Archive for May, 2011
WHO Says Cell Phones May Cause Cancer
Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 May 2011 04:09 Written by admin Tuesday, 31 May 2011 04:09
A work group of the World Health Organization has declared the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones to be “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
The declaration was made after a week-long meeting of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, which involved 31 scientists from 14 countries, who decided there was enough evidence linking use of cellphones to an increased risk of glioblastoma.
The declaration puts these energy fields into the IARC’s group 2B for carcinogenic agents — one notch above compounds “not classifiable” as cancer-causing because of inadequate evidence.
Other agents in group 2B include progestins and anti-epileptics such as phenytoin and phenobarbital.
Jonathan Samet, MD, of the University of Southern California and chair of the work group, said the “evidence, while still accumulating, is strong enough to support a conclusion and the 2B classification.”
“The conclusion means that there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cellphones and cancer risk,” Samet said in a statement.
The IARC’s group 2A classification — probably carcinogenic to humans — includes shift work involving circadian changes and high-temperature frying.
Benzene, hexavalent chromium, mustard gas, solar radiation, and other radioactive elements are among the agency’s highest class of carcinogens, group 1, those with “sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity.”
The WHO work group did not find that there was sufficient evidence linking cancer and environmental or occupational exposures with microwave energy.
The latest large-registry study on cancer and cellphone use — the Interphone study, sponsored by both government and industry sources and reported last year — found no conclusive link between talk time and glioblastoma. There was a significant increase associated with the highest levels of use, but researchers said spending that amount of time on the phone was “implausible.”
In addition, odds ratios for other categories of cellphone use appeared to be protective.
Still, a recent study by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse — known for their fMRI studies of the brains of addicts — found that active cellphones changed glucose metabolism in the parts of the brain closest to the antenna.
Although the clinical significance of the findings is still unclear, it provides some of the first evidence that the brain is sensitive to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
Antonio Chiocca, MD, chair of neurosurgery at Ohio State University, who was not involved in the work group, said in an email to MedPage Today and ABC News that the evidence tying cell phones to brain cancer is “still pretty circumstantial.”
“The follow-up hasn’t been long enough,” he said. “If it takes 20-plus years for the effects to be seen, we may still not have enough time to really know whether the use is linked to brain cancer.”
Still, he said that it wouldn’t do any harm if the public were to hold their phones further from their heads, or use ear pieces.
An estimated five billion people around the world use cellphones.
The wireless industry group Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) emphasized that the IARC classification “does not mean cellphones cause cancer.”
The group pointed out that in the past, IARC has given the same classification to “pickled vegetables and coffee,” and highlighted that the Federal Communications Commission and the FDA have concluded that there’s no firm evidence linking cellphones and cancer.
Posted under FDA News, Oncology Research | Comments Off
Cholesterol study shows niacin no good at cutting heart risk
Last Updated on Thursday, 26 May 2011 04:36 Written by admin Thursday, 26 May 2011 04:36
(CBS/AP) Niacin seems to be no good, at least when it comes to helping prevent heart attacks. On Thursday the NIH stopped a study because people taking high doses of niacin saw no benefit.
LDL cholesterol is the main cause of clogged arteries. Statin drugs, including brand names like Zocor and Lipitor as well as generic forms – are mainstays in lowering LDL. But many statin users have heart attacks, because LDL isn’t the whole story. Low levels of HDL, as well as high levels of fatty substances known as triglycerides, also increase heart risk.
So scientists are testing whether adding various drugs to statins would increase HDL enough to protect the heart.
The study tested Niaspan, an extended-release form of the B-vitamin niacin that is a far higher dose than is found in dietary supplements. The drug has been sold for years, and previous studies showed that it boosts HDL levels.
More than 3,400 statin users in the U.S. and Canada – people still at risk for heart attack because of low HDL levels – were given Niaspan or a dummy pill in addition to their usual medication. As expected, HDL levels rose and triglyceride levels dropped in the Niaspan users – more than in people who took a statin alone. But the combination treatment didn’t reduce heart attacks, strokes or the need for artery-clearing procedures such as angioplasty, the NIH said.
The University of Washington’s Dr. Jeffrey Probstfield, who helped lead the study, said the finding “is unexpected and a striking contrast to the results of previous trials.”
There was a small rise in stroke risk in the Niaspan users – 28 among 1,718 people compared with 12 among the 1,696 placebo users. The NIH said it was unclear whether that small difference was a coincidence, as previous studies have shown no stroke risk from niacin. In fact, some of the strokes occurred after the Niaspan users quit taking that drug.
Researchers said patients shouldn’t stop taking their Niaspan without talking to a doctor first.
The Mayo Clinic has more on niacin and cholesterol.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20066487-10391704.html
Posted under Discoveries, Innovations and Patents, Drug Development, Medicinal Chemistry, North America, Reports, USA and Canada | Comments Off
Researchers Find Cousin of Hepatitis C Virus in Dogs
Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 May 2011 02:45 Written by admin Tuesday, 24 May 2011 02:45
MONDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) — Researchers report that they’ve discovered a virus similar to the human hepatitis C virus in dogs, a finding that might provide insight into how the germ evolved in people and perhaps lead to better treatments.
About 200 million people around the world are thought to suffer from hepatitis C, including an estimated 3.2 million chronically infected people in the United States. Many don’t know they’re infected with the liver-damaging virus that causes the disease, which means they can spread it to others without realizing it.
The new findings suggest that hepatitis C may have “jumped” from dogs to humans more than five centuries ago, the researchers said.
“Considering the origin of HIV, we expected to find the closest homologs, or genetic relatives, of [hepatitis C virus] in non-human primates,” study author Dr. Amit Kapoor, an investigator with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health’s Center for Infection and Immunity, said in a news release.
“However,” Kapoor added, “while we were analyzing samples from dogs involved in outbreaks of respiratory disease, we came upon a virus that was more similar to HCV than other viruses of the same family. So far, we have only detected [the virus] in sick animals, a few of which had died of unknown causes. Because of its close genetic similarity to HCV, we suggested the name of canine hepacivirus.”
Study co-author Dr. Charles Rice, scientific and executive director of the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C at The Rockefeller University, said in the news release that the beginnings of hepatitis C “remain a mystery. These findings underscore the need to look beyond primates for clues to the origins.”
Scientists say there’s no risk of modern-day dogs infecting people with either human hepatitis C or the canine form.
Hepatitis C is a liver disease that’s typically spread through contact with infected blood. It can also spread through sex with an infected person and from mother to baby during childbirth, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
The study appears in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/digestive-disorders/articles/2011/05/23/researchers-find-cousin-of-hepatitis-c-virus-in-dogs
Posted under Discoveries, Innovations and Patents, Medicinal Chemistry, North America, Research Projects, USA and Canada, Veterinary Research | Comments Off
Swine flu concerns in jails
Last Updated on Friday, 20 May 2011 02:03 Written by admin Friday, 20 May 2011 02:03
In a confined space, a contagious illness like the swine flu (H1N1) could spread quickly. It’s a problem health officials inside jails are thinking about as cases of swine flu fluctuate. Many have come up with a health plan, but in Ireland their plan is raising eyebrows.
In Ireland, swine flu cases are increasing rapidly which is forcing every organization to make a long term plan. If there was an outbreak of the swine flu in a prison staff may be quarantined with inmates.
An Irish Prison Service spokesman said, “At a corporate level, we are acutely aware of the possible adverse impact of a swine flu outbreak at a prison level and we are considering the necessary steps which may have to be considered in the event that significant numbers of cases occur within the prison system, either involving staff or prisoners.”
The Irish Prison Service has secured medical supplies and has contracted with community pharmacists to access Tamiflu if needed. Tamiflu is often prescribed to help kick the symptoms brought on by the flu, including fever, aches and stomach pain.
It’s one of several plans being looked at to safeguard the country’s 4,000+ inmates and staff.
The plans come on the heels of an inmate dying from an alleged case of swine flu. John O’Connor, 52, was being held at the Cloverhill Prison when he died. His family believes his medical care was not handled properly. They specifically want to know why he was not given Tamiflu to fight the illness.
Swine Flu Background
The World Health Organization says this strain of flu sparked the century’s first influenza pandemic in 2009. Now it’s considered to be in the post pandemic phase, meaning the number of illnesses is scaling back. The pandemic meant mass amounts of vaccine had to be shipped around the world. It was the first time the world faced such a pandemic in more than 40 years.
Source: http://www.accessrx.com/blog/current-health-news/swine-flu-jails-l0509
Posted under Europe, Europe, Swine Flu Research | Comments Off
International Stem Cell Corporation Enrolls First Donor in Program to Create New Parthenogenetic Stem Cell Lines in the United States
Last Updated on Friday, 20 May 2011 02:04 Written by admin Friday, 20 May 2011 01:59
CARLSBAD, Calif.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCBB:ISCO), www.internationalstemcell.com, has now enrolled the first U.S.-based donor in its program to establish a bank of clinical-grade human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) capable of being immune-matched to millions of patients.
Dr. Simon Craw, Vice President of ISCO with primary responsibility for building its UniStemCell Bank, said, “Enrolling our first donor is a key milestone towards our goal of creating a bank of clinical-grade pluripotent human stem cells with the ability to immune-match millions of patients. It is extremely exciting to start this new phase of development, and I look forward to making new clinical-grade hpSC lines available to medical researchers around the world.”
ISCO maintains the world’s largest collection of research-grade human parthenogenetic stem cell (hpSC) lines which it uses along with its partners and collaborators to investigate cellular therapies for a number of incurable human diseases.
ISCO previously announced it had successfully obtained the necessary regulatory approvals for obtaining human oocytes, including Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and Stem Cell Research Oversight (SCRO) committee approval. Today’s announcement marks the next phase of development as the Company is now positioned to begin producing new clinical-grade hpSC lines.
These new cell lines will be ISCO’s first hpSCs to be produced in the United States in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) specifications. The new cGMP hpSC lines will be uniquely valuable in therapeutic research and clinical development as cells or tissue derived from such cells can be used in human clinical trials.
ISCO’s scientific discoveries have resulted in the development of a unique new type of pluripotent stem cells that possess a number of distinct advantages over other types of human pluripotent stem cells. ISCO uses unfertilized oocytes to create human “parthenogenetic” stem cells. Like human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), hpSCs are pluripotent, i.e. they have the capacity to become almost any cell type in the body, yet avoid ethical issues associated with use or destruction of viable human embryos. Unlike hESCs, hpSCs can be created in a form such that they can be immunologically matched to millions of individuals.
Source: http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20110519005390/en
Posted under North America, Reports, Stem Cell Research, USA and Canada | Comments Off
FDA Okays New HIV Drug
Last Updated on Friday, 20 May 2011 01:56 Written by admin Friday, 20 May 2011 01:56
WASHINGTON — The FDA has approved rilpivirine (Edurant) for the treatment of HIV patients who have not yet begun therapy.
The drug, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, is intended to be used as part of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) with at least two other medications, the agency said.
Rilpivirine, also known as TMC278, is to be taken once a day with food and offers another medication alternative for physicians and patients, the FDA said in a release.
The agency approved the drug on the basis of safety and effectiveness data from two phase III clinical trials with 1,368 adult participants who had not received prior HIV therapy, as well as an extension trial.
They were randomly assigned to treatment with rilpivirine or efavirenz (Sustiva), as well as other anti-HIV drugs.
In the two trials, the proportion of patients who were able to suppress their virus to undetectable levels was 84.3% for rilpivirine and 82.3% for efavirenz.
Those who started the trials with a high viral load and were assigned to rilpivirine were more likely to fail therapy than those who got efavirenz and the converse was true for those who started with a low level of virus, the researchers reported.
On the other hand, patients were more likely to drop out because of side effects if they were taking efavirenz, leading some observers to call the medication a trade-off.
Posted under FDA News, HIV Research, Medicinal Chemistry, New Drugs, New Products | Comments Off
Horse herpes: The virus behind the outbreak
Last Updated on Friday, 20 May 2011 11:57 Written by admin Friday, 20 May 2011 11:57
As an outbreak of highly contagious horse herpes infects horses across Western states, leaving some horses dead and prompting event organizers to cancel competitions, a closer look at the virus causing all the trouble would seem in order.
But first, as Reuters reports: “Horses cannot infect humans but for the animals the symptoms of the virus include respiratory problems and hind-leg weakness, decreased coordination, nasal discharge and fever.”
Nine strains of equine herpes virus have been identified; the strain in the news, EHV-1, is very common. By age 2, almost all horses have contracted the virus, usually from their mothers (dams), but the virus generally lies inactive, according to an information sheet from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
As can happen with human herpes, the virus kicks back into gear when the animals are stressed — such as during long-distance transportation (often required for competitions) or vigorous exercise. After the virus is reactivated, the viral infection can spread to other horses, through a sneeze, for example, or through contact with rags, buckets or people.
The disease can cause respiratory illness or abortion; EHV-1 can sometimes become a neurological infection, called equine herpes myeloencephalopathy, which destroys blood vessels and leads to damage of the brain and spinal cord. Horses with the neurological form may have to lean against a wall for balance or be unable to stand up.
Vaccines exist for the respiratory form of EHV-1, but there isn’t enough evidence of how well they work, nor is there a vaccine labeled for the neurological form, according to USDA assessment of what’s known about the virus. Dr. Barry Meade, a researcher in equine infectious diseases at the University of Kentucky, wrote this recommendation in the report:
“Development of a vaccine that could prevent latency and the neurological form of EHV should be a top priority for research related to this disease.”
For now, veterinarians recommend owners quarantine their horses—see this veterinarian’s down-to-earth advice on protecting horses from EHV-1.
Posted under North America, USA and Canada | Comments Off
Hazardous and untested flame retardants pervasive in baby products
Last Updated on Thursday, 19 May 2011 04:48 Written by admin Thursday, 19 May 2011 04:48
A study of products designed for babies and toddlers – including car seats, nursing pillows, changing pads, bassinet mattresses and other items made with polyurethane foam – found that 80% of products tested contained chemical flame retardants considered toxic, according to a peer-reviewed study published today in the Environmental Science & Technology Journal. The same flame retardants are also found in children’s bodies and widely dispersed throughout the environment and in food.
The study analyzed 102 products for the presence of halogenated flame retardants. Interior foam samples were tested from nursing pillows, baby carriers, car seats, changing table pads, high chairs, bassinets, portable cribs, walkers, changing pads, baby carriers, sleeping wedges, a baby tub insert, stroller, bath slings, glider rockers, and other essential child care items. Samples were submitted from locations around the United States, including two samples from Maine.
Tracy Gregoire and Steve Taylor of Topsham sent samples to the national study from the nursing pillow and bassinet mattress they used for their now two-year old son Jasiah. The nursing pillow tested positive for Tris 2-chloro-ethyl phosphate (TCEP). TCEP was found in ten out of eleven nursing pillows analyzed. Newborn babies often spend hours each day lying on nursing pillows; thus there is a high level of contact to babies and their mothers to this product and the flame retardants which readily escape from the pillows.
“It’s heartbreaking to think that the pillow I used to cradle my son contains chemicals that can cause long term harm to his health. I am a well informed mother, yet given the lack of regulation, there’s just no way for parents like me to ensure toxic chemicals aren’t in the products I buy for my son,” said Tracy Gregoire, the Healthy Children’s Project Director for the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine.
The nursing pillow from Maine was one of fourteen products tested that contained TCEP, a carcinogenic flame retardant on California’s Proposition 65 list of cancer-causing chemicals. Laboratory animal studies show TCEP causes tumors in the kidney and thyroid glands. In other laboratory animal studies, TCEP has been shown to cause reductions in fertility and poor sperm quality and to interfere with brain signaling, causing hyperactivity. TCEP is no longer produced in Europe and has been identified by Canada as posing a risk to human health.
“This study clearly shows the need for chemical policy reform at the federal level,” said Steve Taylor, Program Director of the Environmental Health Strategy Center, a Maine based public health organization that has led successful campaigns to phase out use of flame retardants known as Penta, Octa and Deca in electronics, mattresses, shipping pallets, and other products sold in Maine. “Maine lawmakers have taken important steps to protect people from exposure to toxic flame retardants however we can’t go it alone. We’re asking Senators Snowe and Collins to support the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 to ensure there’s a federal law that works to ensure common consumer products are safe for our families.”
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is the federal law tasked with regulating use of chemicals in the U.S. but TSCA is widely perceived to have failed to protect public health, having regulated only 5 chemicals in its 35 years of existence out of the 80,000 chemicals in use in the U.S.
An effort to strengthen TSCA is underway in Congress in the form of the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 sponsored by Senator Lautenberg. This bill would require basic health and safety data for chemicals, reduce exposure to the most harmful chemicals, identify and address “hot spots” where people are more exposed to toxic chemicals, and prevent new harmful chemicals from hitting the marketplace unless they are tested and found to be reasonably safe.
The baby products study, Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foam Collected from Baby Products, is available in the current issue of the Environmental Science & Technology Journal. Other results from the new baby product testing include:
- Four products contained penta-BDE, a substance so toxic it is banned in 172 countries and 12 U.S. states including Maine, and subject to a national phaseout.
- 29 products contained TDCPP or chlorinated Tris, a possible human carcinogen that was removed from children’s pajamas over health concerns in the late 1970s. In animal studies, chlorinated Tris has been associated with cancer of the liver, kidney, brain and testis, among other harmful effects.
- 16 products contained Firemaster 550/600 flame retardants for which EPA has predicted toxicity concerns and required additional testing.
- 14 products contained TCPP, which is similar in chemical structure to Chlorinated Tris and TCEP and has limited health information.
“Toxic or untested flame retardants like the ones found in this study can migrate out of products and end up in our homes and our bodies. These chemicals are associated with reduced IQ, increased time to pregnancy, endocrine and thyroid disruption, and impaired child development,” says Arlene Blum, PhD, a co-author of the study and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute. Blum’s early research contributed to the removal of Tris flame retardants from children’s pajamas in the 1970’s. “I was surprised to find Tris back in high levels in the foam in baby products.”
According to Environmental Health News, researchers have found that adults in the United States have average levels of flame retardant chemicals in their bodies that are 20 times higher than Europeans. A study in California found households tested had 200 times more brominated flame retardants in household dust than European homes. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention report that over 90% of the U.S. population carries flame retardants in their bodies.
Posted under FDA News, Press Releases | Comments Off
Bacterium that nips malaria in the bud ‘identified’
Last Updated on Friday, 13 May 2011 10:48 Written by admin Friday, 13 May 2011 10:48
Scientists claim to have identified a bacterium which nips malaria in the bud by stopping the development of Plasmodium falciparum parasite that causes the disease in humans.
Malaria afflicts more than 225 million people worldwide. Each year, the disease kills nearly 800,000 people.
Now, a team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that the Enterobacter bacterium is part of the naturally occurring microbial flora of the mosquito’s gut and kills the parasite by producing reactive oxygen species, the ‘Science’ journal reported.
“In this study we show that certain bacteria can directly block the malaria parasite’s development through the production of free radicals that are detrimental to Plasmodium in the mosquito gut.
“We are particularly excited about this discovery because it may explain why mosquitoes of the same species and strain sometimes differ in their resistance to the parasite, and we may also use this knowledge to develop novel methods to stop the spread of malaria.
One biocontrol strategy may, for example, rely on the exposure of mosquitoes in the field to this natural bacterium, resulting in resistance to the malaria parasite,” said George Dimopoulos, who led the team.
In their study, the scientists isolated the Enterobacter bacterium from the midgut of Anopheles mosquitoes collected near their institute located in southern Zambia.
About 25 percent of the mosquitoes collected contained the specific bacteria strain. Laboratory studies showed the bacterium inhibited the growth of Plasmodium up to 99 per cent, both in the mosquito gut and in a test tube culture of the human malaria parasite. Higher doses of bacteria had a greater impact on Plasmodium growth.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bacterium-that-nips-malaria-in-the-bud-identified/789966/
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Microneedle Drug Delivery Systems Moving Toward Commercialization by Converging with Existing Delivery Technologies
Last Updated on Wednesday, 4 May 2011 06:12 Written by Editor Wednesday, 4 May 2011 06:12
Evolutionary Design Enhancements Creating a Viable Path to the Market According to Greystone Research Associates
(Amherst, NH) – For the past decade a small group of device development companies, often supported by academic partners and national government technology transfer programs, have been attempting to commercialize drug delivery products based on arrays of microneedles. By creating channels in the stratum corneum, these devices were expected to deliver therapeutic drugs across the skin and into the dermal layers. While several product efforts focused on achieving a local anesthetic effect, the majority pursued a pharmacokinetic model that involved migration of the API via interstitial fluid to the vasculature to achieve systemic delivery.
After years of prototyping unique array designs, a several development programs have migrated toward improving the performance of existing delivery methods. While novel microneedle designs still exist, the evolving landscape can now be grouped into three main strategic approaches: (1) arrays mounted on the end of syringes to effect an injection with minimal discomfort; (2) stand-alone drug-containing devices (coated microneedles or microneedle reservoir patch) designed to be applied or attached to the skin directly; (3) two-step delivery systems that employ an array to create microchannels through the skin followed by a drug-containing patch designed to deliver the drug through the newly-formed microchannels.
Microneedle technology is attaining commercial viability at a time when drug developers are faced with new challenges as they assess ways to administer a new class of compounds with significant therapeutic potential. The commercialization of microneedle drug delivery devices such as the sanofi-aventis Intanza influenza vaccine, which is based on the Becton Dickinson Soluvia syringe-mounted microneedle array device, is a milestone in the transition of microneedle drug delivery from development to market place. Microneedle technology promises to impact health care by allowing the precise injection of therapeutic agents to prescribed locations below the skin.
A new research study, Microneedle Drug Delivery: Technology, Devices, Players, Markets and Prospects analyzes existing and emerging microneedle delivery products, product candidates and development programs, profiles market participants, and assesses key demand and technology factors influencing the commercial market and shaping growth in this sector.
More information is available at www.greystoneassociates.org .
About Greystone
Greystone Research Associates is a medical technology consulting firm focused on the areas of medical market strategy, product commercialization, venture development, and market research. We assist medical and healthcare market participants in achieving their business objectives through the creation of detailed development strategies, product commercialization programs, and comprehensive market and technology research and analysis. Our market research publications are designed, researched and written to provide timely and insightful information and data on focused market segments, with the aim of providing market participants with the essential knowledge to refine and execute their marketing plans and financial targets.
Contact:
Mark Smith
Voice: 603-595-4340
Fax: 603-804-0466
www.greystoneassociates.org
Source: Greystone Research Associates
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