UK boost for South Africa in new struggle against AIDS

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 30,2008

South Africa’s revitalised drive against AIDS today received a £15 million boost which could help save millions of lives and stop the spread of HIV across the country.

International Development Minister Ivan Lewis travelled to Johannesburg ahead of World AIDS Day to offer the new South African Health Minister, Barbara Hogan, direct UK support as she embarks upon a new drive to tackle the HIV epidemic.

Ms Hogan’s recent appointment has signalled a significant change in direction in the fight against HIV and AIDS after years of inaction, misinformation and denial.

Ivan Lewis said:

“For too long, South Africa has been fighting AIDS with its hands tied behind its back – with over 5.5 million people living with HIV. Those ties have now been removed and the country has a real opportunity finally to turn the tide in its struggle against this epidemic.

“Barbara Hogan has set a bold and exciting vision on HIV and AIDS and that is why the UK is fully committed to working with her as she embarks on this new approach. We must ensure this new direction is irreversible and that there are no more lost opportunities to save lives.

“If we manage to control and then reverse HIV and AIDS in South Africa there will be a positive knock-on effect across Southern Africa and the continent. I call on the people of South Africa to unite behind this effort and finally call time on the HIV epidemic.”

The UK support plan will help South Africa deliver:

  • More protection for mothers and babies. There will be an increase in the availability of free tests for mothers during pregnancy, and anti-HIV drugs for pregnant mothers and children. Isolated and rural areas will be specifically targeted. It is estimated that over 45,000 lives could be saved every year.
  • National HIV awareness campaign. Information on safe-sex and HIV health issues will be sent out via radio, newspaper, text messages and street posters. The multi-media campaign is expected to reach 9 in 10 South Africans – over 43 million people.
  • Better nurses, doctors and clinics. Medical staff and managers will be helped to improve the quality of advice and service to patients, and staff morale improved through stronger incentives for quality care. Training will be offered to improve the quality and efficiency of services.
  • HIV and AIDS ‘watchdog’. The National AIDS Council (SANAC) will be strengthened and given a clearer remit to hold all parts of government to account, as well as frontline agencies involved in tackling HIV and delivering health services.

South Africa has the highest burden of AIDS in the world. Over 2.5 million people have died and over 5.5 million people in South Africa are living with HIV. Every day 800 people die from AIDS and 1500 people are infected with HIV – around one person every minute.

In the past the South African national response to AIDS has been severely hampered by “denialism” – the disproven theory that HIV does not cause AIDS.

The new awareness campaign “Small Acts, Many People, Big Change: We shall overcome” will be kick started by Barbara Hogan on Friday after the SANAC meeting. It will lead to and culminate in a minute’s silence followed by a national work stoppage on World AIDS Day to start a national conversation on AIDS.

The UK is a leader in the global effort to tackle AIDS. In South Africa, DFID Is concluding a major 5-year programme on AIDS and has spent £30 million to strengthen AIDS responses at national and provincial level. A new 5-year programme will start in mid-2009.

DFID, the Department for International Development: leading the British government’s fight against world poverty. One in five people in the world today, over 1 billion people, live in poverty on less than one dollar a day.

Website: www.dfid.gov.uk

Source: Department for International Development


eTIPs – electronic-Targeted Intervention for Psoriasis

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 29,2008

Psoriasis affects 2-3% of people in the UK and can create both physical and psychological distress. Psychological discomfort is made worse by the visible nature of the condition whereby some people avoid exposing their skin and avoid social activity due to embarrassment. The University of Manchester has embarked on a PAPAA (Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance) funded study to help people manage psoriasis better. The research team includes skin and psychology experts Professor Chris Griffiths, Professor Nick Tarrier, Dr. Christine Bundy, Ms. Binder Kaur and Dr. Sandra Bucci.

The team has designed a program, known as eTIPs (electronic-Targeted Intervention for Psoriasis). This is a web-based programme for people with psoriasis which aims to reduce psychological distress and improve psoriasis, help with coping and managing psoriasis better, improve quality of life, and increase feelings of confidence and positive thinking. Participants will complete the web-based therapy over a six week period and will be required to complete questionnaires at 3 or 4 different time points (including a six month follow-up).

e-TIPs is offered to individuals diagnosed with plaque psoriasis, who are 16 years or over, have working knowledge of the English language, and have internet access. It will be delivered on-line so that it is widely available, and can reach out to individuals who may not wish to discuss psychological complaints face-to-face. Participants can take part at their own convenience and in the privacy of their own home, and can also work at their own pace.

This study which began recruiting people in the autumn 2008 will run until December 2009.

Look out for recruitment announcements via the PAPAA website (http://www.papaa.org ) and local newspapers, radio and clinics (in Manchester only).

PAPAA:

PAPAA was founded in 2007, as a joint venture between the Psoriatic Arthropathy Alliance (PAA) (Reg Charity No: 3055414), and the Psoriasis Support Trust (PST) (Reg Charity No: 1088359), with the aim of merging the original charities into a single entity, becoming a principle resource of information and help for people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in the UK.

The Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance (PAPAA) is a Registered Charity No: 11188192. A Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England and Wales No: 6074887 Registered Office: Acre House 11-15 William Road London NW1 3ER.

Source: PAPAA


St. Jude Identifies Genomic Causes of a Certain Type of Leukemia Relapse

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 28,2008

New study finds the majority of acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse cases arise from a cell already present at the time of diagnosis

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified distinctive genetic changes in the cancer cells of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that cause relapse. The finding offers a pathway to designing treatments for ALL relapse in children and, ultimately, in adults.

The most common childhood cancer, ALL affects thousands of children annually in the United States. Although more than 80 percent of ALL cases are cured, relapse is a significant problem, with only 30 percent of children with relapsed ALL surviving.

Previous studies had found some evidence for genetic differences between the cancer cells of ALL patients at initial diagnosis and those who relapsed. That information was limited, and there had never been a broad comparison of the entire genomes of ALL at initial diagnosis and at subsequent relapse.

In the study that appears in the Nov. 28, 2008, issue of the journal Science, St. Jude researchers compared the genomes of the cancer cells of 61 childhood ALL patients when they were initially diagnosed and after they had relapsed. The investigators used millions of genetic markers — characteristic genetic variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms — as guideposts to pinpoint genetic changes characteristic of relapsed cells. Using these genetic markers, the researchers analyzed all of the cells’ chromosomes to look for genetic changes called copy number abnormalities specific to relapsed cells. These changes are considered a major type of damaging gene alterations in ALL.

“In more than 90 percent of the cases, we found differences in the genetic alterations present at the time of diagnosis and at the time of relapse,” said Charles Mullighan, M.D., Ph.D., assistant member in the St. Jude Department of Pathology and the paper’s first author. “Examining the new changes that are arising at relapse tells us a lot about the individual genetic lesions that might confer resistance to treatment and be responsible for relapse.”

According to the researchers, the relapse-related genetic changes commonly disrupted the machinery by which white blood cells called B cells mature and proliferate. Importantly, the relapse-related genetic changes only infrequently involved genes directly regulating the responsiveness to anti-cancer drugs.

The analysis also indicated that in most cases, the cancer cells responsible for relapse were related to those that originally gave rise to the cancer. Those relapse cells were present at low levels at diagnosis, the scientists’ analysis indicated. However, in a few cases, the relapse cells evolved from genetically distinct cells, indicating that the relapsed leukemia was actually an entirely new cancer.

“The key finding in our work is that in the majority of cases, relapse is arising from a cell already present at the time of diagnosis,” said James Downing, M.D., St. Jude Scientific Director, chair of the Department of Pathology and the paper’s senior author. “That cell is selected for during treatment and then subsequently emerges as basis for relapse.”

“The second key point is that we have found a large number of new genetic alterations that had not been previously identified as new targets of copy number changes at the time of relapse,” Mullighan added.

Mullighan emphasized that the findings do not mean immediate treatments for ALL relapse. “But, this is a very important starting point because we have identified several key pathways that are the most common targets of new genetic changes at the time of relapse,” he said.

Identification of these relapse pathways will lead to understanding of the biological machinery of relapse, and ultimately to drugs that target that machinery. Such studies of the relapse machinery are now underway at St. Jude.

In other further studies, the researchers are also looking for other relapse-related genetic alterations besides copy number abnormalities. They are also applying their findings to adult ALL, in which relapse is a more significant problem than in the childhood disease.

Other authors of this paper include Letha Phillips, Xiaoping Su, Jing Ma, Christopher Miller and Sheila Shurtleff.

The research was supported in part by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and ALSAC.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.


Assistive Listening Devices Available Free with Hearing System Purchase Starting November 26 through December 7

Zounds Hearing, a unique manufacturing and retail company focused on providing hearing devices with state-of-the-art fidelity, price point and professional service, announces the introduction of assistive listening devices (ALDs) in an effort to aid all who are hard of hearing. The various devices are now available in all of the Zounds Hearing Centers retail locations effective November 24, 2008. And, from November 26, 2008, through December 7, 2008, all customers who purchase a Zounds hearing system will be eligible for a free ALD*.

The products include an Amplified Cordless Phone, Amplified Corded Phone, Cordless Phone Handset, Portable Phone Amplifier, Telephone Ring Signaler and Alarm Clock, all ranging in price from $34.95 to $119.95. The array of devices are available in time for the holiday season, so consumers can feel good about giving the important gift of better hearing while being easy on the pocketbook.

The ALDs feature:

  • A choice of adjustable tone levels (up to 95 dB ring level) along with sound clarifying technology to aid those with various levels of hearing loss
  • Wake & Shake features, vibrating pads and flashing lights as alternative forms of alarm-clock signaling while sleeping
  • Phones include adjustable handsets, vibrate & visual ringers and amplification adjustments, making talking on the phone convenient for those with or without a hearing loss

“Zounds is extremely excited to be incorporating these products into our growing array of hearing devices,” said John Costello, CEO of Zounds. “Along with our rechargeable Zounds hearing aids, these ALDs help give people the freedom of better hearing, no matter their situation.”

In addition to a growing product line, Zounds hearing centers are expanding with 30 retail locations across the United States. The company opened its first location in February of 2007 and plans to open many more stores in 2009 through an aggressive expansion plan.

To experience the Zounds difference, please visit a hearing center location or visit our demonstration at http://www.zoundshearing.com/.

*Products may vary by location


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