Interim Guidance on Infection Control Measures for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Health Care Settings
from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC is releasing updated interim guidance on infection control measures to prevent transmission of 2009 H1N1 influenza in health care facilities. The updated guidance applies uniquely to the special circumstances of the current 2009 H1N1 pandemic and will be updated as necessary as new information becomes available throughout the course of this influenza season. It provides general guidance for all health care facilities. The updated guidance expands on earlier guidance by emphasizing that successfully preventing transmission requires a comprehensive approach, beginning with pandemic planning that includes developing written plans that are flexible and adaptable should changes occur in the severity of illness or other aspects of 2009 H1N1 and seasonal influenza.  More
 

Prophylactic Acetaminophen Before Vaccination in Infants Reduces Vaccine Response
from Medscape Medical News
Prophylactic administration of acetaminophen (paracetamol) to reduce fever or febrile convulsions after vaccination in infants actually results in reduced immunogenicity and should not be routinely recommended, according to a new study published in The Lancet.  More
 

Chemical Pathology of Homocysteine
from Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science
This review considers recent advances in the chemical pathology of homocysteine in atherogenesis, oxidative metabolism, and carcinogenesis. Homocysteine is a potent excitatory neurotransmitter that binds to the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and leads to oxidative stress, cytoplasmic calcium influx, cellular apoptosis, and endothelial dysfunction. According to the adsorption-induction theory, cytoplasmic calcium influx leads to depletion of cellular adenosine triphosphate  by reaction with cytoplasmic phosphate, leading to calcium apatite deposition.  More
 

Three Pigs May Be the First in the U.S. With Swine Flu
from The New York Times
Three pigs at the Minnesota State Fair tested positive in late August for H1N1, the flu virus that is causing the current pandemic, the Agriculture Department reported. The department said the test results were preliminary and would not be confirmed for a few days. But if the results are confirmed, the pigs will be the first in this country found to harbor the virus. Infected pigs have been found in eight other countries.   More
 

Fox Chase Researchers Uncover Process That Determines The Fate Of White Blood Cells
from Medical News Today
Like an unusually forceful career counselor, the Id3 protein decides the fate of a given white blood cell precursor, according to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Their findings, published in the journal Immunity, describe how Id3 directs blood cell progenitors to become gamma-delta T cells.  More
 

Feds Approve New HPV vaccine
from CNN
The Food and Drug Administration approved a second vaccine intended to protect against cervical cancer. Cervarix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, was approved for prevention of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. The vaccine is approved for use in girls and women ages 10 to 25 years and is to be administered in three doses.  More
 

Stem Cells Grow Heart Tissue in Lab
from HealthDay News via U.S.News & World Report
Researchers report a major step toward the goal of literally rebuilding a broken heart -- creating a strip of working heart muscle in the laboratory by using a newly identified human cardiac master stem cell. "This work moves us closer to heart stem cell therapy," said Dr. Kenneth Chien, director of the Massachusetts General Center for Cardiovascular Research, a member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and leader of a group reporting the work online in Science.  More
 

ROCK Has Potential as New Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer
from Medscape Medical News
A new target in breast cancer holds potential for preventing distant metastases, according to preliminary research highlighted at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The new target, Rho-associated coiled-coil-forming protein kinase (ROCK), is pivotally involved in invasion by tumor cells and their evolution to metastasis, researchers told the meeting. In a mouse study, inhibiting ROCK signaling in the earliest stages of breast cancer decreased metastasis by approximately 85 percent.  More
 

Researchers: No Such Thing As 'Junk RNA
from Science Daily
Tiny strands of RNA previously dismissed as cellular junk are actually very stable molecules that may play significant roles in cellular processes, according to researchers. The findings, published in the Journal of Virology, represent the first examination of very small RNA products termed unusually small RNAs (usRNAs). Further study of these usRNAs, which are present in the thousands but until now have
been neglected, could lead to new types of biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis, and new therapeutic targets.  More