Cochrane review on use of rectal artesunate for severe malaria

Rectal artesunate is probably beneficial in young children with severe malaria, but may be harmful in older children and adults

2014-05-30

(Press-News.org) Researchers from the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group, hosted at LSTM, conducted an independent review of the effects of pre-referral rectal artesunate for people with severe malaria, published in the Cochrane Library today. The review follows a large trial of rectal artesunate in 2009 which led the World Health Organization to recommend its use. Severe malaria is a serious medical condition caused by infection with the Plasmodium parasite. It is treated by giving injections of antimalarial drugs, which need to be started as quickly as possible to reduce the risk of death and brain damage. In some rural areas where malaria is common, injections are unavailable and people often die before reaching hospital. In these areas rectal artesunate could feasibly be administered by volunteers without formal healthcare training, to start treatment before transporting the patient. The Cochrane review authors searched extensively for other trials, but only the single trial from 2009 directly assessed pre-referral treatment. This trial enrolled over 17,000 patients at various sites across Ghana, Tanzania and Bangladesh, and trained village volunteers to recognize the symptoms of severe malaria, administer rectal artesunate, and refer all patients to hospital. At the African sites, only children aged 6 to 72 months were enrolled and there were fewer deaths with rectal artesunate than with placebo. This expected finding was replicated in Asia, but complicated by the unexpected finding of more deaths with artesunate in older children (aged >72 months) and adults. The trial was well designed to minimize bias, but the number of deaths in the older age group was very low. Consequently, there is the possibility that this finding occurred by chance but without further trials neither the trial authors, nor the review authors were able to reliably explain this finding. Joseph Okebe, the lead author of the review said: "In rural areas without access to injectable antimalarials rectal artesunate probably reduces deaths in young children. However, the low quality evidence that it is harmful in older children and adults must be taken into account when formulating national policies on pre-referral treatment."

INFORMATION: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009964.pub2/abstract

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

One cell's meat is another cell's poison

2014-05-30

As a new therapeutic approach, Janus kinases are currently in the limelight of cancer research. The focus of interest is the protein JAK2. By inhibiting this protein one tries to cure chronic bone marrow diseases, such as myelofibrosis and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Loss of JAK2 is advantageous for leukemia cells Scientists working with Veronika Sexl at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology may initiate a transformation of thought in regard of JAK2 inhibition. To simulate the human disease as accurately as possible, the scientists used a mouse leukemia ...

Chinese scientists map reproductive system's evolution as dinosaurs gave rise to birds

2014-05-30

As winged dinosaurs underwent a series of evolutionary changes during the transition into Aves, or birds, one pivotal transformation was the appearance of a single-ovary reproductive system. "The most widely accepted hypothesis for the presence of a single functional ovary in living birds is that the right ovary … was lost to reduce body mass in gravid females during flight," report a team of Chinese scientists who are adding new details to the mosaic of understanding how terrestrial dinosaurs gave rise to birds and powered flight. These scientists, led by the director ...

Observing the random diffusion of missing atoms in graphene

2014-05-30

This news release is available in German. Imperfections in the regular atomic arrangements in crystals determine many of the properties of a material, and their diffusion is behind many microstructural changes in solids. However, imaging non-repeating atomic arrangements is difficult in conventional materials. Now, researchers at the University of Vienna have directly imaged the diffusion of a butterfly-shaped atomic defect in graphene, the recently discovered two-dimensional wonder material, over long image sequences. The results are published in the prestigious journal ...

Genome sequences show how lemurs fight infection

2014-05-30

DURHAM, N.C. -- The young lemur named Eugenius started to get sick. Very sick. He was lethargic, losing weight and suffering from diarrhea. Duke Lemur Center veterinarians soon pinpointed the cause of his illness: Eugenius tested positive for Cryptosporidium, a microscopic intestinal parasite known to affect people, pets, livestock and wildlife worldwide. In humans, thousands of cases of Cryptosporidium are reported in the United States each year, spread primarily through contaminated water. Since Eugenius was the first animal diagnosed in 1999, the parasite has caused ...

New printable robots could self-assemble when heated

2014-05-30

Printable robots — those that can be assembled from parts produced by 3-D printers — have long been a topic of research in the lab of Daniela Rus, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. At this year's IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Rus' group and its collaborators introduce a new wrinkle on the idea: bakable robots. In two new papers, the researchers demonstrate the promise of printable robotic components that, when heated, automatically fold into prescribed three-dimensional configurations. ...

Radiation for prostate cancer linked to secondary cancers, study finds

2014-05-30

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Among men treated for prostate cancer, those who received radiation therapy were more likely to develop bladder or rectal cancer, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Overall the incidence of these cancers is low. But when men have received radiation treatments, it's important to evaluate carefully any symptoms that could be a sign of bladder or rectal cancer," says senior study author Kathleen A. Cooney, M.D., professor of hematology/oncology and urology at the U-M Medical School. The study, which ...

Novel NIST laser system mimics sunlight to test solar cell efficiency

2014-05-30

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a laser-based instrument that generates artificial sunlight to help test solar cell properties and find ways to boost their efficiency. The novel NIST system simulates sunlight well across a broad spectrum of visible to infrared light. More flexible than conventional solar simulators such as xenon arc-lamps or light-emitting diodes, the laser instrument can be focused down to a small beam spot—with resolution approaching the theoretical limit—and shaped to match any desired spectral ...

Rush a light wave and you'll break its data, say NIST scientists

2014-05-30

Quantum information can't break the cosmic speed limit, according to researchers* from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland's Joint Quantum Institute. The scientists have shown how attempts to "push" part of a light beam past the speed of light results in the loss of the quantum data the light carries. The results could clarify how noise might limit the transfer of information in quantum computers. The speed of light in vacuum is often thought to be the ultimate speed limit, something Einstein showed to be an unbreakable ...

Study suggests strong link between depression and early death among seniors with diabetes

2014-05-30

People with diabetes have about double the risk of premature death as people of the same age without diabetes. Studies also have shown that they have about twice the odds of suffering from depression, which further increases their mortality risk. A new UCLA-led study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that among adults 65 and older with diabetes, depression is linked with a far greater chance for early death compared with people of the same age who do not have depression. The researchers suggest that the higher mortality rate among those ...

Hero or sissy? Study explores perception of injured athletes

2014-05-30

NFL teams shoulder most of the blame for players' injuries and sports journalists can shift football cultural norms toward valuing players who put their health first. These are the key findings of a new study authored by Clemson University researchers Jimmy Sanderson and Melinda Weathers that examined health and safety issues in sports. It was published in the journal Communication & Sport. "Media coverage of players who decide to sit out or play through an injury may impact players' future decision-making as well as fans' attitudes towards these players," said Sanderson. "Sitting ...

Cochrane review on use of rectal artesunate for severe malaria

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: