The brain damage found in a growing number of professional football players has been described in detail by a UC Davis Medical Center researcher and colleagues in the July issue of Neurosurgery. The pattern of protein tangles and plaques in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is distinct from those in Alzheimer’s patients, they report, pointing the way toward an objective diagnosis of the disease.

“The first thing is to identify the disease, give it a name, and identify its pathology. We’ve done that,” said Bennet Omalu, associate clinical professor of pathology at UC Davis Medical Center and co-director of the Brain Injury Research Institute at West Virginia University. Omalu was the first to describe CTE in 2002, after examining the brain of former Pittsburgh Steelers football player Mike Webster.

CTE is thought to be caused by blunt force impacts to the head. It can take years to manifest as behavioral and personality changes, including memory loss and mood disorders. These can progress to serious cognitive impairment, culminating in early dementia.

“We’re seeing CTE in any activity that subjects your brain to repeated acceleration and deceleration,” Omalu said.

In the current study, Omalu and colleagues detailed histological examinations of the brains of 17 athletes who played contact sports, including eight professional football players, four professional wrestlers, and three high school football players. All had died suddenly from suicide, drug abuse, or in accidents. The researchers diagnosed CTE in 10 of the 14 professional athletes, and one high school football player.

The study revealed important differences between CTE and Alzheimer’s disease. Subjects with CTE had tangles of tau proteins in their brains that were similar to those seen in later-stage Alzheimer’s patients. However, these tangles occurred in a very different pattern. While the tangles in Alzheimer’s patients are scattered throughout the brain, those in the athletes exhibited a “skip phenomenon:” The tangles occurred in some areas of the cerebral cortex but were absent in others within the same lobe. In addition, the brains of the athletes did not show the classic neuritic amyloid plaques or the widespread cerebral atrophy characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, the subjects diagnosed with CTE ranged from 18 to 52 years old, whereas Alzheimer’s disease typically does not occur until after age 60.

The study also questions the connection between CTE and a variant of the apolipoprotein E gene. Previous researchers have linked the ApoE4 allele to a predisposition for Alzheimer’s disease and the behavior changes of CTE. However, the CTE-positive subjects in this study were more likely to have the ApoE3 genotype, which is associated with tangle-only dementia. The CTE also produces tangle-only brain abnormalities.

Identifying the genotypes associated with CTE could help patients evaluate the risks they face when playing high contact sports.

“Although we do not have the capability now, it may one day be possible to develop a battery of genetic tests to identify individuals at high, medium or low risk for CTE. Knowing whether you had these certain types of genes, you may be advised not to play football,” Omalu said.

At present, CTE can only be diagnosed during autopsy. Omalu and his colleagues are now focusing their research on ways to identify the disease in the living and to develop potential drug treatments.

In the meantime, “parents need to be aware of the dangers of repeated blows to the head sustained by children in football, wrestling and hockey. The younger you are when you start playing, the greater risk you have of permanent brain damage,” Omalu said. “We need to embark on an aggressive education of physicians and parents, so people are able to make informed judgments before they decide to play or not to play.”

Source:

UC Davis Medical Center

Getting in and out of the bathtub or shower can be a perilous journey for older adults, even when they have bathrooms already equipped with safety features, according to research by the University of Michigan Health System.

Researchers videotaped people ages 60 and older who demonstrated (while fully clothed) how they normally climbed in and out of the shower or tub. One-third of the 89 participants in the study had difficulty, such as plopping onto a tub seat or hitting the side of the tub or the shower threshold with their legs.

“We found that there are a lot of independently bathing older adults who have trouble or are unsafe getting into and out of the tub or shower stall,” says lead author Susan L. Murphy, ScD, OTR, an occupational therapist and research assistant professor with the University of Michigan Medical School’s Division of Geriatric Medicine, part of the Department of Internal Medicine. The study appears in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

“For older adults, losing the ability to bathe is associated with having falls, fracturing bones, and even being admitted to a nursing home. It is important that we take steps to help to prevent bathing disability before it occurs,” Murphy says.

One of the major problem areas the researchers found involved sliding glass doors in showers. Three-quarters of participants who used shower stalls with sliding glass doors tried to utilize the door for stability or balance.

“This is extremely unsafe because shower doors were not designed to support a person’s weight,” Murphy says. “This problem could be easily remedied by educating older adults not to use the door as a support or possibly replacing it with a shower curtain, which was used only rarely by older adults in this study.”

Participants in the study were residents of two congregate housing facilities and had no cognitive impairment. They were videotaped as they demonstrated how they used their environment while getting into and out of the shower or tub – that is, whether they used grab-bars, towel bars, shower curtains, glass doors, tub seats, and other parts of the tub to assist themselves.

The videotapes were also evaluated for the participants’ fluidity of movement and whether they had difficulty negotiating the environment. While the majority of people using both tubs and shower stalls used safe environmental features such as grab bars, many used unsafe features in addition to the safe ones. Nineteen percent of participants using a tub were evaluated as using unsafe features, and more than 70 percent of those with shower stalls used unsafe features, such as the glass door, towel bar or a tub seat. One participant had a plastic lawn chair as a tub seat, a particularly dangerous device given curved shape of the tub floor.

Some safety problems researchers observed can be fixed easily such as the installation of a shower curtain in place of a door, and proper instruction about built-in bathroom safety features (such as grab bars designed for weight-bearing) for new residents of senior housing facilities. A focus on better designs of bathrooms in senior housing facilities was also suggested by the researchers.

“We think the results from this study demonstrate the need for healthcare professionals to become involved in helping to prevent bathing disability, instead of just treating people in the hospital after they have had a fall in the bathroom,” she says. “While bathrooms in senior housing facilities are designed to be safe, we have found that older adults often do not know the difference between a grab bar and a towel bar. They also have unsafe strategies of getting into and out of their shower or tub. Occupational therapists often see older adults for bathing problems and would be ideal to intervene with older adults before they start to lose the ability to bathe.”

###

In addition to Murphy, the authors on the paper were Neil B. Alexander, M.D., professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, and director of the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Ann Arbor Health Care System; Linda V. Nyquist, Ph.D., senior research associate-social sciences, Institute of Gerontology; and Debra M. Strasburg, M.S., P.T., research physical therapist, VA Ann Arbor Health Care System.

The research was supported in part by grants from the AARP Andrus Foundation, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research & Development, and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Claude Pepper Older Adults Independence Center. Murphy is a recipient of a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, and Alexander is a recipient of a K24 Mid-Career Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research from NIA.

Citation: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Aug. 2006, “Bath Transfers in Older Adult Congregate Housing Residents: Assessing the Person-Environment Interaction.”

Contact: Katie Gazella

University of Michigan Health System

Activating patients and developing a monitoring and evaluation system was highly effective in ending or reducing post-stroke depression in patients enrolled in the largest randomized clinical trial to date for this prevalent and disabling consequence of stroke.

Researchers from the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center, the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine report in the March issue of the journal Stroke, that AIM, a new straight-forward care management program is significantly more effective than usual care, which often focuses solely on antidepressants, in improving depression in stroke survivors.

“Post-stroke depression, which may be the result of a combination of chemical changes in the brain that impair its ability to repair itself as well as functional changes which inhibit social interaction and activity, occurs in about a third of all stroke survivors,” said Linda Williams, M.D., associate professor of neurology and a Regenstrief Institute research scientist, who led the study. “Depression after stroke is associated with higher death rates, diminished recovery, increased risk for subsequent stroke and other cardiovascular incidents, and greater health-care utilization.” Dr. Williams is chief of neurology at the Roudebush VA Medical Center.

AIM consists of three steps: activating stroke survivors and their families to understand and accept depression diagnosis and treatment; initiating antidepressant medication and monitoring treatment effectiveness.

Thirty-nine percent of AIM patients had complete remission from depression after 12 weeks of treatment as compared with only 23 percent who achieved complete remission with usual care. “That’s an impressive difference,” says Dr. Williams. “That means that for every 6 or 7 patients you treat with care management, you will have one patient whose depression will completely go away. That’s a larger treatment effect compared to other commonly used medical treatments.”

A similar magnitude of absolute difference, about 16 percent, was seen in patients whose depression symptoms improved substantially but did not completely end. Forty-four percent of the care management group had reduction of depression symptoms, compared with only 29 percent in the usual care group.

AIM, the new three-part post-stroke depression care management program developed by Dr. Williams and the study co-authors, was administered by nurse care managers under the supervision of physicians. An advantage of the program is that it can be conducted by social workers, nurse practitioners or other providers, and can largely be delivered by telephone.

The randomized study followed 188 ischemic stroke survivors in four Indianapolis hospitals. Ischemic stroke, where blood vessels are blocked, accounts for 85 percent of all strokes. Depression screening occurred within 30 to 60 days post-stroke rather than immediately after the event because emotional changes which occur soon after stroke, called an adjustment reaction, may not develop into depression.

Given the prevalence and often devastating impact of post-stroke depression, the study authors call for physicians to consider active depression screening in this high-risk group.

Dr. Williams and colleagues are currently conducting a follow-up study in two VA facilities which physicians are electronically reminded to administer a depression screening to stroke survivors, and if the results indicate that the patient is depressed, are prompted to initiate and monitor treatment.

###

The Stroke study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

In addition to Dr. Williams, co-authors of the study are Kurt Kroenke, M.D.; Wanzhu Tu, Ph.D.; and Hugh Hendrie, MB, ChB all of the IU School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute; Laurie Plue, M.S., of the Roudebush VA Medical Center; Tamilyn Bakas, D.N.S., of the IU School of Nursing; and Ed Brizendine, M.D. of the IU School of Medicine. The IU schools of medicine and nursing are located at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, an urban research and academic health sciences campus, with 22 schools and academic units.

Contact: Cindy Fox Aisen

Indiana University

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that carrying a common genetic disorder doubles the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers and nonsmokers.

The study is published in the May 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal published by the American Medical Association.

Researchers found that the genetic disorder, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (О±1ATD), could explain up to about 12 percent of lung cancer patients in this study and likely represents the same widespread risk in the general population. “This is a seriously underdiagnosed disorder and suggests that people who have lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) in their families should be screened for these gene carriers,” says Ping Yang, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic epidemiologist and lead investigator on the study.

The current standard diagnostic test measures protein produced by the gene. Because of the cost and limited availability of the test, it’s not suitable for general screenings. A less expensive DNA-based gene panel test is being developed.

The World Health Organization estimates that at least 10 million Americans and 120 million people worldwide are О±1ATD carriers. According to Dr. Yang, this study shows that the disorder “is among the highest for major gene effects on the risk of a common cancer.”

A normal О±1AT gene produces a protein that stops enzymes from breaking down elastin, which keeps lung tissue elastic for normal function. Carriers of пЃЎ1ATD commonly develop emphysema and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Prior to this study, the connection between О±1ATD, COPD and lung cancer risk had not been established.

“It has been suspected that О±1ATD increased susceptibility to lung cancer,” says Dr. Yang, “but this is the first solid evidence that supports and quantifies this risk.

“Importantly, our results support the hypothesis that the excess risk of lung cancer among patients with COPD may be a result of lung tissue damage from emphysema, or chronic infection or inflammation of the lungs, or both,” she says.

Individuals who are О±1ATD carriers should have lung function checked on a routine basis and should avoid potential lung carcinogens. “We found people who carry these genes are more vulnerable to carcinogen-containing tobacco smoke, even secondhand smoke, than noncarriers,” says Dr. Yang.

In this study, a team of 12 researchers looked at three different groups: 1,443 patients with lung cancer treated at Mayo Clinic from 1997 to 2003; a control group of 797 residents in the community; and a second control group of 902 siblings of the lung cancer patients.

They found that:

The О±1ATD carrier rate among 1,443 genotyped patients with lung cancer was 13.4 percent, compared to 7.8 percent among unrelated control participants.

All О±1ATD gene carriers were at a similarly greater risk of developing lung cancer, regardless of smoking status. Those who had never smoked were at a 2.2-fold higher risk; light smokers had a twofold greater risk; and moderate to heavy smokers had a 2.3-fold increased risk. Although there’s no absolute definition, less than 20 pack-years of smoking cigarettes is defined as light; more than 40 pack-years as heavy. A pack-year is the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years the person has smoked.

A history of COPD increased lung cancer risk significantly for light, moderate and heavy smokers, but affected those who had never smoked the most an almost sixfold increased risk.

Increased lung cancer risk among О±1ATD carriers is independent of a family history of lung or other cancers.

The estimated attributable risk for О±1ATD carriers in this study among those who never smoked and among heavy smokers was 11 percent to 12 percent, suggesting that the genetic disorder might explain a significant proportion of lung cancer in the general population. The majority of study participants were of European descent, the population in which this genetic disorder is common.

Although the study helps explain why people who have never smoked can develop lung cancer, it doesn’t mean that people who don’t have the gene won’t develop lung cancer, says Dr. Yang. “Smoking remains the overwhelming risk factor for lung cancer development.”

The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Co-authors include Zhifu Sun, M.D., Michael Krowka, M.D., Marie-Christine Aubry, M.D., William Bamlet,, Jason Wampfler, Stephen Thibodeau, Ph.D., Jerry Katzmann, Ph.D., Mark Allen, M.D., David Midthun, M.D., Randolph Marks, M.D., and Mariza de Andrade, Ph.D.

Mayo Clinic
200 First St. SW
Rochester, MN 55902
United States
mayoclinic

AstraZeneca announced that two analyses from a large-scale study that investigated the efficacy of SEROQUEL XR™ (quetiapine fumarate) Extended-Release Tablets, a once-daily medicine for the treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients, were presented today at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In this study of patients with an acute exacerbation of symptoms of schizophrenia, PANSS Total Score decreased significantly more in SEROQUEL XR-treated patients than in those on placebo, SEROQUEL XR was generally well-tolerated, and it was administered once-daily at fixed doses.1,2

On May 17, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved SEROQUEL XR for the treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients (link here)

- SEROQUEL XR is not approved in any other country.

“Both analyses show that SEROQUEL XR was superior to placebo, demonstrating it is another viable treatment option for schizophrenia,” said Charles Schulz, MD, Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School. “These analyses are significant because SEROQUEL XR may provide greater convenience and simplicity in patient treatment plans.”

About large-scale study: Study 132

This six-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study investigated the efficacy and safety of once-daily SEROQUEL XR. In this study, 588 patients with acute schizophrenia were randomized to receive either SEROQUEL XR at 400, 600, or 800 mg/day, the immediate release formulation of SEROQUEL® (quetiapine fumarate) at 400 mg/day (200 mg twice-daily), or placebo. The primary endpoint was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) [†].1,2

In the study, SEROQUEL XR was generally well-tolerated. SEROQUEL XR was administered once-daily at fixed doses, with dose escalation conducted over the initial three days (Day 1 = 300mg, Day 2 = 400 or 600mg, and Day 3 = 400, 600 or 800mg). The immediate-release formulation of SEROQUEL was administered twice-daily and escalated from 50 mg/day to 400 mg/day over a five day period. The most common adverse events seen in the active treatment groups during the trial were somnolence and dizziness. The incidences of adverse events leading to discontinuation were low: 5.3%, 2.7%, and 2.5% in the SEROQUEL XR 400, 600, 800 mg/day groups; 4.9% in the immediate release SEROQUEL group; and 2.5% in the placebo group. Individual extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS)-related adverse events occurred in three patients or less in all treatment groups.1,2

About a poster presentation entitled: Efficacy of Once?Daily Extended Release Quetiapine Fumarate in Patients with Acute Schizophrenia

This first analysis of Study 132 evaluated the efficacy of SEROQUEL XR versus placebo in patients with schizophrenia. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline to Day 42 in PANSS total score.1

After six weeks, the mean PANSS total score decreased significantly with SEROQUEL XR (400 mg: -24.8, p

Wyndgate Technologies(R), a
division of Global Med Technologies(R), Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GLOB),
announced today that it has submitted a 510(k) for its ElDorado Donor
Doc(TM) software for clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). ElDorado Donor Doc is currently not for sale in the U.S., pending
510(k) clearance by the FDA.

Donor Doc is an electronic health history questionnaire and physical
exam tracking system intended to assist blood donor centers with screening
donors and capturing relevant medical information. This software has been
designed to automate screening processes to provide data quality assurance
and supporting regulatory compliance. The software is intended to interface
with central blood management systems, to allow easy access to donation
information, to identify missing or suspect data, to record physical exam
results, as well as to capture digital signatures and donor photographs.

This software is also intended to allow donors to self-administer
electronic questionnaires at their own pace, with options such as audio or
text in their own language and graphics to help convey the meaning of a
question.

Donor Doc was designed with significant input from the blood bank
industry and Wyndgate customers. The company organized a technology work
group consisting of leading industry representatives from around the world
during development and beta testing of the software.

Michael I. Ruxin, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Global Med Technologies,
commented, “Global Med Technologies and Wyndgate Technologies are pleased
to have submitted Donor Doc for FDA 510(k) clearance. We continue to strive
to deliver products that our customers request and need. We appreciate the
contributions of our customers to all of our products, and we are confident
in the quality and functionality of Donor Doc. Our technology work group
has been invaluable throughout this process, and we thank them. We look
forward to the response from the FDA regarding clearance for Donor Doc.”

About Global Med Technologies, Inc.

Global Med Technologies, Inc. is an international e-Health medical
information technology company providing information management software
products and services to the healthcare industry. Its Wyndgate Technologies
division is a leading supplier of information management systems to U.S.
and international blood centers and hospital transfusion centers. Each
year, Wyndgate’s products and services manage more than eight million blood
components, representing over 27% of the U.S. blood supply. Wyndgate’s
products are being used in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa, and are being
implemented in the Caribbean. Together, the SafeTrace Tx(R) advanced
transfusion management system and the SafeTrace(R) donor management system
provide Vein-to-Vein(R) tracking from donor collection to patient
transfusion.

This news release may include statements that constitute
forward-looking statements, usually containing the words “believe,”
“estimate,” “project,” “expects” or similar expressions. These statements
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements. By making these
forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update
these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this news
release.

Global Med Technologies, Inc.
globalmedtech

Increased cholesterol levels are being increasingly recognised as risk factors for the onset and progression of several cancers. Now researchers in Portugal show that high levels of cholesterol can affect the microenvironment of the bone marrow, so that more cells move from the bone marrow to peripheral, circulating blood. These findings, by Sergio Dias and his team, an external group of the Instituto Gulbenkian de CiГЄncia, have implications for transplantation and further understanding bone marrow malignancies, are to appear in the next issue of the journal Blood.

Progenitors of blood cells develop in the bone marrow, where they mature in specific microenvironments, called niches, before exiting into peripheral blood, in a highly controlled fashion. It is well established that external stimuli affect these niches and therefore the production of mature blood cells. For example, patients with high cholesterol levels (hypercholesterolemia) have more peripheral blood cells and increased platelet levels (thrombocytosis). Working at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology Francisco Gentil, in Lisbon, the Neoangiogenesis group used a mouse model of hypercholesterolemia to show that cholesterol interferes with the bone marrow niche equilibrium, thus leading to increased exit from the bone marrow niche to the peripheral circulation.

These finding may have implications for transplants and bone marrow malignances. As SГ©rgio Dias points out “It is the first time, as far as we are aware, that cholesterol is directly linked to mobilisation of cells in the bone marrow. In a transplant setting, we believe patients with high cholesterol may be less ‘receptive’, since more blood cells exit to the peripheral vessels. Therefore drugs that modulate cholesterol levels may have beneficial effects also in a transplant setting.”

“Furthermore, as cholesterol empties cells from the bone marrow microenvironment, we envisage that it may create more space for malignant leukaemia cells to come into the bone marrow, thus favoring acute leukaemia expansion and spread to secondary organs”, this group leader adds.

This study was carried out with support from the Portuguese national funding agency, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and GlaxoSmithKline.

Source: Instituto Gulbenkian de CiГЄncia (IGC)

International investigations of an organism that one UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher calls a “silly little green scum” have led to key insights into the basic mechanisms of reproduction.

The findings may help explain why species can almost never interbreed, and also point to a possible way to thwart the spread of malaria, a disease that kills about 1 million people each year, primarily children in sub-Saharan Africa.

In a study appearing online and to be published in the April 14 issue of the journal Genes and Development, researchers from UT Southwestern have found that sexual reproduction begins with a two genetically different steps: First, two reproductive cells must first latch onto each other with one protein, and secondly, they must fuse their membranes to form a single cell using a different protein.

The UT Southwestern scientists collaborated with malaria experts at Imperial College London and found that the parasite causing the disease also uses this two-step process. When they blocked “male” and “female” malarial cells from fusing, spread of the mosquito-borne disease was stopped.

Their work started with a single-celled green alga nicknamed Chlamy (pronounced “clammy”), short for Chlamydomonas. This harmless organism, widely found in soil and water, is easy to grow and study under laboratory conditions.

“A silly little green scum has led us to an exciting new vaccine target for malaria,” said Dr. William Snell, professor of cell biology at UT Southwestern and co-senior author of the study.

Understanding fertilization in microorganisms may lead to a new type of vaccine, called an “altruistic vaccine,” Dr. Snell said. There is no vaccine to prevent malaria, but in the future, vaccinating an infected person to prevent the parasitic cells from completing the fusion step might stop the disease from passing to others.

Although the study involved only single-celled organisms, Dr. Snell said that the use of two different proteins in the two-step fertilization process may be the case in all species. The gene controlling whether egg and sperm can bind would be unique to each species, while the gene for the second step – fusing into a single cell – could be more universal. For example, the researchers found that HAP2, the gene that controlled whether cells fused, is also present in agriculturally important crops such as corn and wheat.

For the parasite that causes malaria, fusion is controlled by a gene not found in mammals, so blocking this step might prove effective in stanching the spread of the disease without harming humans, Dr. Snell said.

The UT Southwestern researchers initially were interested in general methods of reproduction, which are often studied in Chlamy. This single-celled organism can reproduce sexually, not with egg and sperm, but rather with some cells roughly corresponding to “male” and others to “female.”

After realizing that Plasmodium species, including the one that causes malaria in humans, also use “male” and “female” cells to reproduce, Dr. Snell contacted malaria researchers at Imperial College London to test whether HAP2 might be involved in reproduction in that organism and in the spread of malaria.

The British researchers found that blocking HAP2 in Plasmodium cells stops the fusing step. When mutant Plasmodium organisms lacking HAP2 were injected into mice, mosquitoes that bit the mice did not become infected with Plasmodium and therefore could not spread the infection to other mice. This indicates that without HAP2, Plasmodium could not reproduce in a mosquito’s gut, a vital step in the cycle of infection.

In addition to its applicability in fighting disease, the latest study confirms a theory about why different species can’t interbreed, Dr. Snell said. There are rare exceptions in closely related species such as horses and donkeys, which can interbreed to create mules, or lions and tigers that can mix to form ligers, but such hybrids are sterile.

If the first step in reproduction, binding of egg and sperm, is controlled by a single gene per species, then the binding step would serve as a gatekeeper to prevent incompatible cells from getting close, Dr. Snell said. Evolutionarily, this scheme makes sense, he said, because it would take only a mutation in the single gene that controls egg-sperm binding to create a new species.

“There has been a lot of speculation about species-specific egg-sperm binding and fusion and whether the two steps involve the same or different proteins, but no one had the molecules to show this,” Dr. Snell said. “We now have those molecules to show that a new species wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel to control fusion.”

###

Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study were first author Dr. Yanjie Liu and Dr. Jue Ning, both postdoctoral researchers in cell biology; Dr. Jimin Pei, postdoctoral researcher in biochemistry; and Dr. Nick Grishin, associate professor of biochemistry.

Researchers from Imperial College London, University of Nottingham, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of California, Irvine, also participated in the study.

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the London-based Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, the Swedish Research Council, and the Biology and Pathology of Malaria Parasite Network of Excellence of the European Commission.

Click here to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical services in infectious diseases.

Dr. William Snell

Source: Aline McKenzie

UT Southwestern Medical Center

The Wildlife Conservation Society and other organizations released a new study recommending a disease screening program for farm-raised caiman in ranching facilities in Argentina to ensure the safety of people and wildlife alike.

The recommendations focus on two crocodilian species, the yacare caiman and broad-snouted caiman, both of which are reared in caiman ranches for sustainable harvest. The research team sought to assess the presence of potentially harmful bacteria in captive-raised caiman at a typical ranching facility in Argentina’s Chaco region, where several facilities are currently in operation.

Crocodilian ranching programs are based on wild-harvested eggs and the release of excess hatchlings into the wild.

The study appears in the current edition of The Journal of Wildlife Diseases. The authors include: Marcela Uhart and Hebe Ferreyra of the Wildlife Conservation Society; Rosana Mattiello of the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires; MarГ­a InГ©s Caffer and Raquel Terragno of the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas, AdministraciГіn Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud; Adrianna Schettino of the Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; and Walter Prado of the Refugio de Vida Silvestre El CachapГ© and the FundaciГіn Vida Silvestre Argentina.

Between 2001 and 2005, the research team collected samples from more than 100 captive caiman at a ranching facility in the Argentinian Chaco region for the purpose of testing for Salmonella, a common bacteria in reptiles that can be harmful and occasionally deadly in animals and humans. During the survey, researchers found two species of Salmonella, both of which are known to cause disease in humans. Further, in one of the survey years (2002) Salmonella were present in 77 percent of samples collected, suggesting this was not an isolated finding. Since some of the hatchlings are returned to the wild, the chances of releasing infected caiman shedding this bacteria can be high.

“An accidental introduction of Salmonella or other pathogens into the environment during the release of captive-raised caimans could pose a health threat to wild caiman populations and other susceptible wildlife species, including some birds and mammals,” said Dr. Marcela Uhart of WCS’s Global Health Program and lead author on the study. “Preventive measures to detect the presence of harmful pathogens in caiman ranching facilities can help reduce potential health risks to humans as well as protect wild animal populations.”

Caiman ranching facilities in Argentina currently raise more than 100,000 individual reptiles every year, all of which derive from eggs collected in the wild. Approximately 10 percent of all caimans raised in the facilities are returned to the wild; the rest are used for the commercial production of caiman hides for leather products and meat for local consumption. At present, there is no standardized health surveillance system for Argentina’s ranching operations.

“Caimans almost became extinct in the late 1960s as a result of over-hunting for their hides,” said Dr. Robert A. Cook, Executive Vice President and General Director of WCS’s Living Institutions. “Today, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) supports caiman ranches as a tool for crocodilian conservation. A health monitoring system would help ensure the sustainability of both reintroduction and commercial aspects of caiman ranching as well as the safety of products for human usage.”

Dr. Uhart added: “We owe a debt of gratitude to both the owners of El Cachape ranch and FundaciГіn Vida Silvestre Argentina for initiating the health assessment. The study highlights the potential for conservation-economic partnerships on private lands as well as the way responsible caiman ranching should be done.”

Source:
John Delaney

Wildlife Conservation Society

Sports scientist Peter Krustrup and his colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen University Hospital and Bispebjerg Hospital have followed a soccer team consisting of 14 untrained men aged 20 to 40 years. For a period of 3 months, the players have been subjected to a number of tests such as fitness ratings, total mass of muscles, percentage of fat, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and balance.

Surprising results

- 2-3 weekly rounds of soccer practise, of the duration of app. 1 hour, released massive health and training benefits. Their percentage of fat went down, the total mass of muscle went up, their blood pressure fell and their fitness ratings improved significantly. Everything we tested improved, says Peter Krustrup. In parallel with the soccer-experiment, the research group did the same tests on a group of joggers as well as on a passive control group. The joggers also trained 2-3 times a week, but their efforts showed smaller effect than that of the soccer players.

- It is healthy to run long distances in a moderate speed, but the results show that soccer practise is better in a number of ways. The improvement in fitness rating and the increase in total muscle mass were greater in the soccer players, and during the last 8 weeks of the experiment, only the soccer-players showed any improvement, Peter Krustrup says.

After 12 weeks, the soccer players had lost 3.5 kilos of fat and gained more than 2 kilos of extra muscle mass, whereas the joggers had lost 2 kilos of fat and showed no change in total muscle mass. Both groups showed significant improvements in blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and balance.

The sports scientist believes that it is the shifts between walking, running and sprinting that causes the soccer players to experience better health improvements.

- I think that is part of the secret. Soccer is an all-round form of practise because it both keeps the pulse up and has many high-intensity actions. When you sprint, jump and tackle your opponents, you use all the fibres in your muscles. When you jog at a moderate pace, you only use the slow fibres, says Peter Krustrup.

Fun takes focus from pain

During the process, the participants were asked how hard the practise was, and the feedback makes Peter Krustrup smile. The soccer players expressed that they did not find the practise particularly hard. The joggers always said the opposite.

- The joggers always found it hard. Even though they moved at the same average speed as the soccer-players, it was harder on them. I think it is owed to the fact that when you jog you focus on yourself. You notice the efforts and the breathlessness. And then you start to feel a little sorry for your self, says Peter Krustrup and continues:

- When you play soccer, you push those thoughts aside. The players are caught up in the game and they don’t notice that their hearts are pounding. It is fun, and the team needs all players to contribute and so they forget that it is hard. That is also happends to be very good exercise is an additional bonus.

International fight against lifestyle related diseases

The results have encouraged the researchers to continue the research from a physiological angle. The team has made arrangements of cooperation with universities in Rome, Brussel and Liverpool, and they are applying for funding through the EU, UEFA and FIFA.

Peter Krustrup sees large perspectives in soccer at exercise level in a time of lifestyle-related diseases. When a pleasureable and popular team-sport such as soccer turns out to be so beneficiary, it would make sense to consider that sport in the national and international efforts to prevent and treat lifestyle-related diseases.

- In the fight against obesity and inactivity, soccer seems to be an obvious alternative to jogging and fitness. Soccer is a popular sport in large parts of the population, and experience tells us that there are good chances of growing a permanent affiliation with a sport when it is both fun and combined you’re your social life, says Krustrup and continues:

- It really doesn’t take a lot. A lawn, two goalposts and a ball is all you need to begin a health-promoting training programme for 22 people.

The international cooperation will continue research in soccer at exercise level for various age groups. The researchers also consider examining other sports such as handball, volleyball and basketball.

Facts about the project:

For a period of 12 weeks, a group of soccer players and joggers have been active for for one hour 2-3 times a week. The participants have been continuingly subjected to tests: fitness rating, percentage of bodyfat, total mass of muscles, cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and balance.

The project has received 500,000 Dkr in funding from the Danish Ministry of Culture’s committee for sports science.

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
RectorВґs Office
NГёrregade 10, P.O.Box 2177
DK-1017 Copenhagen K
ku.dk