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Thursday, March 14, 2013
U.S. Stockpiles Smallpox Drug in Case of Bioterror Attack
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Some experts say a contract for two million doses of a treatment for a disease eradicated in 1980 has the government paying too high a price for too much of a new medicine.
Khmer Rouge insider Ieng Sary dies while on trial
FILE - In this Nov. 23, 2011 file photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary sits during the third day of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ieng Sary, who co-founded Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge movement in 1970s, served as its public face abroad and decades later became one of its few leaders to face justice for the deaths of well over a million people, died Thursday morning, March 14, 2013. He was 87. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters) EDITORIAL USE ONLY
FILE - In this Nov. 23, 2011 file photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary sits during the third day of a trial of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ieng Sary, who co-founded Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge movement in 1970s, served as its public face abroad and decades later became one of its few leaders to face justice for the deaths of well over a million people, died Thursday morning, March 14, 2013. He was 87. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters) EDITORIAL USE ONLY
FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2011 file photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Ieng Sary, former minister of Foreign Affairs, waits to be questioned at the court hall of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ieng Sary, who co-founded Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge movement in 1970s, served as its public face abroad and decades later became one of its few leaders to face justice for the deaths of well over a million people, died Thursday morning, March 14, 2013. He was 87. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters, File) EDITORIAL USE ONLY
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) ? Ieng Sary, who co-founded Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge movement in 1970s, served as its public face abroad and decades later became one of its few leaders to face justice for the deaths of well over a million people, died Thursday. He was 87.
His death came during the course of his trial with two other former Khmer Rouge leaders by a joint Cambodian-international tribunal. He had been in declining health before tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen confirmed he died Thursday morning.
Ieng Sary founded the Khmer Rouge with leader Pol Pot, his brother-in-law. The communist regime, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, claimed it was building a pure socialist society by evicting people from cities to work in labor camps in the countryside. Its radical policies led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people from starvation, disease, overwork and execution.
Ieng Sary was foreign minister in the regime, and as its top diplomat became a much more recognizable figure internationally than his secretive colleagues. In 1996, years after the overthrown Khmer Rouge retreated to the jungle, he became the first member of its inner circle to defect, bringing thousands of foot soldiers with him and hastening the movement's final disintegration.
The move secured him a limited amnesty, temporary credibility as a peacemaker and years of comfortable living in Cambodia, but that vanished as the U.N.-backed tribunal built its case against him.
The Khmer Rogue came to power through a civil war that toppled a U.S.-backed regime. Ieng Sary then helped persuade hundreds of Cambodian intellectuals to return home from overseas, often to their deaths.
The returnees were arrested and put in "re-education camps," and most were later executed, said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, an independent group gathering evidence of the Khmer Rouge crimes for the tribunal.
As a member of the Khmer Rouge's central and standing committee, Ieng Sary "repeatedly and publicly encouraged, and also facilitated, arrests and executions within his Foreign Ministry and throughout Cambodia," Steve Heder said in his co-authored book "Seven Candidates for Prosecution: Accountability for the Crimes of the Khmer Rouge." Heder is a Cambodia scholar who later worked with the U.N.-backed tribunal.
Known by his revolutionary alias as "Comrade Van," Ieng Sary was a recipient of many internal Khmer Rouge documents detailing torture and mass execution of suspected internal enemies, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.
"We are continuing to wipe out remaining (internal enemies) gradually, no matter if they are opposed to our revolution overtly or covertly," read a cable sent to Ieng Sary in 1978. It was reprinted in an issue of the center's magazine in 2000, apparently proving he had full knowledge of bloody purges.
"It's clear that he was one of the leaders that was a recipient of information all the way down to the village level," Youk Chhang said.
Ieng Sary was arrested in 2007, and was tried with Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist, and Khieu Samphan, an ex-head of state, in monthslong proceedings that began in late 2011 on charges including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
Ieng Sary's wife, former minister for social affairs Ieng Thirith, also had been charged but was ruled unfit to stand trial because she suffered from a degenerative mental illness, probably Alzheimer's disease.
Only one other former Khmer Rouge official has been put on trial: former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, who was sentenced to life in prison.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has openly opposed additional indictments of former Khmer Rouge figures, some of whom have become his political allies.
Pol Pot himself died in 1998 in Cambodia's jungles while a prisoner of his own comrades.
Ieng Sary declined to participate in his trial, demanding that the tribunal consider the pardon he received from Cambodia's king when he defected in 1996. The tribunal, formally known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, previously ruled that the pardon does not cover its indictment against him.
He denied any hand in the atrocities. At a press conference following his defection, he said Pol Pot "was the sole and supreme architect of the party's line, strategy and tactics."
"Nuon Chea implemented all Pol Pot's decisions to torture and execute those who expressed opposite opinions and those they hated, like intellectuals," Ieng Sary claimed.
Ieng Sary was born Kim Trang on Oct. 24, 1925, in southern Vietnam. In the early 1950s, he was among many Cambodian students who received government scholarships to study in France, where he also took part in a Marxist circle.
After returning to Cambodia in 1957, he taught history at an elite high school in the capital, Phnom Penh, while engaging in clandestine communist activities.
He, Ieng Thirith, Pol Pot and Pol Pot's wife eventually formed the core of the Khmer Rouge movement. Pol Pot's wife, Khieu Ponnary, also was Ieng Thirith's sister; she died in 2003.
Pol Pot was known as "Brother No. 1", Nuon Chea as "Brother No. 2" and Ieng Sary was "Brother No. 3."
In August 1979, eight months after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge by a Vietnam-led resistance, Ieng Sary was sentenced in absentia to death by the court of a Hanoi-installed government that was made up of former Khmer Rouge defectors like Hun Sen, the current prime minister. The show trial also condemned Pol Pot.
Since he was in charge of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla movement's finances, Ieng Sary was believed to have used his position to amass personal wealth.
On Aug. 8, 1996, a Khmer Rouge rebel radio broadcast announced a death sentence against him for embezzling millions of dollars that reportedly came from the group's logging and gem business along the border with Thailand. But the charge appeared to be politically inspired, recognition that he was becoming estranged from his comrades-in-arms.
He struck a peace deal with Hun Sen and days later led a mutiny of thousands of Khmer Rouge fighters to join the government, which was a prelude to the movement's total collapse in 1999.
As a reward, Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia almost unchallenged for the last two decades, secured a royal amnesty for Ieng Sary from then-King Norodom Sihanouk, who himself was a virtual prisoner and lost more than a dozen children and relatives during Khmer Rouge rule. The government also awarded Ieng Sary a diplomatic passport for travel.
Between his defection and arrest, Ieng Sary lived a comfortable life, dividing time between his opulent villa in Phnom Penh and his home in Pailin, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in northwestern Cambodia.
He and some of his former aides in the Khmer Rouge, intellectuals who were in a second generation of the group's leadership, made a short-lived attempt at forming a legal political movement.
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Venezuela investigats Chavez cancer poisoning claim
By Andrew Cawthorne
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will set up a formal inquiry into claims that deceased President Hugo Chavez's cancer was the result of poisoning by his enemies abroad, the government said.
Foes of the government view the accusation as a typical Chavez-style conspiracy theory intended to feed fears of "imperialist" threats to Venezuela's socialist system and distract people from daily problems.
Acting President Nicolas Maduro vowed to open an investigation into the claims, first raised by Chavez after he was diagnosed with the disease in 2011.
"We will seek the truth," Maduro told regional TV network Telesur. "We have the intuition that our commander Chavez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted him out of the way."
Foreign scientists will be invited to join a state committee to probe the accusation, he said.
Maduro, 50, is Chavez's handpicked successor and is running as the government's candidate in a snap presidential election on April 14 that was triggered by the president's death last week.
He is trying to keep voters' attention firmly focused on Chavez to benefit from the outpouring of grief among his millions of supporters. The opposition is centering its campaign on portraying Maduro, a former bus driver, as an incompetent who, they say, is exploiting Chavez's demise.
"Let's take the president (Chavez) away from the political debate, out of respect for his memory, his family, his supporters," opposition candidate Henrique Capriles' campaign chief Henri Falcon told reporters.
Polls from before Chavez's death gave Maduro a lead over Capriles of more than 10 percentage points. Capriles lost to Chavez by 11 percentage points in October.
Capriles has tried to jump-start his campaign with accusations that Maduro and other senior officials lied about the details of Chavez's illness, hiding the gravity of his condition from Venezuelans.
That sparked a torrent of attacks, with senior government officials using words like "Nazi" and "fascist" to describe Capriles, who has Jewish ancestors.
In a televised message, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas read a letter to the "sick opposition" from the late president's daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, who has at times been viewed as a possible future successor.
"Stop playing with the pain of a nation and a devastated family," she wrote. "It is unfair, inhuman, unacceptable that they now say we were lying about the date of his (death) ... Focus on politics, don't play dirty."
ACCUSATIONS FLYING
In an increasingly acrimonious campaign, both sides on Tuesday accused each other of planning violence.
The opposition displayed photos circulating on the Internet showing an assault rifle and a pistol being held up to a TV screen that was broadcasting Capriles' face.
They also said there were indications of plans to attack Capriles when he was scheduled to register his candidacy on Monday. In the end, aides went instead.
Government spokesmen repeated accusations that opposition activists planned to disrupt Maduro's campaign.
Trying to discredit Capriles, they waved photos of a plush New York apartment they said belonged to him, and displayed copies of university documents that they said showed he never completed a law degree.
Capriles, a 40-year-old, business-friendly regional governor running for the opposition's Democratic Unity coalition, is trying to disassociate Maduro from Chavez in voters' minds.
"He's attacking Nicolas Maduro, saying Nicolas is not Chavez," senior Socialist Party official and Maduro's campaign chief Jorge Rodriguez said.
"Of course Nicolas isn't Chavez. But he is his faithful, responsible, revolutionary son. All these insults and vilification are going to be turned into votes for us," he said.
Tuesday was the last day of official mourning for Chavez, although ceremonies appear set to continue. His embalmed body was to be taken in procession to a military museum on Friday.
Millions have filed past Chavez's coffin to pay homage to a man who was adored by many of the poor for his humble roots and welfare policies, but was also hated by many people for his authoritarian style and bullying of opponents.
Though Maduro has spoken about combating crime and extending development programs in the slums, he has mostly used his frequent appearances on state TV to talk about Chavez.
The 58-year-old president was diagnosed with cancer in his pelvic region in June 2011 and underwent four surgeries before dying of what sources said was metastasis in the lungs.
Maduro said it was too early to specifically point a finger over Chavez's cancer, but noted that the United States had laboratories with experience in producing diseases.
"He had a cancer that broke all norms," Maduro told Telesur. "Everything seems to indicate that they (enemies) affected his health using the most advanced techniques."
Maduro has compared his suspicions over Chavez's death with allegations that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004 from poisoning by Israeli agents.
The case echoes Chavez's long campaign to convince the world that his idol and Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar died of poisoning by his enemies in Colombia in 1830.
OPPOSITION'S UPHILL FIGHT
The National Assembly was to debate this week a proposal by pro-government legislators to hold a referendum - possibly also on April 14 - on whether he should be buried at the ornate National Pantheon building in Caracas.
Opponents are outraged at the prospect of a referendum stoking the emotion around Chavez at the same time as the presidential vote.
Besides the wave of sympathy for Chavez, the opposition faces a well-financed state apparatus, institutions packed with government supporters, and problems within its own rank-and-file, still demoralized over October's presidential election defeat and a mauling at gubernatorial polls in December.
At stake in the election is the future of Chavez's leftist "revolution," the continuation of Venezuelan oil subsidies and other aid crucial to the economies of left-wing allies around Latin America, from Cuba to Bolivia.
The OPEC nation boasts the world's largest oil reserves.
Though there are hopes for a post-Chavez rapprochement between Venezuela and the United States, a diplomatic spat worsened on Monday when Washington expelled two Venezuelan diplomats in a tit-for-tat retaliation.
(Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga and Simon Gardner; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Xavier Briand and Stacey Joyce)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-probe-chavez-cancer-poisoning-accusation-010128851.html
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Best Zero Gravity Movie Scenes In Honor Of 'Upside Down'
"Upside Down," the sci-fi romance opening in theaters this week, casts Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess as star-crossed lovers separated by a slight difference in gravitational pull. Each lover's world pulls him or her in opposite directions from the other, so when they attempt to cross over and be together, it makes for some fun [...]
Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/03/13/zero-gravity-upside-down/
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One Last Chance..
What if this is your last chance to make everything right again?
Will you use this chance wisely or will you waste it once again?
It's your last chance and you have a chance to make things right.
Will you?
For these group of teenagers, it is their last chance to either change or try to keep things how they have turned out to be. Some of them hate each others guts for several reasons and others are just victims in all of this. This has escalated from their freshmen year to their senior year. Will things go back to how they are suppose to be or will things be ruined? You choose.
Sam
| Boy 1 | Age: | Dave Franco | Open | Cheated on Girl 4 with Girl 2; Still loves Girl 4 with all his heart; Used to be friends with Boy 5 -hates his guts- |
Josh
| Boy 2 | Kellin Quinn | Age: | Open | Going out with Girl 5; Cheating on Girl 5 with Girl 2 |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/gYY5ma3a_aE/viewtopic.php
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First task for new pope: Pick a name
Reuters; Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Left, Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faithful for the last time. Right, his namesake Pope Benedict XV, circa 1915.
By Erin McClam, Staff Writer, NBC News
The first clue about what kind of leader the next pope will be ? liberal or conservative, reformer or by-the-book ? will come only minutes after the smoke clears at the Sistine Chapel.
From a balcony at St. Peter?s Basilica, the world will learn not just who has been elected but what he chooses to call himself, a decision steeped in centuries of church history ? and a good indicator of the new pope?s vision and inspiration.
Until the sixth century, popes went by their given names. There was a Pope Sylvester, a Pope Julius and a Pope Victor. Then, in 533, a priest named Mercurius was elected to lead the church and decided that a pope named after a pagan god? ? "Mercury" ? just wouldn?t do.
He chose to go by John II. Since then, most popes have abandoned their birth names and adopted tributes to saints, popes and even relatives who have gone before.
?You?re trying to pick up some of the glow of your predecessor,? said the Rev. Thomas Reese, Vatican analyst for the National Catholic Reporter.
It is a solemn decision. Newly-elected popes are asked only two questions by the senior cardinal inside the chapel. The first is whether he wants the job. The second: ?By which name do you wish to be called??
The 115 cardinals were back behind closed doors this morning for two more unsuccessful secret votes to select who among them will be the new leader of the Catholic church. NBC's Lester Holt and Keir Simmons report.
When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope, in 2005, he chose Benedict XVI as a tribute to two men. One was the previous Pope Benedict, who guided the church through World War I. But Benedict XVI said that he also meant the choice as homage to St. Benedict, an intellectual like Ratzinger and one of the patron saints of Europe, for his ?powerful call to the irrefutable Christian roots of European culture and civilization.?
In particular, Benedict XVI prayed to his saintly namesake to help Catholics keep Christ at the center of their lives.
?Benedict saw Europe as the key problem and the place where we really needed to focus,? Reese said.
But the choice is not always a nod to papal history. The reformer Pope John XXIII, elected in 1958, said he picked the name it part because it was the name of the small parish church where he was baptized. John is by far the most popular name for a pope to choose, making it? difficult to predict what a John XXIV would be signaling by taking the name.
In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani declared himself Pope John Paul I, the first pope to choose a double name ? and the first to declare himself ?the First.?
On purpose and by chance, Americans join crowd in St. Peter's Square to watch for signs of a newly elected Pope.
He said that he meant the name as a tribute to his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI. They had led the church through the Second Vatican Council, which modernized the church?s relationships with the rest of the world and other branches of Christianity.
When John Paul I died just 33 days later, he was remembered so adoringly that Reese recalls making a bet with a colleague that the next pope would take the same double name.
?He just caught everybody?s imagination,? Reese said. ?This smiling pope. It was just a whole month of very positive response to him.?
He won the bet, and Pope John Paul II led the church for the next 27 years.
This time around, only one bet would be a sure loser. No pope has chosen to be called Peter II. There?s no rule against it, but it is seen as poor form ? an honor reserved for the first pope.
Church analysts say there are several names to watch for as hints to the new papacy.
The choice of Leo XIV could be a call for social justice, said Matthew Bunson, senior correspondent for the Catholic publishing nonprofit Our Sunday Visitor. Leo XIII, who served at the turn of the 20th century, and sought to help the world understand the dignity of workers.
Choosing Pius XIII, on the other hand, would be a more conservative choice, and a ?statement of determination to defend the teachings of the faith,? Bunson said. Pius V led in opposition to the Protestant Reformation, and Pius VI and VII both died prisoners.
One-third of Americans who grew up in the Catholic Church have left, but the percentage of U.S. Catholics has held steady at 25 percent, largely because of Hispanic immigrants. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
John Paul III, even if only as a tribute to the beloved, globetrotting John Paul II, might be seen by the world as a repudiation of Benedict, Reese said.
Of course, the new pope could always choose to be called Benedict XVII ? certainly a possibility because Benedict XVI appointed most of the cardinals who will choose his successor. But such a selection might disappoint Catholics who are hoping for a reformer after a papacy marked by a sexual abuse scandal, other missteps and shrinking membership in the United States and Europe.
Beyond that, it?s anyone?s guess. The new pope could choose to make his mark and choose a name never used before. Reese said he has always wondered why no one has adopted the name Pope Joseph.
Or he could set 1.2 billion Catholics around the world scratching their heads.
?The new guy,? Reese said, ?could be John Paul Benedict I.?
Andrew Medichini / AP
Cardinals from around the world gather in the Vatican to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
Related:?
Full coverage of the papal abdication from NBC News
This story was originally published on Tue Mar 12, 2013 6:29 PM EDT
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013
What's in Paul Ryan plan? Surprising numbers from GOP House budget.
The GOP budget plan Paul Ryan is putting forward in the House is filled with ambitious numbers, big and small. The bottom line: reduce the national debt and the interest payments to service it.
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., holds up a copy of the 2014 Budget Resolution as he speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
EnlargePaul Ryan, in his latest House budget plan, is certainly ambitious in his goals.
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Balance the budget in 10 years. Avoid the military cuts occurring in the current federal ?sequester.? Streamline the tax code without raising taxes. Make entitlement programs sustainable. Make the public debt go down, not up.
Representative Ryan urged all those things Tuesday and more, in his role as chairman of the House Budget Committee. The targets in the committee?s new budget plan are in some cases hard to achieve simultaneously.
And they?re controversial. Ryan blended candor with understatement when he said President Obama would ?probably not? sign on to all the Republican ideas. The White House didn't disappoint, saying in a statement that the budget's math "doesn't add up" and that Mr. Obama considered the proposal "the wrong course for America."
Here?s a tour of Ryan?s proposal, with each stop headlined by an eye-popping number from the House budget document.
Net interest on national debt in 2023: $630 billion
That?s how much the nation would spend on interest payments alone, during the 2023 fiscal year, even if Ryan?s big spending cuts were enacted and the nation balances its budget.
Without any change from current policies, debt payments in that year would total $857 billion, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculates.
Unless the buildup of debt is addressed, ?we are consigning the next generation to an inferior standard of living,? Ryan said Tuesday.
Although they might not phrase the consequences?exactly that way, nonpartisan economists including those at the CBO generally agree on the need to address the national debt.
Most economists agree that the core cause of the rising national debt is entitlement spending that?s growing fast, as a share of overall national income, without tax revenue to cover the cost.
Annual rise in Medicare spending per capita: GDP growth plus 0.5 percent
Ryan?s controversial idea of overhauling Medicare isn?t new, but his approach gives a jolt to anyone accustomed to the current system. He says he?s saving Medicare from its current track of ?going bankrupt.? Critics say he?s turning a vital piece of economic security for seniors into a voucher program.
Ryan?s new budget plan calls for a shift toward a ?premium support? model of Medicare, starting in 2024 for people born in 1959 or later. Seniors would choose among a variety of health plans, and Medicare would provide a premium-support payment that would cover all or part of the insurance.
The pace of Medicare spending would slow, because annual increases would be capped at the rate of GDP growth plus 0.5 percent ? well below their long-term trend line. Low-income Americans would get extra help with out-of-pocket costs.
?This proposal would use competition ? not bureaucratic fiat ? to control costs,? the budget plan says.
Where the CBO forecasts $8 trillion in Medicare spending between 2014 and 2023, the new House budget plan calls for $6.6 trillion in net Medicare spending for that period.
Expanding the federal safety net: zero dollars
A section of the House Republican plan is titled ?safety net strengthened.? The Ryan approach is defined by the argument that the current array of antipoverty programs hasn?t put much of a dent in poverty, and that a focus on stronger economic growth would do the most to improve living standards at all income levels.
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Monday, March 11, 2013
Early detection of MS treatment complication may improve survival
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Public release date: 10-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
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rseroka@aan.com
612-928-6129
American Academy of Neurology
SAN DIEGO The drug natalizumab is effective for treating multiple sclerosis (MS), but it increases the risk of a rare but potentially fatal brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). A study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013, suggests that early detection of PML may help improve survival and disability levels.
The study examined 319 people with MS who were treated with natalizumab and diagnosed with PML. Because of the risk of PML, people taking natalizumab are monitored by their physicians for possible symptoms of the brain infection. The study compared people who had symptoms of PML at the time of diagnosis to people who had no symptoms of the infection, but who were diagnosed with the disease by brain scans and tests in the spinal fluid for the virus that causes the infection. The level of disability for the people in the study was assessed before the PML diagnosis, at the time of diagnosis, and again six months and one year after the diagnosis.
A total of 21 people had no PML symptoms at the time of their diagnosis, while 298 people had symptoms. The preliminary data from the study suggest that people who have no symptoms at diagnosis may have improved survival and less disability than those who had developed symptoms prior to their diagnosis, according to study author Tuan Dong-Si, MD, a medical director with Biogen Idec in Weston, MA.
At the time of PML diagnosis, those people with no symptoms had an average score of 67 on the Karnofsky Performance Scale, which measures disability, while those people with symptoms had a score of 54. A Karnofsky score of 70 indicates that the individual may be able to care for him or herself, but may be unable to carry on normal activities or do active work. A Karnofsky score of 50 indicates that a person may require considerable assistance and frequent medical care. One year after PML diagnosis, the average Karnofsky score of those people with no symptoms at diagnosis was 70, compared to 47 for those with symptoms at diagnosis. Karnofsky scores of less than 50 indicate that the individual may be unable to care for him or herself and may require institutional care or the equivalent.
As of January 1, 2013, all of the 21 people (100 percent) with no symptoms at the time of PML diagnosis were living, compared to 77 percent of the people with symptoms at the time of diagnosis. "These results suggest that the consequences of PML infection can be mitigated by early detection of the disease," said Dong-Si.
Natalizumab is generally prescribed for people who have not responded to or cannot tolerate other treatments for MS.
###
The study was supported by Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Pharmaceuticals.
Learn more about multiple sclerosis at http://www.aan.com/patients.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.
Media Contacts:
Rachel Seroka
Angela Babb, APR, ababb@aan.com, 612-928-6102
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 10-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Rachel Seroka
rseroka@aan.com
612-928-6129
American Academy of Neurology
SAN DIEGO The drug natalizumab is effective for treating multiple sclerosis (MS), but it increases the risk of a rare but potentially fatal brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). A study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013, suggests that early detection of PML may help improve survival and disability levels.
The study examined 319 people with MS who were treated with natalizumab and diagnosed with PML. Because of the risk of PML, people taking natalizumab are monitored by their physicians for possible symptoms of the brain infection. The study compared people who had symptoms of PML at the time of diagnosis to people who had no symptoms of the infection, but who were diagnosed with the disease by brain scans and tests in the spinal fluid for the virus that causes the infection. The level of disability for the people in the study was assessed before the PML diagnosis, at the time of diagnosis, and again six months and one year after the diagnosis.
A total of 21 people had no PML symptoms at the time of their diagnosis, while 298 people had symptoms. The preliminary data from the study suggest that people who have no symptoms at diagnosis may have improved survival and less disability than those who had developed symptoms prior to their diagnosis, according to study author Tuan Dong-Si, MD, a medical director with Biogen Idec in Weston, MA.
At the time of PML diagnosis, those people with no symptoms had an average score of 67 on the Karnofsky Performance Scale, which measures disability, while those people with symptoms had a score of 54. A Karnofsky score of 70 indicates that the individual may be able to care for him or herself, but may be unable to carry on normal activities or do active work. A Karnofsky score of 50 indicates that a person may require considerable assistance and frequent medical care. One year after PML diagnosis, the average Karnofsky score of those people with no symptoms at diagnosis was 70, compared to 47 for those with symptoms at diagnosis. Karnofsky scores of less than 50 indicate that the individual may be unable to care for him or herself and may require institutional care or the equivalent.
As of January 1, 2013, all of the 21 people (100 percent) with no symptoms at the time of PML diagnosis were living, compared to 77 percent of the people with symptoms at the time of diagnosis. "These results suggest that the consequences of PML infection can be mitigated by early detection of the disease," said Dong-Si.
Natalizumab is generally prescribed for people who have not responded to or cannot tolerate other treatments for MS.
###
The study was supported by Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Pharmaceuticals.
Learn more about multiple sclerosis at http://www.aan.com/patients.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.
Media Contacts:
Rachel Seroka
Angela Babb, APR, ababb@aan.com, 612-928-6102
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/aaon-edo030613.php
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Goal wrongly disallowed in Edinburgh derby in SPL
Associated Press Sports
updated 1:42 p.m. ET March 10, 2013
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) -Hibernian was denied a clear winner on Sunday when a free kick went over the line but a goal was not given in the Edinburgh derby against Hearts that ended 0-0.
Leigh Griffiths' strike went off the underside of the crossbar and the ball bounced well over the line.
"I spoke to him (the referee) nicely," Griffiths said. "I went over and asked if he had looked at (the assistant's) position. He told me the linesman was standing in line with the last defender, but I looked over and saw he was standing on the edge of the 18-yard-box."
The incident came a week after football's rule-makers met in Edinburgh and approved regulations for the global roll-out of technology to rule on disputed goal-line incidents.
FIFA will give referees high tech aids at the Confederations' Cup in Brazil in June and the 2014 World Cup, while the English Premier League will introduce technology for next season.
But the Scottish Football Association, which has championed goal-line technology, says it will have to wait for costs of the systems to come down. Four systems have been licensed by FIFA, with the cheapest costing at least $100,000 to install in a stadium.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51123974/ns/sports-soccer/
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meQuilibrium: Stress Is a Women's Issue: How to Build Resilience and Stay Afloat
Written by Jan Bruce, CEO and co-founder of meQuilibrium.
Stress is part of normal life in our culture and few, if any, escape its vice grip of tension, worry, and fatigue. But according to the APA's "Stress in America" report, women now report higher levels of stress than men, along with the nagging sensation that they're flat-out underappreciated at the office (not to mention underpaid). And they're generally more likely to be tense during the workday.
The Wall Street Journal reported on this research (in "Office Stress: His vs. Hers"), calling attention to some powerful statistics about stress in the workplace:
- Thirty-two percent of women said their employers don't offer enough opportunities for advancement (vs. 30 percent of men).
- Thirty-eight percent of women said they don't' receive adequate compensation for their job (vs. 27 percent of men).
- Thirty-three percent of people said work interfering with family/personal time has an impact on stress
- Around 30 percent of respondents said their employers don't provide enough resources to help them manage stress
See the infographic here. (And learn more about how stress impacts your health.)
Not to mention that if you're a woman with a very stressful job, you're nearly 70 percent more likely to have a heart attack -- and 40 percent more likely to suffer other traumas such as stroke. (Read Catherine Pearson's story on the topic.)
How to Cope With Stress at Work
Your stress response -- at work, or anywhere else -- is determined not by what happens out there, but by how you respond to it. Which is why having a sense of purpose, connection, and strong relationships can boost your resilience no matter what's going on, and keep you from an eternity of worried days and sleepless nights.
Here are some strategies for shifting your stress response at work.
Take stock of the good stuff. Sure, there are lots of areas that could use improvement at your workplace (and just about everyone else's). But shifting your focus to all the great things that have happened and are happening can go a long way to shift your attention and your mood. What have you accomplished, contributed, and enjoyed in your role at work in the past week, the past year? Maybe you love your team or just received public praise for solving a major problem. Perhaps you've put new systems in place that have made a world of difference in the way you and your colleagues work. Or it could be as simple as loving your easy commute or having a view of the park. Rather than get caught up in what's giving you a headache, anchor yourself each day with the things that are going well. Maybe really well.
Invest in your work relationships. You probably see your work colleagues more than you see anyone else. Some you like, others, not so much. And while they don't all have to be besties, the quality of those relationships will see you through the roughest storms at work. Give to those connections what you need most -- support, camaraderie, friendship. Forge real connections by taking breaks together, getting lunch or drinks. Get to know them. When you show up for coworkers in real ways, you'll reap the rewards in return.
Know why you're there. A paycheck and benefits may be two of the driving reasons, but it doesn't end there. Our research has shown that nurturing a connection to the people and the purpose of your work builds resilience and resist the downward spiral of stress. Zoom out: What are you doing every day? Improving other people's lives with the goods or services you offer? Helping clients through a difficult time? Using your skills to contribute to the greater good? (Read more about how to build your resilience.)
Schedule more than just meetings. Put relaxing, fun, and social events on your calendar like anything else you want and need to do. Make it a point to get out for a walk at lunch and to meet up with friends for dinner every week. It's not a matter of whether you have time -- you can't afford not to do the things that keep you calm, revitalized, and engaged.
Jan Bruce is CEO and co-founder of meQuilibrium, www.mequilibrium.com, the new digital coaching system for stress, which helps both individuals and corporations achieve measurable results in stress management and wellness.
For more by meQuilibrium, click here.
For more on stress, click here.
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mequilibrium/work-stress_b_2829257.html
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Contest Hunter - Paid Survey Overview
Paid surveys have been about for a lot of years and have been employed by firms to obtain understanding and data about products and services. There are a lot of paid survey reviews on the web nonetheless we have taken the time to outline the pros and cons of paid surveys in general. There are many firms that stay creditable and profitable. Pros There are so a lot of great issues about paid surveys and it is challenging to list all of them. The most obvious is getting paid money for your opinions. Paid surveys completion typically needs no physical function and consumes just a little fraction of your spare time. As this is a paid survey review we should say that most online survey programs are reliable and will deliver what they say in the time frame outlined. Security in recent years with on the web moneymaking has elevated significantly and it is normally secure to sign up with these applications. Cons Properly you have just finished reading a paid survey evaluation that outlined so many unfavorable points on paid online surveys. This paid survey review one is no different! There are usually risks involved with any on the internet business. You much better go by reputation, word of mouth and most of the time your gut feeling when signing up for paid on the web surveys. It is constantly sensible to comply with the rule if it really is too excellent to be true, it most likely is! System alternatives There are hundreds of paid on-line survey applications supplying a wide range of commissions and rewards. When you are considering a certain program, always search for the paid survey review for that product. This will enable you to see the feedback from other members and to gauge how steady and successful the on the web survey program is. Private data It is important to be extremely cautious providing out any private info when it comes to paid on the internet surveys. It is also essential to be careful due to the fact several paid survey evaluations have been know to ask for credit card details or other individual information. This personal details can be utilised for credit card fraud, identity theft or sold to advertising companies. Evaluations When reading a paid survey overview it is essential to make sure is was written by an independent party and not someone system associate. This will ensure the paid survey assessment is unbiased and truthful. The ideal paid survey evaluation ought to be written by an individual who has been involved in the plan. He must have encounter and information to answer your concerns and would be able to inform you if the plan has worked for him. Be cautious and research every thing just before signing up for any plan. Correct now the very best website that I have observed is the paid survey on the internet website you can check it by clicking on the hyperlink at the top of this internet site. Feel free of charge to go to my web site at Paid Survey Review josh pellicer
Source: http://contesthunter.info/2013/03/09/paid-survey-overview/
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Hagel Reacts to Kabul Suicide Bomber During Visit | Baby Boomer ...
Chuck Hagel is definitely off to a running start as the newest US Secretary of Defense. He is the 24th to hold that position, and his political affiliation is Republican. He is 66 years old, so definitely a baby boomer. He knows what war is, so going to a country where there is war is nothing new to him.
Since this suicide bombing referred to in the video, he has had news conferences with himself and President Hamid Karzai cancelled. It is going to be a rough time when coalition forces leave Afghanistan. We have been there for 12 years now. That is just incredible.
Will US forces leave in 2014? What sort of country will we leave? I am sure that there is not one person in the US who either is close to someone who has served in the military in Afghanistan of is a family member. Several do not come home the same. Is the toughness that the veterans of WW1 and WW2 gone? Or did they come home to a different America? Now so many come home to unemployment, they have injuries that VA benefits barely cover, and they have emotional trouble that most Veterans probably had but were not really focused on.
I wish everyone the best who is effected world wide by this war in the Mideast. Will it ever end? I highly doubt it. Will we get our troops out? Yes, but for how long I am not sure.
*Several statements are just my opinions, and not from any news source.
However, I did use The Washington Post for some of the information on this posting.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Tags:afghanistan,baby boomer,chuck hagel,coalition forces,hamid karzai,kabul,news conferences,secretary of defense,suicide bomber,suicide bombing,washington postSource: http://www.babyboomernewsletter.com/hagel-reacts-to-kabul-suicide-bomber-during-visit/
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Brazil: police puzzle over 7 gift-wrapped skulls
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ? Police in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo are baffled by a macabre puzzle: someone has been leaving gift-wrapped human skulls around town.
Investigator Paul Henry Bozon Verduraz described the case to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper in a story published Thursday.
The first skull in cherry-red wrapping was found on February 20 in a planter near a residential building downtown. Since then, seven others have been found near Mormon temples or consulates, including those for Russia, the Czech Republic and South Africa. The skulls are old, with traces of dirt.
Verduraz says security cameras captured images of a woman in an ankle-length skirt leaving the skulls, which seem old, with traces of dirt. He thinks this may be part of some sort of ritual.
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Study sheds light on role of climate in influenza transmission
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Two types of environmental conditions?cold-dry and humid-rainy?are associated with seasonal influenza epidemics, according to an epidemiological study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center. The paper, published in PLOS Pathogens, presents a simple climate-based model that maps influenza activity globally and accounts for the diverse range of seasonal patterns observed across temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.
The findings could be used to improve existing current influenza transmission models, and could help target surveillance efforts and optimize the timing of seasonal vaccine delivery, according to Fogarty researcher Cecile Viboud, Ph.D., who headed the study. "The model could have a broader application, encouraging researchers to analyze the association between climatic patterns and infectious disease across a wide range of diseases and latitudes," said Viboud.
Human influenza infections exhibit a strong seasonal cycle in temperate regions, and laboratory experiments suggest that low specific humidity facilitates the airborne survival and transmission of the virus in temperate regions. Specific humidity is the ratio of water vapor to dry air in a particular body of air while relative humidity?commonly used in weather forecasts?is the amount of water vapor in the air relative to its capacity to hold water vapor, and is primarily a function of temperature.
Data from animal studies indicate low temperature and humidity increase the duration of the virus's reproduction and expulsion in infected organisms and virus stability in the environment, increasing the probability of transmission through coughing, sneezing or breathing. In contrast, high temperature seems to block airborne transmission.
According to James Tamerius, Ph.D., a geographer at Columbia University, New York City, and the first author of the study, the effect of low specific humidity on influenza could cause annual winter epidemics in temperate areas. "However, this relationship is unlikely to account for the epidemiology of influenza in tropical and subtropical regions where epidemics often occur during the rainy season or transmit year-round without a well-defined season," he said.
After assessing the role of local climatic variables on virus seasonality in a global sample of study sites, Viboud and her colleagues found that temperature and specific humidity were the best individual predictors of the months of maximum influenza activity, known as influenza peaks. The team discovered that in temperate regions, influenza was more common one month after periods of minimum specific humidity. These periods happen to coincide with months of lowest temperature. In contrast, sites that maintained high levels of specific humidity and temperature were generally characterized by influenza epidemics during the most humid and rainy months of the year. "The models we used predicted the timing of peak influenza activity with 75 to 87 percent accuracy," said Viboud.
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that colder climates have winter flu while warmer climates that experience major fluctuations in precipitation have flu epidemics during the rainy season, and the current study fits that pattern," said Viboud. "In contrast, the seasonality of influenza is less well-defined in locations with little variation in temperature and precipitation, and is a pattern that remains poorly understood. One hypothesis that is often used to explain tropical influenza activity is that people congregate indoors more frequently during the rainy season, increasing contact rates and disease transmission. There is little data to confirm this, however, and it's an interesting area for future research."
To reach these conclusions, the researchers used a recently developed global database that provides information on influenza peaks from 1975-2008 for 78 sites worldwide. The study spanned a range of latitude that was between 1 and 60 degrees, with 39 percent of the sites located in the tropics. Additionally, epidemiological data from nine countries participating in FluNet, the World Health Organization's global influenza surveillance program, was used to ensure independent validation. The nine countries?including Spain, Tunisia, Senegal, Philippines, Vietnam, Colombia, Paraguay, South Africa and Argentina? were not represented in the original 78-location database and were chosen because each country provided several years of data.
"We've shown the importance of thresholds in humidity and temperature which are predictive of whether influenza activity occurs during winter months, the rainy season or throughout the year," said Viboud. "The predictions of our climate-based models compared favorably to epidemiological information collected independently of the dataset used for the model-building exercise."
Though the study offers researchers a new tool in the global effort to track the spread of influenza, climate is only one of several potential drivers of influenza seasonality. "Further work should focus on examining the role of population travel and other factors in influenza transmission," notes Mark Miller, M.D., director of Fogarty's Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies. "
More broadly, additional analysis of the link between climate and infectious diseases is needed? particularly for respiratory and intestinal pathogens that display marked seasonality." The authors conclude, "A better understanding of the environmental, demographic and social drivers of infectious disease seasonality is crucial for improving transmission models and optimizing interventions."
###
The study was conducted in the context of the Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study, an ongoing international collaborative effort led by Fogarty to better understand the epidemiological and evolutionary patterns of influenza. A link to the paper can be found at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1003194.
NIH/Fogarty International Center: http://www.fic.nih.gov
Thanks to NIH/Fogarty International Center for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
This press release has been viewed 56 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127218/Study_sheds_light_on_role_of_climate_in_influenza_transmission
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Saturday, March 9, 2013
The Need For Productive Waste In The Innovation ... - Business Insider
The transcontinental railroad.
The highway system.
The Internet.
These are all examples of "platforms" upon which our economy is built.
They're also each the product of profound waste on behalf of government, which built, funded, or supported each platform's construction to its massive short term loss.
In his new book, "Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Markets, Speculation and the State,"?Warburg Pincus partner Bill Janeway explains that what we need right now is for the government to waste more money like that.
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Produced by Business Insider Video
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-need-for-productive-waste-in-the-innovation-economy-2013-3
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Ala. sheriff recounts final moments at bunker
FILE -- In this photo taken Feb. 8, 2013, authorities continue their investigation at the site in Midland City, Ala., where a five year old boy was held hostage in an underground bunker. Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson on Thursday, March 7, 2013 said officers stormed the bunker because the man had told them something "real, real bad" was going to happen if they didn't meet his demands. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
FILE -- In this photo taken Feb. 8, 2013, authorities continue their investigation at the site in Midland City, Ala., where a five year old boy was held hostage in an underground bunker. Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson on Thursday, March 7, 2013 said officers stormed the bunker because the man had told them something "real, real bad" was going to happen if they didn't meet his demands. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) ? An Alabama man who held a boy hostage in a bunker warned authorities some "very bad things" would happen if they didn't meet his demands, a sheriff said Thursday, shedding more light on the final moments of the standoff.
Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said Jimmy Lee Dykes had two homemade explosives devices and authorities were worried he would set them off and kill the then-5-year-old boy. Officers raided the bunker Feb. 4 after a weeklong standoff and shot Dykes to death. The boy was rescued unharmed.
Olson said investigators still weren't sure of Dykes' motive.
"He kept saying he had a story that was very important to him and that he wanted to get out his story. But we've never been able to find out exactly what his story was. He would never really give us any insights into that," said Olson, who spoke to reporters after he gave a speech on gun legislation to lawmakers.
Investigators were reviewing writings found on Dykes' property to see if they offered any explanation into why he kidnapped the boy off a school bus Jan. 29, the sheriff said.
Dykes killed bus driver Charles Poland and took the child to an underground bunker near his mobile home. He had two explosive devices. One was set off in a PVC pipe but didn't harm anyone because authorities covered it with sandbags. The other device was more threatening, the sheriff said.
"If he had detonated that device, it would have killed him," Olson said of the boy. "We felt like his life was definitely in harm's way."
Dykes had been planning the event for weeks and became friendly with the bus driver, even clearing out a place close to his property where Poland could turn the bus around on the dead-end street.
Officers communicated with Dykes from the beginning by using the PVC pipe that led to the bunker. The sheriff said Dykes initially appeared focused on the child's safety, but that changed as the days passed and negotiations deteriorated.
He said Dykes gave officers a deadline to do things or else "some bad things would happen." The sheriff wouldn't say want those demands were.
Authorities, including the FBI and Alabama Bureau of Investigation, had developed different plans about what to do if that moment arrived, and they decided to act, he said.
The 40-year-old sheriff, who has two young daughters, said he handled the tense days with his children always on his mind.
"I don't want to look like a big boob and start crying. Now I do love my children, and I could only imagine what it would be like if that would have been my child. That's why I tried to do everything possible I could to make sure we had a safe return," he said.
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'Star Wars VII' Locks In Han Solo, Luke And Leia, Maybe
'We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison,' director George Lucas says of previous negotiations to lock down the original trio.
By Gil Kaufman
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher in "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope"
Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703258/lucas-han-solo-luke-leia-star-wars-vii.jhtml
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New clues to causes of peripheral nerve damage
Friday, March 8, 2013
Anyone whose hand or foot has "fallen asleep" has an idea of the numbness and tingling often experienced by people with peripheral nerve damage. The condition also can cause a range of other symptoms, including unrelenting pain, stinging, burning, itching and sensitivity to touch.
Although peripheral neuropathies afflict some 20 million Americans, their underlying causes are not completely understood. Much research has focused on the breakdown of cellular energy factories in nerve cells as a contributing factor.
Now, new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis points to a more central role in damage to energy factories in other cells: Schwann cells, which grow alongside neurons and enable nerve signals to travel from the spinal cord to the tips of the fingers and toes.
The finding may lead to new therapeutic strategies to more effectively treat symptoms of this highly variable disorder, the scientists report March 6 in the journal Neuron.
"We found that a toxic substance builds up in Schwann cells that have disabled energy factories, leading to the same kind of nerve damage seen in patients with neuropathies," says senior author Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD, the James S. McDonnell Professor of Genetics and head of the Department of Genetics. "Now, we're evaluating whether drugs can block the buildup of that toxin, which could lead to a new treatment for the condition."
The most common cause of peripheral neuropathy is diabetes, which accounts for about half of all cases. The condition also can occur in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy, which can damage nerves.
In the body, Schwann cells wrap tightly around nerve axons, the fibers that relay nerve signals. Graduate student and first author Andreu Viader and colleagues in Milbrandt's lab studied Schwann cells in mice with genetically disabled mitochondria, or cellular energy factories. Under normal conditions, these mitochondria produce fuel and intermediates of energy metabolism that allow nerve cells to function.
The researchers showed that the crippled mitochondria activated a stress response in the Schwann cells. Instead of synthesizing fatty acids, a key component of Schwann cells, the cells burned fatty acids for fuel.
Over time, inefficient burning of fatty acids by the crippled mitochondria leads to a build up of acylcarnitines, a toxic substance, in the Schwann cells. The researchers found levels of acylcarnitines up to 100-fold higher in these mutant Schwann cells than in healthy Schwann cells.
And the bad news doesn't end there. Eventually, the toxin leaks out of the Schwann cells and onto the nerve axons. Studying neurons in petri dishes, the researchers showed that acylcarnitines damage nerve axons and disrupt the ability of nerves to relay signals.
"The toxin leaking out of the Schwann cells and onto the adjacent nerve axons causes damage that results in pain, numbness, tingling and other symptoms," Milbrandt says. "We think that is a likely mechanism to explain the degeneration of axons that is known to occur in peripheral neuropathies."
The new research suggests that drugs that inhibit the buildup of acylcarnitines may block axonal degeneration. Milbrandt and his team now are evaluating the drugs in mice with disabled Schwann cells to see if they can slow or alleviate the decay of axons.
###
Washington University School of Medicine: http://www.medicine.wustl.edu
Thanks to Washington University School of Medicine for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
This press release has been viewed 5 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127198/New_clues_to_causes_of_peripheral_nerve_damage
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Russia says Assad 'not bluffing' about staying put
A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sits on a table before a press conference by Buthaina Shaaban, special envoy of the President, in New Delhi, India, Friday, March 8, 2013. Shaaban Friday criticized Britain's decision to provide non-lethal military equipment to Syrian rebels, saying it will hinder efforts for peace in the strife-torn country. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sits on a table before a press conference by Buthaina Shaaban, special envoy of the President, in New Delhi, India, Friday, March 8, 2013. Shaaban Friday criticized Britain's decision to provide non-lethal military equipment to Syrian rebels, saying it will hinder efforts for peace in the strife-torn country. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A U.N. peacekeeper from the Philippines UNDOF force crosses to Syria at the Quneitra Crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Friday, March 8, 2013. Syrian rebels who seized 21 Filipino U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan Heights want the Red Cross to escort them out of the area because of fighting with Syrian government forces, the Philippine military said Friday. The 21 peacekeepers were seized Wednesday near the Syrian village of Jamlah, just a mile from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in an area where the U.N. force had patrolled a cease-fire line between Israel and Syria without incident for nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A U.N. peacekeeper from the UNDOF force looks through binoculars as he guards on a watch tower at the Quneitra Crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Friday, March 8, 2013. Syrian rebels who seized 21 Filipino U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan Heights want the Red Cross to escort them out of the area because of fighting with Syrian government forces, the Philippine military said Friday. The 21 peacekeepers were seized Wednesday near the Syrian village of Jamlah, just a mile from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in an area where the U.N. force had patrolled a cease-fire line between Israel and Syria without incident for nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A U.N. peacekeeper from India waves while driving a U.N Armored vehicle as it leaves from the UNDOF Ziouani camp to cross to Syria at the Quneitra Crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Friday, March 8, 2013. Syrian rebels who seized 21 Filipino U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan Heights want the Red Cross to escort them out of the area because of fighting with Syrian government forces, the Philippine military said Friday. The 21 peacekeepers were seized Wednesday near the Syrian village of Jamlah, just a mile from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in an area where the U.N. force had patrolled a cease-fire line between Israel and Syria without incident for nearly four decades. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian President Bashar Assad "is not bluffing" about his determination to stay in power, Russia's foreign minister said in comments broadcast Friday, as negotiations to free 21 U.N. peacekeepers held by Syrian rebels dragged into a third day.
Also, the World Food Program said it aims to feed 2.5 million Syrians by next month, up from 1.7 million now. Need has risen sharply as growing numbers of Syrians are displaced by the civil war and as the country's economy disintegrates in the face of the chaos.
The uprising against Assad began two years ago with largely peaceful protests, but shifted into a brutal civil war after a harsh government crackdown on dissent. More than 70,000 people have been killed, according to U.N. estimates.
The conflict has been deadlocked for months, with neither side able to gain the upper hand, although the rebels have scored a series of strategic victories in recent weeks, seizing a provincial capital in the northeast, capturing the country's largest dam and overrunning a number of smaller military bases.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the BBC in an interview broadcast Friday that the Syrian leader is digging in and "is not going to leave."
"We know this for sure, and all those who get in touch with him know that he is not bluffing," Lavrov said.
He added that Russia, a close Syria ally, will not pressure Assad to leave.
"It's not for me to decide, it's not for anybody else to decide, except the Syrian people," Lavrov said.
Syria's opposition has criticized the West for not helping arm rebel fighters even as Russia and Iran support the regime with weapons.
Earlier this week, Britain announced it would provide armored vehicles and other equipment to the rebels, while stopping short of arming them. The West has balked at sending weapons, fearing they could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists fighting in the rebel ranks.
In India, Assad adviser Buthaina Shaaban said Britain's decision will only prolong the fighting. She alleged that most of the rebels are linked to the al-Qaida terror network and conservative Islamic groups.
"Britain should not think that terror activities by such groups in Syria, will not one day go back to haunt Europe or Britain," said Shaaban who is in India for talks with Indian leaders to rally support for Assad.
Meanwhile, the Philippine government is trying to win the release of 21 U.N. peacekeepers, all Filipinos, who were seized by Syrian rebels on Wednesday.
Government officials initially said they expected the U.N. troops to be freed Friday, but it was unclear what the rebel demands were for their release.
The rebels previously demanded that regime forces withdraw from the area where there hostages are being held.
However, an activist who said he is the media coordinator for the rebel group holding the peacekeepers said Friday via Skype that they were being held because it is too dangerous in the area to release them.
The activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the rebels felt the peacekeepers were not doing their job in the area since government forces were still shelling and carrying out airstrikes.
He said the ongoing violence could endanger them if the rebels let them leave, so they were waiting for an official U.N. delegation to retrieve them.
"They are guests under the protection of the free army even though their presence in the area was negative and they didn't accomplish what they were here to do, but as soon as someone from the U.N. comes to get them officially, this will be over," he said.
The peacekeepers were taken near the Syrian village of Jamlah, a kilometer (less than a mile) from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where a U.N. force has patrolled a cease-fire line between Israel and Syria for nearly four decades.
Last week, rebels from the Martyrs of Yarmouk Brigades, the group holding the peacekeepers, overran several Syrian army checkpoints in the area, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On Friday, rebels attacked regime forces in the village of Abdeen south of Jamlah, setting off heavy clashes, the Observatory said. Regime helicopters bombed the area, the group said.
Rebels apparently fear that the regime will retake the area if the peacekeepers are released, raising the possibility of a prolonged standoff.
Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said President Benigno Aquino III has ordered a review of the country's peacekeeping missions.
A contingent of more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers is part of the U.N. force, known as UNDOF. Filipino peacekeepers also serve in Haiti and Liberia.
The kidnapping has underlined potential complications from the Syria conflict. Israel is concerned about the Syria fighting spilling across the frontier.
Since the conflict began, nearly 4 million of Syria's 22 million people have been driven from their homes by the fighting, according to U.N. estimates. This includes refugees in neighboring countries and some 2 million who have sought shelter inside Syria.
In one recent wave, more than 20,000 families fled fighting in the northeastern Raqqa province, seeking refuge in the neighboring district of Deir el-Zour, according to the World Food Program.
The U.N. agency said that in recent days it distributed food to some 20,000 people in public shelters in Deir el-Zour. More food trucks are to deliver food there Friday.
Earlier this week, Syrian rebels completed their capture of the provincial capital of Raqqa after several days of fighting. The takeover marked the first time rebels seized a major Syrian city. Raqqa has a population of about 500,000.
In addition to the internally displaced, Syrians who remain in their homes are also in increasing need of food aid, the agency said. The Syrian economy has been hit hard by the 2-year-old conflict, and basics such as food and fuel are becoming scarce in many areas.
"The needs are huge and are growing," said Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the WFP. "It's kind of a vicious cycle, the collapse of the economy, and more and more people are displaced."
She said the U.N. agency distributed food to 1.7 million Syrians in February, with the help of local partners. The agency plans to reach 2 million in March and 2.5 million in April, she said.
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Associated Press writers Ben Hubbard in Beirut and Oliver Teves in Manila contributed reporting.
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