среда, 8 июля 2009 г.
Hiv Drug Resistance A Growing Concern For Doctors
Nearly half of all HIV-infected patients in the United States develop resistance to one or more of their medications, experts say, making the epidemic of drug resistance a growing concern.
"Unlike other chronic illnesses, HIV is unforgiving," said Dr. John G. Bartlett, an expert in infectious diseases and professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, speaking at an American Medical Association briefing. "Once the virus becomes resistant to one drug, we can never use that drug again. The challenge for physicians is to stay ahead of the virus with new drugs and newly available combinations of drugs."
There are various reasons for the development of such resistance. One key is that when patients either miss or skip a dose of their medication, it gives the virus a chance to multiply and mutate, allowing it to grow increasingly resistant to the drugs designed to fight it.
"As the virus mutates, the drugs lose their ability to prevent the virus from reproducing," Bartlett said. "The drug-resistant virus reproduces unchecked and the viral load [amount of virus] in the body increases."
In fact, a new study published in the Feb. 1, 2005, issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases showed that adherence to the medication regimen had by far the greatest impact on the development of resistance. Patients who missed less than 5 percent of their medications did not develop resistance over the course of the 30-month study.
"Adherence is not just swallowing pills, but swallowing them at the correct times and with the appropriate dietary requirements," Bartlett said.
"A treatment goal for physicians is to find simpler drug regimens that can be taken less frequently to make it easier for their patients to follow their treatment plans," said Dr. Kimberly Y. Smith, assistant professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
"The trend has become using fewer pills with less frequent dosages," Smith said. "Although the ideal regimen would be one pill per day, regimens that include two to four pills per day are currently very popular and seem to be well-tolerated."
New laboratory tests also have been developed that help predict which medications may become resistant at some point.
"It's not easy to stay ahead of HIV," said Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of AIDS Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Resistance testing, at the beginning of treatment and as treatment continues, is one way we have devised to do just that."
понедельник, 6 июля 2009 г.
On Vacation With A Cold? How To Get Well Sooner
Have you ever waited months to go on a vacation only to get sick just days into your trip?
Unfortunately, this happens to many travelers. Studies show that compared to 20 years ago, airplanes are bringing in less fresh air from the outside, meaning more recycled and contaminated air for passengers to breathe. Couple this with cramped conditions, close contact with strangers and a weakened immune system from travel stress and you have a recipe for illness.
Dr. Roy Welker, director of travel medicine services at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, says there is really only one thing you can do on an airplane to decrease your chances of getting sick: wash your hands.
While alcohol wipes work, there is nothing as effective as soap and water. Some have suggested wearing surgical-style masks, but these, in addition to being cumbersome, don't stop viruses from spreading through the air.
If you do catch a cold virus, however, all may not be lost. As long as you can breathe easily and are not running a fever of over 101.5 F, it is not necessary to cancel a trip. To get better faster so you can make the most of your short time away, Welker offers the following tips.
* Sleep. Getting plenty of rest is important. Your body needs all of its strength to fight off the cold virus.
* Blow your nose. If you let the mucus build up in your nasal passages, it can fill your respiratory tract and possibly lead to a respiratory infection.
* Eat. Do not starve a cold. Instead, keep yourself well-nourished so that you have enough energy to fight off that nasty virus. Also, many cold remedies can cause an upset stomach if your stomach is empty.
* Drink. Keep yourself hydrated with water and clear juices to ensure that the lining of your nose and throat do not dry out. This will help mucus stay moist and easy to clear from the nose. Stay away from drinks that contain caffeine or alcohol, both of which can lead to dehydration.
* Stop smoking. Inhaling smoke will further irritate your throat and make you cough even more.
* Take Cold-Eeze. Unlike decongestants, expectorants and antihistamines that only mask symptoms, Cold-Eeze's Zinc Gluconate Glycine formula is the only one clinically proven to reduce the duration of the common cold.
Welker also says it makes no difference what time of year you are traveling or to which climate. While there is usually a cold epidemic in North America during the winter, the tropics have the rhinovirus year-round. Also, despite your mother's warnings, cold weather has no effect on your immune system and will not increase your chances of catching a cold.
пятница, 3 июля 2009 г.
Arm In A Cast? The Key To Worry-free Washing
Influenza season can begin as early as October and last through May. With a flu vaccine shortage, it's more important than ever to wash your hands to keep from getting the flu and spreading it to others.
But what do you do if you can't wash your hands because you're wearing a cast?
The answer is simple: Get the cast you can get wet - the Gore Procel Cast Liner. It was developed by W.L. Gore and Associates Inc., the inventors of the Gore-Tex Fabric, and does away with the hygiene limitations of a traditional cast.
Traditional cast padding is made of a cotton material that absorbs water and perspiration, often causing itching and odor. Conversely, the Gore Procel Cast Liner padding is made of the same polymer that makes Gore-Tex Fabric sportswear waterproof and breathable. It allows patients to bathe, shower and even swim.
When a fiberglass cast padded with a Gore Procel Cast Liner gets wet, most of the water drains quickly out of the ends of the cast. The remaining moisture is warmed by body heat, becomes vapor and passes through the liner and fiberglass casting. No special drying is necessary. So you can wash your hands, with soap, as often as you like.
That's good news during flu season. The flu spreads from person to person through direct contact or by touching something with the virus on it and then touching your mouth or nose.
People with the flu can be contagious up to seven days after getting sick. In addition to washing your hands often, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you stay home when you are sick and cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.
среда, 1 июля 2009 г.
Is It A Cold Or The Flu?
It starts with a tickle in your throat and a few sneezes. Pretty soon, you are coughing, aching and feeling generally miserable. Is it a cold or the more serious illness, the flu?
While many people confuse the two, they are actually quite different.
Colds are minor infections of the nose and throat caused by any of hundreds of different viruses; the flu is an infection of the respiratory system caused by the influenza virus that can lead to complications such as pneumonia or even death.
Even though colds and the flu are different, prevention techniques for both are similar because they are contracted the same way. While there are no surefire solutions, there are easy ways to decrease your chances of getting sick.
* Wash your hands. Washing your hands is the single most effective way to keep from catching a cold or spreading one to someone else. Both colds and the flu can be passed via inanimate objects such as doorknobs and telephones. If you come in contact with a contaminated surface and then touch your nose, mouth or eyes, it is easy for the virus to enter your body.
* Don't smoke. Cigarette smoke has been shown to increase an individual's susceptibility to a cold virus.
* Eat right. A balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables provides you with vitamins and other immunity-boosting substances.
* Practice healthy habits. Getting enough sleep and exercising can help you maintain a strong immune system to fight off the germs that cause illness.
* Stay away from people who are sick. Do not share food, drinks, utensils, dishes or cups with anyone who has a cold or the flu. Also, keep your distance from others in crowds.
If you still get sick with a cold or the flu, treatment options differ. For a cold, pharmacists and doctors recommend Cold-Eeze, an over-the-counter remedy containing zinc gluconate glycine that is clinically proven to reduce the duration of the common cold.
воскресенье, 28 июня 2009 г.
How Vaccines Work
Copyright 2006 Peter Nisbet
When an organism gets into your body and causes an infection, your body gathers its defences and fights against them. This is the basic principle of how vaccines work.
Certain cells in your blood make what are called �antibodies�, molecules which are designed to attack specific germs and viruses. These attach to the invaders in your bloodstream and prevent them from invading other cells. Each virus or bacterium has an individual shape, and the antibodies are designed to fit exactly to that shape.
This is how vaccines work to convince your body that the vaccination is a �full-blooded� attack by the offending viruses or bacteria, and stimulate them into action to develop the �memory� or �blueprint� for the antibody in the event of future invasion.
This is all done by your white blood cells. You have two types called B cells and T cells. The B cells manufacture the antibodies while the T cells have two functions. The �helper� T cells help the B cells to make the antibodies while the �killer� T cells kill any cells which have been invaded by the viruses or bacteria, and prevent them from reproducing. . How vaccines work to stimulate this action is to mislead the white cells into believing that your body has been infected.
Your body reacts to kill the invaders in two ways: directly through the antibodies, and indirectly through the T cells destroying any infected cells and preventing reproduction.
Viruses cannot reproduce by themselves: they have to use the host�s cells for this. If the T cells continually kill off any invaded cells, the invaders themselves must eventually be killed off by the antibodies If the virus or bacterium is strong and reproduce too quickly, the host can be overcome before it can produce enough antibodies to kill them off. The pus which occurs during an infection is the mix of dead white blood cells and bacteria/virus cells destroyed by them.
If your body survives the attack, your B cells retain a memory of the structure of the invaders and should the same viruses or bacteria ever return, antibodies can rapidly be produced and the infection killed off before it starts. The stimulation of this memory is exactly how vaccines work.
Vaccines produce the same memory effect without the patient having to suffer the disease. The organisms that cause the disease are either killed or weakened, then introduced into your body. The strength is calculated to be just enough to enable your white cells to manufacture the antibodies. This is how vaccines work to give you protection against future infection without actually making you ill. The strength of the vaccine is designed to allow this. The dead vaccine can also work, but less efficiently, and the effect is not generally as long lasting.
The �live� vaccines produce life-long immunity after only one or two doses, but the �dead�, or �inactivated�, ones need multiple doses to get the correct effect. Some dead vaccines even need booster doses throughout your life. Examples of these are tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, normally given together every 10 years as the Td vaccine. The measles vaccine is an example of a �live� vaccine�.
Vaccinations do not affect your ability to fight off other infections you have not been immunized against; in fact a 2002 German study indicated that you are likely to suffer fewer infections in general if you have had your quota of vaccinations. It is unknown exactly how vaccines work to achieve this, but it is believed that vaccination strengthens the immune system generally, and strengthens the body against other �secondary� infections.
How vaccines work to achieve this secondary effect is not fully understood, but it appears that unvaccinated children may have a reduced ability to fight off a secondary infection resulting from the natural disease, such as pneumonia which is frequently a secondary infection in measles cases. Most deaths through measles are actually due to a secondary infection with pneumonia.
However, how vaccines work to give you immunity to the disease vaccinated against is basically by fooling or stimulating your body into producing antibodies, and the memory of their structure should the same bacteria or viruses appear again.
пятница, 26 июня 2009 г.
how To Beat The Coming Flu and Cold Season, Naturally
and #65279;In the last year or so, have you experienced one or more bad colds, or possibly had a bout with the flu? Numerous people, some even in our own local area, have actually been laid up with pneumonia!
In the last three decades there have been several viral and bacterial epidemics�and this at a time when we should have been able to expect the eradication of many infectious diseases. Why is this? Why does it seem that in recent years, in spite of all the wonderful medical help available, that people are sicker than ever?
Some people say this is due to the overuse of too-potent antibiotics or it might be because of the widespread use of vaccines. Plus, with globalization and the increasing availability of long distance flights, it is easier for infections to be spread around the world. There are already a number of infectious organisms that can and will be a major problem to patients, physicians, health care workers and others throughout the world.
With Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) now reported in the �healthy community� it becomes clear that we need something that can take on these superbugs! A big concern is the possibility that multi-drug resistant germs will spread throughout our communities. If we can reduce the extent to which pharmaceutical antibiotics are used and not be so dependent on them, it stands to reason that when really needed, the drugs may be more effective.
What can the average person do to help prevent the common cold or some major illness? A lot! Learning how to eat healthy, get adequate exercise, and the right amount of sleep, are all important to preventing illness. However, just living a �healthy lifestyle� may not be enough to keep you from getting sick. We have so many viruses and toxins in our environment, that staying well can be quite a challenge.
But research has recently produced some really great solutions that can help you reduce your chance of being attacked by one of the superbugs, or if you do get hit with a superbug, the severity of your illness probably will not be as bad. Research has shown that low concentrations of allicin, derived from garlic, is able to kill most of the superbugs. For more details, go to www.4thebuzz.com.
Here are some statistics from a Cold and Cough study conducted by Peter Josling. This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled survey. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a unique garlic supplement (Allisure) that contains stabilized allicin could prevent colds in healthy volunteers.
Here are the results.
� 65% reduction in common cold
� 80% reduction of severity of symptoms and duration
� 90% reduction of re-infection
� Product is well tolerated and offers many other advantages according to volunteer reports
It was concluded that allicin was overwhelmingly favored as a supplement. It was also determined that garlic is effective against salmonella, food poisoning, streptococcus and a host of other things. Garlic can stimulate and boost the human immune system and is used in both treatment and prevention of diseases. Again, see www.4thebuzz.com for more details.
Another nutrient, ginger, when combined with allicin, has been shown to make allicin even more effective. Ginger provides nutritional support for the digestive and circulatory systems. There have been 19 double-blind studies about ginger and it is probably the best medication for treating nausea and sickness.
Since it may take awhile to build up your immune system to the point where you will be able to ward off most, if not all, of the possible superbugs that come your way, I believe that it would be wise to start now. Take care of your body from all angles: adequate sleep, improved nutrition, exercise, and consider the addition of nutrition supplements. A good general multi-vitamin and mineral supplement, plus allicin could be great starters for you to help prevent illness in your family.
четверг, 25 июня 2009 г.
"pinkeye" - Conjunctivitis
Commonly known as pinkeye, Conjunctivitis is the inflammation of the outer most layer of the eye and the inner side of the eyelid. Conjunctivitis infections commonly come in one of three flavours: viral, bacterial, or allergic. There is, however, several other cases of less common conjunctivitis:
- Chemicals
- Thermal and ultraviolet burns
- Foreign bodies
- Overuse of contact lenses
- Toxins
- Vitamin deficiency
- Dry eye, sometimes due to inadequate eyelid closure
- Exposure to chickens infected with Newcastle disease
Lets take a quick look at the three most common types of conjunctivitis.
The first is viral conjunctivitis. This type is transmitted by contact with a variety of contagious viruses. These required viruses need not be any harsher than the common cold virus, as these cases are generally associated with upper respiratrory tract symptoms.
Bacterial conjunctivitis is most commonly caused by the infected's own skin or respiratory flora due to pyogenic bacteria. Another common way to spread infection, generally by females, is through sharing of facial lotions or eye makeup. And lastly, it is possible to share this kind of "pinkeye" through contact with other people and/or their environment.
The last form that we will be looking at is allergetic conjuctivitis. This type generally follows a seasonal pattern, and is more common among those with allergic conditions. Unlike the others, allergetic conjuctivitis tends to take over both eyes, and is accompanied by swollen eyelids. It is caused by reactions to such substances as perfume, drugs, cosmetics, contact lenses, or protein deposits.
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