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Good News for This Anti-Viral Giant
http://beta.fool.com/smartequity/2013/07/09/good-news-for-this-anti-viral-giant/39788/?source=TheMotleyFool
Why Investors Should Care About Hep C
http://beta.fool.com/nickchiu/2013/07/09/why-investors-should-care-about-hepatitis-c/39156/?source=TheMotleyFool
Hepatitis C Test for Baby Boomers Urged by Health Panel
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/business/hepatitis-c-test-for-baby-boomers-urged-by-health-panel.html?_r=0
"About three-quarters of the more than three million Americans with hepatitis C are baby boomers, most of them infected decades ago. But most do not know it because they have no symptoms. Those at highest risk for the infection include users of injected drugs and recipients of blood transfusions before 1992, when screening of donated blood for the virus began."
Thank you for being the new moderator. As more news comes from AEMD and this board will get busier. I am glad you have taken charge.
As Hepatitis C Spreads, Scotland Steps In
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323466204578384760850698712.html?mod=rss_about_uk
Cancer Doctors Protest 'Astronomical' Drug Costs
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/cancer-doctors-protest-astronomical-drug-costs
Prof. Andreas Trumpp (Maybe Aethlon should send info about the HP to people like him also)
http://www.dkfz-zmbh-allianz.de/forschungsprogramme/programm2-trumpp_en.html
Stem Cells for Metastasis Found in Blood of Breast Cancer Patients
http://www.dkfz.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/2013/dkfz-pm-13-24-Metastasis-Stem-Cells-Discovered-in-Blood-of-Breast-Cancer-Patients.php
"Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detectable in a patient’s blood are associated with a poorer prognosis. However, up until now, experimental evidence was lacking as to whether “stem cells” that lead to metastases can be found among CTCs."
"This proved that CTCs do contain metastasis stem cells – even though their frequency is apparently low. "
HIV cases rose again in 2012 in Minnesota
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/204283061.html?refer=y
Role of extracellular membrane vesicles in intercellular communication of the tumour microenvironment.
http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12683&postid=3438216
http://www.med.lu.se/english/klinvetlund/tumor_microenvironment
Differential protein profiling of renal cell carcinoma urinary exosomes
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/mb/c3mb25582d
Identification and proteomic profiling of exosomes in human cerebrospinal fluid.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/221726370_Identification_and_proteomic_profiling_of_exosomes_in_human_cerebrospinal_fluid
Identification and proteomic profiling of exosomes in human cerebrospinal fluid
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3275480/
Little molecule makes big difference in bladder cancer metastasis
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-molecule-big-difference-bladder-cancer.html
Riding the exosome shuttle from neuron to muscle
http://www.umassmed.edu/news/2013/research/riding-the-exosome-shuttle-from-neuron-to-muscle.aspx
Biomarker World Congress
http://www.biomarkerworldcongress.com/
Biomarkers and Applications of Exosomes
http://selectbiosciences.com/conferences/index.aspx?conf=BAE2013
ISEV 2013 Boston 12th Annual Frye Halloran -
The Educational Symposium of ISEV
EXOSOMES AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS
Massachusetts General Hospital - April 16, 2013
The Frye - Halloran Symposium is an annual event that aims to facilitate the transition of promising innovations from the laboratory to the care of the patient. Noteworthy past symposia have included the introduction of micro dialysis for real-time in situ measurement of activated drugs, the identification of novel MRI signal changes as markers of the effect of angiogenesis inhibitors, the development of therapies based upon viral vectors and cell-based immunizations, and racial diversity in glioma patient populations. This past conference led to the identification of IDH1 mutations as biomarkers for the diagnosis of brain tumors.
The 2013 symposium, taking place at the Massachusetts General Hospital on April 16, brings together international exosome experts to address the molecular revolution by which cell derived microparticles can provide diagnosis of gliomas, can be used to biomark for response and prognosis and offer the possibility of novel therapeutics. With the identification of glioma specific recurrent mutations in the last 5 years, we are now on the cusp of translating these molecular discoveries into meaningful clinical strategies for patient care. Exosome studies will play a major role in these advances. The symposium will provide clinicians with a working understanding of this emerging field, set the stage for upcoming clinical trials and opportunities for collaboration. Most importantly observations linking exosomes to the nervous system can be extrapolated to a wider range of infectious diseases and immunologic control mechanisms.
The one day Frye Halloran Educational Symposium will be divided into 3 sessions:
Session 1: Definitions and Basic Understanding of Exosomes and Extracellular MicroVesicles
Session 2: Application of Analytics to the Identification of Exosomes in Biofluids
Session 3: Clinical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Studies of Exosomes in the Nervous System
We envision the meeting to be of interest to clinicians and laboratory scientists in the fields of neurology, neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, neuropathology, radiation oncology, neuroradiology, nursing and other specialties involved in the research, diagnosis, care and treatment of patients with neurological conditions.
http://www.frye-halloran.org/
UCSF Works to Identify and Treat Sepsis Patients Earlier
http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/03/13631/ucsf-works-identify-and-treat-sepsis-patients-earlier
Sepsis drug fails to help in clinical trial
http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/03/sepsis
"There’s also another phase 3 trial using a hemoperfusion column where they take the blood of septic patients, pass it across a filtration column to absorb endotoxin, other microbial mediators, and host derived inflammatory mediators. The blood is then reperfused back into the patient. It’s a blood purification strategy. It’s the same sort of idea as hemodialysis." - What / which product is he referring to? Does CTSO have anything in phase 3 ???
World Viruses & Infectious Disease Online Symposium
http://www.targetmeeting.com//Modules/Symposia/SymposiaDetails.aspx?Id=4
Cancer clinics are turning away thousands of Medicare patients. Blame the sequester.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/03/cancer-clinics-are-turning-away-thousands-of-medicare-patients-blame-the-sequester/?hpid=z1
Dengue cases may be 4 times more common than known
http://news.yahoo.com/dengue-cases-may-4-times-more-common-known-171853820.html
Time to pass the Torch
Friends, I have been the moderator of the AEMD board at iHub for a while. As I have mentioned in the past, the main reason I had taken up that post was because there was no moderator for a while and also, very few (almost none!) posts for a long long time. I was genuinely concerned that the role would be taken over by a basher or a day trader or someone along those lines.
Along with assuming a role like this comes responsibility and I have tried my best for a long time to fill in with relevant material I would find on line. Because of family issues, I find it hard to have personal time to take care of this board. I am still heavily invested in AEMD and have not sold a single share in the past few years. I feel the leadership has done an amazing job in bringing the company to where it is currently and establishing partnerships with topnotch institutions. It is a "disruptive" technology - a different application in medicine and that is why I feel, it is not an overnight sensation. There is no single drug available which is proven to be safe and has so many proven life saving and economical applications. It would be at least a multi-million dollar drug if approved, for each application.
Over the past few months, we have had several intelligent and well informed investors posting on this board. It would be good for all of us if someone can apply for the role of an assistant moderator and subsequently as the moderator as I step down.
Sincerely,
ANESRI
The microcosmos of cancer
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v482/n7385/full/nature10888.html
Cuomo Plans New Rules in Fight Against Sepsis
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/nyregion/cuomo-to-order-hospitals-to-use-new-sepsis-procedures.html?_r=0
Happy and Healthy New Year Wishes to everyone and their families.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year to all.
Wishing for a "breakout" year for AEMD too.
Capturing circulating cancer cells could provide insights into how disease spreads
http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21031-capturing-circulating-cancer-cells-could-provide-insights-into-how-disease-spreads
CDC RELEASES DATA ON NEW CASES OF HIV
http://blog.aids.gov/2012/12/cdc-releases-data-on-new-cases-of-hiv.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+aids%2Fgov+%28Blog.AIDS.gov%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data on HIV incidence in the United States from 2007 to 2010. There were an estimated 47,500 new HIV infections in 2010, and incidence remains relatively stable at about 50,000. Data from this report also show two noteworthy trends; first, between 2008 and 2010, new HIV infections among African American women declined 21 percent, giving us cause for cautious optimism. Secondly, however, there was an increase in incidence of 22 percent among young gay and bisexual men aged 13 to 24 years.
While we are encouraged to see declines among African American women, they remain one of the most severely affected populations. As for youth, last month’s Vital Signs focused on the issue of HIV among youth aged 13 to 24 years in the United States, among whom 72 percent of all new infections were attributable to male-to-male sex. In addition, 54 percent of new HIV infections were among African-American and 20% were among Hispanic/Latino gay and bisexual youth.
These new data establish a baseline for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) goal of decreasing new HIV infections by 25 percent by 2015. CDC is using a High Impact Prevention approach to programs, policy, and research, and partnering with state and local health departments, community-based and national organizations, and multiple federal agencies such as the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Services Health Administration (SAMSHA), to have the greatest effect possible on HIV prevention and care.
To reach this NHAS goal, we need to continue to have national involvement in HIV prevention and care from all parts of society, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities and organizations, African-American and Latino leaders, and everyone who has, or is affected by, HIV. We can’t afford for a new and vibrant generation to lose its health to a preventable disease.
Note from AIDS.gov: On the CDC website you can find a fact sheet on this data.
Men's cancer risk to climb to one in two as research drives up survival
Wednesday 19 December 2012
Cancer Research UK Press Release
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/news/archive/pressrelease/2012-12-19-lifetime-cancer-risk-for-men-to-climb-to-one-in-two?rss=true
A man's lifetime risk of developing cancer is set to reach one in two by 2027 according to new Cancer Research UK figures released today (Wednesday).
This prediction means that within 15 years 50 men out of every 100 are likely to be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime as opposed to 44 out of every 100 in 2010.
Women’s lifetime cancer risk is also increasing and is predicted to rise from 40 to 44 out of every 100 women by 2027.
Set against this is the fact that cancer survival has doubled in the last 40 years thanks to research developing better techniques to detect the disease and improved treatments to increase survival. So while the risk of being diagnosed with cancer is rising, the overall chance of surviving it is improving.
Age is the biggest risk factor for cancer and the increase in risk is largely due to more people living longer. As our lifespan increases more people will reach an age when they are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer.
These projections are released ahead of a new Cancer Research UK TV advertising campaign launching on Boxing Day that is designed to highlight that it is only through research that cancer will be beaten.
The cancers set to increase most in the next 15 years include prostate, bowel and melanoma.
Prostate cancer remains a continuing challenge. Cases of the disease are rising but it is not yet possible to distinguish which prostate cancers will be life-threatening and which won’t.
Professor Malcolm Mason, Cancer Research UK’s prostate cancer expert, said: “Prostate cancer needs research. We have many questions and research is key to providing answers about the disease. As our population ages, growing numbers of men will be diagnosed with the disease. Over the last 40 years prostate cancer incidence rates in Great Britain have tripled, and three-quarters of cases are diagnosed in men aged over 65 years.”
One example of where research may lead us is the earlier work from Cancer Research UK scientists that indicates a protein called MSMB may help identify men at greater risk of prostate cancer. The researchers showed that this protein seems more accurately linked to prostate cancer than the marker currently tested for – the prostate specific antigen (PSA).
Professor Mason added: “It’s men at higher risk of the disease who might benefit most from screening, and targeting screening to these men could be a better approach than screening all men. Further work is needed to prove if this test could be useful but it’s only through continued research that we’ll be able to offer improved tests to reduce the number of men who die from the disease.”
Research has also already led to an improvement in the way bowel cancer is diagnosed and prevented. A 16-year Cancer Research UK trial which showed how a one-off flexi-scope test* could reduce the number of deaths from bowel cancer by almost half (43 per cent), and the number of new cases by a third, in those who take up the screening test.
Professor Wendy Atkin, Cancer Research UK’s bowel cancer screening expert who led the research on flexi-scope screening, said: “Our research showed for the first time that we could dramatically reduce the incidence of bowel cancer, and the number of people dying from the disease, by using this one-off test.
“Our work is a fantastic example of the benefits that research can bring. There is no other way we would be able to develop new treatments, know whether a new treatment is better or worse and know who should receive it.”
Work by Cancer Research UK and others around the world has led to a number of promising new treatments for advanced melanoma that are bringing hope to patients. It is also critical to continue efforts to prevent the disease, as most cases are caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and sunbeds.
Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “These figures provide a glimpse into the future. On the plus side our life expectancy is increasing but this also means more of us are likely to be diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s only through research that we will be able to beat cancer. We need to do more work to understand what drives cancer and how we can prevent it, as well as developing new treatments to reduce the number of people who will die from it.
“Understanding the biology of cancer is rather like completing a complex jigsaw puzzle. Many pieces have already fallen into place but we need more research before we can complete the picture. And thanks to the generosity of the public, our world class scientists are playing a leading role in beating this devastating disease.”
Vertex hepatitis C drug Incivek gets 'black box' warning over possible fatal skin condition
Vertex drug label to warn on possible fatal rash
The FDA says patients taking the pill in combination with two other treatments should stop immediately if they develop a rash that grows worse or comes with symptoms like a fever, diarrhea or mouth sores.
Patients taking this drug can develop a rash that covers more than half the body.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. says the drug's labeling had already warned that patients with a serious skin reaction should stop. The new warning is much more prominent on the label.
Incivek is taken with the pill ribavirin and interferon, which is given by injection. A black box warning is the most serious form of safety warning.
http://www.newser.com/article/da3915a83/vertex-hepatitis-c-drug-incivek-gets-black-box-warning-over-possible-fatal-skin-condition.html
Metastasis discovery may improve cancer treatment
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/nov/29/cancer-metastasis-mechanism-discovered/
HCV superinfection and reinfection
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23221168
Projected future increase in aging hepatitis C virus–infected liver transplant candidates: A potential effect of hepatocellular carcinoma
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lt.23551/abstract
"By 2015, we anticipate that an increasing proportion of new registrants with HCV will have HCC and be =60 years old (born in or before 1955). In conclusion, the greatest demand for LT due to HCV-associated liver disease is occurring among individuals born between 1941 and 1960. This demand appears to be driven by the development of HCC in patients with HCV. During the coming decade, the projected increase in the demand for LT from an aging HCV-infected population will challenge the transplant community to reconsider current treatment paradigms. Liver Transpl, 2012. © 2012 AASLD."
The high comorbidity burden of the hepatitis C virus infected population in the United States
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/12/86
Discussion
To our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically profile non-selected comorbidities in an HCV population. Nearly every HCV patient in our study had at least one comorbidity, and in general, these comorbidities were more common in the overall HCV infected case patients compared to the uninfected controls. In addition, comorbidities covered a wide range of diseases and symptoms affecting a number of body systems. Our findings substantiate that HCV is a systemic disease with many extra-hepatic features which highlight the urgency to treat these extra-hepatic conditions regardless of the liver disease itself. Individualized anti-viral treatment decisions for HCV infection should weigh the potential risks and benefits of both hepatic and extra-hepatic manifestations to increase the likelihood of treatment success.
Our insured study population reported a 47% current treatment rate, which is comparable to treatment rates (10-51%) in other US medical claims database studies [20-22]. There are multiple reasons why HCV patients may not be treated which include disease stage, patient choice and lack of access to liver specialists [23]. Non-liver specialists may decide that the patient is ineligible for treatment based on a list of contraindications, whereas liver specialists may otherwise safely treat the patient with relative contraindications (i.e. patients with cirrhosis and moderate thrombocytopenia) since most treatment regimens are individualized to achieve maximal sustained virological response. Treatment rates appear to be declining in the US, and it is estimated that from 2002-2030, only 14.5% of liver-related deaths caused by HCV will be prevented [24]; therefore, it is urgent to understand what barriers may exist that are preventing treatment uptake as the burden of HCV morbidity and mortality increases.
Up to one-third of our HCV population had a comorbidity that could potentially make them ineligible for antiviral HCV treatment. This indicates that a high proportion of the HCV population could potentially receive effective treatment if their comorbid conditions could be managed. A recent review has reported that the benefits of treatment can potentially reach a wider HCV population by including targeted groups such as active drug users and persons those with psychiatric illnesses [25]. These patients were able to complete antiviral therapy, achieve a sustained virological response, and did not develop adverse events that would require discontinuation of treatment. However, it was recommended that individualized management of these patients could be integrated within addiction and treatment services [26]. These studies suggest that some comorbidities can be effectively managed, increasing access to HCV treatment with successful outcomes.
Our findings confirm previous studies as we consistently observed the known comorbidities associated with HCV antiviral treatment and disease among our top ranked list, highlighting that our systematic evaluation supports how common these conditions are among the HCV infected population. However, three conditions, benign neoplasms, genitourinary symptoms, and viral infections, were identified in our ranked list and have not been previously reported to be associated with treatment or disease progression. The prevalence of benign neoplasms were mainly of the large bowel and skin (trunk and unspecified sites), which could possibly be explained by metastasis to these sites among HCV patients with HCC but its pathophysiology is unclear and warrants further study [27,15]. In our study, the prevalence of HCC was low, but we cannot exclude the possibility that this may be an underestimation if patients were diagnosed prior to the study period. HCV patients with genitourinary symptoms were mainly of hematuria and proteinuria [28] which could be clinical manifestations of glomerular kidney disease that is known to be associated with cryoglobulinemia and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis [29]. For the unexpected finding of viral infections, the significance is difficult to interpret given the lack of specificity as almost half the cases were coded as non-specific viral infections.
Our HCV infected population was more likely to report comorbidities than the uninfected controls. This may be explained in part by the higher-risk or unhealthy behavior (e.g., alcohol and drug users) of those infected with HCV, making them more vulnerable to acquire new morbidities than the uninfected population. Indeed, prevalence of alcohol use and drug-use were much higher among the HCV infected compared to the uninfected population (alcohol; 7% vs. < 1%; drug use 15% vs. 3%, respectively). In addition, HCV-infected patients with health insurance may have closer follow-up care and higher rates of screening for other diseases than the uninfected, hence increasing the reporting of conditions. HCV-infected patients may also have more comorbidities because of the illness itself, which may place them at higher risk for other conditions. However, we identified disorders of lipid metabolism to be significantly lower among the HCV population compared to the uninfected population. This finding is not clearly understood since HCV infection is associated with enhanced lipogenesis that may lead to the pathological development of steatosis and metabolic syndromes such as insulin resistance, obesity, and HCC [18].