Arlington, Va. — A new 90-day intravaginal ring has been developed — that for the first time — enables the long-lasting vaginal delivery of tenofovir (TFV), the only topical prophylactic shown to be effective at reducing the sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) when formulated in a short-lasting gel. This research is being presented at the 2012 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 14 – 18. Lead researcher Patrick Kiser and colleagues from the University of Utah, in collaboration ...

Contact: Gabriele Ende, Dr.rer.nat gabi.ende@zi-mannheim.de 49.621.1703.2971 (Germany) Central Institute of Mental Health Natalie May Zahr, Ph.D. nzahr@stanford.edu 650.859.5243 Stanford University Recovery of brain volumes with abstinence may vary for different brain regions A new study examined what brain volume recovery may take place during the first 14 days of abstinence from alcohol. Findings indicate that recovery of cerebral gray matter volume can begin for alcoholic patients after only a few days of detoxification. Recovery may vary among ...

Contact: Ulrich John, Ph.D. ujohn@uni-greifswald.de 49.3834.867700 (Germany) University Medicine Greifswald Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Alcohol dependence seems to shorten life more than smoking, especially among women While researchers and clinicians know that the mortality rates among alcohol dependent (AD) individuals are high, most of that knowledge is based on studies of clinical populations. A new study is the first to examine excess mortality and its predictors among AD individuals in the general population throughout a 14-year span, ...

Contact: Sarah N. Mattson, Ph.D. smattson@sunstroke.sdsu.edu 619.594.7228 San Diego State University Piyadasa W. Kodituwakku, Ph.D. pkodituwakku@salud.unm.edu 505.272.1861 University of New Mexico School of Medicine Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research A family history of alcoholism may add to damaging effects of prenatal alcohol exposure Prenatal exposure to alcohol (PAE) can lead to serious deficiencies, including deficits in spatial working memory (SWM). This is the first study to examine the role of family history of alcoholism (FHP) ...

Contact: Simon Levey s.levey@imperial.ac.uk 44-122-344-2837 Imperial College London Tree of life branches out online Exploring the evolutionary tree of life is now as easy as navigating an online map, thanks to a new interactive website called OneZoom, which goes live Tuesday 16 October at www.onezoom.org. The launch is accompanied by an explanatory article in the 'Cool Tools' series of the open access journal PLOS Biology. All living species on Earth descended from a common ancestor that lived in the distant past. Since Darwin, biologists have struggled to draw ...

Researchers at the University of Helsinki believe they have discovered stem cells that play a decisive role in the growth of new blood vessels. If researchers learn to isolate and efficiently produce these stem cells found in blood vessel walls, the cells could offer new opportunities for developing therapeutics to treat diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study reporting the discovery of these stem cells is published in the open access journal PLOS Biology on October 16. The growth of new blood vessels, known as neoangiogenesis, occurs during the ...

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, believe they have discovered stem cells that play a decisive role in new blood vessel growth. If researchers learn to isolate and efficiently produce these stem cells found in blood vessel walls, the cells offer new opportunities in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and many other diseases. The study will be published in the PLOS Biology journal on 16 October 2012. The growth of new blood vessels, also known as angiogenesis, is needed in adults when repairing damaged tissue or organs. Unfortunately, malignant ...

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A new noninvasive test for colorectal cancer screening demonstrated high sensitivity for detecting colorectal cancer, in particular precancers that are most likely to develop into cancer, according to data presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held here Oct. 16-19, 2012. "This test measures different kinds of DNA changes, known as methylation and mutation, along with a measure of fecal blood. By combining these measures, we can look for the kinds of biological changes that are most frequently ...

CHICAGO – An analysis of nationally-representative data indicates that between 1988 and 2010 there has been a trend of declining average levels of total cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol for U.S. adults overall, according to a study in the October 17 issue of JAMA. "Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that high concentrations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC) and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are major risk factors for coronary heart disease ...

CHICAGO – In a comparison of strategies to identify individuals with Lynch syndrome, the most common form of hereditary colorectal cancer (CRC), caused by mutations in certain genes (DNA mismatch repair [MMR] genes), universal tumor MMR testing among certain CRC patients had a greater sensitivity for the identification of Lynch syndrome compared with multiple alternative strategies, although the diagnostic improvement was modest, according to a study in the October 17 issue of JAMA. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause ...

CHICAGO – In a pilot study assessing the effect of different levels of chloride in intravenous fluids administered to critically ill patients in an intensive care unit, restricting the amount of chloride administration was associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of acute kidney injury and the use of renal replacement therapy, according to a study in the October 17 issue of JAMA. "The administration of intravenous chloride is ubiquitous in critical care medicine," according to background in the article. Many of the fluids used for hydration and resuscitation ...

Boston, MA – A new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers suggests that, for HIV patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat HIV, there is no benefit from high- vs. standard-dose micronutrient supplementation—and that, in fact, high-dose supplements may cause harm. The study is the first large randomized trial to look at how high-dose multivitamin supplementation affects clinical outcomes among people on HAART. The study appears in the October 17, 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Previous ...

Carrying out general health checks does not reduce deaths overall or from serious diseases like cancer and heart disease, according to Cochrane researchers. The researchers, who carried out a systematic review on the subject for The Cochrane Library, warn against offering general health checks as part of a public health programme. In some countries, general health checks are offered as part of standard practice. General health checks are intended to reduce deaths and ill health by enabling early detection and treatment of disease. However, there are potential negative ...

Cranberry juice is unlikely to prevent bladder and kidney infections, according to an updated systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. The authors analysed the most up-to-date evidence and concluded that any benefit, if present at all, is likely to be small and only for women with recurrent UTI. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect the bladder, as in cystitis, and sometimes the kidneys. Cranberries and cranberry juice have been used to prevent UTIs for decades, although it is not clear how they might help protect against infection. According to one theory, ...

On average, new treatments perform better in clinical trials only slightly more often than existing treatments, according to a new systematic review published in The Cochrane Library. The fact that experimental treatments are not more effective may seem disappointing, but the authors of the review say their findings satisfy an important ethical requirement for clinical trials. Randomised trials compare the effects of one treatment to another. In a randomised trial patients are randomly allocated to different treatment groups to ensure that like will be compared with like. ...

HOUSTON — Enzyme levels in the blood routinely monitored by physicians as liver function indicators are also the best predictor of liver cancer risk for the general population, a team of scientists in Taiwan and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institutet. "These two enzymes alone predicted 91 percent of liver cancer cases in our prospective study," said paper senior author Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of MD Anderson's Department of Epidemiology. "If our research is confirmed in other ...

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is now almost seven years into its 9.5-year journey across the solar system to explore Pluto and its system of moons. Just over two years from now, in January 2015, New Horizons will begin encounter operations, which will culminate in a close approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, and the first-ever exploration of a planet in the Kuiper Belt. As New Horizons has traveled through the solar system, its science team has become increasingly aware of the possibility that dangerous debris may be orbiting in the Pluto system, putting NASA's New Horizons ...

A new clinical study published in BioMedCentral's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy provides preliminary evidence that vitamin D supplementation could be considered an immunomodulatory agent for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a debilitating autoimmune disease characterized not only by skin, joint, neurological and renal symptoms, but also by inflammation of tissue linings in the body. SLE is a T- and B-cell-dependent disease that causes an appearance of autoantibodies, causing the body to attack itself. Patients present with a depletion of regulatory ...

Muscle relaxants given to millions of patients during general anaesthesia are associated with an increased risk of serious breathing problems after surgery, finds a study published on bmj.com today. The results also suggest that giving drugs to reverse the muscle relaxants after surgery may increase the risk further. But an accompanying editorial argues that, in modern medicine, general anaesthesia is an extremely safe procedure and it would be a mistake to change clinical practice on the basis of this one study, however large and well executed. Known as intermediate ...

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have found that medications currently used to immobilize patients during surgery can increase the risk of postoperative respiratory complications. Their study being published online in the journal BMJ also found that the agent most commonly used to reverse the action of the immobilizing drug does not prevent and may possibly increase the risk that patients will need to receive postoperative respiratory support. "Neuromuscular blocking agents are used during surgery for a variety of reasons, including allowing placement ...

Smokers who have tried to quit and failed may be tempted to just give up, particularly if they hear statistics like the fact that most quit attempts will be unsuccessful. But smokers today have many options to help them quit, and those who think they have "tried it all" usually have not. In a report in the Oct. 17 issue of JAMA, Nancy Rigotti, MD, director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Medicine, outlines currently available resources and recommends strategies that can help smokers who are struggling ...

ARLINGTON, VA -- CONRAD researchers, in collaboration with engineers at the University of Utah, have designed a 90-day intravaginal ring that can be used by women to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. A study of the ring used sheep to determine whether safe, effective and steady doses of the antiretroviral drug tenofovir can be released over 90 days. This research is being presented at the 2012 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 14 – 18 and will be published in the 12th issue of Antimicrobial ...

New research at the University of Southampton aims to develop a way of predicting who is more at risk of getting cancer. Led by Paul Little, Professor of Primary Care Research, the CANcer DIagnosis Decision rules (CANDID) study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (NIHR SPCR), will collect and analyse clinical information and blood samples from 20,000 patients who have had lung or colon cancer. The aim is to determine which signs and symptoms are most predictive of those who go on to be diagnosed with the disease. ...

Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester, and Kings College, London, have found that mothers who stroke their baby's body in the first few weeks after birth may change the effects that stress during pregnancy can have on an infant's early-life development. Researchers world-wide have been studying whether stress in pregnancy can lead to emotional and behavioural problems in children for many years. Attention is now moving towards how parents might alter these effects after birth. Researchers are aiming to improve understanding of the issues to help ...

Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have discovered that the characteristic shape of a man's urine stream could be used to help diagnose urinary problems. The research, published in PLOS One today (16 October) is the first study to analyse the specific pattern a man's urine makes and whether it could be used to detect prostate problems. Co-author Dr Martin Knight from Queen Mary's School of Engineering and Materials Science explained: "The characteristic shape is due to the surface tension in the urine and the elliptical shape of the urethra. "The computer ...