Two seperate groups of researchers, in Japan and in Holland, say they have discovered why the avian flu virus is rarely transmitted from one person to another.

The reason, the researchers propose, is that the cells bearing the type of receptor the avian virus is known to favor are clustered in the deepest branches of the human respiratory tract, keeping it from spreading by coughs and sneezes. Whereas Human flu viruses typically infect cells in the upper respiratory tract.

It is their conclusion that the avian virus would need to accumulate many mutations in its genetic material before it could become a pandemic strain, said Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the University of Tokyo.

According to a news release approved by Dr. Kawaoka, “The finding suggests that scientists and public health agencies worldwide may have much more time to prepare for an eventual pandemic.”

Dr. Kawaoka’s finding is published in Nature, and a similar finding, by Thijs Kuiken and colleagues at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, appears in this week’s Science.

Flu experts already knew that people who contract the current avian flu virus, a type known as A(H5N1) or H5 for short, are infected in the lower lung.

So here is hope that we will be prepared when the pandemic does strike, if ever.

The most commonly performed surgical procedure in 2005 was liposuction, according to the report, with 323,605 being performed.

The rest of the top five cosmetic surgery procedures in 2005:

also

3.8 million Botox injections given last year were almost five times the number performed in 2000, according to the report.

The other top minimally invasive procedures:

A recent analysis of 13 major studies shows no reduction in bowel cancer rate for people with a fibre-rich diet.

Stephanie Smith-Warner and her colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston examined “prospective” studies in which healthy people were followed to see if their food intake altered their chances of getting cancer. The data covered 725,628 men and women, who were followed for up to 20 years.  About 8000 of these people developed bowel cancer, and it made no difference how much fibre they had eaten (The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 294, p 2849).

But the new analysis did not include a huge prospective study of 500,000 Europeans in 10 countries, known as EPIC, which was published in 2003 and had completly different results.

Nick Dale, a neuroscientist at the University of Warwick in the UK has developed a new biosensor to warn of oxygen starvation in unborn children which could help prevent women in labour from undergoing unnecessary caesarean sections.

The biosensor works by using an enzymatic reaction to produce a signal in proportion to the amount of hypoxanthine present in a sample. The team hopes to be ready for the human trials in 18 to 24 months.

If widely adopted, the biosensor could lead to a decrease in the number of unnecessary caesareans, Dale hopes. About 23% of 575,900 live births in England were caesareans in 2003 – with more than half of those done as emergencies, according to the UK’s department of health.

This type of new biosensor could eventually be used as a continuous monitor for hypoxia by attaching it to the unborn baby’s scalp.

The U.S. government already has several million doses of an earlier bird flu vaccine, but it was based on a virus sample taken from Vietnam in 2004.  The virus is believed to have mutated significantly since then.

Today U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Leavitt said he had authorized the National Institutes of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin working on a second vaccine for humans.  “In order to be prepared, we need to continue to develop new vaccines,” Leavitt said at an immunization conference in Atlanta.

The multiple sclerosis drug Natalizumab (branded Tysabri), made by Biogen Idec and Elan Pharmaceuticals was voluntarily withdrawn from sale by its manufacturers following complications in patients.

Results from the two-year trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday and the study showed some very remarkable results!  The drug reduced the risk of sustained progression of disability from MS by 42% in a study of about 1000 patients.  The drug also decreased the frequency of clinical relapses, due to MS, by 68%.

However, three patients taking the drug in different trials, two in an MS trial and one being treated for the inflammation of the digestive tract caused by Crohn’s disease – developed PML. Two of the patients died as a result of this complication.

So now it comes time to weight the possible bennifits against the extra risks which appear to be associated with this treatment.  Since this drug appears to work almost twice as well as anything currently on the market we are certainly positive in our outlook for it’s use.

The US Food and Drug Administration has appoved a patch containing a medication called Emsam (selegiline), which can trigger sudden spikes in blood pressure if taken orally with certain foods or drinks, such as red wines or cheese.

This is a blessing for many of the drugs users.  But unfortuaneltey will only help with low dose users.  Higher dose users will still have strict limitations placed on the food and drink they can consume.

As with all approved antidepressants in the US, the product, developed by Somerset Pharmaceuticals Inc., will bear a warning of increased risk of suicide in children and adolescents.  The FDA approved the patch for adults only.