contributions to documents and potential conflicts of interest. Today, the editors of PLoS Medicin ea published an editorial calling for publishers to do the same thing because their "political and scientific opinions, personal relationships and financial and professional interests can any conceivable interfere with the objectivity of their decisions. "

an example is the additional incentive of publishing documents that may be reprinted as best sellers, when drafting committees have to consider survival magazine in a world increasingly competitive, in addition to scientific merit.

editorial identifies four other issues that contribute to a bias in the medical literature and a lack of transparency in scientific publications, namely, recognition of interests beyond trade, the problem of ghost writing, undisclosed original protocols, and through the publication to only "" exciting results.

Fiona Godlee, editor of British Medical Journal said that "he is a good leader, together pulling the questions that have been well aired before but remain important, and it is excellent that PLoS defends the publication ethics in this way. "For now, the BMJ guidelines for publishing address these concerns," except that this time, we ask the authors, reviewers and editors to report only financial competing interests " Godlee said, "but this policy is under review, and the plan is to extend the obligation of non-financial interests as well in competition. "

Katrina Kelner, deputy editor for life sciences at science , agrees that" publication bias medically relevant results is a serious problem and newspapers can be a place where efforts can be made to ensure that this bias is minimized. " According Kelner Science already follows most of the guidelines presented by PLoS editorial. It also points out that open access is not the only way to avoid conflicts of interest introduced by sales reprint. If editors are strictly separated from management business newspaper publishers should never be aware reprint sales, Kelner says, citing Science 's example.

"The concepts raised by PLoS publishers are important, but not new and have been treated by our organization," said Margaret Winkler, president of the World Association of Medical Editors. Winkler points out another problem that editorial failures, necessary for full transparency in the medical literature, namely the requirement that "the authors register clinical trials in early trial rather than after they determine the results, or results are to their liking. "

Stem Cell Decision Obama Gets Standing Ovation From scientific -

WASHINGTON, DC In the same room where chandeliers White House, it 2 years ago, George Bush reaffirmed federal restrictions on research on embryonic stem cells, President Barack Obama announced this morning that "we will lift the ban on federal funding for promising embryonic stem cell research [and] vigorously support scientists pursue this research. " Scientists are delighted by the decision and decree that accompanied a first-recovery policy envisaged by Bush on Aug. 9, 01.

lobbyists, politicians, ethicists, researchers strains on cells, and a quota beautiful Nobelists, including Harold Varmus, head of the Council Chairman of advisors on science and technology, were on hand for the announcement. Even researcher Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, famous for developing the so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, flew to the signing, which ended with a standing ovation from the crowd. A day may come "when words like" terminal "and" incurable "are potentially retired from our vocabulary," said the president.

bills-the identical same legislation vetoed by Bush in 07, were introduced in the House of representatives and the Senate to codify the policy change

Obama also used the opportunity to address another aspect of the Bush reign that scientists had criticized the :. alleged politicization of topics from stem cells to global warming. the President announced that he sent a memorandum to the Office of science and technology leader in developing "a strategy for restoring scientific integrity to government decision decision "within the next 0 days.

"This is a great result," said the University of Pennsylvania stem cell researcher John Gearhart, speaking of a route taxi to the ceremony at the White House. It "raises a cloud in many areas," he said, and "also sends a message internationally that [National Institutes of Health-funded researchers] can work with people."

NIH 0 days come to guidelines on research involving hundreds of human embryonic stem cells that are now available to researchers. Scientists hope they will be able to get a piece of the action of the budget bill recovery, which allocates $ 0 million for a new grant program that includes research on stem cells and regenerative medicine .

Double amputee light on the flexibility of the brain -

How the brain to cope when, several years after both hands amputated, a person suddenly gets two new hands? Surprisingly well, it seems. In a study now researchers provide the most detailed picture yet of how the brain reorganizes to welcome foreign appendages. And in result they are still trying to explain, scientists have found that in two of the double-hand transplant, left hand with the brain reconnected more quickly than the right.

A group of French and Australian doctors performed the first transplant of the hand of the world in 1998, the same team repeated the feat on two hands two years later. Studies indicate that since the brain reorganizes in response to the new appendages. However, the work looked only rude hand movements that primarily used non transplanted muscles.

Wanting to learn more about how the brain copes with donor hands, cognitive neuroscientist Angela Sirigu of the National Agency of French research in Lyon and his colleagues looked at two right-handed men, the one aged 20 and the other 42, who had recently left and transplant the right hand to replace hands amputated following the accidents there are 3 to 4 years. After extensive training, both men are now able to perform a series of complex tasks with foreign appendages, dial using tools telephone number such as screwdrivers and pliers to rewire an electrical outlet .

The researchers found that both motor cortexes of men - the brain region responsible for the execution of muscle movement - had reorganized themselves in response to new hands. After a person loses a hand, the motor cortex area that controls hand movement narrows and reconnects to control the arm, a property called plasticity. But when Sirigu and colleagues used transcranial magnetic stimulation - a technique that uses magnetic fields to excite neurons in the brain - to stimulate specific fragments of the motor cortex, they found that the "main zone" in the cortex engine of the two men had resumed their "wiring". The original finding, reported online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , shows that the brain is capable of reorganizing in a way quite dramatically in response to the hand transplants says Sirigu.

But a result baffled team Sirigu: In both men, the left hand of the dealer was able to connect with the brain more quickly than was the law. In younger patients, the left hand took 10 months and the right of 26 months, to work effectively with the brain, leaving the patient with the left while his dominant hand when performing complex tasks after transplantation . In the other patient, the left hand was able to perform complex tasks after 51 months, while the law is lagging behind. The findings could mean that, because the right hand is dominant in these men, its representation in the brain is more rigid than the left - and thus the brain is less able to rewire the control of it - says co- author Claudia Vargas, a neuroscientist who recently moved to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Yet Sirigu warns that it is too early to draw concrete conclusions. The difference could result from something as simple as how the surgeon reattached each hand, she said, noting that a different surgeon worked on each hand. In addition, two patients had used the advanced prosthetic right hand controlled by the nerves in the amputation stump. The motor cortex may have reorganized to accommodate the prosthesis, which may have slowed its ability to then accept the new donor hand, says Sirigu.

neuroscientists greet the new work yet another demonstration of remarkable brain plasticity. "The results are important because they show that even after years without a hand to control the brain retrains the circuitry to control one," says neurophysiologist John Rothwell of the Institute of Neurology at University College London. And it could have "important clinical applications for rehabilitation," says neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran of the University of California, San Diego.

Big NCI plans for his great stimulation -

with the National Institutes of Health receiving 10.4 billion dollars thanks to the exceptional economic stimulus plan, all eyes are on the agency to see how the money will transform biomedical research in the next 2 years (or at least, scientists give the matter their full attention after the end of the frantic effort to ask for some of that cash themselves).

Speaking today at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, John Niederhuber, who leads the National Cancer Institute, detailed how his organization plans to spend part 1 $ 3 billion that comes his way. Americans "want better ways to prevent cancer; they want the first diagnosis, and they want new therapies with fewer side effects that turn cancer into a condition you can live with and not die," said Niederguber, according to a transcript of his speech.

How to accomplish this with a flurry of money in a short time?

well, Niederguber said, during fiscal 09 NCI will fund grants that hit the 16th percentile in magazines, a large improvement over the 12th percentile in progress. NCI is also push harder in translational medicine. Niederguber said it will expand the Cancer Genome Atlas to characterize all genomic changes in 20 to 25 cancers; create a "small national patient characterization centers network," which genetically characterize patients to something a number of medical centers like the Mayo clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital, are already moving to do; and create a network of "physical sciences-oncology centers" to gather nanobiologie, proteomics and systems biology. NCI discussed all these approaches for a number of months, but the expansion of the Cancer Genome Atlas is a strong vote of confidence for a certain project had criticized.

Niederguber also briefly addressed a concern for many NCI beneficiaries: What will happen once the money from the short recovery after 2 years, especially given that the NCI will fund grants 4 years. "It is for NCI caring and thoughtful financing risks initially" these projects knowing that they will not be supported by the stimulus money through their lives, Niederguber admitted. And "I think it falls, so our beneficiaries to come forward with only their strongest science" of -wishful thought maybe, since virtually all biomedical scientists seeking a slice of the stimulus plan.

Retrospective: What happened with the swine flu in 1976 -

infectious disease specialist Edwin D. Kilbourne, now 88 and retired, was the center of the last warning to swine flu in the US in 1976, a strain of swine flu has swept Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. The virus has infected about 500 soldiers, but not all were sick; one died. Kilbourne, then medical school at Mount Sinai in New York, specializing in the development of specific strains of flu vaccines and was quickly recruited to help fight against a dreaded epidemic of swine flu. Forty million Americans were then vaccinated against the virus, and several hundred have developed a neurological disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, fueling controversy over whether this extended vaccination was necessary. Kilbourne spoke with Science Insider from his home in Connecticut earlier today. Parts of the interview were edited for clarity.

Q & A after the jump

Q :. What are your memories of that time?

I recombine, or recourse, influenza viruses for several years before that, for producing influenza viruses in high yield [that could be developed into vaccines]. David Sencer, director of the CDC who had to resign later [as a result of swine flu], was a friend of mine and put me on the advisory committee having to do with the situation Fort Dix. [Virus samples were] sent to me at my lab at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where I chaired microbiology. In a few weeks, we had a high virus yield [and] I had the manufactured vaccine virus. ... There were reasons to be afraid, we knew that a virus very similar to swine flu was present in 1918. This gave a great concern to those of us who knew something about the situation.

Q: You felt it was important to have this vaccine

I thought it was important, it could have been the putative virus of 1918 for all we knew. [But], there were those violently opposed to the situation. I call my 15 minutes of infamy. It's got to be a bad word, swine flu. On the other hand, if we had not had the vaccine and something had happened, that would be blamed? The entire medical profession.

Q: What about adverse reactions to the vaccine

This was the largest field trial of a vaccine in history, achieved in 1976. There was no basis for comparison which is the normal occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome. People compete to date if [the vaccine] really had no effect on incidence. There are many things that cause Guillain-Barre.

Q: Have you been criticized for vaccine development

With cartoons, news programs. ... It was an interesting turn

Q :. If you were advising those who attack the current swine flu, what would you tell them?

The only thing I would have done differently in 1976, in retrospect, is to make the vaccine, to promote the vaccine, but do not give the vaccine until the last moment, but the problem with this is that you may be too late. By all means, find the prevalent strain, a vaccine that can be used, and grow in eggs, then go with it. [But] I think it is premature to do so [vaccinate] now

Q:.? Did you continue to work on swine flu after 1976

Oh, of course. We used in animal studies, it has been used by people in other countries as a fast growing virus vaccine. It is an interesting virus.

Confirmed first US death from swine flu is visiting Mexican Boy -

Houston Department of Health and Human Services says a child of 23 months, from Texas died Monday night swine flu. The child had recently traveled with family members in Mexico. HDHHS the press conference on the issue takes place at the moment

Update :. The boy is from Mexico and was visiting relatives in Texas. He had been ill since April 8 and had underlying health problems.

Stock buy soap? -

A survey which measures how much Americans know and are concerned about the outbreak of swine flu conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health estimates that hand washing is increasing ( 59% do it more often) and other viewpoints.

Meanwhile, Harvard has closed its schools of medicine and dental care because of campus
case.

the outbreak may have started in Canada? -

According to the apparently erroneous assumption of the Canadian government that the origin of the swine flu epidemic was probably nothing to do with domestic pigs, if this fact?

On May 2, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had this to say about the epidemic in a swine herd in Alberta A (H1N1): "It is very likely that pigs were exposed to the virus from a Canadian who had recently returned from Mexico and had been exhibiting symptoms similar to the flu. "now, it happens that the farm worker tested negative for the virus .

So what if it were the other way, the virus originated in Canadian pigs and infected a human who then traveled to Mexico?

Looking at the epidemiological figures today, it is possible that the epidemic began among Canadian pigs.

Canada has 165 confirmed human cases in a population of 33 million people. The United States, which probably similar testing capabilities, has 642 confirmed cases and a population of 304 million. Thus, Canada has 2.3 times more cases per million inhabitants than the United States. Mexico, by comparison, has 822 cases in a population of 109 million, which means it has 3.5 times more cases than the United States. Canada reported that the virus has infected 220 pigs, and no other country has yet found in pigs.

The number of cases, of course, are affected by the number of samples tested and the capacity of laboratories in the country, but epidemiologists listen to the best information they have at present, and c is what the numbers say right now.

Back to my speculation Canada-human Mexico. What if this hypothetical carrier infected Mexicans in a rural area, perhaps he was a trader and the pig virus then spread to Mexico, which has a population of about 20 million, much larger than that of all Canadian cities? Mexican or Canadian power infected then went to the US and started the epidemic here.

A fine line, of course, speculation separates a dirty word in science hypothesis.

and that which, if perhaps not, as they say, "highly probable" it is possible that many of the most accepted theories making the rounds in the scientific and public health as well .

The rapid rise (and fall?) Of the controversial theory Lab accident caused flu epidemic -

has retired virologist from the factory of Australia caused an international uproar by proposing an accident manufacturing vaccine may have created the conduct of the virus swine flu epidemic in progress. Many great scholars flu immediately rejected the hand theory or outright refused to talk. "Oh, come on, forget this," said virologist Peter Palese of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. But scientists from the flu to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -which have the same deep skepticism about the theory were forced to examine the evidence evidence and discuss publicly what a lot of people is an idea Far- recovered.

Adrian Gibbs, who worked at the Australian National University in Canberra for 39 years before hanging up her blouse in 05, came up with this hypothesis, although his specialty is the virus of the potato he is no stranger to the genetics of flu or controversy. He previously published studies science and Nature question the supposed origin of birds from the strain of the 1918 influenza epidemic

As Gibbs explained science Insider the last epidemic has taken him across the public databases and compare the genes of recently discovered a (H1N1), which is a mixture of swine, avian, and human-influenzae with his closest ancestors. He confirmed, as others have reported that six of the eight genes appear to come from North America and two others came from Eurasia, which suggested to him that there were two parental viruses which had "reassortant" (fluspeak for handset).

Gibbs, who still lives in Canberra, then took this seemingly innocuous idea in a field which has been the eyes of influenza experts are wide. Gibbs said he discovered that eight genes of the viruses have evolved at a much faster pace than expected. Basically, he calculated this by looking at the virus mutation rate known flu and comparing the changes in the new strain with changes in its closest relatives. "It is clear that all eight genes have accelerated since 7 years," Gibbs said. "It struck me as really, really strange." He could not imagine how a parent strain could. "But how the hell are two viruses do?" He asks.

traversed Google, Gibbs found a possible explanation. "I came across an ad for a vaccine against influenza in pigs that contained three viruses different, "he said. the vaccine was supposed to contain killed versions of the virus, but there was a laboratory accident and some had survived? specifically, the two human vaccines and pigs manufacturers use eggs grow the virus, Gibbs notes that studies have shown that this odd bird environment can accelerate their evolution. If these viruses are not properly killed, they could have reassortant in a pig and created the new H1N1 strain. "do not kill the virus could explain it very carefully, but it is only one of many possibilities, "says Gibbs.

When Gibbs phoned someone he would describe as a WHO friend who was "in the thick of it", he said there was silence on the other end of the line . the friend agreed to read and circulate a paper Gibbs wrote that Gibbs sent May 8 the story soon leaked to the press, and the document has quickly made its way to other leaders of the effort against the swine flu, including the chief of the influenza division of the CDC, Nancy Cox. "the premise that the rate of evolution of individual genes in this virus is faster than normal is false," said Cox, who has made many studies on the evolution of influenza. Cox said that Gibbs chose former bad virus to calculate how the change took place. in fact, he had not calibrated their clock, she said. " it gets artificially faster rates of evolution, "says Cox. "So there is no need to postulate another host, either eggs or other natural hosts."

Cox points out that CDC has an open mind on the possible origins of the virus, and as part of its own routine analysis had looked for signs of contamination or laboratory error. "We had all these basic analysis early and had no indication that there was not natural for these viruses," says Cox. And it noted that CDC puts the viral sequences in public databases so that investigators such as Gibbs can make alternative analyzes. "This is what scientific research is all about," she said. "And when someone says that the origin could not have been natural, it is important for us to go back and look at this methodology to understand Therefore this research has achieved the results it by. "

the bottom line is that Cox, Palese, and others say that there is no need to invoke a complicated theory the origin of H1N1. "Our level of understanding of influenza viruses and how they evolve and restocking in nature is such that assuming this is a huge stretch, because we know that Mother nature is so creative and so provides reassortant of different genes, "says Cox.

Gibbs said he did not mind criticism of his idea, and he presented his paper to an open access journal so that he can receive adequate ventilation. "scientists are trained to be iconoclasts, not to believe what they're told," he said. "And they do not believe until they really had a good go at it."

New Clue to protection against cancer in Down syndrome -

Down syndrome causes mental retardation and a host of health problems. But it also seems to protect people against cancer. Researchers have now found a potential genetic mechanism of this protective effect. The findings could one day lead to cancer prevention treatments in the general population.

People with Down syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the standard two. This means they have an extra copy of each of the 231 genes on this chromosome. Because studies have suggested that these people also have a lower incidence of colon, breast and other solid tumor cancers, researchers have long wondered if any of these additional genes might confer protection. Last year, geneticist Roger Reeves of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues found that the version of the mouse one of tripled genes - called Ets2 - suppresses the formation tumors in mice, although the mechanism remains unclear ( science NOW, January 2, 08).

The new findings suggest another gene and a clear mechanism. Researcher Sandra Ryeom Cancer Hospital Boston Children and colleagues target a gene on chromosome 21 called DSCR1 (also known as RCAN1 ). Previous work suggested that the protein produced by this gene interferes with the formation of blood vessels, or angiogenesis. Inhibition of angiogenesis is a strategy to stop the growth of the tumor, so Ryeom and his colleagues wondered if this could happen in Down syndrome.

To investigate, the researchers first examined the human fetal tissue electively aborted to see if the gene was overactive in people with Down syndrome. It was: DSCR1 protein levels were 1.8 times higher than normal. Next, the team created a strain of mice with an extra copy of the version of the mouse DSCR1 gene. An additional copy of this gene alone was enough to suppress angiogenesis and inhibit the growth of transplanted tumors in these mice, reports the team in issue tomorrow Nature .

"This is a really interesting what we know about the resistance to tumors" in people with Down syndrome, said Reeves. He and Ryeom agree that the protective effects of DSCR1 and Ets2 probably different mechanisms, with Ets2 acting at an early stage before tumors are large enough initiate angiogenesis. And there are probably other genes implicated in the protective effect, said Ryeom.

Ryeom hope the findings will lead to better cancer treatment strategies in the general population. Drugs that inhibit angiogenesis have generated much hope (and hype) in the late 190s, but success so far has been modest. This new point working components of the signaling pathway of angiogenesis could be more effective target of the drug, said Ryeom. Otherwise, she said, blocking angiogenesis could function better as a preventive measure than as a cure. Compounds that block angiogenesis are relatively non-toxic to adults, Ryeom notes, and she thinks it might be possible to develop a low-dose anticancer drug that people might take as a vitamin. The idea is good biological sense, but there would be serious regulatory hurdles for any drug to be used before people develop cancer, said David Threadgill, a geneticist at the State University North Carolina in Raleigh.

Aspirin So Long, Hello Silver -

Millions of people worldwide are prone to dangerous blood clots. researchers have now had an early success with a new way to prevent - and strokes, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms they cause. nanosized particles of silver can stop sticky blood cells called platelets to cling together in laboratory mice strains, reports the team.

Platelets help stop bleeding body. But if they agglutinate too, they may also form clots in the blood. DVT, for example, can form in the leg and block blood flow. If the clot is not broken quickly using injections of powerful anticoagulants, it can break off and cut off the blood supply to the heart or brain, with fatal consequences. As a result, nearly 500 million patients worldwide coagulation-related disorders - including this reporter -. Must take daily doses of anticoagulants, which carry the dangers of their own, as spontaneous and uncontrollable internal bleeding

The key is to find an agent which prevents platelets from sticking together too without hindering their ability to shunt bleeding. Recent research on silver nanoparticles - tiny metal grains to less than 1 / 50,000th the width of a human hair - have indicated that they might do the trick. So a biomedical team of the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, began to explore their potential, in collaboration with materials science colleagues at the university and the international advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and new materials in Balapur, India.

researchers injected mice with the genetically modified blood to be prone to clotting and then administered nanosilver. As reports of the online team in ACS Nano , nano-silver particles inhibit the ability of platelets sticky surface proteins to bind the cells together into aggregates, just like adding sand tape reduces its ability to stick. "This helps the nano-silver to keep platelets in an inactive state," says biochemist and co-author Debabrata Dash of Banaras. The nanoparticles were "much more effective" than current therapies, he said. At the same time the nanoparticles do not interfere with other proteins in the blood that help form clots, as do conventional anticoagulants, so that the risk of uncontrolled bleeding is reduced.

Dash notes that the nanoparticles appear "to be safe enough for human beings", but like any new medical technology, they will study the potential toxic effects.

cell biologist Jonathan Gibbins of the University of Reading in the UK agrees that caution is warranted. "The work is at a relatively early stage, with key issues such as toxicity and the remaining mechanisms of action to treat potential," he said. "But this is certainly a new and unexpected dimension to platelet research." Similarly, biochemist Stan Heptinstall the University of Nottingham in the UK warns that the research is "the beginning." The key question, he says, is whether nanosilver will impair the important functions for blood clotting in human body.

The continuing mystery of how Canadian Pigs caught the flu virus Novel -

On May 2, a pig farm in Alberta, Canada, has made international news when authorities revealed that the animals perform this novel H1N1 virus causing the swine flu outbreak in humans, the first and still the only known infected pigs. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said it was "highly probable" that a Canadian who had recently traveled to Mexico and returned with symptoms similar to the flu had infected pigs. At press conferences on May 2 and May 7, Canadian officials explained that because the farmer did not buy pigs from other farms, the "entrepreneur" who had gone to Mexico was the source most likely the virus. This scenario excluded the possibility that the pigs were infected before humans and may have held clues to the origin of the epidemic.

It is found that the contractor, Adrian Blaak, was a carpenter who had worked on the farm for one day, April 14, exchanging vents on a pigsty. Although Blaak felt sick that day, he had minimal direct contact with pigs. The farmer first noticed the disease in its swine herd on April 24. Officials suspected that quickly Blaak was the source of infection of pigs, but his symptoms had resolved by then how it is usually difficult to find the virus. nasopharyngeal swabs taken from him, as expected, were negative for the H1N1 novel. At a May 7 press conference Frank Plummer, who heads the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, a branch of the Agency of Public Health of Canada (PHAC) said they would test the blood samples Blaak for antibodies to the new H1N1 virus, which could confirm that he was infected. Plummer also discussed other workers at the farm who had flu-like symptoms and have been tested for signs of infection with swine flu.

Science Insider recently asked Plummer email results carpenter sera tests. Plummer did not respond, but his spokesman on June 3 wrote that PHAC was "unable to answer questions on individual cases." The spokesman suggested that the province of Alberta could have more information, but the head doctor, he also cited reasons of confidentiality not to discuss the case.

Science Insider contacted the carpenter Adrian Blaak, who from the beginning publicly questioned the assertion that he even had the H1N1 virus. Although it recognizes Blaak was not feeling well the day he worked on the farm, he said Science Insider, "I still do not think I infected pigs." Blaak was surprised that officials had yet to inform him on the results of his blood tests, and he intended to ask the .

Veterinarian Jim Clark, spokesman for the CFIA on the novel H1N1 infection in Alberta pigs, discussed the case with Science Insider June 9 Clark revealed that the CFIA has not received information from PHAC on blood tests Blaak and others on the farm who had flu-like symptoms. Although the CFIA continues to believe a human being infected pigs, the agency downgraded the role of Blaak status "highly probable", Clark revealed. He also said he knew of no new confirmed human cases of H1N1 around the farm in Alberta fairly remote.

This is a condensed transcript of the interview, edited for clarity.

Q: I wanted to follow up with questions about further testing sera from the contractor and other farm to see if there is no evidence that they have been infected with the new H1N1 virus. We discussed earlier, and Frank Plummer and others also spoke at the press conference on 7 May, after we talked. Are there results of testing these sera?

Jim Clark: I do not know. The authorities of the Manitoba Public Health take this information, and they have not made that available to the CFIA.

Q: Really? It's been over a month.

J.C. :. I'm sure they have the results, as I have suggested, but it was not made available to anyone outside the community of human health.

Q: Why are you sure that they have the results?

J.C.. Well, positive or negative, they would have the results of this point in time.

Q: Is it frustrating that you do not have these results?

J.C. :. It reflects a problem sharing information that has been demonstrated previously. The concern before it was with those who would be responsible for maintaining animal health, sharing their findings with the public health community. I think we have the opposite situation in this particular case, where the public health authorities may have information that may be useful and help the animal health community by making some determination of how the disease increased or the epidemiology of the disease. the sharing of information from becoming something of concern on an ongoing basis in most investigations of outbreaks of disease, and it is in the private lives of persons concerned. I think we can address these concerns, it is just not being done at this point in time.

Q: There is a strange ride privacy concern angle. I spoke with Adrian Blaak, who is the carpenter suspected of infecting pigs. It is very surprising to him that he was not given the test results.

J.C. :. Ah. I did not know either.

Q: Do you have different thoughts on the original assertion that it was "highly probable" that the worker who went to Mexico infected pigs?

J.C.. is an excellent question. Given what we know both our survey of likely opportunities for the virus to be introduced to this particular herd, we came to the conclusion that, as he did not appear to be animal possibility of introducing virus in pigs, we conclude that the most reasonable source must have been a person. If the person was a carpenter or another person who has had the opportunity to interact with pigs, which is an issue at this point in time. And until we get better information about what was happening in the individuals on the human side who had the opportunity to interact with pigs, we're not really going to be able to say more definitely.

We are reasonably confident that there is no possibility of this virus have been introduced from another herd of pigs.

Q: It seems that your thoughts might have changed, it may be another human that has infected pigs.

JC: I think we need to back off a little and say as we continue to think that it was a human introduction of the pig population, we are not entirely as definitive fact whether it was this person who went to Mexico and returned as we were before now.

Q: Science Express last month published a paper co-authored by 59 researchers said it might have been another species that intermediate, suggesting that the virus may have increased from pigs to another species, and to humans. Have you looked at other species that could have been the vector?

J.C.. No. When we look at other species, the species you choose you?

Q: I could list a few.

J.C.. Ok Appoints..

Q: Equine.

J.C.. We see no evidence in the equine population or any other species that would indicate that the virus has entered this particular species and spread. I guess in my own thinking, since we seem to have a relatively human adapted virus at this point in time, my most likely thinking is that we have a person that somehow has been exposed to swine viruses that had both Eurasian and north American lines, and that probably occurred recombinant activity in a human being rather than another species of animal.

Q: What is monitoring CFIA did he do for swine flu before the epidemic, and has it changed?

JC. CFIA did not continue monitoring for swine flu or influenza A viruses other than avian flu virus that have been H5 and H7. These particular subtypes in avian flus represent the possibility of low pathogenicity change at the top and obviously have a quite significant impact on both animal health and human health situation H5N1, Asian strain, being the virus concern.

Influenza A virus in pig community were roughly determined to be omnipresent, production limiting diseases that have been recognized to be there on an ongoing basis, and had some possibility of transmission from pigs to people and people with plague, well documented in the literature, and do not represent a particular threat either swine or human communities.

Q: After the epidemic, are there any monitoring for novel H1N1 had?

J.C. :. We will certainly approach it in the same position as the United States and Mexico. We want to be aware of any situation where there was a person who has been diagnosed with the H1N1 novel and the opportunity for association with a herd of pigs so we can go and investigate to determine if there has been a transmission. And we are certainly looking for any novel isolates that can come out of the passive surveillance system. So if we have a province or a university laboratory looking influenza A virus from a pig herd, and they do not recognize it as one of the typical strains from North America that was previously circulated, we are looking for isolates to be sent to our National Centre for Foreign animal disease in Winnipeg for characterization. But we will not in active surveillance in swine population research this particular virus, unless there is a direct association with an infected pig or infected person.

Q: Are there ongoing investigations at this time due to infected human cases being close to the plague?

J.C. :. No, we have not received any reports from the public health community of people who have been confirmed infected associated with pigs. This was certainly our concern in the initial part of the investigation, and we did ask them to insert questions in their epidemiological investigation that would highlight this special occasion for the association. They did this, and we were not informed of all the circumstances where they have concerns.

Q: Do you know if there are confirmed cases in the vicinity of the pig?

J.C. :. I am not aware of any. Alberta confirmed H1N1 in people, but if they have an association with the pig we had quarantined, I am not aware.

Q: Pig farming is fairly remote, right?

J.C. :. is not in one of the most densely populated areas. Edmonton is the nearest urban area which would have a significant population. Other than that, it is fairly representative of the population density of most Midwest states or our prairie provinces. It is quite dispersed.

Swine Flu Strikes Hog Farm in Argentina -

Influenza A (H1N1) virus of swine flu hit a pig farm in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the second case known viruses infecting swine pandemic.

The epidemic was announced in a statement by the Food Safety Agency of Argentina SENASA Wednesday; yesterday, Dow Jones Newswires reported that at least five animals tested positive for the virus so far. We do not know where the virus came from, but "we have a very strong hypothesis" that the pigs were infected by a human, Director SENASA Jorge Amaya said in a televised interview since no pigs were introduced to the farm for at least 60 days. the number of human cases reported in Argentina is rapidly increasing and now stands at 1391, with 22 deaths.

the only previously known porcine infection with the new influenza A (H1N1 ) took place on a farm in Alberta, Canada; how the pigs caught the virus is still uncertain

.

Institutions, Spar Over Rights to RNAi -

A fight broke out over who has important pieces of RNA interference (RNAi) technology, a strategy to silence genes that could be very lucrative businesses understand how to apply it to human disease. Last week, the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, which supports research at the Max Planck Institutes in Germany, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, an RNAi company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sued three institutions claiming that they had " usurped "inventions" rightfully belong to Max Planck, "according to the suit. the institutions are being pursued Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Whitehead Institute, and the University of Massachusetts.

the complaint, filed in Suffolk superior Court in Massachusetts, is unusual because many scientists whose work formed the basis of the combination have allegiances on both sides. two co-founders of Alnylam, Nobel Phil price Sharp and David Bartel, are MIT professors.

Several parties involved in the trial, including Alnylam and Max Planck, declined to comment. But essentially, the prosecution argues that some findings on which the three US institutions have rights to patents that cover ways to silence genes with RNAi, rightly belong to Max Planck. Alnylam has an exclusive license for the patent Max Planck; but not to Whitehead, MIT, and the University of Massachusetts patent; according to the lawsuit. Since, Alnylam "risks losing any competitive advantage in the market that would have otherwise," the suit bed Max Planck and Alnylam are lobbying to prevent US agencies to take any other action around their patent RNAi.

China Cracks Down on Internet Addiction Therapy Dubious -

BEIJING The Chinese government banned the controversial application of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for that one called Internet addiction.

Although there is no meeting of minds about whether Internet addiction is a real disorder, Chinese researchers have sought to diagnosis and treatment on a more solid basis. Casts a shadow on the legitimate clinical practice and research, clinic in Shandong province in eastern China had gained notoriety for applying electric shocks to non-anesthetized adolescents whose parents had admitted to the clinic against their will.

On July 8 letter policy at the Ministry of Health of Shandong Province, the Ministry of Health of China has ordered Shandong Province to stop such clinical application of ECT. The Ministry explained that he had convened a committee of experts, which concluded that ECT "does not show clear security and validity to treat Internet addiction" due to a "lack of support scientific studies and clinical trials based on evidence. "

the Ministry of health did not rule out the future use of ECT for Internet addiction and left the door open for clinical trials the "combination therapies" as long as these tests are free for subjects and informed consent.

SLAC Worker Accused fusion protein crystals -

A former employee at the National Accelerator Laboratory SLAC in Palo Alto, California, was arrested Monday for allegedly destroying at least 4000 samples of protein crystals by removing from cryogenic vessels in the laboratory and let them out to thaw. Documents published by the FBI estimate that it will cost $ 500,000 to replicate and process the lost samples.

The FBI says Silvya Oommachen, 32, a former lab assistant, admitted she slipped into the lab on July 18 and empty containers, leaving behind three post-it, the San Jose Mercury News reports

she signed a as his alter ego "X Black" and the other referred to a sexual act and the date and time of the crystal samples proteins were sabotaged, according to the affidavit.

by Mercury News written special agent quick Matthew FBI in an affidavit that Oommachen had a bad relationship with his supervisor and felt overworked and, earlier this month -ci she was fired for leaving his work.

researchers affiliated to the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) have been using x-rays produced by synchrotron Stanford Radiation Lightsource to study samples as part of their efforts to match gene sequences with protein structures and developing simplified methods for determining the three-dimensional structures of proteins. The samples are not irreplaceable, but it will take time, effort and money to replace them, said Ian Wilson, principal investigator JCSG. Wilson said that JCSG scientists will meet in the near future to decide how to proceed, "You can not imagine that someone would do something like that, and I do not know how to protect yourself against it, quite honestly," added- he.

Note :. This article has been corrected to indicate that the number of samples was destroyed at least 4000, not 3500, and that Oommachen was fired in July, not June

Splinter pathologists Army Institute Of Company to form -

More than two dozen pathologists have left the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) in Washington, DC, to form a new company that will offer the same pathology consultation services as the 150-year-old institute.

AFIP expected to be completed by 2011 under a federal plan to close more military bases across the country, including the campus Center Walter Reed Army Medical where AFIP is located. The company, which AFIP Laboratories originally called and American International Pathology (AIP) Laboratories after a protest from officials of the institute was renamed, will be headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, and will begin activities next month.

Evan Farmer, the company's director and a former comrade AFIP says The Washington Post as the objective of the company is to provide a new home for expertise the institute. But the AFIP officials say a new mandate from the Congress-Joint Pathology Center, administered by the Department of Defense, replace the institute after its closure.

Vaccine against swine flu US: Good News, Bad News -

An increasing number of influenza experts in the United States are concerned that the wave of the swine flu started to hit the country may peak before a vaccine can do much good, a news story in today's edition of science explains.

On October 15, the US government expects to receive the first batches of a vaccine to thwart the new H1N1 virus causing the pandemic. But this is just as many experts now believe the virus spread can peak in the country. Since it takes about 2 weeks to build immunity after vaccination and there will be a limited quantity for at least a month or more, the vaccine may have little impact in the United States this fall. "This shift in potential timing could significantly diminish the usefulness of vaccination for mitigating the epidemic and could put many at risk of severe disease," predicted the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in report of the White House issued August 24

On the good news front, many scientists were afraid that the vaccine against the new H1N1 virus would need two doses to build substantial immunity would mean further delays in the time required to protect the population and twice as many products. But clinical testing of new vaccines against H1N1 published online yesterday by The New England Journal of Medicine show that a single dose can trigger high levels of antibodies in adults. No data are yet available for testing in children, who generally much less robust immune responses to the vaccine against seasonal influenza and require a second dose.

As another document released yesterday, this one in Science Express, once again underlines the widespread use of a vaccine could have a powerful impact against the H1N1 virus, s it arrived early and was widely used. Biostatistician Ira Longini of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues show that the vaccine should be at least 70% of the population, starting with children first, to significantly impede the spread. But Longini, a flu modeler noted, also suspects that the pandemic now spread across the United States as children return to school may peak in mid-October.

Longini and others noted that the pandemic accurately reflects the one that hit the United States in the fall of 1957. If this happens, Longini said in an e-mail notes, "given the plan production and distribution of current vaccines, we will be too late to affect the epidemic. "this is precisely what happened to the vaccine effort in 1957.

with the new pandemic H1N1, the vaccine effort began almost immediately after the virus was isolated in late April. "in May, it seemed that we were in good shape with the vaccine," noted Longini. "There seemed have time. "But now the time seems to be short rapidly.

Rethinking against influenza vaccine ingredients 2010 -

Next winter in the Southern Hemisphere, vaccines against influenza should not be designed to protect against the seasonal H1N1 strain the pandemic strain H1N1 has replaced, according to the World health Organization (WHO) recommendations issued today.

Because guidelines explain the seasonal strain caused some homes since the discovery of the strain of swine flu last April.

WHO is therefore recommended that vaccine manufacturers get the seasonal H1N1 virus from formulations that also contain an H3N2 strain and a type B strain Brisbane. One possibility is that vaccine manufacturers will simply replace the virus fell with the H1N1 pandemic strain in a new trivalent product. Or countries may decide to use a monovalent vaccine, which protects against the pandemic strain and a bivalent product designed to work against H3N2 strain and Brisbane. Strategic Advisory Group of WHO experts will discuss these issues at its meeting in late October. WHO will not make recommendations for future vaccines against influenza in the northern hemisphere until February next year.

(This article was originally titled "WHO Simplifies vaccine against influenza for Sourthern Hemiphere" and has been corrected.)

CDC: Swine Flu Shots Get Your -

As the availability of the vaccine against swine flu is increasing steadily, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is intensifying its efforts against a growing sense of complacency in the country about the pandemic.

At a press conference today, Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said that 76 children in the US have died of the new H1N1 virus because area in April. She compared this with the last three flu seasons in the country, which recorded between 46 and 88 deaths in this age group. "It is only the beginning of October," Schuchat said. "Of course, the flu season often will last all the way until May."

The flu is now widespread in 37 states, up from 10 states last week, Schuchat said. "We believe that the vast majority of people in a given community are vulnerable or susceptible to the virus," she said. she stressed that the vaccine may in once protect individuals against infection and reduce the chances that they will spread the infection to others. limited amounts of vaccine became available on Monday.

Schuchat downplayed the news yesterday that New York and other cities may have high levels of immunity against the virus because they have been hit hard in the first wave in the spring. "We are far too early to know if the disease it will happen again, "Schuchat said. "We looked at about 50 different cities to see if places that had homes in the spring now see increases. In many of them, we see increased disease. So it can not be on the same street where the patients were, but I think it is much too early for us to be certain about that second or third wave. You know, I would be as happy as anyone if New York City is no more sickness, but I really believe that vaccination is the best way to reduce the chances that everyone in New York will get sick. "

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, revealed reassuring data from clinical trials that test the impact of the vaccine against seasonal influenza H1N1 product .

"We are pleased to report that the vaccine, when administered at the same time, do not affect the immune response to one of these," Fauci said.

on a related note, Schuchat addressed a Canadian report that showed the seasonal vaccine increased the risk of being infected with swine flu and one from Mexico that showed precisely the opposite conclusion. Schuchat said CDC conducted four separate analyzes that address these issues in the American people. "None of them are increased or decreased risk of H1N1 disease associated with exposure to the vaccine against seasonal flu," she said.

As of yesterday, the United States had 6.8 million doses of vaccine against H1N1 and was the ship to the States in response to requests.

Judge throws stem cells Lawsuit -

a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the policy of the Obama administration lifted restrictions on the use of federal funds to study human embryonic stem cells. Christian groups had sued the National Institutes of Health in August, arguing on behalf of themselves and embryos that guidelines on stem cells NIH violate the prohibition against using federal funds to create or destroy human embryos. According to Bloomberg, Judge of the US District Court Royce Lamberth ruled yesterday in Washington that the groups had no standing because the Supreme Court of the United States found that embryos are not persons under the law, the unborn child has no constitutional right to life. The history of the AP said the judge also rejected the argument that the guidelines would reduce the number of embryos available for adoption

(Credit: NIST).

Arthritis in motion -

The same cells that ravage the cartilage of patients with rheumatoid arthritis also carry the disease from one joint to a new study suggests. work points to several ways to stop the spread of this debilitating disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis usually appears in only one joint at first, but it often spreads in much the body in a few years. The autoimmune disease destroys cartilage padding between the bones and causes inflammation in the joints, causing severe pain and lack of mobility. It differs from osteoarthritis, which is the long term wear and tear of the padding in the insulated joints

Scientists had known that certain types of fibroblasts -. Cells that help bind wounds and build the connective tissue that supports other cells - are responsible for damaging cartilage, said Elena Neumann, a molecular biologist at Justus-Liebig University in Bad Nauheim, Germany. These rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (WASR) appear in the fluid within the joints and secrete enzymes which break down cartilage.

To determine whether human cartilage WASR could spread arthritis from joint to joint, Neumann and colleagues implanted under the skin of mice genetically modified to not reject tissue from a different species. On a sidewall, the mice were healthy, normal cartilage; on the other, they received abundant with human cartilage WASR.

After 60 days, the WASR invaded and damaged the cartilage healthy in most mice, reports online this week in team Nature Medicine . The mice that received healthy cartilage in both flanks showed little damage, as did mice that received fibroblast patients with osteoarthritis of the implants, which does not spread from one joint to .

To show that WASR had traveled in the body (and are not just, for example, set walking distance by another secretion), scientists have dissected the 20 mouse organs. They found little evidence of WASR in most of the internal organs, but they found a high concentration in the spleen. This is an important index, Neumann said, because the spleen filters blood cells from the bloodstream. When the team examined 40 other mice with RASF / cartilage implants, he found WASR human blood about half, which strongly suggests that WASR use the bloodstream to invade the rest of the body.

How do WASR into the bloodstream in the first place? As metastasis of tumor cells, the team found, fibroblasts can wiggle through the cells that line and protect blood vessels.

The Neumann's team found no WASR in the joints of mice, as is seen in patients with arthritis. Neumann suspect WASR can invade the cartilage if it already has small nicks or other tiny openings resulting from wear. This probably explains why it takes years for rheumatoid arthritis to spread among humans.

Scientists could develop a treatment for arthritis by preventing WASR to invade the bloodstream, traveling around in the blood, or jumping from the blood into healthy tissue, said Neumann. These treatments may not prevent rheumatoid arthritis from occurring in a patient, she said, but they would stop its spread to other joints.

There is a document "very important" and "very thorough" said James Woods, a microbiologist at the University of Midwest Downers Grove ,, Illinois, who studied the migration of WASR "fibroblasts which were active, they are generally considered a resident [i.e., nonmobile] this paper cell is changing that mentality. ". Develop a cure, he said, "will certainly be a challenge, but knowing the right target cell to go after is a critical first step." In the future, he said, the ability to invade the cartilage WASR could even be turned to the advantage of medicine by reprogramming, perhaps with gene therapy, to provide protein that heal the articulation instead of demolishing it.

Eye Disease Trial could be the first embryonic stem cells Effort In US -

Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) announced today that it has asked the Food and Drug Administration a trial using embryonic stem the retinal pigment epithelial cells derived from cells to treat Stargardt macular dystrophy, a congenital eye disease. ACT, which has almost disappeared under several times in recent years, may now be about to make the first trial of the nation therapy embryonic stem cells, says Scientific Director General Robert Lanza. Geron Corp., which earlier received permission to administer oligodendrocytes derived progenitor cells to treat spinal cord injury, has been mired in delays and can not begin his trial until the end of next year.

Lanza said eye disease is a good place to start with such cell therapies because the eye does not reject foreign tissue, so no imunnosuppressive drugs are needed. Stargardt because it is an "orphan disease" without treatment, he said he should get an expedited FDA review. In the coming months the company also hopes to apply for permission to test the cells on macular degeneration.

After the fight with Roche Group casts doubt on Tamiflu -

Does oseltamivir, better known as Tamiflu, to prevent complications from influenza, as pneumonia and influenza? We are no longer safe, the Cochrane Collaboration, an international group that produces reviews of the medical literature, said in an article published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last night. Last year, the Cochrane Collaboration has issued a much more positive about the benefits of the top-selling drug. The problem, said the panel of four members who wrote the new review, is that Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, has failed to make full eight public studies underlying the earlier verdict.

The question of Tamiflu effectiveness is timely because governments have invested billions to get drugs to prepare for a flu pandemic. The new study does not directly address its role in the treatment of H1N1 swine flu, though; it deals with the effectiveness of Tamiflu against the seasonal flu. The document is part of a huge package posted by BMJ last night. In addition to the review itself, there is an article documented how the panel arrived at its conclusions by Peter Doshi, a doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology program in history, anthropology , science, technology and society, which is listed as one of the four authors of revision as well. A BMJ staff writer, Debra Cohen, told the story in another article that also uncovered alleged irregularities in the way of the past oseltamivir studies were conducted and written, there including the use of writers ghosts. The newspaper also published a short Roche response, an item reply with extended point in which the company addresses each of BMJ 's concerns, and an editorial BMJ E ditor Fiona Godlee and Director Mike Clarke Cochrane Collaboration. BMJ 's survey was conducted in conjunction with the Channel 4 Britain, which aired a film on the controversy last night.

What happened? Here's the short version:

The team, led by Chris Del Mar from Bond University in Australia, launched an update of the Cochrane review in 08 at the request of the National Health Research Institute UK in August. Just a few weeks ago, the team had received an email from a Japanese pediatrician, Keiji Hayashi, who questioned the validity of one of the documents relied on by the revision of 08. This document - published in 03, Laurent Kaiser Hospital Cantonal Geneva as the first author was a meta-analysis of 10 trials sponsored by Roche oseltamivir. Only two of them had been published in journals, peer-reviewed, Hayashi stressed; the other eight were unpublished or published only in abstract form. Hayashi challenged the Cochrane team to "evaluate the 8 trials rigidly."

According to the account of Doshi, panelist Tom Jefferson, the first author of the study in 08 and the only member of this group was also involved in the new analysis -asked the authors of the article Kaiser send data over the eight trials. When they could not, Jefferson contacted Roche to get the information. The company said it would make available studies, but only if Jefferson signed a confidentiality agreement also contained a clause "not to disclose ... the existence and terms of this Agreement." Apparently Doshi wrote Roche "is not only to keep her hidden data, but also to hide the fact that he was VALIDATION people by a secret clause."

the team found that unacceptable, and after a bit e -mails more back and forth, he decided to exclude the Kaiser meta-analysis of its reconsideration. They were left with a total of 20 trials that together have allowed the conclusion that Tamiflu was "modest efficacy against the symptoms of influenza in healthy adults "and that it" might be considered optional to reduce the symptoms of seasonal flu, "but that" lack of good data has undermined previous findings for the prevention oseltamivir for flu complications. independent randomized trials to resolve these uncertainties are needed. "

The experience has left four members with serious doubts about the way the Cochrane Collaboration does its business." The reviews have endorsed the conclusion that oseltamivir reduces complications such as pneumonia and bronchitis by implicitly confident that unpublished data were verifiable, "Doshi wrote. "This confidence now seems naive."

In response point by point James Smith Rock, international medical leader for Tamiflu, Roche said that now publishes all of its clinical trials, but it was not standard procedure in the industry it are 7 to 10 years. "At the time, it was considered that the studies that have been published (2 abstracts and full manuscripts 2) accurately reflect the benefits of the drug," Smith wrote, "and that additional studies provided little new information and would be unlikely to be accepted for publication by most reputable journals. "

Smith adds that the supply of data under a confidentiality agreement is" commonplace within the scientific community to ensure responsible use of data, "and said that group UK 'Medical Research Council (MRC) recently agreed to such a deal. But the paper does not explain why the existence of the transaction itself needed to remain a secret.

Roche also denies most of the allegations in the instance of story-characteristic of Cohen, that the authors of Roche sponsored studies were pressured by the company marketing people to talk the importance of flu. Roche recognizes that medical anonymous authors have been involved in at least one of the documents, but the company says that it was common practice at the time, prior to the so-called good practice guidelines published effects 03.

Whether the blow to Tamiflu image is permanent remains to be seen. If the MRC group that has access to the complete database Roche is working on a same view and believes that the eight studies were conducted properly, it could reach a different conclusion.

Blood Test Developed for Deadly Transplant Complication -

Researchers have developed a new blood test to diagnose and predict the severity of graft against host disease (GVHD), a complication often fatal that strikes people who have received a bone marrow transplant for cancer or other conditions. The test could help doctors decide quickly patients who need critical treatment.

GVHD is the equivalent of organ rejection syndrome in bone marrow transplant patients. The disease begins when the immune cells in the bone marrow of the donor recognize the recipient's cells as foreign and launch an attack. The initial clinical symptom is often a rash, which sometimes makes it difficult early diagnosis. But if allowed to progress, the disease can damage internal organs and proves fatal in 30% to 40% of cases. Outside the relapse of a person's disease, GVHD is the leading cause of death for patients who received a bone marrow donation

Due to the severity of GVHD, clinicians often start the treatment. - In high doses of steroids to suppress the immune response - in the absence of a diagnosis of concrete. But this preventive strategy can also be dangerous, increasing the risk of infections and may increase the risk of relapse in cancer patients. "There is a feeling that we overtreating some patients and other undertreating," said pediatric oncologist and co-author James Ferrara, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

To facilitate early diagnosis, Ferrara's team took weekly samples of plasma from patients who had received a bone marrow donation They compared levels elafin. - anti-inflammatory protein produced by the body in response to GVHD of the skin - 10 patients who had developed the disease and 20 patients who did not. on average, elafin levels in patients developing GVHD of the skin have been three times higher, the researchers report online today in Science Translational Medicine .

Next, the researchers divided 159 patients with the disease in two groups with --those higher than the mean plasma concentrations of elafin and those with lower average levels - and then the long-term survival of each group. After 12 months, three times as many patients in the high elafin group had died from GVHD and its complications in the group with low elafin. "In the future, hopefully a clinician may be able to test Elafin levels of a transplant patient with a rash decide to start treatment," said Ferrara. If, as the researchers suspect, elafin of the levels increase before symptoms develop GVHD, it might also be possible to identify patients at risk who do not have a rash.

hematological oncologist Corey Cutler of Harvard Medical School in Boston noted that GVHD can often be diagnosed just by careful examination of the rash, but a more definitive diagnostic test would be welcome. "If this test could predict the onset of GVHD before the rash develops, it could be extremely valuable," he said.