Facebook intervention leads to increased HIV testing among high-risk men

Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for Sept. 3 2013

2013-09-03

(Press-News.org) 1. Facebook intervention leads to increased HIV testing among high-risk men

Peer-led Facebook groups are an acceptable and effective tool for increasing home-based HIV testing among at-risk populations. HIV infection is a major health concern for men who have sex with men (MSM), especially among African Americans and Latinos who have high rates of incident cases and new diagnoses. Online social networking has grown exponentially in this population, suggesting that social media platforms could be used to relay HIV prevention messages. This is important because those who seek sex online may be at increased risk for HIV. Sixteen peer leaders were randomly assigned to deliver information about HIV (intervention, n = 57) or general health (control, n = 55) via closed Facebook groups to Los Angeles-based MSM, more than 85 percent of whom were African American or Latino. After accepting a request to join the group, participation was voluntary and all online interactions were monitored to assess participation and engagement. Throughout the trial, participants in either group could request a free, home-based HIV testing kit. Participation in messaging was high in both groups throughout the trial. After 12 weeks, more intervention participants had requested an HIV testing kit than control participants (44 percent vs 20 percent, respectively). In both groups, the median number of sexual partners decreased during the trial.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. Lead author Dr. Sean Young can be contacted directly at sdyoung@mednet.ucla.edu. 2. Task Force: Not enough evidence to recommend for or against screening for peripheral artery disease in asymptomatic adults

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against using the ankle-brachial index (ABI) as a screening test for peripheral artery disease (PAD) in asymptomatic adults. PAD is a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs. In addition to morbidity directly caused by PAD, patients have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Screening asymptomatic patients could reduce patient morbidity and mortality by identifying patients who are at hidden risk for CVD. The ABI is the ratio of the ankle and brachial systolic blood pressure that has been used as a marker for PAD. In 2005, the Task Force recommended against using ABI as a screening test for PAD because there was little evidence that screening would improve outcomes any more than treatment based on standard CVD risk assessment. To inform the update, researchers assessed new evidence on the ability of the ABI to predict cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality independent of the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in asymptomatic adults. They also assessed the benefits and harms of treating adults found to have PAD through screening. The researchers found insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for PAD and CVD risk assessment with ABI. They also found insufficient evidence to establish the benefits of treating screening-detected PAD in asymptomatic individuals.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. For an interview with an author, please contact Ana Fullmer at ana.fullmer@edelman.com or 202-350-6668. 3. Methylprednisolone injections significantly improve carpel tunnel symptoms, but surgery still likely

Methylprednisolone injections significantly reduce pain and improve function in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in the short term, but only slightly reduce the rate of surgery after one year. CTS is a common condition in which there is excessive pressure on the nerve in the wrist that allows feeling and movement to parts of the hand. Patients are initially treated with wrist splinting, but many go on to have surgery. While surgery often produces good outcomes, recovery can last several weeks and includes lost work time. Thus, finding an effective nonsurgical treatment is desirable. The majority of hand surgeons report using steroid injections to alleviate CTS symptoms and prevent surgery, but evidence of long-term benefit is lacking. Researchers sought to determine the efficacy of local methylprednisolone injections in CTS. Three groups of 37 patients each who had CTS but no previous steroid injections were randomly assigned to receive either 80 mg of methylprednisolone, 40 mg of methylprednisolone, or placebo. At 10 weeks, patients in the 80 mg group reported the most improvement in CTS symptom severity scores. At one year, patients who received 80 mg of methylprednisolone had a lower likelihood of having surgery than those receiving 40 mg or placebo. However, three out of four patients in the trial had surgery within one year. Time from injection to surgery was longer for the 80 mg group than 40 mg or placebo.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. Lead study author Dr. Isam Atroshi can be contacted directly at Isam.Atroshi@skane.se. ### END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Giant Triassic amphibian was a burrowing youngster

2013-09-03

Krasiejów, Poland was a vastly different place 230 million years ago during the Triassic Period. It was part of a giant continent called Pangea, had a warm climate throughout the year, and was populated by giant amphibians that weighed half a ton and were 10 feet long. Metoposaurus diagnosticus was one of these giant amphibians, and its environment had only two seasons: wet and dry. Like modern amphibians, Metoposaurus needed water for its lifestyle, but the extremely long dry season in Triassic Krasiejów drove this species to burrow underground and go dormant when water ...

Researchers create tool to predict kidney failure or death after injury

2013-09-03

Boston –Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed a risk score calculation that can help predict which patients with rhabdomyolysis (a condition that occurs due to muscle damage) may be at risk for the severe complication of kidney failure or death. This research will publish online September 2, 2013 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Rhabdomyolysis occurs when muscles are crushed and rupture, leaking toxic compounds into the circulation and can be caused by any condition that damages skeletal muscle and causes injury. Risk factors include crush injuries, ...

Prehistoric climate change due to cosmic crash in Canada

2013-09-03

For the first time, a dramatic global climate shift has been linked to the impact in Quebec of an asteroid or comet, Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues report in a new study. The cataclysmic event wiped out many of the planet's large mammals and may have prompted humans to start gathering and growing some of their food rather than solely hunting big game. The findings appear next week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A preprint of the article is available to journalists starting Wednesday, Aug. 28, at http://www.eurekalert.org/account.php. The ...

The true raw material footprint of nations

2013-09-03

Sydney, Australia: The amount of raw materials needed to sustain the economies of developed countries is significantly greater than presently used indicators suggest, a new Australian study has revealed. Using a new modelling tool and more comprehensive indicators, researchers were able to map the flow of raw materials across the world economy with unprecedented accuracy to determine the true "material footprint" of 186 countries over a two-decade period (from 1990 to 2008). The study, involving researchers from the University of New South Wales, CSIRO, the University ...

Boy interrupted: Y-chromosome mutations reveal precariousness of male development

2013-09-03

The idea that men and women are fundamentally different from each other is widely accepted. And throughout the world, this has created distinct ideas about which social and physical characteristics are necessary in each gender to maintain healthy human development. However, social revolutions throughout the last century have challenged traditional ideas about not only which traits are normal and necessary for survival, but also how humans acquire them. Thanks to a new study from researchers at Case Western Reserve University, science is continuing the charge. By studying ...

Long-held assumption about emergence of new species questioned

2013-09-03

ANN ARBOR—Darwin referred to the origin of species as "that mystery of mysteries," and even today, more than 150 years later, evolutionary biologists cannot fully explain how new animals and plants arise. For decades, nearly all research in the field has been based on the assumption that the main cause of the emergence of new species, a process called speciation, is the formation of barriers to reproduction between populations. Those barriers can be geographic—such as a new mountain, river or glacier that physically separates two populations of animals or plants—or ...

Frogs that hear with their mouth

2013-09-03

Gardiner's frogs from the Seychelles islands, one of the smallest frogs in the world, do not possess a middle ear with an eardrum yet can croak themselves, and hear other frogs. An international team of scientists using X-rays has now solved this mystery and established that these frogs are using their mouth cavity and tissue to transmit sound to their inner ears. The results are published in PNAS on September 2, 2013. The team led by Renaud Boistel from CNRS and University of Poitiers, comprised also scientists from Institut Langevin of ESPCI ParisTech, the Laboratoire ...

Research identifies how mouth cells resist Candida infection

2013-09-03

Candida albicans is a common fungus found living in, and on, many parts of the human body. Usually this species causes no harm to humans unless it can breach the body's immune defences, where can lead to serious illness or death. It is known as an opportunistic pathogen that can colonise and infect individuals with a compromised immune system. New research, presented today at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference, gives us a greater understanding of how mucosal surfaces in the body respond to C. albicans to prevent damage being done during infection. Researchers ...

Salamanders under threat from deadly skin-eating fungus

2013-09-03

A new species of fungus that eats amphibians' skin has ravaged the fire salamander population in the Netherlands, bringing it close to regional extinction. Fire salamanders, recognisable by their distinctive yellow and black skin patterns, have been found dead in the country's forests since 2010. The population has fallen to around 10 individuals, less than four per cent of its original level, but what has been killing them has been a mystery until now. Scientists from Ghent University, Imperial College London, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Dutch conservation group ...

A fly's hearing

2013-09-03

If your attendance at too many rock concerts has impaired your hearing, listen up. University of Iowa researchers say that the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is an ideal model to study hearing loss in humans caused by loud noise. The reason: The molecular underpinnings to its hearing are roughly the same as with people. As a result, scientists may choose to use the fruit fly to quicken the pace of research into the cause of noise-induced hearing loss and potential treatment for the condition, according to a paper published this week in the online Early Edition ...

Facebook intervention leads to increased HIV testing among high-risk men

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: