Report on Yes well framed to euthanasia

Report on Yes well framed to euthanasia

A sick man should be able to claim the help of a doctor to die, and that, legally.

After more than two years of work, the parliamentary committee that focused on assisted suicide and euthanasia has come to this conclusion, in a 180-page report released Thursday.

To claim the aid of a physician to shorten his days, a patient should be of age, suffering from an incurable disease and estimate endure unbearable physical or psychological suffering.

In addition, the request for euthanasia must come from the patient himself, be in writing and two doctors must certify its compliance.

The Commission on the right to die with dignity, which included nine members of all political parties, therefore recommends that the Attorney General issue a directive to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DCPP) so we can no longer pursue a doctor having helped a dying to end the life.
The Commission was sensitive to the demands of the medical profession, who claimed his side of tags to meet strict, if it was in line to allow some form of euthanasia.

The College of Physicians and the College of Nurses are encouraged to modify their code of ethics, so that their members can assist or perform the type of euthanasia defined by law.

A healthy person could also preventive, to sign a notarized document, which would have a binding legal value, calling medical help to die, "in case they become irreversibly unconscious."

Essentially, however, members of the Committee particularly stressed in their report on the need to avoid the seriously ill the odium of having to beg for assistance to die.

Many of the 24 recommendations of the Commission are therefore intended to assert an upward revision of the provision of palliative services, whether in hospital, in nursing homes or at home. In addition, palliative care should not be reserved for people with cancer, but also be offered to those suffering from degenerative diseases.

All health professionals should receive specific training in palliative care, the commission said.

The receipt of palliative care should become a legally recognized right.

This commission had been a record number of participants, who received about 300 submissions and heard 400 witnesses.

Not to finish his report on a shelf, the commission recommends a law that the coach by June 2013.

Two million French people drink polluted tap water

Two million French people drink polluted tap water

The UFC publishes an investigation in which she points agriculture, largely responsible for the pollution.

Nearly two million people in France receive water does not comply with regulations as too polluted, warned Tuesday the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir, involving agriculture, "the source of nearly 70% of pollution. "

"There are nearly two million consumers who pay for water significantly contaminated," said at a press conference Sylvie Pradelle, national director of the association, even if for 97.5% of the population " overall water quality is good through regulation. "

If virtually no pollution is found in large cities or medium-sized cities, 2,750 municipalities receive water does not comply in France, mainly in areas of intensive agriculture, according to the UFC.

The association based its warning on its investigation from the results of analyzes of the Ministry of Health, district by district, over two years. She spent her results to the test of six criteria "reflecting the main contamination."

Pesticides are responsible for most of agricultural pollution (60%) and their use in agriculture "has not declined in 10 years," denounces the association.

She said that if none of the suspected risks could not be demonstrated, an exhibition on the long-term interactions between different pesticides could cause cancer and reproductive disorders.

The areas most affected are the Paris Basin, the North Rhone Valley and the Southwest, and the most populous municipalities receiving water are polluted Sens (Yonne) and Lisieux (Calvados).
Pesticides and nitrates

Second source of agricultural pollution and leading cause of catchment closure (water extraction points), nitrates contaminate water mainly in the north, says the association.

The France is being prosecuted by Brussels for failing to fight against this pollution, which is the subject of a directive.

More generally, if the major cities or regions such as Brittany distribute clean water, this is by applying "essentially remedial solutions (dilution water, dépollutions or abandonment of abstraction)," laments the UFC.

These solutions, largely borne by consumers (90%), result in a surcharge of 7 to 12% of the water bill, or between 640 million and 1 billion euros, deplores the association.

"For us, it is urgent to act" because "the future can not be bottled water," which costs 133 times more than tap water, says Alain Bazot, its president.

The UFC-Que Choisir claims therefore "effective protection of all catchments", "application of the polluter-pays in the field of agricultural pollution" and that "the aid of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are reserved for modes production based on integrated and organic farming. "

"We do not stigmatize farmers but agricultural policy," said Alain Bazot, for whom "a way to save the CAP is to add an environmental logic."

Besides agriculture, other sources of water contamination are related "to treatment failure (bacteriological quality, aluminum) and natural contamination (radioactivity)" and related "1500 common and 500,000 consumers."

The UFC-Que Choisir makes available on its website the results, district by district, its statements.

Plasticizers can lead to diabetes and obesity

Plasticizers and flame retardants can cause in humans, according to a study on obesity and diabetes. This is apparent from an examination of the British environmental organization ChemTrust for human exposure by synthetically produced chemicals, said the Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) and in Berlin. Plasticizers and flame retardants are present in some plastic toys, electrical appliances, PVC floors and in the coating of food cans. Humans can absorb these chemicals through air, skin or food.
The literature review presented by ChemTrust that summarize nearly 240 studies show clearly that among the causes of obesity and diabetes and hormonal pollutants, said Sarah houses, chemical expert at BUND. In laboratory animals, exposure to chemicals such as bisphenol A was performed in the womb at a later weight gain and increased insulin resistance.There is therefore a danger that people with diabetes will be triggered, warned houses. The federal government must therefore ensure that the chemicals will reduce exposure of sensitive people, especially as children and pregnant women.

 "Plasticizers and bisphenol A have to be replaced with safer alternatives," called houses.Gilbert Schönfelder, a toxicologist at the Charité Berlin, said the diabetes and obesity have a global epidemic. Than previously thought would cause primarily poor diet and physical inactivity. "Recent studies show that the strain could have it with hormonal pollutants is an important and previously underestimated proportion," said Schoenfelder. Therefore, the preventive measures would be strengthened. Hormonally active chemicals should certainly not get into the bodies of children, but not in those of adults.To date, the hormonal effects of bisphenol A, especially for infertility, adverse effects on sexual development as well as prostate and breast cancer blamed. The controversial chemical is similar to the female sex hormone estrogen and affect reproduction and brain development.

Diet rich with the Cadmium is the cause of Breast Cancer

Diet rich with the Cadmium is the cause of Breast Cancer

Ingesting higher levels of cadmium, a metal found in fertilizers, may be linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, a new study from Sweden suggests.

The results showed that postmenopausal women with a relatively high daily dietary cadmium intake had a 21 percent increased risk of breast cancer.

The major sources of cadmium in the diets of women in the study were foods that are generally healthy — whole grains and vegetables. These accounted for about 40 percent of the cadmium consumed.

The reason for the link may be that cadmium can cause the same effects in the body as the female hormone estrogen, the researchers said. Estrogen fuels the development of some breast cancers.

Whole grains and vegetables generally protect against cancer, and people should not avoid these foods because of this study, said study researcher Agneta Åkesson, associate professor at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

The study showed an association, not a cause-and-effect link, in one population of women, and further work is needed to confirm the findings.

"Though no single observational study can be considered conclusive, this very large, prospective study of [cadmium] exposure and post-menopausal breast cancer makes an important contribution to what is a fairly sparse literature considering this very important topic," said Michael Bloom, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Albany, who was not involved in the study.

Cause for concern?

"It has been known for some time that cadmium is toxic and, in certain forms, carcinogenic," said study researcher Bettina Julin, of the Karolinska Institute of Environmental Medicine.

In the study, the researchers collected data from more than 55,000 women in Sweden for 12 years. The women kept a daily log of everything they ate. The researchers estimated how much cadmium the women's consumed based on the country's data on the amount of cadmium in foods, and divided the women into three equally-sized groups based on their intake.

Over the course of the study, there were 2,112 breast cancer cases among the women: 677 in the women in the lowest cadmium intake group, and 744 in the women in the highest cadmium intake group. Because women's risk of breast cancer rises with age, the researchers took the women's ages into account when calculated the increased risk seen in the high intake group.

The researchers said they are concerned that cadmium is found in foods we consider healthy. The metal is well-absorbed by farmed plants, and fertilizers used to help grow our fruits, vegetables and grains contain cadmium.

The researchers noted that whole grains and vegetables, which were found to contain the most cadmium, have many beneficial nutrients — some that likely counteract the negative effects of the toxic metal.

And the data showed that women who ate the most whole-grain foods and vegetables, even when these foods contained cadmium, were less likely to develop the cancer than women who ingested high levels of cadmium through other types of food.

The highest risk of breast cancer was found among women who had a high cadmium intake, but ate few whole grains and vegetables.

Potatoes, root vegetables such as carrots, and cereal grains can accumulate cadmium from fertilizer and environmental deposits. Other types of food known to have a higher cadmium content include shellfish, organ meats and sunflower seeds.

Balancing act

"A major limitation of such a large-scale study is the exposure assessment," said Alfred Bernard, of the department of medicine at Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. In other words, the researchers estimated cadmium intake, and that may not accurately reflect the actual amount consumed or the absorbed by the body.

Still, because of the high incidence of breast cancer, compared with other types of cancers among women, "even a modest increase in risk will stimulate a substantial public health concern," Bloom said.

Some researchers aware of the link of cadmium and cancer are taking reasonable precautions. "I have reduced my consumption of sunflower seeds considerably," Carolyn Gallagher, of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University in New York, told .

Getting enough iron may also reduce the body's uptake of dietary cadmium, which may help reduce risk, Gallagher said.

The findings are published today (March 15) in the journal Cancer Research.

Alzheimer's Biomarkers Unaffected By Antioxidants 2012

Alzheimer's Biomarkers Unaffected By Antioxidants 2012

Adding antioxidant supplements such as vitamin E and vitamin C to the diet does not appear to affect some cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to the results of a randomized controlled trial that were published online in Archives of Neurology on Monday.
Antioxidant supplements don't appear to have an impact on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease, a clinical trial determined.

The combination of vitamin E, vitamin C, and alpha-lipoic acid did not lower levels of the amyloid and tau proteins that make up the plaques and tangles seen in the brain with Alzheimer's disease, Douglas R. Galasko, MD, of the University of California San Diego, and colleagues found.

The combination did reduce CSF levels of the oxidative stress biomarker F2-isoprostane by 19% but raised a safety concern with faster decline in cognitive scores, they reported online in the Archives of Neurology.

The popular antioxidant coenzyme Q (CoQ) had no significant impact on any CSF measures in the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study antioxidant biomarker trial.

Oxidative damage is widespread in the brain in Alzheimer's disease and contributes to neuronal damage, Galasko's group explained.

Some prior observational evidence has pointed to lower Alzheimer's risk with an antioxidant-rich diet, although prevention trials with supplements have had mixed results, they noted.

Their study included 78 adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer's randomly assigned to double-blind treatment over 16 weeks with the combination of 800 IU vitamin E, 500 mg vitamin C, and 900 mg of alpha-lipoic acid once a day; CoQ alone at a dose of 400 mg three times a day; or placebo.

Vitamins C and E act as antioxidants by controlling dangerous free radicals produced when oxygen reacts with certain molecules, while alpha-lipoic acid spurs production of many antioxidant enzymes in the body. CoQ is an antioxidant that helps protect mitochondria from oxidation.

Serial CSF specimens collected from 66 of the participants showed only small changes from baseline.

Beta-amyloid 42, which accumulates to forms plaques in the Alzheimer's brain, declined by 8 pg/mL from a baseline of 190 pg/mL with the antioxidant combination and by 15 pg/mL from a baseline of 185 in the CoQ group, but neither was a significant difference from placebo.

Tau protein, which forms neurofibrillary tangles in the brain with Alzheimer's, fell by 23 pg/mL with the antioxidant combination from a baseline of 123 and by 9 pg/mL from a baseline of 109 in the CoQ group, but again neither differed from changes with placebo.

Levels of tau phosphorylated at a specific site (P-tau181) likewise declined slightly over the study period for the two antioxidant groups but without a significant difference from placebo.

The one significant change was in CSF levels of the oxidative marker F2-isoprostane, which is stable oxidized arachidonic acid.

The vitamin C and E plus alpha-lipoic acid group saw a 7 pg/mL reduction in F2-isoprostane from a baseline of 38 over the 16 weeks of treatment (P=0.04). The other groups showed no change.

"It is unclear whether the relatively small reduction in CSF F2-isoprostane level seen in this study may lead to clinical benefits in Alzheimer disease," the group cautioned.

Cognition, measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination, didn't improve in any of the groups. In fact, the decline in scores appeared accelerated in the antioxidant combination group, with a change of -4.6 points over the 16 weeks compared with -2.3 to -2.4 in the other two groups.

The researchers highlighted that as a potential safety concern that needs further careful assessment if longer-term trials are considered. The antioxidants were otherwise well tolerated.

Function, as measured on the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living Scale, didn't change in any group.
First author Dr Douglas R. Galasko, from the Department of Neuroscience at the University of California San Diego, and colleagues describe how they tested for the effects of a combination of vitamin E, vitamin C and alpha-lipoic acid (E/C/ALA) on levels of CSF biomarkers.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by an abundance of beta-amyloid protein plaques that clog up the spaces between brain cells and tau-based neurofibrillary tangles that clog up the insides of brain cells. Certain proteins in spinal fluid relate to this amyloid and tau pathology and serve as reliable biomarkers for the disease.

Metabolic reactions in the body produce free radicals that interact with other molecules to cause oxidative damage to proteins, membranes and genes. This influences the aging process and is also linked to disease, including cancer and Alzheimer's. In fact, oxidative damage in the brain is widespread among people with Alzheimer's disease.

The body defends against oxidative damage by producing antioxidants to mop up free radicals. Genes, environment and lifestyle (eg diet, smoking, exercise) determine how well it does this.

Increasing intake of antioxidants can boost the body's ability to defend itself against oxidative damage, and Galasko and colleagues write that some observational studies have suggested that a diet rich in antioxidants can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but randomized clinical trials have shown mixed results.

For their study, Galasko and colleagues looked at changes in CSF biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease and oxidative stress, cognition and function in 78 patients from the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) Antioxidant Biomarker study.

The patients were placed in three groups.

One group took 800 IU per day of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), plus 500 mg per day of vitamin C, plus 900 mg per day of alpha -lipoic acid (E/C/ALA). Another group took 400 mg of the popular antioxidant coenzyme Q (CoQ) three times a day, while the third group was given a placebo.

66 of the patients provided serial CSF samples that were adequate for analysis during the trial, which lasted for 16 weeks.

The results showed that changes in the CSF biomarkers for the amyloid and tau proteins that are related to Alzheimer's disease (alpha-beta, tau, and P-tau proteins) did not differ among the three groups.

The E/C/ALA group did show a 19% reduction in the oxidative stress CSF biomarker F2-isoprostane, but the authors expressed concern at the rapid decline in cognitive function in this group, as assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

"It is unclear whether the relatively small reduction in CSF F2-isoprostane level seen in this study may lead to clinical benefits in AD. The more rapid MMSE score decline raises a caution and indicates that cognitive performance would need to be assessed if a longer-term clinical trial of this antioxidant combination is considered," they conclude.

They also note that while the findings suggest CoQ was safe and well tolerated, the absence of any impact on the CSF biomarkers would suggest that at the dose tested in this trail, CoQ does not affect oxidative stress or the progress of neurodegeneration.

Cure of the Victim's of Breast Cancer

Cure of the Victim's of Breast Cancer

"Time is ticking for a lot of the people we're interacting with on a regular basis and at times it's frustrating that we can't work faster."

Breast cancer victim Natalie Murphy, 32, was one of those people.

Murphy revealed the huge emotional impact breast cancer had on her life in a video filmed in November, 20 months after she was diagnosed with the disease.

The video, which is calling for donations to help support finding a cure, was launched on the Breast Cancer Research Trust Facebook page today.

Murphy said in the video: "Greg (her husband) remembers telling me that he felt something in my breast, but still in my mind I said it's not cancer, it's something else." But Murphy was told it was cancer, and was in her liver and possibly in her lungs.

Murphy said the woman who broke the news to her burst into tears when she told her: "Unfortunately we can't save you, you are now terminal."

"I had no idea how much time I had and I had to wait two days before I could see my oncologist to find out if I had weeks, months, years."

Finding a cure

Murphy said nobody deserves to get cancer and "it's really sad in this day and age that we don't have cures".

Shelling told Breakfast researchers would like to be able to turn breast cancer into a chronic disease by 2018, so most women diagnosed will survive and go on to live a normal and happy life.

He said breast cancer is a complicated disease that must be found early for the best possible treatment.

"We know that each woman presents with an individual cancer and we're working with the breast cancer research trust to come up with ways to pick up cancer more earlier through blood tests."

A husband's shock

Murphy's husband Greg told Breakfast it was a shock when he found out his wife had incurable cancer. He said she tried a lot of contemporary treatments to fight the cancer.

Greg Murphy said Natalie did the video because she wanted to get her story out there and show that in her case it was not hereditary.

He said she also wanted to make women under 45 aware of the dangers.

Greg Murphy told Breakfast finding a cure was important for Natalie and she would be "ticking another box in her life" if one was found.

Murphy lost her battle with cancer and died in December last year.

Treatment of Menopause and Breast Cancer

Treatment of Menopause and Breast Cancer

Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed)

Dr. Rowan Chlebowski: Effects of estrogen alone vs. estrogen plus progestin on breast cancer risk

Menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk: Emerging evidence from randomized trials

LOS ANGELES (March 15, 2012) - In the past decade, results from large prospective cohort studies and the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) randomized placebo-controlled hormone therapy trials have substantially changed thoughts about how estrogen alone and estrogen plus progestin influence the risk of breast cancer, according to a review published TK in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute.

Although hormone therapy is currently used by millions of women for menopausal symptoms, there is still concern about hormone therapy–induced breast cancer risk. In addition, the effects of estrogen plus progestin versus estrogen alone on breast cancer are not completely understood.

To compare the effects of estrogen alone versus those of estrogen plus progestin on breast cancer risk, Rowan T. Chlebowski, M.D., Ph.D., of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Garnet Anderson, Ph.D., at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, looked at data from two randomized, placebo-controlled full scale clinical trials conducted in the WHI. One trial evaluated estrogen plus progestin in postmenopausal women with an intact uterus, and the other evaluated estrogen alone in postmenopausal women with prior hysterectomy. Estrogen plus progestin statistically significantly increased the risk of breast cancer. In contrast, estrogen alone use in postmenopausal women with a previous hysterectomy, statistically significantly decreased the risk of breast cancer.

The randomized clinical trial findings differ from the predominance of observational studies, which suggested that both estrogen alone and estrogen plus progestin increase breast cancer incidence. Dr. Chlebowksi explains that "an imbalance in the use of mammography with greater screening for hormone users could explain some of the increase in breast cancer incidence with estrogen alone seen in cohort studies because screened populations have more cancers detected than unscreened populations."

While the mechanisms underlying the different effects of estrogen alone and estrogen plus progestin are not completely understood, the authors state that preclinical and other clinical evidence suggests "the findings in the clinic, taken together with preclinical evidence, indicate that many breast cancers in post-menopausal women can survive only a limited range of estrogen exposures."

A Brief Primer of HRT and Breast Cancer

The recent $72 million Pfizer jury award to three women who said they developed breast cancer after taking PremPro has once again placed women in and around menopause in an incredibly stressful situation: to take or avoid estrogen.

Some women are afraid to start it, some worry the entire time they are one it, others won't consider stopping it. But no matter how you feel about estrogen, it remains the most effective government-approved drug therapy in the United States and Canada for treating menopause-related symptoms.

Prior to 2002 and the publishing of the Women's Health Initiative study, a very large percentage of women in menopause were taking estrogen or estrogen plus progestin or progesterone. After the study, which showed that estrogen plus progestin caused an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attack, blood clots and stroke, many women went cold turkey and stopped everything.

I remember my phone ringing off the hook with concerned women. Half the calls were women looking for an alternative to HRT. The other half the calls were from women wanting to know if they could stay on their estrogen. Since that original study, we've learned a lot more about estrogen. The most important one is that estrogen therapy has to be individualized and periodically reevaluated. Here are a few things every female HuffPost reader should know about her hormone therapy.

First, the terms:

Drugs that contain estrogen are divided into two categories:

    ET stands for estrogen therapy. These contain estrogen only. I've included an important video about ET and breast cancer risk below that is sure to help you.

    EPT stands for estrogen-progesterone therapy.

    HT stands for hormone therapy and can refer to either ET or EPT.

    HRT stands for hormone replacement therapy. It's still used a lot by laypeople but it isn't currently used as much by the medical community.

Now the estrogen types:

There are four types of estrogens.

    Human Estrogens. There are three human estrogens -- estradiol, also called 17b-estradiol, is the strongest one. Estrone is 50-70 percent less active. Estriol is 10 percent as active as estradiol. Estradiol is the only government approved single-estrogen product.

    Non-Human Estrogen. These are also called conjugated estrogens or CE. These are a mixture of at least 10 estrogens obtained from natural sources, typically, the urine of pregnant mares. Their effects are caused by the sum of the 10 or more estrogens.

    Synthetic Estrogens. These are manufactured in chemical plants and resemble human and non-human estrogens.

    Plant-Based Estrogens. These are also called phytoestrogens. Some act like an estrogen and others act like an anti-estrogen, depending on which part of the body the phytoestrogens affects. These are not prescription hormones. These are commonly found in foods such as soy, flaxseed, red clover and others.

The recent Pfizer jury award is sure to scare many women. Whether or not to take estrogen and or progesterone is a very personal decision that needs to be individualized. Think of it as you would when considering whether or not to take any medication: It depends on your history, why you are taking it and what other options you have for treatment.

For those of you considering HT, I strongly suggest you have a detailed discussion with your healthcare provider that addresses your personal needs, wants and desires. It's important to know what symptoms you are hoping to alleviate, what the risks are for you as an individual and what alternatives exist for you.

Glomming Onto Proteins to Detect mesothelioma Early On

You believe your protein-identifying molecules are a disruptive technology and envision them packed onto a "wellness chip" that will enable doctors to identify diseases before patients report symptoms. How would it work?

A: Besides lung cancer, SomaLogic has molecules that can detect proteins thrown off by 20 diseases and conditions, including heart disease, Alzheimer's, pancreatic cancer, and mesothelioma [lung cancer due to asbestos exposure], early labor, and infectious diseases. The molecules attach to the protein "gloves" they fit, and can then be detected on a chip by a flash of light with every match.

I've believed since 1997, and haven't wavered once in 15 years, that if we can find 10 or so important biomarkers for every disease, the ultimate value would be to help a physician during annual checkups, because blood is an integrator of all the biology that's happening in your body. And it's not just for disease, but for wellness and nutrition, which constitute holistic medicine.

Our whole business model coalesces into the wellness chip. Measuring 1,000 proteins doesn't cost much more than measuring 10. So sets of our molecules associated with specific diseases can be aggregated onto a chip and patients screened for many diseases at once. A drop of blood would be placed on the chip and it would read out associated diseases. It might also help when you decide to go on a diet or run more.

Q: How would your biomarker molecules help with diet and exercise?

A: There are two integrators of your whole biology -- nutrition, exercise, sleep, disease, everything -- and they are the brain and blood. We believe you can learn amazing things from watching a person's blood over time. We asked our 90 employees to give blood and go to a local restaurant and have a 2,500-calorie meal. Then they gave blood again and we watched a whopping number of things go up and down. So there's a connection between blood and diet. You know your blood is watching you.

Q: What is SomaLogic's business model?

A: Our synthetic molecules operate in our business model in three ways. We license them for making diagnoses, drug discovery and development, and they themselves can act as drugs. Our molecules behave as medications when they inactivate a protein. We have great molecules that have done wonderful jobs in animals. None have been used to treat humans, but we expect a clinical program in the next year or two.

So we are a proteomics play with this vast group of molecules, which is growing by one or two thousand a year. We'll get to 6,000 by 2014. We might as well do the whole human proteom [the collection of all the proteins human cells can make], which is about 20,000 proteins. Our goal is to finish the job by 2016.
Q: But other diagnostic tools such as mass spectrometry are entrenched among researchers. How will you catch up?

A: Almost nobody has been successful doing protein-based diagnostics with mass spectrometry. But it's early in the game. You can't deny people the opportunity to prove I'm wrong. But we don't think of it as competition.

Q: How have you financed your company?

A: We have raised $200 million from venture capital, angels, and our pharmaceutical partners Novartis, NEC, Otsuka, and Quest, and NeXstar money that I plowed back in. We also get some revenue from licensing. Revenues this year were $20 million. We operated at a loss last year, but expect much more in 2012, although it won't be enough to drive us to profitability, which we expect in 2013.

Q: And you also recently got a grant.

A: We got a $500,000 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant to make a diagnostic test for tuberculosis. That will take less than a year.

Q: What did you think when you saw your new molecules?

A: You look at them and you're aghast at their extraordinary beauty. We have shown people 3-D structures of them and one will be published in the next few months.

Q: What is the company's future?

A: The $40 billion monoclonal antibodies market is a small fraction of what we're going after. We will never displace all antibody drugs. They work beautifully. But our molecules will operate within that growing market. It's anybody's guess what fraction they might ultimately enjoy. It could be 10 percent. No one can possibly know.

Hybrid Aspirin as Cancer Destroying Drug

In an unprecedented research study conducted by a team from the City College of New York (CCNY) it appears that the run-of-the-mill medication, aspirin, is the new heavy weight in the on-going fight against cancer.

The report, published in the ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, states that the newly created hybrid aspirin not only will have exceptional implications for cancer treatment, but also is significantly safer for people on a daily regimen.

After studying the effects of the aspirin, researchers found that it halted the growth of tumors for 11 different cancers, including cancerous tumors in colon, pancreatic, lung, prostate, breast and leukemia.

Further, the aspirin did not pose any threat or harm to the surrounding healthy issues and cells. For individuals on a daily aspirin regimen for heart or stroke issues, balancing the medication's benefits with the serious side effects can be a dangerous game. Traditional aspirin has been found to damage to the lining of the stomach, kidney problems and aid the development of ulcers.

What makes this new aspirin hybrid different is in its chemical makeup. The dual release of two materials – nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide – protects the stomach and increases aspirin's cancer-fighting ability, respectively.

According to Associate Professor Khosrow Kashfi, one of the study's leading researchers, “The hybrid is more potent – and it is more potent by orders of magnitude – compared to aspirin.”

Named NOSH-aspirin for its two leading components, demonstrated its remarkable cancer-fighting abilities when given to cancer cells. Within 24 hours, the NOSH-aspirin was 100,000 times better at fighting cancer than its traditional form, and after 72 hours, the drug was nearly 250,000 times more potent.

For mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure, and cancers like it, the breakthrough may mean more effective treatment options.

NOSH-aspirin “could be used in conjunction with other drugs to shrink tumors before chemotherapy or surgery,” said Kashfi. For cancers similar to lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma – affecting the lining of the lungs – prescribing NOSH-aspirin before receiving conventional cancer treatments may mean lower risk of harmful side-effects, the reduction of the amount of chemotherapy needed and potentially the complete eradication of tumors.

Though practical applications of the NOSH-aspirin may be years away, the results of the study are encouraging to the medical community.

“We could be looking at a human trial within two years,” said Kashfi.

Mesothelioma Law Firm Warns Younger Workers More At Risk of Asbestos Cancer

Young workers and those new to working in occupations where they are likely to encounter asbestos containing materials need extra protection as they may not be aware of how dangerous exposure to asbestos can be. This is even more so with asbestos hazards, as the fatal consequences caused by exposure to asbestos are not seen until decades later due to a long latency period between initial exposure and development of disease.
According to a recent report published in the European Respiratory Journal, Temporal Patterns of Occupational Asbestos Exposure and Risk of Pleural Mesothelioma, men under the age of 20 who are occupationally exposed to asbestos are more likely to later develop mesothelioma than are those exposed at later ages.

These results highlight the fact that young workers and those new to the workplace, especially where asbestos exposure is known to be a risk, need extra protection. Young and inexperienced workers often lack the experience, knowledge and full understanding of how being exposed to asbestos products can lead to fatal illnesses such as mesothelioma.

Exposure to asbestos causes mesothelioma (malignancy that develops in the lining of the lungs, heart, or abdomen that is often called asbestos cancer,) asbestosis (scarring of the lungs,) and other asbestos related cancers. Because the threat of asbestos is not obvious fibers are microscopic and exposure doesn’t lead to immediate effects - young workers may lack the cognition to protect themselves from this occupational hazard.

Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason (CPSM), asbestos attorneys, have represented clients who died of mesothelioma as young as 35 years old – way too young! They urge employers and workers themselves to take precautions by:

Identifying areas and products in the workplace that create risk of exposure to asbestos
Attending trainings to learn what the hazards of asbestos are and how to avoid them
Having a thorough understanding of the long term consequences of occupational exposure to asbestos
Attending safety meetings and orientations that discuss the importance of and ways to avoid exposure
Following workplace protocols, including using personal protective equipment and clothing.

CPSM Urges: Don’t Downplay the Danger of Asbestos

Employers and more experienced, knowledgeable workers probably know about that asbestos presents a risk and that people of all ages, not just older workers, need to worry about protecting themselves to avoid later developing asbestos related diseases. The Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration has regulations for employers as well as guidelines for workers to follow specific to asbestos substances.

If you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos and developed mesothelioma, contact one of our asbestos attorneys today at 1-800-440-4262 for a free case evaluation. We have been standing up for and fighting for the rights of asbestos victims for over 30 years.    It’s what we do, and we’re good at it. Contact us today.

Mesothelioma study could crack the code for early detection

As with most cancers, early detection is the key to fighting mesothelioma. That’s sometimes easier said than done.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is one of the toughest cancers for doctors to diagnose. It’s a relatively rare cancer and the disease’s symptoms are similar to lung cancer. The treatments, however, are different. With a quick, accurate diagnosis, mesothelioma can be a manageable disease.

According to new research, a group of Danish doctors may have cracked the code on early diagnoses of pleural mesothelioma, which occurs in the lining of the lung. The doctors relied on biomarkers, or the structure of the blood and lung fluid, to identify mesothelioma in its early stages.

The team found absent or decreased levels of the enzyme methylthioadenosine phosphorylase in the majority of mesothelioma patients tested. When combined with other forms of testing, this could provide earlier diagnosis and increase the chances of surviving longer. Symptoms of the illness include shortness of breath, fatigue and painful coughing fits.

The Danish doctors measured MTAP levels in more than 100 patients. They found that 65 percent of the patients had decreased levels of MTAP. In a second study, the doctors found that they could diagnose mesothelioma accurately the majority of the time.

Pleural mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the lung. Mesothelioma can also strike in the abdomen or the heart.

An estimated 3,000 patients are diagnosed in the United States with mesothelioma each year. The disease is caused by exposure to asbestos.

Patients who are diagnosed with the disease live for about two years. But when detected and treated in its early stages, patients have lived for more than decade. But not every doctor is familiar with the disease and sometimes it’s misdiagnosed as lung cancer.

The Danish report is encouraging for those suffering from the incurable disease.
Anybody who has worked around asbestos is at risk of contracting mesothelioma. Trades commonly associated with the disease are pipefitters, railroad workers and roofers. But it’s not uncommon for schoolteachers whose classrooms were coated with asbestos material to become victims.

Diagnosis is also complicated by the fact that the latency period is 10 years or more after initial asbestos exposure. Some cases have seen latency periods up to 40 years or more.

Patients who exhibit the first onset of symptoms are encouraged to visit a mesothelioma specialist to receive an accurate diagnosis.

The town of Bluffton requires businesses operating within the town limits, including home occupations, to obtain a town of Bluffton business license. Applications are available on the town’s website. New business license applications are made by submitting a completed application either by mail or in person at the business license office at Town Hall.

If you have any questions or comments regarding business licenses, or to notify us of a change of address or closure of your business, please contact the business license department.

AIDS experts believe in healing in a few years

It is one of the most feared diseases in the world. AIDS was believed to be incurable. Now there is finally hope for a cure. AIDS experts see new approaches to cure the immune deficiency disease. "The healing has made research in the last twelve months more progress than ever before," said the Munich-based internist and director of the 14th Munich-based AIDS and Hepatitis-day hunter Hans. "I believe that a realistic period in which we can heal, five years." At an early breakthrough in a vaccine, he think not. "We do not have vaccinations and they are not getting in the coming years."

Approximately 1,500 scientists, doctors, lawyers and nurses to discuss Sunday's AIDS and Hepatitis-days in Unterschleissheim near Munich, about new developments in their field.

A cure through a bone marrow transplant was successful but at the Charité in Berlin three years ago in a patient, this method is too complex to apply it in all patients, said Hunter.

Instead, the scientists hope to at a conference in Seattle presented method. With the cancer drug vorinostat had succeeded in hiding in infected cells get hold, where slumber the virus despite treatment. With current AIDS drugs might the virus in other cells are killed off well, but survived in the sleep-cells. "This drug has succeeded in latently infected cells releasing viruses, which can then be reached and destroyed by known drugs."

Already now the drugs reduce viral load in blood to keep at least so low that no longer exists contagion. It was just important for couples where one partner is infected. Not only those affected could lead a normal life, including the risk of infection go to zero. "The concept of prevention is through therapy."

Know a million people with hepatitis C

Hepatologists and patients committed experts warned that Mexico is estimated that one million people have hepatitis "C" and are unaware of them between three to five percent will develop liver cancer.

Of these, 200 000 and have some degree of cirrhosis and ignore it, putting their lives at serious risk, especially adults 40 years.

At a press conference, Jorge Luis Poo, a member of the Mexican Association of Hepatology (AMH), and Group President of Patient Amhigo (Friends of the liver), Jose Antonio Onate, presented the Informational and Educational Portal www.amhigo.com, through which to disseminate medical and scientific information to find out the population of liver disease.

In turn, José Antonio Onate found that in Mexico must have a million people with hepatitis "C" who know they are sick, of which about 200 000 and should have developed cirrhosis of different degrees without knowing it.

He said three to five percent of these cases may develop liver cancer and so ignored, so that this evil is a serious public health problem.

In this regard, Jorge Luis Poo worldwide reported that liver cancer is the sixth leading cause of death, and that contrary to popular belief it is a rare but often, recording its highest peak among people over 40 years of age.

In Mexico, he explained, each year there are 26 000 500 deaths from cirrhosis, which places this disease in the fourth cause of mortality in 500 000 deaths that occur annually in the country.

In addition, he said, hepatocellular carcinoma or Carciona Hepatocellular (HCC) is the most common primary malignant tumor in the liver, and the world are diagnosed 500 000 new cases annually and nearly 600 000 deaths from this cause.

In his view, it is essential that people are aware of these common ailments, but have no specific symptoms and break myths, and accept that should checarse, to detect it early.

He noted that 90 percent of HCC occurs in patients with cirrhosis, the main risk factor for developing it and other causes are chronic infection with hepatitis B and C, chronic alcoholic liver disease, the presence of NAFLD, which is a matter for develop cirrhosis.

"Because obesity, lack of information and detachment to treatment and the use of inappropriate therapies in the past two decades have increased by 80 percent the number of people who have gone from Hepatitis B and C to hepatocarcinoma" he explained when referring to international studies.

Please Say No to Cigarettes

Seeking to encourage smokers to quit and deter children from ever beginning to smoke, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a national ad campaign named "Tips from Former Smokers".

The campaign that depicts the harsh reality of illness and damage suffered as a result of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke will run for at least 12 weeks beginning March 19 on television, radio, and billboards, online, and in theaters, magazines, and newspapers nationwide.

According to the CDC, the ads focus on smoking-related lung and throat cancer, heart attack, stroke, Buerger's disease, and asthma. The campaign features suggestions from former smokers on how to get dressed when you have a stoma (a surgical opening in the neck) or artificial limbs, what scars from heart surgery look like and reasons why people have quit. The ads will be tagged with 1-800-QUIT-NOW, a toll-free number to access quit support across the country, or the www.smokefree.gov web site, which provides free quitting information.

CDC Director Thomas Frieden said, "Although they may be tough to watch, the ads show real people living with real, painful consequences from smoking. There is sound evidence that supports the use of these types of hard-hitting images and messages to encourage smokers to quit, to keep children from ever beginning to smoke, and to drastically reduce the harm caused by tobacco."

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is estimated that 46 million people, or 20.6% of adults (aged 18 years and older), in the United States smoke cigarettes. Every day, over 1,000 youth under 18 become daily smokers. Cigarette smoking accounts for about 443,000 deaths, or 1 of every 5 deaths, in the U.S. annually.

Smoking is said to cost the American economy almost $200 billion a year, in medical costs and lost productivity.

The FDA's warning label rule, that would have come into effect beginning September 2012 , making it mandatory for cigarette packets to display graphic images depicting the effects of smoking cigarettes was declared unconstitutional by a District of Columbia federal judge late last month. The FDA has appealed the federal court ruling.

Will the new anti-smoking ad campaign serve as a wake-up call to smokers and potential smokers? At least, that's what it is meant to be and motivate the Americans to quit smoking, according to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services. President Barack Obama, who was once a smoker, stopped smoking in February 2011, according to Michelle Obama. Speaking to a roundtable of print reporters, Mrs. Obama said, “Yes, he has,” and “it’s been almost a year,” when asked by reporters whether he had quit smoking, according to The Associated Press. Mrs. Obama added that “he never smoked a lot.”

“I hate it,” Mrs. Obama said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” in 2007 of Mr. Obama’s smoking habit. In the interview, Mrs. Obama said the she had made quitting smoking a requirement for her husband’s run for the White House. “That’s why he doesn’t do it anymore. I’m proud to say. I outed him. I’m the one who outed him on the smoking,” she exclaimed.

Although Mrs. Obama was initially able to convince the president to quit smoking, Mr. Obama may have had a relapse sometime between running for the Oval Office and his first medical examination since becoming president. The Guardian reports that  Mr. Obama was told by doctors at the Navy hospital in 2010 to ”continue smoking cessation efforts,” implying that Mr. Obama was having trouble kicking the habit.

Since Mr. Obama has reportedly quit smoking within the last year, it is likely that the president, like many former smokers, continues to struggle with tobacco cravings.

The CDC’s “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign uses the personal exposure of the campaign’s participants to smoking to convey a perspective that is not always captured by statistics about the numerous deaths and illnesses caused by tobacco. The CDC notes that none of the individuals featured in the ads are actors. All of the individuals in the anti-smoking campaign are real people with real diseases.

The CDC also notes that most of the participants were diagnosed with smoking-related illnesses when they were young. Many of the participants, for example, are in their 30s and 40s. All of the participants are volunteers who wanted to send a single message to smokers and those who are thinking about smoking: “Quit smoking now. Or better yet-don’t start.”

The CDC’s anti-smoking campaign is based on scientific evidence. Studies have suggested that “hard-hitting, graphic, and emotionally impactful” campaigns are successful. Anti-smoking campaigns that appeal to people’s emotions, encourage smokers to stop, and provide information on how to quit are generally effective. One of the ads, featured in the CDC’s anti-smoking campaign, has three former smokers giving tips on how they were able to stop smoking.

The CDC says that its anti-smoking campaign is an investment in health. The CDC cites a lack of federally funded, extensive, mass-media campaign efforts, using the mediums of TV, radio, billboard, magazine, newspaper, theater, and online placements, to brief the public about the damaging effects of smoking and to encourage smokers to quit smoking.

The lack of such campaigns has been harmful to tobacco control and prohibition efforts. Unfortunately, many states no longer have the necessary funds with which to conduct tobacco education campaigns. The CDC says that the tobacco industry spends more than $1 million an hour trying to sell cigarettes in the United States, but the organization is confident that the “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign will help cancel out the impacts of cigarette advertising.

The CDC’s anti-smoking campaign will run nationally for 12 weeks beginning Monday, March 19. The campaign will include television, radio, billboard, magazine, newspaper, theater, and online placements. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other online networks will help propagate the CDC’s message. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has unveiled its new national anti-smoking campaign, called “Tips from Former Smokers.” While the title sounds innocuous, the images are anything but. Be prepared to hear (and see) graphic tales of heart attacks, limb amputations, and tracheotomy holes on billboards, radio and TV. The more subtle, but equally dramatic subtext is that each person was diagnosed with their smoking-related ailment before age 40.

This is the first ever paid advertising effort (to the tune of $54 million) by the CDC, but Director Thomas Frieden, M.D. feels the campaign can potentially persuade as many as 50,000 Americans to stop smoking. The shock factor is squarely aimed at a weary “heard-it-all-before” public (as well as the Saw XIV generation). By jolting people back into consciousness about the dangers of smoking, the CDC is sending a clear message to smokers to quit now, and discourage young people from even starting smoking.

But how did we even get here, people? Growing up, I had my own anti-smoking proponents, called my parents. They were such militant anti-smokers that even after a playdate at a friend’s house (whose parents smoked), I’d be stripped naked in the foyer and thrown into a shower while my mom held her nose to start the washing machine. But I understand why: I heard stories about my dad’s Tio Chago, the uncle with the tracheotomy tube who died in his mid-40s. My mom’s Tia Rosa, also a chain smoker, died from cancer in her 50s. My dearest cousin Carmen (Rosa’s granddaughter), who never smoked a day in her life, recently died from lung cancer that spread to her brain at age 62.

In my rebellious 20s I became one of those annoying social smokers: drink in one hand, cigarette in the other. When I lived (briefly) in Italy, where everyone smoked liked chimneys and drank like fish, it was hard to say no to, well, anything. Not that I love dating myself, but that was more than a decade ago. I consider myself lucky to have not gotten hooked, but I've watched my friends try time and time again to quit.

In the past 40 years, even with all the medical research done, the cigarette companies indicted, it’s hard to imagine that anyone would even light up, let alone buy a pack (which ain’t cheap!). After decades of decline, the U.S. smoking rate has stalled at about 20 percent in recent years. So we Americans apparently still need the anti-smoking message drilled into our skulls, as graphically as possible. Research shows that shock value is effective. Since 2002, New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, a former smoker, has made the City adamantly smoke-free. In 2009, he launched a similarly graphic ad campaign, complete with amputees and oozing decay. Guess who was Bloomberg's health director at the time? Dr. Frieden. Currently, the only 14 percent of adult New Yorkers smoke -- an all-time low, according to the NYC Department of Health.

Create a registry for external use repellents

The Ministry of Health decided that the ANMAT, within 90 days, establish a record of insect repellent products, replacing the existing mechanism for automatic admission and receive a certificate enabling for commercialization.

By Order 327/2012, signing the Health Minister, Juan Manzur, published today in the Official Gazette, set out the requirements for registration and marketing approval of repellents for human use in the country.

In the grounds states that has called for discussion and development of this standard to the National Drug Institute (INAME) under the National Drug and Tecbología (ANMAT)., Which is responsible for the admission of such products.

Adds that the Commission has unanimously considered that the nature of governing automatic admission to date to allow the marketing of these products is inadequate, both for its toxicity and the risk of inefficiency and consequent exposure to diseases transmitted by insect vectors.

He added that professionals from different Poison Centers in the country have expressed concern about the adverse effects to health due to incorrect selection and use of repellents in humans.

He also says that technically discussed the feasibility of a procedural framework for the evaluation and registration of these products, comparable to that used in other countries or regions such as USA and EU.

The resolution states that are reached by the activities of preparation, portioning, import, storage and sale of insect repellent products for external use in humans and the natural or legal persons involved in such activities. The National Food, Drug and Medical Technology (ANMAT) will be the enforcement authority.

Defined as insect repellent products for external use in humans to those substances, compounds and / or preparations that are applied in order to repel insects and thus avoid stings, discomfort or reactions derived from them and the possible transmission of diseases For insect vectors.

The A.N.M.A.T. shall establish, within a period not exceeding 90 days, a record of insect repellent products for external use in humans to replace the current mechanism of automatic admission to today and receive a certificate qualifying them to market and use for those products whose physical and chemical characteristics ensure their effectiveness, safety, stability and quality during storage, transport and use.

Authorization certificate will be valid for 5 years, subject to such authorization can be reviewed at any time in the light of scientific advances and that can require additional information from the registrant for review.

The A.N.M.A.T. shall establish, within a period not exceeding 90 days, the following specifications: a) technical aptitude, qualification and establishment characteristics, production processes and all other necessary condition for processing companies, bottling and / or importers of products for use repellents human. b) information required for registration of compounds and products, including physical and chemical characteristics, toxicological, clinical presentation, metabolic and toxicological studies and any other information as appropriate to maximize the safe use of the product. c) characteristics of label including at least the percentage composition, expiration date, lot number, indications and limitations of use, reference data of the manufacturer or importer and telephone number of the National Poison Center.

The A.N.M.A.T. guides considered valid for the registration process, the background current authorization and categorization of active ingredients for insect repellents by the Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) or the European Union (EU) and requirements for efficacy testing protocols as the "Test Guidelines OPPTS 810.3700 Performance for insect repellents for human skin and outdoor premises" USEPA and the "Guidelines on efficacy testing of mosquito repellents for human WHO / HTM / NTD / WHOPES / 2009.4 ", the World Health Organization and their respective updates.

Not be allowed formulations of insect repellent products for external use in humans containing substances with mutagenic or teratogenic, substances belonging to the categories IA, IB, and II of the list of the International Agency for Research on Cancer United Nations (International Agency for Research of Cancer - IARC), which produce endocrine disruption or are caustic, irritating or sensitizing.

Insect repellents for external use shall not claim on their labels, packaging or advertising any therapeutic activity, specific action for any particular insect, or refer to the prevention of foodborne diseases. The advertising of these products must not mislead as to the risks to humans, or include any mention on their assessment as risk: low-risk product, non-toxic, harmless, environmental, natural, suitable for children, or any other similar legend. Instead, you must be consistently and prominently the phrases "Use repellents safely." "Read the label and product information before use".

Weapons to defeat breast and cervical cancer

The amphitheater Madické Diop UGB hosted a conference on "Women and Cancer: Prevention and Therapy." According to the doctor-gynecologist Fara Wade, 90% of cases of cancer cervix are avoidable through prevention and screening.
In his presentation, the speaker explained that the breast and cervix are public health problems that cause much mortality (70-90%) in Senegal and around the world. To believe Dr. Wade, the risk of cervical cancer is dependent on tobacco, contraception, a diet low in beta carotene and vitamin C, but also an immune deficiency and a lack smear. He said more than half of women who suffer at risk of dying. A situation due, he noted, the lack of prevention. Because the disease is "often diagnosed late," he said.
However, the speaker noted, "there are precancerous lesions that take more than ten years to develop into the disease that can see and take steps to prevent them. Women must appear at least once, in consultation gynecology, for a screening examination that will detect precancerous and cancerous lesions and better treatment. The Pap smear is also another way of screening for cervical cancer of the uterus. " Mr. Wade argued that cervical cancer is "negligence, but also an opportunity, because the diagnosis is simple, compared to breast."

Treatable disease
He also lamented that women are afraid to identify out of modesty or other socio-cultural, often presenting at health facilities in a state of advanced cancer. In his opinion, 90% of cases of cancer cervix are curable and can be caught early. "It's easy to treat cancer, when detected early. But if the cancer is detected very late, everything is a treatment failure, "he said, adding that both vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil) exist to prevent cancer of the cervix. "Gardasil, 90% effective, is a sure to roll back cervical cancer. Only it is not available in Senegal, "lamented that the speaker has strongly emphasized the importance of prevention.
He advised women in sexual activity to include in their habits, prevention and screening, "two essential weapons" to fight cancer of the cervix.

Options for cervical cancer check depend on age

Once recommended every year, many major medical groups have long said that a Pap test every three years is the best way to screen most women, starting at age 21 and ending at 65. But starting at age 30, you could choose to be tested for the cancer-causing HPV virus along with your Pap - and get checked every five years instead, say separate guidelines issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the American Cancer Society and some other organizations.

It's not a requirement - women 30 and over could stick with the every-three-years Pap and do fine, the guidelines say.

But if they choose the newer Pap-plus-HPV option and the results of both tests are negative, the guidelines conclude it's safe to wait a bit longer than previously recommended for the next cervical check. That's because certain strains of HPV, the human papillomavirus, cause most cervical cancer, but the infection has to persist for a number of years to do its damage.

The cancer society already said women 30 and older could use both tests, but draft recommendations issued last fall by the task force, which advises the government, didn't include that option. The task force has since reviewed additional evidence and rewrote its final guidelines so that the medical groups now agree.

The question is whether doctors will follow the recommendations. Already, studies have shown that too many doctors are giving younger women routine HPV tests, contrary to long-standing advice. Even patients have wondered if it's really OK not to get a yearly screening.

It is, and better understanding of how cervical cancer grows makes that clear, Dr. Jeffrey Peipert, a gynecologist at Washington University in St. Louis, wrote in an editorial in Annals of Internal Medicine assessing the guidelines.

"More frequent screening than recommended not only offers no benefit, but it can cause harm," Peipert wrote. He concluded: "We should embrace the guidelines."

Cervical cancer grows so slowly that regular Pap smears - which examine cells scraped from the cervix - can find signs early enough to treat before a tumor even forms. Today, about half of all cervical cancer is diagnosed in women who've never been screened, or have gone many years between checks, Peipert noted.

HPV tests can add an extra layer of information, if they're used correctly. Routine HPV screening is not for women younger than 30, the guidelines stress. HPV is a super-common virus in younger women and their bodies usually clear the infection on their own.

The advice for younger women has long been to get HPV testing only if a Pap signals a possible problem.

A Pap averages around $40; HPV tests can add another $50 to $100.

The new guidelines are aimed at otherwise healthy women, not those at high risk of cervical cancer. They also say:

•A stand-alone HPV test, without a Pap, isn't recommended.

•Women over 65 can end screening if they have had several negative tests in a row over a certain time period. But women in that age group who have a history of pre-cancer should continue routine screening for at least 20 years.

The cancer society says women who have gotten a new vaccine against HPV still need routine screening.
Updated clinical guidelines recommend that women ages 21 to 29 should undergo cervical cancer screening with Pap tests every three years, and then every five years with Pap and HPV tests until age 65. The guidelines also say that women younger than 21 and most women older than 65 should not be screened, as data have shown that screening does not reduce cervical cancer incidence or mortality in those groups.

The survival rate for ovarian cancer varies up to 20% according to the specialist who treats

Ovarian cancer affects five per 100,000. Despite its low incidence, it ranks as the fifth leading cause of cancer death among Spanish women. In our country every year are detected 3000 new cases of this tumor and the prognosis of these patients and, specifically, the survival can vary by up to 20 percent if the professional treating them is a gynecologic oncologist. This is different experts have said during the presentation of the Third International Congress on Gynecologic Cancer MD Anderson, organized by the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Madrid, in collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston which is being held these days in Madrid. Nearly 500 national and international experts under the title "Shaping the Future", will discuss the latest advances in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of specific cancers for women.

Advances in surgery and improvements in medical treatment with chemotherapy have improved survival of patients in recent years. Still, "it is important to have specific training programs to teach gynecologists to treat these tumors," said Dr. Richard Barakat, chief of Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York (United States) . The time it takes for symptoms of the disease on to face, coupled with the scarcity of available methods to diagnose actulidad, 'cause in 85 percent of cases are detected when the tumor is at an advanced stage "EXPICA the Chief of Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Madrid, Antonio Gonzalez. Moreover, "the five-year survival does not exceed 25-30 percent, but it is general statistics because" when you see the results that are achieved in highly specialized centers, the rates are higher. " However, Gonzalez warns that "in Spain there is no specific training to operate and gynecological cancer often do gynecologists or general surgeons, although they are good professionals, they have this level of specialization for these processes. In addition, a patient "does not have available a list of reference centers in this area because there are none," he adds.

One of the most important topics of the conference will be the role currently played by surgery in the treatment of these tumors. Specifically, radical surgery will be assessed as a therapy for ovarian cancer, "because it is a definitive therapeutic tool to modify the survival of patients," said Dr. Luis Chiva, Chief of Gynecology at MD Anderson Cancer Center and director of Madrid. In this line, experts maintain an open debate on the desirability of approaching the starting ovarian cancer surgical treatment or chemotherapy, and how these strategies can alter the survival of each patient.

The preservation of fertility in patients with tumors of the body and the cervix is ​​another topic for the meetings of the congress. In this sense, specialists will study in depth all the conservative solutions of fertility in early stages, along with medical treatment along with surgical treatments.

In recent years, the clinical results obtained with the antiangiogenic drug therapy postulate this strategy as one of the newest treatments for patients with ovarian cancer because they get to block the formation of new blood vessels, a process essential for growth and progression tumors.

Fewer heart attacks by smoking bans

Despite the exceptions, the smoking ban in Germany, thousands of heart attacks are prevented. Overall, the legislation would have prevented more than 35000 major cardiovascular diseases.

For these treatments in clinics, health insurance would otherwise have to spend about 150 million €. The head of the health insurance company DAK-health, Herbert Rebscher, presented in Berlin on Tuesday the world's largest study on this topic.

Just one year after the introduction of the Non smoking protection laws in 2007 and 2008 went to the clinic because of heart attack treatments fell by 8.6 percent, as is evident from study. The leading role of the Kiel Institute for Therapy and Health Research study based on data compiled from 3.7 million DAK-insured.

The treatments for angina pectoris, chest tightness as a precursor of heart attack, fell as much as 13 percent. The decline, the researchers measured the incidence of diseases previously expected. In the infarction was characterized by a further continuous increase has been assumed as in previous years.

Study author Harewinkel Reiner led the decline in the disease back exclusively to the protection Non smoking laws in the countries. "You have prevented 1880 hospitalizations," said Harewinkel based solely on the DAK-insured. In their 450-infarction treatments were avoided.

The DAK was thus also save 7.7 million euros for treatments. The investigators in the study over a period of four years of ongoing study by its own account, that the decline was due to the disease cases in the clinics to other causes. Among other things, had been examined whether there were more outpatient treatment instead. This was not the case.

Cash Rebscher chief demanded as a result of the survey to restaurants nationwide ban on smoking in public places, and without exception. The study does not even grasp the suffering avoided due to lung cancer and other lung diseases. "It will take into perspective some of what we have heard so far on alleged civil rights in the debate."

Even Helmut Gohlke, a board member of the Heart Foundation, argued that smoking bans have caused more than would now be proved. Most recently more than 100 000 people per year have died from diseases that have to do with smoking. This corresponds to more than 290 deaths per day. Tens of thousands of lung cancer could be a waiver by the parties be prevented in cigarettes. "Passive smoking is not harassment, but injury," Gohlke said also.

According to the chairman of the Health Committee in the Bundestag, Carola Reimann (SPD), the study shows "that affect the protection Non smoking laws and prevent diseases." She told the news agency added: "I would hope that all countries make it like Bavaria and uniformly without exceptions."

Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania resulted in a 2007 Non smoking laws. The following year, followed by Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia. Many states do not permit smoking in small bars from the age of 18. Otherwise, may be almost anywhere puff away in separate smoking rooms. After a referendum in Bavaria, where smoking is prohibited in restaurants, almost without exception.

Today 82 percent of the once-controversial smoking bans are good as the DAK health emphasized, referring to a specially made Forsa survey. 23 percent of those surveyed frequently since then to a restaurant or a cafe.