Mummies that have recently been unearthed in South Korea may provide clues on how to combat hepatitis B, according to Prof. Mark Spigelman of the Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
This is the first time that samples of hepatitis B have ever been found on a mummified body. When the virus was discovered in the liver of a 500 year old child, researchers at Dankook University and Seoul National University invited Hebrew University Prof Spigelman to South Korea to verify the findings.read more
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Back To School Countdown... Immunisation
Immunising a child means that they get a series of vaccines which protects them from contracting infectious diseases.
Paediatrician Dr Lisa Franklin noted that it is important to ensure that the children get a medical exam before they start school to ensure that their health is intact.
"Make sure the children are up to date with all their immunisations and get a routine physical to see if there are any limitations as to what the child can do," she said, adding that some students who have missed the required vaccines have to get them before they start high school.
The vaccines are normally administered in health centres and clinics across island free of cost, however, you have to pay a fee if you go to a private physician.read more
Paediatrician Dr Lisa Franklin noted that it is important to ensure that the children get a medical exam before they start school to ensure that their health is intact.
"Make sure the children are up to date with all their immunisations and get a routine physical to see if there are any limitations as to what the child can do," she said, adding that some students who have missed the required vaccines have to get them before they start high school.
The vaccines are normally administered in health centres and clinics across island free of cost, however, you have to pay a fee if you go to a private physician.read more
Scientists Are Working on a Potential Liver Cancer Detection Tool
By examining blood concentrations in Chinese patients with cirrhosis of the liver due to a hepatitis B virus infection, the investigators found that the quantities of two particular sugar groups that appear in the blood proteins varied according to the stage of the disease. Furthermore, these values correlated with the size of the tumor. The ratio of these values forms the basis of the new blood test.
The researchers report that they were able to make the correct diagnosis in 70% of the cases. This success rate equals that of the AFP tumor marker currently being used in the clinic. The AFP marker is reportedly the only one for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The scientists say that AFP has low specificity and is frequently inadequate because of false-positive results.
read more
The researchers report that they were able to make the correct diagnosis in 70% of the cases. This success rate equals that of the AFP tumor marker currently being used in the clinic. The AFP marker is reportedly the only one for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The scientists say that AFP has low specificity and is frequently inadequate because of false-positive results.
read more
Florida Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Dr. Death
On October 11, 2007 Dr. Jack Kevorkian will speak at the University of Florida. His resume includes at least 130 assisted suicides, several notable writings, and an eight year stint in prison (out of the 10-25 years sentenced for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk). Kevorkian accepted my school's offer by ACCENT, which is the largest student-run speaker's bureau in the nation, as well as a Student Government agency.
Assuming he is granted special permission from his parole officer to leave Michigan, Dr. Kevorkian will be greeted here in Gainesville, Florida with open arms from many students and professors. It should be one of only a few school appearances by him, due to his fragile health (thankfully no other doctors have yet proposed the euthanasia of him!). Kevorkian is terminally ill with Hepatitis C and diabetes, stoking rumors of his own imminent death. read more
Learn necessary vaccines for adults, kids
Special to the Herald - Chippewa County Department of Public Health wants the public to know that August 2007 is known as National Immunization Awareness Month. Immunization is not just kids stuff. Immunizations are important through the years of our lives.
Why get immunized? We need to keep immunizing until disease is eliminated. Also, to protect our children and our future grandchildren and their children. Parents are constantly concerned about health and safety of their children and take many steps to protect them.
Infants and Toddlers (from birth to age 6) can be vaccinated to prevent diseases such as: diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis A and B, HIB and chickenpox.read more
Why get immunized? We need to keep immunizing until disease is eliminated. Also, to protect our children and our future grandchildren and their children. Parents are constantly concerned about health and safety of their children and take many steps to protect them.
Infants and Toddlers (from birth to age 6) can be vaccinated to prevent diseases such as: diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella, polio, hepatitis A and B, HIB and chickenpox.read more
Health fears rise
Health experts are voicing fears of disease outbreaks, and the main hospital in the state capital Patna reported scores of patients turning up with symptoms of waterborne viral diseases such as hepatitis. PATNA, India: India battled on Tuesday to bring food and drinking water to millions of flood victims as South Asia抯 swollen rivers recede leaving a death toll of around 1,900 and a trail of destruction and fears of epidemics.
The United Nations and charity Oxfam said millions of dollars in aid were needed to get relief supplies to some of the 28 million people displaced across India, Bangladesh and Nepal by the worst monsoon-triggered flooding in decades. In India抯 Bihar state, more than 12 million people have seen their homes and farmland partially or totally submerged after the worst flooding in 30 years.read more
The United Nations and charity Oxfam said millions of dollars in aid were needed to get relief supplies to some of the 28 million people displaced across India, Bangladesh and Nepal by the worst monsoon-triggered flooding in decades. In India抯 Bihar state, more than 12 million people have seen their homes and farmland partially or totally submerged after the worst flooding in 30 years.read more
Cancer cases spiralling - modern living to blame
Binge drinking, reckless sunbathing and overeating are fuelling a massive rise in cancer, experts warn.Experts predict the mesothelioma epidemic will peak between 2010 and 2015 before declining rapidly.
There was a similar rise - of 33.4 per cent - in liver cancer. This is partially linked to alcohol intake and also to the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses.
Breast cancer rates went up by 11 per cent with obesity raising the risk of the disease in post-menopausal women by 40 per cent.
And lung cancer rates are continuing to decrease, especially in men, as more and more smokers kick the habit.read more
Sector Wrap: Biotechnology
NEW YORK - A Cowen and Co. analyst initiated or revised coverage on several biotechnology stocks Wednesday.
Analyst Rachel McMinn downgraded Exton, Pa.-based Viropharma Inc. to "Neutral" from "Outperform", citing the company's pipeline. Its gastrointestinal tract infection treatment Vancocin could face generic competition as early as 2008, she said, and investors are taking a wait-and-see approach on results from the company's developing hepatitis C treatment.
read more
Analyst Rachel McMinn downgraded Exton, Pa.-based Viropharma Inc. to "Neutral" from "Outperform", citing the company's pipeline. Its gastrointestinal tract infection treatment Vancocin could face generic competition as early as 2008, she said, and investors are taking a wait-and-see approach on results from the company's developing hepatitis C treatment.
read more
Scientists develop new test for liver cancer
LONDON (Reuters) - A simple blood test can detect early stage liver cancer and more accurately diagnose a disease that is a major killer in Asia and Africa, researchers said on Wednesday.
Liver cancer kills nearly 700,000 people each year, mainly in Africa and Asia which have a high prevalence of hepatitis infections that cause the disease.
In the study, published in the journal Hepatology, the researchers developed a blood test to detect changes in sugars attached to proteins that occur in liver cancer, Chen said.
The researchers also showed they could determine the size of the tumor based on the amount of two particular sugar groups that appeared in the proteins, she said.
Used with the AFP test, the new method was more accurate and can better detect liver cancer and save lives by getting patients earlier treatment, she added.
read more
Liver cancer kills nearly 700,000 people each year, mainly in Africa and Asia which have a high prevalence of hepatitis infections that cause the disease.
In the study, published in the journal Hepatology, the researchers developed a blood test to detect changes in sugars attached to proteins that occur in liver cancer, Chen said.
The researchers also showed they could determine the size of the tumor based on the amount of two particular sugar groups that appeared in the proteins, she said.
Used with the AFP test, the new method was more accurate and can better detect liver cancer and save lives by getting patients earlier treatment, she added.
read more
Case 24-2007 — A 20-Year-Old Pregnant Woman with Altered Mental Status
A 20-year-old pregnant woman was admitted to this hospital at 26 weeks of gestation because of dizziness, confusion, and difficulty walking.
Ten weeks before admission, the patient had a positive result on a home pregnancy test and presented to a neighborhood health center for prenatal screening. Tests for sickle cell trait, syphilis, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B and C virus antibodies were negative. Serologic tests for varicella–zoster virus and rubella IgG were positive. Two weeks later, an endocervical specimen was positive for Chlamydia trachomatis infection and negative for gonorrhea. The patient missed follow-up appointments, and treatment with . . .
read more
Ten weeks before admission, the patient had a positive result on a home pregnancy test and presented to a neighborhood health center for prenatal screening. Tests for sickle cell trait, syphilis, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B and C virus antibodies were negative. Serologic tests for varicella–zoster virus and rubella IgG were positive. Two weeks later, an endocervical specimen was positive for Chlamydia trachomatis infection and negative for gonorrhea. The patient missed follow-up appointments, and treatment with . . .
read more
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