Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Looking Criminal Could Get You Arrested
Weak eye-witnesses pick the most criminal looking faces in identity parades. This is one of the findings of Heather Flowe and colleagues from the University of Leicester who will present their research at the British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology Annual Conference today, Wednesday 24th June 2009. The conference is being held the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.

Research Scientists Discover How Flu Damages Lung Tissue
A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Southern Research Institute . Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.
News of the day
Washington, D.C., Church Addresses HIV Stigma, Teaches Safe Sex To Black, Gay Congregation
The Washington Post on Sunday featured Washington D.C.,-based Inner Light Ministries, a 16-year-old black community church with about 100 members, where many go "to share their experience of being black and gay, living and loving in a city where HIV and AIDS lurk in epidemic proportions. ò€¦" Some members of the congregation, as well as four of its leaders including Bishop Rainey Cheeks are HIV-positive. Cheeks teaches safe sex as a part of his sermons and the church provides condoms to its members. The article also discusses the stigma associated with HIV among gay black men. "Some men are reluctant to reveal their health status to possible partners for fear of being rejected," according to the Post. "That attitude, Cheeks said, is part of why gay black men in the District are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. And why he has to keep preaching the message of safe sex," the article states (Fears, 7/26).
Sexual Health

Delivering Vaccine Through The Skin Could Be The Future For The Prevention Of Ear Infections

An experimental vaccine applied to the surface of the skin appears to protect against certain types of ear infections. Scientists from the Research Institute at Nationwide Children"s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, reported their findings at the 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Philadelphia. "Our data are the first to show that transcutaneous immunization is an effective way to prevent experimental ear infections and lays the foundation for an effective, yet simple, inexpensive - and potentially transformative - way to deliver vaccines," says Laura Novotny, one of the study researchers. Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is one of the three main bacterial causes of otitis media (OM), an infection or inflammation of the middle ear. OM is one of the most significant health problems for children in the United States, costing approximately $5 billion annually. It is estimated that 83% of all children will experience at least one ear infection prior to 3 years of age. Currently infections are managed with antibiotics; however, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms is of concern. Surgery to insert tubes through the tympanic membrane relieves painful symptoms, but the procedure is invasive and requires the child to be under general anesthesia. Thus, it is necessary to develop different ways to treat or preferably prevent this disease. "We have designed several vaccine candidates which target proteins on the outer surface of this bacterium. Previous work in our lab showed that after immunization by injection, each of the three vaccine candidates prevented experimental ear infections caused by NTHi. In this study, we now wanted to test an alternative but potentially equally effective method to deliver a vaccine," says Novotny. The method, known as transcutaneous immunization, involved placing a droplet of each vaccine onto the ear and rubbing it into the skin. In this study, four groups of chinchillas were immunized with one of the three vaccine candidates. A fourth group received a placebo. Each vaccine was placed on the ears of chinchillas once a week for three weeks. All animals were then inoculated with NTHi through the nose and directly into the middle ears. Animals that received the vaccines were able to very rapidly reduce, or completely eliminate NTHi from the nose and ears, but animals that received a placebo did not. This study was performed by Laura A. Novotny of Dr. Lauren O. Bakaletz"s laboratory in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children"s Hospital in Columbus, OH and in collaboration with Dr. John D. Clements, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. Research was made possible by funding from the NIDCD/NIH R01 03915 & 007464. Data were presented at the 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Philadelphia, PA on May 21, 2009. Jim Sliwa American Society for Microbiology


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009