Environmental Medicine News

The News Review:

- UCLA Neuroscience Research Leads To A Possible Treatment For Type 1…
- Shorter Distance On Six-minute Walk Test Points Up A Greater Risk Of…
- Study identifies potential new marker for heart failure diagnosis,…
- Health and fitness calendar, September 19
- Om a little teapot: Yoga Ed, taught in some Miami-Dade schools, helps…
- Rutgers: Rutgers president seeks to raise $1 billion.

UCLA Neuroscience Research Leads To A Possible Treatment For Type 1…
Medical News Today - Sep 19, 2006
The team reported in the journal Nature in 1993 that when young, diabetes-prone mice were treated with a small amount of the GAD protein, their immune systems learned to tolerate the protein. The autoimmune response that leads to type 1 diabetes never developed in these mice as they grew older. Next, Kaufman and Tian developed the GAD vaccine that was able to inhibit the autoimmune response after it had already begun to attack the insulin producing cells. Kaufman and Tian showed in a study they published in Nature-Medicine in 1996 that, even after the type 1 diabetes disease process had started in diabetes-prone mice, its progression could be inhibited by the GAD vaccine. The GAD vaccine activated T-cells that recognized GAD, Kaufman and Tian reported. “The T-cells traveled to the pancreas and, recognizing the GAD protein in the insulin-producing cells there, released calming substances called ‘anti-inflammatory’ cytokines, which suppressed the immune cells that were killing the insulin-producing cells,” Tian explained. UCLA licensed the technology to Diamyd Medical for clinical development.

Shorter Distance On Six-minute Walk Test Points Up A Greater Risk Of…
Medical News Today - Sep 19, 2006
A new study found that individuals with IPF who can cover less than 680 feet during the six-minute test are four times more likely to die than those who can walk greater distances. The research appears in the second issue for September 2006 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society. , of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, and five associates examined the records of 454 adult IPF patients on U… “Forty-nine of these patients, 23 percent, died during that time period. The six-minute walk test’s ability to separate those alive at six months from those who died was not only significantly better than chance, but also superior to the forced vital capacity percent (FVC%) predicted test. The authors noted that a lower six-minute walking distance was associated with more severe lung disease, status as a minority and lower educational attainment in a nationwide cohort of patients with IPF who were listed for lung transplantation. The test also predicted waitlist mortality independently of age, sex, race, lung function indices, presence of pulmonary hypertension and other potential confounders. According to the investigators, the six-minute walk test has at least four advantages over other tests: 1) it is less costly than other tools; 2) it can be performed on patients with severe hypoxemia (inadequate amounts of oxygen in the blood) who require continuous high-flow oxygen; 3) it can be performed in any sufficiently long hallway by appropriately trained personnel; and 4) it does not require specialized equipment and expertise found only in established pulmonary function laboratories;The authors concluded that a test like FVC% predicted might not be valid for gauging survival in patients with IPF who have been listed for lung transplantation because of the serious nature of their illness. —————————-Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. —————————-Contact: David J.

Study identifies potential new marker for heart failure diagnosis,…
innovations report - Sep 19, 2006
"Cardiologists tend to forget that the heart is more than a hollow muscle and that only one third of the organ consists of muscle cells. Moreover, verifying the role of galectin-3 in heart failure may lead to new standards for therapeutic decision making or even the development of new agents that would inhibit this inflammatory cascade. " Januzzi agrees, "This is the first time a marker with putative inflammatory function has been shows to have potential diagnostic and especially prognostic value in heart failure, and the complementary nature of galectin with NT-proBNP for prognosis is an exciting finding. " He adds, "We are going to be using the PRIDE study data to examine several other candidate markers that could lead to development of a comprehensive biomarker profile to guide targeted application of specific therapies. " Januzzi is an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Additional co-authors of the report are Patrick Ellinor, MD, PhD, Adrian Low, MB, Abelardo Martinez, MD, and Calum MacRae, MB, ChB, PhD, of MGH Cardiology; and Umesh Shara, MD, PhD, Jaap Bakker, Harry Crijns, MD, PhD, Paul Menheere, PhD, and Yigal Pinto, MD, PhD, of University Hospital of Maastricht. The study was supported by grants from the Netherlands Heart Foundation and the William Marquard Fund for Cardiac Research… " Januzzi agrees, "This is the first time a marker with putative inflammatory function has been shows to have potential diagnostic and especially prognostic value in heart failure, and the complementary nature of galectin with NT-proBNP for prognosis is an exciting finding. " He adds, "We are going to be using the PRIDE study data to examine several other candidate markers that could lead to development of a comprehensive biomarker profile to guide targeted application of specific therapies. " Januzzi is an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Additional co-authors of the report are Patrick Ellinor, MD, PhD, Adrian Low, MB, Abelardo Martinez, MD, and Calum MacRae, MB, ChB, PhD, of MGH Cardiology; and Umesh Shara, MD, PhD, Jaap Bakker, Harry Crijns, MD, PhD, Paul Menheere, PhD, and Yigal Pinto, MD, PhD, of University Hospital of Maastricht. The study was supported by grants from the Netherlands Heart Foundation and the William Marquard Fund for Cardiac Research. Several of the researchers receive support from Roche Diagnostics, which manufactures the NT-proBNP assay; and Pinto holds a patent on cardiovascular applications of galectin-3 testing. Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

Health and fitness calendar, September 19
Rocky Mountain News - Sep 19, 2006
Luke’s Medical Center, 1719 E. 303-984-2110 • A Natural Approach to Lowering Your Cholesterol - Freelecture on alternative options for lowering your cholesterol andachieving an optimal level of good cholesterol while avoiding thedamaging side effects associated with statin medications, 6:30 p. Wednesday, Cherry Creek Athletic Club lecture room, 500 S. 303-399-3050• Cholesterol Basics Class - Learn how cholesterolaffects the body and the next steps for those takingcholesterol-lowering medication, 6 to 7:30 p… South Boulder Road. 152• Wilderness First-Aid Course - The 10th MountainDivision Hut Association is offering this two-day course covering awide range of wilderness-medicine topics for people who travel in theoutdoors, Sept. To register and for details, call1-970-925-4554. • Mountain Fest - Colorado Mountain Club’s Mountain Festincludes free indoor rock climbing, clinics, the Taste of the Mountainsdinner and presentations on subjects as diverse as nature writing andultra-light packing, 1 p.

Om a little teapot: Yoga Ed, taught in some Miami-Dade schools, helps…
Free with registration - Miami Herald - AccessMyLibrary.com - Sep 19, 2006
They copy what mommy and daddy do and sometimes that’s adorable. But when the little ones start picking up on adult problems, such as stress, then it’s not so cute. One in five children will be obese by 2010, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine, a group advising the government on health issues. The suicide rate among children 10 to 14 quadrupled in the past decade. Yoga Ed hopes to reverse those statistics. The program, new at several Miami-Dade County schools this year and already popular at grade schools in Los Angeles and Canada, aims to teach simple yoga techniques to children and their teachers to help relieve stress and improve physical fitness. The journal School Psychology Review recently opined that yoga for children could offer “heightened awareness, reduced tension and improved concentration.

Rutgers: Rutgers president seeks to raise $1 billion.
Free with registration - America's Intelligence Wire - AccessMyLibrary.com - Sep 19, 2006
–> COPYRIGHT 2006 Financial Times Ltd. (From University Wire) Byline: Joseph Shure At his annual address, Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick announced an effort Friday to raise a billion dollars and endorsed a merger between Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He also said this year will be a tough one financially for the University. “Everyone in this room knows that it’s going to be a hard year for Rutgers,” McCormick said to the estimated 500 people in attendance. Though McCormick cited recent scandals at the federally investigated UMDNJ as a factor in the state legislature’s decision to cut funding to state higher education, he mentioned several.