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

HIV Transmission In Europe Occurs Primarily In Vacation Destinations, Study Finds
HIV in Europe is transmitted primarily in vacation destinations, according to a study published recently in the journal Retrovirology, the PA/Google.com reports. For the study, researchers led by Dimitrios Paraskevis of the University of Athens analyzed samples of HIV-1 subtype B virus, the most prevalent form of HIV in Europe, from 16 European countries and Israel (PA/Google.com, 5/20). The researchers created a family tree of the virus and examined its genetic characteristics to determine how it has evolved.The study found that tourists are more likely to contract HIV in Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain, which are popular vacation destinations. Meanwhile, HIV-positive people in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg are more likely to have contracted the virus outside of these countries. The study also found that HIV-positive people in Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom contract the virus both within these countries and in other countries. In addition, the study found that in Poland the virus spread mainly among residents through injection drug use. "Viruses move around with travelers -- thus health programs within countries should not only target the national populations, prevention efforts must also be aimed at migrants, travelers and tourists -- who are both major s and targets of HIV," Paraskevis said (BBC News, 5/20). Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said that the findings are not a "surprise," adding, "We"ve known for some time with high levels of mobility in the world these days that it"s very easy for viruses to move around. What it tells us is that you can"t limit HIV prevention and support just to permanent residents" (PA/Google.com, 5/20).
generic viagra online
The Sounds Of Learning: Studying The Impact Of Music On Children With Autism
In June 2009, newspapers reported that archaeologists in Germany had discovered a 35,000-year-old flute made of bird bone. It represented, one paper said, "the earliest known flowering of music-making in Stone Age culture." And we have been tapping our toes, humming along, singing and dancing ever since.
News of the day
Also In Global Health News: HIV Drug Patents; Ethiopia HIV/AIDS Efforts; Music Fights Malaria; Food Security
British Members Of Parliament Want HIV Drug Patent Changes
Oncology

Research Shows BPA May Cause Heart Disease In Women

New research by a team of scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that bisphenol A (BPA) may be harmful for the heart, particularly in women. Results of several studies are being presented in Washington, D.C., at ENDO 09, the Endocrine Society"s annual meeting, June 10-13. A research team lead by Scott Belcher, PhD, Hong Sheng Wang, PhD, and Jo El Schultz, PhD, in the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics, found that exposure to BPA and/or estrogen causes abnormal activity in hearts of female rats and mice. In addition, these researchers found that estrogen receptors are responsible for this affect in heart muscle cells. "There is broad exposure to bisphenol A, despite recognition that BPA can have harmful effects," Belcher says. "We had reason to believe that harmful cardiovascular affects can be added to the list." BPA, an environmental pollutant with estrogen activity, is used to make hard, clear plastic and is common in many food product containers. It has been linked to neurological defects, diabetes and breast and prostate cancer. Using live cultures of cells isolated from rat or mouse hearts, researchers briefly exposed the cardiac cells to BPA and/or estrogen. Both compounds caused striking changes in the activity of cardiac muscle cells from females but not males. Additional studies revealed that these cellular changes in activity caused improperly controlled beating in the female heart. "Low doses of BPA markedly increased the frequency of arrhythmic events," Belcher says. "The effect of BPA on these cardiac arrhythmias was amplified when exposed to estradiol, the major estrogen hormone in humans." The mechanism underlying this harmful effect was investigated using cellular imaging techniques. "BPA and/or estrogen rapidly stimulated contraction by altering control of the concentrations of free calcium inside the heart cell but only in heart muscle cells from females, showing that these effects were sex-specific," Belcher says. "BPA"s presence increased the frequency of calcium "sparks" from the sarcoplasmic reticulum - the part of the cardiac muscle that stores and releases calcium ions - indicating spontaneous release or "leak" that"s likely causing the heart arrhythmias and may have other harmful actions, especially following heart attack." Belcher and colleagues also investigated the nature of the mechanisms that mediated the responses of the cardiac muscle cells to estrogen and BPA. "Pharmacological studies using selective estrogen receptor drugs and animal models lacking estrogen receptors were used to investigate the role of each estrogen receptor in mediating the rapid sex-specific function effects of E2 and BPA in cells," he says. "Our findings suggest that estrogen has opposing actions in cardiac cells. "In female cardiac muscle cells, the blocking or genetic removal of estrogen receptor beta completely blocked the contractile effects of BPA and estrogen, while in males, blockade of the effects of estrogen receptor alpha caused the male heart to become more "female-like" and become responsive to estrogen and BPA. "These studies have identified new and important potential cardiac risks associated with BPA exposure that may be especially important for women"s heart health," he says. This study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the UC Center for Environmental Genetics. Katie Pence University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center


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

© Copyright 2009