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Scents Really Can Soothe Stress
Feeling stressed? Then try savoring the scent of lemon, mango, lavender, or other fragrant plants. Scientists in Japan are reporting the first scientific evidence that inhaling certain fragrances alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels. Their study appears in ACS" Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.
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MMWR Report On Gonorrhea And Chlamydia Incidence Among MSM Spurs AHF To Call For FDA Approval Of Newer Testing Technologies
On the heels of the publication today of a landmark, five city US study of gonorrhea and Chlamydia infections and related testing protocols among populations of at-risk men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM), the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)-a clinical participant in the research trial component in Los Angeles- called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fast track approval of newer and alternative testing technologies highlighted in the study for use in the diagnosis of gonorrhea and Chlamydia infections among high-risk populations. The study, "Clinic-based Testing for Rectal and Pharyngeal Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis Infections by Community-based Organizations-Five Cities, United States, 2007" published in the respected Centers for Disease Control"s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR, July 9, 2009), found that one testing protocol, nucleic acid amplification (NAA), is, "ò€¦generally more sensitive and favored by most experts," particularly for extragenital testing (for rectal and pharyngeal specimens); however, "NAA tests have not been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the diagnosisò€¦and may not be marketed for that purpose."
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Closely Supervised Foster Care Linked With Reduced Pregnancy Rates For Delinquent Teens, Study Says
Teenage girls with a history of delinquency who were placed in individualized foster care programs were less likely than their peers to become pregnant, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, HealthDay/Forbes reports. Teen girls in foster care have an elevated risk for pregnancy, according to HealthDay/Forbes. For example, an earlier survey of teens in three states found that nearly half of girls in the foster care system reported a pregnancy by age 19, according to David Kerr, an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State University and lead author of the new study.For the study, researchers followed 166 girls ages 13 to 17 with court orders to receive treatment for criminal behavior in either specialized foster care or a group-care facility. The specialized programs, known as Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care, were created in the 1980s. Under the programs, foster parents who are trained in behavioral management provide one-on-one care to severely delinquent youths, and the parents receive consultation, support and crisis intervention services from program supervisors. One of the most important aspects of the program is that, unlike group care, the teens are isolated from other troubled youths. There are 51 such programs in the U.S.After two years, 26% of the girls in MTFC became pregnant, compared with almost 47% of those in group care, according to the study. The MTFC group also showed lower levels of criminal activity and arrests, and increased school engagement. Kerr said, "One of the most interesting aspects of this research is that the MTFC program was created to reduce crime, not pregnancy." He added, "It specifically targeted changing the girl"s environment: her home, her peers and her school experience. The focus was on giving her lots of supervision, support for responsible behavior, and consistent, non-harsh consequences for negative behavior" (HealthDay/Forbes, 6/17).
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C-Section Births Cause Genetic Changes That May Increase Odds For Developing Diseases In Later Life

Swedish researchers have discovered that babies born by Caesarean section experience changes to the DNA pool in their white blood cells, which could be connected to altered stress levels during this method of delivery, according to the July issue of Acta Paediatrica. It is thought that these genetic changes, which differ from normal vaginal deliveries, could explain why people delivered by C-section are more susceptible to immunological diseases such as diabetes and asthma in later life, when those genetic changes combine with environmental triggers. Blood was sampled from the umbilical cords of 37 newborn infants just after delivery and then three to five days after the birth. It was analysed to see the degree of DNAmethylation in the white blood cells - a vital part of the immune system. This showed that the 16 babies born by C-section exhibited higher DNA-methylation rates immediately after delivery than the 21 born by vaginal delivery. Three to five days after birth, DNA-methylation levels had dropped in infants delivered by Csection so that there were no longer significant differences between the two groups. "Delivery by C-section has been associated with increased allergy, diabetes and leukaemia risks" says Professor Mikael Norman, who specialises in paediatrics at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. "Although the underlying cause is unknown, our theory is that altered birth conditions could cause a genetic imprint in the immune cells that could play a role later in life. "That is why we were keen to look at DNA-methylation, which is an important biological mechanism in which the DNA is chemically modified to activate or shut down genes in response to changes in the external environment. As the diseases that tend to be more common in people delivered by C-section are connected with the immune system, we decided to focus our research on early DNA changes to the white blood cells." The authors point out that the reason why DNA-methylation is higher after C-section deliveries is still unclear and further research is needed. "Animal studies have shown that negative stress around birth affects methylation of the genes and therefore it is reasonable to believe that the differences in DNAmethylation that we found in human infants are linked to differences in birth stress. "We know that the stress of being born is fundamentally different after planned Csection compared to normal vaginal delivery. When babies are delivered by Csection, they are unprepared for the birth and can become more stressed after delivery than before. This is different to a normal vaginal delivery, where the stress gradually builds up before the actual birth, helping the baby to start breathing and quickly adapt to the new environment outside the womb." The authors point out that the surgical procedure itself may play a role in DNAmethylation and that factors other than the delivery method need to be explored in more detail. "In our study, neonatal DNA-methylation did not correlate to the age of the mother, length of labour, birth weight and neonatal CPR levels - proteins that provide a key marker for inflammation" says Professor Norman. "However, although there was no relation between DNA-methylation and these factors, larger studies are needed to clarify these issues." Professor Norman states that the Karolinska study clearly shows that geneenvironment interaction through DNA-methylation is more dynamic around birth than previously known. "The full significance of higher DNA-methylation levels after C-section is not yet understood, but it may have important clinical implications" he says. "C-section delivery is rapidly increasing worldwide and is currently the most common surgical procedure among women of child-bearing age. Until recently, the long-term consequences of this mode of delivery had not been studied. However, reports that link C-section deliveries with increased risk for different diseases in later life are now emerging. Our results provide the first pieces of evidence that early "epigenetic" programming of the immune system may have a role to play." The authors feel that their discovery could make a significant contribution to the ongoing debate about the health issues around C-section deliveries. "Although we do not know yet how specific gene expression is affected after Csection deliveries, or to what extent these genetic differences related to the mode of delivery are long-lasting, we believe that our findings open up a new area of important clinical research" concludes lead author Titus Schlinzig, a research fellow at the Karolinska Institutet. Wiley-Blackwell http://www.wileyblackwell.com or http://www.interscience.wiley.com


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