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Examines Effects Of Maternal Mortality On Infants In Tanzania
The New York Times on Thursday examined the effects of maternal mortality on infants in Tanzania, many of whom live in village orphanages after their mothers" deaths. The article is the last in a three-part series on pregnancy- and childbirth-related deaths in the country. The Times reports that 250,000 women die annually during pregnancy or childbirth in Africa as the result of bleeding, infection, high blood pressure, prolonged labor and botched abortions. Although many of these problems can be treated or prevented with basic obstetrical care, Tanzania has too few physicians, nurses and drugs -- and is short on equipment, ambulances and paved roads -- to address the issue. Women who die during pregnancy often are survived by their infants. The newborns do not have access to breastmilk, and formula and baby food are not widely available in the country. To avoid malnutrition and infection, the infants often are taken to orphanages that can provide basic care until they reach age two or three, and then they are returned to their extended families. The article profiled an innovative program at the Berega Orphanage that is being widely replicated in Africa. The "program is designed to meet the infants" emotional as well as physical needs," by having "teenage girls from their extended families living with [the infants] at the orphanage," the Times reports. The girls -- known as "bintis" in Swahili -- learn how to take care of the infants and are then better able to take care of them when they return to their villages. Ute Klatt, a German missionary and nurse who has been the director of the orphanage for 10 years, explains that "the families weren"t visiting, and it was hard to reintegrate the children." With the bintis, "the children grow up more normally, as they might at home," she said (Grady, New York Times, 6/25).
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Fenofibrate Reduces Risk Of First Amputation For Type 2 Diabetics By 36%
Using fenofibrate to lower blood fats in people with type 2 diabetes reduces the risk of a first diabetes-related amputation by 36%. This is among the conclusions of the FIELD study, reported in an Article in this week"s diabetes special issue of The Lancet.
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Higher Risk Of Cataract Surgery With The Use Of Drugs To Reduce Blood Pressure
A research published ahead of print in the British Journal of Ophthalmology suggests certain types of drugs prescribed to lower blood pressure seem to increase the risk of corrective cataract surgery.
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Kineta Acquires Novel Drug Candidates From Airmid For Potential Treatment Of Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes And Other Autoimmune Diseases

Kineta, Inc. of Seattle and Airmid Incorporated of Redwood City, CA jointly announce an agreement in which a Kineta subsidiary has acquired exclusive commercial rights to a portfolio of novel therapeutic compounds from Airmid. The array of compounds holds extraordinary potential for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus and numerous other autoimmune diseases. "This transaction is a significant milestone for Airmid. It places our peptidic Kv1.3 blockers into the very capable hands of Kineta"s drug development team, sets Airmid on a path to provide substantial return-on-investment for our shareholders, and provides funding to enhance the value of Airmid"s retained assets," said George Miljanich, Ph.D., CEO of Airmid. Under the terms of the deal, Airmid will receive upfront payments, development, regulatory and commercial milestones as well as sales royalties. Airmid founder, K. George Chandy, MD, Ph.D., also applauded the announcement: "Kineta possesses both the scientific capacity and the track record of success necessary to advance these promising therapeutics toward the goal of conquering multiple devastating autoimmune diseases." Following today"s agreement, Kineta One, LLC (a subsidiary of Kineta, Inc.) will aggressively pursue additional preclinical studies on a lead compound. The company intends to file an investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA and begin clinical trials in 2010. "We are very excited to move forward. Dr. Chandy is an extraordinary scientist who has made an exceptional contribution to the scientific field of autoimmune disease. He will remain an integral advisor to our scientific team," said Kineta President and CEO, Charles Magness, Ph.D. Dr. Chandy, Airmid co-founder Dr. Michael Cahalan and their colleagues at the University of California have spent more than two decades identifying and characterizing ion channels and their role in immune cell function under normal conditions and in autoimmune diseases. Dr. Chandy and his collaborators-Dr. Michael Pennington, Dr. Christine Beeton, Dr. Heike Wulff and Dr. Ray Norton-are credited with discovering an array of novel autoimmune compounds which were later patented. Together they founded Airmid Incorporated. A professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Chandy is an internationally recognized authority on mechanisms of autoimmunity and the role of ion channels in autoimmune disease. The novel class of compounds acquired by Kineta One, LLC today includes potent and highly specific Kv1.3 potassium channel blockers derived from venom of the Caribbean sea anemone. They are designed to suppress activation of effector memory T cells which are important mediators of inflammation and tissue damage in MS, type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. These compounds have been shown to significantly reverse disease in animal models of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, and also have potential against a number of other autoimmune diseases controlled by effector memory T cells. Animal models also have demonstrated that efficacy is achieved without the generalized immunosuppression that occurs in competing therapies. Kineta, Inc. Airmid Inc.


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