NOW, MILLIONS MORE COULD GET HIV TREATMENT

Washington: A landmark study by researchers in Australia could help millions more get access to life-saving HIV drug therapy.

Australian researchers based at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) found that a lower daily dose of an important HIV drug therapy is safe and as effective in suppressing the virus as the standard recommended dose.

UNSW Professor Sean Emery, the protocol chairperson of the study, known as ENCORE1 and Head of the Therapeutic and Vaccine Research Program at the Kirby Institute, said that this has the potential to affect the treatment of millions of HIV positive people.

Emery said that a reduced daily dose should translate into a lower cost of treatment and permit more effective and efficient use of health care resources. Essentially, more people could receive this life-saving treatment for the same amount of funding.

HIV-positive people from 13 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America took part in the trial. Half these people took two-thirds of the current standard daily dose of the antiretroviral (ART) efavirenz, a commonly used treatment for HIV; the other half took the standard daily dose.

The 630 participants were observed regularly for a year. The results indicate that a reduction in daily dose of one third is both safe and effective compared to the higher dose currently recommended for people with HIV infection. 

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VIRUS-DRUG COMBO CAN KILL DEADLY BRAIN TUMOUR

Washington: A combination of the myxoma virus and the immune suppressant drug rapamycin can kill glioblastoma multiforme - the most common and deadliest malignant brain tumour, a new study claims.

According to Peter A Forsyth from Moffitt Cancer Center in US, the combination has been shown to infect and kill both brain cancer stem cells and differentiated compartments of glioblastoma multiforme.

The finding means that barriers to treating the disease, such as resistance to the drug temozolomide, may be overcome, researchers said.

"Although temozolomide improves survival for patients with glioblastoma multiforme, drug resistance is a significant obstacle.

"Oncolytic viruses that infect and break down cancer cells offer promising possibilities for overcoming resistance to targeted therapies," said Forsyth, the study lead author.

Researchers note that oncolytic viruses have the potential to provoke a multipronged attack on a tumour, with the potential to kill cancer cells directly through viral infection and possibly through inducing the immune system to attack the tumour.

The multipronged approach might get around some of the classical resistance mechanisms that have plagued both targeted therapies and conventional chemotherapies.

Several oncolytic viruses, both alone or in combination with small molecule inhibitors, have been tested and show promise for malignant gliomas.

However, most have not been effective in killing cancer cells. Two likely obstacles may be the patient`s own anti-viral immune response and limited virus distribution.

The researchers found that brain cancer stem cells were susceptible to myxoma virus in the laboratory cultures and in animal models, including in temozolomide-resistant cell lines.

"We also found that myxoma virus with rapamycin is a potentially useful combination. The idea that cancer cells can be killed by a harmless virus is an exciting prospect for therapy," Forsyth said.

Researchers are investigating other drugs that may improve the effectiveness of myxoma virus when used in combination, and they are evaluating the use of other strains of myxoma virus that might be more effective.

The study was published in the journal Neuro-Oncology.

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CHILDHOOD PNEUMONIA RATE HIGHER IN URBAN APARTMENTS

Washington: Incidence of childhood pneumonia is still high in urban modern cities, it has been revealed.

Professor Hua QIAN and his group from School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University set out to find out which home risk factors affect the incidence of childhood pneumonia in modern urban apartments.

A recent study found that the risk factors in indoor environment typical of modern apartments in China related to pneumonia among children.

The study is part of the China, Child, Home, and Health (CCHH) project, which is investigating associations between home indoor environmental factors and children`s health. This is a population-based cross-sectional study.

The survey was performed and completed from December 2010 to March 2011 in Nanjing.

Twenty-three kindergartens were randomly selected in the 11 districts. No kindergartens were selected in the two countries.

he pneumonia incidence is found to be high in Nanjing.

Lack of ventilation, gas as cooking fuel, dampness, new furniture, "modern" floor and wall covering materials showed significant associations with the incidence of pneumonia.

Other factors such as family allergy, child care by non-parents, other respiratory diseases were also reported to be associated with pneumonia.

In summary, modern life style and home environment play an important role in developing pneumonia infections among children in Nanjing .

The findings are published in Chinese Science Bulletin.2013. 

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