Researchers have identified an underlying biochemical mechanism that helps make cholera toxin so deadly, often resulting in life-threating diarrhea.

Two groups of scientists at the University of California, San Diego, worked on fruit flies, mice and cultured human intestinal cells to study cholera toxin, produced by the highly infectious bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

They discovered the toxin exerts some of its devastating effects by reducing the delivery of proteins to molecular junctions that normally act like Velcro to hold intestinal cells together in the outer lining of the gut.

The UC San Diego researchers found that cholera toxin acts by two entirely distinct, but cooperating mechanisms to produce diarrhea. In addition to increasing the efflux of chloride ions through a protein channel called CFTR, it weakens cell junctions to allow a rapid outflow of counterbalancing sodium ions and water between the cells.

The scientists showed that many of the effects of the cholera toxin on the gut could be reversed by genetic manipulations that bolster the delivery of proteins to these junctions.

Understanding this novel mechanism of cholera action could also have important implications for other disorders of intestinal barrier function such as Crohn’s disease, colitis and celiac disease.

The study is published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.

 

According to a study done by Harvard School of Public Health, the economic burden due to non-communicable diseases will be about $6.2 trillion for India, from 2012-2030. This amount is almost nine times higher than the total health expenditure for the past 19 years.

The major contributors of this expenditure include diabetes, cancer, heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, of which, ischemic heart disease is projected to be the most expensive disease of the lot in India.

What’s causing these numbers to rise?

So what has brought about these astronomical changes in the numbers? While communicable diseases like polio and malaria are getting under control, there is a rise in cases of diabetes, hypertension, etc in urban India. And no, it is not just restricted to the aged; these diseases are attacking the youth in great numbers. Is our lifestyle to be blamed for this? Sedentary lifestyles, smoking, drinking, unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise. If this is what your routine consists of, then it won’t be too long before the symptoms for one or the other disease shows up.

Diabetes galore

According to the World Health Statistics report 2012, 11.1 per cent of the adult male population and 10.8 per cent of the female population have raised fasting blood glucose. Compare it with our neighbouring countries, and barring Pakistan, India has the highest number of diabetics, a whopping 6.1 million and counting.

Obese and how

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) (2005-06), the latest available on record, 13 per cent of women and nine per cent of men in India are overweight or obese. Dr Ravindran Kumeran, founder trustee at Obesity Foundation India, a non-profit organization working in the sector to promote awareness against obesity, says that the present generation is probably the most sedentary generation of people in the history of the world. No wonder the numbers are getting higher day by day.

How to tackle the problem?

It is time every individual takes it upon themselves to care for their health and fitness. The responsibility lies with you to manage your time and eat well. Take out time for physical activity, be it any sorts; walking up to your workplace, cycling, going for a walk during break-time, choosing healthy options even when you eat out and monitoring your alcohol intake. While smoking might be a stress buster for you right now, it can soon be the reason for your lack of stamina and hospital bills. (Read: How to fit exercise in your busy schedule)

Don’t think it can never happen to you! Youngsters are falling prey to diseases that were once associated with men and women in their 40s, 50s and beyond. The reality is changing and it’s time you realised it is in your hands to seize the moment and do something about it right now or let it get worse and repent later.

The number of babies born last year — a little shy of 4 million — is only a few hundred less than the number in 2011, according to a government report released Friday.

That suggests that lately, fewer couples may be scared away from having children because of the economy or other factors, some experts say. Among the signs of a possible turning point: The birth rate for women in their early 30s inched up for the first time since 2007.

“We may be on level course or potentially even see a rise” in birth trends in the near future, said Brady Hamilton, a statistician with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some are a bit more pessimistic.

“The decline has slowed down, but it’s still a decline,” said Carol Hogue, an Emory University expert on birth trends.

Falling births is a relatively new phenomenon in this country. Births were on the rise since the late 1990s and hit an all-time high of more than 4.3 million in 2007. The drop that followed was widely attributed to the nation’s flagging economy. Experts believed that many women or couples who were out of work or had other money problems felt they couldn’t afford to start or add to their family.

The economy officially was in a recession from December 2007 until June 2009. But well into 2011, polls showed most Americans remained gloomy, citing anemic hiring, a depressed housing market and other factors.

The new CDC report is a first glimpse at 2012 birth certificate data from state health departments, but the numbers aren’t expected to change much.

Highlights of the report include:
— The birth rate for all women of childbearing age — 63 births per 1,000 women — was essentially flat from the year before.

— Rates dropped for Hispanic women, 2 percent, and blacks, 1 percent, but less than the previous year. The rate continued to stay the same for whites, rose 4 percent for Asian-American and Pacific Islanders, and fell slightly for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

— Rates fell again for women in their early 20s, down 3 percent from 2011. That’s the lowest mark for women in that age group since 1940, when comprehensive national birth records were first compiled.

— For women in their late 20s, birth rates fell 1 percent. That age group accounts for more than a quarter of all of the nation’s births. The rate rose a slight 1 percent for women in their early 30s, who have nearly as many babies as women in their late 20s.

— Rates also rose 2 percent for moms ages 35 and older, and 1 percent for women in their early 40s. Rates in older moms have been rising slightly in recent years, despite the overall downward trend. Experts say that’s because older women generally have better jobs or financial security, and are more sensitive to the ticking away of their biological clocks.

— Birth rates for teen moms have been falling since 1991 and hit yet another historic low. The number of babies born to teens last year — about 305,000 — is less than half the peak of nearly 645,000 in 1970.

The teen birth rate has been cut in half since 1991, said Bill Albert of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, who called it a “stunning turnaround.”

Experts attribute that decline to a range of factors, including less sex and more use of contraception.

Another report highlight: About 33 percent of births last year were delivered through Cesarean section — a rate unchanged from the previous two years.

C-sections are sometimes medically necessary. But health officials believe many are done out of convenience or unwarranted caution, and in the 1980s set a goal of keeping the national rate at 15 percent.

The C-section rate had been rising steadily since 1996, until it dropped slightly in 2010.
Even if the C-section rate has peaked, it’s still too high — particularly in certain states, Emory’s Hogue said. For example, last year 40 percent of births were C-sections in Louisiana, and more than 38 percent in New Jersey, Mississippi and Florida, the report found.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/06/after-years-decline-us-births-leveling-off/#ixzz2eBmyt5cA

 

 

The use of illegal drugs among Americans in general is holding steady, but it’s surging among middle-aged baby boomers, according to report released Wednesday.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated that 9.2 percent of Americans aged 12 and over, or 23.9 million, were current consumers of illicit substances.

That’s down slightly from rates of 8.7 to 8.9 percent in 2009 to 2011, said the report, sponsored by the US government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

But among adults aged 50 to 64, illicit drug use has grown substantially — a trend that the report attributed in part to “the aging … of members of the baby boom cohort” born between 1946 and 1964.

For adults aged 50 to 54, the rate more than doubled from 3.4 percent in 2002 to 7.2 percent last year. For those aged 55 to 59, it more than tripled from 1.9 percent to 6.6 percent.

“Among those aged 60 to 64, the rate increased from 1.1 percent in 2003 to 3.6 percent in 2012,” the report added.

Marijuana — ranked on par with heroin under federal law, despite a trend towards legalization at the state level — was the most commonly used illegal drug.

Current use between 2007 and 2012 grew from 5.8 percent to 7.3 percent of the overall population, and the number of Americans who used marijuana daily or almost daily grew from 5.1 million in 2007 to 7.6 million in 2012.

Current use is defined as consumption at least once during the month prior to participating in the survey.

The report also identified a significant increase in the number of Americans who had used heroin in the past year, from 373,000 in 2007 to 669,000 in 2012.

Among younger Americans, the survey found that past-month non-medical use of prescription drugs among young adults aged 18 to 25 was 5.3 percent — “significantly lower” than 6.4 percent in 2009.

And binge or heavy drinking among adolescents aged 12 to 17 — in a nation where the legal drinking age is 21 — “remained lower than their levels in 2002 and 2009.”

Commenting on the report, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said reducing the impact of drug use called for “a robust public health response,” as well as smart law enforcement.

“For the first time in a decade, we are seeing real and significant reductions in the abuse of prescription drugs in America,” he said.

“Expanding prevention, treatment and support for people in recovery for substance use disorders will be our guide as we work to address other emerging challenges,” he said.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/05/drug-use-surges-among-us-baby-boomers-survey-finds/#ixzz2e6CfhDFI

 

 

 

Public health officials believe one person in New Hampshire has died of a rare, degenerative brain disease, and say there’s a remote chance up to 13 others in multiple states were exposed to the fatal illness through surgical equipment.

Dr. Joseph Pepe, president of Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, said officials are 95 percent certain that a patient who had brain surgery in May and died in August had sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

The disease progresses rapidly once symptoms appear and is always fatal, usually within a few months. But the symptoms can take decades to show up. They include behavior changes, memory loss, impaired coordination and other neurological problems.

Nearly 90 percent of cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease happen spontaneously, when an agent causes proteins in the brain to fold incorrectly. And because those abnormal proteins can survive standard sterilization practices, there is a small risk of exposure for those who had surgery after the patient who died, Pepe said.

“The risk of exposure is extremely low, but it’s not zero,” he said.

In fewer than 1 percent of the cases, the disease is transmitted by exposure to brain or nervous system tissue, state public health director Dr. Jose Montero said. Only four cases of transmission via surgical instruments have been recorded, none in the United States, he said. Another 10 to 15 percent of the cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob involve a genetic mutation that is passed down among families.

The disease can be verified only through a brain biopsy or autopsy. New Hampshire officials are still awaiting those results.

Meanwhile, the hospital has notified eight of its patients who may have been exposed, and hospitals in other states are working to do the same because some of the surgical equipment was rented and used elsewhere after being used in Manchester, Montero said. He would not identify the other states but said no more than five additional patients were potentially exposed.

Catholic Medical Center also has assigned a staffer to work with the potentially exposed patients, whom Pepe said range in age from mid-30s to mid-80s.

“They took it very well. I don’t believe that people were angry or extremely emotionally upset,” he said. “We did the best job we could in trying to alleviate their fear.”

Worldwide, Creutzfeldt-Jakob affects about one person in every one million each year; in the United States, about 200 cases are recorded annually, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In South Carolina, Greenville Hospital System last year began increasing the temperature used to sterilize its surgical instruments after a patient was discovered to have Creutzfeldt-Jakob. Eleven patients there were notified that they might have been exposed.

But Pepe said the measures required to eliminate all traces of the proteins would effectively render the equipment unusable. He said the New Hampshire equipment has been quarantined pending the autopsy results.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/05/as-many-as-13-may-have-been-exposed-to-rare-brain-disease-that-killed-nh/#ixzz2e5q2LuWS