Cessation | SilverScorpio.Com

High recurring heart attack, stroke rates prevail globally despite use of many medicines

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 1 (ANI): An international study has shown that patients with vascular disease have a surprising high rate of events like strokes, heart attacks, hospitalisations and mortality, despite the use of many medicines and other treatments.

The study has also shown that patients in North America, including the U.S., experience an above-average rate of such events.

While the highest rate of these events was observed among patients in Eastern Europe, the lowest was among those in Australia and Japan.

A presentation on the results from the international REACH (Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health) Registry was recently made by a researcher from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2009 in Barcelona on August 31.

The study examined data for 32,247 patients one and three years after they enrolled in the registry.

A European Heart Journal report on the study says that patients who had symptomatic vascular disease had a 14.4 percent rate at one year and 28.4 percent rate at three years of having a heart attack, stroke, rehospitalisation for another type of vascular event or vascular death.

The report further states that patients with vascular disease in more than one location of the body had the highest event rate at 40.5 percent at three years.

When projected over the global population who would mirror the patients in REACH, this represents millions of serious vascular events occurring every few years, many of which could be prevented.

“We were surprised by the high rate of these recurring vascular events,” said lead author Dr. Mark J. Alberts, a professor of Neurology at the Feinberg School and the director of the stroke program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

“We know how to prevent vascular disease and the events that it produces. This points to the need for better prevention, better use of medications and a need to develop more potent medications. These are the number one and two causes of death throughout the world,” he added.

Many of the patients in the REACH study were taking the appropriate medications for their vascular disease.

“But that doesn’t mean the medications worked or were being adhered to properly. Perhaps they need more or different medications,” Alberts said.

According to him, this study shows the need for more patients to adopt healthier lifestyles with increased exercise, a healthy diet and smoking cessation.

The author points out that these are inexpensive approaches to reducing and preventing the occurrence of vascular events. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: alberts, ANI, Atherothrombosis, attack, August, Australia, author, barcelona, body, Cardiology, cessation, Congress, death, diet, director, disease, dr mark, Dr. Mark J, eastern europe, European, European Heart Journal, european society of cardiology, European Society Of Cardiology Congress, event, exercise, experience, Feinberg, feinberg school of medicine, global population, having a heart attack, Health, Health Registry, heart, heart attack, heart attacks, heart stroke, High, hospital, Japan, journal, location, medicine, memorial, mortality, need, neurology, North America, northwestern, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, northwestern university feinberg school of medicine, number, occurrence, percent, population, presentation, prevention, professor, program, rate, reach, reduction, registry, rehospitalisation, report, researcher, school, school of medicine, September, smoking, society, stroke, Stroke Program, stroke rates, study, type, University, US, use, vascular, Vascular Death, vascular disease, Vascular Events, Washington, world, year

Most polluted ecosystems recoverable within a lifetime

May 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 28 (ANI): An analysis of 240 independent studies by researchers at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has revealed that most polluted or damaged ecosystems worldwide can recover within a lifetime if societies commit to their cleanup or restoration.

The Yale researchers found that forest ecosystems recovered in 42 years on average, while ocean bottoms recovered in less than 10 years.

When examined by disturbance type, ecosystems undergoing multiple, interacting disturbances recovered in 56 years, and those affected by either invasive species, mining, oil spills or trawling recovered in as little as five years.

Most ecosystems took longer to recover from human-induced disturbances than from natural events, such as hurricanes.

“The damages to these ecosystems are pretty serious,” said Oswald Schmitz, an ecology professor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and co-author of the meta-analysis with Yale Ph.D. student Holly Jones.

“But, the message is that if societies choose to become sustainable, ecosystems will recover. It isn’t hopeless,” he added.

The Yale analysis focuses on seven ecosystem types, including marine, forest, terrestrial, freshwater and brackish, and addresses recovery from major anthropogenic disturbances: agriculture, deforestation, eutrophication, invasive species, logging, mining, oil spills, overfishing, power plants and trawling and from the interactions of those disturbances.

Major natural disturbances, including hurricanes and cyclones, are also accounted for in the analysis.

The researchers analyzed data derived from peer-reviewed studies conducted over the past century that examined the recovery of large ecosystems following the cessation of a disturbance.

The studies measured 94 variables that were grouped into three categories: ecosystem function, animal community and plant community.

The researchers quantified the recovery of each of the variables in terms of the time it took for them to return to their pre-disturbance state.

The Yale analysis found that 83 studies demonstrated recovery for all variables; 90 reported a mixture of recovered and non-recovered variables; and 67 reported no recovery for any variable.

According to Schmitz, 15 percent of all the ecosystems in the analysis are beyond recovery.

Also, 54 percent of the studies that reported no recovery likely did not run long enough to draw definitive conclusions.

In addition, the analysis suggests that an ecosystem’s recovery may be independent of its degraded condition.

The researchers said the analysis rebuts speculation that it will take centuries or millennia for degraded ecosystems to recover and justifies an increased effort to restore degraded areas for the benefit of future generations.

“Restoration could become a more important tool in the management portfolio of conservation organizations that are entrusted to protect habitats on landscapes,” said Schmitz. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: addition, Agriculture, Analysis, ANI, animal, Animal Community, benefit, brackish, century, cessation, cleanup, co-author, community, condition, conservation, deforestation, disturbance, ecology, ecosystem, Ecosystem Types, effort, environmental, eutrophication, forest, forest ecosystems, Forestry, freshwater, function, Holly Jones, hurricanes, Including Marine, Independent Studies, Invasive Species, lifetime, Major, management, May, message, meta analysis, millennia, mining, mixture, Natural Disturbances, ocean, Ocean Bottoms, oil, Oswald, Oswald Schmitz, percent, plant, portfolio, power, power plants, professor, recovery, restoration, Schmitz, school, speculation, state, student, Sustainable Ecosystems, time, tool, type, variable, Washington, worldwide, Yale, Yale Ph, Yale Researchers, Yale School Of Forestry, Yale School Of Forestry And Environmental Studies

Why some pregnant women find it difficult to quit smoking

May 15, 2009 By admin 2 Comments

Washington, May 15 (ANI): Scientists from Peninsula Medical School and the University of Bristol have discovered a common genetic variant that might make it difficult for women to quit smoking during pregnancy.

They found that variation in 15q24 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene receptor cluster is associated with a reduced ability of women to quit smoking in pregnancy.

For the study, the researchers looked at 7,845 women of European descent from the South West of England.

Using 2,474 women who smoked regularly immediately before they became pregnant, the association between the variant and smoking cessation and smoking quantity during pregnancy was analysed.

When asked about smoking in the first trimester of pregnancy, 28 pct of the women said they had given up.

However, this figure was only 21pct in the group of women with two copies of the smoking addiction gene, whereas in women with two copies of the non-addictive gene, 31pct said they had quit.

In the third trimester, 47pct of women with two copies of the non-addictive gene had stopped smoking, compared with only 34pct of women with two copies of the smoking addiction gene.

“Pregnant women are under considerable health and social pressure to stop smoking, and quitting in such circumstances is influenced by a number of factors including the age of the expectant mother, their education and whether or not their partners smoke,” said Dr. Rachel Freathy from the Peninsula Medical School.

“However, we were keen to investigate whether the genetic variant that influences increased cigarette consumption also had a role to play as an extra hurdle to quitting smoking during pregnancy, and our study suggests that it does,” she added.

The study is published in Human Molecular Genetics. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ability, acetylcholine, addiction, age, ANI, association, bristol, cessation, cigarette, Cigarette Consumption, cluster, consumption, descent, dr rachel, Dr. Rachel Freathy, Education, England, european descent, figure, first trimester of pregnancy, gene, genetic variant, genetics, group, group of women, Health, human, Human Molecular Genetics, hurdle, May, medical, molecular, mother, Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor, number, pct, peninsula, peninsula medical school, pregnancy, pregnant, Pregnant women, pressure, quantity, quitting smoking, receptor, receptor gene, role, school, smoke, smoking, Smoking Addiction, smoking cessation, smoking during pregnancy, Smoking Pregnancy, south-west, study, Third Trimester, trimester, trimester of pregnancy, University, university of bristol, variant, variation, Washington

Chronic smoking interferes with alcohol-related brain damage recovery

May 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 12 (ANI): Chronic cigarette smoking can adversely affect alcohol-related brain damage recovery, according to a study.

Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) can damage the brain, particularly the frontal and parietal cortices, although this damage is at least partially reversible with sustained abstinence from alcohol.

Anderson Mon, senior research fellow in the department of radiology at the University of California, San Francisco, has shown that chronic cigarette smoking is associated with poor recovery of brain blood flow during abstinence from long-term heavy drinking.

Using the longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain blood flow, the research team has found that smoking makes it harder for brain blood flow to recover from long-term heavy drinking.

“The brain’s frontal lobes are involved in higher-order cognitive function, such as learning, short-term memory, reasoning, planning, problem solving, and emotional control,” said Mon.

“The parietal lobes are involved in aspects of attentional regulation and visuospatial processing.

“Chronic and excessive drinking is associated with neurobiological abnormalities in these regions, which contribute to the cognitive dysfunction frequently observed in those with AUDs after detoxification,” he added.

Cerebral perfusion is a measure of the amount of blood flow to brain tissue per unit time. A normal, uninterrupted flow of blood through the brain is necessary to supply brain tissue with sufficient essential compounds and oxygen for normal metabolism.

“In general, AUDs are associated with reduced perfusion,” said Mon.

“With abstinence from alcohol, brain perfusion abnormalities may recover, but there are several factors that may influence recovery, such as age, diet, exercise, genetic predispositions and – the topic of our research -other substances such as tobacco products.”

During the study, the researchers recruited three groups participants, of which 19 were non-smoking alcohol-dependent (ALC) patients, and 22 smoking ALC patients at one and five weeks of abstinence from alcohol. They also involved 28 age-matched non-smoking, light-drinking controls.

The results showed that even though cerebral perfusion among the ALC individuals, as a whole, improved with abstinence from alcohol, those ALC who were chronic smokers demonstrated significantly less perfusion recovery, particularly in the frontal lobes.

“At one week of abstinence, both smoking and non-smoking ALC patients had similar frontal and parietal gray matter perfusion; and both groups had lower perfusion than normal controls,” said Mon.

“However, after five weeks of abstinence, frontal and parietal gray matter perfusion of the non-smoking ALC patients recovered to normal control levels, whereas the smoking ALC group essentially showed no recovery,” he added.

“These results suggest that patients who want to stop drinking should be offered an option to stop smoking,” said Graeme Mason, associate professor of diagnostic radiology and psychiatry at Yale University.

“However, any combined cessation has to be designed carefully,” he added. he findings have been published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: abstinence, age, ALC, alcohol, alcohol related brain damage, Alcohol-use, alcoholism, amount, Anderson Mon, ANI, attentional, AUDs, blood, brain, Brain Lobes, Brain Perfusion, brain tissue, California, california san francisco, cerebral, Cerebral Perfusion, cessation, chronic, cigarette, cigarette smoking, clinical, Cognitive Dysfunction, control, damage, department, detoxification, diet, Diet Exercise, drinking, dysfunction, Emotional Control, exercise, Experimental, fellow, flow, frontal lobes, function, Genetic Predispositions, Graeme Mason, group, imaging, longitudinal, magnetic resonance imaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri, matter, May, measure, memory, metabolism, mri, option, oxygen, parietal, Parietal Lobes, perfusion, Perfusion Abnormalities, planning, Planning Problem, problem, processing, professor, psychiatry, Radiology, reasoning, recovery, regulation, Research, resonance, Resonance Imaging Mri, San Francisco, short term memory, smoking, study, team, time, tissue, tobacco, topic, unit, University, university of california san francisco, visuospatial, Washington, week, whole, Yale

Chinese billions helping Lanka ward off Western peace efforts, fight LTTE

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 2 (ANI): China is using the Sri Lankan crisis to expand its sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean region as part of its “string of pearls” strategy, and this is one of the main reasons behind failure of Western governments to negotiate a ceasefire to help Tamil civilians trapped on the front line, according to a leading UK based daily.

The world, including India, has called for a cessation of hostilities to enable civilians to escape from the war zone, but China is still encouraging the Lankan offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

China is building a one billion dollar port that it plans to use as a refuelling and docking station for its navy in Lankan fishing town of Hambantota.

The sudden spurt of construction helps, however, to explain why the Sri Lankan Army is poised to defeat the Tamil Tigers and why Western governments are so powerless to negotiate a ceasefire to help civilians trapped on the front line, The Times reported.

China has given Sri Lanka all the aid, arms and diplomatic support it needs to defeat the Tigers, without worrying about the West, ever since Colombo agreed to the plan in March 2007.

Even India, Sri Lanka’s long-time ally and the traditionally dominant power in South Asia, has found itself sidelined in the past two years and this becomes clear from Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram comments said that India’s response to the Lankan crisis has been impacted by China which is using this issue to expand its sphere of influence.

The Chinese say that Hambantota is a purely commercial venture, but many US and Indian military planners regard it as part of a “string of pearls” strategy under which China is also building or upgrading ports at Gwadar in Pakistan, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Sittwe in Burma.

China’s aid to Sri Lanka jumped from a few million dollars in 2005 to almost one billion dollar last year, replacing Japan as the biggest foreign donor. By comparison, the United States gave 7.4 million dollars last year, and Britain just 1.25 million pounds. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aid, ally, ANI, army, Bangladesh, Britain, burma, ceasefire, cessation, China, chittagong, Colombo, Commercial Venture, comparison, construction, crisis, Diplomatic Support, dollar, Dominant Power, donor, Eelam, failure, fight, fishing, Gwadar, Hambantota, home, India, indian ocean, indian ocean region, influence, issue, Japan, lankan, liberation, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)., line, London, ltte, March, May, military planners, Minister P. Chidambaram, P. Chidambaram, Pakistan, part, peace, peace efforts, plan, port, power, region, response, Sittwe, south-asia, sphere, sphere of influence, spurt, Sri Lanka, sri lankan army, Sri Lankan Crisis, station, strategy, string, String Of Pearls, Sudden Spurt, support, tamil, tamil civilians, tamil tigers, tigers, Time Ally, times, town, U.K, union, Union Home Minister, United States, US, venture, war, west, Western Governments, world, year, zone

Now, iPhone’s ‘My QuitLine’ app helps smokers kick the butt

May 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 29 (ANI): Smokers interested in quitting the habit can now get some serious help from their iPhones – a new free application of the smart phone provides a live quitline coach and uses live text to advice on how to kick the butt.

Developed by The George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) and the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (NTCC), “My QuitLine” app also provides evidence-based treatment for quitting.

It connects the user to the National Cancer Institute’s quitline service where they speak to a live quitline coach or use live text to get advice on quitting.

GW’s Dr. Lorien Abroms, assistant research professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health, designed the app with feedback from the NTCC, after reading an NTCC report about the lack of iPhone apps that link smokers to proven therapies.

“Quitline counseling has been shown to double a person’s chance of quitting smoking. It is important to make sure that in these new media environments, people still receive information about what has been proven to work in quitting smoking, and get access to tools that are based on these proven therapies,” said Abroms.

Users can look for the app by searching “My QuitLine” or “quit smoking” on their iPhone or on iTunes.

While the Apple app store has other applications to help people quit smoking, no others use products or services recommended as effective by the 2008 Public Health Service Guideline Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence.

“The My QuitLine app finally gives iPhone users access to an evidence-based method to help them quit smoking. The best part is that it is free and proven to work,” said Todd Phillips, director of the NTCC. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Abroms, access, advice, ANI, app, apple, application, Apr, assistant, assistant research professor, butt, cancer, cessation, chance, coach, collaborative, community, community health, counseling, department, dependence, director, feedback, Free Application, george, George Washington University, guideline, habit, Health, help, information, institute, iPhone, iphones, lack, link, Lorien, Media Environments, method, national, national cancer institute, National Tobacco, NTCC, part, person, Phone, prevention, professor, Public, public health service, quitline, quitting smoking, report, Research, school, school of public health, service, Service Guideline, smoking, SPHHS, store, text, tobacco, Tobacco Cessation, tobacco use, Todd Phillips, treating, Treating Tobacco Use And Dependence, treatment, University, use, user, Washington

Jayalalithaa attacks Congress for calling her anti-national on Ealam demands

May 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

p
Chennai, Apr.27 (ANI): The Congress party was on Monday attacked by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Chief Jayalalithaa for dubbing Eelam demands as ‘anti-national’. /pp
I am a patriot, why are my credentials being questioned? she said. /pp
Jayalalithaa claimed that her demand on Eelam was based on the humantarian crisis of trapped Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and she was not demanding a separate nation being carved out of India. /pp
She also sought an explanation from the Congress as to why her demand on Eelam is against India’s interest./pp
Jayalalithaa’s criticism came as the Sri Lankan Government said that the combat operations in the northern parts of the island have concluded and security forces have been instructed to end the use of heavy calibre guns, combat aircraft and aerial weapons. /pp
A statement from the President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Office said that Sri Lankan security forces will confine their attempts to rescuing civilians who are held hostage and give foremost priority to saving the civilians. /pp
Home Minister P Chidambaram welcomed the Sri Lankan government’s decision to stop combat operations in the island’s north, saying it offered solace to India./pp
It means cessation of hostilities. It means to the Government of India that the Sri Lankan Government has put an end to the ongoing offensive, Chidambaram said./pp
He said Colombo had instructed its security forces not to use heavy calibre guns, combat aircraft and aerial fire which could cause civilian casualties./pp
He welcomed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s decision to call off his indefinite fast demanding unconditional ceasefire, following Colombo’s announcement. (ANI)/p

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Aerial Fire, AIADMK, aircraft, ANI, Anna Dravida, announcement, Apr, calibre, ceasefire, cessation, Chennai, Chief Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, civilian casualties, Colombo, combat, combat aircraft, combat operations, confine, Congress, congress party, crisis, criticism, decision, demand, dravida, Ealam, Eelam, end, explanation, fire, foremost priority, Government, government of india, home, Home Minister, hostage, hostilities, humantarian, India, interest, island, Kazhagam, lankan, M. Karunanidhi, mahinda, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister P. Chidambaram, Monday, Munnetra, nadu, nation, offensive, office, P. Chidambaram, party, Patriot, president, president mahinda rajapaksa, priority, rajapaksa, security, solace, Sri Lanka, sri lankan government, Sri Lankan Security, statement, tamil, tamil civilians, use

China using Lanka crisis to promote influence in Indian Ocean Region: Chidambaram

April 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 25 (ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has said that India’s response to the Sri Lankan crisis has been impacted by China which is using this issue to expand its sphere of influence in the island nation.

Chidambaram’s comments are important as Lanka’s importance for Beijing is in the sea-lanes of communication in the north Indian Ocean through which Chinese trade and energy supplies flow.

“China is fishing in troubled waters. That is a lone, discordant voice among all of the global community,” The Hindustan Times quoted Chidambaram, as saying.

“China is acting with a clear agenda. Our policies take account of the Chinese calculations,” he said.

Chidambaram said India is trying to put pressure on Colombo and the LTTE to cease hostilities.

“It’s a humanitarian crisis. We want the killings to stop. But neither the Lankan Government nor the Tamil Tigers are willing to listen to the international community,” he said.

The Home Minister said Pakistan also might have wanted to seek a foothold on the southern (maritime) border of India, but internal issues were holding it back.

Chidambaram said the advances made by the Taliban in Pakistan were “extremely worrisome” for India. “Large sections of Pakistan are under the control of the Taliban,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: account, agenda, ANI, Apr, BEIJING, border, cessation, China, chinese trade, Colombo, communication, community, control, crisis, Eelam, energy, Energy Supplies, foothold, global community, Government, hindustan, hindustan times, home, hostilities, humanitarian crisis, importance, India, indian ocean, indian ocean region, influence, island, island nation, issue, lanka, lanka crisis, lankan, Lankan Government, liberation, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)., ltte, maritime, Minister P. Chidambaram, nation, New Delhi, north Indian Ocean, Pakistan, pressure, region, response, Sea Lanes, sphere, sphere of influence, sri, Sri Lankan Crisis, Taliban, tamil, tamil tigers, tigers, times, trade, Troubled Waters, union, Union Home Minister, voice, war, war zone, world, zone

No sympathy for terrorists, only concerned about civilians in Sri Lanka

April 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Apr 22 (ANI): External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said that India does not pity the terrorists in Sri Lanka, and is only concerned about the thousands of civilians who are fleeing the war-zone.

Addressing a press conference here, Mukherjee said, “We have no sympathy for the terrorists, but every sympathy for the civilians.”

Talking about the evacuation process going on in the island-country, he said that there were unconfirmed reports of the exact number of civilians who are still trapped in the conflict zone.

“The Sri Lankan authorities were saying that the number was between 10,000 and 15,000. However, UN observers have put the figure at between 30,000 and 40,000,” he said.

Stating that over 58,600 civilians have come out from the conflict zone this morning, Mukherjee said it proves that the Sri Lanklan authorities were responding to India’s appeal.

Mukherjee also informed that India has been asking Colombo not take any action without considering “the interest of the international community.”

He said that India has already requested the Sri Lanka Government to extend the period of the cessation of hostilities.

“We did not use the term ceasefire; what we said was that there should be a pause to enable the civilians to go to safer zones,” he said.

Mukherjee said that he has told the Lankan Government to make certain that relief materials sent by the United Nations and several countries including India should be distributed through the International Red Cross. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ceasefire, cessation, civilians, conflict zone, exact number, External Affairs Minister, external affairs minister pranab mukherjee, hostilities, India, Kolkata, Lankan Government, Pranab Mukherjee, relief materials, Sri Lanka government, sri lankan authorities, sympathy, terrorists, un observers, United Nations, war zone

Nicotine chewing gums ‘raise cancer risk’

April 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, April 22 (ANI): A team of British scientists has found that nicotine chewing gum, lozenges and inhalers designed to help people to give up smoking may have the potential to cause cancer.

The research team, led by Muy-Teck Teh, of Queen Mary, University of London, has found a link between mouth cancer and exposure to nicotine, which may indicate that using oral nicotine replacement therapies for long periods could contribute to a raised risk of the disease.

In the study, researchers found that the effects of a genetic mutation that is common in mouth cancer can be worsened by nicotine in the levels that are typically found in smoking cessation products.

The results raise the prospect that nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco, may be more carcinogenic than had previously been appreciated.

“Although we acknowledge the importance of encouraging people to quit smoking, our research suggests nicotine found in lozenges and chewing gums may increase the risk of mouth cancer,” Times Online quoted Dr Teh as saying.

“Smoking is of course far more dangerous, and people who are using nicotine replacement to give up should continue to use it and consult their GPs if they are concerned. The important message is not to overuse it, and to follow advice on the packet,” Dr Teh added.

In the study, Dr Teh’s team investigated the role of a gene called FOXM1 in mouth cancer.

A mutation that raises the activity of this gene is commonly found in many tumours, and is also present in pre-cancerous cells in the mouth, the scientists found.

According to Dr Teh, this raised expression can then be worsened by exposure to nicotine.

“If you already have a mouth lesion that is expressing high levels of FOXM1 and you expose it to nicotine, it may add to the risk of converting it into cancer. Neither the raised FOXM1 nor nicotine is alone sufficient to trigger cancer, but together they may have an effect,” he said.

“The concern is that with smokers, you are looking at people who are already at risk of oral cancer. I’m worried that some may already have lesions they don’t know about in the mouth, and if they keep on taking nicotine replacement when they stop smoking products they will not be doing themselves any good,” he added.

The study is published in the journal Public Library of Science One. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: activity, advice, ANI, April, British scientists, cancer, cancer risk, cessation, chemical, chewing gums, concern, course, disease, Dr Teh, effect, exposure, expression, FOXM, gene, genetic mutation, Good, gps, gum, importance, journal, lesion, library, link, London, long periods, Lozenges, message, mouth, Mouth Cancer, mutation, Muy, nicotine, Nicotine Chewing Gum, Nicotine Gum, Nicotine Replacement Therapies, Online, Oral Nicotine Replacement, overuse, packet, potential, pre cancerous cells, prospect, Public, Queen Mary, queen mary university, queen mary university of london, raise, replacement, Research, risk, role, Science, smoking, smoking cessation, Smoking Cessation Products, study, study researchers, team, Teck, times, tobacco, tumours, University, university of london

Miliband praises Pranab Mukherjee

April 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, April 20 (IANS) British Foreign Secretary David Miliband paid handsome tributes to his opposite number Pranab Mukherjee Monday three months after raising eyebrows in New Delhi with a statement about Kashmir.

Miliband made opportunistic use of a London Book Fair event to praise Mukherjee’s ‘breadth of vision’ following the Indian external affairs minister’s call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka.

During a much-publicised visit to India in January Miliband was reported to have addressed Mukherjee – the senior of the two – by his first name.

His statement calling for efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute – made in the context of the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai – also upset India before Mukherjee stepped in to declare the incident a ‘closed chapter’.

Appearing alongside the economist Amartya Sen on the opening day of the book fair Monday, Miliband said Mukherjee’s was a ‘loud and clear voice’ on the need for Sri Lankan authorities to declare a ceasefire in order to help civilians escape the current civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Billed as a conversation, the half-hour event saw Miliband interviewing Sen on a variety of subjects about India, including what kind of role it would play if made a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Miliband praised India as a ‘remarkable success story in a very challenging part of the world’ – for its democracy, economic growth, traditions of tolerance and mutual respect, internationalism and traditions of thought.

India was the third largest contributor to international peacekeeping, he said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Amartya, appearing, April, Billed, book, breadth, British, call, ceasefire, cessation, chapter, context, contributor, conversation, Council, david miliband, day, democracy, dispute, economist, event, External Affairs Minister, eyebrows, fair, foreign, growth, Half Hour, hostilities, IANS, incident, India, International Peacekeeping, internationalism, January, Kashmir, Kashmir dispute, kind, lankan, London, london book, member, minister, Monday, Mukherjee, Mumbai, mutual respect, name, need, New Delhi, number, opening day, Opposite Number, order, part, pranab, Pranab Mukherjee, remarkable success story, respect, role, secretary david, Secretary David Miliband, security, sen, Senior, Sri Lanka, sri lankan authorities, statement, story, success, tamil, Tamil Tiger, tiger, tolerance, un security council, use, variety, vision, visit, voice, war, world

Sri Lankan Tamil leaders seek Indian help to stop military strikes

April 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Apr 17 (ANI): A delegation of Sri Lankan Tamil leaders on Friday met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in the national capital and sought India’s intervention to end military strikes in the No Fire Zone in the Island nation.

The Sri Lankan Tamil leaders also met Indian National Security Adviser and the Foreign Secretary.

The Tamil leaders appealed Manmohan Singh to ensure the right to life of Tamils living in the no fire zone.

“We request to Manmohan Singh that there must be a cessation of all military attacks in the No Fire Zone, as the only definite way to ensure the right to life of the substantial number of Tamil civilians living in the no fire zone. We also stated that these people within the no fire zone should just not be deprived of their right to life only for the reason that they are Tamils,” said R. Sampanthan, a Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka.

Over 2,50,000 Tamil civilians have been compelled to seek refuge in a small territory about 20 square kilometers, along the coast of Mullaitheevy District of Sri Lanka, the delegation told mediapersons here.

On Friday, India asked Sri Lanka to extend a pause in war hostilities to enable civilians trapped in the conflict to leave for secure areas, saying the fate of Tamils could not be ignored.

Indian politicians face pressure to protect Sri Lankan Tamils, who are closely linked to about 60 million Tamils in Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lanka’s two-day humanitarian truce ended on Wednesday and the military announced it was now free to begin a final assault to end the 25-year war against the rebel Tamil Tigers.

In less than three years, the Sri Lankan military has retaken 15,000 square km (5,790 square mile) from the separatists and pushed them into 17 square km (6.6 square mile) of coastal coconut groves, where commanders expect to end a war that began in 1983. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: adviser, ANI, Apr, assault, capital, cessation, coast, Coconut, Coconut Groves, conflict, delegation, Dr. Manmohan Singh, fate, fire, foreign, Friday, help, India, Indian, indian politicians, intervention, island, island nation, lankan, Less Than Three Years, life, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, member, member of parliament, Mile, military, military attacks, Military Strikes, Mullaitheevy District, nadu, nation, national, national security adviser, New Delhi, number, parliament, pause, pressure, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan, R. Sampanthan, reason, Rebel Tamil Tigers, refuge, retaken, right, secretary, security, Singh, square kilometers, Sri Lanka, sri lankan military, sri lankan tamil, sri lankan tamils, tamil, tamil civilians, tamil leaders, Tamil Nadu, tamil tigers, Tamils, territory, tigers, truce, war, way, Wednesday, year, zone

Cease-fire in Sri Lanka’s no-fire zone should continue: Mukherjee

April 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Apr.17 (ANI): The Government of India is clear that the cease-fire in the “No Fire” zone in Sri Lanka should continue in the interests of the Tamil citizens of that country, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

Addressing a press conference, Mukherjee said India is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka,and added that New Delhi has repeatedly expressed its concern over the safety of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and sought to ensure safe passage to secure zones for the civilian population which has suffered a heavy toll in the ongoing conflict.

The minister said India had welcomed the announcement by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse of a cessation of hostilities for the Tamil and Sinhala New Year over the last two days.

The Government of Sri Lanka, Mukherjee said, must extend this pause in hostilities to prevent further casualties and enable trapped civilians to leave the area to secure locations. Continuation of precipitate military actions leading to further civilian casualties at this time would be totally unacceptable.

While it is incumbent on the LTTE to release all civilians and IDPs under their control, the Government of Sri Lanka cannot be oblivious to the evolving human tragedy and the fate of the Tamil civilian population caught up in the so-called “No Fire” zone, Mukherjee pointed out.

The Government of India has extended humanitarian assistance, including medicines, food and other supplies to the civilian population trapped in the conflict zone.

A 62- member emergency medical unit from India has treated more than 1500 serious medical cases among civilians in Pulmoddai in Sri Lanka. India will soon send another consignment of 40,000 family packs to the affected civilians in Northern Sri Lanka, Mukherjee promised.

The Government of India, the minister said, expected the Government of Sri Lanka and others concerned to respond positively to the appeal for a continued ceasefire in the interest of the Tamils who are citizens of Sri Lanka. By Ajitha Menon (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Ajitha, ANI, announcement, appeal, Apr, area, assistance, cannot, cease-fire, ceasefire, cessation, civilian casualties, civilian population, concern, conference, conflict, conflict zone, consignment, continuation, control, country, emergency, external, External Affairs Minister, external affairs minister pranab mukherjee, family, fate, fire, food, Government, government of india, government of sri lanka, Human Tragedy, humanitarian situation, IDPs, India, interest, Kolkata, lankan, ltte, mahinda, mahinda rajapakse, Medical Cases, medical unit, member, Member Emergency, menon, Military Actions, minister, Mukherjee, New Delhi, northern sri lanka, passage, pause, population, pranab, Pranab Mukherjee, precipitate, president, press, Pulmoddai, rajapakse, safe passage, safety, sinhala, situation, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan President, tamil, tamil civilians, Tamils, time, today, toll, tragedy, unit, year, zone

Health habits predict cancer survival

April 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 2 (ANI): A new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that head and neck cancer patients who smoke, drink, don’t exercise or don’t eat enough fruit have worse survival outcomes than those with better health habits.

“While there has been a recent emphasis on biomarkers and genes that might be linked to cancer survival, the health habits a person has at diagnosis play a major role in his or her survival,” said study author Sonia Duffy, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of nursing at the U-M School of Nursing, research assistant professor of otolaryngology at the U-M Medical School, and research scientist at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Each of the factors was independently associated with survival.

For the study, the researchers surveyed 504 head and neck cancer patients about five health behaviours: smoking, alcohol use, diet, exercise and sleep. Patients were surveyed every three months for two years then yearly after that.

They found that smoking was the biggest predictor of survival, with current smokers having the shortest survival.

Problem drinking and low fruit intake were also linked to worse survival, although vegetable intake was not. Lack of exercise also appears to decrease survival.

“Health behaviours are only sporadically addressed in busy oncology clinics where the major focus is on surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Addressing health behaviours may enhance the survival advantage offered by these treatments,” said Duffy.

Complicating matters is that many of these health behaviours are inter-related. For example, smokers might also be heavy drinkers, making it more difficult to quit. Duffy points out that it’s not enough to refer someone to a smoking cessation program if alcohol is a major underlying problem.

Also, previous research has linked many of these health behaviours with preventing cancer.

In the current study, a third of the patients reported eating fewer than four servings of fruit per month. Nutrition experts recommend two servings of fruit per day.

“Eating fruits and vegetables, not smoking and drinking in moderation can have a big impact on a person’s risk of getting cancer in the first place. Now it appears that these factors also impact survival after diagnosis,” Duffy said.

Results of the study appear online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: Addressing Health, advantage, alcohol, ANI, Ann Arbor, Apr, assistant, author, cancer, Cancer Survival, center, cessation, chemotherapy, clinical, Complicating, comprehensive, comprehensive cancer center, day, diagnosis, diet, Diet Exercise, drink, drinking, eating, emphasis, example, exercise, focus, fruit, Fruit Intake, head, Head And Neck Cancer, Health, health behaviours, health habits, Healthcare, impact, intake, journal, lack, lack of exercise, m medical school, medical, michigan, michigan comprehensive cancer, moderation, month, neck, Neck Cancer Patients, nursing, nutrition, oncology, Online, Otolaryngology, person, place, predictor, problem, professor, program, R.N, radiation, Research, research assistant professor, research scientist, risk, role, school, scientist, smoking, smoking cessation, Smoking Cessation Program, someone, Sonia Duffy, study, surgery, survival, survival advantage, Survival Outcomes, Survival Problem, system, University, University Of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, use, vegetable, Washington

Unrelenting smokers experience higher levels of pain from lung cancer

March 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 19 (ANI): A new study has revealed that smokers who refuse to quit the habit despite being diagnosed with lung cancer experience higher levels of pain from the disease than non-smokers and former smokers.

Researchers at Duke University surveyed some 900 lung cancer patients and classified 17 percent of them as persistent smokers.

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of smoking status after a diagnosis of lung cancer with ratings of usual pain.

Several studies have examined the effects of continued smoking after a lung cancer diagnosis and found that it impairs healing, lowers efficacy of cancer treatments, hampers overall quality of life, increases risk for recurrence and secondary tumours, and decreases survival.

The results of the new study showed that patients who continued to smoke after diagnosis reported higher levels of pain and other lung cancer complications, such as shortness of breath and fatigue, than non smokers and former smokers.

The researchers concluded that pain coping skills training should be included in smoking cessation protocols for lung cancer patients who have not stopped smoking.

The study appears in The Journal of Pain. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: aim, ANI, breath, cancer, Cancer Experience, Cancer Pain, cancer treatments, cessation, Coping Skills, decreases, diagnosis, Diagnosis Of Lung Cancer, disease, duke, duke university, efficacy, experience, fatigue, habit, healing, journal, life, Life Increases, lung, lung cancer, Lung Cancer Diagnosis, lung cancer patients, mar, non, pain, percent, quality, quality of life, recurrence, relationship, shortness of breath, smokers, smoking, Smoking Cancer, smoking cessation, status, study, survival, training, tumours, University, unrelenting, Washington

Kicking the butt before surgery ‘cuts complications risk’

March 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 13 (ANI): Giving up smoking before surgery can almost half the risk of post-op complications, says a new study.

“Smokers are prone to developing a number of complications after surgery, ranging from impaired wound and bone healing to life-threatening pulmonary and cardiovascular problems” said Dr Omid Sadr Azodi from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

“This is why it is so important to find feasible, financially attractive and effective ways to help patients stop smoking before surgery,” the expert added.

During the study, the researchers randomly assigned 117 patients who were due to undergo general or orthopaedic surgery to an intervention and control group.

“The intervention group attended weekly meetings or received telephone support and were provided with free nicotine replacement therapy, while the control group just received standard pre-operative care” said Sadr Azodi.

“Patients were then assessed at regular intervals before and after surgery and after 12 months,” he added.

They found that more than a third patients who took part in an eight-week smoking cessation programme before and after planned surgery were able to give up and most of them were still smoke free after a year.

They also experienced half as many complications after surgery as the patients who did not receive help to give up smoking, with 21 per cent experiencing problems as opposed to 41 per cent.Our study shows that providing support in the run up to surgery enabled a third of the patients who took part in the study to remain smoke free after a year,” said Sadr Azodi.

“One interesting thing to emerge from the study was the high refusal rate. A further 76 patients declined to take part in our research because they were unwilling to give up smoking or were stressed by their forthcoming surgery,” he added.

The study appears in journal Anaesthesia. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: 12 months, anaesthesia, ANI, Azodi, bone, butt, Butt Surgery, cardiovascular problems, care, cent, cessation, control, control group, expert, Giving Up Smoking, group, half, healing, institute, intervals, intervention, intervention group, journal, karolinska, karolinska institute in stockholm, kicking, mar, nicotine, Nicotine Replacement Therapy, number, Omid, operative care, Orthopaedic Surgery, part, programme, rate, refusal, replacement, Research, risk, run, sadr, smoke, smokers, smoking, smoking cessation, Stockholm, stockholm sweden, study, support, surgery, Sweden, telephone, Telephone Support, therapy, thing, Washington, year

Men too suffer from ‘menopause’

February 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Feb 19 (ANI): It’s not just women who undergo menopause, even men experience midlife crisis, says researchers.

Middle-aged men often show irritability in behaviour, which they often blame it on their wives’ nagging, but now scientists have said that it’s just another type of menopause.

Many men do not acknowledge that they, just like women, suffer effects from the loss of hormones as they age.

But, Northern California psychotherapist Jed Diamond has said that in men the effects show up as everything from irritable mood swings and flagging sex drive to loss of muscle strength and male identity.

Diamond has said that men’s midlife crisis is just one aspect of male menopause, or andropause, as it is medically known.

While women go through hormonal changes that cause cessation of the menstrual period, resulting in the inability to reproduce, men don’t lose their reproductive abilities.

But some men do experience a decrease in testosterone levels with age.

“We’ve taken a slice and assumed it was the whole picture. There are a number of changes that men go through: hormonal, physiological, interpersonal, sexual and spiritual,” The Daily Telegraph quoted Diamond as saying.

He added: “When you think of midlife crisis, you think of the psychological or social changes, like when men act in a way that focuses upon youth.

“We ignore the hormonal and physiological changes. With women, we think the opposite, emphasising the physiological changes.”

He embarked on his research after finding out that irritability is a symptom of andropause and can cause problems all by itself

Then, he conducted another study with 6000 men and also developed the quiz and put it on his web site, where he said 60,000 people have taken it worldwide.ouann Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California-San Francisco, said that many of his theories are true, anecdotally, for men nationwide.

Brizendine said: “The concept of a midlife crisis has been questioned, but nonetheless, there is a correlation between declining testosterone and age in men.

“For some men, the decline in testosterone affects them in mood, muscle strength and sexual function.

“There is good evidence that declining testosterone in some men can make their mood decline, and some men have increased moodiness and irritability.”

Irritable Male Syndrome offers four key causes of male irritability-one is a decrease in testosterone.

Men become angrier because they feel less “like themselves,” said Diamond.

Other than that, stress, biochemical changes in the brain and changes in male identity and male roles in society cause irritability.

Diamond, the author of ‘The Irritable Male Syndrome: Managing the Four Key Causes of Aggression and Depression’ has developed an online support system at menalive.com.

Through his site, he is educating men around the globe about the little-known, but apparently widely experienced, phenomenon. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ''cause, age, aggression, andropause, angrier, ANI, aspect, author, behaviour, brain, Brizendine, California, causes, cessation, com, concept, correlation, crisis, daily, decline, decrease, depression, drive, everything, evidence, Feb, francisco, function, globe, hormonal, identity, inability, interpersonal, irritability, Irritable, Jed Diamond, key, loss, male, managing, Melbourne, Men, menopause, Middle-aged, midlife, mood, muscle, neuropsychiatrist, northern California, number, Online, opposite, ouann, period, phenomenon, picture, psychotherapist, quiz, Research, san, Sex, site, slice, society, spiritual, strength, stress, study, support, symptom, syndrome, system, Telegraph, testosterone, type, University, way, web, worldwide, youth

Drinking heavily early in a pregnancy ups premature birth risk

January 21, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

London, Jan 21 (ANI): Women who drink heavily early in a pregnancy – possibly before they know they are expecting – may be increasing the risk of premature delivery, according to a new study.

For the study, researchers recruited 4,719 Australian women and found almost an 80 percent higher risk for those who drank heavily in the first third of pregnancy, then stopped.

The researchers found no evidence of problems for women who drank low levels throughout pregnancy.

In the study, the strongest link between alcohol use and early birth was for women who drank moderately or heavily – several units of alcohol or more a week – during the first trimester, but then stopped completely for the rest of the pregnancy.

The researchers suggested that it was possible that the sudden cessation of alcohol drinking might provoke inflammation, which could harm the developing foetus in some way, although this idea was not tested during the study.

“The risk of pre-term birth is highest for women who drink heavily or at binge levels,” the BBC quoted Dr Colleen O’Leary, from the University of Western Australia, who led the study, as saying.

“Women should be advised that during pregnancy, drinking alcohol above low levels increases the risk to the baby and that the safest choice is not to drink alcohol during pregnancy,” O’Leary added.

The study is published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: australian women, bbc, binge, british journal of obstetrics, cessation, colleen, drinking alcohol, early birth, first trimester, foetus, inflammation, jan 21, journal of obstetrics, london jan, pregnancy, premature birth, premature delivery, study researchers, university of western australia, ups

Israel security cabinet approves cease-fire in Gaza

January 18, 2009 By Rajesh Leave a Comment

Jerusalem, Jan.18 (ANI): The security cabinet of Israel has reportedly approved a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, at least from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the cease-fire proposal on Saturday, while adding that the goals of Israel’s offensive in Gaza had been achieved.

Israel’s 12-member Security Cabinet was expected to approve the Egyptian proposal, under which fighting would stop immediately for 10 days. Israeli forces would remain in Gaza and the territory’s border crossings with Israel and Egypt would remain closed until security arrangements are made to prevent Hamas arms smuggling.

Under the deal, Egypt would shut down weapons smuggling routes with international help and discussions on opening Gaza’s blockaded border crossings – Hamas’ key demand – would take place at a later date.

Israel, however, has no immediate plans to withdraw troops from Gaza. The cease-fire in all likelihood will entail the end of Israeli attacks on Hamas now that the militant Palestinian group appears to have been disabled to the point that there is less of a threat of rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Hamas leaders have repeated that it will not respect any cease-fire as long as Israel remains inside Gaza.

More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the three weeks of violence, according to Palestinian and U.N. officials. Thirteen Israelis have also died.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Saturday that a unilateral cease-fire should be accompanied by a timetable for withdrawal, but a Hamas spokesman said the group would not stop fighting until Israel is out of Gaza.

The proposed cease-fire arrangement follows Friday’s signing of a “memorandum of understanding” in Washington between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that calls for expanded intelligence cooperation to prevent Hamas from rearming.

Livni called the deal, reached on the final working day of the Bush administration, “a vital complement for a cessation of hostility.”

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev saying he was hopeful that Israel is “entering the endgame” on its Gaza offensive. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: administration., ANI, arrangement, ban, border, bush, cabinet, cease-fire, cessation, condoleezza, cooperation, date, day, deal, demand, Egypt, ehud, end, endgame, foreign, Friday, Gaza strip, general, Government, group, hamas, help, hostility, intelligence, Israel, Israeli, jan, Jerusalem, ki-moon, likelihood, livni, mark regev, member, memorandum, minister, offensive, olmert, opening, place, point, post, prime, proposal, Rice, rocket, Saturday, security, side, signing, smuggling, southern israel, spokesman, state, territory, threat, timetable, tzipi, UN Secretary, understanding, Violence, Washington, withdrawal, working

Israel’s security cabinet expected to vote on ceasefire

January 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tel Aviv – The Israeli security cabinet was expected to vote Saturday night on a ceasefire proposal, as the military campaign entered its fourth week and airstrikes continued overnight across the Gaza Strip.

The warplanes hit about 50 targets during the night, including rocket launching sites, tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border as well as mosques used as points from where militants fired at Israel, a military spokesman said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office on Friday said there had been “significant progress” in talks in Cairo, where an Israeli delegation had been in discussions with Egypt’s intelligence chief.

Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group which rules Gaza, do not talk to each other directly but go through Cairo, which has been pushing for a ceasefire based on a short-term “humanitarian” truce, followed by negotiations on a longer-term ceasefire that would include the Israeli security concerns and the militants’ demand that the borders be opened.

The security cabinet vote would likely take place in the evening, after the end of the Jewish Sabbath, also giving Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak time to discuss the proposal with their representatives who returned from two trips to Cairo in two days.

There has been speculation that Israel might surprise and go for a unilateral cessation of hostilities, a move United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had called for.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed a bilateral deal with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington on Friday, aimed at helping to curb arms smuggling into Gaza, as part of an effort to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants.

Livni called it a “historic” deal that was a “vital component for the cessation of hostilities.”

Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’ Damascus-based political leader, said in Doha, at a summit of Arab leaders, that his organization would not accept Israeli dictates on the ceasefire, and that the militant group “had not suffered a defeat,” in the Gaza fighting.

Some 1,192 Palestinians have been killed and over 5,100 injured since Israel began Operation Cast Lead on December 27, in an attempt to stop Palestinian rocket fire at southern parts of the Jewish state. The first week focussed on airpower and on January 3 the ground troops moved into the enclave.

Three Israeli civilians and 10 soldiers have died since the operation began, and over 700 rockets have been fired from Gaza. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aviv, began, border, cabinet, Cairo, called, ceasefire, cessation, continued, deal, discuss, DPA, effort, ehud, entered, fighting, fired, Gaza, group, hamas, hostilities, include, injured, Israel, Israeli, Jewish, leader, livni, longer-term, militants, military, minister, night, olmert, operation, Palestinian, political, prime, proposal, rocket, sabbath, secretary, security, significant, state, talk, tel, used, vote, week