Is it possible to cut HIV transmission by using antiretroviral treatment? A collection of new articles published in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine, in conjunction with the HIV Modelling Consortium, addresses this pressing question. The PLoS Medicine articles provide insights into the feasibility of interventions, their potential epidemiological impact and affordability, and recent scientific observational studies and community trials, which will support evidence-based decision-making on the use of antiretroviral treatment to prevent HIV transmission. The background ...

Treatment is delivered faster when emergency medical services (EMS) personnel notify hospitals a possible stroke patient is en route, yet pre-notification doesn't occur nearly one-third of the time. That's according to two separate Get With The Guidelines®– Stroke program studies published in American Heart Association journals. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recommends EMS notify hospitals of incoming stroke patients to allow stroke teams to prepare for prompt evaluation and treatment. Quick response is vital for stroke patients, particularly ...

Tiny magnetic particles may help doctors track cells in the body to better determine if treatments work, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal. Researchers showed that injecting immune cells containing magnetic particles into the bloodstream was safe and did not interfere with cell function. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can then track the cells moving through the body. "This could change how we assess new treatments affecting inflammation and the outcome of a heart attack or heart failure," ...

CHICAGO – In studies examining the risk of adverse outcomes after receipt of the influenza A(H1N1) vaccine, infants exposed to the vaccine in utero did not have a significantly increased risk of major birth defects, preterm birth, or fetal growth restriction; while in another, study researchers found a small increased risk in adults of the nervous system disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome, during the 4 to 8 weeks after vaccination, according to 2 studies in the July 11 issue of JAMA. In the first study, Björn Pasternak, M.D., Ph.D., of the Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, ...

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is usually characterized by rapidly developing motor weakness and areflexia (the absence of reflexes). "The disease is thought to be autoimmune and triggered by a stimulus of external origin. In 1976-1977, an unusually high rate of GBS was identified in the United States following the administration of inactivated 'swine' influenza A(H1N1) vaccines. In 2003, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that the evidence favored acceptance of a causal relationship between the 1976 swine influenza vaccines and GBS in adults. Studies of seasonal ...

Among intermediate- to high-risk patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery, administration of the agent acadesine to regulate adenosine (a naturally occurring chemical that dilates blood flow and can improve coronary blood flow and perfusion) did not reduce all-cause death, nonfatal stroke, or need for mechanical support for ventricular dysfunction, for approximately a month after surgery, according to a study in the July 11 issue of JAMA. "Despite improvements in myocardial protection and perioperative care, the risk of death is still substantial in the ...

Patients who had surgery for periampullary cancer (a variety of types of cancer that are located in and near the head of the pancreas, including an area called the ampulla where the bile duct joins up with the pancreatic duct to empty their secretions into the upper small intestine) and received chemotherapy had a statistically significant survival benefit, compared to patients who did not receive chemotherapy, after adjusting for prognostic variables, according to a study in the July 11 issue of JAMA. Periampullary carcinomas arise from the head of the pancreas. "The ...

In this week's PLoS Medicine, Julia Hussein from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and colleagues assess the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that aim to help pregnant women reach health facilities during an emergency in developing country settings. In a systematic review of the literature they found that the level of evidence for emergency obstetric referral interventions was poor and that limitations in the design of individual studies made determining the effect of referral interventions on outcomes difficult. The authors note, "[d]espite the wealth ...

In a new article published this week that forms part of the PLoS Medicine series on Global Mental Health Practice, Shoba Raja and colleagues report their case study of implementing the "BasicNeeds" model of mental health and development in Nepal, which emphasizes user empowerment, community development, strengthening of health systems, and policy influencing. The authors say their model works in partnership with governments to provide the "great push" that is required to set up services where mental health and development have not yet been a priority. The authors report ...

Insecticide resistance is threatening the effectiveness of insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor insecticide sprays to control adult mosquito vectors, and so more sustainable integrated management strategies that use optimal suites of control tactics are needed. These are the arguments of Willem Takken from the Wageningen University and Research Centre in The Netherlands and colleagues in this week's PLoS Medicine. Experience in agriculture suggests that such integrated approaches can provide more effective and durable pest management, say the authors, which will require ...

DURHAM, N.C. – A drug designed to shield the heart from injury during bypass surgery failed to reduce deaths, strokes and other serious events among patients at high risk of complications, according to a large, prospective study lead by researchers at Duke University Medical Center. But the international study also produced a surprising silver lining. As reported in the July 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers discovered that complications among bypass surgery patients were far less frequent than previously reported. "We expected ...

People who are born deaf process the sense of touch differently than people who are born with normal hearing, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. The finding reveals how the early loss of a sense— in this case hearing—affects brain development. It adds to a growing list of discoveries that confirm the impact of experiences and outside influences in molding the developing brain. The study is published in the July 11 online issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The researchers, Christina M. Karns, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate in ...

The cancer drug bevacizumab (Avastin®) offers only a modest benefit in delaying disease progression in patients with advanced stage breast cancer, according to a systematic review by Cochrane researchers. The researchers assessed the efficacy of bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy, an established cancer treatment in this indication, and found no overall survival benefit when adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy. Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among women. If it spreads to other parts of the body it is referred to as "metastatic" and the ...

Taking iron supplements one to three times a week instead of every day is just as effective at preventing anaemia in pregnant women, according to the findings of a new Cochrane systematic review. The authors of the review also showed that women experienced fewer side effects when taking iron supplements intermittently rather than daily. Lack of iron can cause anaemia in pregnant women, potentially increasing the risk of complications at delivery. It may also be harmful to their babies, through increased risk of low birth weight and even delayed growth and development ...

People at high risk of HIV infection can reduce their risk of acquiring the disease by taking antiretroviral drugs, according to Cochrane researchers. In an update of a systematic review first published in 2009, the researchers found that uninfected people in relationships with HIV-infected partners, men who have sex with men and those in other high risk groups are at a lower risk of becoming infected with the virus if they regularly take drugs that are normally prescribed to treat people with HIV. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the standard drug treatment for HIV in ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Computer networks are the battlefields in cyberwarfare, as exemplified by the United States' recent use of computer viruses to attack Iran's nuclear program. A computer model developed at the University of Missouri could help military strategists devise the most damaging cyber attacks as well as guard America's critical infrastructure. The model also could benefit other projects involving interconnected groups, such as restoring ecosystems, halting disease epidemics and stopping smugglers. "Our model allows users to identify the best or worst possible ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center appear to have solved the mystery of why some patients infected with HIV, who are using antiretroviral therapy and show no signs of AIDS, develop serious depression as well as profound problems with memory, learning, and motor function. The finding might also provide a way to test people with HIV to determine their risk for developing dementia. They say the answer, published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, may ultimately lead to a therapeutic solution that helps these patients as well ...

A multi-institutional team of researchers that included scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created the first artificial molecules whose chirality can be rapidly switched from a right-handed to a left-handed orientation with a beam of light. This holds potentially huge possibilities for the application of terahertz technologies across a wide range of fields, including biomedical research, homeland security and ultrahigh-speed communications. Chirality is the distinct left/right orientation or "handedness" ...

King penguins tolerate some, but not all, human interference. Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal, BMC Ecology, investigates the adjustment of a king penguin colony on the protected Possession island in the subantarctic Crozet Archipelago to over 50 years of constant human disturbance. A team of researchers from the University of Strasbourg, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the University of Lausanne, compared 15 king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) breeding in areas disturbed daily by humans and 18 penguins breeding ...

The ability for substances to pass through the blood-brain barrier is increased after adult stroke, but not after neonatal stroke, according to a new study the UCSF that will be published July 11 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The novel findings may have major implications for drug development and the treatment of neonatal stroke, the researchers said. The blood-brain barrier is selectively permeable and blocks unwanted molecules from entering into the brain. The selectivity is achieved through fine coordination in function of many transporting systems in endothelial ...

Research: Long term alcohol intake and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women: a population based cohort study Moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with a reduced risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, suggests a study published on bmj.com today. The results show that women who regularly consume more than three alcoholic drinks a week for at least 10 years have about half the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared with non-drinkers. After adjusting for factors such as age, smoking and dietary habits, women who reported drinking more than three ...

Research: Weight gain in smokers after quitting cigarettes: meta-analysis Editorial: Quitting smoking and gaining weight: the odd couple Giving up smoking is associated with an average weight gain of 4-5 kg after 12 months, most of which occurs within the first three months of quitting, finds a study published on bmj.com today. Although this figure is higher than previously thought, an accompanying editorial argues that the health benefits of quitting far outweigh this modest gain in body weight and should not deter people from quitting. It is well known that ...

Toronto – Not all brand–consumer relationships are created equal. Marketers who realize this will be in a better position to retain customers and improve the perceptions of consumers who are unhappy with a brand's service or product, says a new paper from the University of Toronto. Consumers form connections with brands in ways that mirror social relationships. How consumers evaluate a brand depends heavily on whether the brand adheres to—or violates—the implicit relationship agreement. Pankaj Aggarwal, a marketing professor at the Rotman School of Management and ...

A new study published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience details the development of the first mouse model engineered to carry the most common mutation in Usher syndrome III causative gene (Clarin-1) in North America. Further, the research team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine used this new model to understand why mutation in Clarin-1 leads to hearing loss. Usher Syndrome is an incurable genetic disease and it is the most common cause of the dual sensory deficits of deafness and blindness. It affects an estimated 50,000 Americans ...

Ottawa, ON – July 10, 2012 — Monitoring the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine in Canada requires that data from multiple registries and other data sources be combined. Linking registries can be problematic, however, since they are often managed by unrelated organizations. Privacy legislation may also restrict the sharing of data for such linkages. To address these challenges, Dr. Khaled El-Emam and his team at the CHEO Research Institute have developed a secure protocol that allows the linking of individual patient records without revealing personal information, which has ...