The Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa on Thursday announced a five-year, $2.2 million plan to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on the continent, VOA News reports. The plan’s foremost priority is to combat HIV/AIDS through education, leadership and counseling and to support HIV-positive people. The program’s secondary focus will be the prevention and care of TB and malaria (Majtenyi, VOA News, 2/22). The program also includes efforts to improve communication; strengthen health, education and sustainability; and focus on poverty reduction and gender equity. The plan will be rolled out in all 12 CAPA provinces and the Diocese of Egypt (CAPA release, 2/23). CAPA first launched a plan in its 12 provinces to combat the three diseases in 2001 (VOA News, 2/22).

“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Bangladeshi women exposed to high levels of arsenic during pregnancy are at increased risk of having a low-birth-weight infant, reports a study in the October Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

Led by Dr. Karen L. Huyck of Harvard School of Public Health, the researchers evaluated several measures of arsenic exposure in 52 pregnant women in Bangladesh, average age 24 years. Arsenic exposure at various times during pregnancy was compared with the infants’ final birth weight.

Women who had high levels of arsenic measured in hair samples during early pregnancy around the end of the first trimester were more likely to give birth to a low-birth-weight infant. Higher levels of arsenic measured in the mother’s hair and drinking water during pregnancy were related to higher levels of arsenic in the infant’s hair after birth.

The higher the mother’s exposure to arsenic, the lower the infant’s birth weight. For each one-microgram increase in the mother’s hair arsenic level, birth weight decreased by 194 grams nearly seven ounces. Mothers at the highest level of contamination had hair arsenic levels of over three micrograms (per gram).

Long-term exposure to arsenic in the environment has many adverse effects on human health. Although previous studies have linked arsenic exposure to low birth weight and other problems of pregnancy and childbirth, most did not use “biomarkers” of individual women’s exposure during pregnancy.

Arsenic contamination of drinking water is a problem in many countries around the world including the United States and some other developed countries. Arsenic contamination may come from industrial or natural sources. In Bangladesh, an estimated 133 million people are at risk of drinking water contaminated with arsenic. The women in the study lived in a rural area with a particularly high level of arsenic contamination.

The results show that high exposure to arsenic during early pregnancy increases the risk of having a low birth weight infant. The experience also demonstrates the feasibility of conducting large-scale prospective studies of reproductive outcomes in rural Bangladesh. The researchers plan further analysis of their data to clarify the relationship between arsenic exposure and pregnancy outcomes, with the goal of developing effective clinical and public health responses to the problem.

About ACOEM

ACOEM (acoem), an international society of 5,000 occupational physicians and other health care professionals, provides leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
530 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
United States
lww

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) announced “May-Kit Happen,” a program to recognize Exercise is Medicine™ month by encouraging the public to lead a healthier, more active lifestyle throughout the month of May.

The commemorative program is part of the Exercise is Medicine™ program, an initiative launched by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Medical Association. Exercise is Medicine™ is designed to encourage all physicians and healthcare professionals to discuss exercise with their patients, and conversely, to encourage patients to feel comfortable starting that conversation with their healthcare provider.

“May-Kit Happen” asks people to incorporate a little more physical activity into their lives and talk with their physicians during the month of May about what types of exercise are best suited to their health.

“If there is one single thing you can do to improve your health, there is no doubt it is exercise,” said Robert E. Sallis, M.D., FACSM, ACSM President and Chair of the Exercise is Medicine™ initiative. “Regular physical activity is so powerful in maintaining and improving health that it should be prescribed, just as medicine or any drug would be. This idea deserves the attention of the month of May. We hope people will pledge to be a little more active this month to gain that positive impact on their health.”

Many states, including Florida, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Connecticut and Iowa have proclaimed May as Exercise is Medicine™ month. Several cities also have pledged support by creating events featuring the “May-Kit Happen” principles, including Indianapolis, Ind.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Eugene, Ore.; and several cities in Texas. During May, even more communities will be urged to sign on and help get citizens healthier and more active.

Research has proven that exercise helps to prevent or cure numerous chronic conditions and diseases, such as Type II diabetes and high blood pressure. Physicians play a crucial role in presenting this information to their patients. The U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control estimate that $76 billion in annual direct medical costs can be attributed to physical inactivity.

Resources for physicians, fitness professionals, schools, worksites, insurance companies and the public are available at May-KitHappen. These resources include recommendations for fitness professionals and doctors to help design a complete physical activity program for patients; ways for the public on how to begin exercise; and lesson plan ideas for teachers related to exercise.

The Web site of Exercise is Medicine™, exerciseismedicine, also contains helpful resources. The public can sign up to receive free health and fitness resources from ACSM.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 20,000 International, National and Regional members are dedicated to promoting and integrating scientific research, education and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health and quality of life.

American College of Sports Medicine

A five-year follow up study in Bangladesh finds that women are literally wearing the answer to better health for themselves, their families and even their neighbors. Using the simple sari to filter household water protects not only the household from cholera, but reduces the incidence of disease in neighboring households that do not filter. The results of this study appear in the inaugural issue of mBio™, the first online, open-access journal published by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

“A simple method for filtering pond and river water to reduce the incidence of cholera, field tested in Matlab, Bangladesh, proved effective in reducing the incidence of cholera by 48 percent. This follow-up study conducted 5 years later showed that 31 percent of the village women continued to filter water for their households, with both an expected and an unexpected benefit,” says Rita Colwell of the University of Maryland, College Park, a researcher on the study.

In 2003, Colwell and her colleagues reported the results of a field study that demonstrated by simply teaching village women responsible for collecting water to filter the water through folded cotton sari cloth, they could reduce the incidence of cholera in that group by nearly half. Though the results were promising at the time of the research, there was concern that the practice of sari water filtration would not be sustained in later years.

Five years later they conducted the follow-up study to determine whether sari water filtration continued to be practiced by the same population of participants and, if it were, whether there would continue to be a beneficial effect of reduced incidence of cholera.

Over 7,000 village women collecting water daily for their households in Bangladesh were selected from the same population used in the previous study. Survey data showed that 31 percent continued to filter their water, of which 60 percent used a sari. Additionally, they found that of the control group (the one that did not receive any education or training in the first study) 26 percent of households now filter their water.

“This is a clear indication of both compliance with instructions and the sustainability of the method, but it also shows the need for continuing education in the appropriate use and benefits of simple filtration,” says Colwell.

The researchers also looked at the incidence of cholera in households during the 5-year follow-up period. While not statistically significant, they found the incidence of hospitalizations for cholera during that period reduced by 25 percent.

“With the lower rate of filtration in this follow-up study, it is not surprising that the observed reduction in disease rate was not as high as the 48 percent observed in the original trial, suggesting that active reinforcement would have been effective in ensuring higher protection,” says Colwell.

They also found an indirect benefit. Households that did not filter their water but were located in neighborhoods where water filtration was regularly practiced by others also had a lower incidence of cholera.
“Results of the study showed that the practice of filtration not only was accepted and sustained by the villagers but also benefited those who filtered their water, as well as neighbors not filtering water for household use, in reducing the incidence of cholera,” says Colwell.

Source:
Jim Sliwa

American Society for Microbiology

Sleep disturbances common in older people can lead to an increased risk of falling during waking hours, according to research published in the latest issue of The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences (Vol. 62A, No. 1). In a special section devoted to sleep disorders, this edition of the journal features four separate reports on the topic.

A team of Australian researchers found a link between falls and a poor quality of nighttime sleep using a sample group of 300 individuals over the age of 65. Fewer falls were reported by those participants without any sleep disturbances.

Other articles in the special section then outline the latest methods in evaluating and addressing sleep patterns among nursing home residents. These can be less invasive tools than traditional polysomnography, allowing for observations in a more natural setting.

Members of the public can purchase this issue of the journal online at geron/.

###

The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences is a refereed publication of The Gerontological Society of America, the oldest and largest national multidisciplinary scientific organization devoted to the advancement of gerontological research. Founded in 1945, its membership includes some 5,000+ researchers, educators, practitioners, and other professionals in the field of aging. The Society’s principal missions are to promote research and education in aging and to encourage the dissemination of research results to other scientists, decision makers, and practitioners.

Contact: Todd Kluss

The Gerontological Society of America

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded $3.17 million over four years to develop compounds that will counteract disruptions of the human biological clock – the circadian rhythm that regulates our patterns of activity and rest over a 24-hour daily cycle. Circadian rhythm disruptions have been associated with sleep disorders, as well as bipolar disease and schizophrenia.

The grant, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was awarded to Thomas Burris, a professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at Scripps Florida.

The NIH also selected the Burris lab to receive a one-year award of $580,000 to develop compounds that might act against metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity and a one-year award of $243,000 to investigate a method of finding compounds that might lead to new treatments for diseases including cancer, inflammation, and diabetes.

“These grants will help move our research forward,” Burris said. “For the four-year grant to study circadian rhythm disorders, we put together a group of four investigators at Scripps Florida – Pat Griffin, Ted Kamenecka, Andrew Butler, and myself – to investigate the widely accepted idea that circadian rhythms are involved in various disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. We have an initial lead that we believe will result in several new and more effective compounds.”

Pat Griffin is chair of the Department of Molecular Therapeutics and director of the Translational Research Institute at Scripps Florida; Ted Kamenecka is associate scientific director of Scripps Florida’s Translational Research Institute; and Andrew Butler is an associate professor in the Scripps Florida Department of Metabolism and Aging.

The one-year award to develop compounds for metabolic diseases, Burris said, is a seed grant that could grow into a new and much larger five-year grant involving the same group of Scripps Research scientists.

The Role of Nuclear Receptors

The work for all three grants is related to the Burris lab’s work on specific “nuclear receptors,” which might be modified with small molecules to counteract a number of disorders. The nuclear hormone receptor family is a large a group of protein molecules that recognize and regulate hormones as well as other natural substances in our body. As a result, these receptors control an organism’s metabolism by activating gene expression.

Nuclear receptors make tempting drug targets because they can bind directly to DNA and activate genes through specific ligands – molecules that affect receptor behavior – such as the sex hormones, vitamins A and D, and glucocorticoids, which affect the body’s response to stress. Nuclear receptors have been implicated in a number of cancers, including prostate, breast, and colon cancers, and other diseases as well, including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and metabolic syndrome.

Burris’s research involves what are known as orphan nuclear receptors called RORs (retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptors), a subgroup that plays a role in the expression of genes involved in the regulation of carbohydrate and fat metabolism, as well as circadian rhythm.

“The caveat is that since no one has ever developed ROR-related drugs, we don’t know what the side effects might be,” Burris said. “On the positive side, however, there is compelling evidence that these receptors are associated with these diseases, particularly the circadian rhythm disorders, and we have several compounds that can target these mechanisms and control them. We’re on the cutting edge of this research.”

In November of last year, Burris published a study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that identified for the first time a novel mechanism that regulates circadian rhythm. The mechanism involved a specific ROR as well as another member of the nuclear receptor family.

Another Burris study, published around the same time in the journal ACS Chemical Biology, identified a novel compound acting on a pair of nuclear receptors that could provide new and potentially more effective therapeutic approaches to a range of metabolic diseases.

Source:
Mika Ono
Scripps Research Institute

Some human embryonic stem cell researchers recently have questioned whether methods used in a study published in the Aug. 24 edition of the journal Nature were sufficient to conclude that human embryonic stem cells could be created without destroying the embryo, the Wall Street Journal reports (Hamilton/Regalado, Wall Street Journal, 9/5). In the study, Robert Lanza, medical director of Worcester, Mass.,-based Advanced Cell Technology, and colleagues described the technique as removing a single cell — known as a blastomere — from a three-day-old embryo with eight to 10 cells and using a biochemical process to create embryonic stem cells from the blastomere. Researchers removed 91 blastomeres from 16 thawed embryos donated by fertility clinic patients and found that more than half of the blastomeres began to multiply and that in two cases the blastomeres became embryonic stem cells. The method of removing a cell from the embryo is based on preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, which usually is used to test the cell for genetic deficiencies. At the time the Nature article was published, Lanza said the research destroyed some of the embryos used but single-cell extractions that leave the embryo unharmed should be feasible in the future (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 9/1). Although the blastomeres removed by the researchers from the embryos were separate, multiple blastomeres shared a common fluid in the same laboratory dish, which could have allowed them to exchange proteins and other factors linked to growth, according to the Journal. “One of the flaws in this paper is that it draws conclusions that they don’t really have the data to prove,” Barry Behr, director of Stanford University’s IVF Laboratories, said, adding, “The sort of leaps of faith here are a little too big to leap.” Lanza said ACT researchers have successfully grown a blastomere with its parent embryo for about one day following separation, adding that it should be possible to culture blastomeres from separate embryos in the same lab dish (Wall Street Journal, 9/5).

Nature Changes
Nature last week corrected wording in a news release it had distributed in advance of the study’s release after Richard Doerflinger of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in an e-mail wrote that the results presented in the release were misleading. According to Doerflinger, the release did not make it clear that the embryos used in the research did not survive in the experiments. Nature officials on Thursday said they plan to change the study to further clarify that none of the embryos used survived the experiment (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 9/1). Lanza on Friday said he had not seen the Nature release before it was published (Wade, New York Times, 9/2).

“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

The transplant team at University Hospital of South Manchester (UHSM) have successfully transplanted the UK’s first patient using donor lungs that have been made to breathe outside the body. This is the first time this has been undertaken anywhere in the world outside Sweden and means up 25% more patients could benefit from lung transplants every year.

‘Ex-Vivo’ lung assessment involves using lungs which have been removed from the donor either after their heart has stopped beating, or from standard donors whose lung function was sub-optimal at donor assessment but improved after the ex- vivo assessment.

With the new technique of ex-vivo assessment, the lungs are pumped with blood, gases and oxygen to keep them healthy for a longer period than they would normally survive outside of the body. After a period of monitoring by doctors, lungs that would have initially been rejected are found to be of a high enough quality to use safely in a transplant. This breakthrough means many more organs could become available for transplant.

Director of Transplant at UHSM Mr Nizar Yonan says: “This is a first for transplant in the United Kingdom and follows years of research from the transplant team at Wythenshawe Hospital. Mr Collins is making excellent progress and is an example of how this procedure benefits patients who may otherwise have died waiting for a transplant due to the national shortage of lungs. We have around 30 patients who have consented to be transplanted using ex-vivo organs and I am confident that many lives will be saved using this technique.”

Patient Mr Kenneth Collins (55) says: “I am very grateful to Wythenshawe Hospital and the team that I have been able to benefit from this new technique. I agreed to take part because I felt I had nothing to lose and wanted to have a transplant as soon as possible. I already feel 10 or 15 years younger.”

This initiative was made possible thanks to a ВЈ100,000 grant from transplant Charity New Start to fund the initial equipment and training.

University Hospital of South Manchester NHS
uhsm.nhs

White-Nose Syndrome has killed over one million hibernating bats in eastern North America since 2006, where it was first discovered in a cave in Schoharie County, New York. The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Part of the Department of the Interior, has announced today a national management plan to combat this deadly virus.

White nose syndrome (WNS) is a poorly understood illness. A fungal growth develops around the muzzle and the wings of animals, hence the name. The disease spread from the cave in New York into Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont in 2008. In 2009 it spread to New Hampshire, West Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In 2010 it reached Ontario (Canada ) and northern Tennessee.

Scientists say WNS is a fungus and a member of the genus Geomyces. It is a cold-loving fungus and thrives at temperatures below 68°F (20 °C). It grows on bats during their winter hibernation, making them wake up to frequently, leading to starvation. Signs and symptoms include loss of body fat, unusual winter behavior, scarring and damage to wing tissue, and eventually death.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, said:

“Having spread to 18 states and four Canadian provinces, white-nose syndrome threatens far-reaching ecological and economic impacts. We’ve learned a lot in the past few years about the disease, but there is much more work to be done to contain it. This national plan provides a road map for federal, state, and tribal agencies and scientific researchers to follow and will facilitate sharing of resources and information to more efficiently address the threat.”

On its website, the Department of the Interior writes:

“The National Plan for Assisting States, Tribes and Federal Agencies in Managing White-Nose Syndrome in Bats provides a coordinated national management strategy for investigating the cause of the syndrome and finding a means to prevent the spread of the disease. The service considered approximately 17,000 comments received on the draft plan made available to the public in October 2010.”

Since initial documentation of this syndrome, the service has been leading over 100 state and federal agencies, tribes, organizations and individuals in a national response.

Over $10.8 million have been invested since 2007 by the Department of the Interior, of which over $3 million went into research funding to find ways to control and/or cure the disease.

Scientists have identified Geomyces destructans as the presumed causative agent. This fungus is new to science.

Decontamination protocols to reduce fungus transmission have also been developed by the national response, as well as surveillance strategies and technical white-nose syndrome diagnostic procedures.

In some parts of North America bat populations are under serious threat. Bats are crucial for healthy ecosystems and in agricultural systems, say ecologists and natural resource managers. Bats eat a lot of insects, saving the US agricultural industry about $3 billion per year in pest control costs.

fws/WhiteNoseSyndrome/

Christian Nordqivst

You’ve brought up children, put them through university and now
you’re approaching retirement. It’s time to think about relaxing….
but can you, if you have elderly parents?
One in five British adults have elderly parents who require care and
assistance and one in four of those aged over 65 will require some
form of Long Term Care. In, fact almost everyone in the UK will
either need care or become a carer – according to health think-tank,
The King’s Fund and others, including Age Concern and Help the Aged.

Denial and ill preparation

Despite this, however, most adult children are in denial about their
parents ever needing care. Care homes are a subject that’s just too
taboo for them and/or their parents to even think about. So, when
mum does suddenly have a fall or stroke, or her dementia has reached
the stage where she can’t safely live at home, where do they turn?
The present system of paying for care is governed by a labyrinth of
legislation guidance and rulings dating back to 1948 – and is rife
with inconsistencies when determining who pays for what. People are
simply ill prepared for what to expect – many missing out on funding
or support they could get if they were in the know.

For both adult children and their parents, moving into a care home
can be an incredibly emotional and stressful time. On the one hand,
there will be the wanting of the best care possible for mum, on the
other hand may be the feeling of guilt for not being able to provide
it themselves. And then there’s the money. Mum wanted to leave her
house to her children, but it looks like it’s going to be swept away
in care fees!

Top Ten Tips

The specialist adviser, NHFA Care Fees Advice unravels who pays, or
who is responsible for what. It’s Top Ten Tips will take a lot of
the worry out of paying for care:

1. Attendance Allowance is a non-means tested, non-taxable DWP
benefit paid weekly at the lower rate of ВЈ43.15 if care is needed by
day or night – or at the higher rate of ВЈ64.50 if needed by day and
night. Saving up to ВЈ3,354 pa.

2. Twelve Week Property Disregard and Deferred Loan Agreements The
local authority must disregard the value of your home for the first
12 weeks of residential care and contribute towards your care fees if
your other capital is below ВЈ21,500. Saving approx ВЈ3,500

3. Council Tax Exemption – If you move into a care home and nobody is
living in your previous home, the property should receive full
exemption from Council Tax until it’s sold. Saving your Council Tax

4. Pension Credit – Subject to other income and capital, Pension
Credit (including severe disability addition) with Attendance
Allowance can be claimed whilst your property is on the market.
Saving ВЈ167.50 pw

5. NHS Funding in Nursing Homes – The NHS will pay a Registered
Nursing Care Contribution (RNCC) towards nursing home fees, even if
in a nursing home for short respite periods or, you could get full
NHS funding for nursing home fees if you meet the health authority’s
eligibility criteria for continuing care. Saving up to ВЈ139 pw for
RNCC or the full cost of care for NHS Continuing Care.

6. Couple’s Savings – The local authority only has the right to
financially assess the member of a couple that requires the care.
Individuals, who are paying for their accommodation from joint
savings with a partner at home, should split joint accounts into
separate single accounts drawing the care home fees from the account
of the person in care only. Thus ensuring State assistance arrives
earlier than if depleting joint capital. Saving your partner’s savings.

7. Enduring Power Of Attorney – Drawing up an enduring power of
attorney when fit and well, for the sake of paying a solicitor a
small fee, could save a lot of expense and complications if in the
future you were unable to cope with your own affairs and had to
involve the Court of Protection. Saving the cost and complications
of dealing with the Court of Protection

8. Section 117 After Care – Older people with mental illness who are
admitted to hospital under Sections 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983
for assessment and treatment are, on discharge, entitled to Section
117 aftercare under the same Act. This can include full funding for
a care home place. Saving the full cost of care.

9. Immediate Need Care Fee Payment Plans – Designed for older people
with an immediate need for care, can deliver a regular guaranteed tax-
free monthly income higher than can normally be achieved from
traditional investments or annuities. Paid tax-free if direct to the
care provider, they are a way of meeting and capping and meeting the
initial cost of care to the cost of the plan for as long as care is
needed. Normally requiring only part of the proceeds from selling a
home , they enable older people to fulfill their wish of leaving an
inheritance for the family. Saving an inheritance and capping the
cost of care

10. Investment Bonds – that contain an element of life insurance,
usually 1% of the value of the fund, as a death benefit are currently
disregarded in the means tests for both care and pension credit.
Protecting your savings

And finally. Families should be encouraged to seek advice. Funding
long-term care is a complex area and, as the OFT and others have
reported, advice and information at this difficult time is not
readily available. Even when you might think all is sorted out,
circumstances can change and so does the funding. A specialist care
fees adviser such as NHFA Care Fees Advice can give expert guidance
on all these issues – making the whole process for the whole family
that much easier and successful.

Be prepared. Don’t let care costs leave a legacy of decimated family
assets. For further information and NHFA contact details go to a
feature article on the Care Directions website:
caredirections/frame_comment_60.htm

caredirections