As a result of ongoing assessments as to the nature of outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), WHO is now recommending, as a measure of precaution, that people planning to travel to the following areas of China: Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, and Taipei in Taiwan province, consider postponing all but essential travel. This temporary advice will be reassessed regularly.
The supplement dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, which has been touted by some as an anti-aging hormone and a treatment for diseases such as cancer, AIDS, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, showed no effect for Alzheimer’s disease patients who took the supplement for six months, according to a study published in the April 8 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. DHEA is a hormone produced naturally in the adrenal glands. The body then converts it into the hormones estrogen and testosterone. DHEA as a supplement is made from plant chemicals.
Defense Department personnel may make only mission-essential trips to China and Hong Kong because of the threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome, U.S. Pacific Command officials said today. “All Hong Kong port visits by U.S. Navy ships will be deferred until the restriction has been lifted,” Pacific Command spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Jensin Sommer said. The restriction is consistent with recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. State Department has also issued a travel advisory citing the disease. The travel advisory includes China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hanoi, Vietnam.
Most cells in the body rapidly repair many tears to their delicate surface that result from everyday use, trauma or disease, says a Medical College of Georgia researcher. Dr. Paul L. McNeil’s decade-old hypothesis says that when the cell surface is so compromised, calcium ions from outside the cell rush in, prompting membranes inside the cell to fuse and patch the hole. he cell biologist seems to have proven his theory by taking the red blood cell — the one cell in the body known to lack these internal membranes — and documenting its inability to self-repair.<
Blocking or eliminating a specific potassium channel in a small group of brain cells may improve or prevent the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating and progressive neurodegenerative disease that afflicts over 1 million people in the United States. In Parkinson’s disease, neurons that release dopamine die. The loss of dopamine causes an array of debilitating symptoms that include resting tremor, muscle rigidity and slowed movement. Although the cause of the disease remains uncertain, James Surmeier and colleagues at Northwestern University have discovered a way of potentially lessening the symptoms and progression of the disease. The investigators describe their findings in the March issue of Nature Neuroscience.<
Healthy adults ages 18 to 29 are needed for a research study comparing the safety and effectiveness of two different vaccines for the prevention of the smallpox disease. The study will compare three dose levels of a new vaccine with the current, approved smallpox vaccine that was provided to all U.S. residents during the period of routine smallpox vaccination. The effectiveness of these trial vaccinations will be measured by observing whether or not there is a skin reaction, such as a blister, at the sight of the vaccination. A skin reaction is a typical response to smallpox vaccination. The response also will be measured by examining the size of the skin reaction and the time it takes for the blister to heal. Participants may become immune to smallpox, which would reduce or prevent infection with smallpox.