December 7, 2010, 7:19 AM CT

A flu vaccine that lasts

The costly, time-consuming process of making, distributing and administering millions of seasonal flu vaccines would become obsolete if scientists could design a vaccine that confers decades-long protection from any flu virus strain. Making such a universal influenza vaccine is feasible but licensing it may require innovation on several fronts, including finding new ways to evaluate the efficacy of vaccine candidates in clinical trials, conclude researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

In a Nature Medicine commentary, authors Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID director, and Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NIAID Vaccine Research Center, contrast the envisioned universal influenza vaccine with today's seasonal influenza vaccines. Current seasonal flu vaccines prompt immune responses that mimic those made following natural exposure to the flu virus. Both exposure and vaccination elicit antibodies directed at the roundish head portion of a lollypop-shaped flu protein called hemagglutinin (HA). But the composition of HA's head changes from year to year, gradually becoming unrecognizable to previously made antibodies. Thus, vaccinationwhich induces antibodies tailored to that year's HA head regionmust be repeated annually to maintain immunity to the virus......... Posted by: Mark      Read more         Source

December 7, 2010, 7:15 AM CT

Why married men behave better

Scientists have long argued that marriage generally reduces illegal and aggressive behaviors in men. It remained unclear, however, if that association was a function of matrimony itself or whether less "antisocial" men were simply more likely to get married.

The answer, as per a newly released study led by a Michigan State University behavior geneticist, may be both.

In the recent issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, online today, S. Alexandra Burt and his colleagues observed that less antisocial men were more likely to get married. Once they were wed, however, the marriage itself appeared to further inhibit antisocial behavior.

"Our results indicate that the reduced rate of antisocial behavior in married men is more complicated than we previously thought," said Burt, associate professor of psychology. "Marriage is generally good for men, at least in terms of reducing antisocial behavior, but the data also indicate that it's not random who enters into the state of marriage".

The study is the first to investigate the effects of marriage on antisocial behavior using a genetically informative twin sample to rule out the effects of genes on these associations. The scientists examined the data of 289 pairs of male twins. The twins were assessed four times, at ages 17, 20, 24 and 29......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

December 7, 2010, 7:11 AM CT

Religion and happiness

While the positive connection between religiosity and life satisfaction has long been known, a newly released study in the recent issue of the American Sociological Review reveals religion's "secret ingredient" that makes people happier.

"Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction," said Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the study. "In particular, we find that friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier".

In their study, "Religion, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction," Lim and co-author Robert D. Putnam, the Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, use data from the Faith Matters Study, a panel survey of a representative sample of U.S. adults in 2006 and 2007. The panel survey was discussed in detail in the recently published book American Grace by Putnam and David E. Campbell.

As per the study, 33 percent of people who attend religious services every week and have three to five close friends in their congregation report that they are "extremely satisfied" with their lives. "Extremely satisfied" is defined as a 10 on a scale ranging from 1 to 10......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

December 7, 2010, 7:06 AM CT

Questions about genetic testing of newborns

Required genetic screening of newborns for rare diseases is creating unexpected upheaval for families whose infants test positive for risk factors but show no immediate signs of the diseases, a new UCLA study warns.

"Eventhough newborn screening undoubtedly saves lives, some families are thrown on a journey of great uncertainty," said UCLA sociology professor Stefan Timmermans, the study's main author. "Rather than providing clear-cut diagnoses, screening of an entire population has created ambiguity about whether infants truly have a disease and even what the disease is." .

The study, which appears in the recent issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, describes these families as "the collateral damage of newborn screening," an unanticipated consequence of the expansion of required screening for a wide range of conditions in 2005.

"Basically you're telling families of a newborn, 'Congratulations, but your child may have a rare genetic condition. We just don't know, and we don't know when we'll know,'" Timmermans said.

Conducted with Mara Buchbinder, who earned a doctorate in anthropology at UCLA and is now an assistant professor of social medicine at the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, the study paints a picture of families caught in limbo as they wait months for conclusive evidence that their children are out of the woods for conditions that have been linked to schizophrenia, mental retardation, heart and lung disease, coma and sudden death......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

December 7, 2010, 7:04 AM CT

Influenza virus strains show increasing drug resistance

Two new studies raise public health concerns about increasing antiviral resistance among certain influenza viruses, their ability to spread, and a lack of alternative antiviral therapy options. The findings appear in the January 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases (Please see below for links to these articles online.).

Influenza viruses are treated with two classes of drugs: M2 blockers (adamantanes) and neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs), including oseltamivir and zanamivir. While the spread of influenza strains with resistance to one class of drugs has been well documented in recent years, a new report from Larisa Gubareva, MD, PhD and his colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and at health agencies in West Virginia, Texas, and Canada, confirms that dual resistance can emerge in several ways and has been on the rise during the past three years.

The study analyzed 28 seasonal H1N1 viruses with dual resistance from 2008 to 2010 from five countries, revealing that additional antiviral resistance could rapidly develop in a previously single-resistant strain as a result of mutation, drug response, or gene exchange with another virus.

Eventhough dual resistant viruses are still rare, the researchers noted an increase in the number of tested viruses with this resistance, from 0.06 percent (2007-2008) to 1.5 percent (2008-2009) to 28 percent (2009-2010); however, during the 2009-2010 season the number of circulating seasonal H1N1 viruses was low, and only 25 viruses were tested. "Because only two classes of antiviral agents are approved, the detection of viruses with resistance to drugs in both classes is concerning," said Dr. Gubareva. "If circulation of viruses with dual resistance becomes more widespread among any of the predominant circulating influenza A viruses, therapy options will be extremely limited. New antiviral agents and strategies for antiviral treatment are likely to be necessary in the future"......... Posted by: Mark      Read more         Source

November 30, 2010, 7:58 AM CT

Moderate alcohol consumption lowers the risk of metabolic diseases

With the emergence of an epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes (DM) throughout the world, the association of lifestyle habits that may affect the risk of metabolic diseases is particularly important. Most prospective studies have shown that moderate drinkers tend to have about 30% lower risk of developing late onset diabetes than do non-drinkers, and moderate drinkers also tend to be at lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MS). A cross-sectional analysis of 6172 subjects age 35 -75 in Switzerland related varying levels of alcohol intake to the presence of DM, MS, and an index of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).

Alcohol consumption was categorized as non-drinkers (0), low-risk (1󈝹 drinks a week), medium-to-high-risk (14󈞎) and very-high-risk (= 35) drinkers. 73% of participants consumed alcohol, 16% were medium-to-high-risk drinkers and 2% very-high risk drinkers.

Study findings: In multivariate analysis, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, diabetes and mean HOMA-IR decreased with low-risk drinking and increased with high-risk drinking. Adjusted prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 24% in non-drinkers, 19% in low-risk, 20% in medium-to-high-risk and 29% in very-high-risk drinkers. Adjusted prevalence of diabetes was 6.0% in non-drinkers, 3.6% in low-risk, 3.8% in medium-to-high-risk and 6.7% in very-high-risk drinkers. These relationships did not differ as per beverage types......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

November 30, 2010, 7:55 AM CT

Sleep apnea and heart disease

People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder linked to obesity, have more non-calcified or "bad" plaque in their coronary arteries, as per a research studypresented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"Our study reveals that individuals with obstructive sleep apnea are prone to developing an aggressive form of atherosclerosis that puts them at risk for impaired blood flow and cardiovascular events," said U. Joseph Schoepf, M.D., professor of radiology and medicine and director of cardiovascular imaging at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C.

Typically osa is caused by obstruction of the upper airway during sleep and is characterized by periodic pauses in breathing, which last for 10 or more seconds. OSA is also usually linked to snoring.

As per the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, millions of Americans have OSA, and approximately half of them are overweight.

In the study, 49 obese patients, mean age 61, with OSA and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 33, and 46 obese patients without the disorder (mean age of 60 and mean BMI of 30) underwent coronary CT angiography (cCTA), which provides detailed pictures and information on plaque buildup and narrowing in the vessels. The OSA group included 26 men and 23 women, and the matched control group included 22 men and 24 women......... Posted by: Daniel      Read more         Source

November 30, 2010, 7:54 AM CT

Screening tool to identify heart disease

In a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), scientists say they may have an explanation as to why African Americans, despite having lower amounts of coronary artery calcification, are at increased risk for heart attacks and other cardiovascular events compared with Caucasians.

The answer, as per scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, S.C., appears to be increased levels of non-calcified plaque, which consists of buildups of soft deposits deep in the walls of the arteries that are not detected by some cardiac tests. Non-calcified plaque is more vulnerable to rupturing and causing a blood clot, which could lead to a heart attack or other cardiovascular event.

"The African Americans and Caucasians we studied had approximately the same amount of plaque in their arteries, but different kinds of plaque," said John W. Nance Jr., M.D., researcher in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at MUSC.

Calcium scoring with CT is a common screening tool for patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, because increased calcification in the coronary arteries correlates with a greater risk for a heart attack or other cardiovascular event. However, calcium scoring does not detect non-calcified plaque......... Posted by: Daniel      Read more         Source

November 30, 2010, 7:52 AM CT

Belly fat puts women at risk for osteoporosis

For years, it was believed that obese women were at lower risk for developing osteoporosis, and that excess body fat actually protected against bone loss. However, a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) observed that having too much internal abdominal fat may, in fact, have a damaging effect on bone health.

"We know that obesity is a major public health problem," said the study's main author, Miriam A. Bredella, M.D., a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "Now we know that abdominal obesity needs to be included as a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone loss." .

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 72 million American adults are considered obese. The CDC defines obesity as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. Obesity is linked to a number of health problems including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea and joint diseases. Yet despite all the health issues, it was usually accepted that women with increased body weight were at lower risk for bone loss.

But not all body fat is the same. Subcutaneous fat lies just below the skin, and visceral or intra-abdominal fat is located deep under the muscle tissue in the abdominal cavity. Genetics, diet and exercise are all contributors to the level of visceral fat that is stored in the body. Excess visceral fat is considered especially dangerous, because in prior studies it has been linked to increased risk for heart disease......... Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

November 30, 2010, 7:51 AM CT

Acupuncture changes brain's perception of pain

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scientists have captured pictures of the brain while patients experienced a pain stimulus with and without acupuncture to determine acupuncture's effect on how the brain processes pain. Results of the study, which the scientists say suggest the effectiveness of acupuncture, were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"Until now, the role of acupuncture in the perception and processing of pain has been controversial," said lead researcher Nina Theysohn, M.D., from the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology at University Hospital in Essen, Gera number of. "Functional MRI gives us the opportunity to directly observe areas of the brain that are activated during pain perception and see the variances that occur with acupuncture".

fMRI measures the tiny metabolic changes that take place in an active part of the brain, while a patient performs a task or is exposed to a specific external stimulus.

In the study, conducted in close collaboration with the Department of Complementary and Integrative Medicine at University of Duisburg-Essen, 18 healthy volunteers underwent fMRI while an electrical pain stimulus was attached to the left ankle. Acupuncture needles were then placed at three places on the right side, including between the toes, below the knee, and near the thumb. With the needles in place, fMRI was repeated while electrical currents were again directed at the left ankle. The scientists then compared the images and data obtained from the fMRI sessions with no acupuncture to those of the fMRI sessions with acupuncture......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source