Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago claim to have explained the reason behind the aggressiveness and frequency of pregnancy-associated breast cancer.

According to the new research, expression of inflammatory-related genes in breast tissue of women who have previously given birth may be behind the crime.

Pregnancy at a relatively young age reduces the risk of breast cancer over the long term, but epidemiological studies have found that women are at an increased risk for breast cancer during pregnancy and for up to 10 years after giving birth, said Debra Tonetti, associate professor of pharmacology and lead researcher on the study.

She added that these pregnancy-associated breast cancers also carry an unusually high risk of spreading to nearby organs and for lethality as compared to breast cancers in women who have never been pregnant.

To reach the conclusion, Tonetti and her research team examined the level of expression of 64 genes in tissue from benign breast biopsies and breast-reduction surgeries at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago.

The women, who were between the ages of 18 and 45, were divided into three categories: those who had never been pregnant, those who had been pregnant within the past two years, and those who had been pregnant five to 10 years previously.

The set of examined genes included genes known to be related to immunity and inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels vital to wound healing) or hormone signaling.

Twenty-two percent of the examined genes showed significant difference in expression in the breast tissue of women who had never given birth compared with those who had. Inflammation-related genes, as a class, were more active in women who had borne a child. Involution -- the process by which the breast returns to normal following lactation -- could be a cause of the inflammation, she said.

"Our results showed an increase in immune/inflammatory activity in the post-pregnant breast," Tonetti said. "Interestingly, this response was not limited to the recently pregnant group, but also characterized more distant pregnancies as well."

A surprising finding was evidence of a protective effect of pregnancy as well, since the expression of many hormone and growth factor signaling genes suggests protection. These findings indicate that a balance between high risk inflammatory and protective hormone signaling gene expression may ultimately determine a woman’s individual breast cancer risk, she said.

NEW DELHI: MSD Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, the company that markets Gardasil in India, has said that the vaccine can help prevent cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancers and genital warts caused by the HPV (human papilloma virus) types 6, 11, 16 and 18, as also some protection against 10 additional cervical cancers.

‘Ten years of research'

“Gardasil is the result of over 10 years of research and development. As part of the rigorous scientific vaccine clinical development programme, clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of the vaccine have included more than 25,000 women from 33 countries from around the world,” a statement issued by the company said in response to criticism of its clinical trials in India reportedly carried out in an unethical manner.

In India, the Indian Academy of Paediatrics Committee on Immunization (IAPCOI) stated that the HPV vaccine was of public health importance and recommended giving it prior to sexual debut.

U.S. recommendations

In 2006, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that girls and women between 11-26 years be vaccinated with an HPV vaccine such as Gardasil, the statement said.

While it is difficult to determine the exact number of doses administered, since its launch in 2006, more than 55 million doses of the anti-cancer vaccine have been distributed worldwide as part of the global fight against HPV diseases.

Robust surveillance

The statement claimed that MSD has established a robust surveillance programme to monitor the long-term safety, efficacy and duration of protection of people vaccinated with Gardasil.

Analyses

“MSD monitors vaccine safety by conducting analyses of adverse events reported to MSD, and we share these adverse event analyses with regulatory and medical authorities around the world.

Preliminary studies

“Preliminary studies conducted to date have encouragingly demonstrated that there is no waning of protective immunity at five years following vaccination.

“MSD is conducting long-term follow-up studies to confirm whether immunity to HPV disease is long-lasting,” the statement said.

While no vaccine or medicine is completely without risk, leading international health organisations throughout the world — including the Drug Controller-General of India, World Health Organisation (WHO), the CDC, Health Canada, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), and the Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), among others — have reviewed all of the safety information available to them about Gardasil and continue to recommend its use, the statement added.

New Delhi, Apr 8 (ANI): The Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC), Suresh Kalmadi, on Thursday flagged off the 10th Perfect Health Parade to promote a clean, green and hygienic city for Commonwealth Games.

oneindiain121:http://news.oneindia.in/2010/04/08/healthawareness-programme-for-commonwealth-games-begins.html Buzz up!

The parade concentrated on sensitizing doctors about traveler-related sicknesses and their prevention and cure.

"At least one lakh people will come for Commonwealth games and their health must be looked after so I am very happy that doctors have taken the lead," Kalmadi said. We have also agreed to take quite a few of the widows in the volunteer programmes of Games so that all sections of the society should be part of the Games. Without the citizens' involvement we can't have great games," he added.

He also believes that the successful staging of the Commonwealth Games is vital since this would strengthen the prospects for India to host the Olympics.

The parade rolled out a special tableau and mascot of the Games on a vehicle with northeastern folk songs and dances.

The Commonwealth Games 2010 are scheduled to be held here between October 3 and October 14.

The games will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in India, which had previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. It will also be the second time that the event will be held in Asia after 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (ANI)

CHENNAI: Nine doctors on Sunday received Dr K S Sanjivi Award for their dedicated and tireless service to the poor. Health Secretary V K Subburaj gave a way the award, conferred by NGOs Ekam Foundation and Udhavum Ullangal.

One of the recipients, Shiva Prasad Sahoo, an ophthalmologist from Orissa, worked towards eradicating blindness in tribal areas of the State.

Similarly, L Muthusamy, a general practitioner from Madurai, spent the whole of his lifetime savings for the downtrodden. He always met the medical expenses of coolies when they were unable to work due to illness.

Speaking at the event, Dr Muthusamy thanked his mentor C Ramasubramaniam, a renowned psychiatrist from Madurai, who urged him to serve the people.

Another awardee, Vanaja successfully transformed Medavakkam Public Health Centre into a model one for the rest of the country to emulate. She is at present the Joint Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

P Amutha Rajeshwari of the Government Rajaji Hospital was honoured for her role in the treatment of over 300 mentally challenged children.

A paediatric haematologist and immunologist from Mehta hospital, Dr Sarala Rajajee received the award for providing exemplary care not just for sick children, but also their parents.

R Krishnamoorthy, a hand and microsurgeon at Government Stanley Hospital, was another recipient of the award. He and his team had restored the limbs of several patients, most of them being labourers from north Chennai.

Then there were Subramaniya Bharathiyar, Professor and Head of the Department of Anaesthesia, Stanley hospital, who offered immediate help to victims of calamities not just in Tamil Nadu, but across the country and J S N Murthy who formed a trust in Ramachandra Hospital and helped more than 35 children to undergo free surgery.

Pushpa from the Institute of Child Health received Lifetime Achievement Award for supporting children with cancer. Sri Ramachandra Math and Mission and Isha Outreach were also awarded for their work.

KOLKATA: The state government is keeping an eye on airports, railway stations, bus terminals and other transit points to check the spread of swine flu after two children were detected with the disease on Friday.

Five-year-old Salil Naskar of Sonarpur and six-year-old Pranit Roy of Tangra tested positive for swine flu and are under treatment at the isolation ward of Beliaghata ID hospital.

State director of medical education (DME) S N Banerjee said the health department was closely monitoring the situation to prevent the disease from spreading. "We are aware of the problem and have issued necessary instructions to check the spread of the disease," he said.

KMC's health department has also decided to take preventive steps. Chief municipal health officer Debdwipayan Chatterjee on Saturday asked all executive health officials to monitor patients visiting KMC clinics. "If we find patients with symptoms of swine flu such as fever, cough and cold and respiratory problems, we will send them to ID hospital in Beliaghata," said Chatterjee.

The World Health Organisation received backing from member states Monday over its handling of the flu pandemic as WHO chief Margaret Chan said the world had been "lucky" with swine flu.

As the WHO's annual assembly opened here, French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot bluntly dismissed criticism of the UN health agency as "unjust", calling some of it a "smear campaign".

Chan told representatives of the WHO's 193 member states that "good news" in public health terms was normally driven by political commitment, resources and the ability to deliver care.

"Sometimes, though, we are just plain lucky. This has been the case with the H1N1 influenza pandemic," she said.

"The virus did not mutate to a more lethal form," while the vaccine worked and it showed little resistance to anti-viral drugs, Chan added.

The WHO chief acknowledged that "a few health systems were overwhelmed and the effects were usually short-lived.

"Had things gone wrong in any of these areas, we would have a very different agenda before us today," she added.

Her comments came as France, the United States and India led public statements of support for the WHO's management of the pandemic.

Some health experts and politicians have criticised the WHO-led global effort against the 2009 H1N1 flu after the new virus was uncovered in Mexico and the United States in April last year, claiming there was an over-reaction.

Swine flu was declared a pandemic as it rapidly spread around the world, prompting massive spending on specially developed but largely unused swine flu vaccine and emergency precautions.

"While some have questioned some of the actions taken by the international community, the outcomes speak for themselves. I believe we made the right decisions at the right times," said US Secretary for Health Kathleen Sebelius.

India complimented Chan for her "untiring efforts" but the most trenchant support came from Bachelot, who made a point by point rebuttal of criticism levelled against the WHO and public authorities.

"I want to express, in France's name, our solidarity with the WHO, which has been taken to task in an unjust manner," she told the assembly.

Bachelot said knowledge about the severity of the virus was "imperfect" in the beginning yet decisive action had to be taken.

She also expressed concern about the perception of swine flu threat, especially for younger people, arguing that public thinking had been muddled and underestimated the risks.

"The vaccine, which was the answer to a real danger, turned into a source of risk in the collective mind," Bachelot said.

The French health minister also warned that doubts about expert advice and the role of the pharmaceutical industry could undermine future alerts.

"The effects of this smear campaign are potentially devastating," she said.

Pandemic flu has left 18,030 people dead since the virus was uncovered, according to the latest WHO data.

An independent committee of experts set up by the WHO is investigating the international response to the swine flu pandemic. It is due to deliver its findings by the beginning of next year.

Chan reiterated on Monday that she welcomed the review.

"We want to know what went wrong and, ideally, why. We want to know what can be done better and, ideally, how," she added.

The WHO assembly runs until Friday, and is due to examine an array of global health issues.

In a major advancement in influenza science, India is ready with its first indigenous vaccine against H1N1 swine flu.

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has developed a H1N1 vaccine -- not a painful syringe shot but a harmless nasal spray -- which can be used by anybody above the age of three except pregnant women.

To cost around Rs 150, SII will apply to the drug controller general for licensure of its product next week.

Scientists, who are presently completing tabulation of results from the vaccine's phase-III clinical trial, say it is safe and effective with side-effects being runny nose and a bout of sneezing.

Interestingly, the breakthrough comes exactly a year after India reported its first case of swine flu (May 15, 2009).

Confirming this to TOI, SII's executive director (operations) Adar Poonawala said, "Our nasal mist vaccine is now ready. We will apply for licensure next week. It had no side-effects which are synonymous to injectible vaccines like fever, swelling or convulsions."

Poonawala added, "India now has the capability to make its very own seasonal influenza vaccines. With the technology now in place, all we have to do is switch the pandemic H1N1 strain with the seasonal flu virus."

The vaccine will be delivered into your nose through a devise fitted on top of a syringe. A quick spray in each nostril, the major route that the flu virus takes to enter, and the body develops antibodies to protect against H1N1.

"It is a live attenuated vaccine containing weakened forms of the H1N1 virus designed not to cause the flu. The strain was given to by the World Health Organisation once H1N1 was declared a pandemic," said Serum's H1N1 vaccine project director Dr Rajeev Dhere.

Explaining the clinical trials of this vaccine, Serum's additional medical director Dr Prasad Kulkarni said it was a double blind placebo control trial involving 330 people of which 110 were 18-49 years, 110 were above 50 years and the rest children aged 3-17 years.

This means half of them were given the vaccine while half were given placebo. Testing of the samples was jointly done by Serum and the National Institute of Virology (Pune). Trials were conducted in three institutes from Pune -- KEM hospital, D Y Patil Medical College and Bharatiya Vidyapith -- and one each from Indore and Ahmedabad -- Chacha Nehru hospital and Lambda Lab.

"We are tabulating the final results. But the vaccine has passed both the safety and immunogenecity trials," Dr Kulkarni said.

According to Dr Dhere, the vaccine works by generating protective antibodies in the nose and pharynx and also produces antibody in blood.

"We have seen protective antibodies develop within a week of getting vaccinated. This will be a one-time vaccine. Influenza viruses are notorious for changing their strain. Though immunity provided by live vaccines last a long time, it won't work if the influenza virus changes strain next year," Dr Dhere added.

India till now did not have an influenza vaccine. That is why it imported 1.5 million doses of this single-shot vaccine from French vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur for use on frontline health care workers.

Several other Indian companies besides Serum are also in their last leg of creating an indigenous Indian H1N1 vaccine.

Cadila Healthcare had on January 3 started human trials of India's live and inactivated indigenous H1N1 vaccine. Two other companies, Bharat Biotech International (Hyderabad) and Panasia Biotec (New Delhi), were given clearance by the DCGI to conduct human trials on January 8 and January 14 respectively.

Union health ministry officials said India's vaccine manufacturing market has become very mature and is growing rapidly. Around 60% of all vaccines in the DTP family are produced and supplied globally by Indian companies. 90% of the measles vaccines are manufactured by India.

"Usually a vaccine test takes years. But since this was a pandemic virus and we needed a vaccine urgently, the Indian companies were given permission for Phase 1 to Phase 111 trials at one go to cut down on time," DCGI Dr Surinder Singh had earlier said.

Religious leaders from the city joined hands with many NGOs to observe the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day on Sunday. The religious leaders emphasised that the HIV affected persons often face discrimination and hence they lose the interest in living.

“It is discrimination that kills them and if they can get love, they can live a long healthy life,” said Moulana Abdul Mohammad Ibrahim. Sister Sahaya Mary too stressed upon the need for love.

Around 200 HIV positive persons, of whom 80 were women and children, participated in the event.

A two-minute silence was observed in memory of those who have passed away because of AIDS.

The event concluded with people pledging “not to discriminate those living with HIV” after lighting the candles.

Diabetics of the world, rejoice.

That daily shot of insulin may soon be a thing of the past.

Scientists at the National Immunology Institute, New Delhi, led by its director Dr Avadhesha Surolia,  have developed a new form of insulin which can could  maintain normal blood sugar levels for  over 120 days.

The insulin currently available can do this for a maximum of 18 hours, forcing diabetics to take at least one injection daily to sustain their sugar levels.  With this new product, they can now restrict their shots to once every four months.

Dr Surolia said the new product was based on the principles of ‘protein folding’, and could release insulin molecules in a controlled and sustained manner for over 120 days.

“The just above basal level of human insulin released in a sustained manner has been found to be effective in not only controlling the upsurge in the level of blood glucose after meals, but also in preventing the dreaded early morning hypoglycaemia, which is caused by low glucose levels,” he was quoted as saying.

The team has already patented the technology and transferred it to a US-based company for fine-tuning and clinical trials, and the product is likely to be in the market in about six years.

"It is a multi-million dollar technology transfer agreement with royalties once the product goes to the market and if I am not wrong it is one of the biggest scientific innovations to have come from a government-owned research laboratory," Dr Surolia said.

Once it arrives, the technology has a ready-made market in the country of its birth.

India is known as the diabetes capital of the world, with an estimated  50 million diabetics in the country.

A tumor-busting, life-saving injection may be ready for prime time in about five years.

The vaccine, effective against deadly cancers in areas of the body like the breast, bowel and cervix, is being tested on some patients, according to the Daily Mail. The vaccine, which is being developed with Celldex Therapeutics, a U.S. company, revs up the immune system and tells it to destroy a hormone called hCG. That hormone, normally present only during pregnancy, is also made by about half of patients who have bladder and pancreatic cancer, and some people who have breast, bowel, ovarian and cervical tumors.

The shot shrinks the tumors and stops them from spreading.

“Not only are you causing the cancer to shrink, it is not metastazising,” Middlesex University Professor Ray Iles, creator of the vaccine, told the Daily Mail. “If you come in with chemotherapy and surgery, you’ve got a cure.”

The vaccine, now being tested on 60 bladder cancer patients, has been used on animals with “extremely good” results, according to the Daily Mail. While large trials would be necessary before it could be used, Iles predicts, “The vaccine has the potential to help us make rapid advances in the treatment of this invasive cancer.”

While destroying hCG in a woman with the vaccine would mean that the shot was also functioning as a contraceptive, that would just be in the short term. Within a year of completing treatment, a woman’s fertility should return to normal.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health