Press Release: ‘CDC Analysis Provides New Look at Disproportionate Impact of HIV and Syphilis Among U.S. Gay and Bisexual Men’
A data analysis released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscores the disproportionate impact of HIV and syphilis among gay and bisexual men in the United States.
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Cruise Ship Norovirus Outbreaks Halt Ship : Food Poisoning Law Blog
CNN is reporting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made a No Sail recommendation for four full days on the Celebrity Mercury cru. See more here: Cruise Ship Norovirus Outbreaks Halt Ship : Food Poisoning Law Blog
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NIH, AHRQ, and CDC Propose to Eliminate Grant Application Error-Correction Window
The National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a notice in the March 12, 2010 Federal Register: Request for Comments on Proposed NIH, AHRQ and CDC Process Change for Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
NIH, AHRQ, and CDC are seeking comments from the public on the impact of eliminating the correction window from the electronic grant application submission process on applicant organizations and the timing of such a change.
More details are available in the Federal Register request for comments. Comments must be received by April 19, 2010, and may be submitted on a web form or by email to oer@od.nih.gov.
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CDC docks Celebrity Mercury over continued passenger illness outbreaks
CNN and USA TODAY are reporting that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a “no sail” warning for the Celebrity Mercury sailing out of Charleston, South Carolina. CNN quoted a CDC official stating the agency has yet to determine why earlier containment procedures have failed. CNN says CDC officials are currently onboard [...]
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Study Results Leave Search for New Diabetes and Heart Disease Treatments Unresolved
Treatment with the anti-hypertensive drug valsartan (Diovan) led to a modest reduction in the development of type 2 diabetes but did not significantly reduce cardiovascular events in patients with impaired glucose tolerance, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the University of Oxford.
They jointly reported results at the American College of Cardiology meeting today from the world’s first study designed to find ways to control the progression to diabetes and cardiovascular disease in people at risk.
The study also showed the blood sugar lowering drug nateglinide (Starlix), used to treat diabetes, proved ineffective at halting progression to diabetes, and had no significant impact on reducing cardiovascular events.
“This is a sobering confirmation of the need to continue to focus on lifestyle improvements while also accelerating the efforts to develop new treatments for the exploding epidemics of diabetes and cardiovascular disease around the world,” said Robert M. Califf, MD, Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research at Duke University School of Medicine, and Director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute.
He presented the results of the NAVIGATOR trial today with Rury Holman, MD, Professor of Diabetic Medicine and Director of the Diabetes Trials Unit, Oxford.
Simultaneous publication of the results appears online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“The diabetes epidemic is a major challenge for all health care systems,” Holman said. “We have effective treatments for lowering high blood sugar and high blood pressure, but we urgently need pharmacologic interventions that will minimize the likelihood of diabetes and heart disease in high risk populations.”
More than 150 million people worldwide have diabetes -- 90 percent of which is type 2. Global forecasts predict an increase in disease incidence of almost 50 percent by 2025.
Heart disease incidence will rise too as patients with diabetes are up to 10 times more likely to have higher rates of coronary artery disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease than people without diabetes.
The NAVIGATOR trial was designed to address whether established treatments for diabetes and blood pressure could also prevent the onset of diabetes and cardiovascular events in patients aged 50 or more who had impaired glucose tolerance and cardiovascular risk factors or cardiovascular disease.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,300 patients at 806 centers in 40 countries who were randomized to the two study drugs or placebo. All participants received a lifestyle modification program aimed at reducing body weight and dietary fat intake while increasing physical activity.
After about five years of follow-up, the researchers found nateglinide, an insulin secretion enhancer, did not reduce the incidence of diabetes. The disease developed in 36 percent (1,674) of the nateglinide group and 34 percent (1,580) of the placebo group. Nateglinide also had no significant effect on cardiovascular outcomes.
The angiotensin receptor blocker valsartan had a moderate effect on diabetes progression, with a 14 percent relative risk reduction (equating to 38 fewer cases of diabetes per 1000 participants treated for five years), but no significant impact on cardiovascular outcomes.
Califf and Holman say that administration of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) without the study drug created difficulties in interpreting the diabetes outcome for nateglinide.
Regardless, the researchers say the trial confirms the high risk of diabetes in the population studied, and reinforces the need to apply the known benefits of lifestyle modification and to continue the search for successful and safe medications.
“We must continue to develop new therapies while encouraging people to exercise and pay attention to what they eat,” said John McMurray, MD, Professor of Medical Cardiology at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and a member of the NAVIGATOR trial’s executive committee. “Losing as little as five percent of body weight has been shown to make a dramatic difference in other studies. NAVIGATOR participants lost weight on average showing that a relatively simple lifestyle program can make a difference.”
However, stated, McMurray, “In patients with hypertension in need of drug therapy, clinicians might consider an agent that demonstrated evidence to delay or prevent progression to diabetes, and not increase this risk, as may be the case with some antihypertensive treatments.”
“Until just a few years ago, drugs for diabetes were approved each year on the basis of nothing more than symptomatic relief or effects on putative surrogate markers of disease," Califf said. "The new FDA and EMEA requirements are now forcing studies of new drugs to modulate blood sugar to show whether or not they have an impact on cardiovascular disease prevention or development, and NAVIGATOR gives us a lot of information about issues in these long term studies. I commend the sponsor for having the courage to conduct this study before it was required and hope others will look closely at NAVIGATOR and incorporate the lessons into their trials.”
This research was funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
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Shopper cards provide answer to food-poisoning mystery
As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds across the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time—the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries. With permission from the patients, investigators followed the trail of grocery purchases to a Rhode Island company that makes salami, then zeroed in on the pepper used to season the meat.
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FDA March 11 Update on the Investigation into the Salmonella Montevideo Outbreak - (US Food & Drug Administration)
As part of the Salmonella Montevideo investigation, the Food and Drug Administration has been actively investigating the supply chain of black and red pepper supplied to Daniele International Inc., Pascoag, R.I.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 249 people have been infected with a matching strain of Salmonella Montevideo in at least 44 states and the District of Columbia. Analysis of an epidemiologic study comparing foods eaten by individuals who were sickened identified salami/salame as a possible source of illness: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/montevideo/index.html1.
Daniele International Inc. recalled a variety of ready-to-eat Italian-style meats after Salmonella was associated with its products. A complete listing of the recalled products, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service, can be found at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_006_2010_Products/index.asp.2
As a result of the investigation, a number of spice products are now being recalled by Mincing Overseas Spice Company, Dayton, N.J.; and Wholesome Spice Company, Brooklyn, N.Y. Both supply pepper to Daniele International Inc. Based on recent test results, Mincing Overseas Spice Company and Wholesome Spice Company are conducting new recalls.
For the complete recall notice, please go to http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm204147.htm
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CDC Study finds U.S. herpes rates remain high
1 in 6 Americans Infected; Highest Prevalence among Women and African-Americans -
About 1 in 6 Americans (16.2 percent) between the ages of 14 and 49 is infected with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), according to a national health survey released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HSV-2 is a lifelong and [...]
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CDC: Genital Herpes Among Black Women High
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says black women have the highest rates of herpes infection at 48 percent. Nationally, about 16 percent of Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes. Hilda Hutcherson, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University. offers her insight.
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New Study Finds One in Six Americans Has Herpes
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study yesterday saying that herpes now infects about one in six American adults ages 14-49.
The study found that the disease affects 21 percent of women and 11.5 percent of men and that blacks are three times more likely than whites to be infected. An estimated 48 percent of black women carry the disease.
BusinessWeek summarized the study, saying:
"The survey, conducted from 2005 through 2008, found the infection rate didn't change significantly from a previous report from 1999 to 2004.
"There's no cure for herpes, which has two forms. Herpes simplex virus type 1 typically causes blisters near the mouth known as cold sores or fever blisters. Type 2 creates blisters near the genitals. Most infected people don't know they have the virus and spread it to partners through sexual contact even when theyre not experiencing symptoms, according to the CDC.
" 'This study serves as a stark reminder that herpes remains a common and serious health threat,' said Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for STD Prevention. 'We are particularly concerned about persistent high rates of herpes among African-Americans, which is likely contributing to disproportionate rates of HIV in the black community.' "
Here are some additional resources from the CDC:
"What is genital herpes?"
"How common is genital herpes?"
"How do people get genital herpes?"
"What are the signs and symptoms of genital herpes?"
"What are the complications of genital herpes?"
"How is genital herpes diagnosed?"
"Is there a treatment for herpes?"
"How can herpes be prevented?"
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