Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by an RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae, the influenza viruses. In people, common symptoms of influenza are fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, and weakness and fatigue.
Two more positive cases of influenza A [H1N1] as on 1st June, 2009, India – The samples of two patients [34 year old female and 5 year old boy (mother and child)] who are admitted in the identified isolation facility at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu have tested positive for Novel Influenza A [H1N1].
Study finds unexpected bacterial diversity on human skin – Genomic research lays groundwork for new approaches for treating, preventing skin diseases. – The health of our skin – one of the body’s first lines of defense against illness and injury – depends upon the delicate balance between our own cells and the millions of bacteria and other one-celled microbes that live on its surface.
Restricting carbohydrates appears to slow the growth of prostate tumors — this is a potential new mechanism to fight prostate cancer growth and help patients live longer with their disease. – Restricting carbohydrates, regardless of weight loss, appears to slow the growth of prostate tumors, according to an animal study being published this week by researchers in the Duke Prostate Center.
A crucial step towards large scale production of a vaccine against swine flu has been completed in the UK by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), part of the Health Protection Agency. – A strain of virus suitable for vaccine manufacture has now been produced and is being made available to the pharmaceutical industry and other flu laboratories.
Report updates guidelines on how much weight women should gain during pregnancy – Calls on health care providers to help women achieve a healthy weight before and during pregnancy. – A growing amount of scientific evidence indicates that how much weight women gain during pregnancy and their starting weight at conception can affect their health and that of their babies, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.
Identification of genetic variants affecting age at menopause could help improve fertility treatment – For the first time, scientists have been able to identify genetic factors that influence the age at which natural menopause occurs in women. Ms Lisette Stolk, a researcher from Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics that a greater understanding of the factors influencing age at menopause might eventually help to improve the clinical treatment of infertile women.
Update on influenza A (H1N1) as on 27th May 2009 – Swine flu monitoring is continuing at Indian airports. – World Health Organization has reported 12,954 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection from 46 countries as on 26th May 2009. There have been 92 deaths.
Acid-suppressive medication use was associated with 30% increased odds of hospital-acquired pneumonia. – Hospitalized patients who receive acid-suppressive medications such as a proton-pump inhibitor have a 30 percent increased odds of developing pneumonia while in the hospital, according to a study in the May 27 issue of JAMA.
The pigmented cells in zebrafish help scientists tease out how oncogenes that are know to contribute to cancer, influence the formation and regulation of the aggressive human skin cancer, melanoma – In a new study published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, scientists use the zebrafish to gain insight into the influence of known cancer genes on the development and progression of melanoma, an aggressive form of human skin cancer with limited treatment options.
AIDS Action Statement on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day: Reason to Hope. – Every nine and a half minutes someone in the United States is infected with HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 56,300 individuals became infected with HIV in 2006 alone.
‘Happy hour’ gene discovery suggests cancer drugs might treat alcoholism – A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That’s the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects’ response to alcohol.
Quick test for prostate cancer – A new 3-minute test could help in diagnosing prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men in the UK, according to scientists. – A new 3-minute test could help in diagnosing prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men in the UK, according to scientists. Researchers have developed the test by using light energy to measure the level of citrate in fluid samples from the prostate gland.
