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IOM Panel's Comparative Effectiveness Report Includes Pregnancy Prevention Measures
The U.S. should conduct research to compare the effectiveness of innovative programs aimed at preventing unintended pregnancy, according to a report issued Tuesday by a congressionally convened Institute of Medicine panel, the New York Times reports (Meier, New York Times, 7/1). The recommendations state that these strategies should include "over-the-counter access to oral contraceptives or other hormonal methods, expanding access to long-acting methods for young women, [and] providing free contraceptive methods at public clinics, pharmacies or other locations" (List of Priorities, IOM, 6/26). The report lists 100 health topics that should be prioritized as the Obama administration seeks to increase cost-effectiveness in medicine. The federal stimulus package passed earlier this year allotted $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research into different ways of treating certain conditions and addressing various health care issues. According to the Times, the report is a first step in an expansive effort by the administration and health experts to direct medical practice toward scientifically proven treatments, rather than a provider"s personal opinion or a medical product company"s promotional claims. Harold Sox, co-chair of the IOM panel that wrote the report and the editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine, said that based on public comments, the panel decided it was important to include pregnancy prevention and other public health issues in its recommendations (Meier, New York Times, 7/1). The report also recommends that researchers compare different comprehensive care coordination programs, such as the medical home model and chronic disease management, especially in communities known to have health disparities (Simmons, HealthLeaders Media, 6/30).
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Rabies: How To Protect Yourself And Your Pets
Rabies is a virus that occurs in mammals and infects the central nervous system; the disease can cause death in humans if it is not treated. Nearly 90 percent of cases occur in wild animals (raccoons, bats, foxes etc.); less than 10% of cases occur in domestic animals like dogs or cats. Humans usually become infected when they are bitten by an infected animal.
News of the day
Illinois Program Uses Text Messaging To Encourage HIV Testing
The Illinois Department of Health has launched a program, "Text 2 Survive," that uses cell phone text messaging to encourage residents to be tested for HIV, NBC Chicago reports. Through the program, individuals can send a text message to a designated number with their ZIP code and receive a reply that provides the nearest HIV testing center"s contact information. To promote the program, through July 1, individuals who send a text to the program or forward the reply message to others will be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a $50 gift card. Those who confirm they have been tested have an opportunity to win an additional $200 gift card (NBC Chicago, 6/17).
Diagnostics

Neural Stem Cells Offer Potential Treatment For Alzheimer's Disease

UC Irvine scientists have shown for the first time that neural stem cells can rescue memory in mice with advanced Alzheimer"s disease, raising hopes of a potential treatment for the leading cause of elderly dementia that afflicts 5.3 million people in the U.S. Mice genetically engineered to have Alzheimer"s performed markedly better on memory tests a month after mouse neural stem cells were injected into their brains. The stem cells secreted a protein that created more neural connections, improving cognitive function. "Essentially, the cells were producing fertilizer for the brain," said Frank LaFerla, director of UCI"s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, or UCI MIND, and co-author of the study, which appears online the week of July 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead author Mathew Blurton-Jones, LaFerla and colleagues worked with older mice predisposed to develop brains lesions called plaques and tangles that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer"s. To learn how the stem cells worked, the scientists examined the mouse brains. To their surprise, they discovered that just 6 percent of the stem cells had turned into neurons. (The majority became the other two main types of brain cells, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.) The stem cells didn"t improve cognition by becoming new neurons, nor did they act by reducing the number of plaques and tangles. Rather, the stem cells were found to have secreted a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. This caused existing tissue to sprout new neurites, strengthening and increasing the number of connections between neurons. When the team selectively reduced BDNF from the stem cells, the benefit was lost, providing strong evidence that BDNF is critical to the effect of stem cells on memory and neuronal function. "If you look at Alzheimer"s, it"s not the plaques and tangles that correlate best with dementia; it"s the loss of synapses - connections between neurons," Blurton-Jones said. "The neural stem cells were helping the brain form new synapses and nursing the injured neurons back to health." Diseased mice injected directly with BDNF also improved cognitively but not as much as with the neural stem cells, which provided a more long-term and consistent supply of the protein. "This gives us a lot of hope that stem cells or a product from them, such as BDNF, will be a useful treatment for Alzheimer"s," LaFerla said. In April, LaFerla, Blurton-Jones and colleagues were awarded $3.6 million by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine toward the development of an Alzheimer"s therapy involving human neural stem cells. In addition to LaFerla and Blurton-Jones, Masashi Kitazawa, Hilda Martinez-Coria, Nicholas Castello, Tritia Yamasaki, Wayne Poon and Kim Green of UCI worked on the study, along with Franz-Josef Muller and Jeanne Loring of the Scripps Research Institute. Funding for the study was provided by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Jennifer Fitzenberger University of California - Irvine


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