Monday 9th May 2016- The Independent: Hundreds of passengers on UK cruise ship fall ill with norovirus

‘Hundreds of passengers on board a British cruise ship have fallen in with norovirus, health officials have confirmed.

At least 252 [of 919] passengers and eight [out of 502] members of staff on board the Balmoral’s “Old England to New England” cruise have fallen ill with the stomach virus since leaving Southampton last month.

Now on its way to the Canadian province of New Brunswick, the ship has undergone inspections by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to the ship’s owners, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.

The company said in a statement: “Balmoral has now left the US and is due to arrive in Saint John, New Brunswick later today [9th May 2016]. At no point has Balmoral been quarantined in any port on this cruise, and is continuing as planned.”

“Fred. Olsen has been undertaking extensive sanitisation measures and cleaning of the ship, following the company’s strict illness containment and prevention plan.”’

‘Evidence of the norovirus was confirmed on board while the ship was docked in Baltimore last week, where experts from the CDC carried out an environmental health assessment to evaluate the outbreak.

Despite the CDC proposing action including increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, the number of incidences later soared to more than a quarter of those on board.’

 

‘On Monday [May 9], a Fred Olsen spokesperson said the number of guests who have been confined to their cabins with the virus had reduced to just 15 out of a total of 1,434 guests and crew members on board, but the figure is yet to be confirmed by health experts.’

‘In 2010, at least 310 people on board the Balmoral were reported to be suffering from a vomiting virus when the ship docked in Los Angeles.

A confirmed outbreak of the winter vomiting virus hit more than 100 people on the same ship during a cruise of Scotland in 2009.

The..[CDC]… has reported 10 outbreaks on ships docked in the US so far this year, compared with 12 for the entirety of 2015.

Fred. Olsen said it was “co-operating fully with all the necessary maritime agencies and authorities, and will continue to make every effort possible to ensure the safety and well-being of all its guests and crew on board, which is of paramount ‎importance”.’

Related Articles:

Hundreds of passengers on UK cruise ship fall ill with norovirus

Balmoral cruise ship: Hundreds on board come down with norovirus- BBC News

Hundreds of UK cruise passengers fall ill in possible norovirus outbreak- The Guardian

Friday 26th February 2016- The Telegraph: First drug to reverse Huntington’s disease begins human trials

‘A drug which appears to reverse Huntington’s disease is being trialled in humans after proving successful in monkeys and mice.

The new drug, called IONIS-HTTRx, silences the gene known to be responsible for the production of a protein which causes Huntington’s.

The disease is a hereditary condition which damages nerve cells in the brain and effects around 7,000 people in Britain. It causes uncontrolled movements, loss of intellectual abilities, emotional problems and eventually death.

Now scientists have shown that it is not only possible to halt the disease but to reverse the damage.

“It is very exciting to have the possibility of a treatment that could alter the course of this devastating disease,” said clinical study principal investigator Dr Blair Leavitt, of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

“Right now we only have treatments that work on the symptoms of the disease.”

Huntington’s is caused by a mutated HTT gene, and everyone who inherits the genetic defect will eventually develop the disease.

Researchers have been trying to develop a drug which acts like a dimmer switch, turning the gene down so that it can no longer produce the devastating protein which causes brain damage.’

‘When they tested IONIS-HTTRx on mice with the disease their motor function improved within a month and within two months their health was restored to normal. In monkeys the drug was found to decrease the HTT protein throughout the central nervous system by 50 per cent.

The drug is delivered into the cerebral spinal fluid via lumbar injection, as antisense drugs do not cross the blood brain barrier – a protective sheath that prevents toxins entering the brain.

The drug is now being trialled in humans in low doses to check that it is safe for larger trials into its efficacy to begin.

The research was presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, April 15 to 21, 2016.’

See:

First drug to reverse Huntington’s disease begins human trials

Wednesday 24th February 2016- The Guardian: Radical cancer treatment seeks to control rather than destroy tumours

‘A radical approach to cancer treatment which keeps tumours under control rather than destroying them completely may be more effective than conventional therapies, scientists say.

The idea draws on Charles Darwin’s 150-year-old theory of evolution and recasts tumours as diverse ecosystems of cells which can be manipulated to prevent them from growing out of control.

The strategy is highly experimental and has only been tested in mice, but successful trials in humans could usher in a transformation in cancer care, where patients live healthy lives with tumours that are constantly kept in check by low doses of medicine.

Routine cancer treatment assumes that patients do best when a therapy kills off the maximum number of malignant cells in their bodies. But tumours are collections of different cells and some are more resistant to drugs than others. A dose of chemotherapy will typically leave drug-resistant cells behind. Unencumbered by their neighbours, they can rapidly grow back when the treatment stops.

Scientists in the US wondered what would happen if anticancer drugs were used to shrink tumours without destroying the diversity of cells inside them. They hoped that the surviving cancer cells would stop more aggressive, drug-resistant ones from taking over, just as grass can prevent moss running wild in a garden.

Writing in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Robert Gatenby at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, describes how his team tested the idea with the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (or taxol) in mice with two different forms of breast cancer.

When the mice were given standard chemotherapy, their tumours shrank, but grew back as soon as the treatment ended. For the new therapy, mice were given initially high doses of drugs followed by ever lower doses. The strategy appeared to be more effective than standard treatment. Giannoula Klement, a cancer specialist at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, who was not involved in the work, said that in about 60% of the mice, the cancer treatment could be withdrawn completely with no further growth of the tumours.

In an accompanying article, Klement argues that to beat cancer, it must be considered as an ecosystem of different cells. “The likelihood that a ‘magic bullet’ against cancer is going to be found is nil. If we have learned anything from the eco-evolutionary model it is that unless we respect these eco-evolutionary laws, we will continue to play a cat and mouse game with cancer,” she writes.

Instead of eradicating cancer, the new goal for doctors needs to be prevention of cancer disease, she adds. “We need to stabilise tumour growth and enable gradual, controlled regression over time.”’

Related Articles:

Radical cancer treatment seeks to control rather than destroy tumours

Don’t kill cancer, learn to live with it, say scientists- The Telegraph

Monday 1st February 2016- The World Health Organisation: Films showing smoking scenes should be rated to protect children from tobacco addiction

‘WHO is calling on governments to rate movies that portray tobacco use in a bid to prevent children and adolescents from starting to smoke cigarettes and use other forms of tobacco.

Movies showing use of tobacco products have enticed millions of young people worldwide to start smoking, according to the new WHO “Smoke-free movies: from evidence to action”, the third edition since its launch in 2009.’

‘“With ever tighter restrictions on tobacco advertising, film remains one of the last channels exposing millions of adolescents to smoking imagery without restrictions,” says Dr Douglas Bettcher, WHO’s Director for the Department of Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases.

Taking concrete steps, including rating films with tobacco scenes and displaying tobacco warnings before films with tobacco, can stop children around the world from being introduced to tobacco products and subsequent tobacco-related addiction, disability and death.

“Smoking in films can be a strong form of promotion for tobacco products,” adds Dr Bettcher. “The 180 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) are obliged by international law to ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.”’

‘Studies in the United States of America have shown that on-screen smoking accounts for 37% of all new adolescent smokers. In 2014, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in the United States alone, exposure to on-screen smoking would recruit more than 6 million new, young smokers from among American children in 2014, of which 2 million would ultimately die from tobacco-induced diseases.

In 2014, smoking was found in 44% of all Hollywood films, and 36% of films rated for young people. Almost two thirds (59%) of top-grossing films featured tobacco imagery between 2002 and 2014. That same year, the US Surgeon General reported that adult ratings of future films with smoking would reduce smoking rates among young people in the USA by nearly one-fifth and avert 1 million tobacco-related deaths among today’s children and adolescents.’

Related Articles:

Films showing smoking scenes should be rated to protect children from tobacco addiction

Smoking in the Movies- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

WHO calls for adult ratings on films that feature smoking- The Telegraph

Films portraying smoking should get adult rating, says WHO- The Guardian

Friday 29th January 2016- World Health Organisation: Increasing breastfeeding could save 800 000 children and US$ 300 billion every year

‘A major new Series on breastfeeding, published in “The Lancet”, finds that despite strong health and economic benefits from breastfeeding, few children are exclusively breastfed until 6 months, as recommended by WHO. Globally, an estimated 1 in 3 infants under 6 months are exclusively breastfed – a rate that has not improved in 2 decades.’

‘Breastfeeding has substantial benefits for women and children in rich and poor countries alike, and now the evidence is stronger than ever.

New WHO estimates published in “The Lancet” reveal that increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800 000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 months. In addition, nearly half of all diarrhoeal diseases and one-third of all respiratory infections in children in low- and middle-income countries could be prevented with increased rates of breastfeeding.

Children who are breastfeed perform better in intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese, and less prone to diabetes later in life. Mothers who breastfeed also reduce their risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers. At current breastfeeding rates, an estimated 20 000 deaths from breast cancer are prevented and an additional 20 000 could be saved if rates improved.’

‘Beyond health, the new Series presents a strong economic case for investing in promoting and protecting breastfeeding worldwide. The findings from WHO and partners estimate that global economic losses from lower cognition associated with not breastfeeding reached more than US$ 300 billion in 2012, equivalent to 0.49% of the world’s gross national income.

Boosting breastfeeding rates for infants below 6 months of age to 90% in Brazil, China, and the United States of America, and to 45% in the United Kingdom would cut treatment costs of common childhood illnesses, such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and asthma, and save healthcare systems at least US$ 2.45 billion in the United States, US$ 29.5 million in the United Kingdom, US$ 223.6 million in China, and US$ 6.0 million in Brazil.

Yet, worldwide low levels of optimal breastfeeding affect both high- and low-income countries. Fewer than 1 in 5 infants are breastfed for 12 months in high-income countries and only 2 out of 3 children between 6 months and 2 years receive any breast milk in low- and middle-income countries.’

Related Articles:

Increasing breastfeeding could save 800 000 children and US$ 300 billion every year

Breastfeeding could prevent 800,000 child deaths, Lancet says- The Guardian

Breastfeeding: achieving the new normal- The Lancet

Breastfeeding could save 800,000 babies’ lives each year – study- The Telegraph

Breastfeeding could prevent 800,000 child deaths worldwide, new study finds- The Independent

Tuesday 26th January 2016- The Independent: Diabetes cure may be step closer, scientists say

‘A cure for type 1 diabetes could be a step closer after scientists managed to halt the condition in mice for six months thanks to the use of insulin-producing cells that had been generated from human stem cells.

Experts from US hospitals and institutions including Harvard University managed to transplant cells into mice, which immediately began producing insulin.

The team was also able to show they could prevent the cells being rendered useless by the body’s own immune system, which was effectively “switched off” thanks to scientific work.

It means a cure for type 1 diabetes – which affects 400,000 people in the UK – could be much closer. Scientists are now working to replicate the results in humans with the condition.’

‘The man who led that breakthrough – Harvard Professor Doug Melton, who has been trying to find a cure for the disease since his son Sam was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a baby – also worked on the new studies.

The human islet cells used for the new research were generated from human stem cells developed by  Professor Melton.

Following implantation in mice, the cells immediately began producing insulin in response to blood glucose levels, and were able to maintain blood glucose within a healthy range for 174 days – the length of the study.’

Related Articles:

Diabetes cure may be step closer, scientists say

Harvard and MIT close to ‘cure’ for Type 1 diabetes which will end daily injections- The Telegraph

Monday 11th January 2016- The Telegraph: Zika virus arrives in the United States

‘American health experts have confirmed the first case of zika virus in the US, marking a worrying new stage in the progress of the disease.

Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, is not fatal in humans and most sufferers make a full recovery, but it can cause birth defects and neurological issues.

The patient, in Harris County, Texas, had recently returned from Latin America – where the disease has caused concern for months. In December it spread to Puerto Rico, having been diagnosed across Brazil and Colombia.

America’s Center for Disease Control says that the most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis.

“The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week,” they say.

“Severe disease requiring hospitalisation is uncommon. A possible link between zika virus infection in pregnant women and subsequent birth defects is being investigated in Brazil.”‘

‘There is currently no vaccination or medicine to treat the virus.

Brazil has been particularly hard hit by the virus, with health officials reporting a sharp increase in cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome – a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system – as well as a birth defect known as microcephaly. The increase in both diseases have corresponded in time and place with the zika outbreak.

“It’s still not conclusive, but I think it’s close enough that they have to take action,” said Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.’

See:

Zika virus arrives in the United States

Thursday 31st December 2015- The Guardian: Breakthrough offers hope to those with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

‘Gene-editing injections could one day offer hope to those with the inherited disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, research suggests.

Researchers were able to halt the progression of DMD in adult mice using a recently developed technique that has been hailed as the scientific breakthrough of 2015.

In a series of studies, three teams of US researchers showed how the gene-editing tool could be used to “correct” a mutation in the animals’ muscle DNA that prevented them producing the protein dystrophin, leading to partial recovery.

[BBC News:

‘A team at Duke University used a system known as CRISPR-Cas9 to delete DNA that was preventing cells from producing a protein essential for muscle function.

And a virus was used to deliver DNA alterations into the cells of mice.

Writing in the journal Science, the team say when they injected the therapy direct into the legs of adult mice, it resulted in improved muscle strength.

When they injected it into the bloodstream – tests showed improvements in muscles responsible for heart and lung function.’]

DMD is one of the most common and severe of a group of inherited muscle-wasting conditions that affect around 70,000 people in the UK, according to the charity Muscular Dystrophy UK. It is usually diagnosed in boys in early childhood, causing muscle degeneration, disability and premature death. Sufferers become increasingly immobile, and most can only expect to live to their 20s or 30s.

It is incurable, but the new research suggests that with gene-editing it might be possible to treat the condition simply by deleting a small piece of scrambled DNA whose presence prevents the gene working normally.

Although the treated mice were not completely cured, dystrophin gene activity was restored to a level that would be expected to achieve adequate muscle function in a patient with DMD.’

Related Articles:

Breakthrough offers hope to those with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Gene editing treats disease in mice- BBC News

Gene-editing could fight musclar dystrophy, says new research- The Independent

Thursday 31st December 2015- The Guardian: Woman whose body turns food into alcohol beats drink-drive charge

‘Drunken-driving charges against a woman in upstate New York have been dismissed based on an unusual defence: her body is a brewery.

The woman was arrested while driving with a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit. She then discovered she has a rare condition called “auto-brewery syndrome”, in which her digestive system converts ordinary food into alcohol, her lawyer Joseph Marusak said.

A town judge in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg dismissed the charges after Marusak presented research by a doctor showing the woman had the previously undiagnosed condition in which high levels of yeast in her intestines fermented high-carbohydrate foods into alcohol.

The rare condition, also known as gut fermentation syndrome, was first documented in the 1970s in Japan, and both medical and legal experts in the US say it is being raised more frequently in drunken-driving cases as it is becomes more known.

“At first glance, it seems like a get-out-of-jail-free card,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. “But it’s not that easy. Courts tend to be sceptical of such claims. You have to be able to document the syndrome through recognised testing.”

The condition was first documented in the US by Barbara Cordell of Panola College in Texas, who published a case study in 2013 of a 61-year-old man who had been experiencing episodes of debilitating drunkenness without drinking liquor.

Marusak contacted Cordell for help with his client who insisted she had not had more than three drinks in the six hours before she was pulled over for erratic driving 11 October 2014. The woman was charged with driving while intoxicated when a breath test showed her blood-alcohol content to be 0.33%.

Cordell referred Marusak to Dr Anup Kanodia of Columbus, Ohio, who eventually diagnosed the woman with auto-brewery syndrome and prescribed a low-carbohydrate diet that brought the situation under control. Her case was dismissed on 9 December, leaving her free to drive without restrictions.’

See:

Woman whose body turns food into alcohol beats drink-drive charge

Wednesday 30th December 2015- The British Medical Journal: Voluntary euthanasia is now legal in Quebec, says appeal court

‘Quebec’s law permitting assisted dying and voluntary euthanasia is now in force, even though the federal government in Ottawa is still drawing up national legislation on the right to die. Quebec has been allowed to go ahead with its own law after the province’s highest court rejected a challenge led by a physicians’ group and a disabled patient.’

See:

Voluntary euthanasia is now legal in Quebec, says appeal court