A team of scientists from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC), led by Zygmunt Galdzicki, Ph.D., associate professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics, USU, and Tarik F. Haydar, Ph.D., CNMC, now associate professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, and corresponding author on the study), were able to identify Olig1 and Olig2 as two genes specific to the critical region of chromosome 21 associated with Down syndrome by using a specifically-engineered modification of the golden standard Down syndrome mouse model, Ts65Dn.

Previous studies including those by co-author Tyler Best, Ph.D., while a graduate student at USU, suggested that inhibitory activity is stronger in the Ts65Dn brain. This led researchers at USU and Children’s to hypothesize that genes controlling the inhibitory tone of the brain contribute to the cognitive changes associated with Down syndrome. By manipulating Olig1 and Olig2, genes present on the extra chromosome 21, the researchers were able to normalize key aspects of the inhibitory tone in brain regions involved in learning and memory. Thus, the balance of excitatory to inhibitory neurons is critically regulated by extra copies of these genes and they can drastically modify neurological development in Down syndrome.

“The results of this study demonstrate the critical effects of Olig1 and Olig2 on brain development and, in particular, on inhibitory networks in the brain,” said Dr. Galdzicki. “However, it is likely that additional genes are also involved in the effect. We hope the findings will lead to better strategies for early intervention, even during the pregnancy, to reduce neurological consequences of Down syndrome.

“This study again highlights that research on Down syndrome can provide us with new insight into the mechanisms that regulate brain growth and may help with better understanding other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism,” he said. “These findings show the need to do more human studies and also suggest that Olig1 and Olig2 inhibitors may have a potential therapeutic role for Down syndrome individuals.”

Source: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU)

“The California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG) and the 60,000 physicians we represent support the efforts by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to pursue an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) approach to serving the Medicare population and beyond. These proposed regulations herald an exciting and promising new day for seniors — the promise of higher quality, coordinated care supplanting fragmented, wasteful, suboptimal fee for service care. The proposed dual tract payment methodology is almost precisely the sensible approach that CAPG advocated. It will allow the more sophisticated ACOs, like those in the CAPG membership, to take on downside risk and upside gainsharing opportunity, which will create the stronger incentives necessary to bend the cost curve down and the quality curve up. For example, virtually all CAPG members are providing high quality care to Medicare seniors under a prepayment model resulting in hospital utilization rates that are approximately 39 % lower than is currently experienced in the Original Medicare population. We are ready, willing, and able to deliver the same high quality, highly efficient care to the Original Medicare population.
“In California, the necessary networks of physicians and the infrastructure of coordinated care – more than sufficient to reduce costs to CMS and to improve quality to the beneficiaries – are already in place. At initial review the regulations are on the right track and our physician groups are ready to do their part to make sure ACO’s succeed.”

Source:

California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG)

These regional events which are running between October 2009 and January 2010 are designed to give an in-depth understanding of the barriers holding up practice based commissioning and provide practical skills to clear the path to commissioning success.

The programme for each region have been tailored to meet local learning needs and are developed based on results of detailed interviews with practice based commissioners.

The four skills based programmes include:
Data: How to get it and how to use it
Key PBC stumbling blocks and how to overcome them
Negotiating and influencing skills to drive forward PBC success
Making a success of your service re-design
Expert tutors will provide top tips and advice, plus best-practice case studies to help gain clarity about the keys to PBC success, and practical workshops will give the opportunity to put new skills into action.

Delegates will also receive a copy of all the relevant modules from the NAPC’s acclaimed PBC toolkit along with an attendance certificate.

TEVA UK Limited and the Department of Health are sponsoring these events which means the first 50 tickets are at a reduced rate of ??85 + VAT.

For more information visit pulse-seminars

Source
Pulse

Another factor that is expected to benefit the industry is the increasing adoption of physically active lifestyles among women. With active adolescents and working young women sporting figure-hugging dresses, swimsuits and spandex outfits, the use of innovative tampons and ultra thin sanitary pads is expected to gain preference as protection products.

The United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific collectively account for 80% of the feminine hygiene products market, as stated by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Asia-Pacific, with a vast population base and relatively untapped market, is projected to be the fastest growing region over the period 2001-2010. Sales from sanitary pads in the United States are estimated at $1.3 billion for 2008. Driven by technology innovation and greater user safety, sanitary pads have emerged as a popular feminine protection product worldwide. The consistent consumption trend is further benefited by technological innovations that have made sanitary pads thinner, smaller, lighter, and highly absorptive.

Tampons are used extensively in the developed regions of the world that include United States, Western Europe and Canada. Recurrence of TSS cases in recent years has affected tampon sales, with women shifting to alternatives such as sanitary pads. Faced with issues related to adverse health and environmental affects, the European tampons market is expected to grow at a modest pace to reach $1.1 billion by 2010. The use of tampons in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Eastern Europe is restricted due to cultural and cost factors.

Worldwide feminine hygiene products market is characterized by mature conditions, which has intensified competition in the market. Major players profiled in the report include Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, SCA, Lil-lets Group, Playtex Products, Unicharm, and Kao Corporation.

The report titled “Feminine Hygiene Products: A Global Strategic Business Report” published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., analyzes the market over the 2001-2015 period, while the historic analytics provide an overview of the industry’s performance in the past (1991-2000). The report also focuses on the advent of innovative technologies, in the form of improved material and convenience offering products, which are expected to boost market prospects.

For more details of this research report please visit click here.

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a reputed publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company is globally recognized as one of the world’s largest market research publishers. The company employs over 700 people worldwide and publishes more than 880 full-scale research reports each year. Additionally, the company also offers a range of over 60,000 smaller research products including company reports, market trend reports, and industry reports encompassing all major industries worldwide.

StrategyR

Recalling an event stored in the long-term memory triggers a reprocessing phase: the recollection then becomes sensitive to pharmacological disturbances before being once more stored in the long-term memory. Is drug therapy capable of wiping out the initial memory, and only that memory?

The scientists trained rats to be frightened of two distinct sounds, making them listen to these sounds just before sending an electric shock to their paws. The next day, they gave half of the rats a drug known to cause amnesia for events recalled from memory, and played just one of the sounds again. When they played both sounds to the rats on the next day, those which had not received the drug were still frightened of both sounds, while those which had received the drug were no longer afraid of the sound they had heard under its influence. Recalling the memory of the electric shock associated with the sound played while rats were under the influence of a drug thus meant that the memory was wiped out by the drug, leaving intact the memory associated with the other sound.

The researchers also recorded the neuronal activity of rats in the amygdale, an area of the brain associated with emotional memory. Neuronal activity increased when remembering the traumatic memory, but diminished in drugged rats. This result showed that pharmacological disturbance of the memory recalled did indeed consist in selectively wiping out this memory, and only this memory. This is the first demonstration that a memory can be modified or even wiped out at the cellular level, permanently and independently of other memories associated with it.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Synapse-specific reconsolidation of distinct fear memories in the lateral amygdale, V. Doy??re, J. Debiec, M.-H. Monfils, J. E Schafe, J. E LeDoux, Nature Neuroscience, doi :10.1038/nn1871 (2007). Advanced online publication on March, 2007

Contact: Monica McCarthy
CNRS

In a study published in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, the research team reports that patients with major depression, compared with healthy control subjects, fail to activate a critical deep brain area to positive emotional stimuli. The area is the ventral striatum, in the region of the nucleus accumbens, which has been associated with reward, motivation and salience. Furthermore, among patients, those who had more of a failure to activate this region under these conditions reported more lack of interest and pleasure in work or activities — on “anhedonia” items of standardized clinical rating scales.

Recent models of depression have included the ventral striatum and motivational functions, among a number of regions and processes, but there has not previously been direct and specific evidence for positive emotion-related dysfunction in the region of the nucleus accumbens, with clinical correlation as well.

The current work addresses this issue with specifically-designed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) approaches. Study subjects silently read positive, neutral and negative emotional words on a screen as their pattern of brain activity was being measured. Targeted analyses allowed the scientists to test a hypothesis about the link between ventral striatal function, positive emotion and anhedonia, by comparing localized brain activity in the different experimental conditions, and determining its relationship to patients’ depressive symptoms.

The research team in Weill Cornell’s Department of Psychiatry was led by Drs. David Silbersweig and Emily Stern (senior authors, directors of the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, functionalneuroimaginglab/), and included Dr. Jane Epstein (first author), and Dr. James Kocsis (a clinical researcher of mood disorders and their treatment) and Dr. Hong Pan (image analysis scientist).

While follow-up studies will need to be performed, these initial findings help to clarify a biological underpinning for a central feature or sub-type of depression, and provide important information for the refinement of brain circuit models of depression.

The work also helps to provide a foundation for the development of improved treatment strategies, which are increasingly based upon specific brain targets and mechanisms. Such studies contribute to a growing body of neuroscientifiic work, leading to a greater understanding that conditions like depression have a biological foundation (are not just “psychological”). This understanding can help to de-stigmatize mental illness, so that people who are suffering receive greater support and get the help they need.

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For more information please visit:
Weill Cornell Medical College

These and other questions will be addressed at the 2008 Midyear Topical Meeting of the Health Physics Society (HPS), which will take place January 28-30, 2008 in Oakland, California at the Oakland Marriott Convention Center. Approximately 400 attendees are expected, with over 130 presentations throughout the three days.

Here are two examples of the noteworthy talks that will be presented at the meeting:

MEDICAL RADIATION EXPOSURES RISING

In 1982, the per capita radiation dose from medical imaging was estimated to be 0.54 mSv (millisieverts, a standard unit of radiation exposure) and the collective dose was124,000 person-Sv. Just 14 years later, the National Council on Radiation made preliminary estimates that the per capita dose from medical exposure (not including radiotherapy) had increased almost 600 percent (to about 3.0 mSv.) The collective dose had increased over 750 percent to about 880,000 person-Sv. The largest contributions and increases have come primarily from CT scanning and nuclear medicine. (Presentation TPM-B.1 Tuesday, January 29, 2008)

WORLD’S FIRST FREE ELECTRON X-RAY LASER

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) will be the world’s first free electron laser at x-ray wavelengths when it becomes operational in 2009. Ultra-fast pulses of unprecedented brightness will enable completely new classes of experiments, such as following atomic rearrangements during chemical reactions, and imaging of single molecules.

(Two presentations: MPM-A.4 Monday, January 28, 2008; and WAM-A.5 Wednesday, January 30, 2008)

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

* Information about particle accelerator facilities for medical therapy; use of radiation-generating machines for cargo imaging systems;

* Discussion of a new technique that overcomes these limitations by obtaining tomographic images using the multiple scattering of cosmic radiation as it transits each vehicle;

* A Nuclear Regulatory Commission update on efforts to regulate naturally-occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive materials;

* Performance of non-destructive testing radiography using a battery-powered portable x-ray generator rather than a traditional gamma radiography source;

* A report on the status of two new International Electrotechnical Commission international standards (one on personnel screening and one on cargo/vehicle inspection systems);

* A review of the recently released ANSI Standard related to the use of radiation detection equipment used for national security;

* A new method for delivering therapeutic radiation doses using a miniature x-ray source.

Click here to access information about these and all of the presentations.

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ABOUT THE HEALTH PHYSICS SOCIETY

The Health Physics Society consists of approximately 5,500 radiation safety professionals whose activities include ensuring safe and beneficial uses of radiation and radioactive materials, assisting in the development of standards and regulations, and communicating radiation safety information.

The Society is a nonprofit organization formed in 1956. Its primary mission is excellence in the science and practice of radiation safety. The Society has members in approximately 70 countries, and has established nearly 50 chapters and 10 student branches. Visit hps/ for more information.

Health physicists promote the practice of radiation safety. They work in occupational environments such as universities, local hospitals, manufacturing, and nuclear power plants as well as in environmental areas such as radioactive waste sites. They are involved in understanding, evaluating, and controlling radiation’s potential risks relative to its benefits in applications such as fighting disease, supplying energy, and increasing security.

The HPS meeting webpage contains links to the full program.

Source: Jason Bardi

American Institute of Physics

Steve Shrubb, director of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, which represents the majority of NHS mental health trusts, said:

“The rise in the use of compulsory treatment orders is a source of serious concern and we need to get to the bottom of what is happening. One factor could be demand for services is continuing to rise in the light of the recession. We need to find alternative ways to support people.

“Many services already provide excellent services and the challenge is to bring everyone up to the standard of the best. The key is to offer services based on listening to staff and service users that is tailored to meet individual needs.

“We also need to focus on early intervention so mental illness is tackled as soon as possible. The current white paper reforms, which put commissioning power closer to patients, offer a real opportunity for early intervention and improved mental wellbeing will be an important indicator of their success.”

Source:

NHS Confederation

Mental Health Network

Bacteria have evolved mechanisms called quorum-sensing systems that allow for rapid communication between cells. “In pathogenic bacteria, these systems were first described as virulence regulators, whereas it has been shown more recently that quorum-sensing control is also aimed to respond to changing environmental conditions via metabolic adaptations,” explains lead study author Dr. Michael Otto from the Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis at Rock Mountain Laboratories.

Dr. Otto and colleagues studied S. aureus, a major human pathogen that is the most common cause of bacterial infections in the community and the hospital. Many strains are resistant to a wide spectrum of antibiotics, including methicillin (methicillin-resistant S. aureus, MRSA). “Recent outbreaks of MRSA in the community form a novel major challenge for the public health system,” says Dr. Otto. “It is thought that drugs which interfere with quorum-sensing regulators may prevent production of several virulence factors and be less likely to lead to resistance that drugs which directly kill bacteria.”

The accessory gene regulator (agr) system is a pivotal regulator of virulence factor expression and a potential therapeutic target. The agr system initiates rapid target gene expression when bacterial cell density reaches a threshold level, exerting its effect through RNAIII. Phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs), which play an important role in the ability of S. aureus to evade the host immune system, are also controlled by agr but the molecular mechanisms of PSM regulation are not well understood.

The researchers examined the role of RNAIII within the agr regulatory system, with an emphasis on PSM regulation. They found that there are two distinct subsets of agr target gene regulation, an RNAIII-independent circuit that regulates metabolic genes and an RNAIII-dependent circuit controlling virulence. They went on to demonstrate that agr-dependent regulation of the PSM gene family is achieved by direct binding of a key agr response regulator protein.

The researchers concluded that control of virulence factors by RNAIII and quorum-sensing control of metabolism may have once been separate regulatory circuits. The circuits may have evolved a connection in order to allow for quick cell density-dependent change of virulence factor expression during infection as regulation by an RNA is thought to have a shorter response time than regulation by a protein.

“By discovering RNAIII-independent regulation of agr target genes, our findings establish a novel mechanism of target gene control by quorum-sensing in S. aureus and give insight into the evolution of quorum-sensing systems with regard to the connection of metabolism and virulence gene regulation,” offers Dr. Otto.

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The researchers include Shu Y. Queck, Max Jameson-Lee, Amer E. Villaruz, Thanh-Huy L. Bach, Burhan A. Khan,1 Daniel E. Sturdevant, Stacey M. Ricklefs, Min Li, and Michael Otto, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT.

Source: Cathleen Genova

Cell Press

Even though fibromyalgia is frequently referred to as an arthritis-related condition, it does not cause joint damage or inflammation, as arthritis does. Neither does fibromyalgia cause damage to muscle and other tissues. However, it is similar to arthritis because it causes severe pain and tiredness, and can undermine the patient’s ability to go about his daily activities. Fibromyalgia is seen as a rheumatic condition. A rheumatic condition is one that causes joint and soft tissue pain.
What are the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia?

Morning stiffness
Headaches
Irregular sleep patterns
IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
Painful menstrual periods (Dysmenorrhea)
Hands and feet tingle and can feel numb
Restless leg syndrome
Sensitivity to cold or heat
Fibro fog (memory problems, cognitive problems)

The following signs and symptoms are also possible

Widespread pain
Problems with vision
Nausea
Pelvic and urinary problems
Weight gain
Dizziness
Cold/flu like symptoms
Jaw pain and stiffness
Skin problems
Chest symptoms
Depression
Anxiety
Myofascial pain syndrome (pain/tiredness in muscles and adjacent fibrous tissues)
Breathing problems

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome
A syndrome is a collection of signs, symptoms and medical problems. A disease is a medical condition with defined causes and clear signs and symptoms.
How common is Fibromyalgia? Who gets Fibromyalgia?
According to reported cases in the USA, approximately 1 in every 73 American adults suffers from fibromyalgia. The American College of Rheumatology says that between 3 and 6 million Americans have fibromyalgia.

The NIH (National Institutes of Health, USA) says 90% of fibromyalgia patients are women. Men and children may also be affected.

Although symptoms may become present at any time during a person’s life, they are most commonly reported when the patient is middle-aged.

People who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus), or spinal arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis) have a higher risk of developing fibromyalgia, as well as patients with some other rheumatic diseases.

Studies indicate fibromyalgia may also be hereditary. Females who have a close relative with fibromyalgia have a significantly higher risk of suffering from it themselves. Experts are not certain whether the link is genetic, circumstantial, or both.
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
Experts say there are probably a number of factors. However, nobody is really sure what causes fibromyalgia. Factors such as a traumatic, stressful, or emotional event may be linked to developing fibromyalgia. Possible causal factors currently include:

A stressful, traumatic physical or emotional event (e.g. Post-traumatic stress disorder, a car accident)
Repetitive injuries
Rheumatoid arthritis
Lupus
CNS (central nervous system) problems
The way our genes regulate how we process painful stimuli

How Is Fibromyalgia Diagnosed?
A patient with fibromyalgia will usually keep going back to the doctor many times before a proper diagnosis is made. This is because the symptoms are similar to other conditions. Before diagnosing fibromyalgia the doctor needs to rule out other conditions and illnesses.

As laboratory tests do not show a physical reason for the pain that goes with fibromyalgia, there are not any diagnostic laboratory tests for it. This can be frustrating for the patient and the doctor as well. Unfortunately, the patient still runs the risk of being told by an untrained doctor that his pain is not real and that there is therefore no treatment.

The American College of Rheumatology has established two criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia:

A history of widespread pain that has lasted over three months. Widespread means the pain affects the four parts (quadrants) of your body – the left, right, top and bottom sides.

The presence of tender points in 18 sites of the body. These sites are located at the back and front of the neck, between the neck and chest, just below the neck on the back, the knees, the inside of the elbows, just above the buttocks (where two dimples are usually located), just below the buttocks at the top of the back thighs at their furthest point from the crotch. At least 11 of these points need to be tender for a fibromyalgia diagnosis to be confirmed. For a point to be tender the patient should feel pain if 4gk of pressure is applied to it. It is possible that a fibromyalgia patient feels pain at other points – however, for a diagnosis to be confirmed tenderness needs to be limited to those 18 points (at least 11 of them).

What is the treatment for Fibromyalgia?
It is important that the patient’s doctor is trained in treating fibromyalgia, as it is not an easy condition to treat. Fortunately, more and more doctors, including GPs (general practitioners) know what to do. For best results the patient should be treated by the doctor, a physical therapist, and possibly some other health care professionals simultaneously. Patient compliance is crucial for good results. Patient compliance means that the patient is actively involved and does not forget to follow instructions.

Each patient is different and will require individualized treatment. Treatment will usually include some or all of the following:

An active exercise program
Low-dose anti-depressants
Acupuncture
Psychotherapy
Behavior modification therapy
Chiropractic care
Massage
Physical therapy (UK term is called physiotherapy)

Drugs

Various studies have indicated that pharmacologic treatment (drugs) for fibromyalgia helped between one-third and one-half of all patients. However, some of them experienced worsening symptoms.

One study demonstrated that taking a tricyclic antidepressant, 25 mg of amitriptyline (Elavil), with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, 20 mg of fluoxetine (Prozac), all in combination was twice as effective as either one taken alone.

Exercise

Aerobic exercise combined with resistance training (strength-training) have been linked to a significant improvement in pain, tender point counts, and sleep disturbance. Unfortunately, a large percentage of patients do not keep up the exercises. Studies have shown that working out with a partner or personal trainer helps to keep the program active.

Acupuncture

Many patients have experienced improvements in their quality of life after starting acupuncture therapy. How often sessions should be depends on the individual.

Painkillers

If the pain is severe, and other therapies have not been effective or cannot be utilized, chronic opioid analgesic therapy – oral painkillers – may be an option. Aspirin and ibuprofen are generally not very effective.

Behavior modification therapy

This includes learning new coping skills, relaxation exercises and self-hypnosis. Patients have commented that pain perception, which is a very complicated phenomenon, may be altered with experience.

Growth hormone therapy

Growth hormone therapy has been shown in one study to be effective in reducing symptoms, without serious side-effects. However, the treatment is extremely expensive.
Will I get better? Will I get worse? What is the prognosis?
There is no definitive cure for fibromyalgia. However, treatment is a lot better today than it used to be. Clinical studies have shown that your symptoms can improve significantly if you follow all your treatment to the letter. Keep working with trained health care professionals, as well as informed and motivated patients and you will experience significant improvements in your symptoms and quality of life.
News on Fibromyalgia
For the latest news and research on Fibromyalgia, please visit our Fibromyalgia news section.

– Christian

View drug information on Prozac Weekly.