Online Medicine

Attn: San Diego Moms!!  Here’s your chance to connect fully with your spirit.  Join me for a rejuvenating outdoor yoga workshop for women (your girlfriends are welcome)!  We’ll begin by connecting with our breath, followed by a flowing workout of postures and deep stretching.  Then we’ll end with relaxation and meditation.  I guarantee you’ll enjoy it so much that you will lose track of time and be in the moment!
Date: Friday Jan 30, 09
Time: 9:30-11 a.m.
Place: Amongst the trees at “Aubrey Park”- 13544 Aubrey St
Poway, CA 92064 (Across the street from Old Poway Park)
Cost: Just $20!
Directions: From 56 E go Right onto Twin Peaks, Right on Midland, Right on Aubrey St., Right into Aubrey Park.  You’ll see us on the grass near the baseball field.
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HOUSTON -- (January 14, 2009) -- Four Baylor College of Medicine researchers are the 2008 recipients of the Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Awards.

These awards recognize significant and outstanding research accomplishments by scientists at BCM. The recipients present their work during a seminar at which they receive an Excellence in Research medallion. The award also includes an unrestricted fund to support their research programs.

This year's recipients are Dr. N. Tony Eissa, professor of medicine-pulmonary; Dr. Jianpeng Ma, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Dr. Scott Pletcher, associate professor of molecular and human genetics; and Dr. Thomas Zwaka, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology.

Eissa's research focuses on the process of elimination of pathogens by autophagy (an immune process that allows cells to digest parts of themselves when starved or to degrade invading bacteria or viruses) and the regulation of the synthesis of nitric oxide (an important signaling molecule) by an enzyme called inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS).

Ma's work explores the field of biomolecular X-ray crystallography, developing new ways of elucidating the structure and activity of large biological molecules. X-ray crystallography, a technique in which protein crystals are bombarded with X-rays, producing a diffraction pattern that reveals the precise three-dimensional arrangement of every atom in the molecule, provides a basis for his work, which then builds on that structure using elegant mathematical algorithms that help describe the how the structure bends and moves while it achieves its purpose.

Pletcher's research focuses on identifying and investigating the genetic mechanisms that affect aging and age-related disease in humans. To do this he uses the fruit fly, in which many of these mechanisms also exist. Pletcher is currently studying genes that link diet, obesity and immune function with aging and aging-related disease.

Zwaka's research led to the discovery that caspases, a family of enzymes that degrade proteins and play an essential role in programmed cell death, are also involved in early differentiation. This work paved the way for the discovery of an independent pathway for pluripotency, the potential of a stem cell to differentiate into almost any kind of tissue.

HOUSTON -- (January 13, 2009) -- The holidays may have left behind more than just joyful memories. The stress of the season also may leave a weakened immune system, increasing the chances of starting the new year sick. Internists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have tips for how to start 2009 off happy and healthy.

Vulnerable to illness

The holidays can take a toll on us all, and 2008 has been especially rough, nationally with the financial crisis and locally with Hurricane Ike. There have been a lot of added strains on our immune systems that may make us vulnerable to the common, first-of-the-year respiratory illnesses," said Dr. Steve Rosenbaum, assistant professor of medicine and section chief of general internal medicine at the Baylor Clinic. "Most people want to see 2008 in the rear view mirror and be healthy to start all those resolutions we declared."

To decrease your chances of becoming sick, Rosenbaum recommends getting plenty of rest, taking multivitamins to boost your immune system, washing hands frequently and avoiding exposure to others who may be sick.

Rosenbaum has tips for patients who may be coming down with an illness in the new year.

Nip illness early

"Right at the beginning of the year, we are seeing a lot of respiratory problems, both sinus and chest, sometimes together but often separately," said Rosenbaum. "Traditionally, this may start as a sore throat then move to your ears and eventually your whole body aches."

For sinus infections, patients should take an antihistamine and/or a decongestant to dry them out, he says. They may also want to use a steroid nasal spray to reduce inflammation.

Sore throats, Rosenbaum says, are best healed with drinking cool – but not ice-cold – liquids. "Ice-cold liquid may numb the throat temporarily, but in the long run it worsens it. The warmer, the better for soothing the throat."

To help with chest complications, Rosenbaum advises using a good expectorant, a medication that brings up mucus from the lungs, bronchi and trachea.

"If you're just feeling yucky, it always helps to take an anti-inflammatory such as Aspirin, Advil or Tylenol," said Rosenbaum.

It's important not to let your illness drag on, he said.

"If you do not start feeling better in five to seven days, it's time to call or see a doctor," Rosenbaum said. "A lot of times, what starts out as a virus may turn into a secondary bacterial infection, and you may need an antibiotic."

"You have to be healthy to start working on your New Year's resolutions," said Rosenbaum. "It's important to look forward to the future and start 2009 off on the right foot.

HOUSTON -- (January 13, 2009) -- The lack of the important brain protein LIS1 results in lissencephaly, a devastating condition in which the brain appears smooth and does not develop normally.

This occurs when a gene called PAFAH1B1 is deleted. If a nearby gene called YWHAE is deleted in combination with PAFAH1B1, the result is a condition called Miller-Dieker syndrome, characterized by severe brain abnormalities and other findings.

Now a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, have found that tiny duplications of the area of chromosome 17 that contains the gene responsible for the production of LIS1 and the gene related to Miller-Dieker syndrome slightly increases levels of LIS1, causing abnormalities in the developing brains of human and mice. Their report appears online in the journal Nature Genetics.

Two-decade theme

"This continues a two-decade theme of my laboratory that duplications of genes can give subtle gene dosage changes and convey clinical disease traits that here involve brain development," said Dr. James R. Lupski, vice chair of molecular and human genetics at BCM and a senior author of the report. The other senior author is Dr. Orly Reiner of the Weizmann Institute.

In studies of seven unrelated people with minute duplications (not visible by a microscope) involving the gene PAFAH1BI as well as YWAHE on a portion of chromosome 17, the researchers found that higher levels of the first gene caused mild abnormalities in brain structure along with moderate to severe developmental delay. These subjects also had a condition called "failure to thrive," which encompasses slow weight gain and other physical and developmental traits. Those who had duplications of the gene YWAHE were abnormally heavy as infants, had mild developmental delay and pervasive developmental disorders with symptoms similar to those of autism in which the child does not socialize or communicate normally. These children also have facial abnormalities.

In parallel studies of mice that have too much LIS1 in the developing brain, Reiner's group found a decreased brain size, more dying brain cells and problems with the organization of cells in the brain.

"These studies demonstrate the importance of 'genomotype'/phenotype correlations," said Lupski, who is also a professor of pediatrics at BCM. "Our findings increase the repertoire of known genomic disorders (a field of study initiated by the Lupski laboratory near the area associated with Miller-Dieker syndrome."

Combining results

Combining the information from the human patients with that derived from the mouse studies enabled the researchers to attribute the detectable signs of disease (called phenotype) to copy number variations of crucial genes. (Copy number variation refers to differences in the usual number of copies (i.e. two, one from each parent) of stretches of DNA found among different genomes).

Others who took part in this research include Weimin Bi, Oleg A. Shchelochkov, Feng Zhang, Marjorie A. Withers, Xin-Yan Lu, Trilochan Sahoo, Arthur L. Beaudet and Sau Wai Cheung, all of BCM; Tamar Sapir, Talia Levy, and Vera Shinder, all of the Weizmann Institute; Jill V. Hunter of Texas Children's Hospital; Daniel A. Peiffer and Kevin L. Gunderson of Illumina Inc., in San Diego, Calif.; Marjan M. Nezarat of North York General Hospital in Toronto, Ontario; Vern Ann Shotts of Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock; Stephen S. Amato and Sarah K. Savage of Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor; David J. Harris of Children's Hospital, Boston, Mass.; Debra-Lynn Day-Salvatore and Michele Horner of Saint Peters University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Salvador Martinez of Instituto de Neurociencias, UMNH-CSIS, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.

Funding for this work came from the Israeli Science Foundation, the Foundation Jerome Lejeune, the Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research, German-Israeli collaboration grant, the Paul Godfrey Research Foundation Children's Diseases, the Benoziyo Center for Neurological Diseases, the Kekst Center, the Forcheimer Center, a Weizmann-Pasteur collaborative grant, the Michigan Women of Wisdom Fund to support Weizmann Women Scientists, support from Maurice Janin, the Jewish Communal Fund, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Yeshiva University, the David and Fela Shapell Family Center Research Grant for Genetic Disorders Research, the European Union, Baylor Medical Genetics Laboratories, the Mental Retardation Developmental Disabilities Research Center at BCM and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institutes of Health.

The article is available at http://www.nature.com/ng/index.html

For more information on basic science research at Baylor College of Medicine, please go to www.bcm.edu/fromthelab.

NEW DELHI: The bump in the immunisation programme and the fall in vaccine exports have prompted the government to consider a revival of state-run vaccine manufacturing companies by setting up World Health Organisation-compliant infrastructure.

In January 2008, the health ministry revoked the licences of BCG Lab, Pasteur Institute of India (PII) and Central Research Institute (CRI) for not following WHO-prescribed good manufacturing practices (GMP). These state firms were manufacturing vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, rabies, typhoid, cholera and bacillus calmette-guerin (BCG). The government may have to invest about Rs 500 crore to revive the units.

“An expert committee, headed by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), has submitted its recommendations for the revival of the three companies,” a health ministry official, who didn't wish to be identified, said. The parliamentary standing committee on health, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, is expected to meet officials of the companies on Tuesday to discuss strategies to bring about their resurgence.

“The ministry has already started rebuilding the three organisations. A new administrative system, which has resulted in the appointment of a director, is in place at PII,” the official said. PII is located in Coonoor. While CRI is based in Kasauli, BCG Lab is in Chennai.

The three units are among hundreds of small-scale pharma companies that lost their licence for want of GMP. The government had made adherence to WHO's GMP norms mandatory for drug manufacturers in 2005. “But small units took it lightly,” the official said.

The closure of these units has adversely impacted the government’s immunisation programme. CRI was the only organisation in South-East Asia that produced a vaccine for yellow fever while BCG Lab was meeting the country’s entire BCG vaccine need.

“The government has admitted that there have been shortages of vaccines in a few states. The government's alternative plan was to supply vaccines by setting up a vaccine park in Chennai. However, it will begin operations only by 2012. Under these circumstances, how will the government ensure availability of vaccines in the next three to four years?” Santhosh MR, working at the Centre for Trade and Development, a Delhi-based non-profit organisation, said. India is the world's largest exporter of vaccines. The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) sources about 60% of its vaccine requirements from India.