No clear evidence of a decrease in child maltreatment across 6 countries despite decades of policies designed to achieve this

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• No clear evidence of a decrease in child maltreatment across 6 countries despite decades of policies designed to achieve this
• New study supports claim that breast screening may be causing more harm than good
• Novel approach to treating breast cancer shows great promise
• Better CMT outcome measurement is Wayne State University physician's goal
• Tropical sea temperatures influence melting in Antarctica
• Poorly contracting uterus in diabetic women increases risk of caesarean birth
• Stem cell research in the UK reaches significant milestone
• New '3-D' transistors promising future chips, lighter laptops
• Hastings Center, Kent Place School embark on pioneering high school bioethics program
• $3 million awarded for research and training

No clear evidence of a decrease in child maltreatment across 6 countries despite decades of policies designed to achieve this Posted: 08 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A Review of child maltreatment trends and policies across six countries/states (England, USA, Sweden, New Zealand, Western Australia [Australia], and Manitoba [Canada]) shows that there is no clear evidence of a decrease in child maltreatment across these nations, despite decades of polices designed to achieve such a reduction. The Review is written by Professor Ruth Gilbert, UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK, and colleagues across these six nations. The authors found that, after the mid-1990s, the rates of violent deaths and maltreatment-related injuries remained stable in most settings. Only in Sweden and Manitoba did decreases in violent deaths coincide with decreases in admissions to hospital related to injury related to maltreatment. Officially-recognised physical abuse or neglect mostly remained stable across the six nations, but other indicators of agency notification, investigation, or placement in out-of-home care increased, particularly in infants. Lower levels of maltreatment indices in Sweden than in the USA are, say the authors, consistent with lower rates of child poverty, parental risk factors, and policies providing higher levels of universal support for parenting in Sweden. A snapshot of the maltreatment-related data from 2004-6 showed that violent deaths in the USA were more than five times higher in the USA than in Australia or Sweden, which had the lowest rates. However the authors noted little variation between countries in the rate of maltreatment-related injury admissions and officially-recognised physical abuse. Child protection investigations were much more common in the USA (1 in every 20 children) and New Zealand (1 in 25) children than in Western Australia (1 in 170). Placement in out-of-home care was also ten times higher in Manitoba than in Sweden or Manitoba, with 3% of infants placed outside of their homes each year.... http://www.rxpgnews.com

New study supports claim that breast screening may be causing more harm than good Posted: 08 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A new study published on bmj.com today supports the claim that the introduction of breast cancer screening in the UK may have caused more harm than good. Harms included false positives (abnormal results that turn out to be normal) and overtreatment (treatment of harmless cancers that would never have caused symptoms or death during a patient's lifetime). This may be because the cancer grows so slowly that the patient dies of other causes before it produces symptoms, or the cancer remains dormant or regresses. It shows that the harms of screening largely offset the benefits up to 10 years, after which the benefits accumulate, but by much less than predicted when screening was first started. The Forrest report in 1986, which led to the introduction of breast cancer screening in the UK, estimated the number of screened and unscreened women surviving each year over a 15-year period. Costs and benefits were measured in quality adjusted life years or QALYs (a combined measure of quantity and quality of life) but it omitted harms. It suggested that screening would reduce the death rate from breast cancer by almost one third with few harms and at low cost. Since the Forrest report, the harms of breast cancer screening have been acknowledged. So, researchers at the University of Southampton set out to update the report's survival estimates by combining the benefits and harms of screening in one single measure. The results are based on 100,000 women aged 50 and over surviving by year up to 20 years after entry to the screening programme. Inclusion of false positives and unnecessary surgery reduced the benefits of screening by about half. The best estimates generated negative net QALYs for up to eight years after screening and minimal gains after 10 years. After 20 years, net QALYs accumulate, but by much less than predicted by the Forrest report. The authors say more research is needed on the extent of unnecessary treatment... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Novel approach to treating breast cancer shows great promise Posted: 07 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) MAYWOOD, Il. -- In a novel therapeutic approach to treating breast cancer, Loyola University Medical Center researchers are reporting positive results from a clinical trial of a drug that targets tumor stem cells. Existing cancer drugs are effective in killing mature cancer cells. But a handful of cancer stem cells are resistant to such drugs. They survive and go on to develop into new tumor cells. A pilot study at Loyola found that an experimental drug known as a notch inhibitor appears to block this process by turning off key genes. Kathy Albain, MD, who led the study, presented findings Dec. 7 during the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Albain collaborated with scientists from Loyola, University of Mississippi Cancer Center, Baylor Breast Center and Merck Oncology. Our results suggest a potential role that notch inhibitors could play in optimizing existing therapies and in overcoming resistance to cancer drugs, Albain said. The so-called notch protein promotes tumor growth and survival. The protein is present on the surface of cancer stem cells. The protein latches on to other cells, and the resulting molecular handshake activates various genes in the stem cells. Activating these genes, in effect, makes the stem cells resistant to common cancer drugs. The study included 20 patients who finished all therapy. The women all had early-stage, estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer. Prior to surgery, the patients received one of two commonly used drugs, tamoxifen or letrozole. These drugs work by blocking estrogen stimulation of breast cancer cells. In addition to tamoxifen or letrozole, patients also received the experimental notch-inhibitor drug, MK-0752. Following treatment with the notch inhibitor, patients underwent biopsies to provide tumor specimens. Researchers found that the drug turned off the key genes that in effect would have kept the tumor stem cells resistant to conventional drugs. The notch... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Better CMT outcome measurement is Wayne State University physician's goal Posted: 07 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A Wayne State University physician is seeking a better way to determine the effectiveness of treatments for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), or inherited sensory-motor neuropathy, a disease that afflicts one in 2,500 people. Sindhu Ramchandren, M.D., assistant professor of neurology in WSU's School of Medicine, believes the current lack of effective treatments for CMT may be because researchers are measuring the wrong outcomes. With a four-year, $661,000 Mentored Career Development Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health, she is working to develop an outcome measurement that accurately reflects CMT progression in children. CMT refers to a heterozygous group of diseases caused by mutations in more than 50 genes. One of the most common genetic nerve diseases, it affects more than 120,000 Americans and causes progressive muscle weakness, painful foot deformities and walking difficulty. As the disease progresses, weakness and muscle atrophy occur in the hands, resulting in difficulty with fine motor skills. Symptoms vary from patient to patient, with pain ranging from mild to severe. Some rely on foot or leg braces or other orthopedic devices to maintain mobility. The identification of disease-causing genes has made the development of rational therapy a possibility in CMT. However, the lack of outcome measures to assess treatment effects in clinical trials is currently limiting therapeutic advances for CMT. One of the most recent trials spanned several countries and involved ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, after animal models showed dramatic improvement in functioning. That gave a lot of hope to a lot of people, Ramchandren said. One criticism of that group of trials is that they were rushed and used different outcome measures, but she said the rush was necessary because of the concern that CMT patients might medicate themselves with vitamin C in large... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Tropical sea temperatures influence melting in Antarctica Posted: 06 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Accelerated melting of two fast-moving outlet glaciers that drain Antarctic ice into the Amundsen Sea Embayment is likely the result, in part, of an increase in sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, according to new University of Washington research. Higher-than-normal sea-level pressure north of the Amundsen Sea sets up westerly winds that push surface water away from the glaciers and allow warmer deep water to rise to the surface under the edges of the glaciers, said Eric Steig, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences. This part of Antarctica is affected by what's happening on the rest of the planet, in particular the tropical Pacific, he said. The research involves the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, two of the five largest glaciers in Antarctica. Those two glaciers are important because they drain a large portion of the ice sheet. As they melt from below, they also gain speed, draining the ice sheet faster and contributing to sea level rise. Eventually that could lead to global sea level rise of as much as 6 feet, though that would take hundreds to thousands of years, Steig said. NASA scientists recently documented that a section of the Pine Island Glacier the size of New York City had begun breaking off into a huge iceberg. Steig noted that such an event is normal and scientists were fortunate to be on hand to record it on film. Neither that event nor the new UW findings clearly link thinning Antarctic ice to human causes. But Steig's research shows that unusual winds in this area are linked to changes far away, in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Warmer-than-usual sea-surface temperatures, especially in the central tropics, lead to changes in atmospheric circulation that influence conditions near the Antarctic coast line. Recent decades have been exceptionally warm in the tropics, he said, and to whatever extent unusual conditions in the tropical Pacific can be... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Poorly contracting uterus in diabetic women increases risk of caesarean birth Posted: 06 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Researchers at the University of Liverpool have found that the strength of uterine contractions in diabetic pregnant women is significantly weaker than in non-diabetic women, increasing the risk of emergency caesarean birth. In the past 10 years the prevalence of births complicated by diabetes has increased by approximately 50%. There has, however, been very little research undertaken to understand why only a quarter will have a normal vaginal delivery. Scientists at the University, working with the Liverpool Women's Hospital, studied more than 100 biopsies of the uterus from pregnant women with and without diabetes. They found that contractions in women who had the disease were not as strong as those in non-diabetic women. To understand why this happens the team looked at possible differences in the changes in calcium within the muscle cells, as this is an essential component of uterine contractions. Calcium levels in the uterus should rise to allow the muscle to contract effectively. Researchers found, however, that in women with diabetes, calcium levels are significantly reduced. Further investigation revealed that the channels in the cell membrane, that are necessary for calcium to enter the cells, were also reduced. This suggests why the uterus may not contract as strongly as it should in women with diabetes. Uterus tissue in diabetic women also failed to reach the same levels of contractility as in non-diabetic women when stimulated with the drug oxytocin, a commonly used treatment for women experiencing difficult births. The research suggests why so many pregnancies in diabetic women result in an emergency caesarean. Professor Sue Wray, from the University's Institute of Translational Medicine, said: In the UK approximately 35,000 pregnant women per year have diabetes and some women develop the condition during pregnancy, a condition called gestational diabetes. We know that more than 60% of these women will... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Stem cell research in the UK reaches significant milestone Posted: 06 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Stem cell scientists at King's College London will today (Tuesday 6 December) announce they have submitted to the UK Stem Cell Bank (UKSCB) their first clinical grade human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines that are free from animal-derived products, known as 'xeno-free' stem cells. The cells, which have the potential to become the 'gold standard' lines for developing new stem cell-based therapies, will be the first deposited in the UKSCB based at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, under arrangements that will ensure they are freely accessible to the wider research community. The expectation is that these cells will be grown and processed by the UKSCB to provide stem cell stocks that will be used for clinical research and treatment to benefit patients. Researchers say this is a significant milestone; this first batch of cells is the culmination of nearly ten years of research funded strategically by the Medical Research Council (MRC) that will keep the UK at the forefront of regenerative medicine. Embryonic stem cells can be grown in the laboratory indefinitely while retaining their capacity to develop into specialised cell types, such as nerve or heart muscle cells, which can then be used in clinical trials. More than 20 'research grade' stem cell lines have been provided by King's to the UKSCB since it derived the first research grade hES cell lines in the UK in 2003, but the challenge to date has been to establish appropriate derivation and growing conditions for the cells without the presence of any animal products, such as porcine enzymes, bovine serum or mouse feeder layers. Clinical use of hES cells is already being explored in a number of phase 1 safety trials, such as spinal cord injury and macular degeneration. However, the hES cell lines used in these trials were reclassified from 'research grade' to 'clinical grade' for specified short-term clinical studies in selected disease states, as a... http://www.rxpgnews.com

New '3-D' transistors promising future chips, lighter laptops Posted: 06 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - Researchers from Purdue and Harvard universities have created a new type of transistor made from a material that could replace silicon and have a 3-D structure instead of conventional flat computer chips. The approach could enable engineers to build faster, more compact and efficient integrated circuits and lighter laptops that generate less heat than today's. The transistors contain tiny nanowires made not of silicon, like conventional transistors, but from a material called indium-gallium-arsenide. The device was created using a so-called top-down method, which is akin to industrial processes to precisely etch and position components in transistors. Because the approach is compatible with conventional manufacturing processes, it is promising for adoption by industry, said Peide Peter Ye, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue. A new generation of silicon computer chips, due to debut in 2012, will contain transistors having a vertical structure instead of a conventional flat design. However, because silicon has a limited electron mobility - how fast electrons flow - other materials will likely be needed soon to continue advancing transistors with this 3-D approach, Ye said. Indium-gallium-arsenide is among several promising semiconductors being studied to replace silicon. Such semiconductors are called III-V materials because they combine elements from the third and fifth groups of the periodic table. Industry and academia are racing to develop transistors from the III-V materials, Ye said. Here, we have made the world's first 3-D gate-all-around transistor on much higher-mobility material than silicon, the indium-gallium-arsenide. Findings will be detailed in a paper to be presented during the International Electron Devices Meeting on December 5-7 in Washington, DC. The work is led by Purdue doctoral student Jiangjiang Gu; Harvard doctoral student Yiqun Liu; Roy Gordon, Harvard's... http://www.rxpgnews.com

Hastings Center, Kent Place School embark on pioneering high school bioethics program Posted: 06 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Garrison, NY -- The Hastings Center and the Ethics Institute at Kent Place School are joining forces on a pilot project in which a group of high school students will engage in a dynamic, in-depth research and exploration of the use of medicine for human enhancement, a major topic in bioethics. Selected students from Kent Place School, an independent girls school in Summit, N.J., will research this controversial topic using a modified version of The Hastings Center's research methodology, which involves bringing together a diverse group of people with a range of perspectives for a careful and respectful investigation of a multifaceted dilemma in bioethics. My colleagues and I are regularly amazed by how much can be learned about a difficult bioethics issue by inviting people with a multitude of perspectives to the table to engage in respectful and rigorous discussion and debate, says Josephine Johnston, a codirector of the project and a research scholar at The Hastings Center. We are excited to work with students and teachers from Kent Place School in modifying our basic approach for the high school setting. For the pilot project, Kent Place students will research cases related to human enhancement under the mentorship of Hastings Center scholars. Students will present and discuss topics such as cosmetic surgery and performance-enhancing drugs. The results of the project will be presented to parents and community members at a public forum and published on a public Web site. Without a doubt, the Hastings Center-Kent Place School project is an exciting opportunity for members of our entire school community, says Karen Rezach, a codirector of the project and director of both the Ethics Institute and of the Middle School at Kent Place. Our students will be afforded the chance to work one-on-one with some of the finest bioethical research scholars in the world, further develop their ability to articulate a position on a complex... http://www.rxpgnews.com

$3 million awarded for research and training Posted: 06 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) COLUMBIA, Mo. -- For years, scientists have used neutron scattering techniques to discover the molecular properties of materials. Technologies that have been developed using neutron scattering include new drugs, high-strength metals and cement, electronic and magnetic devices, and hydrogen storage materials. However, the United States is experiencing a shortage of scientists trained in these nuclear techniques. In an effort to combat the shortage, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $3 million grant to the University of Missouri to train current and future scientists and thus, help build a scientific foundation for future discoveries. MU's Research Reactor (MURR) is a unique facility on MU's campus that gives us a fantastic opportunity for training scientists to use the current neutron scattering techniques, said Haskell Taub, a professor of physics in the College of Arts and Science and director of the training program. In our program, we'll focus on three areas of research and interdisciplinary study: the molecular structure and dynamics of biological materials; the characterization of materials used for electronic devices, such as lasers and computers; and the structure of nanoscale materials, such as gold nanoparticles that have many uses including cancer treatments. Over the last several decades, the United States has invested nearly $2 billion for new facilities that have the capability to conduct neutron scattering experiments, but very few individuals are qualified to use the facilities, Taub said. Graduate students who are working toward their doctorates will have the opportunity to apply for the training program. Taub hopes to train up to 20 students during the five year program, which will provide $30,000 annual stipend plus tuition and fees. The project will use problem-based learning in the courses, including hands-on training at MURR, and follow the guidelines of Mizzou's writing intensive courses.... http://www.rxpgnews.com

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