Brain immune cells respond to alcohol

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• Brain immune cells respond to alcohol
• Study finds consumers may have more control over health costs than previously thought
• ACCF/AHA release updated guideline to promote better management of peripheral artery disease
• Scientists release most accurate simulation of the universe to date
• New minimally-invasive method of surfactant treatment could reduce need for mechanical ventilation in premature babies
• OGI and MaRS Innovation invest in peptide therapeutics
• The mark of the beast: tradition or stress?
• NIH modifies 'VOICE' HIV prevention study in women
• City College of New York-led research could lead to wearable sensors for the blind
• Commonly used supplement may improve recovery from spinal cord injuries

Brain immune cells respond to alcohol Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New research from the University of Adelaide suggests that immune cells in your brain may contribute to response to alcohol. It's amazing to think that despite 10,000 years of using alcohol, and several decades of investigation into the way that alcohol affects the nerve cells in our brain, we are still trying to figure out exactly how it works, says lead researcher Dr Mark Hutchinson from the University's School of Medical Sciences. Although scientists know much about how alcohol affects nerve cells, there is also a growing body of evidence that alcohol triggers rapid changes in the immune system in the brain. This immune response lies behind some of the well-known alcohol-related behavioural changes, such as difficulty controlling the muscles involved in walking and talking. In research published in the latest edition of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Dr Hutchinson's team gave a single shot of alcohol to laboratory mice and studied the effect of blocking Toll-like receptors, a particular element of the immune system, on the behavioural changes induced by alcohol. The researchers used drugs to block these receptors. They also studied the effects of giving alcohol to mice that had been genetically altered so that they were lacking the functions of selected receptors. The results showed that blocking this part of the immune system, either with the drug or genetically, reduced the effects of alcohol. While the research was carried out on mice, Hutchinson's team believe that similar treatments could also work in humans. Medications targeting Toll-like receptor 4 may prove beneficial in treating alcohol dependence and acute overdoses, says Dr Hutchinson. This work has significant implications for our understanding of the way alcohol affects us, as it is both an immunological and neuronal response. Such a shift in mindset has significant implications for identifying individuals who may have bad outcomes after consuming... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Study finds consumers may have more control over health costs than previously thought Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) The historic RAND Health Insurance Experiment found that patients had little or no control over their health care spending once they began to receive a physician's care, but a new study shows that this has changed for those enrolled in consumer-directed health plans. Patients with health coverage that includes a high deductible and either a health savings account or a health reimbursement arrangement reduced their costs even after they initiated care. Overall, the study found about two thirds of the reduction in total health care costs was from patients initiating care less often and the remaining third was from a reduction in costs after care is initiated. The findings were published online by the journal Forum for Health Economics and Policy. Unlike earlier time periods, it seems that today's consumers can have greater influence on the level and mix of medical services provided once they begin to receive medical care, said Amelia Haviland, the study's lead author and a senior statistician at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization. We found that at least part of the savings in cost per episode reflects choices for less-costly treatments and products, not just a reduction in the number of services. Researchers from RAND, Towers Watson and the University of Southern California examined the claims experience of many large employers in the United States to determine how consumer-directed health plans and other high-deductible plans can reduce health care costs. The study was funded by the California HealthCare Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. According to Haviland, at least three factors influenced the cost of care once the patient had initiated care: lower use of name-brand medications, less in-patient care and lower use of specialists. Researchers speculate that patients may talk to their doctors about their higher deductibles and ask them to help keep costs low. It is not surprising... http://www.rxpgnews.com

ACCF/AHA release updated guideline to promote better management of peripheral artery disease Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, is a common and dangerous condition that affects tens of millions of Americans -- often unknowingly -- and can restrict blood flow to the legs, kidneys or other vital organs. PAD, which remains underdiagnosed, is often a sign of a more widespread accumulation of fatty deposits in the heart, brain or legs and, if untreated, it is one of the most common causes of preventable heart attack, stroke, leg amputations and death. To help guide clinical decision-making related to PAD and improve patient outcomes, the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF), and the American Heart Association (AHA), along with collaborating societies, today released an updated guideline for its diagnosis and management. This guideline includes expanded criteria for using the ankle-brachial index (ABI) for earlier diagnosis, increased efforts to ensure all patients have access to smoking cessation services, improved use of clot-preventing medications, as well as a more focused definition of effective interventions for avoiding limb amputations and treating aortic aneurysms. PAD restricts blood flow to the extremities, especially the legs and feet. When blood flow is reduced to the legs, walking may become difficult and painful, and amputation can occur. Decreased kidney blood flow can cause high blood pressure or kidney failure. Aneurysms of the aorta, the largest artery, can rupture and lead to death. Yet, for many, PAD is asymptomatic and therefore may not lead to recognizable symptoms, delaying a prompt diagnosis. This document provides agreed upon approaches and treatments for PAD that vascular surgeons, vascular medicine specialists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, interventional radiologists and primary care clinicians can apply to help improve patient care, said Thom Rooke, MD, Krehbiel Professor of Vascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and chair of the writing group. This guideline is especially... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Scientists release most accurate simulation of the universe to date Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) SANTA CRUZ, CA--The Bolshoi supercomputer simulation, the most accurate and detailed large cosmological simulation run to date, gives physicists and astronomers a powerful new tool for understanding such cosmic mysteries as galaxy formation, dark matter, and dark energy. The simulation traces the evolution of the large-scale structure of the universe, including the evolution and distribution of the dark matter halos in which galaxies coalesced and grew. Initial studies show good agreement between the simulation's predictions and astronomers' observations. In one sense, you might think the initial results are a little boring, because they basically show that our standard cosmological model works, said Joel Primack, distinguished professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. What's exciting is that we now have this highly accurate simulation that will provide the basis for lots of important new studies in the months and years to come. Primack and Anatoly Klypin, professor of astronomy at New Mexico State University, lead the team that produced the Bolshoi simulation. Klypin wrote the computer code for the simulation, which was run on the Pleiades supercomputer at NASA Ames Research Center. These huge cosmological simulations are essential for interpreting the results of ongoing astronomical observations and for planning the new large surveys of the universe that are expected to help determine the nature of the mysterious dark energy, Klypin said. Primack, who directs the University of California High-Performance Astrocomputing Center (UC-HIPACC), said the initial release of data from the Bolshoi simulation began in early September. We've released a lot of the data so that other astrophysicists can start to use it, he said. So far it's less than one percent of the actual output, because the total output is so huge, but there will be additional releases in the future. The previous benchmark for large-scale... http://www.rxpgnews.com

New minimally-invasive method of surfactant treatment could reduce need for mechanical ventilation in premature babies Posted: 29 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A new minimally-invasive method of delivering surfactant* is safe and could reduce the need for mechanical ventilation that can cause lung damage and result in breathing problems and chronic lung disease, according to the Avoiding Mechanical Ventilation (AMV) trial published Online First in The Lancet. Because their lungs are not fully developed, premature babies are at increased risk of developing respiratory distress syndrome. These babies do not produce enough surfactant, a substance that prevents the collapse of air sacs in the lungs and improves lung function. Traditionally, surfactant is given through a tube in the windpipe during mechanical ventilation, but this method requires sedation and intubation, and can damage the lungs. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is an alternative non-invasive method of ventilation that involves pushing air and/or oxygen through the nose to gently inflate the lungs while babies are breathing by themselves. Until now, a disadvantage of CPAP was that without intubation babies had not been treated with surfactant. The AMV trial was designed to test a new method of surfactant delivery without the use of an endotracheal tube or mechanical ventilation. The new technique involves giving surfactant early to spontaneously breathing premature babies on CPAP through a thin catheter inserted into the windpipe that is removed quickly, as soon as the surfactant is delivered. Between October 2007, and January 2008, 220 premature babies (gestational age between 26 and 28 weeks) were enrolled from 12 neonatal intensive care units across Germany and randomly assigned to receive either standard treatment (112 babies; rescue intubation, then surfactant if needed during mechanical ventilation) or intervention (108 babies; early administration of surfactant during spontaneous breathing). Findings showed that on day 2 or 3 after birth, babies in the intervention group were significantly less likely to... http://www.rxpgnews.com

OGI and MaRS Innovation invest in peptide therapeutics Posted: 28 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Peptides and proteins have long been an attractive class of drug candidates because of their natural involvement in cellular processes and fewer potential side effects. Dr. Andrei Yudin, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, has developed a new and effective process that makes linear peptides circular, which allows these molecules, called macrocycles, to enter cells more effectively and increase their stability compared to linear peptides. Given their advantageous properties, macrocycles are emerging as a new class of molecules with potential in drug development. Dr. Yudin and his group's unique ability to efficiently cyclize a broad range of linear peptides provides the opportunity to build a diverse library of macrocycles as possible drug candidates. The Yudin group will build a targeted library of macrocyles and test it for important properties including cell permeability and stability. This compound library will enable researchers and pharmaceutical organizations to screen for biologically active structures against disease-relevant targets, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel therapeutic macrocycles for new drug development. Dr. Yudin will be working closely with pharmaceutical companies to build a library that will meet the needs of industry. This work has the potential to help change the face of drug development and expand the options available in the creation of new therapeutics, commented Dr. Mark Poznansky, President and CEO, OGI. Dr. Yudin and his group are clearly poised to be key influencers in this area. We are delighted to receive the investment from OGI as we move closer to commercialization, commented Dr. Yudin. Our initial endeavour to generate a library of compounds is based around fundamental properties of drug-like compounds. Our method of cyclizing peptides will allow us to grow our inventory of compounds to eventually compete on a global scale in this emerging area... http://www.rxpgnews.com

The mark of the beast: tradition or stress? Posted: 28 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) For a variety of reasons it is important to be able to identify farm animals, horses and small companion animals. Farm animals have generally been marked by branding with hot irons or by ear-tagging, while more recently dogs and cats are being uniquely identified by the implant of a microchip transponder. Horses have traditionally been branded but many countries are now moving towards the use of microchips. Branding is still permitted in Austria and Germany, although the German parliament is currently discussing following the lead of Denmark, which banned the practice in 2009. Similar discussions are taking place in the USA and Australia. The underlying belief is that the use of microchips is more humane but is this really the case? The group of Christine Aurich at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna) has now shown that the short-term differences are far less dramatic than animal rights activists may have us believe but that hot-iron branding has prolonged effects that may negatively affect the welfare of the foals. Previous work had suggested that branding was significantly more stressful than implanting a microchip but the studies were carried out in adult horses and no investigations had been undertaken in foals, although horses are generally marked as foals. In collaboration with other scientists at the Vetmeduni Vienna, Regina Erber in Aurich's group therefore examined the levels of stress hormones in the saliva of foals when they were branded or when a microchip was implanted in their necks. She also monitored the behaviour, the body temperature and the heart rates of the foals while they were marked and afterwards (changes in heart beat are associated with stress). The results showed that both methods were associated with similar acute levels of stress to the animals: cortisol concentrations in the saliva increased similarly and in each case there was a similar transient increase in... http://www.rxpgnews.com

NIH modifies 'VOICE' HIV prevention study in women Posted: 28 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an oral tablet or vaginal gel containing antiretroviral drugs can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the study cannot show that one of the study products, oral tenofovir, marketed under the trade name Viread, is effective. An independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) recommended that the Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic (VOICE) study discontinue evaluating tenofovir tablets because the study will be unable to show a difference in effect between tenofovir tablets and placebo tablets. The DSMB found no safety concerns with oral tenofovir, which is currently used to treat HIV, or with the other products that will continue to be investigated as the VOICE study proceeds. As the trial's primary sponsor, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, concurred with the DSMB's recommendation and will modify the study. Because the trial is continuing, the study data remain confidential and restricted to DSMB analysis. Given that data are unavailable, NIAID cannot speculate about why oral tenofovir did not show an effect among VOICE study participants. Begun in September 2009, the VOICE study, or MTN-003, involves more than 5,000 HIV-uninfected women in South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The trial was designed to test the safety, effectiveness and acceptability of two different HIV prevention strategies: an investigational microbicide gel containing tenofovir, and oral tablets containing tenofovir either alone or co-formulated with the drug emtricitabine. The tablets, known by the brand names Viread (tenofovir) and Truvada (tenofovir plus emtricitabine), have been taken daily in an approach known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. After its routine review of the study data on Sept. 16, the DSMB recommended that the investigators... http://www.rxpgnews.com

City College of New York-led research could lead to wearable sensors for the blind Posted: 28 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Wearable sensors that allow the blind to see with their hands, bodies or faces could be on the horizon, thanks to a $2 million award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to researchers at The City College of New York and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). The grant, through the NSF Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program, will fund a multidisciplinary team investigating devices for alternative perception and the principles underlying the human-machine interaction. Alternative perception emulates vision by combining electronics and input from the other senses. In addition to aiding the visually impaired, the researchers expect the findings to lend themselves to other applications, such as the development of intelligent robots. The grant is the first to result from a collaboration supported by CCNY's City SEED Grants program, an internal award of $50,000 in seed money to promote interdisciplinary faculty research partnerships. The program, initiated in the fall of 2010 by President Lisa S. Coico, requires grant recipients to include a plan to expand their projects and apply for further funding from other organizations. The initial collaboration involved Dr. Zhigang Zhu, professor of computer science and computer engineering in City College's Grove School of Engineering, the principal investigator on the NSF grant, Dr. Tony Ro, professor of psychology and director of the Program in Cognitive Neuroscience, and Dr. Ying Li Tian, professor of electrical engineering. The whole project needed something more interdisciplinary, so I looked for complementary research and found my neighbor Tony (Ro's laboratory) is right next door, said Professor Zhu. (This) was truly a good example of an interdisciplinary proposal and members with a complementary expertise -- not just similar overlapping expertise -- which is unusual, said CCNY Associate Provost for Research Larry Bank, who oversees the City SEED Grants... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Commonly used supplement may improve recovery from spinal cord injuries Posted: 28 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A commonly used supplement is likely to improve outcomes and recovery for individuals who sustain a spinal cord injury (SCI), according to research conducted by University of Kentucky neuroscientists. Sasha Rabchevsky, associate professor of physiology, Patrick Sullivan, associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology, and Samir Patel, senior research scientist -- all of the UK Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC) -- have discovered that in experimental models, severe spinal cord injury can be treated effectively by administering the supplement acetyl-L-carnitine or ALC, a derivative of essential amino acids that can generate metabolic energy, soon after injury. The researchers previously reported that following spinal cord injury, the mitochondria, or energy-generation components of cells, are overwhelmed by chemical stresses and lose the ability to produce energy in the form of the compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP). [1,2] This leads to cell death at the injury site and, ultimately, paralysis of the body below the injury level. Rabchevsky, Sullivan and Patel have recently demonstrated that ALC can preserve the vitality of mitochondria by acting as an alternative biofuel providing energy to cells, thus bypassing damaged mitochondrial enzymes and promoting neuroprotection. [3] Results soon to be published show that systemic administration of ALC soon after a paralyzing injury promoted the milestone recovery of the ability to walk. Unlike the animal control group given no ALC, which regained only slight hindlimb movements, the group treated with ALC recovered hindlimb movements more quickly and were able to stand on all four limbs and walk a month later. Critically, such remarkable recovery was correlated with significant tissue sparing at the injury site following administration of ALC. Because ALC can be administered orally, and is well-tolerated at relatively high doses in humans,... http://www.rxpgnews.com

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