China diabetics raise stakes for healthcare reform

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Top 5 Allergy Mistakes

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Teva Pharma to raise debt outside the U.S

Reuters – 8 hrs ago TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world's biggest generic drugmaker, plans to offer senior notes denominated in euros and Swiss francs outside the United States.

Teva intends to use proceeds from the anticipated offering, which is subject to market conditions, to finance maturing debt, the Israel-based company said on Sunday.

Teva did not provide further details.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Mark Potter)

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"Exhausted" Suu Kyi cancels Myanmar campaign tour

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"Exhausted" Suu Kyi cancels Myanmar campaign tour

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Scientists find gene that can make flu a killer

Reuters – 2 hrs 19 mins ago LONDON (Reuters) - A genetic discovery could help explain why flu makes some people seriously ill or kills them, while others seem able to bat it away with little more than a few aches, coughs and sneezes.

In a study published in the journal Nature on Sunday, British and American researchers said they had found for the first time a human gene that influences how people respond to flu infections, making some people more susceptible than others.

The finding helps explain why during the 2009/2010 pandemic of H1N1 or "swine flu", the vast majority of people infected had only mild symptoms, while others - many of them healthy young adults - got seriously ill and died.

In future, the genetic discovery could help doctors screen patients to identify those more likely to be brought down by flu, allowing them to be selected for priority vaccination or preventative treatment during outbreaks, the researchers said.

It could also help develop new vaccines or medicines against potentially more dangerous viruses such as bird flu.

Paul Kellam of Britain's Sanger Institute, who co-led the study and presented the findings in a telephone briefing, said the gene, called ITFITM3, appeared to be a "crucial first line of defence" against flu.

When IFITM3 was present in large quantities, the spread of the virus in lungs was hindered, he explained. But when IFITM3 levels were lower, the virus could replicate and spread more easily, causing more severe symptoms.

People who carried a particular variant of IFTIM3 were far more likely to be taken into hospital when they got flu than people who carried other variants, he added.

"Our research is important for people who have this variant as we predict their immune defences could be weakened to some virus infections," Kellam said.

"Ultimately as we learn more about the genetics of susceptibility to viruses, then people can take informed precautions, such as vaccination to prevent infection."

MICE EXPERIMENTS HELPED MAKE BREAKTHROUGH

The potential antiviral role of IFITM3 in humans was first suggested in studies conducted by Abraham Brass of the Ragon Institute and Gastrointestinal Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States. Using genetic screening, he found that it blocked the growth of flu and other viruses in cells.

Teams led by Brass and Kellam then took the work further by knocking out the IFITM3 gene in mice. They found that once these animals contracted flu they had far more severe symptoms than mice with the IFITM3 gene.

In effect, they said, the loss of this single gene in mice can turn a mild case of influenza into a fatal infection.

The researchers then sequenced the IFITM3 genes of 53 patients who had been hospitalised with seasonal or pandemic flu and found that a higher number of them had a particular variant of IFITM3 compared to the general patient population.

The researchers believe this variant results in a shorter version of the protein or one that is less abundant in cells, leaving patients more vulnerable to flu when they get it.

"Our efforts suggest that individuals and populations with less IFITM3 activity may be at increased risk during a pandemic, and that IFITM3 could be vital for defending human populations against other viruses such as avian influenza," said Brass.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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Scientists find gene that can make flu a killer

Reuters – 2 hrs 19 mins ago LONDON (Reuters) - A genetic discovery could help explain why flu makes some people seriously ill or kills them, while others seem able to bat it away with little more than a few aches, coughs and sneezes.

In a study published in the journal Nature on Sunday, British and American researchers said they had found for the first time a human gene that influences how people respond to flu infections, making some people more susceptible than others.

The finding helps explain why during the 2009/2010 pandemic of H1N1 or "swine flu", the vast majority of people infected had only mild symptoms, while others - many of them healthy young adults - got seriously ill and died.

In future, the genetic discovery could help doctors screen patients to identify those more likely to be brought down by flu, allowing them to be selected for priority vaccination or preventative treatment during outbreaks, the researchers said.

It could also help develop new vaccines or medicines against potentially more dangerous viruses such as bird flu.

Paul Kellam of Britain's Sanger Institute, who co-led the study and presented the findings in a telephone briefing, said the gene, called ITFITM3, appeared to be a "crucial first line of defence" against flu.

When IFITM3 was present in large quantities, the spread of the virus in lungs was hindered, he explained. But when IFITM3 levels were lower, the virus could replicate and spread more easily, causing more severe symptoms.

People who carried a particular variant of IFTIM3 were far more likely to be taken into hospital when they got flu than people who carried other variants, he added.

"Our research is important for people who have this variant as we predict their immune defences could be weakened to some virus infections," Kellam said.

"Ultimately as we learn more about the genetics of susceptibility to viruses, then people can take informed precautions, such as vaccination to prevent infection."

MICE EXPERIMENTS HELPED MAKE BREAKTHROUGH

The potential antiviral role of IFITM3 in humans was first suggested in studies conducted by Abraham Brass of the Ragon Institute and Gastrointestinal Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States. Using genetic screening, he found that it blocked the growth of flu and other viruses in cells.

Teams led by Brass and Kellam then took the work further by knocking out the IFITM3 gene in mice. They found that once these animals contracted flu they had far more severe symptoms than mice with the IFITM3 gene.

In effect, they said, the loss of this single gene in mice can turn a mild case of influenza into a fatal infection.

The researchers then sequenced the IFITM3 genes of 53 patients who had been hospitalised with seasonal or pandemic flu and found that a higher number of them had a particular variant of IFITM3 compared to the general patient population.

The researchers believe this variant results in a shorter version of the protein or one that is less abundant in cells, leaving patients more vulnerable to flu when they get it.

"Our efforts suggest that individuals and populations with less IFITM3 activity may be at increased risk during a pandemic, and that IFITM3 could be vital for defending human populations against other viruses such as avian influenza," said Brass.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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Monthly shots of Amgen drug slash cholesterol 66 percent

Reuters – 2 hrs 10 mins ago CHICAGO (Reuters) - Monthly injections of an experimental drug from Amgen Inc slashed levels of cholesterol by up to an additional 66 percent in patients already taking statins, researchers said on Sunday, making it a potential strong rival to a similar drug being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Amgen and Regeneron are racing to develop medicines that cut cholesterol through a new strategy, by blocking a protein called PCSK9.

In earlier studies, both drugs cut levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol by up to two thirds, although Amgen's AMG 145 had been tested in healthy volunteers taking no other cholesterol medicines, while Regeneron's REGN 727 was tested in patients with high cholesterol that also took statins.

Amgen on Sunday reported its first results from an early-stage trial of AMG 145 in patients with high cholesterol also taking statins, and impressive findings were seen in those getting injections every two weeks or every month.

In the 51-patient study, patients receiving monthly injections of AMG 145 and taking low to moderate doses of statins had up to a two-thirds reduction in LDL cholesterol by the eighth week of the study.

"We gave two doses four weeks apart and at the eighth week there was minimal tapering off" of the drug's potency, Clapton Dias, Amgen's medical services director, said in an interview. "The 66-percent reduction of LDL was maintained."

In patients receiving injections of AMG 145 every two weeks in combination with low to moderate doses of statins, LDL reductions of up to 75 percent were seen after six weeks, Amgen said.

Those taking the Amgen drug every two weeks in combination with high doses of statins had LDL reductions of up to 63 percent.

Data from the Phase 1 study were presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology being held in Chicago.

Researchers on Monday are slated to release the full data from a Phase II study of REGN 727, and the findings will better enable investors to size up the pros and cons of the rival therapies.

Neither drug has shown any serious side effects so far in clinical trials.

Dias said the ability of drugs like AMG 145 to slash LDL beyond decreases attributed to statins such as Pfizer Inc's Lipitor could help enable millions of heart patients to finally get their cholesterol levels tightly controlled.

"A good 60 percent of high-risk patients in the United States are unable to meet their aggressive goals of getting LDL levels down" to target levels, Dias said, making them prime candidates for AMG 145 if it continues to do well in trials and is approved.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson, Editing by Gary Crosse)

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Spending cuts bite in Paul Ryan's home town

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Low 'Bad' Cholesterol Levels May Be Linked to Cancer Risk

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Health Highlights: March 25, 2012

HealthDay – 1 hr 17 mins ago Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney Undergoes Heart Transplant

Former Vice President Dick Cheney received a heart transplant at a Virginia hospital Saturday.

Cheney, 71, has suffered five heart attacks since his 30s, the Washington Post reported. He underwent quadruple-bypass surgery in 1988, then two angioplasties as well as the implantation of a heart-monitoring device, which was removed in 2007.

According to the Post, Cheney, who was vice president under President George W. Bush, had been on the heart transplant waiting list for 20 months. He was recovering Saturday in the intensive care unit of Inova Fairfax Hospital near Falls Church, Va.,Cheney aide Kara Aherm said in a statement released late Saturday.

"Although the former Vice President and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift," Ahern said. She added that Cheney "is thankful to the teams of doctors and other medical professionals at Inova Fairfax and George Washington University Hospital for their continued outstanding care."

-----

FDA Must Consider Ban on Antibiotic Use in Livestock: Court

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration must follow through on a 35-year-old proposal that would have banned the use of certain antibiotics in animal feed due to fears about potential harm to human health, a federal district court in Manhattan ruled Thursday.

In 1977, the FDA proposed banning the use of penicillin and two forms of tetracycline due to concerns that overuse of the drugs in livestock led to the development of drug-resistant bacteria that can infect people, the Washington Post reported.

The FDA has never taken action on the proposal and was sued in May 2011 by five environmental, health and consumer advocacy groups. The court ruling forces the FDA to move ahead with proceedings that could lead to the withdrawal of the drugs.

"The scientific evidence of the risks to human health from the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock has grown, and there is no evidence that the FDA has changed its position that such uses are not shown to be safe," Judge Theodore H. Katz wrote, the Post reported.

The makers of the drugs will be given an opportunity at a hearing to prove that the antibiotics are safe.

"If, at the hearing, the drug sponsors fail to show that the use of the drugs is safe, the

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Could Soy Help Lower Your Blood Pressure?

HealthDay – 1 hr 17 mins ago SUNDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Isoflavones -- a compound found in foods such as soy milk, green tea, tofu and peanuts -- may help lower blood pressure in young adults, new research suggests.

The researchers also found that isoflavones may be of particular benefit for black American adults, nearly 42 percent of whom are estimated to have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.

One expert not connected to the study said there is reason to believe that isoflavones could help the heart.

Isoflavones "dilate the vessels by increasing the release of nitric oxide," explained Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She said the new study, "brings to light a compelling dietary recommendation that can help control hypertension in younger patients."

In the new study, investigators examined data from more than 5,000 participants in a major study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The analysis revealed that those who consumed the highest amounts of isoflavones per day (more than 2.5 milligrams

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Both Too Little and Too Much Sleep Bad for the Heart: Study

HealthDay – 1 hr 17 mins ago SUNDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to what's best for their hearts, people walk a fine line between getting too much and too little sleep, a new study suggests.

Adults who get fewer than six hours or more than eight hours of sleep a night are at greater risk for a variety of heart conditions, according to research led by Dr. Rohit Arora, chairman of cardiology at the Chicago Medical School.

Sleeping too little puts people at significantly higher risk of stroke, heart attack and congestive heart failure, the researchers found. On the other hand, people who sleep too much have a higher prevalence of chest pain (angina) and coronary artery disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply the heart with blood and oxygen.

The findings are scheduled for presentation Sunday at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Chicago.

The researchers analyzed data from more than 3,000 patients over age 45 who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, making theirs the first nationally representative sample to show the association between sleep duration and heart health.

The study showed that people who got too little sleep were twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack and 1.6 times more likely to have congestive heart failure. People who slept more than eight hours a night were twice as likely to have angina and 1.1 times more likely to have coronary artery disease.

The findings remained significant even after the researchers accounted for heart risk factors such as age, blood cholesterol levels, smoking and obesity, as well as for sleep apnea and other sleep problems.

Previous studies have shown that insufficient sleep is linked to a hyperactive nervous system, glucose intolerance, diabetes, inflammation and a rise in stress hormones, blood pressure and resting heart rate, the researchers noted.

The reasons too much sleep can lead to heart problems are unclear, however, and further research will be needed.

For now, Arora said, health-care providers need to talk about sleep with their patients.

"Clinicians need to start asking patients about sleep, especially those who are already at greater risk of heart disease," he said. "It's really a simple thing to assess as part of a physical exam; it doesn't cost anything and it may help patients to adopt better sleep habits."

Although the new study uncovered an association between sleep issues and heart trouble, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until it is published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The National Sleep Foundation has more on getting a good night's sleep.

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