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European Paediatric Influenza Analysis (EPIA) Group Formed To Quantify The Burden Of Seasonal Influenza In Children In Europe
The Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL) and SDI, a U.S. private-sector healthcare information company, announced the formation of the European Paediatric Influenza Analysis (EPIA) group, created to generate data needed to inform the decision process about paediatric influenza vaccination policy in individual European countries. Researchers from Denmark, England, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Wales are participating; it is hoped that other countries will also join. EPIA was formed to address knowledge gaps highlighted in a recent European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) report that concluded that a key barrier to decision-making about paediatric flu vaccines is the lack of high-quality, European-specific data on disease burden, especially for young children. It is estimated by ECDC that at least 40,000 people die each year from influenza in the European Union (EU). EPIA will present the initial results from their research project at the 27th annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) in June.
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Doctor Testifies About Botched Prostate Treatment At VA Hospital
Dr. Gary D. Kao testified Monday about botched prostate cancer treatment he gave to patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital run by the University of Pennsylvania. The New York Times reports: "The radiation oncologist whom regulators accuse of mishandling scores of radioactive seed implants at the Philadelphia veterans" hospital told a Congressional panel on Monday that while he "could have done better" with some implants, his patients over all received effective treatment for their prostrate cancer."
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First High-Definition Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Technology Enhances Diagnostic Procedures
Physicians can now provide potentially safer and more accurate diagnostic procedures with the first and only high-definition endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) needle technology. Cook Medical, the only full-line supplier of endoscopic medical devices, has designed a complete line of high-definition EUS biopsy needles that are up to three-times brighter than others on the market. With the addition of the 19 and 25 gage EchoTip® Ultra with High Definition Fine Needle Aspiration (HDFNA™) needles, the EchoTip Ultra HDFNA represents the next level of precision in EUS, an essential diagnostic tool that yields more accurate images of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract than traditional ultrasound and provides minimally invasive access to areas that are traditionally difficult to reach.
Cardiovascular

SAMe Is Effective In Preventing Formation Of Primary Liver Cancer In Rats

A new study investigated the effectiveness of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) in the prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer. SAMe, a widely available nutritional supplement, with little known side effects, was found to be effective in preventing the formation of HCC in rats. However, high enough levels of SAMe were not attainable to successfully treat established HCC. The findings are available in the August issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. HCC is the fifth most common cancer and the third most frequent cause of cancer death worldwide. Risk factors for HCC include chronic infection with hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), dietary aflatoxin, excessive alcohol use, cigarette smoking, diabetes and obesity. The overall 5-year survival for HCC patients is less than 10% and the disease rate is expected to rise due to the high prevalence of HCV in many areas of the world. Shelly Lu, M.D., of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and colleagues studied the effects of SAMe on chemoprevention and treatment of HCC. In the U.S. the incidence of HCC doubled from 1979 to 1995 and the number of HCC cases for the following 20 to 30 years is projected to increase. "Given these projections, there is a tremendous interest in developing effective chemoprevention strategies," said Dr. Lu. "And an important property of SAMe that makes it an attractive agent for chemoprevention and treatment of HCC is its ability to selectively kill liver cancer cells," she added. During the study researchers injected H4IIE cells into rats and found a 1cm tumor developed in the liver two weeks after injection. A regimen of IV SAMe was started one day after injecting the cells and continued for ten days. The researchers monitored the animals using MRI, ultrasound, and visual inspection to assess the liver tumors. "Treatment with IV SAMe by continuous infusion significantly reduced the tumor size and significantly prevented tumor development after 11 days," researchers discovered. Researchers found that if SAMe infusion was started after sizable tumors had already formed it failed to reduce the rate of tumor growth after 24 days of treatment. This is because of a compensatory response of the liver to metabolize SAMe and prevent its accumulation. "The observation that SAMe failed to exert any therapeutic effect in already established HCC is disappointing," said Dr. Lu. "But whether SAMe can be effective in treating HCC in man remains unclear because this compensatory mechanism may not work properly in human HCC. Nevertheless, effectiveness of SAMe in chemoprevention of human HCC deserves study now." Citation: "S-Adenosylmethionine in the Chemoprevention and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Rat Model," Shelly Lu, Komal Ramani, Xiaopeng Ou, Mark Lin, Victor Yu, Kwangsuk Ko, Ryan Park, Teodoro Bottiglieri, Hidekazu Tsukamoto, Gary Kanel, Samuel French, Josç© Mato, Rex Moats, Edward Grant Hepatology August 2009 Hepatology


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