Punjab bans advertisements by doctors

October 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Chandigarh, Oct 30 (IANS) The Punjab government Sunday announced a ban on advertisements by doctors – from allopathic, ayurvedic and homoepathic streams – offering treatment of various diseases, including sexual ailments.

“Registered medical pract

itioners (RMPs) of homoeopathy, ayurveda and allopathy issuing advertisements and promising assured treatment of various ailments, including sexual ailments, are in for trouble, as the Punjab government has decided to tighten the noose on them,” a spokesman quoting Medical Education and Research Minister Arunesh Shakir said Sunday.

Shakir issued directions to initiate action against all those doctors who were advertising through various media, including print, broadcast and outdoor media, for treatment of various ailments.

He also issued directions to start a campaign to stop advertisements by RMPs as these were in violation of the guidelines of the Medical Council of India.

The minister said that it was unfortunate that some medical practitioners dealing in homoeopathy, ayurveda and allopathy were giving advertisements and putting up hoardings offering total rejuvenation in cases of sexual problems and assuring the birth of male child.

Punjab has one of the worst sex ratio among all states in the country at 893 females per 1,000 males.

“It is unethical as well as illegal for a doctor to advertise and any doctor issuing advertisements would be issued show cause notice by the affiliating body and proceedings would be launched for the cancellation of his licence,” said the minister.

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Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Submits Serdaxin® Phase II Protocol to FDA for Parkinson`s Disease

April 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROCKVILLE, Md.–(Business Wire)–
Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a clinical stage pharmaceutical
company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics,
today announced that it has submitted a Phase II protocol to the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) for the clinical study of Serdaxin® for the treatment
of Parkinson`s disease (PD).

“Serdaxin has demonstrated an ability to prevent neuronal deaths in PD models,
and the drug`s positive Phase IIa results in depression further enhance its
promise as a treatment for PD,” said Rexahn Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Chang
Ahn. “Although there are currently various treatment options for PD, a
meaningful cure is overdue. Based on Serdaxin`s novel action as a dual serotonin
and dopamine enhancer, we believe it has the potential to be the first drug of
its kind to target both the classic symptoms of PD and treat the depression so
often associated with this disease.”

The Phase II study will assess Serdaxin`s efficacy as a treatment for
Parkinson`s disease in approximately 300 subjects. The planned double blind,
randomized, placebo-controlled trial will include the Unified Parkinson`s
Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and quality of life instruments as study endpoints
and will be conducted at multiple sites.

Rexahn also has formed a Parkinson`s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) composed of
leading medical researchers in the field of neurology who will advise on the
design and development of the Serdaxin clinical trials. Commenting on the
protocol submission, Dr. William Weiner, Chairman of the SAB, and head of the
Maryland Parkinson`s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, and Professor and
Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of
Medicine, said, “We believe that Serdaxin’s properties in animal models open
exciting possibilities as a new treatment for patients with PD. All the members
of the SAB will be actively engaged in Serdaxin’s clinical development, which we
hope will further establish the drug’s efficacy in treating PD.”

About Serdaxin®

Serdaxin® is a potential market-leading CNS neuroprotective agent and
antidepressant. Rexahn is currently investigating Serdaxin as a treatment for
depression in Phase II clinical trials. Serdaxin may achieve greater and broader
therapeutic coverage and appears to have no serious side effects such as nausea,
vomiting, insomnia, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, cognitive deficit or motor
impairment that are linked to existing antidepressant drugs. Serdaxin has a
well-established, excellent human safety profile. In preclinical studies,
Serdaxin had onset of action in less than two days. Based on its novel mechanism
as a dual serotonin and dopamine enhancer, it is a potential treatment for
multiple CNS disorders where these neurotransmitters are depleted or implicated
in CNS-based illnesses, such as Parkinson`s disease (PD). Serdaxin has the
potential to address both non-motor and motor events of PD by serving as a
neuroprotective agent and addressing loss of dopaminergic neurons that lead to
loss of control of movements; and further, enhancing serotonin and dopamine
levels that are involved in depression and mood disorders. Rexahn has multiple
clinical programs planned for investigating Serdaxin in the treatment of anxiety
disorders, Parkinson`s disease, Alzheimer`s disease and neurodegenerative
illnesses, neuroprotection and biodefense uses.

About Parkinson`s Disease

Parkinson`s disease (PD) is the most common movement disorder, affecting more
than 5 million patients worldwide. Age is the most important risk factor for PD,
and the aging world population is expected to push the number of the afflicted
to over 10 million by 2030. In addition, its chronic and debilitating nature
warrants high socio-economic impacts. PD is characterized by the progressive
loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. The resulting dopamine depletion
leads to its cardinal motor symptoms, such as rigidity (muscle stiffness),
bradykinesia (slowing of movement), postural instability and resting tremor.
These impairments are accompanied by non-motor disabilities, including dementia,
depression, and sleep disturbance. The current standard treatment options target
the dopaminergic pathway, either by supplementing the molecule or stimulating
dopamine receptors (binding partners of dopamine). While these strategies
ameliorate symptoms in early stages, they become less effective over the course
of the disease. In addition, dopamine therapies fail to tackle the underlying
causes of the disease, and therefore, do not slow the progression of PD or
extend the life expectancy of patients. Serdaxin is a new class of CNS disorder
therapeutics that has prevented neuronal deaths in PD models. In contrast to
other PD drugs, Serdaxin directly targets the disease mechanism by slowing or
halting the progression of the disease, fulfilling unmet needs in Parkinson`s
disease treatment.

About Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to
commercializing first in class and market leading therapeutics for cancer, CNS
disorders, sexual dysfunction and other unmet medical needs. Rexahn currently
has three drug candidates in Phase II clinical trials, Archexin®, Serdaxin®, and
Zoraxel – all potential best in class therapeutics – and a robust pipeline of
preclinical compounds to treat multiple cancers and CNS disorders. Rexahn also
operates key R&D programs of nano-medicines, 3D-GOLD, and TIMES drug discovery
platforms. For more information, please visit www.rexahn.com.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Rexahn’s actual results
may differ materially from anticipated results, and expectations expressed in
these forward-looking statements, as a result of certain risks and
uncertainties, including Rexahn’s lack of profitability, and the need for
additional capital to operate its business to develop its product candidates;
the risk that Rexahn’s development efforts relating to its product candidates
may not be successful; the possibility of being unable to obtain regulatory
approval of Rexahn’s product candidates; the risk that the results of clinical
trials may not be completed on time or support Rexahn’s claims; demand for and
market acceptance of Rexahn’s drug candidates; Rexahn’s reliance on third party
researchers and manufacturers to develop its product candidates; Rexahn’s
ability to develop and obtain protection of its intellectual property; and other
risk factors set forth from time to time in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Rexahn assumes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Investor Relations
Stern Investor Relations, Inc.
Stephanie Ascher, 212-362-1200
stephanie@sternir.com
or
Base Pair Communications
Constantine Theodoropulos, 617-401-3116
constantine@basepaircomm.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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World’s longest running soap comes to an end

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, September 19 (ANI): The world’s longest running soap opera ‘Guiding Light’, spanning seven-decades and 15,700 episodes, has come to an end.

The American TV programme, which started as a 15-minute daily drama on NBC radio in 1937 before moving to television in 1952, was screened for the last time after a decline in the ratings in recent years.

CBS Senior Vice President Barbara Bloom said the show, that bagged dozens of awards including an Emmy, had set new heights with its treatment of social issues such as cancer, alcoholism and teenage pregnancy.

“No show in daytime or prime time, or anytime, has touched so many millions of viewers across so many years as Guiding Light,” The BBC quoted Barbara as saying.

The show is reportedly set to be replaced by a new edition of game show ‘Let’s Make a Deal’. (ANI)

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Natural hydrogel may boost spinal cord healing

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 18 (ANI): A jab of biomaterial gel into a spinal cord injury site may significantly improve healing, according to researchers at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

Dr. Mark Preul and Dr. Alyssa Panitch have found in a study that injection of an engineered hydrogel made up mainly of hyaluronic acid (a naturally-occurring body substance) into the spinal cord injury site decreases scarring, and promotes a realignment of the spinal cord fibres around the injury site.

The hyaluronic acid, which forms a scaffold-like configuration may help to structurally stabilize the spinal cord injury site.

The researchers traced cells in the brain stem after injury, and found much higher levels in the hydrogel treated animals as compared to animals that did not receive the treatment, and approached nearly normal levels.

Treated animals had higher functional scores than their non-treated counterparts.

“Spinal cord injury is devastating to civilian and military populations – especially to the young. There has been little progress toward paradigms of regeneration and few results that show real, sustained functional recovery. We’ve been so pre-occupied with regeneration, but that is a highly complicated and difficult to define goal. This project is a synergy of neurosurgeons and bioengineers that attempts repair of the SCI lesion cavity using a tissue-engineering biomaterials approach,” says Preul.

He added that the team aimed at finding ways to structurally allow the body to better heal itself.

“In this project we did not add anything to the hyaluronic acid. It may be that adding growth factors or cells into the gel matrix may allow even better results,” he said.

Preul said that the results show “we may be on a practical path that can give hope to the many people who suffer this sort of injury.”

The work was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in San Diego where it won the Synthes Prize for Spine Research. (ANI)

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Flintoff’s decision to reject ECB contract will benefit Chennai Super Kings

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep 18 (ANI): The Indian Premier League would be benefited after Andrew Flintoff rejected the ECB contract, said Chennai Super Kings, the team the England all rounder plays for in the IPL.

Chennai Super Kings manager VB Chandrasekhar said Flintoff’s decision to reject the contract would greatly benefit Chennai, but only if he was fit.

“But the thing is,” he said, “it’s not just about what a cricketer can give on the field. ‘Fred gives us a full package – in terms of marketing he is very valuable. Last time he was of great value to our dressing room, even when he wasn’t playing; someone of that aura can lift the team,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

The development comes amid bizarre reasoning by his manager, Andrew Chandler, that Flintoff rejected the ECB contract because he might have to go “bungee jumping”.

With Flintoff’s troubled injury history and the unproven results of his radical treatment in Dubai, any further damage to his knee could be career-threatening and he may be forced to pay for his own treatment.

The Super Kings pay Flintoff 1.55 million dollars a season and expressed sympathy with his plight, saying they may pay for rehabilitation depending on the circumstances, but did not guarantee it.

“There is a rule that says if it is a pre-existing injury, then the IPL team is not liable,” Chandrasekhar said.

“If you have taken a player in and if it is a serious injury and has occurred during the IPL, sometimes you have to weigh that up. We pay him on a match-to-match basis,” he added.

Under the IPL regulations, players must declare previous injuries, but Chennai is fully aware of the well-publicised knee problem that kept Flintoff out of the fourth Ashes Test.

Flintoff’s IPL future after 2010 is also in doubt, as he requires a No-Objection Certificate from the ECB. Granting him one would set a dangerous precedent for the board, as other players could follow his lead – precisely what the certificate is designed to prevent. (ANI)

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Adebayor lifts lid on his abusive treatment by Arsenal

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep 18 (ANI): Emmanuel Adebayor has criticized Arsenal after getting a three-match ban for his stamp on striker Robin van Persie.

“There is only so much abuse a man can take until he reaches breaking point,” Adebayor said.

Adebayor lifted the lid on his treatment by the Gunners and their fans that led to his outrageous behaviour in Saturday’s 4-2 win, and insisted: “Arsenal players refused to shake his hand before the game.”

He suffered 60 minutes of non-stop abuse from away fans before he turned the tables on them with his goal, The Sun reports.

Arsene Wenger completed his 25 million pounds summer move from Arsenal behind his back.

Adebayor, banned for Sunday’s Manchester derby, said: “I could not understand some of the Arsenal players being disrespectful towards me.”

“I was being abused by people who six months ago were singing my name. The abuse was for no reason. It wasn’t my fault I left, it was Arsene who wanted to accept the offer for me,” he added. (ANI)

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Jumbos enjoy a day off at a wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Jalpaiguri, Sep 18 (ANI): Captive elephants, used by the forest officials to supervise the area, enjoyed a royal treat at the Jaldapara Sanctuary in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.

The forest officials use elephants to supervise the area since most of the sanctuary is inaccessible by vehicle or on foot.

Every year on the occasion of Vishwakarma puja, the jumbos get the much-awaited annual holiday.

On this day, the elephants are given special treatment. The day starts with the bathing of the animals in the river. The mahouts then decorate the elephants and give them special food.

“The elephants are the ride of Lord Vishwakarma and Vishwakarma takes care of machine, elephants. That’s why we the staff members of Jaldapara Wildlife perform this puja (ritual),” said Kharke Bahadur, a mahout.

Wildlife officials said elephants played a big role in maintaining the sanctuary.

“Because at Jaldapara, it’s mainly wildlife area. Here, there is very important role for such captive elephants because some areas where vehicle movement and foot patrolling is not possible because there is risk to life and these areas are accessible (because of elephants). So we totally depend on these captive elephants,” said Buddhadev Mondal, range officer at the sanctuary. (ANI)

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Stem cell transplantation may correct rare genetic disorder in kids

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 18 (ANI): Scripps Research Institute scientists have offered new hope for parents whose children suffer from the rare genetic disorder ‘cystinosis’ by showing through an experiment on mice that stem cell transplantation can successfully correct the defect.

“After meeting the children who suffer from this disease, like an 18-year-old who has already had three kidney transplants, and the families who are desperately searching for help, our team is committed to moving toward a cure for cystinosis, a lysosomal storage disorder. This study is an important step toward that goal,” said principal investigator Stephanie Cherqui.

In the study, the researchers used bone marrow stem cell transplantation to address symptoms of cystinosis in a mouse model.

The procedure virtually halted the cystine accumulation responsible for the disease, and the cascade of cell death that follows.

Cystine is a by-product of the break down of cellular components the body no longer needs in the cell’s “housekeeping” organelles, called lysosomes.

Normally, cystine is shunted out of cells, but in cystinosis a gene defect of the lysosomal cystine transporter causes it to build up, forming crystals that are especially damaging to the kidneys and eyes.

Cystinosis is a rare but devastating disease affecting children as young as six months, who begin to suffer renal dysfunction, which grows progressively worse with time. Other symptoms include diabetes, muscular disease, neurological dysfunction, and retinopathy.

The only available drug to treat cystinosis, cysteamine, while slowing the progression of kidney degradation, does not prevent it, and end-stage kidney failure is inevitable.

In the new study, the researchers found that transplanted bone marrow stem cells carrying the normal lysosomal cystine transporter gene abundantly engrafted into every tissue of the experimental mice.

This led to an average drop in cystine levels of about 80 percent in every organ.

Not only it prevented kidney dysfunction, there was less deposition of cystine crystals in the cornea, less bone demineralization, and an improvement in motor function.

“The results really surprised and encouraged us. Because the defect is present in every cell of the body, we did not expect a bone marrow stem cell transplant to be so widespread and effective,” says Cherqui.

Cherqui said that adult bone marrow stem cell therapy is particularly well suited as a potential treatment for cystinosis because these cells target all types of tissues.

In addition, stem cells reside in the bone marrow for the duration of a patient’s life, becoming active as needed, a particular benefit for a progressive disease like cystinosis.

The study has been published in the journal Blood. (ANI)

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Tibetans living-in-exile surprised over China’s opposition to Dalai Lama’s visit

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Gangtok, Sep 17 (ANI): Members of the exiled Tibetan community living at Gangtok said China’s opposition to the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh is “surprising”.

The Dalai Lama plans to visit Arunachal Pradesh soon. China has claimed part of Arunachal as its territory.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader’s aide said the Dalai Lama would be in Arunachal Pradesh state in the second week of November.

The intended visit has already sparked off controversy. China claims about 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory.

The Dalai Lama’s travel plan was announced a week after the completion of his visit to Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by Beijing. China denounced the trip.

“This time round when they (Chinese Authorities) are making some kind of pressure or some kind of opposition to the upcoming visit of his holiness to Arunachal Pradesh it is really very surprising.

Why would they complain when the government of India has no problem in his holiness visiting Arunachal Pradesh? So why should people of republic of china have some problem?” said Zimba Bhutia, Tibetan youth committee member.

“Chinese authorities have always been against the trip of Dalai Lama. So I think that they should know why Dalai Lama has been there. Dalai Lama has been welcomed by the people of Arunachal Pradesh as the spiritual and a Buddhist monk,” said Dhondup Dorjee, Tibetan welfare officer of Sikkim.

A visit to Arunachal Pradesh could now draw further attention to China’s treatment of Tibetan activists and the Dalai Lama’s calls for cultural and religious freedoms and autonomy. (ANI)

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India demands stern action against perpetrators of Melbourne attackers

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sept 16 (ANI): The Indian Government on Wednesday called on the Australian Government to take stern action against the perpetrators of alleged racial assaults on Indians in Melbourne, Victoria.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement that the matter of the recurring attacks on Indians in Australia had been taken up with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith by Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh.

“As we take note of the assurances given, including from the highest levels of the government and provincial authorities of Australia, it is our earnest hope that the concerned authorities would take all necessary steps towards the safety and security of Indians in that country,” said Prakash in a statement.

“The Indian Consul General in Melbourne is in contact with authorities in Victoria including the police authorities,” he added.

“We hope that the latest incident is investigated with care and the culprits are dealt with, according to the laws of the land. It would also help, if various measures being contemplated by the Australian side, in addition to those already announced, are put in place at the earliest, to prevent reoccurrence of such incidents in the future,” Prakash said.

Officials of the Consulate General of India in Melbourne, are also in touch with family members of the victims.

Two Indian nationals and two other persons of Indian origin were assaulted by a group of individuals at Melbourne late in the evening on September 12.

One of the Indian nationals, Sukhdip Singh sustained serious injuries and is presently undergoing treatment.

“We are informed that the police arrested four individuals who have since been released pending further investigations,” Prakash said. (ANI)

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How some people maintain weight loss, others don’t

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 16 (ANI): Ever wondered how some people successfully maintain a significant weight loss, while others tend to regain the weight? Well, researchers at The Miriam Hospital attribute such tendencies to a difference in brain activity patterns.

The researchers showed that when individuals who had kept the weight off for several years were shown pictures of food, they were more likely to engage the areas of the brain associated with behavioural control and visual attention, as compared to obese and normal weight participants.

The findings of the study suggest that successful weight loss maintainers may learn to respond differently to food cues.

“Our findings shed some light on the biological factors that may contribute to weight loss maintenance. They also provide an intriguing complement to previous behavioral studies that suggest people who have maintained a long-term weight loss monitor their food intake closely and exhibit restraint in their food choices,” said lead author Dr. Jeanne McCaffery.

Long-term weight loss maintenance continues to be a major problem in obesity treatment.

Participants in behavioural weight loss programs lose an average of 8 to 10 percent of their weight during the first six months of treatment, and will maintain approximately two-thirds of their weight loss after one year.

However, despite intensive efforts, weight regain appears to continue for the next several years, with most patients returning to their baseline weight after five years.

The researchers used functional magnetic resource imaging (fMRI) to study the brain activity of three groups- 18 individuals of normal weight, 16 obese individuals (defined as a body mass index of at least 30), and 17 participants who have lost at least 30 lbs and have successfully maintained that weight loss for a minimum of three years.

When the participants were shown pictures of food items after a four-hour fast, it was found that those in the successful weight loss maintenance group responded differently to these pictures compared to the other groups.

Specifically, researchers observed strong signals in the left superior frontal region and right middle temporal region of the brain – a pattern consistent with greater inhibitory control in response to food images and greater visual attention to food cues.

“It is possible that these brain responses may lead to preventive or corrective behaviors – particularly greater regulation of eating – that promote long-term weight control. However, future research is needed to determine whether these responses are inherent within an individual or if they can be changed,” said McCaffery.

The study has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (ANI)

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Exercise beats shockwaves for chronic shoulder pain

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sept 16 (ANI): Supervised exercise helps ease chronic shoulder pain better than sound shockwave treatment, a new study suggests.

In the study, published in the online British Medical Journal, team of researchers based in Oslo, Norway compared the effectiveness of radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment (low to medium energy impulses delivered into the tissue) with supervised exercises in patients with shoulder pain.

The research involved 104 men and women aged between 18 and 70 years.

Participants were randomised to receive either radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment (one session weekly for four to six weeks) or supervised exercises (two 45 minute sessions weekly for up to 12 weeks).

Both groups were similar at the start of the study with regard to age, education, dominant arm affected and pain duration.

All patients were monitored at six, 12 and 18 weeks and were advised not to have any additional treatment except analgesics (including anti-inflammatory drugs) during the follow-up period. Pain and disability were measured using a recognised scoring index.

After 18 weeks, 32 of patients in the exercise group achieved a reduction in shoulder pain and disability scores compared with 18 in the shockwave treatment group.

More patients in the exercise group returned to work, while more patients in the shockwave treatment group had additional treatment after 12 weeks, suggesting that they were less satisfied.

The authors conclude: “Supervised exercises were more effective than radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment for short term improvement in patients with subacromial shoulder pain.” (ANI)

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Aussie police command wobbled by sexual harassment claims

September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep. 15 (ANI): Female police officers at an Australian police command have alleged that they were sexually harassed and intimidated by their male counterparts apart from being told that their place was in the home.

According to a complaint filed by a senior female constable at the Goulburn Local Area Command, five of her male colleagues sent sexually explicit emails to her and asked her to join a threesome.

Another three officers at the same command’s Bowral station have told their local MP they were “demeaned” due to pregnancy or because they were mothers, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The alleged harassment of the senior constable and sergeant began two years ago.

During one sleazy exchange in the police station, a senior colleague told the female constable that a threesome was “every man’s dream” and then suggested she “have a go” with the girlfriend of another officer.

The policewomen have also alleged that a local man was assaulted during an arrest in the middle of 2007 and that it was never investigated, despite his family attempting to make a complaint.

The senior constable said the arresting officer told her: “That guy’s a piece of s…, he was carrying on like a f…..t and mouthing off, he got what he deserved, we flogged him, he got pile-driven into the ground head first.”

A police spokesman said the women were the subject of a 181D action and faced a loss of confidence of the Commissioner.

“Their reward for a combined 37 years of dedicated front-line service is to be subjected to systematic bullying by male officers because of their gender and because they had the courage to stand up and complain about their treatment,” Hodgkinson said.
The two women have paid dearly for their service, with the senior constable needing surgery to fuse her spine last year and the sergeant suffering a broken back on duty. (ANI)

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Changes in humidity, temperature may trigger asthma among kids

September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 15 (ANI): Changes in humidity and temperature may trigger asthma among kids, suggests a report.

Published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the report says that such weather changes have been found to result in a rise in Emergency Department (ED) visits for paediatric asthma exacerbations.

“We found a strong relationship between temperature and humidity fluctuations with pediatric asthma exacerbations, but not barometric pressure,” said Dr. Nana A. Mireku, an allergist at Dallas Allergy Immunology private practice in Dallas, formerly at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrated these correlations after controlling for levels of airborne pollutants and common aeroallergens.

“Our study is also one of the few to examine the possibility that the weather one or two days before the asthma exacerbation may be as important as that on the day of admission, as the additional ED visits occur one to two days after the fluctuation,” she added.

The authors of the report write that patients experiencing an asthma attack often complain that weather fluctuations are a major trigger.

Dr. Mireku said: “the latest National Institutes of Health guidelines list ‘change in weather’ as a possible precipitating factor for asthma, but no previous studies have really examined this potential trigger in a rigorous fashion.”

According to the report, the retrospective 2-year study was performed at a large urban hospital of 25,401 children visiting the ED for an asthma exacerbation.

The researchers collected data on climactic factors, pollutants and aeroallergens on a daily basis.

They used time series analysis to evaluate the relationship of daily or between-day changes in climactic factors and asthma ED visits, controlling for seasonality, air pollution and aeroallergen exposure.

The effects of climactic factors were evaluated on the day of admission and up to five days before admission.

The researchers found that a 10 percent daily increase in humidity on a day or two before admission was associated with approximately one additional ED visit for asthma.

The authors write that between-day changes in humidity from two to three days prior to admission were also associated with more ED visits.

Daily changes in temperature on the day of or the day before admission increased ED visits, with a 10 degree F increase being association with 1.8 additional visits.

“Asthma is the most common chronic illness in childhood. Allergists have long known that weather conditions such as extremely dry, wet or windy weather can affect asthma symptoms. This study further defines the role of temperature and humidity on children’s asthma and confirms the importance of working with patients to identify the source of their symptoms and develop treatment plans that help prevent them,” said allergist Richard G. Gower, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). (ANI)

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Your bathroom showers are hazardous to health

September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 15 (ANI): That invigorating relief and good cleansing from daily bathroom showers may bring along a face full of potentially pathogenic bacteria, warn researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Using high-tech instruments and lab methods, the researchers analysed roughly 50 showerheads from nine cities in seven states that included New York City, Chicago and Denver.

CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor Norman Pace, lead study author, says that about 30 percent of the devices were found to harbour significant levels of Mycobacterium avium, a pathogen linked to pulmonary disease that most often infects people with compromised immune systems, but which can occasionally infect healthy people.

The study showed that some M. avium and related pathogens were clumped together in slimy “biofilms” that clung to the inside of showerheads at more than 100 times the “background” levels of municipal water.

“If you are getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy,” Pace said.

He pointed out that research at National Jewish Hospital in Denver indicated that increases in pulmonary infections in the US in recent decades from so-called “non-tuberculosis” mycobacteria species, such as M. avium, could be attributed to people taking more showers and fewer baths.

He said that water spurting from showerheads could distribute pathogen-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air, and could easily be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs.

“There have been some precedents for concern regarding pathogens and showerheads. But until this study we did not know just how much concern,” said Pace.

In Denver, according to the researcher, one showerhead with high loads of Mycobacterium gordonae was cleaned with a bleach solution in an attempt to eradicate it, but tests conducted several months later showed that the bleach treatment ironically caused a three-fold increase in the pathogen, indicating a general resistance of mycobacteria species to chlorine.

Ask Pace whether it is dangerous to take showers, and he says: “Probably not, if your immune system is not compromised in some way. But it’s like anything else-there is a risk associated with it.”

He stresses that plastic showerheads appear to “load up” with more pathogen-enriched biofilms, and thus metal showerheads may be a good alternative.

“There are lessons to be learned here in terms of how we handle and monitor water. Water monitoring in this country is frankly archaic. The tools now exist to monitor it far more accurately and far less expensively that what is routinely being done today,” said Pace.

A research article on his study has been published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)

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Popular stomach acid reducer ups patients’ risk of developing pneumonia threefold

September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 15 (ANI): Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have found that a popular stomach-acid reducer, which is used to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients who need breathing machine support, triples the likelihood of contracting pneumonia among such patients.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia-the leading cause of infection-related deaths in critically ill patients-increases hospital stays by an average of seven to nine days, cost of care, and the risk of other complications.

“As best we can tell, patients who develop hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-acquired pneumonia have about a 20 to 30 percent chance of dying from that pneumonia. It’s a significant event,” said senior study author Dr. David L. Bowton, professor and head of the Section on Critical Care in the Department of Anesthesiology.

During the study, the researchers compared treatment with two drugs that decrease stomach acid: ranitidine, marketed under the name ZantacTM, and pantoprazole, marketed under the name ProtonixTM or PrilosecTM.

Both drugs decrease stomach acid, but the newer pantoprazole is considered more powerful, and has become the drug of choice in many hospitals.

However, upon the analysis of 834 patient charts, the researchers came to the conclusion that the risk of developing pneumonia was thee times more in the hospitalised cardiothoracic surgery patients who had been treated with pantoprazole.

“We conducted this study, in part, because we thought we were seeing more pneumonias than we were used to having,” said study co-author Marc G. Reichert, pharmacy coordinator for surgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

The researchers say that their study suggests some other steps to keep critically ill patients from developing ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Bowton suggests that doctors consider whether an acid reducer is needed at all, and, in cases where it is needed, ranitidine is recommended because of the apparent decreased risk in developing pneumonia.

Doctors should stop using the drug as soon as the risk of bleeding passes – once the patient is off the breathing machine and eating, either on his/her own or through a feeding tube.

“Stopping the drugs earlier appears to be the best thing for patients,” Reichert said.

The study has been published in a recent issue of CHEST. (ANI)

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Master gene that switches on disease-fighting cells identified

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep 14 (ANI): British scientists have identified the master gene, called E4bp4, that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting ‘Natural Killer’ (NK) immune cells.

The discovery, by researchers at Imperial College London, UCL and the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research, could one day help scientists boost the body’s production of these frontline tumour-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.

By ‘knocking out’ E4bp4 in a mouse model, the researchers created the world’s first animal model entirely lacking NK cells, but with all other blood cells and immune cells intact.

The breakthrough model should help solve the mystery of the role that Natural Killer cells play in autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

According to many scientists, these diseases are a result of malfunctioning NK cells that turn on the body and attack healthy cells, which cause disease instead of fighting it.

They believe that clarifying NK cells’ role could lead to new ways of treating these conditions.

Natural Killer cells – a type of white blood cell – are a major component of the human body’s innate, quick-response immune system, providing a fast frontline defence against tumours, viruses and bacterial infections.

The gene E4bp4 is the ‘master gene’ for NK cell production, which means it is the primary driver that causes blood stem cells in the bone marrow to differentiate into NK cells.

Led by Dr Hugh Brady, the researchers are hoping to progress with a drug treatment for cancer patients which reacts with the protein expressed by their E4bp4 gene, causing their bodies to produce a higher number of NK cells than normal, to increase the chances of successfully destroying tumours.

“If increased numbers of the patient’s own blood stem cells could be coerced into differentiating into NK cells, via drug treatment, we would be able to bolster the body’s cancer-fighting force, without having to deal with the problems of donor incompatibility,” Nature quoted Brady as saying.

The researchers proved the pivotal role E4bp4 plays in NK production when they knocked the gene out in a mouse model.

Without E4bp4 the mouse produced no NK cells whatsoever but other types of blood cell were unaffected.

“Now finally, with our discovery of the NK cell master gene and subsequent creation of our mouse model, we will be able to find out if the progression of these diseases is impeded or aided by the removal of NK cells from the equation. This will solve the often-debated question of whether NK cells are always the ‘good guys’, or if in certain circumstances they cause more harm than good,” said Brady.

The study has been published in Nature Immunology. (ANI)

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Natalizumab drug improves quality of life of MS patients

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 13 (ANI): A new study has found that multiple sclerosis patients taking Tysabri (Natalizumab) experienced a significant improvement in both their physical function and psychological well-being.

“The symptoms that an MS patient deals with on a daily basis result in significant psychological and physical effects that can adversely impact their quality of life,” said Dr William Stuart, medical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta.

“In a previous pivotal trial, TYSABRI not only showed a reduction in relapse rates and disability progression, but also improved quality of life.

“Results from this observational study further demonstrate the impact of TYSABRI on improving MS patients’ well-being as reported by patients who live with this disease every day,” he added.

The study assessed the health outcomes from patients’ perspectives before starting TYSABRI and after the third, sixth and 12th infusions of TYSABRI.

After six TYSABRI infusions, patients reported statistically significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life (QoL), which measures the physical impact of MS in terms of mobility and self care, as well as the psychological impact of MS in terms of anxiety/depression.

The participants also scored higher in general health-related quality of life.

The findings were presented at the 25th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS). (ANI)

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