Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Hepatitis News: Investigated Fort Detrick Concern For High Liver Cancer Rates

Fort Detrick cancer cases to be studied
Maryland public health officials say certain cancers appear to occur at younger ages among people living near Fort Detrick in Frederick than in people statewide. Clifford Mitchell of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said Monday that...

Hepatocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could offer an alternative for the future in liver treatment
Today, January 04, 2011, 4 minutes ago
Numerous patients suffering from chronic liver diseases are currently receiving inadequate treatment due to the lack of organs donated for transplantation. However, hepatocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could offer an alternative for the future. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin compared hepatocytes from embryonic stem cells with hepatocytes from iPS cells and found that their gene expression is very similar. Nevertheless, in comparison to "real" hepatocytes, just under half of the genes exhibited a different gene expression. Therefore, the gene expression of hepatocytes derived from iPS cells still requires adaptation before the cells could be used in the treatment of liver diseases.

Dietary History and Physical Activity and Risk of Advanced Liver Disease in Veterans with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection.
Today, January 04, 2011, 6 hours ago
16 New Abstracts on HCV / Updated Jan 4th 2011
CONCLUSIONS: Several dietary factors and walking may be associated with risk of advanced HCV-related liver disease in male veterans. However, given our modest sample size, our findings must be considered as provisional pending verification in larger prospective studies.
See All Abstracts ...............
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If I Had.......

Previously on the blog we posted a weekly video in a series deemed "If I Had."

These videos cover numerous disorders and diseases. Physicians share what they would do "IF they Had..." the disease in the topic video.

Today the topic is:
If I Had - Low Platelets With Recent Onset Nosebleeds and Easy Bruising -
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Dr. David J. Kuter, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital



The interesting and beneficial series comes to you from Insider Medicine .
Watch For Future If I Had Videos Posted On Fridays

Medscape pubished data today from a study in the December 28, 2010, issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology on the assoication of Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and idiopathic venous thromboembolism(VTE).

What Is VTE ?
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a disease that includes both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). It is a common, lethal disorder that affects hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients, recurs frequently, is often overlooked, and results in long-term complications including chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTPH) and the post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS).
Venous thromboembolism results from a combination of hereditary and acquired risk factors, also known as thrombophilia or hypercoagulable states. In addition, vessel wall damage, venous stasis, and increased activation of clotting factors first described by Rudolf Virchow more than a century ago still remain the fundamental basis for our understanding of thrombosis.
Prevalence and risk factors
Venous thromboembolism is the third most common cardiovascular illness after acute coronary syndrome and stroke.1 Although the exact incidence of VTE is unknown, it is believed there are approximately 1 million cases of VTE in the United States each year, many of which represent recurrent disease.2 Nearly two thirds of all VTE events result from hospitalization, and approximately 300, 000 of these patients die.3 Pulmonary embolism is the third most common cause of hospital-related death and it is the most common preventable cause of hospital-related death.4, 5 Most hospitalized patients have at least one or more risk factors for VTE (Box 1). Long-established and well-known cardiovascular risk factors
In case you missed it on the blog

Latest News in Hepatitis C From Medscape

Steady Hep C Mortality Rates Disappoint in Australia
Reuters Health Information, January 4, 2011
HCV -4 Spreads From Egypt and Africa Into Europe
Reuters Health Information, January 4, 2011


I just had to add this folks....




Psychologists have found that George Clooney may be even luckier than previously thought. New research has discovered that as women become more financially independent, they want an older, more ... >





Food For Thought


Released: 1/4/2011 1:20 PM EST
Source: Kansas State University
Newswise — According to recent news reports, the next venue for a terror threat may involve the use of bio-agents to contaminate the food supplies of U.S. hotels and restaurants.
Dave Olds, a December 2010 doctoral graduate in hotel, restaurant, institution management and dietetics from Kansas State University, conducted his dissertation on food security and bioterrorism. His dissertation, "Food Defense Management Practices In Private Country Clubs," examined current safety precautions used by country club restaurants to protect food and beverages, as well as how often those practices were put into effect.
"I identified country clubs because they typically have an exclusive population. They are places often visited by affluent and influential people and their families, and sometimes even government officials," Olds said.

Other national studies on this venue have not been done, Olds said. The idea came from a former K-State study that investigated food bioterrorism in schools and hospitals.
To gather data, Olds, a former chef, surveyed country club managers nationally. In the Midwest he toured the facilities of 25 country clubs and visited with club managers.
"I found that intentional contamination of food isn’t perceived to be a very common occurrence by club managers. In fact, most couldn’t recollect an incident happening," Olds said. "However, it's one of the oldest forms of terrorism, as there are recorded incidents of this happening in Roman history."

Olds found that 21 of the 25 club managers said they didn't think bioterrorism was a risk at their country clubs.

Intentional food contamination can come from two groups: those working inside an operation and those working outside an operation. According to Olds, club managers felt that disgruntled employees were more likely than non-employees to intentionally contaminate food.
An incident of this nature occurred in 2009 at a Kansas City restaurant, rather than a country club, when it was discovered that a former employee had mixed pesticide into salsa, Olds said.
"One of the quotes in a recent news report on food contamination by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said that this is a difficult topic to debate without alarming the public. I think that's very true," Olds said. "It's really tricky because you want to educate employees and the board of directors, but you don't want to appear to be causing undo panic or even giving people ideas."
A sidebar with low-cost tips for country club managers can be found at

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