HPV vaccine should not be delayed

Vaccine significantly reduces precursor to cervical cancer in girls as young as 14 years old

2015-04-27

(Press-News.org) New research out of Queen's University shows early benefits from the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in young girls. The HPV vaccine, which protects against four types of HPV shown to cause cervical cancer and anogenital warts, is offered free through school-based programs to young girls across Canada. Despite the fact the vaccine is free, vaccine rates are lower than expected a number of regions, in part because parents perceive their daughter's level of sexual activity as low at young ages. "We observed a large and significant reduction in cervical dysplasia, a precursor to cervical cancer, in girls as young as 14-17 years," says Leah Smith and Linda Lévesque, researcher with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) at Queen's University. This study, carried out in collaboration with researchers at McGill University, also found the vaccine is starting to decrease genital warts in this population. "The fact that these benefits were observed in such a young age group strengthens current recommendations that vaccination should not be delayed," says Dr. Smith, lead author on the study. This most recent study followed 260,493 girls, half of whom were eligible for Ontario's publicly funded Grade 8 HPV vaccination program in its first two years (2007/08 and 2008/09). Researchers found that among the 2,436 cases of cervical dysplasia documented between Grades 10 to 12, 44 per cent fewer cases occurred in eligible girls who received the vaccine. The research showed that one case of cervical dysplasia was prevented for every 175 eligible girls vaccinated. "Although the vast majority of cases prevented by the vaccine would not have progressed to cervical cancer, given the burden of cervical dysplasia on the emotional and physical well-being of girls as well as on the health-care system, these early reductions are nevertheless of great importance," says Dr. Lévesque.

INFORMATION:

The research was published in the journal Pediatrics.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

HIV prevention and risk behaviors follow weekly patterns

2015-04-27

The peak time for seeking information on topics related to HIV, such as prevention and testing, is at the beginning of the week, while risky sexual behaviors tend to increase on the weekends, according to a new analysis by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Monday Campaigns. The researchers also found that among people living with HIV, adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is slightly lower on weekends, and evidence indicates an association between breaks in daily routine and sporadic interruptions to ART adherence. The researchers ...

Gladstone scientists discover potential new treatment for multiple sclerosis

2015-04-27

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have discovered a way to prevent the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice. Using a drug that blocks the production of a certain type of immune cell linked to inflammation and autoimmunity, the researchers successfully protected against the onset of MS in an animal model of the disease. The scientists say the next step is to test this strategy using other autoimmune disorders. "We are very excited about these findings," says Eric Verdin, MD, a senior investigator at Gladstone and co-senior author on the study. "In light ...

'Motion-tracking' MRIs reveal harbingers of stroke in people with heart rhythm disorder

2015-04-27

Stroke is a frequent and dreaded complication of atrial fibrillation. But predicting which of the estimated six million Americans with a-fib are at highest risk has long challenged physicians weighing stroke risk against the serious side effects posed by lifelong therapy with warfarin and other blood thinners. Now researchers from Johns Hopkins performing sophisticated motion studies of heart MRI scans have found that specific altered function in the left atrium -- one of the heart's four chambers -- may signal stroke risk in those with a-fib and, possibly, those without ...

Oil or fat?

2015-04-27

Olive oil is universally considered a much healthier alternative to meat fat. Plant-derived oils (such as olive oil, canola oil, and vegetable oil) largely consist of unsaturated fatty acids, whereas animal fat is richer in the saturated ones. After a typical meal, carbohydrates are the primary source of energy production by the heart. Under fasting conditions, however, free fatty acids become the major energy producer. Saturated fat in a diet is known to be detrimental to heart health, but its impact on the cardiac muscle has been studied only recently. Interestingly, ...

New 3-D method improves the study of proteins

2015-04-27

Researchers from the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (IBB-UAB) and from the University of Warsaw have developed a new computational method called AGGRESCAN3D which will allow studying in 3D the structure of folded globular proteins and substantially improve the prediction of any propensity for forming toxic protein aggregates. With this new algorithm proteins can also be modelled to study the pathogenic effects of the aggregation or redesign them for therapeutic means. Current knowledge of the molecular bases of ...

Is the universe a hologram?

2015-04-27

This news release is available in German. At first glance, there is not the slightest doubt: to us, the universe looks three dimensional. But one of the most fruitful theories of theoretical physics in the last two decades is challenging this assumption. The "holographic principle" asserts that a mathematical description of the universe actually requires one fewer dimension than it seems. What we perceive as three dimensional may just be the image of two dimensional processes on a huge cosmic horizon. Up until now, this principle has only been studied in exotic ...

Chemistry of seabed's hot vents could explain emergence of life

2015-04-27

Hot vents on the seabed could have spontaneously produced the organic molecules necessary for life, according to new research by UCL chemists. The study shows how the surfaces of mineral particles inside hydrothermal vents have similar chemical properties to enzymes, the biological molecules that govern chemical reactions in living organisms. This means that vents are able to create simple carbon-based molecules, such as methanol and formic acid, out of the dissolved CO2 in the water. The discovery, published in the journal Chemical Communications, explains how some of ...

Yale scientists use gene editing to correct mutation in cystic fibrosis

2015-04-27

New Haven, Conn. -- Yale researchers successfully corrected the most common mutation in the gene that causes cystic fibrosis, a lethal genetic disorder. The study was published April 27 in Nature Communications. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited, life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system. It is most commonly caused by a mutation in the cystic fibrosis gene known as F508del. The disorder has no cure, and treatment typically consists of symptom management. Previous attempts to treat the disease through gene therapy have been unsuccessful. To ...

Bumblebee genome mapped

2015-04-27

This news release is available in German. Bumblebees are considered peaceful and industrious creatures, and their commercial value has increased in the wake of the decline of honeybees around the world. The bees are therefore now bred on a large scale and used as pollinators for economically valuable crops. Yet, these cute little, buzzing creatures, of which there are around 250 different species worldwide, is doing poorly in some places. The large shadow cast by the honeybee collapse has distracted from the fact that in recent years in the US as well as in other areas ...

Study finds cardiorespiratory fitness contributes to successful brain aging

2015-04-27

(Boston)--Cardiorespiratory fitness may positively impact the structure of white matter in the brains of older adults. These results suggest that exercise could be prescribed to lessen age-related declines in brain structure. The findings, which appear online in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, are the first to show a relationship between fitness and brain structure in older adults, but not younger adults. The researchers compared younger adults (age 18-31) to older adults (age 55-82). All participants had MRIs taken of their brains and their cardiorespiratory ...

HPV vaccine should not be delayed

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: