Helicobacter pylori has been extensively studied and proven to be the main cause of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer in the HIV-negative population. Patients with chronic active gastritis have evidence of H pylori infection in over 90% of cases and in 70-100% of those with peptic ulcer disease. However, the reason for low incidence of H pylori infection in HIV-positive patients was still not very clear.
More than 20 years ago, doctors at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA performed a successful bone marrow transplant on a baby girl who was born without a thymus gland and was suffering from severe immune deficiency. It marked the first time a bone marrow transplant, rather than a thymic transplant, had been used to treat the genetic condition known as DiGeorge Syndrome (DGS).
For African Americans infected with HIV, the risk of end-stage renal disease is six times higher than for whites with HIV — and similar to the ESRD risk associated with diabetes, reports a study in the November Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Immune cells known as neutrophils produce reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) to combat infection with microbes that can cause diseases such as pneumonia. New insight into the molecular pathway regulating neutrophil production of ROIs in mice has been provided by Wojciech Swat and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raltegravir tablets for treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 infection in combination with other antiretroviral agents in treatment-experienced adult patients who have evidence of viral replication and HIV-1 strains resistant to multiple antiretroviral agents.
A study published in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM) finds that modafinil is well-tolerated in the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with disorders of sleep and wakefulness such as shift work sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and narcolepsy, and does not affect cardiovascular or sleep parameters.
Two case studies from Japan presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology point to a potential health problem in the United States, as more Americans consume raw fish in the form of sushi and sashimi. Anisakiasis (round worm) is a human parasitic infection caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked seafood containing Anisakis larvae. Consumers should be aware that while larvae for the parasitic worm Anisakis cannot survive in a human host, the ingested larvae can produce severe intestinal problems warranting a visit to the emergency room.
Concerns have been raised regarding the safety of “over-the-counter” (non-prescription) cough and cold products in children. Health Canada is advising consumers on the appropriate use of these products, including drugs and natural health products, particularly in children under 2 years of age. Life-threatening adverse events, including unintentional overdose, have been reported to Health Canada in association with the use of these products in children under 2 years of age.
A 12-year-old Indonesian boy from Tangerang District in Banten Province has died of bird flu, an Indonesian health ministry official said.
Merck & Co., Inc., announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted ISENTRESS TM (raltegravir) tablets accelerated approval for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-experienced adult patients who have evidence of viral replication and HIV-1 strains resistant to multiple antiretroviral agents.