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Cafe run by young people offers mental health counselling

The volunteers at the Yasp cafe are all young people and they offer mental health support to users. Photograph: Hazel Davis

"Somebody walked past recently, sniffed the air, looked inside and said, 'What ARE you?'" laughs Martin Stanier. In his Bowie T-shirt and broad grin, you could say the same about him. Stanier is volunteer co-ordinator at the Young Adults Services and Projects (Yasp) cafe. Well, it's a cafe, but it's also a drop-in centre and resource for 15 to 25-year-olds. The staff don't like the term drop-in centre, though and that's why the Yasp cafe exists in the first place.

Situated on the busy main street in the Manchester suburb of Levenshulme, Yasp was created by Manchester Mind 12 years ago in response to the high suicide rate among Manchester's young men and the low take-up of mental health provision among black and ethnic minorities. Its location is ingeniously far away from any potential gang problems but on a busy bus route to and from many of Manchester's disadvantaged hotspots.

The cafe's users are a surprisingly wide range of ages and demographics. Kerry, 24, has just graduated from Salford University but is living in a hostel after a breakdown in her relationship with her mother. She explains: "I got quite depressed and started not coping very well. I had been on a waiting list to see a counsellor for eight months." Kerry went to an anxiety group where she was told about Yasp. "I went along and while I was sitting downstairs someone just came over and asked if I wanted to do some volunteering. I had only just walked through the door."

For Kerry it was something to immediately hold on to. "I was feeling a bit lost because I had just finished my course and I don't really know what I am going to do next." Yasp gives her, she says: "a really nice place to hang out, where I can go online if I need to."

Sometimes the surface issues mask some deeper problems and this is something Yasp staff members are alert to. Joe, 19, with a wide smile and a quick laugh, has ADHD. He wandered in one day a few months ago because he needed help with job applications. He's been coming here ever since, where "Debbie" helps him with all manner of things that get him down. "Sometimes when I am having a bit of a shit day she just helps me out," he says.

What unites all of the users is their need for a resource that doesn't pin them down to a rigorous course or schedule. As Yasp manager Sinead O'Connor explains: "We operate a very tolerant attitude to lateness or absenteeism in the cafe."

When young people come to Yasp they might come via a word-of-mouth recommendation or they might wander in off the street or they might find it online. Some young people will only ever come to eat or use the free Internet. Whatever happens, they will be subtly made aware of the resources available.

All of the volunteers are aged between 15 and 25, some have used the service before and some, but not all, have had direct experience of mental health problems. Young people with mental health problems struggle with finding work but an astonishing 25% of Yasp service users go on to find paid employment.

"The shop front really works," says O'Connor, adding: "It tends to be invisible to other people and visible to young people so they just walk off the street." The service is also starting to get a few referrals from social networking sites, as well as other voluntary sector services, social services, asylum support teams and GPs.

Summer is particularly pertinent for Yasp. "It's the time when young people have left school or education and are wondering what comes next," says O'Connor. "There's a great big gap between when you finish in June and September. Lots of young people don't have anything to go on to. Either you can be at home on the XBox or you can be out doing something that everyone thanks you for. There's also a spike in teenage pregnancy at this time of year."

It's now that the service promotes its mentoring scheme most heavily.

Yasp, which receives funding from the Big Lottery Fund, also delivers presentations in schools (and in the last year has presented to more than 1,000 young people), talking about the common symptoms of mental health problems. The Yasp volunteers are trained to deliver this service. O'Connor says: "There is something very powerful about a young person talking with credibility because they are embodying everything that they are suggesting the young people do. It really makes a difference."

Training for mentors takes place over four short days or three full days in Levenshulme or in Manchester city centre. Caed, who's 18, is off to university in September to study psychology and has come here to volunteer simply because he is interested in the field. Caed works in the cafe and is just about to start mentoring two people, recently completed the training. "The training was really, really interesting," he says. "It seemed a bit out there to ask someone of my age and lack of experience to be a mentor but I have realised it is all about listening and working out what they need. And having a consistent figure to talk to."

Why not join our social care community? Becoming a member of the Guardian Social Care Network means you get sent weekly email updates on policy and best practice in the sector, as well as exclusive offers. You can sign up for free here.

View the original article here

Cafe run by young people offers mental health counselling

The volunteers at the Yasp cafe are all young people and they offer mental health support to users. Photograph: Hazel Davis

"Somebody walked past recently, sniffed the air, looked inside and said, 'What ARE you?'" laughs Martin Stanier. In his Bowie T-shirt and broad grin, you could say the same about him. Stanier is volunteer co-ordinator at the Young Adults Services and Projects (Yasp) cafe. Well, it's a cafe, but it's also a drop-in centre and resource for 15 to 25-year-olds. The staff don't like the term drop-in centre, though and that's why the Yasp cafe exists in the first place.

Situated on the busy main street in the Manchester suburb of Levenshulme, Yasp was created by Manchester Mind 12 years ago in response to the high suicide rate among Manchester's young men and the low take-up of mental health provision among black and ethnic minorities. Its location is ingeniously far away from any potential gang problems but on a busy bus route to and from many of Manchester's disadvantaged hotspots.

The cafe's users are a surprisingly wide range of ages and demographics. Kerry, 24, has just graduated from Salford University but is living in a hostel after a breakdown in her relationship with her mother. She explains: "I got quite depressed and started not coping very well. I had been on a waiting list to see a counsellor for eight months." Kerry went to an anxiety group where she was told about Yasp. "I went along and while I was sitting downstairs someone just came over and asked if I wanted to do some volunteering. I had only just walked through the door."

For Kerry it was something to immediately hold on to. "I was feeling a bit lost because I had just finished my course and I don't really know what I am going to do next." Yasp gives her, she says: "a really nice place to hang out, where I can go online if I need to."

Sometimes the surface issues mask some deeper problems and this is something Yasp staff members are alert to. Joe, 19, with a wide smile and a quick laugh, has ADHD. He wandered in one day a few months ago because he needed help with job applications. He's been coming here ever since, where "Debbie" helps him with all manner of things that get him down. "Sometimes when I am having a bit of a shit day she just helps me out," he says.

What unites all of the users is their need for a resource that doesn't pin them down to a rigorous course or schedule. As Yasp manager Sinead O'Connor explains: "We operate a very tolerant attitude to lateness or absenteeism in the cafe."

When young people come to Yasp they might come via a word-of-mouth recommendation or they might wander in off the street or they might find it online. Some young people will only ever come to eat or use the free Internet. Whatever happens, they will be subtly made aware of the resources available.

All of the volunteers are aged between 15 and 25, some have used the service before and some, but not all, have had direct experience of mental health problems. Young people with mental health problems struggle with finding work but an astonishing 25% of Yasp service users go on to find paid employment.

"The shop front really works," says O'Connor, adding: "It tends to be invisible to other people and visible to young people so they just walk off the street." The service is also starting to get a few referrals from social networking sites, as well as other voluntary sector services, social services, asylum support teams and GPs.

Summer is particularly pertinent for Yasp. "It's the time when young people have left school or education and are wondering what comes next," says O'Connor. "There's a great big gap between when you finish in June and September. Lots of young people don't have anything to go on to. Either you can be at home on the XBox or you can be out doing something that everyone thanks you for. There's also a spike in teenage pregnancy at this time of year."

It's now that the service promotes its mentoring scheme most heavily.

Yasp, which receives funding from the Big Lottery Fund, also delivers presentations in schools (and in the last year has presented to more than 1,000 young people), talking about the common symptoms of mental health problems. The Yasp volunteers are trained to deliver this service. O'Connor says: "There is something very powerful about a young person talking with credibility because they are embodying everything that they are suggesting the young people do. It really makes a difference."

Training for mentors takes place over four short days or three full days in Levenshulme or in Manchester city centre. Caed, who's 18, is off to university in September to study psychology and has come here to volunteer simply because he is interested in the field. Caed works in the cafe and is just about to start mentoring two people, recently completed the training. "The training was really, really interesting," he says. "It seemed a bit out there to ask someone of my age and lack of experience to be a mentor but I have realised it is all about listening and working out what they need. And having a consistent figure to talk to."

Why not join our social care community? Becoming a member of the Guardian Social Care Network means you get sent weekly email updates on policy and best practice in the sector, as well as exclusive offers. You can sign up for free here.

View the original article here

Free $5 Audible.com voucher for 100,000 people

Sorry, this promotion appears to have expired. If you think we have made a mistake, please contact Customer Care.

View the original article here

Cafe run by young people offers mental health counselling

The volunteers at the Yasp cafe are all young people and they offer mental health support to users. Photograph: Hazel Davis

"Somebody walked past recently, sniffed the air, looked inside and said, 'What ARE you?'" laughs Martin Stanier. In his Bowie T-shirt and broad grin, you could say the same about him. Stanier is volunteer co-ordinator at the Young Adults Services and Projects (Yasp) cafe. Well, it's a cafe, but it's also a drop-in centre and resource for 15 to 25-year-olds. The staff don't like the term drop-in centre, though and that's why the Yasp cafe exists in the first place.

Situated on the busy main street in the Manchester suburb of Levenshulme, Yasp was created by Manchester Mind 12 years ago in response to the high suicide rate among Manchester's young men and the low take-up of mental health provision among black and ethnic minorities. Its location is ingeniously far away from any potential gang problems but on a busy bus route to and from many of Manchester's disadvantaged hotspots.

The cafe's users are a surprisingly wide range of ages and demographics. Kerry, 24, has just graduated from Salford University but is living in a hostel after a breakdown in her relationship with her mother. She explains: "I got quite depressed and started not coping very well. I had been on a waiting list to see a counsellor for eight months." Kerry went to an anxiety group where she was told about Yasp. "I went along and while I was sitting downstairs someone just came over and asked if I wanted to do some volunteering. I had only just walked through the door."

For Kerry it was something to immediately hold on to. "I was feeling a bit lost because I had just finished my course and I don't really know what I am going to do next." Yasp gives her, she says: "a really nice place to hang out, where I can go online if I need to."

Sometimes the surface issues mask some deeper problems and this is something Yasp staff members are alert to. Joe, 19, with a wide smile and a quick laugh, has ADHD. He wandered in one day a few months ago because he needed help with job applications. He's been coming here ever since, where "Debbie" helps him with all manner of things that get him down. "Sometimes when I am having a bit of a shit day she just helps me out," he says.

What unites all of the users is their need for a resource that doesn't pin them down to a rigorous course or schedule. As Yasp manager Sinead O'Connor explains: "We operate a very tolerant attitude to lateness or absenteeism in the cafe."

When young people come to Yasp they might come via a word-of-mouth recommendation or they might wander in off the street or they might find it online. Some young people will only ever come to eat or use the free Internet. Whatever happens, they will be subtly made aware of the resources available.

All of the volunteers are aged between 15 and 25, some have used the service before and some, but not all, have had direct experience of mental health problems. Young people with mental health problems struggle with finding work but an astonishing 25% of Yasp service users go on to find paid employment.

"The shop front really works," says O'Connor, adding: "It tends to be invisible to other people and visible to young people so they just walk off the street." The service is also starting to get a few referrals from social networking sites, as well as other voluntary sector services, social services, asylum support teams and GPs.

Summer is particularly pertinent for Yasp. "It's the time when young people have left school or education and are wondering what comes next," says O'Connor. "There's a great big gap between when you finish in June and September. Lots of young people don't have anything to go on to. Either you can be at home on the XBox or you can be out doing something that everyone thanks you for. There's also a spike in teenage pregnancy at this time of year."

It's now that the service promotes its mentoring scheme most heavily.

Yasp, which receives funding from the Big Lottery Fund, also delivers presentations in schools (and in the last year has presented to more than 1,000 young people), talking about the common symptoms of mental health problems. The Yasp volunteers are trained to deliver this service. O'Connor says: "There is something very powerful about a young person talking with credibility because they are embodying everything that they are suggesting the young people do. It really makes a difference."

Training for mentors takes place over four short days or three full days in Levenshulme or in Manchester city centre. Caed, who's 18, is off to university in September to study psychology and has come here to volunteer simply because he is interested in the field. Caed works in the cafe and is just about to start mentoring two people, recently completed the training. "The training was really, really interesting," he says. "It seemed a bit out there to ask someone of my age and lack of experience to be a mentor but I have realised it is all about listening and working out what they need. And having a consistent figure to talk to."

Why not join our social care community? Becoming a member of the Guardian Social Care Network means you get sent weekly email updates on policy and best practice in the sector, as well as exclusive offers. You can sign up for free here.

View the original article here

Dementia risk score for people with diabetes

Featured Article
Academic Journal
Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Also Included In: Diabetes;  Neurology / Neuroscience;  Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 20 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Dementia risk score for people with diabetes

Scientists have created a simple scoring system that will allow clinicians to predict whether older people with type 2 diabetes are at risk of developing dementia, according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.

Researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in California say the new system, called the "diabetes-specific dementia risk score" (DSDRS), will mean doctors can closely monitor patients with type 2 diabetes who are at highest risk of dementia and enable early treatment to be given.

For the study, the research team analyzed medical records of 29,961 Kaiser Permanente patients over the age of 60 who had type 2 diabetes.

The researchers looked at whether the patients were diagnosed with dementia within the 10-year follow-up period. The analysis revealed that 17% of patients developed dementia during this time.

They built the DSDRS model with 45 candidate risk factors for dementia. Using "sophisticated statistical methods," the researchers looked at patients' medical records to determine the risk factors that most strongly predicted the onset of dementia within 10 years.

The following were identified as the most important predictive factors:

The scoring system can divide patients into one of 14 categories. The lowest score is -1, which indicates the lowest risk of dementia, while the highest scores are between 12 and 19.

By using the diabetes-specific dementia risk score, results showed that, compared with those who had the lowest scores, patients with the highest were 37 times more likely to develop dementia within 10 years.

Additionally, patients with the highest scores developed dementia faster than those with the lowest.

The researchers tested the scoring system against a large group of people with type 2 diabetes who were unrelated to the study and found that it accurately predicted their risk of developing dementia.

Dr. Rachel Whitmer from Kaiser Permenante says:

"Unfortunately, there is an epidemic of both type 2 diabetes and dementia, and the link between these two illnesses portends a possible public health crisis."

"Our model shows that in two large populations of patients with type 2 diabetes a combination of diabetes-associated complications, education, and age is highly predictive of the likelihood of dementia within the next decade."

The study authors say that this is the first time scoring systems have been used to specifically predict dementia in patients with type 2 diabetes.

They add that the scoring system would prove beneficial to doctors in predicting the onset of dementia in type 2 diabetes patients, as it does not rely on expensive, complicated brain imaging or cognitive testing.

"Early detection of patients with type 2 diabetes who are at increased risk of dementia could help to develop and target preventive treatment," says Dr. Whitmer.

"Our scoring system has the potential to change clinical care by giving clinicians a simple and accurate way of predicting the risk of dementia in older people with type 2 diabetes."

But the study authors note that there are plans to conduct a second stage into the scoring system, which may involve some use of cognitive testing in order to improve accuracy.

In a comment piece following the study, Dr. Anna-Maija Tolppanen of the Center for Comparative Effectiveness and Patient Safety in Finland, says that although the diabetes-specific dementia risk score (DSDRS) could be beneficial for clinicians in determining dementia risk, the system may not be so useful in selecting patients for drug trials.

"Clinical trial data on effective preventive interventions for dementia are currently lacking," says Dr. Tolppanen.

"Although [the researchers] state that DSDRS could be used to select candidates for trials, it should be noted that diabetes and many of the components of the score are often exclusion criteria for medication trials."

Written by Honor Whiteman

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our alzheimer's / dementia section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Whiteman, Honor. "Dementia risk score for people with diabetes." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 20 Aug. 2013. Web.
20 Aug. 2013. APA

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'Dementia risk score for people with diabetes'

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Big Pharma Companies will meet at the Geriatric Safe Medicines Summit to discuss performing clinical trials in older people, 16-17 September, London

Main Category: Conferences
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 8:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Big Pharma Companies will meet at the Geriatric Safe Medicines Summit to discuss performing clinical trials in older people, 16-17 September, London

Patients over the age of 65 are prescribed the majority of prescription drugs used in the UK but are significantly under-represented in clinical trials. Statistics show that although over 65's carry 60% of the disease burden they are only represented at a rate of 32% in phase I-III Clinical Trials. Why do clinical trial recruitment designs neglect this patient population? 

Challenges which include co-morbidities, polypharmacy drug-drug interactions, adherence formulation challenges are just some of the difficulties faced when performing clinical trials in this population, not to mention the problems of delivery.

SMi's inaugural Geriatrics Safe Medicines Summit, taking place on the 16th-17th of September 2013 in London, will look to tackle these issues and will address Benefit-risk in this patient population and how clinical trials could be better designed to facilitate the participation of the elderly in clinical trials.

According to Nina Lee Barnett, Consultant pharmacist, Northwick Park Hospital who is speaking on day one "I am really looking forward to participating in this meeting. It is great to see a programme which includes internationally renowned contributors from a wide variety of backgrounds, all delivering sessions which support safer use of medicines in older people. This meeting is an opportunity to foster collaboration on research projects which include older people and to break down barriers preventing studies in this age demographic."

Through a novel range of case studies attendees will discover new market gaps, market strategies and focus on EMA geriatric medicines strategy and how modelling and simulation along with new patient reporting systems support clinical trials in older people.

Keynote speakers include Solange Rohou, Director Regulatory Affairs, AstraZeneca who will be presenting on: What has been done since the revision of the ICH E7 guideline? The Companies' view and Barbro Westerholm, Member of Swedish Parliament, who will speak on: Patient perspectives on healthy ageing.

Event highlights include:

Discover the benefits of performing clinical trials in older people Identify the key challenges and considerations when conducting clinical trials in older people Address reasons for clinical trial retention difficulties Discuss how modelling and simulation along with new patient reporting systems support clinical trials in older people Explore new market gaps and discover new market strategy Focus on the EMA geriatric medicines strategy

For the full conference programme and further information please visit:? http://www.smi-online.co.uk/goto/geriatricsummit55.asp

Alternatively contact Jonathan Collins on +44 (0)20 7827 6734 or email: jcollins@smi-online.co.uk

Sponsorship opportunities are available for this event, please contact Alia Malick on +44(0) 20 7827 6168.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our conferences section for the latest news on this subject.

About SMi Group

Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries.

We pride ourselves on having access to the world’s most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. We hold events in over 30 major cities throughout the world including London, Paris and Singapore and to date have welcomed over 200,000 participants from 80 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.smi-online.co.uk

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19 Aug. 2013. APA
Ltd, S. (2013, August 19). "Big Pharma Companies will meet at the Geriatric Safe Medicines Summit to discuss performing clinical trials in older people, 16-17 September, London." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
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'No such thing' as left or right brained people

Featured Article
Academic Journal
Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
'No such thing' as left or right brained people

We have all heard references to people being a "left-brained" or "right-brained" thinker. But researchers from the University of Utah say their latest research shows this is a myth.

Previous studies over the years have suggested that we use one half of our brain more often than the other, playing a part in the type of personality we have.

While the left side of the brain is usually associated with logical, analytical and detail-oriented behavior, the right side has been connected to creative, thoughtful and subjective thinking.

But a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests there is no evidence within brain imaging that proves some people are right-brained or left-brained.

The research team conducted a two-year study of 1,011 people who were part of the International Neuroimaging Data-Sharing Initiative (INDI), and who were between the ages of 7 and 29.

All participants had the functional lateralization of their brains measured. Functional lateralization means there are specific mental processes that take place in either the brain's left or right hemisphere.

Researchers have said the theory of "left-brained" or "right-brained" thinkers is nothing more than a myth

The scientists conducted the brain measurements using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis, which involved the participants lying in the scanner for 5 to 10 minutes while their "resting" brain measurements were taken. This allowed the researchers to correlate brain activity in one area of the brain and compare it with another.

The researchers then divided the brain into 7,000 regions and analyzed which regions of the brain showed more functional lateralization.

All connections in the brain were examined, and all possible combinations of the brain regions were correlated for each brain region that was left-lateralized or right-lateralized.

The results of the scan showed patterns indicating that a brain connection may be strongly left or right-lateralized. But they found no relationship that individuals "preferentially" used their left-brain network or right-brain more often.

Dr. Jeff Anderson, lead author of the study, explains:

"It is absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right.

But people don't tend to have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network. It seems to be determined more, connection by connection."

Jared Nielsen, a graduate student in neuroscience at the University of Utah and one of the study authors, adds:

"If you have a connection that is strongly left-lateralized, it relates to other strongly lateralized connection only if both sets of connections have a brain region in common."

Results of this study are groundbreaking, Nielsen says, as they may change the way people think about the "right-brain versus left-brain theory."

"Everyone should understand the personality types associated with the terminology 'left-brained' and 'right-brained' and how they relate to him or her personally," he says.

"However, we just do not see patterns where the whole left-brain network is more connected or the whole right-brain network is more connected in some people. It may be that personality types have nothing to do with one hemisphere being more active, stronger, or more connected."

Written by Honor Whiteman Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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Good news for people who lose their foveal vision due to macular diseases

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Good news for people who lose their foveal vision due to macular diseases

When something gets in the way of our ability to see, we quickly pick up a new way to look, in much the same way that we would learn to ride a bike, according to a new study published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology.

Our eyes are constantly on the move, darting this way and that four to five times per second. Now researchers have found that the precise manner of those eye movements can change within a matter of hours. This discovery by researchers from the University of Southern California might suggest a way to help those with macular degeneration better cope with vision loss.

"The system that controls how the eyes move is far more malleable than the literature has suggested," says Bosco Tjan of the University of Southern California. "We showed that people with normal vision can quickly adjust to a temporary occlusion of their foveal vision by adapting a consistent point in their peripheral vision as their new point of gaze."

The fovea refers to the small, center-most portion of the retina, which is responsible for our high-resolution vision. We move our eyes to direct the fovea to different parts of a scene, constructing a picture of the world around us. In those with age-related macular degeneration, progressive loss of foveal vision leads to visual impairment and blindness.

In the new study, MiYoung Kwon, Anirvan Nandy, and Tjan simulated a loss of foveal vision in six normally sighted young adults by blocking part of a visual scene with a gray disc that followed the individuals' eye gaze. Those individuals were then asked to complete demanding object-following and visual-search tasks. Within three hours of working on those tasks, people showed a remarkably fast and spontaneous adjustment of eye movements. Once developed, that change in their "point of gaze" was retained over a period of weeks and was reengaged whenever their foveal vision was blocked.

Tjan and his team say they were surprised by the rate of this adjustment. They note that patients with macular degeneration frequently do adapt their point of gaze, but in a process that takes months, not days or hours. They suggest that practice with a visible gray disc like the one used in the study might help speed that process of visual rehabilitation along. The discovery also reveals that the oculomotor (eye movement) system prefers control simplicity over optimality.

"Gaze control by the oculomotor system, although highly automatic, is malleable in the same sense that motor control of the limbs is malleable," Tjan says. "This finding is potentially very good news for people who lose their foveal vision due to macular diseases. It may be possible to create the right conditions for the oculomotor system to quickly adjust," Kwon adds.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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'Good news for people who lose their foveal vision due to macular diseases'

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Preventive Isoniazid therapy should be considered for millions of HIV-infected people globally

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Tuberculosis;  Preventive Medicine
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Preventive Isoniazid therapy should be considered for millions of HIV-infected people globally

As part of the largest international research effort ever made to combat tuberculosis, a team of Johns Hopkins and Brazilian experts has found that preventive antibiotic therapy for people with HIV lowers this group's chances of developing TB or dying. Specifically, they found in men and women already infected with HIV that taking isoniazid reduced deaths and new cases of active TB disease by 31 percent, while new cases of TB alone decline by 13 percent.

The research team's findings, published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases online, stem from what is believed to be the largest expansion of a clinic-based, community health program designed to curb the spread of TB, and the first evidence that such a community-wide effort can be highly effective at preventing people who are co-infected from developing active TB disease.

According to senior study investigator and Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialists Richard Chaisson, M.D., his team's latest study results firmly support broad use of preventive isoniazid therapy for millions of people infected with HIV in Latin American, Asian, and Eastern European countries heavily burdened by TB.

Chaisson says TB disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide among those with HIV/AIDS and is epidemic in developing countries with the highest HIV-infection rates. Isoniazid treatment, which costs less than $1 for a full course of therapy, is already recommended by the World Health Organization to prevent TB in people with HIV disease. The policy, however, has not been widely adopted and its broad impact on the HIV-infected community never shown until the Johns Hopkins and Brazilian team's latest study.

All of the 12,816 study participants were eligible for screening for TB infection or active TB disease. Some 1,186 tested positive for TB infection, but did not have symptoms of TB sickness and could start taking 300 milligrams of isoniazid daily for six months. All received routine follow-up care for as little as a few weeks to as long as four years after initially seeking treatment at any of 29 HIV clinics across Brazil, a country hit hard by both infectious diseases. Some 838 deaths occurred during the study, which took four years to complete, and 475 developed TB. Symptoms of active TB disease, indicating the disease has progressed from latent infection, include persistent cough, chest pain, chills, fever, muscle weakness and fatigue.

"Our study results show that routine testing for TB and preventive isoniazid therapy works well at the community level in people with HIV disease in curbing the spread of TB and lowering the number who die," says Chaisson, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and founding director of its Center for Tuberculosis Research.

"People with HIV disease living in all countries with rampant TB should be asking their physicians if they are good candidates for preventive isoniazid therapy," says Chaisson, who leads the overall global research effort, in support of this study and others, called the Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS/TB Epidemic. CREATE, as it is known, is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

When researchers restricted their analysis to 12,196 study participants who kept at least one annual check-up appointment, the overall death rate and number of new TB cases was even lower, at 55 percent. The number of active TB cases decreased by 58 percent. Among study participants who received isoniazid, commonly marketed under the brand names Niazid, Laniazid and Nydrazid, 85 percent took a full course of drugs for six months, as prescribed.

Another important finding, researchers say, was that initial TB screening of those seeking HIV care led to diagnosis of over a third (34 percent, or 250) of the total 725 new clinic patients found to have active TB. All were offered treatment for their disease but were excluded from the study analysis.

Lead study investigator and Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Jonathan Golub, Ph.D., M.P.H., says the study was, on its own, an effective screening tool, and affirms how unknown TB cases can be found when public health officials focus on community health programs in local clinics that service people more likely to become infected. In Brazil, an estimated 10 percent of people diagnosed with TB sickness are co-infected with HIV.

Golub says further research is needed to determine how long lasting are isoniazid's protective effects are and whether the single course of treatment used in the latest study is sufficient, or if repeat or lifelong antibiotic therapy is needed to suppress TB.

"Our efforts highlight the importance of continuous training in diagnosing TB, and our immediate priority is to train community doctors and nurses in HIV clinics to make TB testing part of routine HIV care," says Golub, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins. Golub points out that in Brazil, TB screening policies have been in place since 1995, but simply not followed. Golub says that once clinics involved in the study began more rigorous screening, the number of initial TB skin tests performed jumped threefold, and the number of patients taking isoniazid went up fourfold.

For the study, clinic staff were rigorously trained in correct procedures for screening all patients with HIV for possible TB infection and signs of active TB disease. Patients who tested positive for active TB disease were offered treatment, but were not included in study monitoring. Those who met study criteria were offered preventive isoniazid therapy. To detect TB, a simple skin test is initially performed, which if positive for signs of an immune response, can lead to further, confirmatory lab and X-ray testing.

Intensive training at all 29 clinics was randomly staggered every two months, allowing staff at all clinics to eventually benefit from the enhanced study effort. The staggered timeline also gave researchers a long period to assess isoniazid's effects pre- and post-training. Study participants were 61 percent male, and on average 37 years old. Sixty percent were receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV.

Chaisson says the team next plans to evaluate faster diagnostic tests for TB, other than the initial skin test, which takes only minutes to administer, but requires a 48-hour waiting period to show any reaction. He says the ideal test would be a blood test that could be performed at the same time as routine anti-HIV tests for blood levels of CD4 immune cells.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our hiv / aids section for the latest news on this subject.

Effect of improved tuberculosis screening and isoniazid preventive therapy on incidence of tuberculosis and death in patients with HIV in clinics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a stepped wedge, cluster-randomised trial, doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70187-7

In addition to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, funding support for this study came from the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center and the National Institutes of Health. Corresponding grant numbers are U2RTW006885, AI066994 and AI001637.

Besides Chaisson and Golub, other Johns Hopkins researchers involved in this study were Lawrence Moulton, Ph.D.; Bonnie King, M.P.H.; Silvia Cohn, M.S.; and Anne Efron, M.S.N. Additional research assistance was provided by Betina Durovni, M.D.; Valeria Saraceni, M.D.; and Solange Cavalcante, M.D., at Municipal Health Secretariat in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; and Antonio Pacheco, Ph.D., at the Scientific Computing Program, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, also in Rio de Janeiro.

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Embarrassment leads to a preference for products that help people 'save face'

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Embarrassment leads to a preference for products that help people 'save face'

People who are feeling embarrassed are more likely to choose items that hide or 'repair' the face, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research indicates that feelings of embarrassment can be alleviated by using so-called 'restorative' products - effectively helping people to "save face."

"Previous research on embarrassment mainly documents that embarrassed individuals are motivated to avoid public exposure," explains Ping Dong, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto and lead author of the new research. "However, little work has been done to examine how they could cope with embarrassment."

Dong and colleagues Xun (Irene) Huang of Sun Yat-Sen University and Robert S. Wyer, Jr. of the Chinese University of Hong Kong hypothesized that metaphorical reasoning - the idea of 'saving face' - might be one tool for coping with embarrassment, a common negative emotion.

In their first experiment, Dong and colleagues asked some participants to describe an embarrassing situation from their past, while others in the control group were simply asked to describe a typical day at school; later, all participants rated various pairs of sunglasses.

The findings showed that participants who relived their embarrassing experience tended to prefer large, darkly-tinted sunglasses. In effect, they favored the options that covered up their faces.

In another experiment, embarrassed participants expressed greater interest in sunglasses and restorative face creams - products that would conceal or cover the faces - than in scarves or shoes.

Additional research revealed that participants who actually used the 'restorative' facial cream after re-experiencing an embarrassing moment reported lower embarrassment ratings, and they were more likely to seek out social interaction. Wearing sunglasses, however, did not seem to alleviate feelings of embarrassment.

"Although embarrassment leads people both to hide their face and to restore their face, only by restoring their face can their embarrassment be decreased, as evidenced in their greater desire to participate in social activities," Dong explains. "It is interesting to speculate that people who wear cosmetics on a daily basis may be more tolerant of potentially embarrassing behavior."

The findings highlight the unconscious influence that metaphorical thinking can have on everyday behaviors, but Dong notes that this influence may depend on cultural differences not examined in the present studies given that all participants were Hong Kong Chinese.

"The metaphorical concept of 'hiding one's face' is fairly widespread, but the concepts of 'losing face' and 'saving face' are more pervasive in Asian than in Western cultures," she observes. "Although the effects of embarrassment on symbolically hiding one's face are likely to generalize to Western cultures, the effect of symbolically restoring one's face might not."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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This research was supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.

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Southerners are less trusting, but people who trust are more likely to cooperate to save the environment, baylor study shows

Main Category: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 03 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Southerners are less trusting, but people who trust are more likely to cooperate to save the environment, baylor study shows

Southerners are generally not as trusting as people who live in other parts of the country, but trusting people are more likely to cooperate in recycling, buying green products and conserving water, a new Baylor University study on environmental protection shows.

"A lot of researchers have reported trust as kind of a cure-all for protecting the environment through cooperation. Southerners are just as willing, but less trusting," said lead author Kyle Irwin, Ph.D., an assistant professor in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.

"The question our study raised was that if trust isn't a catalyst for environmental cooperation for Southerners, what is?"

The study, published in The Sociological Quarterly, was based on analysis of a data sample of 650 respondents - 238 of them Southerners - from the 2010 General Social Survey, Irwin said. "The South" as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau includes 16 states (listed below) and Washington D.C.

Previous studies by other researchers have shown that trust is important in working together to protect the environment, but the study by Irwin and co-researcher Nick Berigan, Ph.D., a visiting assistant professor at East Tennessee State University, is the first to look at cultural factors, Irwin said.

"Southerners are relatively close-knit and interact within small and dense networks," he said. "Social spheres often overlap: People that work together may go to church together, attend sports events for their kids. This type of network often produces a lot of solidarity and trust within the 'in group,' but distrust toward outsiders."

Compared to Southerners, non-Southerners have a large number of weak and transient friendships. Social networks in the non-South are considered individualistic, and that promotes trust of people who might be considered outsiders, he said.

"There's been a slew of research on the relationship between trust and environmental protection," Irwin said. "The more trust people have, the more willing they are to make sacrifices to hold up their end to solve problems."

But Southerners' cooperation in pro-environment efforts does not hinge on trust as much as non-Southerners' cooperation does.

The new study measured trust with the question of "Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted, or that you can't be too careful in dealing with people?" Among Southern respondents, 24.9 percent of respondents trusted others; 38.7 of non-Southern respondents did so.

The study shows that political views and education are associated with cooperation in the South, with Democrats more willing to make cuts in living standards and more educated people more willing to pay higher taxes to help protect the environment. Also in the South, confidence in the government was associated with greater willingness to pay higher taxes.

Irwin said that further study is needed to draw firm conclusions, but the research suggests that pro-environmental efforts in the South might target Republicans by assuring them that long-term benefits of conservation outweigh short-term costs and are consistent with their values, rather than mandated by those with liberal political views.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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*States listed as Southern by the U.S. Census Bureau include Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Washington, D.C. also is included.

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People likely to safeguard common goods when they trust in leaders, have a sense of belonging

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 28 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
People likely to safeguard common goods when they trust in leaders, have a sense of belonging

Every day, people donate to charities, volunteer to clean up city parks, or scale back their driving to curb air pollution. But some take these public goods for granted and ride free on the efforts of others. They watch public television but never make a donation to fund it. Or they run their lawn sprinklers during a drought while their neighbors follow government pleas to limit water consumption.

A new report in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, examines more than 25 years' worth of studies on the use and support of public goods ranging from radio broadcasts to drinking water. Psychological researcher Craig Parks (Washington State University, Pullman) and his co-authors emphasize the urgent need to broaden thoughtful use of public goods, noting that charitable contributions are at historic lows, fossil fuel reserves are shrinking, and climate change threatens the planet's future.

In the report, the researchers discuss a variety of scientific findings on conditions that foster cooperative use of common resources, including:

Strong group identity

People are more likely to act cooperatively when they have a strong sense of belonging to a collective. A 2003 European study showed that fishermen who were strongly connected in their communities were more judicious with fishing stocks than were their counterparts in more loosely connected communities.

Smaller community size

Cooperation is likely to be stronger in smaller groups, particularly when one's contribution is easily identified. Psychological research suggests that cooperation decreases in large groups because people feel less influential, less identifiable, and less responsible for the group's welfare.

High trust in leaders

Citizens are more willing to help out in urgent situations when their government leaders act in transparent and trustworthy ways. A study of people's behavior during a 1991 water shortage in California showed that residents exercised more constraint on their water consumption if they felt local authorities were rationing water fairly.

The article also cites factors that lead to incongruous use of resources, including:

Intergroup conflicts

People often try to prevent those in an opposing group from benefiting from a good or resource in order to advance their own groups' interests. Parks and his co-authors cite as an example the 2011 debate in the U.S. Congress over the nation's debt ceiling. The Obama administration wanted to raise the debt ceiling to support such public goods as Social Security and the military. Republicans who fought the increase drew anger from many Americans, but in doing so helped enhance the GOP's reputation as a party of fiscal watchdogs.

Ideology/values

Individuals may withhold support for a public good that they see as useless or objectionable. Examples of this are environmentalists who fight a highway expansion, or political conservatives who reject public radio as too left-leaning.

Cognitive disconnection

Threats to some common resources are so vast or abstract that people struggle to comprehend the consequences. The most salient example is people's struggle to envision the impact that climate change will have on future generations.

Parks and his colleagues propose some policy steps that could promote better care of public resources. Research shows, for example, that people tend to act for the benefit of those who are powerless or helpless. Framing future generations in that light (e.g., talking about the more-hostile climate that we stand to leave for our great-grandchildren) can spark people today to be more diligent about reducing their carbon footprint, they suggest.

The researchers also argue that policymakers, in promoting optimal use of public goods, must concentrate on building the public's trust in order to garner cooperation.

"Sincere and concerted attempts to collect public input and a general 'let's work together' approach will do much to enhance group identity," they write. "Toleration of a certain amount of deviation from policy, at least in the early stages of implementation, will show that policy makers are forgiving. And last, a policy that gives citizens more than they might have expected - a more well-developed public good and broader access to it - will convey an image of generosity."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Co-authors on the article are Jeff Joireman of Washington State University, Pullman, and Paul A.M. Van Lange of Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

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Weight discrimination makes people more obese

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Academic Journal
Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 29 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Weight discrimination makes people more obese

Weight discrimination, rather than motivating people to lose weight is more likely to make them become even more obese, researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine reported in PLoS ONE.

Weight discrimination is common in the USA. Studies have demonstrated a link between weight discrimination and poor economic and psychological outcomes. However, very few studies have examined whether it might also have an impact on long-term body weight.

Angelina Sutin and Antonio Terracciano analyzed body weight data on more than 6,000 participants from 2006 to 2010.

Being exposed to weight discrimination in 2006 increased their risk of being even more obese by a factor of 2.5 when they were assessed again in 2010.

Obese participants who did not experience perceived discrimination in 2006 were much less likely to still be obese years later.

Other factors which can result in discrimination, such as race or sex, were not found to have the same effect on later body weight.

Weight discrimination encourages further weight gain

The effect of "weightism", or weight discrimination, appears to occur independently of demographic factors, such as gender, education, ethnicity or age.

It seems that weight discrimination has other consequences for affected individuals, apart from poorer mental health outcomes.

The authors wrote:

"In addition to the well-known emotional and economic costs, our results suggest that weight discrimination also increases risk of obesity. This could lead to a vicious cycle where individuals who are overweight and obese are more vulnerable to weight discrimination, and this discrimination may contribute to subsequent obesity and difficulties with weight management."

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that weight discrimination led to expanded waistlines in men.

Senior author, Haslyn E.R. Hunte, wrote "This study found that males who persistently experienced high levels of discrimination during a nine-year period were more likely to see their waist circumference increase by an inch compared to those who did not report discrimination. Females who reported similar experiences also saw their waistlines grow by more than half an inch. This shows how discrimination hurts people physically, and it's a reminder how people's unfair treatment of others can be very powerful."

Written by Christian Nordqvist

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More people beating skin cancer - UK report

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Main Category: Melanoma / Skin Cancer
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 25 Jul 2013 - 3:00 PDT Current ratings for:
More people beating skin cancer - UK report

Cancer Research UK says more and more people are surviving malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Their latest statistics, published online this week, reveal that more than 8 in 10 people diagnosed with malignant melanoma will now survive the disease. Forty years ago, the survival rate was only around 5 in 10.

The charity says the improvement is most likely due to better treatments and earlier diagnosis, and also because people are more aware of the symptoms.

The report shows that 80% of men and 90% of women live more than ten years after being diagnosed with malignant melanoma compared with only 38% of men and 58% of women in the early 70s.

In the UK every day, around 35 people discover they have malignant melanoma, totalling nearly 13,000 new cases a year.

Professor Richard Marais, director of the Cancer Research UK Paterson Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Manchester, says in a statement that much of the huge progress in the fight against skin cancer is down to the generosity of supporters who have funded research that increases understanding of the disease and finds new ways to beat it. He says:

"More and more people are beating skin cancer but we can't stop there and we need to develop better treatments for the 2 out of 10 where things don't look so good."

There are now some very effective new drugs, such as vemurafenib, which was developed with the help of research funded by the charity.

"Although these drugs do not cure skin cancers, they can give patients with advanced melanoma valuable extra months and show the progress we are making," Marais adds.

Skin cancer is one of the fastest rising cancers in the UK, which the charity says is likely due to more Britons sunbathing than before, and the rise of cheap package holidays in earlier decades.

Treatment for skin cancer is more likely to succeed the earlier the disease is detected.

The key to early diagnosis, says Dr. Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, is to get to know your skin, notice anything unusual, such as a change to a mole or a blemish that hasn't healed after a few weeks, and see your doctor.

One area that has seen enormous progress in research on melanoma is genetics.

Melanoma is really an umbrella term for the most virulent types of skin cancer. It is a highly complex disease from a genetic point of view: melanoma tumors have more mutations per cell than any other type of cancer.

An example of how scientists are investigating the genetics of melanoma is following up on the knowledge that ultraviolet light from the sun damages DNA, which increases the chance of normal skin cells becoming cancerous.

Scientists can use the information gained from studying how UV light damages DNA to develop new treatments.

One study by Cancer Research UK, which is looking at genetic changes that cause skin cancer, is collecting samples of tissue and blood from people diagnosed with melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer of the head and neck.

The researchers are examining the samples to find genetic changes that may be responsible for the cancer and to discover how the immune system reacts to the cancer.

In another piece of research, scientists have discovered that people who have inherited a faulty gene called p16 or CDKN2A have a higher risk for developing melanoma than people who do not have the faulty gene.

They are now running a long-term study to find out how genes and environment affect risk of developing melanoma.

Fortunately thanks to new tools like DNA sequencing, scientists are able to sort through huge volumes of data to decode each melanoma tumor's genetic "fingerprint."

For example, Prof. Marais was the lead author on another Cancer Research UK study that recently revealed how DNA sequencing helped the team find possible new treatment targets for a rare form of cancer known as mucosal melanoma.

The list of known gene flaws that cause melanoma is growing. This opens doors to new drugs that can target the effect of these faulty genes by blocking the signalling pathways that cause cells to malfunction and make tumors grow and spread.

There are currently about 100 new drugs being developed to treat melanoma, and new combinations of drugs show promise as treatments that block these tumor-causing signalling pathways.

In a recent journal report, Brian Nickoloff, director of a dermatology and cutaneous sciences division at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine in the US, and colleagues outline recent advances that have put melanoma at the forefront of cancer research.

Nickoloff says he has been working in this field for 30 years, and "now is by any measure the most exciting time for melanoma research."

"In the past melanoma outsmarted us, but now we're starting to outsmart melanoma," he adds.

For more information on the latest melanoma research see the Cancer Research UK web page.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our melanoma / skin cancer section for the latest news on this subject. "Cancer Statistics Report: Skin Cancer"; Cancer Research UK, July 2013; Link to Report (pdf). Additional source: Cancer Research UK Press Release. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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More people learning how to restart a heart could save 100,000 lives per year across Europe, says the European Resuscitation Council

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 25 Jul 2013 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for:
More people learning how to restart a heart could save 100,000 lives per year across Europe, says the European Resuscitation Council

The very first 'European Restart a Heart Day'-to teach members of the public how to help restart the heart of someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest-will be held this autumn, organised by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). The initiative, which takes place on October 16, is aimed particularly at Europe's younger people, aims to improve the very low numbers of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. On the day, Members of European Parliament will be taught how to resuscitate a victim and use an automated external defibrillator (AED). A poster campaign and flyers will be distributed in different languages, and events will be held across multiple European countries with the support of their national resuscitation organisation.

Every year, around 350,000 Europeans suffer an out-of-hospital (OOH) cardiac arrest. OOH cardiac arrests occur anywhere, for example in the street, at work, or while exercising or doing other strenuous activity. The vast majority happen at home. Currently, less than 1 in 10 of these patients survive. Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by lay people increases survival by 2-3 times, however, today it is delivered in only 1 in 5 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Increasing this rate may save 100,000 lives in Europe per year. "Unfortunately, only a small minority of cardiac arrest victims receive this vital help in time to save their life," says Professor Maaret Castrén, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and chair of the ERC.

Bystander CPR rates vary widely across Europe, with Andalusia in Spain as low as 12%, Germany 15%, through to very high rates in the Netherlands (61%) and Sweden (59%).The actual survival rate varies with the setting, with some countries (generally those in Eastern Europe) having survival as low as 6%, whereas countries with an excellent record in bystander CPR such as the Netherlands and Norway see survival rates as high as 40%. "If we could improve rates of bystander CPR in Europe to the levels seen in these best-performing nations, then around 100,000 lives could be saved each year across Europe," says Prof Castrén. "We are certain that if more people were trained (e.g. in key public places such as airports, gyms, hotels etc.) and if more AED's were placed on strategic points, 50% of the deaths by cardiac arrest could effectively be prevented," she adds.

To put these numbers in context, the estimate of 350,000 OOH cardiac arrest deaths is equivalent to 1,000 deaths per day every day of the year across Europe: 2 full jumbo jets crashing with no survivors each and every day. By comparison, 28,000 people die across Europe each year in road accidents, but despite this the figure invested in road and car safety each year is much higher than that invested in CPR.

The ERC's Restart a Heart campaign comes following a European Parliament declaration in June 2012 calling on Member States to establish a European Cardiac Arrest Awareness Week aimed at improving awareness and education of the public, doctors and other health care workers .

In addition to children aged 12-16 years and young adults, the European Restart a Heart Day will also educate teachers, parents, opinion leaders and politicians about how to give this vital assistance. The ERC will mobilise the support of all national resuscitation organisations in Europe to help promote the campaign, which will include posters, flyers, tips on CPR and event ideas for schools, youth organisations, and sports clubs.

There will also be a multilingual website packed with useful information and explaining how to deliver CPR correctly, and a video demonstration, a CPR app, a Twitter hashtag and a special Facebook page to share experiences and stories. Politicians in the European Parliament in Brussels will also be treated to a special resuscitation demonstration and training session on European Restart a Heart Day.

"CPR is easier than most people think and saves lives," adds Professor Castrén. "People are understandably nervous about doing CPR but our campaign will show that it is a straightforward procedure that can be performed by most people. Members of the general public really have the power and ability to save lives in these circumstances. Even a modest increase in the proportion of the public doing CPR in this scenario could save many lives."

Make sure it is safe to approachCheck for any response from the victimShout for helpTilt head back, lift the chin and check for breathingCall the emergency services and state your name, location and the situationPlace the heel of one hand in the centre of the chestPlace other hand on top and interlock fingersCompress the chest to the rhythm of "Stayin' Alive" until an AED or emergency services arriveIf willing, provide two rescue breaths between every 30 compressions, otherwise pump the chest continuouslyDon't worry, you cannot do any harmIf possible change CPR operator every 2 minIf someones has come to help ask them to try to find and automated external defibrillator (AED)If an AED arrives, switch it on immediately and follow the instructionsOnce the emergency services arrive, you can relax and celebrate the fact that your hands could restart a heart and save a lifeDoing something is ALWAYS better than doing nothingWell done!Now spread the word and let your friends and family know that they too can save lives.

Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation, said:

"The number of people dying unnecessarily from a cardiac arrest in the UK is completely unacceptable and a needless loss of life.

World-beaters like the Netherlands and Norway are proof that if more people are trained in vital CPR and have access to a defibrillator then survival rates will increase.

We desperately need life-saving skills taught as standard in our schools and new laws requiring defibrillators in busy public places where a cardiac arrest can occur.

The ERC says every year there are around 385,000 cardiac arrests out of hospital, with survival rates currently less than 1 in 10. In the UK, around 30,000 cardiac arrests outside of hospital are attended by emergency services annually, with survival rates around 20 per cent.

The ERC states if survival rates increased to 40 per cent, as seen in best-performing nations like Norway, around 100,000 more lives in Europe could be saved every year. The British Heart Foundation estimates that figure could be around 6,000 in the UK.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our cardiovascular / cardiology section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Council, European Resuscitation. "More people learning how to restart a heart could save 100,000 lives per year across Europe, says the European Resuscitation Council." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 25 Jul. 2013. Web.
26 Jul. 2013. APA

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'More people learning how to restart a heart could save 100,000 lives per year across Europe, says the European Resuscitation Council'

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People who carry a particular gene allele APOE4 can be over 10 times more likely to develop late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 24 Jul 2013 - 10:00 PDT Current ratings for:
People who carry a particular gene allele APOE4 can be over 10 times more likely to develop late-onset Alzheimer's disease

The molecular pathway linking a genetic variant to the common, non-familial form of Alzheimer's disease is revealed in Nature this week. The study boosts our knowledge of the pathology of this neurodegenerative disease, and hints at new directions for therapy.

People who carry a particular gene allele APOE4 can be over 10 times more likely to develop late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). Asa Abeliovich and colleagues now show that the pattern of gene expression in the brains of APOE4 carriers has similarities to the patterns of gene expression in LOAD patients, and suggest that this altered profile might be an early hallmark of the disease. They identify a handful of genes thought to regulate this unusual transcription profile, including novel and previously known regulators of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), a molecule that has long been implicated in Alzheimer's disease. Genetic variants found at two of the genes may even affect the age when LOAD may set in.

Finally, the team tested a possible therapy, the drug levetiracetam, which inhibits one of the genes identified, and is currently used clinically to treat seizures. The drug suppresses APP processing in cells cultured from APOE4 carriers, making it a molecule worthy of further study.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Nature. "People who carry a particular gene allele APOE4 can be over 10 times more likely to develop late-onset Alzheimer's disease." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 24 Jul. 2013. Web.
26 Jul. 2013. APA

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Treating people who use drugs is the first step towards eliminating hepatitis C - international guidelines for treatment released today

Main Category: Liver Disease / Hepatitis
Also Included In: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 25 Jul 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Treating people who use drugs is the first step towards eliminating hepatitis C - international guidelines for treatment released today

The burden of liver disease could be dramatically reduced by increasing treatment for hepatitis C infection among people who inject drugs, suggest new recommendations developed by researchers from the Kirby Institute at UNSW, in collaboration with colleagues from the International Network on Hepatitis Care in Substance Users (INHSU).

In Australia, 226,000 people are living with chronic hepatitis C and over 10,000 new cases are reported every year. Hepatitis C can lead to serious liver complications such as liver failure or cancer, which are associated with considerable costs to the health care system. Although almost 80 per cent of all infections occur among people who inject drugs, only one per cent of these people currently receive treatment.

"Treatment for hepatitis C infection among people who inject drugs remains unacceptably low," said Dr Jason Grebely, Senior Lecturer at the Kirby Institute, UNSW, and co-lead author of the recommendations. "Clinicians have been hesitant to recommend treatment in this population because of a lack of understanding about how lifestyle factors may impede successful treatment."

But research supporting the first set of international recommendations ever released for treating hepatitis C in people who inject drugs has shown that treatment can be very successful when barriers are addressed within a supportive environment.

"Reducing the significant burden of liver disease related to hepatitis C in Australia and internationally will require improved assessment and treatment of the population most affected: people who currently inject drugs and those who have injected drugs in the past," says Philip Bruggmann, President of INHSU. "By providing appropriate care to this group, we can reduce the burden of hepatitis C-related liver disease in this vulnerable population and slow the spread of this world-wide epidemic. These new recommendations serve as a first step towards elimination of hepatitis C."

The global recommendations are published online today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases ahead of World Hepatitis Day on July 28. They are part of a supplement entitled "Prevention and Management of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among People Who Inject Drugs: Moving the Agenda Forward", developed in collaboration with INHSU.

Additional Stakeholder Comments:

"These are exceptionally positive and welcome findings. Following the listing of new hep C treatments for subsidy by the Australian Government in April, almost all people in Australia living with hepatitis C in Australia can enjoy cure rates of around 75 to 80 per cent. This new evidence shows us that people who have been least able to access treatment in the past, can and should be able to benefit from these new treatment advances."

Stuart Loveday
CEO of Hepatitis NSW

"This report is most welcomed. It finally provides the much needed endorsement that peer support requires to validate it as an efficacious treatment modality. That combined with the recognition that people who continue to inject or use drugs can access treatment will mean that more people will be able to access treatment. For too long those most affected by hepatitis C have been on the periphery, this report puts them where they belong - front and centre."

Nicky Bath
CEO of the NSW Users and AIDS Association

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our liver disease / hepatitis section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Institute, Kirby. "Treating people who use drugs is the first step towards eliminating hepatitis C - international guidelines for treatment released today." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 25 Jul. 2013. Web.
26 Jul. 2013. APA
Institute, K. (2013, July 25). "Treating people who use drugs is the first step towards eliminating hepatitis C - international guidelines for treatment released today." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/263862.php.

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'Treating people who use drugs is the first step towards eliminating hepatitis C - international guidelines for treatment released today'

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