Early HIV treatment : key to survival

The risk of death or serious illness was halved in HIV-positive people who received immediate treatment, according to a trial with global implications.

The trial's interim results were so clear-cut that the international study, co-ordinated by the Kirby Institute at UNSW, has been terminated ahead of schedule.

Receiving immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) was proved to be clinically superior to a generally recommended approach.

This involves deferring treatment until CD4 cells, the key immune cells targeted by HIV, dropped, from the healthy range of above 500, to 350 cells or less per microlitre of blood.

The recommended threshold should be scrapped and everyone with HIV infection should be treated, the Institute's Professor Sean Emery told a media briefing.

The Strategic Timing of AntiRetriviral Treatment (START) study involved 4685 HIV-positive people, from 35 countries, whose CD4 count was above 500 cells.

They were randomly allocated to receive treatment immediately or when their CD4 count dropped to around 350 cells and, on average, were followed up over three years.

Overall 127 people died or became ill with Aids or other serious illnesses such as cancer or liver disease, with 41 of those having received immediate treatment and 86 deferred treatment.

'These findings have global implications for the treatment of people living with HIV,' Prof Emery said.

'As a result of this trial, we now know that treatment at all stages of disease extends survival and prevents serious disease complications in people with HIV infection.'

Previous studies have shown a reduced risk of HIV transmission among people on ART.


AAP


Know your HIV status, the earlier, the better...

smoking causes 50% of total major cancer deaths

Smoking was responsible for nearly half of deaths due to certain types of cancers in the US in 2011.

About 48.5 per cent of nearly 346,000 deaths attributed to one of the 12 types of cancer known to be caused by smoking were due to cigarette use, according to the study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The large number of deaths comes despite concerted efforts to reduce cigarette use across the US.

'Continued progress in reducing cancer mortality, as well as deaths from many other serious diseases, will require more comprehensive tobacco control, including targeted cessation support,' the report concluded.

Smoking prevalence has dropped in the US from 23.2 per cent in 2000 to 18.1 per cent in 2012, researchers said.

Of the lung, bronchus and trachea cancer deaths studied, some 80 per cent were attributed to smoking.

About 77 per cent of larynx cancer deaths studied were connected to smoking, the study said.

The researchers noted limitations in their data, including lack of racial diversity and that non-cigarette tobacco exposure was not included.

Live healthy!

New Adidas sport shoe made from recycled ocean waste

Sportwear brand Adidas has launched a prototype shoe with an upper made entirely from yarns and filaments produced using plastic salvaged from the ocean.

See pictures below...

diabetes + heart disease = early death

Ever heard of the term diabetic heart disease?

The term "diabetic heart disease" (DHD) refers to heart disease that develops in people who have diabetes.

Diabetic heart disease

People suffering from both diabetes and heart disease are at a greater early death risk than people with just one condition or no disease, a study said. After analysing more than 135,000 deaths that occurred during prolonged follow-up of almost 1.2 million participants, researchers from the University of Cambridge found that an individual in his/her 60s having both the conditions has an average reduction in life expectancy of about 15 years.”

A combination of diabetes and heart disease is associated with a substantially lower life expectancy,” said Emanuele Di Angelantonio from the department of public health and primary care in a paper that appeared in the journal of the American Medical Association.

At the age of 60 years, men with any two of the conditions would on average have 12 years of reduced life expectancy.

Men with three conditions – diabetes, stroke and heart attack (cardiometabolic diseases) – would have 14 years of reduced life expectancy.
For women at the age of 60 years, the corresponding estimates were 13 years and 16 years of reduced life expectancy.

The figures were even more dramatic for patients at a younger age.At the age of 40 years, men with all three cardiometabolic conditions would on average have 23 years of reduced life expectancy and for women, the corresponding estimate was 20 years.”Our results highlight the importance of preventing heart disease and stroke among patients with diabetes, and likewise averting diabetes amongst heart disease patients,” said professor John Danesh, study co-author. Measures aimed at reducing diabetes and heart disease among this group could have a dramatic impact on their lives, the study said.

The following conditions could increase the risk of heart disease ;

- high blood pressure
- abnormal cholesterol and high triglycerides
- lack of exercise 
- poorly controlled blood sugars
- smoking
- obesity

Live healthy!

DIGITAL AMNESIA: smartphone kills memory

Over use of smartphones and internet can lead to "digital amnesia," says a new survey.

Your smartphone is destroying your memory

Over use of smartphones and internet can lead to “digital amnesia,” says a new survey.

According to the survey conducted by global software security group Kaspersky Lab, most of us nowadays do not think about recalling information using our memory and resort to search engines looking for quick answers.

Many users in the survey of 1,000 people were so dependent on their devices that they were worried at the thought of losing them, WTNH Connecticut News reported.

Nearly 91 per cent of the people said they use internet as an online extension of their brain. Almost half of them said their smartphone serves as their memory.

Many adults could not remember important phone numbers of family members and friends. The survey also showed that people are not doing much to protect their information online.

Less than a third of the people surveyed put security precautions on their devices.

EBOLA: Suspected dead dog, tests negative for Ebola Virus

A dead dog, suspected of being responsible for the reoccurrence of the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia, tested negative for the virus, officials said Tuesday, according to Reuters. The report comes after a review panel declared that the United Nation’s World Health Organization (WHO) did not act quickly enough on the latest Ebola outbreak.

Two new cases of the Ebola virus, which has killed 11,000 people so far, mostly in West Africa, were also confirmed in Liberia on Tuesday. The virus does not have a vaccine or a medicine yet.

Local residents reportedly believed that the first victim of Ebola since the country was declared free of the virus shared a dog meat meal with his neighbors. The man died on June 28, Reuters reported. However, researchers who tested the carcass of the dog found that it was not infected with the virus.
"I learned today the result was negative, but we have to be careful because the remains are in bad condition and the test is designed for humans," a health official in Liberia said, according to Reuters, adding: "Even if that dog had anything, finding it now will be difficult because of the time lapse. We are trying to do everything to find the source."

The first victim of the latest spread was identified as 17-year-old Abraham Memaigar, who does not have a history of visiting any of the affected areas. Two other people in Liberia, who tested positive for the virus, were hospitalized and five cases have been confirmed so far in the new outbreak, Reuters reported .
An independent report by a panel, commissioned by the WHO, said that the organization needed an urgent overhaul .

“The Ebola crisis not only exposed organizational failings in the functioning of WHO, but it also demonstrated shortcomings in the International Health Regulations,” the report said Tuesday, adding: “WHO must re-establish its pre-eminence as the guardian of global public health; this will require significant changes throughout WHO.”

Julius Agwu is back!

We all missed him...

Nigerian comedian Julius Agwu is back after a successful surgery in America.
The ribs cracker said “It’s God at work. I want to thank everybody who supported me in one way or the other”

WELCOME JULIUS !!!

we anticipate for the annual 'Crack ya ribs'...

Marijuana Legalization: Chile’s Lower House Of Congress Approves Marijuana Bill

Chile’s lower house of Congress approved a bill Tuesday, allowing Chileans to grow small amounts of marijuana for medical, recreational and spiritual purposes. The lawmakers approved the decriminalization bill by a wide margin with 68 in favor and 39 against.

The measure, which still awaits approval from a health commission and the Senate, will permit each Chilean home to grow up to six marijuana plants. Planting, selling and transporting marijuana is currently illegal in Chile, and could be punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Those who want to use marijuana for medical purposes are required to obtain government permission, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

“This project is on the right path and we're optimistic that it will be passed quickly,” Ana Maria Gazmurri, president of Daya Foundation, a nonprofit group that sponsors pain-relieving therapies, told the AP. “It should go through the health commission in a month at most, and ideally it should be approved by the Senate in two months.”

Gazmurri’s foundation also backed the recent planting and harvesting of Chile’s first government-approved medical marijuana. The program, which began in October, was aimed at easing the pain suffered by cancer patients.

While supporters of the bill said that the move would help eliminate drug dealing, some lawmakers criticized the measure, arguing that it would result in more drug use, especially among young citizens.

“This is a bad project and authorities have been largely absent,” the AP quoted Sergio Espejo, a deputy for the center-right Christian Democratic Party, as saying. “It hides the country's public health tragedy with the increase in the consumption of marijuana among young students.”

However, a recent study conducted over 24 years in the U.S. found no evidence to suggest that legalizing medical marijuana makes adolescentsChile’s lower house of Congress approved a bill Tuesday, allowing Chileans to grow small amounts of marijuana for medical, recreational and spiritual purposes. The lawmakers approved the decriminalization bill by a wide margin with 68 in favor and 39 against.

The measure, which still awaits approval from a health commission and the Senate, will permit each Chilean home to grow up to six marijuana plants. Planting, selling and transporting marijuana is currently illegal in Chile, and could be punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Those who want to use marijuana for medical purposes are required to obtain government permission, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

“This project is on the right path and we're optimistic that it will be passed quickly,” Ana Maria Gazmurri, president of Daya Foundation, a nonprofit group that sponsors pain-relieving therapies, told the AP. “It should go through the health commission in a month at most, and ideally it should be approved by the Senate in two months.”

Gazmurri’s foundation also backed the recent planting and harvesting of Chile’s first government-approved medical marijuana. The program, which began in October, was aimed at easing the pain suffered by cancer patients.

While supporters of the bill said that the move would help eliminate drug dealing, some lawmakers criticized the measure, arguing that it would result in more drug use, especially among young citizens.

“This is a bad project and authorities have been largely absent,” the AP quoted Sergio Espejo, a deputy for the center-right Christian Democratic Party, as saying. “It hides the country's public health tragedy with the increase in the consumption of marijuana among young students.”

However, a recent study conducted over 24 years in the U.S. found no evidence to suggest that legalizing medical marijuana makes adolescents more likely to use it.

In total, 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have approved medical marijuana use in some capacity, while Colorado and Washington have legalized it for personal use. more likely to use it.

In total, 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have approved medical marijuana use in some capacity, while Colorado and Washington have legalized it for personal use.

Source : IBTIMES



What's your take on this?

Hepatitis: A very dangerous Virus

A lot of people are scared of HIV, Ebola Virus, etc .Hepatitis virus should be added to your list of dangerous viruses.

Hepatitis B is the most common and can cause severe liver disease (including liver cancer). There is a vaccine for Hepatitis B, however it can only be given if you are not infected with the virus. If infected highly effective anti-viral drugs and interferons are available. The trouble with this disease is that many people are unaware they have it, making it a huge problem globally.

A few facts:
-There are 5 forms of the virus (A, B & C being most common with D & E being more rare)
-10 million drug users worldwide have Hepatitis C
-1.3 million drug users worldwide have Hepatitis B

So, Hepatitis should not be forgotten and can be transmitted, like HIV, via bodily fluids, such as intraveneous drug users and sexual intercourse (however hepatitis is 50 to100 times more infectious than HIV).

Be AWARE of Hepatitis, get vaccinated, get tested, get treated!!!

Microbiologist

NEW VACCINE MIGHT PREVENT HIV INFECTION

A new study has found that an experimental vaccine completely prevented HIV infection in half of monkeys given the jab.

The monkeys were given the vaccine and then exposed to high doses of an aggressive virus that is the equivalent of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in humans.
The results were so positive they spurred Johnson & Johnson to test the vaccine in people.

The research was published online in the journal Science.
The international trial is underway in 400 healthy volunteers in the United States, East Africa, South Africa and Thailand.

It is the first time since Merck’s failed 2007 trial that a major pharmaceutical company has sponsored clinical development of an HIV vaccine, said Dr. Dan Barouch, a vaccine researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard.
Some 35 million people are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Since it began spreading 30 years ago, AIDS has killed 40 million people worldwide.
Despite progress in treatments, experts believe a vaccine is the best hope for eradicating the disease.

In a pair of studies Barouch and colleagues at Johnson and Johnson and elsewhere tested a two-step vaccine, which involves priming the immune system using a weakened version of the cold virus to sneak HIV genes into the body.

The second phase involves injecting individuals with a purified HIV surface protein designed to provoke a strong immune response.
Johnson & Johnsons’s chief scientific officer and worldwide chairman, pharmaceuticals, Dr. Paul Stoffels, told Reuters: “The company is using the same prime-boost strategy in its Ebola vaccine, now in early-stage human trials.”
Stoffels said the HIV vaccine trial in monkeys was designed to test the limits of the vaccine, exposing the animals to high levels of an aggressive virus that attacks non-human primates known as simian immunodeficiency virus, a close cousin to HIV.

The virus was potent enough to infect 100 per cent of unvaccinated animals after six exposures. Even so, half of the animals who got the vaccine were completely protected.

Stoffels said the infection rate per exposure in the trial is about 100 times greater than what is typically seen in humans.
Stoffels said: “Johnson & Johnson expects the vaccine to prove even more effective in people, but even if the vaccine only protects half of those people who get it, ‘it will still have an enormous public health impact.”
If all goes well with the early-stage trial, he expects a larger, phase 2b study to start in the next 18 to 24 months. Phase 2b studies test how well drugs works at the prescribed dose.

Source : The Guardian