This conference and networking event will present a fresh and original perspective on communicating the value and costeffectiveness of highvalue oncology drugs with payers, HTA assessors and other key stakeholders.

Unlike other general pricing & reimbursement meetings which broadly discuss many therapeutic areas, this event will be focused specifically on the oncology marketplace. This conference will look at the latest innovative market access techniques such as valuebased pricing schemes, risk sharing, as well as satisfying HTA requirements to build the right dossier.

Why attend?Benchmark, network and cooperate with pharma & nonpharma decision makers.Get up to date on innovative reimbursement schemes and their implementation.Learn what data makes the difference for HTA agencies and payers and how to present it.Understand the best ways to communicate value and achieve maximum patient and market access.Hear multistakeholder perspectives from pharmaceutical industry, academia, public insurers, HTA, policy makers, patient groups.Discover how payers are viewing risksharing and valuebased pricing agreements and what their initiatives in the field are.Understand what patients want and what they view as quality treatment.Who will benefit?

Pharmaceutical companies
VicePresidents, Directors, Managers involved in oncology Pricing & Reimbursement, Health Economics & Outcomes, Government & Stakeholder Relations, Regulatory Affairs, Medical Affairs, Marketing, Therapy Area Heads, Market Access, Country Managers

Solution providers & consultants
CEOs, Business Development, Senior Consultants, Regional Heads

Independent Academics, Health Economists, Senior Doctors, & Patient Representatives.

Date and Location

The conference will be held on the 14th and 15th December 2009 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Agenda request

To request the full agenda please follow this link.

For Booking Information contact

Erika Vavrovicova
Tel +421 232 660 382
Fax +421 232 660 397
erika@nextlevelpharma.com
nextlevelpharma.com

Two papers published on bmj.com today report that there is unsatisfactory evidence to support populationwide screening for prostate cancer using the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test.

The PSA test cannot differentiate lethal from harmless prostate cancer, according to the authors. This could lead to over diagnosis and overtreatment of healthy men.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a protein formed in the cells of the prostate gland. It is present in small quantities in the blood of healthy men. It is frequently elevated in men with prostate cancer and in men with benign prostatic enlargement.

Although it remains controversial, PSA screening is commonly used in many countries. The latest study suggests that prostate cancer deaths were lower among screened men but at a cost of significant over diagnosis and treatment.

A Swedish team of researchers set out in the first study to evaluate how well prostate specific antigen predicted a potential prostate cancer diagnosis.

They used PSA test results from 540 men diagnosed with prostate cancer measured several years before diagnosis and from 1,034 healthy controls. Results indicated that the PSA test did not reach the probability ratios. It is a measure used to predict disease required for a screening test. Only very low concentrations of PSA (less than 1ng/ml) virtually ruled out a diagnosis of prostate cancer during monitoring.

The researchers inform that there is a need for other biomarkers for early detection of prostate cancer and before population based screening for prostate cancer should be introduced.

US researchers looked at the benefits and risks of PSA screening in a second analysis paper. They concluded that data on costs and benefits remain insufficient to support population based screening. In addition, they recommend further accurate measuring of the financial and psychological costs of false positive results, over diagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer.

In conclusion, they consider that men should be entirely informed of the benefits, harms and uncertainties associated with the PSA test before they are screened.

This observation is supported in a complementary editorial by researchers at Monash University in Australia.

Dr Dragan Ilic and Professor Sally Green write “Clinicians and patients are faced with many uncertainties when considering whether or not to undergo prostate screening.”

They remark “Further research is required to develop and evaluate a valid screening test for prostate cancer.” Until such a test exists, the choice to undertake screening should follow a shared decision making approach.

“Prostate specific antigen for early detection of prostate cancer longitudinal study”
Benny Holmstro¨m, urologist, Mattias Johansson, postdoctoral fellow, Anders Bergh, professor of pathology, UlfHa°kan Stenman, professor of clinical chemistry, Go¨ran Hallmans, professor of nutritional research, Pa¨r Stattin, professor of urology
BMJ 2009;339b3537
doi10.1136/bmj.b3537

“Screening for prostate cancer remains controversial”
Jennifer R Stark postdoctoral fellow of epidemiology, Lorelei Mucci assistant professor of epidemiology, Kenneth J Rothman professor of epidemiology and medicine, HansOlov Adami professor of epidemiology
BMJ 2009; 339b3601

“Prostate specific antigen for detecting early prostate cancer”
Dragan Ilic senior lecturer, Sally Green professorial fellow
BMJ 2009; 339b3572
bmj.com

Protalix Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSEAmex PLX), reported preclinical data on prantiTNF, a biosimilar version of etanercept (Enbrel™). Produced using the Companys proprietary ProCellEx™ technology, prantiTNF is a plant cell expressed recombinant fusion protein made from the soluble form of the human TNF receptor (TNFR), fused to the Fc component of a human antibody IgG1 domain. PrantiTNF has an identical amino acid sequence to Enbrel™.

In vitro and preclinical animal studies have demonstrated that prantiTNF exhibits similar activity to Enbrel™. Specifically, prantiTNF binds TNF alpha thereby inhibiting it from binding to cellular surface TNF receptors and protects L929 cells from TNFinduced apoptosis in a dosedependent manner. In a proofofconcept in vivo study using an established arthritis animal model, prantiTNF administered intraperitoneally significantly improved the clinical arthritis parameters associated with this accepted arthritis mouse model including joint inflammation, swelling and tissue degradation. Data from the collagen induced arthritis animal model studies are expected to be presented at an upcoming scientific conference.

“We are very encouraged by the preclinical data generated from our prantiTNF thus far,” said Dr. Yoseph Shaaltiel, Executive Vice President, R&D of Protalix. “These data further validate our ProCellEx™ technology and its ability to produce a wide range of complex therapeutic proteins in plant cells. Given our highly efficient and cost effective manufacturing process, we feel the Company is well positioned to be an active participant in the biosimilar market.”

Source

A study published in Neurology by researchers in the US has found that declining financial skills could be an early indicator of Alzheimers disease in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

The year long study worked with 87 people with MCI, 25 of whom developed Alzheimertype dementia during the study period and 62 who did not; and with 76 cognitively healthy people as controls. The group was tested at the beginning of the year and at the end with a tool called the Financial Capacity Instrument (FCI). This measured skills including understanding of financial concepts, cash transactions, bank statement management and bill payment.

This could be a useful indicator for doctors supporting people with memory problems.

Everyone struggles now and then to divide a restaurant bill or tot up your chequebook. However, this study suggests that if you already experience significant memory problems and start to notice a decline in your financial skills it could be a sign of developing dementia.

More research is needed into memory decline to begin to find useful, early indicators of the development of dementia. Dementia research is desperately underfunded. One million people will develop dementia in the next 10 years. We must act now.

Dr. Susanne Sorensen
Head of Research
Alzheimers Society

Reference
Declining financial capacity in mild cognitive impairment by K.L. Triebel, PsyD, R.Martin, PhD, H.R. Griffith, PhD et al

Public speaking, anyone? Or maybe a big job interview? Dry your palms and take a deep, calming breath; there may be a silver lining. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that, at least in laboratory mice, bouts of relatively shortterm stress can boost the immune system and protect against one type of cancer. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of this occasional angst seem to last for weeks after the stressful situation has ended. The finding is surprising because chronic stress has the opposite effect taxing the immune system and increasing susceptibility to disease.

“This is the first evidence that this type of shortlived stress may enhance antitumor activity,” said Firdaus Dhabhar, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a member of Stanfords Cancer Center, and Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection. “This is a promising new way of thinking that calls for more research. We hope that it will eventually lead to applications that help us to care for those who are ill, by maximally harnessing the bodys natural defenses while also using other medical treatments.”

The study will be published in a future print issue of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, and a review copy of the article is now available on the journals Web site.

The researchers studied a particular type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma that is known to be vulnerable to attack by the immune system.

Understanding how the intricate twostep between stress and the immune system plays out in the dance hall of diseases like cancer is important for future therapies. Certain types of stress, such as the socalled fightorflight response to an immediate but temporary threat, has been shown to increase the recruitment of immune cells to the surface of the skin and the surrounding lymph nodes presumably in preparation for imminent injury.

“Acute stress galvanizes an organisms protective systems,” said Dhabhar, whose laboratory focuses on understanding the physiological effects of both acute and chronic stress. “But although its one of natures fundamental survival systems, thus far its been rather underappreciated.”

The researchers investigated the effect of shortterm, or acute, stress on 30 laboratory mice exposed for 10 weeks to thriceweekly doses of cancercausing ultraviolet light. The light was nonblistering and nonburning and the mice experienced only a slight reddening of the skin after each exposure. But because the light was composed mainly of the most dangerous wavelength called UVB starting at week 11, many of the mice went on to develop precancerous and cancerous growths similar to those seen in humans.

To stress the mice, the researchers placed them in wellventilated plastic tubes for 2.5 hours prior to UV exposure from weeks four to six, for a total of nine bouts of stress. The mice were not squeezed or compressed, but their ability to move was restricted. Previous research showed that mice confined in such a way mount a behavioral and hormonal stress response.

Dhabhar and his colleagues compared the prevalence and tumor burden of the skin cancers in the stressed mice with that of a nonstressed, UVexposed control group of 30 mice. They found that fewer of the mice that had been acutely stressed developed skin cancer during weeks 11 through 21, and that those that did exhibited a lower total amount of tumors (a measurement called tumor burden) than the nonstressed mice.

The stressed mice werent protected indefinitely. Approximately 90 percent of the mice in both groups developed cancer after week 22, though the stressed group continued to have fewer tumors until week 26.

“Its possible that the pretumor cells were eliminated more efficiently in the group that was stressed. There may also have been a longerterm enhancement of immunity as we have seen in our noncancerrelated studies,” said Dhabhar, explaining why tumor development appeared to lag in the stressed mice. “However, acute stress did not lower tumor burden beyond week 26. We are in the process of determining why.”

Other stressinduced changes lingered for weeks, however. The researchers found that, during the same time period, the skin of the stressed mice had higher levels of immuneactivating genes than did the control group almost as if the mice were preparing for battle.

“Evolutionarily, it makes sense,” said Dhabhar. “In nature, stress and immune activity are typically coupled. Its like a lion chasing and wounding a gazelle. Nature taps into this stress response to give a boost to the immune system in the face of danger.” He compared the effect to how drugmakers often increase the potency of vaccines by including generic immuneactivating molecules called adjuvants.

As intriguing as the results are, Dhabhar doesnt really imagine that well be confining human patients in straightjackets or tossing them in front of an intimidating audience as a therapeutic technique any time soon (thank goodness!). But he is convinced that acute stress may be better for us than most of us think, and that biobehavioral interventions are worth investigating. As long as you can return to a normal, psychophysiological resting state within a few hours of a stressful event, youll probably be fine.

“The key is not to let the stress response linger,” he said. To understand why, Dhabhar and his colleagues are now probing more deeply into the biological basis of these protective effects of the acute stress response.

“What we want to do now is to finetune the stress dynamics so that we can get maximal benefits,” he said. “We are working to determine what molecules and cells are involved, and when. It may be possible one day to harness these protective effects by behaviorally or pharmacologically activating the pathways involved.”

Dhabhars Stanford colleagues on the work include senior research scientist Tyson Holmes, PhD, and Donna Bouley, PhD. They also collaborated with colleagues at Ohio State University.

The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Source
Ruthann Richter

Elite cardiovascular surgeons from around the world will travel to suburban Atlanta this week for the twoday Ross Summit to review and discuss current peerreviewed data relating to the survival advantage of the Ross Procedure and to practice the technical nuances required to perform this heart surgery successfully.

The Ross Procedure is a type of specialized aortic valve surgery in which the patients diseased aortic valve is replaced with his or her own pulmonary valve. The pulmonary valve can then be replaced with a cryopreserved human pulmonary valve.

Nine peerreviewed articles regarding the Ross Procedure representing individual series from eight different countries, comprising a total of 2,234 patients have appeared in major medical journals over the past four years and report that The Ross Procedure is associated with excellent longterm survival;

Late survival with the Ross Procedure is comparable to that of the agematched general population; and

There is an excellent propensityadjusted survival with the Ross Procedure in a pediatric patient population study compared to the excess mortality demonstrated with using a mechanical valve (as reported by one of the nine reports). Led by Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, FRS, FRCS, of Imperial Colleges Heart Science Center in London in tandem with William F. Northrup III, MD, vice president of physician relations and education at CryoLife, the Ross Summit will have a faculty of more than 30 worldrenowned cardiovascular surgeons and cardiologists, who will present clinical data on heart reconstruction surgery at their respective clinics. The summit includes two sessions of handson instruction in the various techniques of cardiac reconstruction.

The Ross Procedure is performed on up to 1,500 individuals globally each year a number that is expected to increase as survival data become more widely known.

“In children, young adults and in active older adults, the Ross Procedure offers several advantages over other traditional aortic valve replacement options,” said Dr. Northrup. “The most important advantage is growing evidence of improved longterm survival over other valve replacement options. The procedure is also attractive because patients do not have to take longterm, bloodthinning medications after surgery as they would with mechanical valves. This is particularly appealing to women of childbearing age, athletes and active adults.”

These clear advantages along with the growing catalog of survivability data spotlighted at the summit are bringing new attention to the procedure from surgeons and potential patients.

“The Ross Procedure requires very specific surgical expertise to achieve predictable, longlasting results, and The Ross Summit was created to foster data exchange to provide a wellrounded point of view in addition to offering critical procedural training,” noted Steven G. Anderson, chairman, president and CEO of CryoLife.

A full faculty list and summit agenda can be found at TheRossSummit.org. A live webcast of the Ross Summit can be viewed at TheRossCommunity.org.

A decellularized human pulmonary heart valve, CryoValve(R) SG, processed using CryoLifes SynerGraft(R) technology, was cleared by the FDA in February 2008 for use in cardiac reconstruction procedures, which includes the Ross Procedure.

Source
Dana Hartline

Most of us are familiar with the term, Body Mass Index, or BMI, as an index to determine healthy body weight. But, calculating BMI involves a complex formula weight in pounds is multiplied by 703, and then divided by height in inches squared. Charts or online calculators are then used to show a “healthy weight range” given an individuals height that corresponds to the “healthy range BMI.” For example, a BMI chart indicates that a healthy range BMI of 19 to 24 translates to a “healthy weight range” of 120 to 150 pounds for a 5foot, 6inch individual.

If this sounds way too complicated to you, youre not alone. George Fernandez, a professor of applied statistics and director of the Center for Research Design and Analysis at the University of Nevada, Reno, set out to give people a simpler way of calculating their healthy weight, and one that wouldnt require charts or online calculators. In addition, he doesnt think the “range” approach sticks in individuals minds.

“We need a “Maximum Weight Limit, or MWL,” he said, “one number that we know we cant go over, just like a speed limit.”

So, using SAS software and statistical procedures, he discovered a much simpler way of calculating a Maximum Weight Limit, which closely corresponds to weight recommendations listed on BMI charts. But, you dont need to calculate or know your BMI, nor do you need a chart or online calculator to figure out your Maximum Weight Limit. Fernandez will present his Maximum Weight Limit calculation at the Nevada Public Health Association Conference, 130 p.m., Sept. 22 at the University of Nevada, Renos Joe Crowley Student Union, Room 423.

“Its a very simple calculation that most of us can do in our heads,” he explained. For men and women, there is a baseline height and weight. For men, the baseline is 5feet, 9inches tall and a Maximum Weight Limit of 175 pounds, meaning that a 5foot, 9inch tall man should weigh no more than 175 pounds. For women, the baseline is 5feet tall and a Maximum Weight Limit of 125 pounds.

“These are nice round numbers that people can easily remember 5feet, 9inches tall, 175 pounds for man; and 5feet tall, 125 pounds for a woman,” explained Fernandez.

From that starting point, you simply calculate how much taller or shorter you are, in inches. Then, if you are man, you add or subtract 5 pounds for every inch you are taller or shorter than 5 feet, 9 inches. So, if you are 5feet, 11inches tall, you are 2 inches taller than the baseline of 5 feet, 9 inches. You add 5 pounds for each of those 2 inches, 10 pounds, to the baseline Maximum Weight Limit of 175. So, your Maximum Weight Limit is 185 (175 pounds plus 10 pounds). Women add or subtract 4.5 pounds for each inch they differ from the baseline height of 5feet tall.

These Maximum Weight Limits correspond very closely to BMIs of 25.5 for men and 24.5 for women. A BMI of 18.5 to 25 BMI is diagnosed as the “healthy range.” Fernandez used a slightly lower BMI base for women and a slightly higher one for men because, on average, women have less muscle mass than men. Although some have debated using BMI as a means for calculating healthy weight because it does not take into account factors such as muscle mass, for example, it has been shown to work as a basis for calculating a healthy weight for more than 90 percent of the population and is the most universally used index in weight management programs.

“Now people can calculate their own Maximum Weight Limit, based on the BMI index, but without any calculators or charts,” Fernandez said. “And, all they have to remember is that one number, 185 pounds for example, which is easier for most people than retaining a weight range, such as 155 to 185 pounds.”

Fernandez also noted that this simple formula could be very useful in medically underserved areas of the world, and for individuals without access to technology and charts.

“Anyone, anywhere can calculate their Maximum Weight Limit if they know their height and this simple formula,” he said. “People can calculate this in their heads and remember this.”

Source
Claudene Wharton

Head lice are tiny graybrown wingless parasitic insects that affect only humans. They live by sucking blood from the scalp. They cannot be caught from or passed on to animals. Nits are head lice eggs tiny white specks that are stuck to the base of hairs.

An infestation of head lice is known as pediculosis capitis.

Pediculosis capitis is the second most common communicable disease affecting schoolchildren, after the common cold.

Terminology The plural of louse is lice.
A louse is the adult.
A nymph is a young louse.
A nit is a louse egg.Parents must not feel embarrassed or guilty if their child has lice. Having lice is not a sign of being unhygienic, neglected, or living in a dirty environment.

The eggs take from 7 to 10 days to hatch, and 14 days later the lice are mature. A mature louse is 2 to 4 millimeters (mm) long. When the hatched louse is 14 days old it can reproduce.

Although anyone who has hair can have lice, they are more common among school children, especially those at primary school.What are the signs and symptoms of head lice infestation (pediculosis capitis)?It is quite common for infestations to occur without any symptoms at all. The most common signs and symptoms areItching of the scalp, sometimes intense. This is an allergic reaction to the saliva that lice produce while they feed.
Tiny red spots or bumps on the scalp, neck and sometimes the shoulders.
The base of hairs may have small white pinhead sized nits (eggs). Nits can sometimes be mistaken for dandruff. However, nits are easy to brush out while dandruff is not.
When you check somebody for head lice look at the base of hairs for nits (eggs) and comb the hair over a piece of white paper or smooth cotton cloth and see if there are any dark mature lice there.
It is sometimes possible to spot lice behind the ears and at the nape of the neck their two favorite places. What are the causes of head lice? Head lice cannot be transmitted by dogs, cats or family pets.

Head lice can exist in all types of hair, regardless of length and how clean it is.Headtohead contact

Head lice are transferred from persontoperson by close hairtohair contact. The lice do not jump like fleas; they cannot jump. Neither do they fly or swim. Lice walk from one hair to another.
Sharing personal items and home furnishings

You can also pick up head lice if you share personal items or household furnishings (much less common), such as

Bedding (bed linen, sheets, blankets, pillows, pillowcases) BrushesClothingCombsCushionsHair decorations, such as hair bands, barrettes, etc. Hats and any type of headgearHeadphonesTowelsUpholstered furniture (furniture with soft padding, such as sofas, armchairs, etc) What are the risk factors of head lice? The main risk factor is having your head very close to another person who has an infestation.

Primary school children are the most likely people to get head lice.

Women are affected by head lice more often than men.How is pediculosis capitis (head lice infestation) diagnosed? Lice literally “glue” their eggs onto the base of hair shaft, right next to the scalp. Eggs (nits) found over 6.5 millimeters (1/4 of an inch) from the scalp have either already hatched or wont ever do so. Therefore, finding nits anywhere on the head does not necessarily mean there is an infestation. Even if you find nits attached firmly within ¼ inch of the base of hair shafts you may suspect an infestation, but you cannot be sure. Nits are visible to the naked eye if you have a magnifying lens this might help when you are searching for them.

Experts say that the most reliable sign of an infestation is by detecting living, moving lice. The best way to do this is to wet the hair and then comb it. In many countries you can get a fine comb at a pharmacy for detecting live lice. You comb through the hair carefully and inspect the comb after each stroke. Lice are visible to the naked eye if you have a magnifying lens this might help.

Itching may signal you to look out for lice. However, itching may be a symptom of something else. Many people, especially when they have lice for the first time, do not itch during an infestation. When there is itching, it is not caused by lice biting. Itching is caused by an allergic reaction to louse saliva. Sometimes itching may not emerge until three months after initial infestation.What is the treatment for head lice? Because lice are very small, reproduce rapidly, have a short lifecycle and develop immunity to insecticides easily they can be difficult to remove. For some people the presence of head lice can be a persistent nuisance. Hence, any infestation should be dealt with immediately and comprehensively.

As soon as an infestation has been confirmed you can treat it yourself at home using a wet comb with conditioner, or medicated lotions, together with a special nit comb sold at pharmacies.Wet combing or bugbusting method

For people who do not want to put chemicals on the heads of their children or family members this method is chemical free. Wet combing is becoming more popular because head lice are progressively more resistant to insecticides.

Wash hair normally using a normal shampoo.
Apply plenty of conditioner to the wet hair this will help dislodge the lice.
Comb the wet hair initially with a normal comb comb it through.
Now use the fine tooth nit comb. Comb from the roots along the whole hair shaft. After each stroke inspect the comb for lice and nits, and then thoroughly wipe it clean before the next stroke. Carry on like this until the whole head has been thoroughly combed. The whole procedure should not take less than thirty minutes.
Rinse the hair normally.
Do all this again three days later, and then every three days for the next two weeks.
Medicated lotion or rinse

A qualified pharmacist may advise you on an OTC (overthecounter, no prescription required) insecticide lotion or rinse. Do not use the lotion if you did not find a living head louse. Follow the instructions on the packet and then remove lice and nits with a finetoothed nit comb.

As these lotions and rinses are toxic it is important that you adhere to their instructions carefully. In most cases people are advised to carry out treatment once, and then again one week later.

Do not use medicated products on a young baby without checking with your doctor first. Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, as well as patients with allergies and/or asthma should be especially careful.
Prescription medications

Malathion (ovide) malathion is rubbed into the hair and scalp. As this medication is flammable (will light up next to a naked flame or high heat) you should keep it away from heat sources. Pregnant or breastfeeding mothers should check with their doctors before using this medication as it can affect the baby.
Lindane available as a cream, shampoo or lotion. People who weigh less than 49.9 kilograms (110 pounds), pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, those with HIV infections, and patients who have seizures should not take this medicine. Lindane can sometimes cause skin irritation and seizures.
Benzyl alcohol lotion this new medication should not be used in young babies. Some patients experience irritations of the skin, eyes and scalp. Do not use on premature infants. Prevention of head lice infestationIt is very difficult to prevent the spread of head lice, unless you lock your child up in a room and never let him/her get close to other people. In a school setting close contact among children and their possessions is normal.

It is important to remember that a person with a super clean head of hair is just as likely to get head lice as somebody who never washes, if close human contact occurs.

Taking thorough steps to get rid of an existing infestation is the best way to stem the spread.

Never use medicated lotions, shampoos or rinses as a preventative measure i.e. dont use them “just in case”.

Blocking a protein that battles infection may help thwart a common cause of vision loss in chronic diseases such as diabetes, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

The protein, interleukin6, prompts inflammation a healthy and sometimes lifesaving defense against invaders such as bacteria and viruses. But the proteins action “is bad in diseases like diabetes because the inflammation is chronic,” says Dr. Wenbo Zhang, a senior postdoctoral fellow in the MCG Vascular Biology Center.

The key insult in diabetes is excess glucose, which causes inflammation and unleashes a cascade of complications. Dr. Zhang is dissecting the relationship of interleukin6 and one of the complications, diabetic retinopathy, and recently received a threeyear, $270,000 advanced postdoctoral fellowship from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International to see if blocking this proinflammatory protein can target a new treatment for the potentially blinding disease.

“Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in workingage adults, so if we can find something to prevent it, slow it down or even cure it, that would be a good thing,” says Dr. Zhang, who working with Dr. Ruth Caldwell, a cell biologist in the MCG Vascular Biology Center and Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Dr. Zhang will determine whether increased levels of interleukin6 in the vitreous, a gellike substance in the center of the eye, will prompt small blood vessels in the retina to leak. Fluid then collects in the retina, causing swelling and blurred vision. Unchecked, this can lead to proliferation of new blood vessels, which further obstruct vision.

“Blocking interleukin6 may stop the small blood vessels from leaking,” Dr. Zhang says. “Interleukin6 receptor neutralizing antibody could be a new therapeutic approach for treating diabetic retinopathy. It is already in clinical trial for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and may provide a possible immediate benefit for diabetic retinopathy patients.”

Says Dr. Caldwell, “If you can control the blood glucose levels, you can reduce the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Ideally, you would try to control the levels perfectly, but this is nearly impossible to achieve so other therapies are needed, and this would be one of them.”

Dr. Zhang earned a doctorate in biochemistry and cell biology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a bachelors degree in biochemistry from Yunnan University.

Source
Amy Connell

In a speech Monday on sex education in Texas, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards said that grassroots support is essential to making improvements in reproductive health and education, the San Antonio ExpressNews reports. Richards was a guest speaker during the Faith & Freedom Speakers series, which was cosponsored by the Texas Freedom Network and Planned Parenthood of San Antonio and South Central Texas. She said, “Grassroots action is what makes the difference. Weve got to be agents of change in America.” She added that the “country is changing” but that President Obama “can only do so much.”

Richards, the daughter of late Texas Gov. Ann Richards (D), founded the Texas Freedom network 14 years ago. The notforprofit organization promotes public education and religious freedom in a way that counters religious conservatism. The group has lobbied the Texas Legislature in support of comprehensive, medically accurate sex education in public schools.

Kathy Miller, president of TFN, said the group conducted a study this year that found that more than 95% of state schools only offer abstinenceonly education programs. She said, “At the same time, for six years in a row, Texas led the nation in multiple births to teens,” adding, “Weve been in the top three in the nation in teen births.”

As part of her speech, Richards highlighted the status of sex education and teen pregnancy statistics in the state. She also praised the Obama administrations fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, which would cut funding for abstinenceonly sex education. She said abstinenceonly sex education is a “political program, and were only now beginning to see what it has brought us.” To illustrate her point, she held up a textbook used in Texas sex education classes. “Theres absolutely nothing in here about using a condom or anything else that would prevent” a sexually transmitted infection, she said.

Richards said PPFA is collaborating with other organizations, like MTV and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to provide more teens with information that they might not have access to at school or at home. The collaborations include encouraging more young people to get tested for STIs and using technology, such as a 24hour chat line, to provide information (Fletcher Stoeltje, San Antonio ExpressNews, 9/15).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Womens Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Womens Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.