Nausea And Speeding Heart Can Be Signs Of Flu In Pregnant Women

Nausea And Speeding Heart Can Be Signs Of Flu In Pregnant Women



Nausea in pregnant women tends to fade after the first three months, but during the second and third trimesters it can be a sign of flu, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a study of expectant women who sought medical care.

"People don't necessarily think of influenza when you include the symptoms of nausea or vomiting, but our study showed that they are common with influenza in pregnancy," said Dr. Vanessa Rogers, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and lead author of the study, which appears in the May edition of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"Both physicians and patients should be aware of these findings so treatment is not delayed," she said. "I think our findings should encourage people to be vigilant and to take symptoms seriously."

Adults with flu tend not to have nausea or vomiting, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These symptoms are more typical in children.

The researchers studied the cases of pregnant women during the 2003-2004 flu season, when the most common strain of influenza caused more severe symptoms than usual. There also were more cases of flu than expected, because the vaccine given that year didn't match the strain that was predominant.

During that period, 107 pregnant women were diagnosed with flu at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Ninety-three percent of the women had a cough, and 89 percent had fever common signs of flu the researchers found. Eighty-five percent had a "profound" elevated heart rate, and 60 percent had nausea and/or vomiting. Although "morning sickness" and nausea are common during pregnancies, the researchers said that reporting any unusual additional symptoms (fever, coughing, elevated heart rate) could help diagnose the disease earlier in these patients.

Nearly two-thirds of the expectant women treated at Parkland were sick enough to require hospitalization. The most common complication was pneumonia, which occurred in 12 percent of the cases.

Despite the illness, there was no significant difference in complications between women with flu and women without flu who gave birth at the hospital during flu season. After birth, the babies also showed no significant difference in complications.

"Early diagnosis and treatment might be the reason our patients did so well," Dr. Rogers said.

Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study were Dr. Jeanne Sheffield, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Dr. Scott Roberts, professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Dr. Donald McIntire, professor of obstetrics and gynecology; Dr. James Luby, professor of internal medicine; Sylvia Trevino, infection preventionist in internal medicine; and Dr. George Wendel, professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

Treating Depression In Mothers Of Older Children

Treating Depression In Mothers Of Older Children



Depression among economically disadvantaged mothers could last well beyond the postpartum period and become a chronic condition, suggests a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. The study also finds that symptoms could improve with brief treatment.

The results were presented by lead author Carol C. Weitzman, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and in the Child Study Center at Yale School at Yale School of Medicine, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia Medicine.

Depression in underserved women of childbearing age is extremely common, and nearly one in five mothers of children age one and older reports moderate to severe depressive symptoms, according to Weitzman.

"This finding reinforces that depression in mothers is not restricted to the postpartum period, and in fact after the postpartum period as children get older, the prevalence of maternal depression may be higher," said Weitzman.

Maternal depression has been linked to health and developmental problems in children. Therefore, to optimize children's health, mothers who are depressed should be identified and treated, said Weitzman. As parents routinely bring their children for check-ups, this may present an opportunity to identify depressed mothers, as so many women do not seek treatment for their symptoms, she notes.

In the study, Weitzman and her colleagues asked 931 mothers to complete a 16-item measure of depression severity before a well-child visit in a clinic that care for disadvantaged children. Women who screened positive were interviewed to confirm that they had depressive symptoms.

Seventy-one mothers with depression were randomly assigned to receive either six sessions of on-site cognitive behavior therapy or case management, which consisted of speaking with a social worker and getting assistance with referrals. Their children's social-emotional functioning was measured before and after treatment.

Results showed that 45 percent of mothers screened positive for depressive symptoms (26 percent had mild symptoms, 13 had moderate symptoms and 6 percent had severe symptoms). All of the women who received treatment showed improvements in their depression symptoms. The scores improved greatly in women who received cognitive behavioral therapy, while those who received case management did not show a dramatic change.

Children under age four whose mothers received cognitive behavioral therapy also had fewer behavioral challenges. No significant changes were reported among the women who received case management or those with children older than age four.

"A depressed parent can have a significant effect on a child," said Weitzman. "Brief on-site treatment can help reduce symptoms of depression in a mother and may also improve her perspective about her child's behavior."

The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson, Finding Answers, Disparities Research for Change and the Children's Fund of Connecticut.

How Active Immune Tolerance Makes Pregnancy Possible

How Active Immune Tolerance Makes Pregnancy Possible


Understanding of mouse immune-system response to specific fetal antigens also may provide insight into issues that arise during human pregnancies.

The concept of pregnancy makes no sense - at least not from an immunological point of view. After all, a fetus, carrying half of its father's genome, is biologically distinct from its mother. The fetus is thus made of cells and tissues that are very much not "self" - and not-self is precisely what the immune system is meant to search out and destroy.

Women's bodies manage to ignore this contradiction in the vast majority of cases, making pregnancy possible. Similarly, scientists have generally paid little attention to this phenomenon - called "pregnancy tolerance" - and its biological details.

Now, a pair of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have shown that females actively produce a particular type of immune cell in response to specific fetal antigens - immune-stimulating proteins - and that this response allows pregnancy to continue without the fetus being rejected by the mother's body.

Their findings were detailed in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

"Our finding that specific T regulatory cells protect the mother is a step to learning how the mother avoids rejection of her fetus. This central biological mechanism is important for the health of both the fetus and the mother," says David Baltimore, Caltech's Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the principal investigator on the research.

Scientists had long been "hinting around at the idea that the mother's immune system makes tolerance possible," notes paper coauthor Daniel Kahn, a visiting associate in biology at Caltech, and an assistant professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). What they didn't have were the details of this tolerance - or proof that it was immune-related.

Now they do. To pin down those details, the two scientists began looking at the immune system's T regulatory cells (Tregs) in a strain of inbred mice that are all genetically identical - except for one seemingly tiny detail. Male mice - including male fetuses - carry on their cells' surfaces a protein known as a "minor transplantation antigen." Female mice lack this antigen.

Under normal circumstances, this antigen's existence isn't a problem for the male fetuses because the pregnancy tolerance phenomenon kicks in and protects them from any maternal immune repercussions.

To demonstrate the role of Tregs, Baltimore and Kahn used a drug to selectively target and destroy the cells. If the Tregs were indeed the source of pregnancy tolerance, they reasoned, their destruction would give the immune system free rein to go after the antigen-laden fetuses.

"In this case," says Kahn, "we knew the only possible immune response would be against the males - that the males would be at risk."
Indeed they were. When Baltimore and Kahn looked at the offspring of mice who'd been treated with the toxin, they found that fewer of the male fetuses survived to birth; those males that did survive were of significantly lower birthweight, presumably because of the inflammation caused by the mother's immune response to that single antigen.

"These T cells are functioning in an antigen-specific manner," Kahn notes. "In other words, their function requires the presence of the specific fetal antigens."

In their studies of these animals, the scientists also found that pregnancy tolerance "develops actively as a consequence of pregnancy," says Kahn. "The mice are not born with it." Indeed, virgin mice showed no signs of these pregnancy-specific Treg cells. Conversely, the cells were found in larger numbers in those individual mice that had given birth to more male babies, with the level of Treg cells increasing with the number of male births.

The next step, Kahn adds, is to look at Tregs and their role in pregnancy tolerance in humans - a line of research that may lead to new insights into such pregnancy-related conditions as preeclampsia, in which high blood pressure and other symptoms develop in the second half of pregnancy. Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal mortality around the world.

"There's a lot to be learned," he says. "Pregnancy is often ignored in research because it's usually successful, and because - from an immunologic standpoint - it has such complexity. Until now, it's been difficult to grab a handle on how the immunology of pregnancy really works."

The work described in the PNAS article, "Pregnancy induces a fetal antigen-specific maternal T regulatory cell response that contributes to tolerance," was supported in part by a research grant from the Skirball Foundation. Kahn is supported by the National Institutes of Health's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Center at UCLA.

Increased Risk Of Birth Defects From Psychotropic Medications

Increased Risk Of Birth Defects From Psychotropic Medications



A new study shows that use of psychotropic medications during pregnancy increase the probability of birth defects. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have published an article that documents the serious side effects that can be associated with these types of medications.

Between 1998 and 2007, psychotropic medications were associated with 429 adverse drug reactions in Danish children under the age of 17. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Studies have published an article in the open access journal BMC Research Notes concluding that more than half of the 429 cases were serious and several involved birth defects, such as birth deformities and severe withdrawal syndromes.

Professors Lise Aagaard and Ebbe Holme Hansen from the University of Copenhagen studied all 4,500 paediatric adverse drug reaction reports submitted during the study period to find those which were linked to psychotropic medications. The two researchers found that 42 percent of adverse reactions were reported for psychostimulants, such as Ritalin, which treats attention deficit disorder (ADD), followed by 31 percent for antidepressants, such as Prozac, and 24 percent for antipsychotics, such as Haldol.

"A range of serious side effects such as birth deformities, low birth weight, premature birth, and development of neonatal withdrawal syndrome were reported in children under two years of age, most likely because of the mother's intake of psychotropic medication during pregnancy," says Associate Professor Lisa Aagaard.

Use of antidepressants is increasing

The researchers believe that these tendencies should serve as a warning to doctors and health care personnel.

"Psychotropic medication should not be prescribed in ordinary circumstances, because this type of medication has a long half-life. If people take their medicine as prescribed it will be a constantly high dosage, and it could take weeks for one single tablet to exit the body's system. Three out of four pregnancies are planned, and therefore society must take responsibility for informing women about the serious risks of transferring side effects to their unborn child," says Aagaard.

There is a clear indication that use of antidepressants is increasing in Denmark, as well as in many other countries, and the tendency is the same when it comes to pregnant women.

"We are constantly reminded about the dangers of alcohol use and smoking during pregnancy, but there is no information offered to women with regards to use of psychotropic medication. There is simply not enough knowledge available in this area," concludes Aagaard, suggesting that greater control should be required when prescribing psychotropic medications to pregnant women.

How Botulism-Causing Toxin Can Enter Circulation

How Botulism-Causing Toxin Can Enter Circulation



New research in the Journal of Cell Biology helps explain how the toxic protein responsible for botulism can enter circulation from the digestive system. The study appears online May 10.

Botulism, a rare but serious paralytic illness, is caused by botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), an extremely toxic protein that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In food-borne botulism, the nontoxic components of BoNT - including hemagglutinin (HA) - protect the toxin from the low pH and enzymes encountered in the digestive tract. BoNT then passes through the intestinal epithelial barrier to enter circulation from the gut.

Although studies have examined how BoNT crosses the intestinal epithelial barrier, the mechanism by which it accomplishes this feat has remained a mystery. In this study, a team of Japanese researchers led by Yukako Fujinaga shows that HA plays a role. HA binds epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin), disrupting E-cadherin-mediated cell-to-cell adhesion and thereby disrupting the epithelial barrier.

Interestingly, the research demonstrates a species-specific interaction between HA and E-cadherin. Although HA binds human, bovine, and mouse E-cadherin, for instance, it does not bind rat or chicken.

New Requirements For Male Fertility

New Requirements For Male Fertility



Two independent groups of researchers have identified distinct roles for two proteins in a family of proteins known as PLA2s as crucial for sperm function and fertility in mice. These data identify proteins that could underlie causes of infertility and provide potential targets for the development of new contraceptive agents and new approaches to treating infertility. In addition, these data provide a caution to those developing drugs that target members of this closely related group of proteins to treat hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and inflammation.

The team of researchers led by Makoto Murakami, at The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Japan, found that sPLA2-III was expressed in a region of the testis known as the proximal epididymal epithelium. Mice lacking this protein had substantially decreased fertility because their sperm did not mature properly. Specifically, the defects in maturation meant that the sperm showed decreased motility and decreased ability to fertilize eggs in vitro.

In the second study, Christophe Arnoult and colleagues, at Grenoble Institute of Neuroscience, France, found in mice that group X secreted PLA2 (also known as mGX) was a predominant constituent of a compartment in sperm known as the acrosome. This compartment has a key role in breaking down the coat that surrounds an egg so that the sperm can elicit fertilization. Consistent with this, male mice lacking mGX produced smaller litters than did normal male mice and sperm from the mGX-deficient mice were not efficient at fertilizing eggs in vitro. Further, molecules that inhibited mGX and molecules that more broadly inhibited secreted PLA2s each reduced the efficiency of in vitro fertilization (IVF). By contrast, the presence of additional mGX improved the efficiency of IVF.

UNC Researchers Receive $100,000 Grand Challenges Exploration Grant To Develop Male Contraceptive

UNC Researchers Receive $100,000 Grand Challenges Exploration Grant To Develop Male Contraceptive




The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by James Tsuruta, PhD, and Paul Dayton, PhD, titled "Ultrasound as a long-term, reversible contraceptive."

Tsuruta is an assistant professor in the Laboratories for Reproductive Biology in UNC's Department of Pediatrics. Dayton is associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, which is jointly housed at UNC and N.C. State University.

Tsuruta and Dayton's project is one of 78 grants announced by the Gates Foundation in the fourth funding round of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help scientists around the world explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries. The grants were provided to scientists in 18 countries on six continents.

To receive funding, Tsuruta and Dayton showed in a two-page application how their idea falls outside current scientific paradigms and might lead to significant advances in global health. The initiative is highly competitive, receiving almost 2,700 proposals in this round.

"Our long-term goal is to use ultrasound from therapeutic instruments that are commonly found in sports medicine or physical therapy clinics as an inexpensive, long-term, reversible male contraceptive suitable for use in developing to first world countries," said Tsuruta.

"We think this could provide men with up to six months of reliable, low-cost, non-hormonal contraception from a single round of treatment," Tsuruta said. Tsuruta notes that the initial idea to re-examine the effects of ultrasound on sperm production came from another private foundation. "The financial support of the Parsemus Foundation was instrumental in forming a team to study ultrasound's effect on the testis. Our pilot studies would not have been possible without the support of Elaine Lissner (Parsemus), David Sokal (Family Health International), Michael Streicker (Integrated Laboratory Systems) and Michael O'Rand (UNC-CH).

Tsuruta and Dayton have successfully depleted testicular sperm using therapeutic ultrasound instruments. Once the testis has stopped producing sperm and all "sperm reserves" have been depleted, it is impossible to be fertile. Their Grand Challenges Exploration Grant project is aimed at fine-tuning this technique for maximum effect and safety.

"The winners of these grants show the bold thinking we need to tackle some of the world's greatest health challenges," said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation's Global Health Program. "I'm excited about their ideas and look forward to seeing some of these exploratory projects turn into life-saving breakthroughs."

About Grand Challenges Explorations

Grand Challenges Explorations is a five-year, $100 million initiative of the Gates Foundation to promote innovation in global health. The program uses an agile, streamlined grant process - applications are limited to two pages, and preliminary data are not required. Proposals are reviewed and selected by a committee of foundation staff and external experts, and grant decisions are made within approximately three months of the close of the funding round.

Applications for the current round of Grand Challenges Explorations are being accepted through May 19, 2010. Grant application instructions, including the list of topics for which proposals are currently being accepted, are available here.

New guide to get pregnant

New guide to get pregnant


Infertility affects about 7 million Americans -- that's about one in six couples during their childbearing years. There are many reasons for infertility, with equal chances it's his medical issue as it is hers. A new book, "A Baby at Last!: The Couples' Complete Guide to Getting Pregnant" (Fireside Books, Simon and Schuster), points the way for couples to get past the emotionally wrenching obstacle of infertility and finally bring home their bundle of joy.

The book is written by Dr. Zev Rosenwaks and Dr. Marc Goldstein, two world-renowned fertility specialists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. They draw from years of experience to provide guidance and advice to couples, sharing a wealth of information on the most-up-to-date therapies, many of them developed and perfected at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, as well as real stories from their actual patients. The book is co-written with Mark Fuerst.

"The common misconception is that fertility is a woman's issue, but it happens just as frequently in men. This is why a couples-based solution is imperative," says Dr. Rosenwaks, director of The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine and the Revlon Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. "There are many reasons a couple may find it hard to get pregnant, and these reasons can stem from a problem with either or both partners. In about 40 percent of infertile couples, the man has a problem. In another 40 percent, the woman has a problem. And in 20 percent both partners have a problem."
"Fertility is, on the face of things, a very simple process. It's a matter of getting the sperm and egg together. But the variables are plentiful, and as many couples find, it's easy for something to go wrong. The good news is that couples have more treatment options than ever before," says Dr. Marc Goldstein, director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery and the Hardy Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Urology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

Only a few decades ago, there were no drugs to induce ovulation, no microsurgical techniques to unclog fallopian tubes in women or blocked ducts in men, and in vitro fertilization was just a dream. Now cutting-edge treatments, including microsurgery for varicoceles (varicose veins in the scrotum), the most common cause of male infertility; intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for men with low sperm counts; and endometrial-cell coculture, a special technique for women with poor embryo quality, are further increasing couples' ability to conceive. Nonsurgical methods for improving fertility -- diet, exercise, and other lifestyle adjustments -- are similarly advanced.

The authors also offer advice on when to seek a medical evaluation. If a woman is younger than 35 and hasn't conceived after 12 months of unprotected sex, the couple should consult with their doctor. If the woman is 35 or older, they should wait only six months. If the male has a history of treatment for cancer, surgery for undescended testicles or a varicocele, or if the female has a history of irregular or no menstrual periods, a history of cancer treatments with radiation or chemotherapy, or repeated miscarriages without successful births, the couple should seek help as soon as they start planning to achieve pregnancy.

Fertility Tips

Even in the best of circumstances, the chances that a woman will get pregnant are about one in four each month. Drs. Goldstein and Rosenwaks offer some tips on natural ways to boost fertility:

* Have sexual intercourse regularly, especially during the woman's most fertile time of the month. Couples seeking to get pregnant should have intercourse two to three times a week. They can also time sex for her most fertile period. As a rule of thumb, if she counts the first day of her period as day one, and she has regular periods every 28 to 30 days, the couple should try every other day starting on day 12 to 16 or so. Use ovulation kits available in pharmacies.

* Be healthy. Don't smoke, limit alcohol intake, reduce stress, exercise regularly and moderately, eat healthy foods, take vitamins and avoid environmental toxins. Men should avoid excessive heat and tight-fitting shorts. Women should limit caffeine intake and maintain some body fat.

* Check your meds. Medications like anabolic steroids that contain testosterone can reduce male fertility. Illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine can interfere with ovulation. Some drugs for hair growth, hypertension and Crohn's disease can also affect fertility. Check with your doctor.

Anti-aging supplement: A fountain of hope for would-be mothers

Anti-aging supplement: A fountain of hope for would-be mothers


According to the American Pregnancy Association, six million women a year deal with infertility. Now, a Tel Aviv University study is giving new hope to women who want to conceive ― in the form of a pill they can find on their drugstore shelves right now.

Prof. Adrian Shulman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Meir Medical Center has found a statistical connection between the over-the-counter vitamin supplement DHEA, used to counter the effects of aging, and successful pregnancy rates in women undergoing treatment for infertility.

In the first controlled study on the effects of the supplement, Prof. Shulman found that women being treated for infertility who also received supplements of DHEA were three times more likely to conceive than women being treated without the additional drug. The results were recently published in AYALA, the journal of the Israeli Fertility Association.

A natural supplement to fertility treatments

After hearing anecdotal evidence from his patients and the medical community on the benefits of combining fertility treatments with DHEA, a supplement marketed as an anti-aging drug around the world, Prof. Shulman decided to put this old wives' tale to the statistical test. He and his fellow researchers conducted a study in which a control group of women received treatment for poor ovulation, and another group received the same treatment with the addition of the DHEA supplement. The latter group took 75mg of the supplement daily for 40 days before starting fertility treatments, and continued for up to five months.

Not only were women who combined infertility treatment with DHEA more likely to conceive, the researchers discovered, they were also more likely to experience a healthy pregnancy and delivery.

"In the DHEA group, there was a 23% live birth rate as opposed to a 4% rate in the control group," explains Shulman. "More than that, of the pregnancies in the DHEA group, all but one ended in healthy deliveries."

Making grade-A eggs?

Shulman believes that women who are finding little success with their current fertility treatments could look to DHEA to improve their chances of conceiving. "We recommend that women try this DHEA treatment, in conjunction with fertility treatments, for four to five months," says Prof. Shulman. It could also be used as a regular "vitamin" for women who have already conceived and are pregnant, but more research would need to be done on the compound to determine its effects, says Prof. Shulman.

DHEA, for 5-Dehydroepiandrosterone (5-DHEA), is a naturally-occurring steroid found in the brain, which plays an important biological role in humans and other mammals. Produced in the adrenal glands, it is also synthesized in the brain. The pharmaceutical version of this molecule is known as Prastera, Prasterone, Fidelin and Fluasterone, and identical generics are widely available over the counter in the United States without a prescription. Women interested in using DHEA to conceive, however, should consult their practitioner first, suggests Prof. Shulman, a gynecologist and director of the IVF Unit of the Obstetric and Gynecology Department at Meir Medical Center.

While studies on the effects of DHEA are far from complete -- his test group only included around 20 women -- Prof. Shulman hopes that further research will unlock the secrets of why the supplement aids in successful conception in women with an otherwise poor response to fertility treatments. "We need to look into what the drug actually does to make the body more fertile," he says. "It could be affecting components such as the quality of the eggs or the follicles."

Diabetics need more 'heat awareness'

Diabetics need more 'heat awareness'

Hot weather and diabetes can make for a potentially dangerous combination, according to a Mayo Clinic presentation at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego, California, June 19-22.

“We found that people living with diabetes in hot climates need to be more aware of how heat affects management of their disease”

Adrienne Nassar, M.D., and Curtiss Cook, M.D., along with colleagues from Mayo Clinic, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Phoenix branch of the National Weather Service, developed a survey that revealed that people with diabetes living in Arizona have considerable gaps in their "heat awareness."

Sweating is an important means of cooling the body in hot weather, and past research has shown that the ability to sweat in the heat can be impaired in some patients with diabetes. Other studies have shown that during hot weather diabetes patients have an increased number of emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths. Furthermore, heat can damage diabetes equipment, such as glucose monitoring devices and glucose monitoring strips, as well as medications, rendering them ineffective.

The survey, which took place at a Phoenix diabetes clinic, analyzed results from 152 responders whose mean age was 64 years and diabetes duration 15 years. Many patients interviewed would often wait until temperatures were quite high (in some cases above 101°F) before taking measures to protect themselves from the heat. In addition, more than a third of patients simply left medications or supplies at home rather than risk exposing them to heat, and thus would not have the means to manage their diabetes while away.

Only about 40 percent of patients reported receiving information about the effect of heat on oral medications, glucose monitors and glucose monitoring strips. One in five patients did not know at what temperature to begin protecting their medications, diabetes equipment and supplies. The survey also revealed poor understanding of the heat index, which is a measure of how hot it really feels when humidity is added to the actual temperature.

The study authors agree that patients with diabetes can benefit from more education about the risks related to hot weather - especially in places like Arizona. "We found that people living with diabetes in hot climates need to be more aware of how heat affects management of their disease," said Dr. Nassar, third-year medical resident at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Increased public awareness of this important topic is needed, and diabetes education programs should include information about the heat, especially in the Southwest, the authors conclude.

All results of the study will be published in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.

Raised Triglycerides (Fats) In The Blood Could Raise Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease

Raised Triglycerides (Fats) In The Blood Could Raise Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease



New genetic research suggests that raised levels of triglycerides, a type of blood fat, may be an important cause of heart disease.

The results, published in an Article in this week's Lancet, are from a major international consortium led by Dr Nadeem Sarwar and Professor John Danesh of the University of Cambridge. The findings encourage the conduct of trials of medicines that can lower levels of triglyceride fats.

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, responsible for about 7 million deaths every year. It is well known that high levels of bad (ie, LDL) cholesterol in the blood can cause heart disease, and this has lead to development of medicines that lower levels of LDL cholesterol to combat heart disease. By contrast, the relevance to heart disease risk of other types of blood fat, such as triglycerides, is not established.

Triglycerides, which are produced by the liver or derived from food, are a major source of energy in humans. Despite decades of research, it has remained uncertain whether raised blood levels of triglycerides cause heart disease. The new study has involved a novel approach that uses genetic information to mimic aspects of a drug trial. This so-called "Mendelian randomisation" analysis involved comparison of heart disease risk in people who have inherited different versions of a gene known to influence blood triglyceride levels. In analysis of 350,000 people from 101 studies, the researchers showed that people with a genetically-programmed tendency for higher triglyceride levels also had a greater risk of heart disease.

According to Dr Sarwar, "Although these genetic findings are consistent with a causative role for triglyceride fats in the development of heart disease, they do not replace the need for large randomised clinical trials of medications that can lower blood triglycerides. Such trials should help establish whether lowering triglyceride levels can reduce the risk of heart disease."

In an accompanying Comment, Dr Guillaume Pare and Dr Sonia S Anand, Population Genomics Program, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, say: "[This] experiment provides firm evidence for the association of [this genetic variant] on triglycerides and risk of coronary heart disease...the true nature of triglycerides' effect on coronary risk still needs further clarification."

Boston Scientific Announces Schedule Of Key Events For Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Sessions.

Boston Scientific Announces Schedule Of Key Events For Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Sessions.



Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced the schedule of the Company's major events and sponsored research at the 31st Annual Scientific Sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), May 12 - 15 in Denver. The scheduled clinical presentations will provide new insights for physicians who treat patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). Schedule of Events (All times are Mountain Time; all events take place in the Colorado Convention Center unless otherwise indicated.)

- 22nd Annual Michel Mirowski Sudden Cardiac Arrest Symposium and Award Presentation. The Company will sponsor the 22nd Annual Michel Mirowski Sudden Cardiac Arrest Symposium and Award Presentation on Wednesday, May 12, 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. in the Centennial Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Denver Hotel. The event will feature a keynote address by Richard Page, M.D., followed by the award ceremony honoring this year's Mirowski Award recipient Jose Jalife, M.D., Ph.D. Hugh Calkins, M.D., will then lead an esteemed faculty, including Ronald Berger, M.D., Ph.D., Meleze Hocini, M.D., and Dr. Jalife, in a discussion of the latest clinical data on predictors of sudden cardiac death.

Sessions related to Boston Scientific's landmark MADIT-CRT heart failure trial:

MADIT-CRT is the world's largest randomized study of New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I and II patients, with more than 1,800 patients enrolled at 110 centers worldwide. Results of the MADIT-CRT trial were published in the October 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Boston Scientific currently has an application under review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the expansion of its CRT-D indication to include high-risk New York Heart Association Class I and II patients with left bundle branch block (1).

- Late-breaking clinical trials: Left Ventricular Lead Position and Clinical Outcome: Findings from MADIT-CRT. Jagmeet Singh, M.D., will present his findings on Thursday, May 13, 8:30 - 8:45 a.m. in Four Seasons Ballroom 3 - 4.

- CRT-D Effectiveness by QRS Duration and Morphology in MADIT-CRT Patients. This abstract session will be presented on Thursday, May 13, 1:45 - 2:00 p.m. in Korbel Ballroom 3A.

- Predictors of Response to Preventive CRT in MADIT-CRT. This abstract session will be presented on Thursday, May 13, 2:00 - 2:15 p.m. in Korbel Ballroom 3A.

- One Train of Antitachycardia Pacing is Successful for Fast Ventricular Tachycardia in Patients with Conduction Abnormalities and Left Ventricular Dysfunction: Results from the MADIT-CRT study. This poster session will be featured on Friday, May 14, at 9:00 a.m. in the Exhibit Hall.

(1) High-risk is defined as QRS width >130 milliseconds, Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction < 30 percent and left bundle branch block.

Sessions related to Boston Scientific's ALTITUDE clinical science program:

The ALTITUDE clinical science program analyzes comprehensive data from the LATITUDE® Patient Management system. Boston Scientific has enrolled more than 160,000 patients on the LATITUDE system since its introduction in 2006. The ALTITUDE program enhances understanding of device therapy, outcomes and disease progression. The LATITUDE system enables physicians to schedule remote follow-ups of implantable cardiac device patients to monitor specific device information and heart health status. The system can also detect clinical events between scheduled visits and send relevant data directly to physicians. This in-home monitoring offers convenience and peace of mind for patients.

- Real World ICD/CRT-D Patient Survival: Do Women Fare Better than Men? Gender Comparison in the ALTITUDE Study. This featured poster session will be presented during a reception on Wednesday, May 12, 5:45 - 7:00 p.m. in the Lower D Lobby.

- Comparison of Tachycardia Detection Programming and Shock Incidence in the ALTITUDE Study. This poster session will be featured on Thursday, May 13, at 9:00 a.m. in the Exhibit Hall. F. Roosevelt Gilliam, M.D., will also present the study data in Boston Scientific's booth on Thursday, May 13, at 3:30 p.m. and Friday, May 14, at 9:30 a.m.

- Noise and Oversensing-Related Inappropriate ICD Shocks Diagnosed with Remote Monitoring: The ALTITUDE EGM Study. This abstract session will be presented on Thursday, May 13, 2:15 - 2:30 p.m. in Room 402.

Older men with high testosterone levels more likely to have heart attacks

Older men with high testosterone levels more likely to have heart attacks

A large U.S. multicenter study shows that older men with higher testosterone levels are more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease in the future. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

"The study finding contradicts smaller studies that have shown that testosterone levels are not associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease," said presenting author Kristen Sueoka, MD, a resident physician at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Many in the general public are using testosterone supplements for various medical problems, including low sex drive and mood disorders, which are not life-threatening. These men may unknowingly be placing themselves at higher risk for cardiovascular disease," she said.

Study participants were age 65 or older and included 697 community-dwelling men who were participating in the National Institutes of Health-funded study, Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS). None of these men were receiving testosterone therapy, according to the study abstract.All subjects had blood tests to determine their testosterone levels. The investigators then divided the men into quartiles, or four groups, of testosterone range to observe trends in rates of coronary heart disease events. This type of heart disease results from plaque-clogged or narrowed coronary arteries, also called atherosclerosis. A coronary heart disease event included a heart attack; unstable angina, which is chest pain usually due to atherosclerosis and which doctors consider a prelude to a heart attack; or an angioplasty or bypass surgery to clear blocked arteries.

During an average follow-up of nearly 4 years, 100 men, or about 14 percent, had a coronary disease event, in particular, heart attacks, Sueoka said. After the researchers adjusted for other potential contributing risk factors for heart disease, such as elevated cholesterol, they found that higher total testosterone level relates to an increased risk of coronary disease. Men whose total testosterone was in the highest quartile (greater than or equal to 495 nanograms per deciliter, or ng/dL) had more than twofold the risk of coronary disease compared with men in the lowest quartile (below 308 ng/dL).

Other important measures of testosterone in the body and of a protein that tightly binds with testosterone (sex hormone-binding globulin) also showed a close relationship between testosterone and coronary heart disease, Sueoka said.

The investigators did not divide the men by normal or abnormal testosterone levels because the definition of abnormal levels depends on many factors, including increasing age. In fact, says Sueoka, "Men with the highest testosterone could potentially be at risk for heart disease regardless of the definition of "normal" levels."

"One day testosterone measurements may be used to help predict which men are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease," she said. "But we need more studies to confirm that high testosterone is a risk factor for heart disease."

How Depression May Affect Diabetes

How Depression May Affect Diabetes



In this German prospective representative study of patients with type 2 diabetes, baseline depression predicted problems with medication adherence, problems with health-related behaviors, and unsatisfactory glycemic control at follow-up.

Findings regarding the degree to which depression may exert a negative impact on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes are inconsistent. A group of German investigators therefore aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship between depression, behavioral factors, and glycemic control. In a prospective component of a nationally representative sample, 866 patients with type 2 diabetes aged ≥18 years completed a standardized assessment including a laboratory screening, questionnaires, and diagnostic measures. Subsequent to baseline (t0), patients were tracked over a period of 12 months (t1). Depression was assessed according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria. Glycemic control was determined by levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c); a level of ≥7% was judged as unsatisfactory. Regression analyses were performed to analyze the prospective relationship between depression, medication adherence, diabetes-related health behavior, and HbA1c. Patients with depression at t0 revealed increased rates of medication nonadherence (adjusted OR: 2.67; CI: 1.38 - 5.15) at t1. Depression (adjusted regression coefficient: β = 0.96; p = 0.001) and subthreshold depression (β = 1.01; p < 0.001) at t0 also predicted increased problems with diabetes-related health behavior at t1. Adjusted ORs for poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥7%) at t1 were also increased for patients with baseline depression (2.01; CI: 1.10 - 3.69). However, problems with medication adherence as well as problems with diabetes-related health behavior at t0 did not predict poor glycemic control at t1. In a prospective representative study of patients with type 2 diabetes, baseline depression predicted problems with medication adherence, problems with health-related behaviors, and unsatisfactory glycemic control at follow-up.

New HIV Model Suggests Killer T Cell For Vaccine

New HIV Model Suggests Killer T Cell For Vaccine


hiv virus

Limited success in modelling the behaviour of the complex, unusual and unpredictable HIV virus has slowed efforts to develop an effective vaccine to prevent AIDS.

A new improved modelling system, developed by Chinese researchers, which attempts to incorporate more of the virus' random behavioural dynamics, suggests that a particular type of T cell could be useful in the development of an AIDS vaccine.

New research published 29 April, in New Journal of Physics (co-owned by the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society), describes how physicists and biologists from Xiamen University have been able to incorporate random patterns in the virus' mutation, and the way the virus responds to antibodies, into their model.

Gratifyingly, they have found that the new model, and the projections made by the new model for development of disease, mirror real-life, clinical behaviour of the virus.

Clinical trials show that the HIV virus behaves quite normally during the acute first phase of human infection, normally 2-6 weeks after HIV enters the host body, during which time the strength of the virus increases and our immune systems deploy killer T cells, CD4+ T cells, to battle against it.

Outwardly, we would experience flu like symptoms and would, when we started to feel better, imagine that we are over the infection but this is not so with the HIV virus which somehow avoids total annihilation and manages to spend years rebuilding strength, slowly chipping away at our immune system.

Researchers suspect that HIV's ability to avoid annihilation has to do with its own mutating properties and its ability to preferentially target CD4+ T cells, the master regulators of our immune system.

The model-makers from Xiamen University have created a simulation which takes a wider range of variables into consideration and while they are in agreement that both HIV's mutating and T-cell targeting ability are crucial to the virus' devastating success rate, they have found a possible chink in the virus' armour.

To date, no models have been able to discern between the behavioural patterns of two different types of T-cells, both of which are involved in our internal fights against HIV.

T- killer


These are CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells. Patterns emerging from these new models now suggest that CD8+T cells could be used to stimulate a stronger response against the virus.

This particular type of T-cell does not appear to be as preferentially targeted by HIV as its counterpart and also appears to be more actively involved in putting the virus down during the first acute phase of the infection.

As the researchers write, "We assess the relative importance of various immune system components in acute phase and have found that the CD8+ T cells play a decisive role to suppress the viral load. This observation implies that stimulation of a CD8+T cell response might be an important goal in the development of an effective vaccine against AIDS."

Studying Weight Gain When There's A Family History Of Type 2 Diabetes

Studying Weight Gain When There's A Family History Of Type 2 Diabetes



In the first study of its type, Australian researchers have shown that healthy people with a genetic predisposition to Type 2 diabetes gain more weight overeating over the short term than their non-genetically-prone counterparts.

In a 28-day study undertaken at Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, scientists set out to mimic the kind of overfeeding that typically takes place during feasting periods like Christmas.

Seventeen (otherwise healthy) people with a family history of Type 2 diabetes, along with 24 people without any family history, took part in the research. The groups were matched for age, weight and lifestyle.

Each person was asked to eat 1,250 calories a day beyond their energy requirements - all carefully calculated in advance. They were given a variety of high-fat snacks such as crisps, chocolate bars and dairy desserts to supplement their normal diets. Their weight, fat distribution and blood insulin levels were measured at the start of the project, after 3 days and at 28 days.

On average, the people with a family history of diabetes gained over a kilogram more than the rest (3.4 kg as opposed to 2.2 kg) over 28 days. They also had more insulin circulating in their systems after only 3 days, before they showed any detectable difference in weight gain from the other group.

Dr Dorit Samocha-Bonet, Dr Leonie Heilbronn and Professor Lesley Campbell have published their findings in the international journal Diabetologia, now online.

"It's already well-known that relatives of people with Type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop it themselves," said Professor Campbell, senior researcher at Garvan and Director St Vincent's Diabetes Services.

"We wanted to challenge these individuals with overfeeding while they were still young and healthy, without any metabolic impairments."

"Our study shows just how quickly the body reacts to overeating, and how harmful it can be in susceptible people. While we expected differences between the two groups, we were surprised by the amount of extra weight the diabetes-prone group gained."

An early warning sign of diabetes is the development of 'insulin resistance', usually triggered by excess body fat. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, which helps the body use glucose for energy. Insulin resistant muscle cannot respond properly to insulin from the bloodstream, leading to high levels of sugar in the blood.

High blood sugar levels damage tissues and organs, so the body works very hard to reduce them by producing more insulin. Eventually, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas become exhausted and Type 2 diabetes develops.

"Insulin resistance can start to develop at least a decade before clinical diabetes, and this study helps us examine its very early stages in healthy adults," said Dr Samocha-Bonet.

At the end of the study, participants were helped to lose weight, with both groups being equally successful. Interestingly, the 'biggest loser' belongs to the group with a family history of diabetes.

Over The Past 2 Decades Medical Costs Of Cancer Have Nearly.

Over The Past 2 Decades Medical Costs Of Cancer Have Nearly Doubled




A new analysis finds that the costs of treating cancer have nearly doubled over the past two decades and that the shares of these costs that are paid for by private health insurance and Medicaid have increased. The study also reveals that cancer costs have shifted away from inpatient treatments to outpatient care. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the information could be used to prioritize future resources for treating and preventing cancer.

Little information is available on how overall cancer costs have changed over time and who now bears the burden of financing the bulk of cancer-related expenses. To study recent trends in the medical costs of cancer and how these costs are paid for, Florence Tangka, Ph.D., a health economist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) led a team of scientists from CDC, Emory University, and RTI International in analyzing data from the 2001 through 2005 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey and its predecessor, the National Medical Care Expenditure Survey, a one-time survey conducted in 1987. Both surveys are nationally representative of individuals across the United States and capture self-reported data on medical conditions and related expenditures.

The investigators found that in 1987 the total medical cost of cancer (in 2007 dollars) was $24.7 billion. Private insurance financed the largest share of the total (42 percent), followed by Medicare (33 percent). Out-of-pocket payments accounted for 17 percent of the costs, other public sources paid for 7 percent, and Medicaid paid for 1 percent. Between 1987 and the 2001-2005 period, the total medical cost of cancer increased to $48.1 billion due to new cases diagnosed among the aging population as well as an increase in the prevalence of cancer. In 2001-2005, private insurance paid for 50 percent of the costs, and Medicare paid for 34 percent. Out-of-pocket payments accounted for 8 percent of the costs, other public sources paid for 5 percent, and Medicaid paid for 3 percent.

The analysis also revealed that the share of total cancer costs incurred after inpatient hospital admissions fell from 64.4 percent in 1987 to 27.5 percent in 2001-2005. The decrease in cancer-related inpatient costs was accompanied by an increase in cancer-attributable outpatient expenditures.

"The information provided in this study enhances our understanding of the burden of cancer on specific payers and how this burden may change as a result of health reform measures or other changes to health care financing and delivery," said Dr. Tangka. The authors noted that additional research will be needed to determine the impact of these changes on costs and quality of cancer care in the United States.

In Elderly Patients With Localized Kidney Cancer, Kidney Removal Does Not Prolong Life

In Elderly Patients With Localized Kidney Cancer, Kidney Removal Does Not Prolong Life



A new study indicates that patients aged 75 years or older who have confined kidney tumors do not live longer if they have their entire kidney removed. The research reveals that these patients typically have other medical problems of greater significance and that many should receive more conservative cancer-related care, such as observation or treatments that spare the noncancerous parts of their kidneys. The study is published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

The incidence of kidney cancer has been on the rise over the past decade, and the greatest increase has been observed in the later years of life. Physicians currently struggle with deciding which treatment - observation, kidney-sparing surgery, or total kidney removal - will be most beneficial for elderly patients with localized kidney cancer.

To investigate whether surgical kidney removal, or nephrectomy, improves survival when compared with active monitoring or kidney-sparing surgery, Steve Campbell, MD, PhD, of the Cleveland Clinic and his colleagues studied information from 537 patients with localized kidney tumors that were ≤7cm in diameter and were detected at age 75 years or older. Twenty percent of these patients were closely observed, 53 percent had kidney-sparing surgery, and 27 percent underwent a nephrectomy.

After an average follow-up period of approximately four years, 28 percent of patients died. The most common cause of death was heart-related (29 percent). Cancer progression was responsible for only four percent of deaths. Older age and additional medical conditions increased patients' risk of dying during the follow-up period, but choice of treatment did not.

The analysis also revealed that patients who had a cancerous kidney removed experienced accelerated dysfunction of their remaining kidney. Kidney removal also appeared to increase patients' risk of dying from cardiovascular causes.

"Current research is indicating over-treatment of localized renal tumors, and our data suggest that active surveillance is a reasonable strategy and one that is greatly underutilized in the elderly population," the authors wrote. They added that the potential benefit of kidney-sparing surgery in elderly patients who have the lowest risk for heart-related deaths and the greatest life expectancy warrants further investigation.
 

Overweight girls less likely to develop breast cancer in later life

Overweight girls less likely to develop breast cancer in later life


Overweight girls 'may have lower breast cancer risk'

Women who recall carrying excess body fat during childhood and adolescence appear to be less likely to develop breast cancer in later life, a US study reports.

However, Cancer Research UK pointed out that the findings do not mean being overweight is healthy.

Scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston studied 188,860 women, all of whom were required to recall their levels of body fatness at five, ten and 20 years of age.

Of the participants, 7,582 developed breast cancer during the 17-year study period and the researchers discovered that the disease was less common in women who had been overweight as young girls or teenagers.

The link was found for both pre-menopausal and postmenopausal breast cancers and remained even when individuals' current weight had been taken into account.

Researchers noticed that the association between adolescent body weight and breast cancer risk was particularly strong in women who weighed less than 8.5 pounds at birth, and in those whose tumours did not have oestrogen receptors.

Publishing their findings in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the study authors concluded: "In this large prospective study, greater body fatness at young ages, particularly during adolescence, was associated with a substantial decrease in breast cancer risk. The inverse association was fairly linear, with no apparent threshold.

"Elucidating the mechanisms that explain the inverse relation of body fatness at early stages of life with risk of breast cancer may contribute to understanding of the causes of this important disease."

Nell Barrie, Cancer Research UK's science information officer, said: "These results might eventually tell us more about how breast cancer develops, but they don't mean that being overweight is good for you. Children who are very heavy are more likely to be overweight later on in life, and being overweight after the menopause increases the risk of breast cancer.

"Being overweight can also lead to at least six other types of cancer, including womb and bowel cancers, as well as diabetes, heart disease and other health problems."

MabCent finds extraordinary life forms in the Arctic

MabCent finds extraordinary life forms in the Arctic

During its short existence the Centre on Marine Bioactives and Drug Discovery (MabCent) in Tromsø has analysed some 70,000 fractions of Arctic marine organisms. Patents on two molecules have been applied for and applications for another 20 will soon follow.

Professor Trond Ø. Jørgensen and his colleagues at MabCent find some extraordinary life forms in their search for marine organisms in the Arctic. One of the molecules that patent has been applied for, show promise in cancer treatment. The other is interesting because of its antibiotic properties. Applications for another 20 molecules will soon follow, with more in the pipeline.

"We think this is an excellent result given that we have been in actual operation for little more than one year," says Professor Trond Ø. Jørgensen, Director of MabCent. The research centre, under the host institution the University of Tromsø, is one of 14 Norwegian Centres for Research-based Innovation (SFI).

Tapping diversity

The Barents Sea, where temperate waters carried north by the Gulf Stream meet the cold waters of the Arctic Sea, is home to an enormous diversity of marine biological organisms. These species have evolved characteristics specialised to the extreme conditions of their habitat. Now, researchers are tracking down these unique organisms in search of bioactives for use in medicines, food, textiles, the processing industry and research - and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

In 2009 the Norwegian Government launched a national strategy for marine bioprospecting. The Research Programme on Functional Genomics in Norway (FUGE) under the Research Council was assigned responsibility for coordinating activities in this emerging field, and MabCent, granted status as an SFI in 2007, has a key role to play.

Mass profiling of molecules

On the laborious task of profiling molecules, Professor Jørgensen says: "This is needle-in-a-haystack research, and our work has barely begun. While bioprospecting on land has been around for 80 years, profiling at sea only began 30-35 years ago. And we didn't really get going in Norway until 2003."
MabCent has at its disposal all the material which Marbank, the biobank in Tromsø, has been collecting since 2005. In addition, MabCent began undertaking its own collecting expeditions in 2008 and plans to continue doing so until 2011/2012. The sampling has focused on bacteria, algae and benthic (bottom-dwelling) marine species, and each year some 200 newly discovered species have been catalogued. When the centre receives a large amount of material, the scientists begin with mass profiling in order to identify molecules with potentially beneficial biological effects.

Hundreds of discoveries

First of all, the scientists must determine a new organism's species. Next, extracts of molecules (known as fractions) from the organisms are isolated and systematically screened for potential biological activities. The researchers seek to discover some medicinal effect by attaching the fractions to cancer cells, pathogenic bacteria, etc.

At MabCent the primary focus areas are cancer, antibiotic and immunological effects, diabetes, antioxidants and useful enzymes.

"We're dealing with testing here on a giant scale," explains Professor Jørgensen. At the end of 2009 MabCent had tested 70,000 fractions. Among them the scientists found several hundred "hits" which can turn into valuable "leads", i.e. compounds thought to possess biological effects of interest. Even at the earliest stages, the centre scours the international data to find out whether its discoveries have been previously described. If not, the green light for a compound can then be given.

"We've come to the point now where the challenge is to choose the most interesting hits with the highest potential commercial value. Our business partners have the final say in this selection. So far, we have gone ahead with a few dozen hits."

When a molecule with known biological activity is found, it creates a basis for patenting.

Overcoming barriers between disciplines

"The profiling process involves a wide variety of scientists," says Professor Jørgensen, "from the marine biologists who collect and determine the organisms' species to the
chemical engineers who describe their molecular structures. In addition there are a number of medical fields involved in the screening of bioactive substances. It's a considerable challenge to avoid technical bottlenecks and to ensure good communication between all these disciplines."

Once MabCent has shown that certain molecules have properties of interest and the patenting process is underway, it is up to the business partners to follow through with the commercialisation.

Centre on Marine Bioactives and Drug Discovery (MabCent)

MabCent's industrial partners are Biotec Pharmacon ASA, ABC-Bioscience AS, Lytix Biopharma AS and Pronova BioCare ASA.

* Biotech Pharmacon deals in particular with activities related to enzymes.
* ABC-Bioscience, a recently-established firm and a direct offshoot of MabCent, works with antioxidants and cardiovascular products.
* Lytix Biopharma is a Tromsø-based firm working on cancer medicine.
* Pronova Biocare has interests mainly related to diabetes and anti-inflammatory medications.

MabCent has an overall budget of NOK 180 million over eight years. Some 43 per cent of this is covered under the Research Council's SFI scheme, while 25 per cent is funded by the business partners and 33 per cent by the University of Tromsø. The centre now has roughly 60 full-time and part-time employees.

Cancer Research UK raises £200,000 in Network Rail partnership celebrations

Cancer Research UK raises £200,000 in Network Rail partnership celebrations

Cancer Research UK, the world's leading charity dedicated to cancer research, is celebrating after the launch of its new two-year partnership with Network Rail got off to a flying start, raising almost £200,000 in the first three months of the partnership.

Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain's rail infrastructure, has offices and depots across Britain, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Swindon, Milton Keynes and York. Altogether, its 36,000 staff are aiming to raise a massive £1 million over the next two years to help beat cancer.

Since the partnership launch in April, employees across the country have been busy taking part in all kinds of fundraising activities to raise money towards the charity's life-saving work. So far, they have had football tournaments, World Cup sweepstakes, battle-of-the bands concerts, cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats, and scaled the Three Peaks. And lots more is planned, including dragon boat races and sky dives, not to mention plenty of pink fundraising for Breast Cancer Awareness in October.

Network Rail has also become the first ever national sponsor of the charity's inspirational Relay for Life series. The event, which takes place in 75 towns and cities across the UK, is organised by supporters and brings together communities in an inspiring overnight celebration and commemoration.

Claire Rowney, head of corporate partnerships at Cancer Research UK, said: "We're absolutely delighted that the partnership has got off to such a great start. It's testament to the passion and enthusiasm of everyone at Network Rail, who have truly embraced the work of Cancer Research UK and our vision to beat cancer. Our work on the causes and prevention of cancer has saved millions of lives across the world and, by helping us to continue our research, Network Rail is helping us to save many more in the future."

Victoria Pender, group director of government and corporate affairs at Network Rail, said: "Cancer Research UK is a well respected charity that does tremendous work and I am proud that Network Rail will be working with them once again. It's been great to see so many of our people already getting behind this fantastic cause. We have lots of fun and exciting fundraising activities planned throughout the year for our people to get involved with and I know everyone here is keen to get behind the charity to beat cancer and make a real difference to lives across Britain."

Rogue stem cells capable of kick-starting melanoma skin cancer development discovered

Rogue stem cells capable of kick-starting melanoma skin cancer development discovered


Scientists identify melanoma stem cells

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in the US have discovered that rogue stem cells appear to be capable of kick-starting the development of melanoma skin cancer in humans.

Many researchers think that tumour growth is fuelled by a subset of 'immortal' cancer stem cells. When they multiply, they produce 'bulk' tumour cells, as well as more stem cells.

Cancer stem cells may explain why cancer can return in patients who first appear to have been successfully treated. Although treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are effective against bulk tumour cells, they don't appear to target cancer stem cells.

Cancer stem cells have been identified in a number of different types of cancer, but until now, they have not been discovered in melanoma.

The researchers analysed protein molecules on the surface of cells from melanoma samples that had been taken from patients at the Stanford Cancer Centre. They found that between 2.5 and 41 per cent of cells had a protein called CD271 on their surface.
The researchers then transplanted human melanoma cells into mice, some of which received cells with CD271 on their surface while others received cells which lacked CD271.

Cells with CD271 were much more likely to grow into tumours than cells without the protein, suggesting they may have stem cell-like properties.

All but one of the new tumours arising from CD271 cells contained a mixture of CD271-positive and CD271-negative melanoma cells.

This shows that the stem cells could produce bulk tumour cells as well as new stem cells - a classic hallmark of stem cell behaviour.

The team also found that melanoma stem cells lack proteins that are targeted by immunotherapy - a treatment that harnesses the patient's immune system to destroy cancer cells. This helps to explain why some melanomas don't respond to immunotherapy, and could shape the design of future therapies for the disease.

Commenting on the discovery, which is published in the journal Nature, lead researcher Dr Alexander Boiko, a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford, revealed: "These cells lack the traditional melanoma cell surface markers targeted by these treatments. Without wiping out the cells at the root of the cancer, the treatment will fail.

"This could be the reason why we often see melanoma patients relapsing and coming back to the clinic. Our research indicates that it may be more appropriate to also target cells expressing CD271."

Dr Kat Arney, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "Researchers are finding cancer stem cells in many different types of tumour, and many scientists believe they are at the heart of a wide range of cancers.

"Understanding these elusive 'immortal' cells will be the key to developing more effective treatments for cancer in the future, so this research is an important step towards beating melanoma."

Asthma Medical Home' Keeps Kids Out Of The Hospital

Asthma Medical Home' Keeps Kids Out Of The Hospital


A comprehensive, patient-centered approach to asthma care that includes education, referrals to specialists and home visits not only improves patients' health but also has tremendous potential to decrease health care costs, according to research presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Asthma is the leading cause of admissions at Children's Hospital Boston, particularly among minority patients from low socio-economic backgrounds. To improve asthma care in this high-risk group, researchers developed an "asthma medical home" within their primary care clinic. They identified 1,900 asthmatic patients and initiated education sessions that included a review of asthma basics, appropriate medication use, how to recognize and manage an asthma attack, and common environmental asthma triggers.

Families also received assistance obtaining medications; referrals to allergy and pulmonary specialists; and support in reducing environmental triggers, which included access to dust mite covers and home visits for assessments and remediation of identified triggers (e.g., pests, mold).

Emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient hospitalization rates in the year before the program was in place were compared with those two years after program initiation.

Results showed that ED visits for asthma-related reasons decreased 63 percent (from 26 percent in 2006 to 9.9 percent in 2009), while inpatient hospitalization rates decreased 62 percent (from 10.5 to 4 percent).

"With increased access to their primary care providers, increased knowledge about their child's disease process and greater control over environmental triggers, families are better empowered to manage their children's asthma symptoms," said Faye F. Holder-Niles, MD, MPH, lead author of the study. "This comprehensive approach to asthma can have tremendous impact on the lives of asthmatic patients." 

Spring Fever Blossoms In Warm Weather - But Is It A Real Ailment?

Spring Fever Blossoms In Warm Weather - But Is It A Real Ailment?


In the season of ducklings, blooming dogwoods and open-toed sandals, some people are struck with a mysterious malady - spring fever.

Purported symptoms include daydreaming, falling in love and having the irrepressible urge to stay outside all day. There is no cure, though some treat the disease by canceling appointments and lying in the grass beneath the drifting clouds.

Elvis caught it. So did the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Mark Twain's character Huckleberry Finn.

"It's spring fever," Finn exclaims in Tom Sawyer, Detective. "And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"

But is spring fever a real phenomenon?

"It depends on what you mean by 'real,'" said Dr. Jon Abramowitz, professor and associate chair of psychology at the University of North Carolina. It's not an official medical condition, he said.

"When the weather turns warm, people are definitely tired of being cooped up, and they get excited about the warm weather and getting to do stuff outside," he said.

That excitement may trigger the brain to secrete endorphins, pain-relieving chemicals that suffuse a person with feelings of well-being. Endorphins chemically resemble morphine, the narcotic derived from poppies.

Spring activities, such as flying a kite or taking a leisurely bike ride, may also play a role because exercising can improve mood.

"Exercise is just as good as antidepressants for depression," Abramowitz said.

Frisky feelings could also result from getting more sunlight, said Dr. Thomas Koonce, associate medical director at the UNC Family Medicine Center.

"It may be that spring fever is actually a resolution of the blues we get during the winter," he said.

Variations in day length are associated with changes in levels of melatonin, a neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of sleep. Melatonin also plays a role in depression.

"We know from studies of big populations of people that the incidence of depression goes up in the fall and winter," Koonce said. "And we think that that's affected mostly by decreased sunlight hours."

Koonce said that winter depression, sometimes diagnosed as seasonal affective disorder, is most likely to affect young women and people who have moved from sunny climates to darker, cloudier regions.

But what about spring fever's link to love? After all, Tennyson said that it is in the spring that "a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."

Koonce said there is little evidence that spring turns people to romance.

But he said that as warm weather returns, "People feel better. They have more energy. That would make them prone to a relationship."

Several studies have found seasonal variation in sperm counts, with the lowest sperm concentrations occurring during the hot summer months.

Other research suggests that in the United States, there is a small peak in births in February and March, indicating conception the previous spring. But more babies are born in August and September, and they would have been conceived in the darkness of winter.

Spring Health Tips

Warm weather is a great incentive to exercise outdoors, Koonce said. "Twenty to forty minutes of exercise most days of the week is a terrific baseline," he said.

But as you spend more time outside, make sure to stay well-hydrated. To reduce your exposure to pollen, which can affect people with allergies and asthma, exercise in the early morning. "Plants open up and flower as the sun comes up," Koonce said.

Resume outdoor exercise gradually to avoid injury.

Take steps to avoid too much sun, which can lead to skin cancer. To reduce your risk, try wearing protective clothing and staying indoors during the brightest part of the day. "We must be very careful to protect ourselves from harmful sun exposure," Koonce said.

Crucell And NIH Announce Start Of Malaria Vaccine Trial

Crucell And NIH Announce Start Of Malaria Vaccine Trial In Burkina Faso

Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell N.V. (NYSE Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL; Swiss Exchange: CRX) today announced the start of a Phase I clinical study in Burkina Faso of its AdVac®-based malaria vaccine vector. Crucell is developing its malaria vaccine vector in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme (CNRFP) in Burkina Faso, and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana.

The study is a randomized, controlled, double-blinded, dosage- escalation clinical trial evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of the recombinant malaria vaccine vector Ad35-CS in malaria semi-immune, healthy adult volunteers living in Burkina Faso. This is the first study evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of this AdVac®-based malaria vaccine vector candidate in a population residing in a malaria endemic area.

"We are very pleased that the collaboration with NIH enables us to enter into this new trial," said Dr. Jerald Sadoff, Crucell's Chief Medical Officer at Crucell. "Using Crucell's technologies, we are on a joint mission to develop a vaccine against malaria, one of the top three killers in the world, causing close to a million deaths every year, mostly amongst children."

The study is funded by NIAID/NIH and conducted by Burkinabè researchers at the CNRFP, lead by the director of the CNRFP Dr. Sodiomon B. Sirima, MD, PhD. "The innovative approach in designing this malaria vaccine vector gives us confidence that it could open a new, promising era in the quest for an effective malaria vaccine, which would save the lives of millions of our children." said Dr. Sirima.

A Phase I clinical study recently completed in the United States demonstrated that the Ad35-CS vector has an acceptable safety and immunogenicity profile in malaria naïve, healthy adult volunteers.

About AdVac® technology

AdVac® technology is a vaccine technology developed by Crucell and is considered to play an important role in the fight against emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, and in biodefense. The technology supports the practice of inserting genetic material from the disease-causing virus or parasite into a 'vehicle' called a vector, which then delivers the immunogenic material directly to the immune system. Most vectors are based on an adenovirus, such as the virus that causes the common cold.

The AdVac® technology is specifically designed to manage the problem of preexisting immunity in humans against the most commonly used recombinant vaccine vector, adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5), without compromising large- scale production capabilities or the immunogenic properties of Ad5. AdVac® technology is based on adenoviruses that do not regularly occur in the human population, such as Ad26 and Ad35. In contrast to Ad26 and Ad35 antibodies, antibodies to Ad5 are widespread among people of all ages and are known to lower the immune response to Ad5-based vaccines, thereby impairing the efficacy of these vaccines. All vaccine candidates based on AdVac® are produced using Crucell's PER.C6® production technology.

About PER.C6® technology

Crucell's PER.C6® technology is a cell line developed for the large-scale manufacture of biopharmaceutical products including vaccines. The production scale potential of the PER.C6® cell line has been demonstrated in an unprecedented successful bioreactor run of 20,000 liters. Compared to conventional production technologies, the strengths of the PER.C6® technology lie in its excellent safety profile, scalability and productivity under serum-free culture conditions. These characteristics, combined with its ability to support the growth of both human and animal viruses, make PER.C6® technology the biopharmaceutical production technology of choice for Crucell's current and potential pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.

About Crucell's malaria vaccine

Crucell is developing a recombinant malaria vaccine, Ad35-CS, based on the company's AdVac® technology and PER.C6® manufacturing platform. The vaccine candidate is made by inserting the gene for the CSP from the P. falciparum malaria parasite into adenoviral vectors, which act as a 'vehicle' for vaccination delivery. This prime vaccine candidate is currently being tested in a phase I study in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Extract of French maritime pine tree bark reduces hay fever symptoms

Research shows Pycnogenol decreases nasal and ocular symptoms in allergic rhinitis patients

An estimated 60 million people in the U.S. are affected by allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. Hay fever is an allergic inflammation of the nasal airways that causes itching, swelling, mucus production, hives and rashes. A study published in the June 14, 2010 issue of Phytotherapy Research demonstrates Pycnogenol- (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract derived from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, substantially improves the symptoms of hay fever.

"Allergic rhinitis is often mistakenly believed to be a trivial health problem, while people suffering from hay fever may disagree as they experience a dramatic impairment to their quality of life," said Dr. Malkanthi Evans Scientific Director KGK Synergize Inc., a lead researcher on the study. "This study confirmed that taking Pycnogenol- naturally relieves eye and nasal symptoms of hay-fever patients owing to lower pollen-specific antibodies, particularly for ocular and nasal distress."
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted by KGK Synergize, Inc.,60 subjects between the ages of 18 and 65 began treatment three to eight weeks prior to the onset of birch allergy season in Ontario, Canada. All subjects tested positive for birch pollen allergies, a seasonal trigger of hay fever, as determined by skin prick tests. Patients were assigned to a Pycnogenol- group or placebo group according to a computer-generated, randomized schedule. Neither the patient, the investigator nor research staff was informed to which test order the subjects were assigned. Subjects were instructed to take either one 50 mg Pycnogenol- tablet or one placebo tablet twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening throughout the allergy season. Patients were allowed to use non-prescription antihistamines as needed and recorded usage and dosage in treatment journals. The study was approved by an ethical committee as well as the "Health Canada" authorities.

Blood was collected before and after treatment throughout the entire birch pollen season for the measurement of birch specific IgE antibodies. Upon recognition of a specific allergen the IgE class of antibodies stimulates the release of histamine, an inflammatory mediator responsible for the hay-fever symptoms. During exposure to pollen allergic people develop higher levels of the corresponding IgE antibody, which goes along with increasing hay-fever symptoms. Comparison of birch specific IgE levels from the start of the trial and the end of allergy season showed an increase of 31.9 percent in the placebo group but only 19.4 percent in the Pycnogenol- group.

Subjects were instructed to rate nasal and eye symptoms daily by means of a self-administered questionnaire, recording values in their treatment journals. These resemble problems well known to people affected by hay-fever: burning, itchy, watering or tearing eyes, redness, sneezing and stuffy, runny or itchy nose. All nasal and eye symptoms were scored with values ranging from "zero" (symptoms absent) to a maximum of "three" (severe, symptoms completely preventing normal activity). Throughout the birch pollen seasons around mid of April until end of May, the total average nasal and eye symptom score was lower in the Pycnogenol- group than in the placebo group. A detailed analysis showed that Pycnogenol- was more effective the earlier patients began taking the product prior to the onset of the exposure to birch pollen. The researchers speculate that a lag-time of at least five weeks prior to pollen exposure is required for Pycnogenol- to defy hay-fever symptoms. Subjects taking Pycnogenol- seven weeks before onset of the birch season required very little non-prescription antihistamine medication (12.5%) compared with subjects taking the placebo (50%).

"For the many people seeking alternatives to conventional treatment for allergic rhinitis Pycnogenol- may represent an effective and completely natural solution, void of any side-effects" said Evans.

Previous studies have revealed Pycnogenol- to favorably affect patients suffering from allergies. Two earlier clinical trials showed that Pycnogenol- improves symptoms and breathing ability of asthma patients. Asthma is likewise triggered by airborne allergens and Pycnogenol- was demonstrated to significantly decrease leukotriene levels, an inflammatory mediator involved in asthma and hay fever alike. Human pharmacologic studies have pointed to a general anti-inflammatory potency of Pycnogenol-.

China PharmaHub announces new joint venture for humanized antibody

China PharmaHub Corp. ("PharmaHub"), announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Dr. David Weaver and Dr. Michael Rynkiewicz. In addition, PharmaHub contemplates merging with World Wide Relics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: WRLC) of which it recently purchased a 77% interest.

The management of World Wide Relics ("WWR") and PharmaHub are looking forward to the potential merger and are working diligently towards it. PharmaHub is engaged in the business of licensing, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical and healthcare products and technologies between Chinese pharmaceutical companies and other pharmaceutical companies located worldwide, with initial emphasis in the United States and Europe. For existing WWR shareholders, the merger could add substantial value due to PharmaHub's existing business relationships and agreements.
Pursuant to PharmaHub's agreement with Dr. Weaver and Dr. Rynkiewicz, a joint venture has been created and will be known as Akanas Therapeutics, Inc. ("Akanas"), of which PharmaHub owns a 35% interest. The joint venture will have the exclusive rights to the intellectual property, which includes patents on a proprietary technology using atomic structure for antibody humanization to rapidly and cost-effectively create humanized antibodies which retain high affinity and avoid immunogenicity. Dr. Weaver and Dr. Rynkiewicz invented the core Akanas platform technology in 2005. Dr. Weaver has over 15 years of experience in the research and development of cancer biology and immunology. He received postgraduate training at MIT and the Whitehead Institute, and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from Harvard. Dr. Rynkiewicz is an experienced protein crystallographer with training from Boston University and University of Pennsylvania. He received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Boston University and a B.S. in Chemistry at MIT. PharmaHub will work with Akanas to expand its existing research, development, commercialization and marketing on a worldwide basis.

"We're excited to enter into this agreement," stated Richard Lui, Chief Executive Officer of PharmaHub. "This marks another of PharmaHub's endeavors where we will be utilizing our resources both in the U.S. and in China to strive to bring these innovative technologies to patients around the world. Akanas' humanized therapeutic antibodies technology has already produced several compositions which Management believes showed superiority in preclinical trials over existing antibodies on the market. We look to provide a meaningful impact to the disease markets by having improved activity and reduced side effects as we continue to carry out preclinical and clinical trials in China. This agreement demonstrates the collaborative effort that PharmaHub is striving for with each scientist or company with whom we work."

Lui continued, "Akanas' humanized antibody can potentially be used to treat such diseases as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. With the market for disease treatment in China and the U.S. booming, and the global antibody drug market expected to generate $30 billion in worldwide sales in 2009, with an annual growth rate of 14 percent through 2012, according to Datamonitor, Management believes that the potential for China PharmaHub is enormous."

Mice study may provide new insight on human pregnancies

The concept of pregnancy makes no sense-at least not from an immunological point of view. After all, a fetus, carrying half of its father's genome, is biologically distinct from its mother. The fetus is thus made of cells and tissues that are very much not "self"-and not-self is precisely what the immune system is meant to search out and destroy.

Women's bodies manage to ignore this contradiction in the vast majority of cases, making pregnancy possible. Similarly, scientists have generally paid little attention to this phenomenon-called "pregnancy tolerance"-and its biological details.

Now, a pair of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have shown that females actively produce a particular type of immune cell in response to specific fetal antigens-immune-stimulating proteins-and that this response allows pregnancy to continue without the fetus being rejected by the mother's body.

Their findings were detailed in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

"Our finding that specific T regulatory cells protect the mother is a step to learning how the mother avoids rejection of her fetus. This central biological mechanism is important for the health of both the fetus and the mother," says David Baltimore, Caltech's Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the principal investigator on the research.

Scientists had long been "hinting around at the idea that the mother's immune system makes tolerance possible," notes paper coauthor Daniel Kahn, a visiting associate in biology at Caltech, and an assistant professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). What they didn't have were the details of this tolerance-or proof that it was immune-related.

Mutations in Siglec-8 gene may play role in asthma: Research

Finding could lead to new diagnostic tests or asthma treatments

A gene that encodes a protein responsible for determining whether certain immune cells live or die shows subtle differences in some people with asthma, a team led by Johns Hopkins researchers reports in the June European Journal of Human Genetics.

The protein, known as Siglec-8, has been studied for more than a decade by a team led by Bruce S. Bochner, M.D., director of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Siglec-8, whose name is an acronym for sialic acid-binding, immunoglobulin-like lectin number 8, is present on the surfaces of a few types of immune cells, including eosinophils, basophils and mast cells. These different cell types have diverse but cooperative roles in normal immune function and allergic diseases. When functioning correctly, they play a valuable role in keeping the body healthy and infection-free. However, in conditions such as allergic reactions and asthma attacks, the cells unleash an overwhelming response that can harm the body more than it helps.

The researchers found in previous studies that when they bound antibodies or specially engineered sugar-coated polymers to the Siglec-8 protein on eosinophils, the cells promptly died, an effect that might be useful in stemming an allergy or asthma attack. Indeed, the Bochner lab is interested in pursuing the possibility of developing new therapies based on treatments that activate Siglec-8.
Natural sugar-based molecules in the body fulfill a similar role in keeping eosinophils in check in healthy people, explains Bochner. However, he and his colleagues hypothesized, if Siglec-8 were compromised - perhaps through a mutation in the gene that produces this protein - people who carried such a mutation might be more susceptible to getting asthma or other immunological diseases because they might end up with extra eosinophils.

To test this idea, Bochner and his colleagues used data from Genomic Research on Asthma in the African Diaspora (GRAAD), a group of National Institutes of Health-funded studies of asthma in pediatric and adult African-American populations and one study of healthy African-Americans. The team examined DNA taken from 464 asthma patients and 471 healthy individuals who participated in these studies. They looked for single-letter differences in the genetic code, mutations called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, pronounced "snips"), that might be associated with a higher risk of asthma. Their results turned up a single SNP, called rs36498, which was associated with a significantly higher susceptibility to asthma.

To confirm these results, the researchers performed a similar investigation on two racially different populations: 822 individuals among 356 nuclear families, each with at least one child with asthma, recruited from the Conde District of Bahia, Brazil, and 468 volunteers with asthma and 457 without asthma recruited from a pulmonary clinic at Hokkaido University Hospital in Hokkaido, Japan.

The researchers found that the same SNP, rs36498, was found in significantly more Brazilian individuals with a history of wheezing in the last 12 months or had a lifetime history of asthma than those without these characteristics. A different SNP, rs10409962, was found in higher numbers in the Japanese asthmatic volunteers compared to the healthy ones.

To see if either of these SNPs might be involved in other conditions that affect eosinophils, the researchers examined 166 Caucasians who each had a condition called eosinophilic esophagitis, an inflammatory condition that affects the walls of the esophagus, and 132 healthy Caucasian volunteers. Neither SNP appeared prominently in these populations. The results suggest that these SNPs affect asthma susceptibility, but not susceptibility to eosinophilic esophagitis.

"Our results suggest these mutations in the Siglec-8 gene may play a role in asthma. It's reasonable to assume that efforts to target Siglec-8 might be able to influence this disease and others associated with eosinophils," says Bochner. "If we're able to understand these mutations better, we might be able to use them to develop a diagnostic test or new treatment."