C M G Buttery

In Science last week (Science 22 December 2006:Vol. 314. no. 5807, pp. 1884 – 1886) a paper by Erik van Nimwegen explains how genetic drift is different from genetic shift and the annual changes in the Influenza A (H3N2) virus.

We should all read the editorial in this week’s NEJM (Volume 355 December 28, 2006 Number 26) by Drs. Wenzel and Edmond from VCU, about the potential for life saving preventive interventions when Central Venous Lines are used in ICUs. Health Directors could easily be involved in prevention aspects of hospital infection control adding their [...]

From the Johns Hopkins Cancer Center: Sildenafil and other “impotence drugs� that boost the production of a gassy chemical messenger to dilate blood vessels and produce an erection now also show promise in unmasking cancer cells so that the immune system can recognize and attack them, say scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. [...]

How often do we have to repeat the message that handwashing is one of the best forms of primary prevention, An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. Common-sense safety and hygiene practices, often overlooked by doctors, can almost wipe out a dangerous type of blood infection that kills thousands of patients each year in U.S. [...]

A novel method pf preventing disease. Use the human body as a vector to immunize mosquitoes against malaria. The vaccine, so far tested only in mice, would prompt the immune system of a person who receives it to eliminate the parasite from the digestive tract of a malaria-carrying mosquito, after the mosquito has fed upon [...]

One more “herbal” use bites the dust. From the BMJ this week [BMJ Volume 333 pp 1293-4]. The belief that mistletoe can help treat cancer is a myth which can cause harm, warn doctors in this week’s Christmas issue of the BMJ. The warning follows the case of a cancer patient who attended hospital with [...]

See today’s BMJ for an article by Don Combs from EVMS (BMJ 2006;333:1308-1311 (23 December)) on how new technology may transform medical care. It is only a short step to think about how these technologies may also change the face of population health.

Reported by many media outlets today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that “the biggest U.S. measles outbreak in a decade…was traced back to a 17-year-old girl who had traveled to Romania without first getting vaccinated.” The other patients “became infected after they attended a church gathering with her the day after her [...]

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the United States has formally accepted the revised International Health Regulations (IHR), and will begin the process of implementing these new international rules immediately instead of waiting for them to take effect in June 2007. Secretary Leavitt made the announcement during a week-long visit to the People’s Republic of [...]

A study in JAMA today (JAMA. 2006;296:2832-2838) suggests that vitamin D levels and development of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are related. Because this is an observational study cause and effect cannot be determined. The study was well designed but the senior author cautions that use of vitamin D supplements for MS prevention should not be undertaken [...]