New Hope For HIV-1 Eradication From ‘Shock And Kill’ Research

Latent HIV genes can be ‘smoked out’ of human cells. The so-called ‘shock and kill’ technique, described in a preclinical study in BioMed Central’s open access journal Retrovirology, might represent a new milestone along the way to the discovery of a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Enrico Garaci, president of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (the Italian Institute of Health) and Dr. Andrea Savarino, a retrovirologist working at the institution, worked with a team of researchers to study the so-called “barrier of latency” which has been the main obstacle to HIV eradication from the body.

New Hope For HIV-1 Eradication From ‘Shock And Kill’ Research

Latent HIV genes can be ‘smoked out’ of human cells. The so-called ‘shock and kill’ technique, described in a preclinical study in BioMed Central’s open access journal Retrovirology, might represent a new milestone along the way to the discovery of a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Enrico Garaci, president of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (the Italian Institute of Health) and Dr. Andrea Savarino, a retrovirologist working at the institution, worked with a team of researchers to study the so-called “barrier of latency” which has been the main obstacle to HIV eradication from the body.

ZIOPHARM Presents Positive Data From Phase I Study Of Palifosfamide In Combination With Doxorubicin At ASCO

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP) announced that it presented final data from a Phase I study of palifosfamide (ZymafosTM) in combination with doxorubicin at the 45th Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting held in Orlando, FL, May 29th to June 2nd.

The Phase I trial of palifosfamide in combination with doxorubicin was fully enrolled with 13 patients, predominantly with soft tissue sarcoma and non-small cell lung cancer, and who had received a median of two prior therapies. Of 12 evaluable patients, there were 3 partial responses. Of the 8 patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS) 75 percent had stable disease or better, with 2 having partial responses and 4 having prolonged stable disease. The median progression free survival (PFS) was 19 weeks.

Individuals Genetically At Risk Of Developing Psychological Disorders Also Benefit The Most From Positive Environments

Certain individuals have long been regarded as particularly susceptible to developing behavioural and emotional problems when they experience negative environmental conditions, due to the fact that they carry so-called ‘vulnerability genes’. Existing research suggests, for instance, that such ‘genetically vulnerable’ individuals are most likely to become impulsive and hyperactive if their mothers smoked while pregnant, to behave anti-socially if subjected to child abuse, and to become depressed if exposed to many negative life events (e.g., divorce, unemployment). But a new evaluation of existing gene-by-environment interaction (GXE) research highlighting such genetic vulnerability to adversity challenges this traditional interpretation of existing evidence. Research published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests that those carrying ‘vulnerability genes’ are not only more likely than others to be adversely affected by negative experiences but to also benefit more than others from positive environments, making them more malleable or plastic, not just vulnerable. This novel interpretation of old and new findings suggests that ‘vulnerability genes’ might be better conceptualised as ‘plasticity or malleability genes’ because carriers are more affected, for better and for worse, by positive and negative environmental conditions.

U.S. Bill Would Establish Survey To Collect Health Data From Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders

Madeleine Bordallo, the U.S. delegate from Guam, has introduced legislation that would fund a survey to collect health data from Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, the Pacific Daily News reports. The legislation would amend the Public Health Service Act to fund the survey through HHS.

Bordallo said, “Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are eager to move forward with their efforts to improve public health. This scientific survey would establish baseline health information to inform health policy and interventions so that individual and community health can be properly tracked and evaluated.”

U.S. Bill Would Establish Survey To Collect Health Data From Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders

Madeleine Bordallo, the U.S. delegate from Guam, has introduced legislation that would fund a survey to collect health data from Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, the Pacific Daily News reports. The legislation would amend the Public Health Service Act to fund the survey through HHS.

Bordallo said, “Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are eager to move forward with their efforts to improve public health. This scientific survey would establish baseline health information to inform health policy and interventions so that individual and community health can be properly tracked and evaluated.”

Sandra R. Gordon Wins Golden Trumpet Award From The Publicity Club Of Chicago

At the 50th Annual Trumpet Awards Luncheon at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Sandra R. Gordon received one of the most coveted public relations awards from the Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC). As the director of public relations at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Sandra was the lead visionary and creative force for their organization’s multi-faceted special event “Seventy-five Years of Orthopaedic Surgery”.

BPA Chemical Leaches From Hard Plastic Drinking Bottles Into The Body, Study

New research from the US suggests that people who drink from bottles made of polycarbonate plastic, such as that used to make hard-plastic drinking bottles and baby bottles, have a considerably higher level of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in their bodies compared to when they do not.

The finding confirms concerns expressed by consumer groups and public health experts, that polycarbonate plastic bottles are an important source of the BPA that finds its way into the human body. BPA has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animals, and has been linked to cardivascular disease and diabetes in humans, among other things.

New Data From Endeavor-II Challenges Conventional Wisdom On Drug-Eluting Stents

New clinical data presented at a major international meeting of interventional cardiologists challenged the conventionalwisdom on the long-term efficacy of drug-eluting stents, medical devices used in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

In ENDEAVOR-II (n=1,197), a randomized controlled trial comparing Medtronic’s (NYSE: MDT) Endeavor drug‐eluting stent (DES) to its Driver bare‐metal stent (BMS), patients treated with the Endeavor DES required fewer repeat procedures at five years post‐implant than many observers and analysts would have expected based on the results of other trials with comparable designs.

AdvanDx Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance For GBS PNA FISH(R) For Rapid Detection Of Group B Strep From Lim Broths

AdvanDx announced it received FDA 510(k) clearance for GBS PNA FISH(R) for detection of Streptococcus agalactiae, aka Group B Strep, from turbid Lim Broths inoculated with vaginal and rectal swabs obtained from pregnant women between 35 and 37 weeks gestation. The 90 minute molecular diagnostic test enables rapid and highly sensitive detection of Group B Strep from Lim Broths to help detect colonization in pregnant women.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Group B Strep is the most common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Approximately 1 in 4 pregnant women are colonized with Group B Strep and can transmit the bacterium to the newborn during delivery. To prevent the transmission and subsequent infection, women are routinely screened for colonization between 35 and 37 weeks gestation, and if positive, receive antibiotics at the start of labor to eradicate the bacteria. Accurate detection of Group B Strep colonization is therefore crucial to prevent as many infections as possible.(2)