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MS Societies In UK And Australia Provide International Research Opportunity
Worldwide collaborative ties among researchers investigating the debilitating neurological condition multiple sclerosis (MS) have been strengthened thanks to the introduction of the first UK and Australian Fellowship Exchange programme.

Low-income Breast Cancer Patients Skipping Hormonal Therapy, Increasing Their Risks
Many low-income women are failing to take the hormonal therapy prescribed as part of their breast cancer treatment, possibly lowering their survival rates, according to a study led by a researcher in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.
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Evidence Challenges Effectiveness Of Embryo Screening For Older Women
There is growing evidence that a procedure for identifying chromosomal abnormalities in embryos prior to in vitro fertilization is ineffective at helping older women become pregnant, the Wall Street Journal reports. The procedure -- known as pre-implantation genetic screening, or PGS -- is performed in dozen of U.S. fertility clinics and sometimes marketed to older women as a way to increase the odds of a healthy live birth. PGS involves extracting a single cell from a six-cell embryo and inspecting it for chromosomal abnormalities known as aneuploidies; unaffected embryos can then be implanted through IVF. Women older than age 35 have a higher risk of aneuploidies, in which embryos have fewer or more than the usual number of 23 pairs of chromosomes. Aneuploidies can trigger early miscarriage or certain genetics conditions, such as Down syndrome. Most medical experts agree that embryo screening is capable of significantly reducing the risk of Down syndrome and other serious chromosome-related illnesses. However, evidence from several studies increasingly suggests that the procedure does not increase older women"s chances of healthy live births. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine released an initial opinion about PGS in 2007, saying that available evidence does not support the use of embryo screening to increase live birth rates in older women. Andrew La Barbera, scientific director of the society, said, "Since that time, there have been several more trials that have reached the same conclusion." Another shortcoming is that most clinics can only test for fewer than half of the 23 chromosomes, meaning that many defects can go undetected. However, medical experts say that the use of PGS has increased in the two years since ASRM issued its recommendations. According to the Journal, PGS can add more than $2,000 to the roughly $10,000 cost of one IVF cycle. Very few health insurers cover PGS, though some pay for IVF. Some experts contend that studies showing a lack of clinical benefit from PGS do not use more efficient biopsy techniques that can prevent damage to the embryo. Santiago Munne, scientific director for Reprogenetics, said that the treatment is "effective." In a 2007 study, Munne and colleagues used PGS to reduce the rate at which patients miscarried. However, the chances of a woman getting pregnant largely were unchanged, which the authors said could be attributed to the small number of study participants (Naik, Wall Street Journal, 6/1).
Nutrition

A New Way The Body Fights Fungal Infection Discovered By Researchers At Case Western Reserve

A team of researchers led by Amy G. Hise, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, is the first to discover how the body fights off oral yeast infections caused by the most common human fungal pathogen, Candida. As fungal infections become more resistant to current drugs, this groundbreaking research may directly lead to the development of new drugs and therapies that will help limit and/or prevent Candida infections in the future for millions of sufferers. Candida albicans is the most common species of the Candida fungus and is the leading cause of vaginal and oral yeast infections, including thrush and denture stomatitis. It is the fourth most common hospital acquired bloodborne pathogen in the United States and surprisingly, it is present in the mouths of 30 to 50 percent of healthy adults. Because of the widespread nature of Candida, the potential for overgrowth and infection is common in the young, elderly, immuno-compromised and people receiving corticosteroid or chemotherapy treatments. The findings, published in Cell, Host and Microbe, identified the critical role of a protein, interleukin-1í² or IL-1í², secreted by a variety of cells in the human immune system to protect the body from oral colonization by Candida albicans and preventing it from spreading to infect host tissue and blood. The study defines the precise mechanism by which the body"s immune cells produce IL-1í² following contact with Candida albicans. Further, it shows that a complex of proteins, collectively termed the NLRP3 inflammasome, function to produce IL-1í² from an inactive, precursor form into a form that can be secreted by cells and subsequently function to modulate the immune system and its responses. This research clarifies a number of mechanisms and pathways that may be therapeutic targets to help alleviate and/or eliminate Candida overgrowth and its accompanying symptoms, such as pain and discomfort, swelling, burning sensation of affected area, difficulty swallowing, in individuals suffering from infections. The findings of Dr. Hise"s laboratory will open many new avenues of research in fungal infections. One direction they are pursuing is to identify the way that the fungus activates the inflammasome. This might provide new targets for drug development. Another area of interest is the investigation of how small differences between individuals in immune related genes, called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, affect susceptibility to fungal and other infections. "If we can identify patterns of SNPs that make people more likely to develop life-threatening fungal infections, it may be possible in the future to use these as markers to screen patients. For example, patients admitted to intensive care units or needing long-term invasive catheters could be genetically screened to identify who would benefit from preventive anti-fungal treatment," says Dr. Hise. Jessica Studeny Case Western Reserve University


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