Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA back issues from July 2003:
Smallpox vaccination recommended for those exposed to virus.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued interim guidance advising states that persons investigating monkeypox outbreaks and involved in caring for infected individuals or animals should receive a smallpox vaccination to ...
Human vaccine strain of lamb rotavirus (Chinese) NSP4 gene sequenced.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A human vaccine strain of lamb rotavirus (Chinese) NSP4 gene has been sequenced. According to recent research published in the journal Virus Genes, "A lamb strain of rotavirus has recently been licensed for use in China as a live vaccine ...
WHO criteria for trypanosomiasis can be improved by measuring IgM in the CSF.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers propose a change to the WHO stage determination for African trypanosomiasis to new CNS involvement criteria that include IgM and exclude determination of trypanosomes. According to recent research from Belgium, "Diagnosis of ...
Pharmacology of topiramate and lamotrigine compared with phenobarbital.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The pharmacology of topiramate and lamotrigine was compared with phenobarbital, including efficacy and side effects, in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. "Clinical pharmacologists, neurologists, internists, and all ...
Measles antibodies interfere with immune response in revaccinated adults.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Measles-specific antibodies interfere with the humoral immune response in adults re-immunized with measles vaccine. According to published research from Mexico, "The objective of this study was to characterize the kinetics' of the ...
Death rate lower in countries responding aggressively to initial outbreak.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Three months after severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) began its spread out of southern China, it is clear that a country's response to the epidemic can have a major impact on the percentage of infected people who die, according to ...
Age-related differences found in the side effect profile of citalopram.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Age-related differences were found in the side effect profile of citalopram. "The authors evaluated the autonomic and cardiovascular side effects of citalopram with particular emphasis on their relation to the age of treated patients ....
An amebic thiol-specific antioxidant prevents killing by host mononuclear ROS.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Amebic dysentery begins with attachment to host mononuclear cells with GalNAc lectin and attachment of a thiol specific antioxidant to its cytoplasmic domain to neutralize reactive oxygen species produced against it. "Entamoeba ...
FDA clears IND for anthrax vaccine candidate.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its candidate anthrax vaccine. The effective IND allows VaxGen to begin clinical development ...
Asthma in high percentage of North Carolina children undiagnosed, study shows.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new, first-of-its kind, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill survey of 122,829 children at 499 middle schools in the state has turned up disturbing information about asthma, now the most common chronic childhood disease in the United ...
Antitumor activity reported for ABI-007 in patients resistant to taxane.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc., (APPX) said investigators reported on the early findings in a phase II metastatic breast cancer trial of ABI-007, a novel Cremophor-free ...
Chronically infected individuals have an imbalance of cytokines to antioxidants.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chronic Chagas disease sufferers have an imbalance of cytokines to antioxidants, a fact that may lead to alternate therapeutic approaches to disease. According to published research from France, "Understanding the pathogenic mechanisms ...
U.S. Food and Drug Administration says problem is growing.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Undercover agents staked out a Florida Chevron station, watching as a man handed $36,500 to his partner in a car before they pounced. But this was no ordinary drug bust: instead of cocaine or heroin, the men arrested sold fake versions of the ...
Exposure to one, minimal erythema dose of UV damaged skin DNA of all subjects.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Exposure to one minimal erythema dose of UV damaged the skin DNA of all subjects. According to a study from the United States, "DNA damage induced by UV radiation is a critical event in skin photocarcinogenesis. However, the role of ...
Interleukin-6 promoter polymorphism associated with type 2 diabetes.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An association between the interleukin-6 (-174) G/C promoter polymorphism and type 2 diabetes has been found in Native Americans and Caucasians. "Chronic low-grade activation of the immune system may play a role in the pathogenesis of ...
Efforts underway to increase whole-grain consumption in the United States.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Efforts are underway to increase whole-grain consumption in the United States. "In response to the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, the Food and Drug Administration approved seven health claims that addressed the relationship ...
WHO underestimates HIV exposure from dirty needles, researcher says.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The World Health Organization's long-held position that dirty needles cause 2.5% of African HIV exposures is too conservative, according to a report by a researcher at the U.N. agency. This has prompted questions about a U.S ....
Japanese kids gaining body fat, heart risks like Western counterparts.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Japanese children are getting fatter, thus increasing their heart disease risk, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Second Annual Asia-Pacific Forum. Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ...
Race, ethnicity increase risk for STDs in those otherwise at lowest risk.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers conducted a study of the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and herpes simplex-2 (HSV-2) virus infections among a representative sample of the U.S. population ...
WHO: Concerted global action is the only answer to rising cancer deaths.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) are calling for action through concerted efforts by all sectors to prevent and treat cancer throughout the world. By taking immediate action, the ...
Ratio of reported-to-expected cancer rates in family members approximately 0.7.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The ratio of reported:expected cancer rates in family members was approximately 0.7 when looking at data from a cancer screening trial. "The authors analyzed data from almost 150,000 subjects aged 55-74 years enrolled in the Prostate, ...
Community HealthCorps members assist in youth HIV/AIDS prevention education.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Community HealthCorps members were utilized to assist in youth HIV/AIDS prevention education programs. "One-half of all new infections with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) ...
Enfuvirtide is first fusion inhibitor for treating patients with HIV.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Enfuvirtide is the first fusion inhibitor reported for the treatment of patients with HIV-1 infection. According to recent research from the United States, "Enfuvirtide (Fuzeon, Roche/Trimeris) is the first member of a unique class of ...
Epidemiologic data for 2002-03 flu season reported.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The National Center for Infectious Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported that, overall, the 2002-03 U.S. influenza season was mild, though various regions of the country experienced different types of influenza virus ...
Influenza surveillance in Europe and its future reviewed.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A report on the evolution of influenza surveillance in Europe and prospects for the next 10 years has been published in the journal Vaccine. "This report traces the evolution of surveillance programs for influenza in the United Kingdom ...
Bed nets dramatically reduce malaria exposure in Kenyan infants.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bed nets dramatically reduced malaria exposure in infants in an area of intense perennial malaria transmission in western Kenya. According to published research from the United States, Kenya, and the Netherlands, "As part of a ...
Malaria reduced in pregnant women by permethrin-treated bed nets in Kenya.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Malaria was reduced in pregnant women by permethrin-treated bed nets in an area of intense perennial malaria transmission in western Kenya. "The impact of insecticide (permethrin)-treated bed nets (ITNs) on malaria in pregnancy was ...
Permethrin-treated bed nets reduce local population of malaria vectors.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Permethrin-treated bed nets reduced the local population of malaria vectors. According to recent research published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, "The effect of insecticide (permethrin)-treated bed nets (ITNs) ...
Permethrin-treated bed nets reduce mortality in young children in Kenya.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Permethrin-treated bed nets reduced mortality in young children in an area of high perennial malaria transmission in western Kenya. "A group-randomized controlled trial of insecticide (permethrin)-treated bed nets (ITNs) was conducted in ...
Home care feasible in Guinea Bissau.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Home care is feasible for pediatric malaria patients in Guinea. In a study there, "children with symptomatic malaria in Bissau were randomly assigned to treatment with chloroquine 25 mg base/kg given supervised at a health center or ...
Criteria defining antimanic drugs discussed.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The criteria defining antimanic drugs is discussed in the journal Encephale - Revue de Psychiatrie Clinique Biologique Et Therapeutique. According to recent research from France, "The question as to whether specific antimanic drugs ...
Eradication of measles in the Western Pacific Region close to reality.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Accelerated measles control in the Western Pacific Region has brought eradication of the disease in the area close to realization. According to a study from Philippines, "By the 1990s, an immunization program in the western Pacific had ...
Measles eradicated in Haiti after outbreak in 2000.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Measles was eradicated in Haiti after an outbreak occurred in 2000. "On 8 March 2000 a case of laboratory-confirmed measles was detected in Haiti. Over the ensuing months, an explosive epidemic occurred that spread to eight of the nine ...
Case of possible human-to-human transmission under investigation.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Wisconsin nurse may have contracted monkeypox from a patient in what would be the first known case of the disease spreading from one person to another in the United States, officials said on June 12, 2003. Wisconsin state ...
First outbreak of human infection in Western Hemisphere reported.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Public health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana have reported the first outbreak of human infections with a monkeypox-like virus to be documented in the ...
Respiratory tuberculosis mortality risk evaluated by job type.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) researchers recently listed occupations and industries with higher incidence of deaths due to respiratory tuberculosis. K.M ....
Immune cell testing used as adjunct to drug monitoring in transplantation patients.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immune cell function testing can be used as an adjunct to therapeutic drug monitoring in transplantation patients. "Each year, 55,000 organ transplants are performed worldwide. Cumulatively, the number of living organ recipients is now ...
Government statistics underestimate neonatal mortality in rural western Kenya.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Government statistics underestimate the actual neonatal mortality in rural western Kenya. According to published research from Kenya, "Estimates of mortality in children less than five years old using government civil registration ...
Permethrin-treated bed nets reduce morbidity in young children in Kenya.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Permethrin-treated bed nets reduced morbidity in young children in western Kenya. "Information on the impact of insecticide (permethrin)-treated bed nets (ITNs) from randomized controlled trials in areas of intense perennial malaria ...
Permethrin-treated bed nets reduce sick child visits for malaria.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Permethrin-treated bed nets reduced the number of sick child visits to peripheral health facilities for the treatment of malaria. According to recent research published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, "During a ...
Eradication efforts should continue in southern Africa, report says.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although wild poliovirus circulation appears to have been interrupted in the Southern part of Africa polio eradication activities should be sustained until global eradication is certified, officials with the U.S. National Immunization Program ...
Exposure to PCB may alter brain chemicals such as protein kinases.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) may alter brain chemicals such as the protein kinases. According to recent research published in the journal Molecular Brain Research, "PCBs have been shown to alter several neurochemical ...
GSK, ABC Radio, and DHHS to improve health among communities of color.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced it is joining with the ABC Radio Networks and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in sponsoring "Closing the Health Gap," a public awareness initiative designed to reduce health disparities affecting ...
Impact of violence and prevention strategies discussed at symposium.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) hosted a June 2003 symposium in Washington, DC, that focused on the public health impact of violence and strategies to reduce it. The meeting, "Alliances for the Prevention of Violence," also ...
Pool inspection data could be used more effectively.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Swimming is one of the most popular activities in the U.S. and a healthy way to spend leisure time. Over the past decade, however, there has been an increase in the reported number of swimming-related illness outbreaks. Health ...
New rules speed generic drugs to market in U.S.
Jul 06, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cheaper generic versions of pricey medications could reach consumers more quickly under U.S. federal rules announced June 12, 2003, but not as quickly as the Senate hopes to speed them. The goal is to save consumers and taxpayers ...
Spatial prediction of counts and rates.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from the United States, "In this paper we provide both theoretical and empirical comparisons of marginal and conditional methods for analyzing spatial count data. We focus on methods for spatial prediction developed ...
Glucose metabolism in Trichinella spiralis nurse cells reported.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Investigators have described the unique nature of glucose uptake and metabolism in Trichinella spiralis nurse cells. "Isolated Trichinella spiralis nurse cells transport a significantly greater amount of glucose/mg of protein than the ...
LPS inflammatory response different in swine than in rodents and humans.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The inflammatory response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was different in swine than those reported in rodents and humans. According to a study from the United States, "The inflammatory response in swine challenged with lipopolysaccharide ...
Arsenic limit in drinking water set at 10 micrograms/liter.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The limit of arsenic in drinking water has been set at 10 micrograms/liter by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Humans can be exposed to arsenic (As) through the intake of air, food, and water. Although food is usually the ...
Report says WHO guidelines on SARS should be refined.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for diagnosing suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) may not be sufficiently sensitive in assessing patients before admission to hospital, suggest researchers from Hong Kong. ...
Pakistani injection drug users twice as likely to donate blood.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Thirty percent of injection drug users in Pakistan are paid to donate blood, which could contaminate the global blood supply and increase the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C, according to a study in three Pakistani cites conducted by the ...
Presence of 22-hydroxycholesterol inhibits chemokine receptor function.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxysterols do not antagonize binding, but may inhibit chemokine receptor function if in cell membranes. According to a study from the United States, "Cell membrane exposure to oxysterols, such as 22-hydroxycholesterol (22-OHC), has ...
Catalase negative Haemophilus species can be virulent.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Catalase negative Hemophilus species can be virulent for patients with chronic granulomatous disease. "Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare inherited disorder in which phagocytes are incapable of generating ...
Epitopes of Borna disease virus p10 protein identified.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted epitopes of the Borna disease virus p10 protein have been identified by cytotoxic T lymphocytes induced by DNA-based immunization. According to a study from the United States, ...
Dengue virus NS1, NS2A, NS3, and NS5 mutant proteins restrict replication.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Temperature-sensitive mutations in the genes encoding the NS1, NS2A, NS3, and NS5 nonstructural proteins of dengue virus type 4 restricted replication in the brains of mice. "Using reverse genetics, it is possible to readily add ...
Trial on efficacy of botulinum toxin for crow's feet conducted.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results from a double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial on the safety and efficacy of myobloc (Botulinum toxin type B)-purified neurotoxin complex for the treatment of crow's feet have been published in Dermatologic Surgery. "Crow's ...
Researchers use lowess to remove systematic trends over time.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers demonstrate the use of lowess to remove systematic trends over time in predictor variables prior to logistic regression with quantile categories in a recent issue of the journal Statistics in Medicine. "In case-control ...
Health-promoting compounds in broccoli lost during transport.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health-promoting compounds in broccoli are lost during transport and retail storage. "Total aliphatic and indole glucosinolates, phenolic compounds (flavonoids and hydroxycinnamoyl derivatives), and vitamin C contents were evaluated in ...
Deep-frying fish increases risk from mercury.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Deep-frying fish increases the risk from mercury consumption. According to a study from the United States, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many states have issued advisories to limit or avoid the consumption of ...
Dioxin risks decrease over past 30 years.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The level of background dioxin exposure has decreased over the past 30 years. "The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and other U.S. and international agencies have focused extensive efforts on the evaluation of the ...
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers found in fish and shellfish.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers were found in food, especially fish and shellfish, in Spain. According to published research from Spain, "Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in a variety of materials, ...
Ehrlichiae and spotted fever rickettsiae are found in Indonesia.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gag Island residents in Indonesia have a higher prevalence of ehrlichiae and spotted fever rickettsiae and very low infection rates with organisms common to the rest of Indonesia. According to a study from the United States, "the ...
One in three Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- One in three Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report presented at the American Diabetes Association's 63rd Annual Scientific Sessions. "The estimated ...
FDA opts against further biotech review.
Jul 13, 2003 ... 2003 JUL 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genetically engineered foods from crops that have already been reviewed and approved by two government agencies shouldn't have to jump through a third regulatory hoop at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency official told the U.S ....