Metformin Boosts Immune System in Mice

By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today Published: June 04, 2009 Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner

TORONTO, June 4 -- In a surprise discovery, American and Canadian researchers found that the first-line diabetes drug metformin boosts long-term immune memory, at least in mice.

Action Points

The finding implies that drugs aimed at manipulating energy metabolism may be useful in boosting the immune response to vaccines, according to Yongwon Choi, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues at McGill University in Montreal.

The drug (sold under various trade names) causes an increase in CD8-positive "memory" T cells that maintain the long-term immune response, Dr. Choi and colleagues reported in the June 4 Nature. /.../

Chronic Disease Prevention and Control in the Americas

Health Surveillance and Disease Prevention and Control / Chronic Diseases

Chronic Disease Prevention and Control in the Americas (Monthly Newsletter of the PAHO/WHO Chronic Disease Program)
- Rules & Procedures - Archives  Current Issue: April 2009 (MS Word, 5 pp, 1.35 Mb; contents below) Spotlight: Cancer HPV Vaccine: Intervention in Adolescents IARC Study on HPV Testing in Low-Resource Settings WHO Position Paper on HPV Vaccines Just Released WHO/PAHO Cryotherapy Guidelines Call for Abstracts: International Cancer Control Congress News Roundup Subscribe		Purpose of the Newsletter: To share information between countries, within PAHO and with key partners and promote the Regional Strategy on an Integrated Approach to the Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases Including Diet, Physical Activity, and Health; to share developments on all aspects of the Strategy and its four lines of action (surveillance & response, advocacy & policy, health promotion & disease prevention, and integrated management of chronic diseases & risk factors) as well as news on program implementation. Scope of the Newsletter: The newsletter can include items of interest in the following areas related to chronic disease surveillance, prevention, and management, including their risk factors: National, subregional or regional events or developments in chronic disease and risk-factor prevention and control. Country activities (please cite source and/or links if it is from a national agency; also, country news must be authorized by the corresponding Ministry or NGO): New surveillance findings, analyses, studies, trends. Prevention initiatives and campaigns. Policy developments in health or broader healthy public policies of relevance. Launch of strategies or plans. New Partnerships or grants. Major workshops or training events. New information resources or links. The newsletter began in January 2007. Typical contents revolve around regional developments, progress in the countries, upcoming events, announcements, and/or information resources. The current issue (and the occasional special issue) can be found above in the left-hand column, in MS Word as of March 2009; archives are listed below (primarily in PDF prior to March 2009). CNCD News from PAHO-Brazil   (in Portuguese)

Economic Impact of Angina After an Acute Coronary Syndrome

Economic Impact of Angina After an Acute Coronary Syndrome: Insights From

the MERLIN-TIMI 36 Trial

Suzanne V. Arnold, David A. Morrow, Yang Lei, David J. Cohen, Elizabeth M.

Mahoney, Eugene Braunwald, and Paul S. Chan

Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes published 2 June 2009,

10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.108.829523

http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCOUTCOMES.108.829523v1?papetoc

Periodontitis and CHD: First evidence of a genetic link

Periodontitis and CHD: First evidence of a genetic link

June 1, 2009 | Lisa Nainggolan

Vienna, Austria - German scientists have for the first time identified a genetic link between periodontitis and coronary heart disease (CHD), two conditions characterized by a chronic inflammatory process [1]. Dr Arne Schaefer (Univeristy of Kiel, Germany) presented the findings of his study last week at the European Society of Human Genetics meeting.

He explained that an association between the dental disease and CHD has been known for many years, with evidence of an epidemiological relationship between the two, and many shared risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes, and obesity. But until now, a genetic link was suspected but not proven./.../

Os segredos do coração

Os segredos do coração

Livro de 1628 que explicou a circulação sanguínea é publicado em edição trilíngue

Neldson Marcolin

Edição Impressa 159 - Maio 2009

Pesquisa FAPESP -  

© Reprodução Editora Unifesp

Fac-símile da primeira publicação

Em apenas 17 anos, a Inglaterra viu nascer três das mais importantes obras de sua cultura pelo significado que tiveram para a religião, a literatura e a medicina: a tradução autorizada da Bíblia pelo rei James I (1611), a edição das peças de William Shakespeare (1623) e o tratado médico Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus (1628). Este último livro, escrito por William Harvey (1578-1657), é tido como o modelo fundador e o protótipo do método científico da pesquisa médica atual. Conhecido como De motu cordis, o tratado foi lançado em março pela editora Unifesp com o nome de Estudo anatômico do movimento do coração e do sangue nos animais, em edição trilíngue (latim, francês e português).

O estudo de Harvey foi publicado em Frankfurt, na Alemanha, por precaução. Na época ainda imperavam os ensinamentos do médico grego Galeno de Pérgamo (132-200 d.C.), estudioso e praticante da medicina hipocrática na Roma imperial. Galeno descreveu corretamente a anatomia do coração e percebeu que ele funcionava como uma bomba, porém acreditava que o sangue era fabricado no fígado, de onde era distribuído aos outros órgãos e aos diversos tecidos. Também achava que havia um “espírito vital”, criado no coração, que percorria as artérias e as veias junto com o sangue./.../

Recommendations for Clinical Exercise Laboratories

Recommendations for Clinical Exercise Laboratories. A Scientific Statement
From the American Heart Association
Jonathan Myers, Ross Arena, Barry Franklin, Ileana Pina, William E. Kraus,
Kyle McInnis, Gary J. Balady  on behalf of the American Heart Association
Committee on Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Prevention of the
Council on Clinical Cardiology, the Council on Nutrition, Physical
Activity, and Metabolism, and the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing
Circulation published 1 June 2009, 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.192520
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.192520v1?papetoc

O DIÁLOGO E A CUMPLICIDADE DE UM PIANO COM UM VIOLONCELO.

Sérgio Olivé é casado com minha filha Lucia Helena Robinson Achutti e pai de dois de meus netos: Pedro Martin e Antônio.

Sérgio Olivé is the husband of my daughter Luica Helena Robinson Achutti and father of two fo my grandchildren: Pedro Martin and Antonio.

O DIÁLOGO E A CUMPLICIDADE DE UM PIANO COM UM VIOLONCELO.

 Este duo é formado pela violoncelista MARJANA RUTKOWSKI e pelo pianista SERGIO OLIVÉ que contam muitas histórias através da música. No repertório estão composições étnicas, celtas, latino-americanas e world-music conhecidas do público e outras compostas especialmente para este projeto.

O concerto se caracteriza pela forma descontraída do duo que conversa com o público narrando contos relacionados às músicas apresentadas, levando-os ao mundo imaginário de onde se originou cada obra. Algumas das histórias estão cheias de situações engraçadas e absurdas.

 A PRÉ ESTRÉIA DO DUO ESTÁ MARCADA PARA QUINTA-FEIRA 4 DE JUNHO ÀS 19h, NO AUDITÓRIO LUIS COSME DA CASA DE CULTURA MARIO QUINTANA EM PORTO ALEGRE.

Rua dos Andradas, 736 - Tel: (51) 3221.7147

Ingresso (preço único): R$10,00

 Venha assistir ao concerto!

Você pode conhecer o duo e ouvir músicas em mp3 em:www.myspace.com/marjanasergio

Para entrar em contato: somrproductions@gmail.com

Sergio Olivé: (51) 99587697

 Sergio Olivé

http://www.myspace.com/sergiooliv

http://www.myspace.com/marjanasergio

Modelling health care expenditures

Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) to EQUIDAD 

Modelling health care expenditures

Overview of the literature and evidence from a panel time series model

 

Roel van Elk, Esther Mot, Philip Hans Franses

CPB Discussion Paper - No 121 - February 2009

CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis - The Hague, the Netherlands

 

Available online as PDF file [37p.] at: http://www.cpb.nl/eng/pub/cpbreeksen/discussie/121/disc121.pdf 

 

“… Health care expenditures in industrial countries have been growing rapidly over the past forty years. This rapid growth jeopardizes the sustainability of public budgets and causes an increasing interest in the determinants of health care expenditures. The first purpose of this paper is to give an up to date overview of the literature on health care expenditures. Secondly, this paper tries to contribute to the existing literature by investigating the impact of several factors on health care expenditures in an empirical analysis using an error-correction model.

 

Additional to the ‘usual suspects’ for rising health care expenditures, we pay attention to a somewhat neglected driving factor, which is the increase in the relative price of health care compared to other goods and services. We find that the increasing price of health care helps to explain the increase in real health care expenditures. However, the use of health care in volume terms is negatively affected by the increasing price. This effect seems to be stronger in periods of cost containment policy. Consistent with most recent findings in the literature, we find that income and ageing are important drivers of health care expenditures….”/.../

World No Tobacco Day 2009: Call to action

Today, 31 May 2009, is World No Tobacco Day. This year’s theme is “Tobacco health warnings.” Learn more at www.who.int/tobacco/wntd/2009.

Health warnings on tobacco packages that combine text and pictures are one of the most cost-effective ways to increase public awareness of the serious health risks of tobacco use and to reduce tobacco consumption.

A call to action

AMICOR joins ProCor and the World Health Organization in a call to action./.../

Tobacco Warning Labels

ITC Project Special Report on Warning Labels

Download the report and interviews with investigators

 Dr. David Hammond

 Dr. Ron Borland

 Dr. Maansi Travers

 Download interview excerpts by topic here

Zip file containing the report and interviews

US Tobacco Control

Policy Coherence in US Tobacco Control: Beyond FDA Regulation

Joshua S. Yang¹, Thomas E. Novotny^2*

1 Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California , United States of America, 2 Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, United States of America

Citation: Yang JS, Novotny TE (2009) Policy Coherence in US Tobacco Control: Beyond FDA Regulation. PLoS Med 6(5): e1000079. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000079

Published: May 19, 2009

Copyright: © 2009 Yang, Novotny. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* E-mail: tnovotny@mail.sdsu.edu

Introduction Top

As the Obama administration moves to enact meaningful and comprehensive health care reform in the United States, tobacco control must be elevated as a public health priority [1]. Though tobacco control efforts have been recognized as a top public health achievement of the 20th century [2], tobacco use continues to be the leading preventable cause of death in the US [3]. As Box 1 shows, the US bears a heavy burden from the health and fiscal effects of smoking. Thus, continued progress in preventing tobacco use and promoting smoking cessation must be a leading priority for health care reform under the new administration. This policy paper gives the current status of tobacco control policies, initiatives, and legislative action at the time of going to press./.../

Ear Problem Common in Older Adults

By Nancy Walsh, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Published: May 26, 2009 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Dorothy Caputo, ,

RIDGEWOOD, N.J., May 26 -- Vestibular function is impaired in 35 percent of U.S. adults over 40 and can contribute to catastrophic outcomes such as falls, a new study found.

Action Points  

---

• Explain to interested patients that their balance is affected by the correct functioning of their inner ear structures, and that this functioning declines as they age.



• Also explain that this contributes significantly to their risk of falling and being seriously injured.

The condition affects approximately 69 million Americans, according Yuri Agrawal, M.D., and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, reporting in the May 25 Archives of Internal Medicine.

The odds of having vestibular dysfunction increased significantly with age, with an adjusted odds ratio of 22.7 for individuals age 80 and over (95% CI 16.8 to 30.7), compared with those ages 40 to 49, the researchers found. /.../

Percutaneous Closure of PFO for Secondary Stroke Prevention

(Circulation. 2009;119:2743-2747.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

AHA/ASA/ACCF Science Advisory

Percutaneous Device Closure of Patent Foramen Ovale for Secondary Stroke Prevention

A Call for Completion of Randomized Clinical Trials: A Science Advisory From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association and the American College of Cardiology Foundation The American Academy of Neurology affirms the value of this science advisory.

Patrick T. O'Gara, MD, FAHA, FACC, Chair; Steven R. Messe, MD, FAHA; E. Murat Tuzcu, MD, FAHA, FACC; Gloria Catha, BA; John C. Ring, MD, FACC

The optimal therapy for prevention of recurrent stroke or transient ischemic attack in patients with cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale has not been defined. Although numerous observational studies have suggested a strong association between patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke, a causal relationship has not been convincingly established for the majority of affected patients. Treatment choices include medical therapy with antiplatelet agents or vitamin K antagonists, percutaneous device closure, or open surgical repair. Whereas suture closure of an incidental patent foramen ovale is performed routinely during the course of an operation undertaken for another indication, primary surgical repair is rarely advocated in the current era. The choice between medical therapy and percutaneous device closure has been the subject of intense debate over the past several years, albeit one that has not been adequately informed by randomized, prospective clinical trial data to permit an objective comparison of the relative safety and efficacy of these respective approaches. Enrollment in clinical trials has lagged considerably despite frequent calls for participation from the US Food and Drug Administration and major professional societies. Completion and peer review of ongoing trials are critical steps to establish an evidence base from which clinicians can make informed decisions regarding the best therapy for individual patients. The present advisory strongly encourages all clinicians involved in the care of appropriate patients with cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale—cardiologists, neurologists, internists, radiologists, and surgeons—to consider referral for enrollment in these landmark trials to expedite their completion and help resolve the uncertainty regarding optimal care for this condition.

Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Where are the psycho-social RF and the social determination of Health Disease??

The May 27, 2009, issue of JAMA includes an article about cardiovascular disease risk factors among National Football League players.

RISK FACTORS

• Smoking
  
• High blood pressure
  
• A high level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL; bad cholesterol) especially when associated with a low level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL; good cholesterol)
  
• High levels of triglycerides (another form of fat found in the bloodstream that can contribute to heart disease)
  
• Diabetes
  
• Overweight (body mass index [BMI] greater than 25) or obesity (BMI greater than 30)
  
• Excessive alcohol use
  
• Family history of premature death (before age 65) from heart disease 
  

World Health Statistics 2009

World Health Statistics 2009 contains WHO's annual compilation of data from its 193 Member States, and includes a summary of progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals and targets.

This edition also contains a new section on reported cases of selected infectious diseases.

:: Progress on the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Fact sheet N°290

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

Available in 6 languages

Arabic [pdf 9.35Mb] | Chinese [pdf 6.85Mb] | English [pdf 6.05Mb] | French | Russian [pdf 7.85Mb] | Spanish

Editorial

The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9677, Page 1735, 23 May 2009  doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60954-5

Diabetes—a global threat

The Lancet

This week The Lancet is publishing a special issue dedicated to diabetes—one of the greatest contributors to the global burden of disease. This themed issue, published in advance of the American Diabetes Association's scientific sessions in New Orleans on June 5—9, focuses on some of the major causes and most devastating complications of diabetes./.../
http://www.procor.org/globaldialogue/globaldialogue_show.htm?doc_id=921751

Digital Disease Detection

Volume 360:2153-2157 May 21, 2009 Number 21

Harnessing the Web for Public Health Surveillance

John S. Brownstein, Ph.D., Clark C. Freifeld, B.S., and Lawrence C. Madoff, M.D.

The Internet has become a critical medium for clinicians, public health practitioners, and laypeople seeking health information. Data about diseases and outbreaks are disseminated not only through online announcements by government agencies but also through informal channels, ranging from press reports to blogs to chat rooms to analyses of Web searches (see Digital Resources for Disease Detection). Collectively, these sources provide a view of global health that is fundamentally different from that yielded by the disease reporting of the traditional public health infrastructure.¹

Over the past 15 years, Internet technology has become integral to public health surveillance. Systems using informal electronicinformation have been credited with reducing the time to recognition of an outbreak, preventing governments from suppressing outbreak information, and facilitating public health responses to outbreaks and emerging diseases. Because Web-based sources frequently contain data not captured through traditional government communication channels, they are useful to public health agencies, including the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network of the World Health Organization (WHO), which relies on such sources for daily surveillance activities./.../

VIDEOS IN CLINICAL MEDICINE

Videos in Clinical Medicine have been published on this Web site since April 13, 2006. For more information, see the editorial, Videos in Clinical Medicine — A New Journal Feature.

Este e muitos outros Videos úteis para o treinamento e/ou atualização de conceitos e técnicas.

Blood-Pressure Measurement Evaluation of blood pressure is used in assessing cardiovascular health, in screening for hypertension, and in monitoring the effectiveness of treatment. This video demonstrates the appropriate technique for the indirect measurement of blood pressure in adults. Williams JS, Brown SM, Conlin PR. N Engl J Med 2009;360:e6, January 29, 2009. Streaming VideoDownload OptionsPDF Summary

"Declare Global economic downturn a health emergency!”

“Declare Global economic downturn a health emergency!”

Monday, 18 May 2009 13:35 Bridget Lloyd, Global co-ordinator: People’s Health Movement.

“Economic Recession is a threat to the World’s Health”

The People’s Health Movement urges the World Health Organization and member governments to “declare the economic recession currently gripping the globe as a health emergency”.

Health activists gathered here in Geneva for the World Health Assembly (18-22 May) are expected to lobby the UN health body and governments to declare global downturn a health emergency./.../

Primary Care

“Passionate for Primary Health Care”, Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, PAHO

Friday, 15 May 2009 07:08 Garance Upham

Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, Director, PAHO

Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, Director of PAHO, the Pan American Health Organisation told us: “I am passionately in favor of Primary Health Care because I believe we need to have in place well-functioning health systems!”

 

Q: Commenting on two opposite vision of PHC, a session moderator commented that Alma Ata's definition of PHC was that of ESSENTIAL health care for all, but many have redefined PHC as "PRIMITIVE health care". Would you care to comment?

Dr Mirta Roses Periago: I am passionately in favor of Primary Health Care because I believe we need to have in place well-functioning health systems that are:

Able to protect the population under any circumstances;

Resistant and resilient in the face of crises;

Capable of reacting rapidly and developing urgent strategies;

Skilled at rebuilding themselves as necessary to respond to current and future challenges arising from demographic and epidemiological changes./.../