MEDSCAPE's Infectious Diseases MedPulse

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MedPulse is a weekly index of key news and features on Medscape's

specialty sites compiled by Medscape's Editors.

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___________________ NEW FEATURE ARTICLES THIS WEEK ____________________

- - MMWR - -

NOTICE TO READERS: USE OF ONSITE TECHNOLOGIES FOR RAPIDLY ASSESSING

ENVIRONMENTAL BACILLUS ANTHRACIS CONTAMINATION ON SURFACES IN BUILDINGS

Laboratory-based PCR can be used in preliminary assessments and as

adjuncts to microbiologic methods. However, results from these rapid

tests should not be the basis for clinical decisions.

MMWR 50(48):1087, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/46073.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46073.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

UPDATE: INVESTIGATION OF BIOTERRORISM-RELATED ANTHRAX --- CONNECTICUT, 2001

The investigation in CT has not identified any additional cases of

anthrax through prospective and retrospective surveillance.

MMWR 50(48):1077-1079, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/46051.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46051.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

PUBLIC HEALTH DISPATCH: UPDATE: UNEXPLAINED DEATHS FOLLOWING KNEE

SURGERY --- MINNESOTA, 2001

As of December 4, neither surveillance in Minnesota by MDH nor enhanced

case finding by CDC outside of Minnesota and follow-up of reports to CDC

have identified any additional cases of C. sordellii infection

associated with severe hemodynamic collapse or death in patients

recently undergoing knee or large joint surgery.

MMWR 50(48):1080, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/46054.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46054.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

SEPTIC ARTHRITIS FOLLOWING ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION USING TENDON ALLOGRAFTS --- FLORIDA AND LOUISIANA, 2000

Allograft contamination should be suspected when septic arthritis occurs

after its use, especially when the infection is polymicrobial or

associated with Gram-negative organisms.

MMWR 50(48):1081-1083, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/46071.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46071.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

INFLUENZA ACTIVITY --- UNITED STATES, 2001--02 SEASON

The four influenza surveillance system components indicated low levels

of influenza activity in the United States during September 30-November

24. However, 2 influenza A outbreaks were detected in November and

influenza activity is expected to increase during the next few weeks to

months. The 2001-02 influenza vaccine strains are well matched to the

influenza isolates that have been characterized antigenically this

season.

MMWR 50(48):1084-1086, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/46072.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46072.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

- - AIDS/HIV - -

OPTIMAL TREATMENT OF NEVIRAPINE-ASSOCIATED HEPATOTOXICITY REMAINS

UNCERTAIN

Nevirapine, a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, is an agent

recommended as part of combination therapy for the treatment of HIV

infection.

The AIDS Reader 11(11):577-580

http://id.medscape.com/46047.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46047.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

FIGHTING VIRUS WITH VIRUS? GB VIRUS C AND HIV COINFECTIONS

In each of the past 2 editions of Wormser's textbook AIDS and Other

Manifestations of HIV Infection, I've contributed a chapter entitled,

'Viral cofactors in the immune pathogenesis and clinical manifestations

of HIV infection.'

The AIDS Reader 11(11):539-540, 2001.

http://id.medscape.com/46129.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46129.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LIVING WITH HIV DISEASE

Most patients with serious, progressive illness confront a range of

psychological challenges, including the prospect of real and anticipated

losses, worsening quality of life, the fear of physical decline and

death, and coping with uncertainty.

West J Med 175(5):332-335, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/46130.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46130.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- Others --

RECOMBINANT HUMAN ACTIVATED PROTEIN C, DROTRECOGIN ALFA (ACTIVATED): A

NOVEL THERAPY FOR SEVERE SEPSIS

Sepsis remains a major cause of death in hospitalized patients. Despite

a massive research effort over the past 2 decades to identify innovative

therapies for sepsis, current treatment strategies consist primarily of

antiinfective agents and a variety of supportive measures.

Pharmacotherapy 21(11):1389-1402, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/46064.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46064.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

FOCUS ON CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

The Chronic Kidney Disease Resource Center gives you the latest

news and clinical information on cause, treatment and prevention

of renal disease, including conference summaries, Ask the Expert

forums, clinical management modules, practice guidelines, and related

Internet links. http://www.medscape.com/mp/rc/usmd/ckd

_______________________________________________________________________

___________________________________ NEWS ______________________________

-- HIV --

CD4 T NORMALIZATION INDEPENDENT OF AGE IN HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN ON HAART

The ability of HIV-infected children receiving highly active

antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to normalize CD4 lymphocyte cell counts

is not associated with age, which indicates that children in all age

groups can meet CD4 T production demands, Dutch researchers report.

http://id.medscape.com/45952.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/45952.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

FASTER AND CHEAPER HIV GENOTYPIC AZT RESISTANCE ASSAY DEVELOPED

A team of AIDS researchers say they have developed and validated a

genotypic ligase chain reaction (LCR)-based AZT resistance assay that is

less costly and less time-consuming than currently available genotypic

resistance assays.

http://id.medscape.com/45958.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/45958.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

TB RECURRENCE HIGH AFTER SHORT-COURSE TREATMENT IN HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS

HIV-infected patients are at significantly greater risk than those

without such infection of having a relapse or recurrence of tuberculosis

after apparently successful short-term treatment, according to New York

researchers.

http://id.medscape.com/46157.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46157.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

CHLOROQUINE INHIBITS IN VITRO REPLICATION OF HIV-1 AND HIV-2

The anti-malarial drug chloroquine exerts broad-spectrum anti-HIV-1 and

HIV-2 activity by altering the viral envelope gp120 glycoprotein

investigators report.

http://id.medscape.com/46166.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46166.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

LANDMARK DEAL REACHED BETWEEN AIDS RESEARCH GROUP, SAMOANS ON HIV DRUG

After 10 years of research and negotiations, ethnobotanist Dr. Paul Cox

delivered on a financial promise when the AIDS Research Alliance of

America (ARA) agreed Thursday to return 20% of any commercial revenues

from a promising anti-HIV compound called prostratin to the people of

Samoa.

http://id.medscape.com/46167.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46167.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

CAMBODIAN HIV PATIENTS SELF-TREAT VIA UNREGULATED PHARMACIES

Public health officials here are warning that HIV-infected patients are

bypassing both doctors and prescriptions, and heading directly to

pharmacies for uncontrolled and unmonitored access to medication.

http://id.medscape.com/46004.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46004.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

CRYSTAL STRUCTURE SOLVED FOR CELL SURFACE RECEPTORS INVOLVED IN HIV

INFECTION

Researchers have identified the crystal structure of two cell surface

receptors used by the HIV virus in infecting T cells.

http://id.medscape.com/46007.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46007.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

GUIDELINES FOR INITIATING HAART SHOULD PLACE GREATER EMPHASIS ON CD4+ COUNT

Current guidelines for initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy

(HAART) in asymptomatic HIV-infected persons should place greater

emphasis on CD4+ cell count than on viral load, according to a report in

the journal AIDS for November 23.

http://id.medscape.com/45978.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/45978.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

HIGH HIV RNA LEVELS PREDICT DISCONTINUATION OF POTENT HAART

HIV-infected women with high HIV RNA levels are more likely to

discontinue potent antiretroviral therapy (ART), resulting in

significant reductions in CD4 cell counts and further increases in viral

load.

http://id.medscape.com/46015.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46015.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

HOUSE PASSES AIDS TRUST FUND BILL

The United States could contribute $1.3 billion to fight HIV and AIDS in

the developing world under legislation approved by the House of

Representatives Tuesday.

http://id.medscape.com/46029.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46029.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

AFRICA'S ACCESS TO HIV ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS GAINS MOMENTUM

Global partnerships between United Nations agencies and major

pharmaceutical companies are slowly widening access to antiretroviral

drugs to treat Africans who have HIV infection, according to UN

officials.

http://id.medscape.com/46037.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46037.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

AFRICA NEEDS $5 BILLION EACH YEAR TO FIGHT AIDS ACCORDING TO UN

Africa needs $5 billion a year to fight HIV/AIDS--10 times the amount

currently being spent on combating the disease, the head of the United

Nations AIDS group said.

http://id.medscape.com/46023.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46023.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

DRUG-RESISTANCE GENOTYPING KITS NOT RELIABLE FOR ALL HIV-1 SUBTYPES

Commercial kits for detecting genotypic drug resistance in non-B

subtypes of HIV-1 can give discrepant results, according to a report in

the November 1st Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

http://id.medscape.com/46077.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46077.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

INCREASED T CELL DESTRUCTION RESPONSIBLE FOR HIV-INDUCED CELL LOSS

Increased T cell proliferation and destruction rather than decreased

production is responsible for the T cell loss that accompanies HIV

infection, according to two recent studies in the Journal of

Experimental Medicine (JEM).

http://id.medscape.com/46042.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46042.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

CIPLA OFFERS CHEAP ANTIFUNGAL DRUG FOR AIDS-RELATED DISEASES

Indian drugmaker Cipla Ltd, the supplier of cheap drugs to a large

Nigerian AIDS treatment programme, said on Wednesday it now planned to

supply affordable drugs to treat opportunistic diseases resulting from

AIDS.

http://id.medscape.com/46095.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46095.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- HEPATITIS --

AVENTIS PASTEUR MSD RECALLS HEPATITIS VACCINE

Aventis Pasteur MSD, the European vaccines joint venture set up by Merck

and Aventis, announced the recall of all stocks of its VAQTA hepatitis A

vaccine this week because of concerns it might not be potent enough to

protect people against the travel disease.

http://id.medscape.com/45962.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/45962.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- INFLUENZA --

MORE AGGRESSIVE FLU AND PNEUMOCOCCAL IMMUNIZATION RECOMMENDED IN US

Many US physicians do not recommend strongly enough that elderly people

and other high-risk individuals receive influenza and pneumococcal

vaccinations, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine

for December 10. Both generalists and subspecialists are missing many

opportunities to promote immunization for their patients, Dr. Kristin L.

Nichol from the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis,

Minnesota, told Reuters Health.

http://id.medscape.com/45970.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/45970.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- SMALLPOX --

SMALLPOX TRANSMISSION POTENTIAL CLARIFIED

In contemporary populations, one primary smallpox infection is likely to

lead to 3.5 to 6 secondary cases, according to a report published in the

December 13th issue of Nature.

http://id.medscape.com/46102.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46102.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- EBOLA --

GABON CORDONS OFF VILLAGE AFTER EBOLA OUTBREAK

Gabon has cordoned off a remote forest village to stop an outbreak of

the deadly Ebola virus thought to have killed at least 10 people, health

authorities said on Monday.

http://id.medscape.com/46003.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46003.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

WHO TEAM IN GABON TO HELP CONTAIN EBOLA OUTBREAK

A team of World Health Organisation (WHO) epidemiology experts prepared

on Tuesday to visit a remote village in Gabon where the Ebola virus is

thought to have killed at least 10 people.

http://id.medscape.com/46038.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46038.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

HUNT FOR EBOLA VIRUS TURNS TO DEAD PRIMATES

Reports of dead gorillas and chimpanzees in a central African forest are

being investigated for links to an outbreak of the Ebola virus, health

authorities in Gabon said Wednesday.

http://id.medscape.com/46105.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46105.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- MEASLES --

MEASLES EPIDEMICS TRAVEL IN WAVES FROM LARGE CITIES TO SMALL TOWNS

Using wavelet phase analysis, UK researchers have shown that measles

epidemics travel in hierarchical waves beginning in large cities and

spreading to small towns.

http://id.medscape.com/46171.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46171.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

AUTISM LINK TO MMR VACCINATION IN UK AGAIN DISMISSED

Autism now affects as many as six in every 1000 children but there is no

evidence linking the rising incidence to measles, mumps and rubella

(MMR) vaccination, British experts said on Thursday.

http://id.medscape.com/46103.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46103.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- HEPATITIS --

HBV VACCINATION SAFE IN NEONATES

Hepatitis B vaccine administration within the first 21 days of life is

not associated with an increase in febrile episodes, allergic or

neurologic events or suspected sepsis, according to the results of a

study conducted at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center.

http://id.medscape.com/46081.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46081.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- MONONUCLEOSIS --

RETURN TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MAY PREVENT POST-MONONUCLEOSIS FATIGUE

Physical deconditioning contributes to prolonged fatigue after a bout of

infectious mononucleosis, British investigators report.

http://id.medscape.com/46010.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46010.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- PNEUMONIA --

S PNEUMONIAE AND H INFLUENZAE PREVAIL AFTER ACUTE OTITIS MEDIA TREATMENT

Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae are the most

commonly recovered organisms after an aminopenicillin has been used to

treat acute otitis media, according to a recent report.

http://id.medscape.com/46012.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46012.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- MALARIA --

MALARIA VACCINE MAY SELECT FOR INCREASED PATHOGEN VIRULENCE

'Imperfect' or partially effective vaccines, such as those for malaria,

may increase overall population mortality because they promote increased

parasite virulence, British investigators report in the December 13th

issue of Nature.

http://id.medscape.com/46107.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46107.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- MENINGITIS --

CLINICAL ASSESSMENT MAY OBVIATE NEED FOR CT IN PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED MENINGITIS

Patients with suspected meningitis who meet certain clinical criteria

may not require a head CT prior to undergoing lumbar puncture, according

to a report published in the December 13th issue of The New England

Journal of Medicine.

http://id.medscape.com/46089.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46089.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

-- OTHER --

HOUSE PASSES BIOTERRORISM BILL

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a

$2.9 billion dollar bill intended to better prepare the nation for a

potential bioterror attack.

http://id.medscape.com/46096.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46096.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

FDA ASKS COURT TO HOLD AMERICAN RED CROSS IN CONTEMPT OF CONSENT DECREE

The US Food and Drug Administration has asked the US District Court for

the District of Columbia to hold the American Red Cross (ARC) in

contempt of a 1993 consent decree covering the organization's blood

program, which supplies roughly 45% of the nation's blood supply.

http://id.medscape.com/46185.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46185.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

SICKLE CELL ABNORMALITIES IN MICE CORRECTED BY NEW GENE THERAPY

A new gene therapy developed by a multinational team of investigators

corrects sickle cell abnormalities in mice, according to a report in the

December 14th issue of Science.

http://id.medscape.com/46187.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46187.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

BLOOD CONTAMINATION INQUIRY IN ITALY WILL NOT NAME GOVERNMENT AS INJURED PARTY

The trial involving former representatives of the Italian Ministry of

Health over HIV- and hepatitis-contaminated blood took a new turn on

Monday as judge Giorgio Flaim ruled out the possibility that the Health

Ministry would attend as an injured party during the preliminary

hearing.

http://id.medscape.com/46097.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46097.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

THROMBOTIC THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA GENE IDENTIFIED

A mutation in a newly identified member of the ADAMTS protease family is

the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for thrombotic

thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), according to research presented here at

the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

http://id.medscape.com/45988.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/45988.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

BINGE DRINKING BLAMED FOR RISE IN UK LIVER DISEASE

Heavy alcohol consumption and binge drinking is to blame for a sharp

rise in deaths from liver disease, the chief medical officer for England

said on Monday.

http://id.medscape.com/46001.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46001.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES INCREASE RISK OF C TROPICALIS FUNGEMIA

Leukemia and prolonged neutropenia are among the risk factors for

Candida tropicalis infection in cancer patients, according to

researchers at the University of Texas.

http://id.medscape.com/46014.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46014.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

SENSITIVITY OF RAPID ANTIGEN TEST FOR STREP THROAT VARIES

There is no fixed value for the sensitivity of the rapid antigen test

for group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) pharyngitis, according

to a report in the December issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

http://id.medscape.com/46018.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46018.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

S AUREUS DETECTED IN UK HOSPITAL SPA AND HYDROTHERAPY POOLS

The results of a new survey, published in the current issue of

Communicable Disease and Public Health, have raised concerns about the

level of potentially harmful bacteria in UK hospitals' spa and

hydrotherapy pools.

http://id.medscape.com/46026.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46026.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

NESTED PCR GUIDES ANTIFUNGAL THERAPY IN CANCER PATIENTS

Early diagnosis and treatment of fungal infections in febrile patients

with neutropenia and cancer remain 'major challenges' for physicians.

http://id.medscape.com/46085.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46085.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

CHOLERA OUTBREAK KILLS 81 IN MOZAMBIQUE

A cholera outbreak in 7 Mozambican provinces has killed 81 people and

another 6000 are infected with the pathogen, but the government is

bringing the disease under control, the country's deputy health minister

said Wednesday.

http://id.medscape.com/46094.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46094.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

CDC SUSPECTS COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS OUTBREAK

A UK resident has been diagnosed with coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever)

after attending a model airplane show in Kern County California in

October, and more cases among attendees could exist, according to the US

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

http://id.medscape.com/46170.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46170.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

GOVERNMENT ADVISORS SPLIT ON NEED FOR FURTHER STUDY OF SIMIAN FOAMY VIRUS

Expert advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were

divided on Thursday on whether to recommend that the agency proceed with

a study to determine whether the simian foamy virus (SFV) can be spread

through the transfusion of blood and blood products.

http://id.medscape.com/46184.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46184.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

H PYLORI'S CAGA DEREGULATES GASTRIC CELL PROTEIN TO INDUCE ABNORMAL

PROLIFERATION

Translocation of Helicobacter pylori's CagA protein into gastric

epithelial cells dysregulates a cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase and

leads to increased risk of gastric cancer, Japanese investigators report

in Science Express for December 13.

http://id.medscape.com/46188.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/46188.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

ZINC USE REDUCES INFECTIOUS DISEASE MORTALITY IN LOW-BIRTHWEIGHT INFANTS

Zinc supplementation is linked to a substantial reduction in infectious

disease mortality in infants born small for gestational age, according

to a report published in the December issue of Pediatrics.

http://id.medscape.com/45965.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/45965.rhtml?srcmp=id-121401"> Read it

Here</a>

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