2/25/14 Health News: Large Protein Stops Bacterias Ability To Cause Disease - Infections Harm Memory in Older Persons - Could Statins Be Used to Fight a Deadly Viral Infection?

Production of an Exceptionally Large Surface Protein Prevents Bacteria From Forming Clumps and Reduces Their Ability to Cause Disease

A genetic mechanism that controls the production of a large spike-like protein on the surface of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria alters the ability of the bacteria to form clumps and to cause disease, according to a new University of Iowa study. The new study is the first to link this genetic mechanism to the production of the giant surface protein and to clumping behavior in bacteria. It is also the first time that clumping behavior has been associated with endocarditis, a serious infection of heart valves that kills 20,000 Americans each year. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. "Our study suggests that clumping could be a target for therapy," says Horswill. "If we could find drugs that block clumping, I think they would be potentially really useful for blocking staph infections." Continue Reading

Could Infections Harm Memory in Older Adults?

Exposure to several types of common infections could be associated with memory problems, a new study suggests. The authors caution, however, that further research is needed to draw concrete conclusions. Scientists from the University of Miami and Columbia University in New York City were scheduled to present their research at an American Stroke Association meeting in San Diego. Continue Reading

Could Statins Be Used to Fight a Deadly Viral Infection?

Two Perelman School of Medicine microbiologists may have found a way to use statins, the well-known blockbuster cholesterol-lowering drugs, to fight the hantavirus, a mysterious and lethal microorganism that appeared suddenly in the US southwest over 20 years ago. That first outbreak led to the deaths of more than a dozen people, most of them in their prime. The last reported outbreak happened in Yellowstone Park in 2012. A PLOS Pathogens paper by Penn microbiologists Paul Bates, PhD, and Kenneth Briley, PhD, published reports that four proteins key to cholesterol synthesis and uptake are highjacked by the hantavirus to enter human host cells.Continue Reading

Great Britain Sainsbury's Pudding is Recalled

Sainsbury's Frozen Sticky Toffee Sponge Pudding is recalled due to possible contamination with small pieces of metal

Pack size: 450g

'Best before' date: December 2014

No other Sainsbury's products are known to be affected.

If you have bought the above product, please do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store where you bought it for a full refund.

Aspirin May Reduce Ovarian Cancer Risk

More than 20,000 women nationwide are expected to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014, and at least 14,000 will likely die from the disease. If caught early, ovarian cancer can often be successfully treated. However, its symptoms can mimic more common conditions, such as digestive and bladder disorders, so it’s usually not diagnosed until advanced stages. Late-stage ovarian cancer leaves women with limited treatment options and poor prognoses, making prevention particularly important.

Chronic or persistent inflammation is known to raise the risk for cancer and other diseases. Studies suggest that reducing inflammation with drugs such as aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) may reduce overall cancer risk. However, studies of whether these drugs influence ovarian cancer risk have been inconclusive.

A team led by Drs. Britton Trabert and Nicolas Wentzensen of NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) investigated associations between ovarian cancer and aspirin, non-aspirin NSAIDs, or acetaminophen use. The researchers analyzed data from 12 large studies that together included nearly 8,000 women with ovarian cancer and 12,000 without.

Overall, 18% of the women reported using aspirin regularly (at least once per week), 24% used non-aspirin NSAIDs regularly, and 16% used acetaminophen. Women who reported daily aspirin use had a 20% lower risk of ovarian cancer than those who used aspirin less than once per week. Results for non-aspirin NSAID use, which include a wide variety of drugs, were less clear. The scientists observed a 10% lower ovarian cancer risk among women who used NSAIDs at least once per week compared with those who used NSAIDs less frequently.  However, the finding was not statistically significant—it may be due to chance. Acetaminophen, which relieves pain but doesn’t reduce inflammation, wasn’t associated with reduced ovarian cancer risk.

These findings add ovarian cancer to a growing list of cancers that might be prevented by aspirin use. “Our study suggests that aspirin regimens, proven to protect against heart attack, may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer as well,” Trabert says. “However intriguing our results are, they should not influence current clinical practice. Additional studies are needed to explore the delicate balance of risk-benefit for this potential chemopreventive agent, as well as studies to identify the mechanism by which aspirin may reduce ovarian cancer risk.”

The scientists caution that, despite the potential benefits of a daily aspirin regimen, it should only be undertaken with a doctor’s approval. Side effects of daily aspirin use include gastrointestinal bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke.

Shredded Cheese Products Due to Listeria

Castle Cheese Inc. is recalling Sun Valley and Castle brand shredded cheese products from the marketplace due to possible Listeria contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.

Recalled products

Brand Name	Common Name	Size	Code(s) on Product	UPC
Packed for Sun Valley Fresh Foods	Shredded Dairy Product made with Parmesan	80 g	Before 15JA28	None
Castle Brand	Shredded Dairy Product made with Cheddar Cheese	2.27 kg	Best Before 14JL28 Sold at: The Grocery People 945 Laval Crescent Kamloops, BC	87454900060012

What you should do

Check to see if you have recalled products in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Although infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, the infection can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

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Youth Born With HIV May Have Higher Heart Disease Risk

Researchers advise reducing risk through diet, exercise, not smoking

Nearly half of adolescents who have had HIV since birth may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease — including diet, exercise, not smoking — later in life, according to a National Institutes of Health network study.

The findings are the latest results from the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS), a multi-site, long-term follow-up study of children and youth who have had HIV since birth.

The results are based on clinical assessments of 165 teens age 15 or older with HIV, who were born to mothers with HIV and who have been treated with anti-HIV medications since birth.

The researchers estimated each study participant’s overall cardiovascular risk using a score based on measures of cholesterol levels, blood sugar level, smoking, blood pressure, and weight. The combined score has been shown to predict the presence of buildup and thickening in the major arteries to the heart and abdomen, known to increase the risk for conditions such as heart attack and stroke.

According to the study authors, previous studies have found that the severity of HIV infection and a history of taking specific HIV drugs are linked to cardiovascular disease in adults. The current study is the first to evaluate overall risk for cardiovascular disease in teens with HIV infection since birth.

“Our results show that a large proportion of teens who have had HIV their whole lives appear to be at significant risk for cardiovascular disease later in life,” said co-author George Siberry, M.D., “These results indicate that individuals who have had HIV since birth should be monitored carefully by their healthcare providers for signs of cardiovascular disease.”

To calculate a participant’s cardiovascular disease risk, the researchers used a scoring system called the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth, or PDAY. The PDAY score is calculated on the basis of a person’s cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, weight, and other factors known to influence risk of cardiovascular disease. The score estimates the likelihood that a person has a build-up of artery clogging plaque in the coronary arteries or in the abdominal aorta (the main artery in the abdomen). Researchers consider a PDAY score of 1 to indicate an 18 percent or 24 percent greater chance of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries or abdominal aorta respectively, compared to a score of zero, thought to indicate the chances for cardiovascular disease among those of the same age and sex with no known risk factors.

Of participants in this study of adolescents with HIV infection since birth, 48 percent had a score of 1 or higher for the coronary artery measure. For the abdominal aorta measure, 24 percent scored 1 or above. The researchers also evaluated changes in PDAY scores over a four-year time period and did not observe any major trends.

The study authors noted that PDAY scores of 1 or higher were primarily attributable to high cholesterol levels. Other risk factors, such as smoking and high blood pressure, that are more common in older adults, were uncommon in these young participants. Participants who were treated with the HIV drug class known as protease inhibitors were more likely to have higher PDAY scores. Teens with a history of AIDS were also more likely to have higher PDAY scores. This study only looked at HIV-specific factors influencing cardiovascular risk in this group. It did not look at other factors such as diet, physical activity, or genetics. The study authors called for more research to understand all the potential factors that could influence cardiovascular risk in this group.

“It’s too soon to recommend changing treatment regimens on the basis of our findings,” Dr. Patel said. “Until we can learn more, we can best serve adolescents who have HIV by monitoring their risk factors for heart disease carefully and urging them to adopt other measures that have been found to reduce the risk of heart disease in the general population: exercising, maintaining a healthy diet, and not smoking.

Information on nutrition and healthy eating is available from the NIH’s National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/tools-resources/nutrition.htm.

2/24/14 Health News: Emerging Polio-like Disease - New Kind of Transplant Bank - Study Casts Doubts on Value of Mammograms - Human Lung Made in Lab

US Doctors Are Warning of an Emerging Polio-like Disease

US doctors are warning of an emerging polio-like disease in California where up to 20 people have been infected.A meeting of the American Academy of Neurology heard that some patients had developed paralysis in all four limbs, which had not improved with treatment Continue Reading

A New Kind of Transplant Bank

Nearly a year ago, Mark Smith, a 27-year-old doctoral candidate, and three colleagues launched OpenBiome, the nation’s first human stool bank. Its mission: to provide doctors with safe, inexpensive fecal material from screened donors to treat patients with Clostridium difficile, a gastrointestinal infection that kills at least 14,000 Americans a year. “People are dying, and it’s crazy because we know what the solution is,” Mr. Smith said. “People are doing fecal transplants in their basements and may not be doing any of the right screening or sterile preparation. We need an intermediate solution until there are commercial products on the market.” But where to get healthy donor stool?  For doctors, it’s a tedious, time-consuming process, and some patients turn awkwardly to relatives or friends. Since September, OpenBiome has delivered more than 135 frozen, ready-to-use preparations to 13 hospitals. The nonprofit project fields dozens of requests from doctors, hospitals and patients every week. (The preparations are not sent directly to patients.) .Continue Reading

Vast Study Casts Doubts on Value of Mammograms

One of the largest and most meticulous studies of mammography ever done, involving 90,000 women and lasting a quarter-century, has added powerful new doubts about the value of the screening test for women of any age. It found that the death rates from breast cancer and from all causes were the same in women who got mammograms and those who did not.  And the screening had harms: One in five cancers found with mammography and treated was not a threat to the woman’s health and did not need treatment such as chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.Continue Reading

Human Lung Made in Lab for First Time

For the first time, scientists have created human lungs in a lab -- an exciting step forward in regenerative medicine, but an advance that likely won't help patients for many years. "It's so darn cool," said Joan Nichols, a researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch. "It's been science fiction and we're moving into science fact." If the lungs work -- and that's a big if -- they could help the more than 1,600 people awaiting a lung transplant. Lungs are one of many body parts being manufactured in the lab -- some parts, such as tracheas and livers, are even further along.Continue Reading

2/23/14 Health News RESTAURANT CUSTOMERS EXPOSED TO HEPATITIS A - Food Safety Rules Rile Organic Farmers - Liquid Biopsy for Ovarian Cancer

SAN FRANCISCO FOODIES, LET THE PROCESS WORK

Congressmen, and the reporters who cover them, love to be in the know, and when they do not have that insider information they feel a bit weak and vulnerable – I get it.  I also get that the San Francisco foodie community is upset that they are having trouble getting its fix of grass-fed, organic... Continue Reading

HILTON HEAD RESTAURANT CUSTOMERS EXPOSED TO HEPATITIS A

According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), customers and staff of Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks in Hilton Head Island who were present at the restaurant on the evening of February 15, 2014, are encouraged to contact their primary care provider to receive treatment for possible exposure to the... Continue Reading

Planned food safety rules rile organic farmers

Jim Crawford was rushing to load crates of freshly picked organic tomatoes onto trucks heading for an urban farmers market when he noticed the federal agent. A tense conversation followed as the visitor to his farm — an inspector from … Continue reading

Liquid Biopsy Device Monitor Treatment of Ovarian Cancer Patients and Only Costs $1

The ATC Chip identifies ovarian cancer cells floating in ascites( an accumulation of fluid in the stomach).and may be useful for diagnosing other types of malignancies that involve ascites, like pancreatic cancer.

Pathologists will be interested to learn that researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital are developing a “liquid biopsy” technology specifically to enable point-of-care monitoring of the progress of patients undergoing treatment for certain types of cancers. The goal is to develop a method that community hospitals can use to monitor treatment of ovarian cancer patients without the need for expensive medical laboratory equipment. Researchers estimate that their ‘liquid biopsy’ technology could cost as little as $1 per test when eventually cleared for use in clinical settings. The research team created a microchip device—called the ATC chip—that simplifies monitoring of a patient’s response to treatment for ovarian cancer and certain other malignancies. The device captures, isolates, and identifies tumor cells from ascites (ATCs). Continue Reading