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US Takes Stock Of H1N1 Situation
After roughly a month of emergency response to the new H1N1 swine flu virus, US health authorities are taking stock, re-focusing and re-
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World Health Organization And International Atomic Energy Agency Join Forces To Fight Cancer
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today announced the launch of a Joint Programme on Cancer Control, aimed at strengthening and accelerating efforts to fight cancer in the developing world.
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South Africa Launches HIV/AIDS Vaccine Trial
"The first clinical trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town" Monday, the SAPA/The Times reports. The trial will seek to determine the immune response of HIV-negative people to two experimental vaccines - SAAVI DNA-C2 and SAAVI MVA-C (7/20). Similar tests of the vaccine began in the U.S. earlier this year, the AP/Washington Post reports. According to Anthony Mbewu, president of South Africa"s government-supported Medical Research Council, the vaccine was designed at the University of Cape Town with technical help from the NIH, which also manufactured the vaccine (Faul, 7/20). Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the partnership between South Africa and the U.S. "the most important AIDS research partnership in the world," but cautioned the years ahead would prove challenging as researchers test the safety and efficacy of the HIV vaccine, the AP/Google.com reports (Faul, 7/20).
Medical Devices

Link Between Common Antibacterial Treatment And Sensorineural Hearing Loss In Cystic Fibrosis Patients

An otherwise effective treatment for cystic fibrosis places patients at a high risk of sensorineural hearing loss, according to new research published in the July edition of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. Researchers reviewed the medical records of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients at Children"s Hospital Boston over a 13 year period, and found that seven of 50 CF patients (14%) suffered from sensorineural hearing loss. Of that group, 43 percent of those that had received aminoglycosides intravenously had received more than 10 courses of the treatment; patients who were treated more than five times with nasal irrigation of aminoglycosides were also at risk of sensorineural hearing loss. Because CF patients are prone to suffer from infections of the pulmonary and sinonasal systems, aminoglycosides are commonly administered to CF patients because of the potent effect they have on bacteria. The treatment is considered so effective that it outweighs the well-known side-effects, which include hair cell loss, and thus hearing loss. The authors contend that CF patients should have routine hearing evaluations that specifically target the detection of sensorineural hearing loss, especially when repeated courses of systemic or intranasal aminoglycosides have be used in treatment. They also note that further investigation through a prospective study is warranted in order to replicate these results. The study"s authors are Alan G. Cheng, MD; Patrick R. Johnston, MMath; Jeniffer Luz, BS; Ahmet Uluer, DO; Brian Fligor, ScD; Greg R. Licameli, MD, MHCM; Margaret A. Kenna, MD, MPH; and Dwight T. Jones, MD. Matt Daigle American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery


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