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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Avian virus may be harmful to cancer cells
Apr. 8, 2013 ? A study at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine has identified a chicken-killing virus as a promising treatment for prostate cancer in humans.
Researchers have discovered that a genetically engineered Newcastle disease virus, which harms chickens but not humans, kills prostate cancer cells of all kinds, including hormone-resistant cancer cells. The work of Dr. Elankumaran Subbiah, associate professor of virology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, along with Dr. Siba Samal, associate dean and chairman of the University of Maryland's Department of Veterinary Medicine, and Shobana Raghunath, a graduate student in Subbiah's laboratory, appears in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Virology.
"This potential treatment is available for immediate pre-clinical and clinical trials, but these are typically not done at the university level," Subbiah said. "We are looking for commercial entities that are interested in licensing the technology for human clinical trials and treatment. Newcastle disease virus has yet to be tested as a treatment for prostate cancer in patients."
About one in six men will develop prostate cancer. Patients typically receive hormone treatments or chemotherapy, both of which have adverse side effects. Subbiah hopes that the development of new treatment methodologies will not only better fight prostate cancer, but also lessen the side effects commonly associated with hormone treatments and chemotherapy.
Newcastle disease virus affects domestic and wild bird species, especially chickens, and is one of the most economically important viruses to the poultry industry. Although it can cause mild conjunctivitis and flu-like symptoms in humans who have been in close contact with infected birds, it does not pose a threat to human health.
Scientists first documented the cancer-fighting properties of Newcastle disease virus in the 1950s, but it is only with recent advances in reverse genetics technology that they have turned to the genetically engineered virus as a possible treatment.
"We modified the virus so that it replicates only in the presence of an active prostate-specific antigen and, therefore, is highly specific to prostate cancer. We also tested its efficacy in a tumor model in vitro," Subbiah said. "The recombinant virus efficiently and specifically killed prostate cancer cells, while sparing normal human cells in the laboratory, but it would take time for this to move from the discovery phase to a treatment for prostate cancer patients."
Earlier human clinical trials for other types of cancer with naturally occurring strains of Newcastle disease virus required several injections of the virus in large quantities for success. Subbiah believes that the recombinant virus would be able to eradicate prostate cancer in much lower doses. It would also seek out metastatic prostate cancer cells and remove them. Because it is cancer cell-type specific, "the recombinant virus will be extremely safe and can be injected intravenously or directly into the tumor," Subbiah added.
Subbiah received a $113,000 concept award from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop his prostate cancer treatment under a Congressionally-directed medical research program. He is seeking additional foundation and corporate funds to take his research to the next level.
The researchers have also received a National Institutes of Health exploratory grant to develop the cell type-specific Newcastle disease virus for several other types of cancer cells, including breast, pancreas, brain, prostate, and multiple myeloma. "Although the virus can potentially treat many different types of cancer, we are focusing on these five," Subbiah said.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Virginia Tech. The original article was written by Michael Sutphin.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- R. Shobana, S. K. Samal, S. Elankumaran. Prostate-Specific Antigen-Retargeted Recombinant Newcastle Disease Virus for Prostate Cancer Virotherapy. Journal of Virology, 2013; 87 (7): 3792 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.02394-12
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/6C20Bn6gPDo/130408142644.htm
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Monday, April 8, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Quinn signs bill restricting union membership
Thousands of state employees that have recently gained union membership could be stripped of it under a law signed Friday by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.
He approved a measure that allows the governor to deny collective bargaining rights for up to 3,580 managers and supervisors.
The traditionally pro-labor Quinn has supported the idea, sponsored by fellow Democrats, since it got House approval in 2011 - while at the same time excoriating his Wisconsin Republican counterpart for pushing through a law that rolled back union bargaining rights.
The law applies to "managerial or supervisory" positions under the governor and other statewide offices - such as the secretary of state and attorney general - that are not currently represented by a union or those who have gained representation since December 2008.
Supporters of the measure argue that state executives can't effectively run the government with so few managers loyal only to them. They say that 97 percent of the state workforce now wears the union label.
In Illinois, union membership has steadily and swiftly climbed upward in the past decade. An Associated Press analysis in 2011 showed 10,000 state workers had joined unions from 2003 to 2011 - four times the number of the previous eight years. Including petitions pending at the time, it showed there were only 1,700 managers left among a payroll of 50,000.
The ball got rolling in 2011 after employees, known as legislative liaisons, gained union membership. Liaisons act as intermediaries between the executive branch and the General Assembly, laying out for lawmakers the governor's legislative agenda and working on his behalf to get it approved, while also participating in strategy sessions to meet the goals. Therefore, liaisons need to be loyal to the boss, and no one else, such as a union fighting for their wages and working conditions, the thinking goes.
At the time the measure was gaining steam, Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker was leading the charge for restricting collective bargaining rights for government employees, leading to a contentious weekslong sit-in of the Capitol in Madison by union members and other supporters.
Walker, Quinn said then, "should be ashamed of himself."
Quinn signed the law Friday in Mexico, where he's been on a trade mission since Wednesday.
___
The bill is SB1556.
Online: http://www.ilga.gov
Contact AP Political Writer John O'Connor at https://www/twitter.com/
Source: http://www.sj-r.com/thedome/x609798385/Quinn-signs-bill-restricting-union-membership?rssfeed=true
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Obama faces choice on morning-after pill limits
This undated image made available by Teva Women's Health shows the packaging for their Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription _ instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters. (AP Photo/Teva Women's Health)
This undated image made available by Teva Women's Health shows the packaging for their Plan B One-Step (levonorgestrel) tablet, one of the brands known as the "morning-after pill." In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription _ instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters. (AP Photo/Teva Women's Health)
This undated handout photo provided by Judge Edward Korman shows U.S. District Judge Korman of New York. In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" and must end within 30 days. The ruling by Korman means consumers of any age could buy emergency contraception without a prescription _ instead of women first having to prove they're 17 or older, as they do today. And it could allow Plan B One-Step to move out from behind pharmacy counters to the store counters. (AP Photo/Judge Korman's Office)
PREVIOUSLY OFFERED 021413; chart shows frequency of use of emergency contraception
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama supports requiring girls younger than 17 to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill. But fighting that battle in court comes with its own set of risks.
A federal judge in New York on Friday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to lift age restrictions on the sale of emergency contraception ? ending today's requirement that buyers show proof they're 17 or older if they want to buy it without a prescription. The ruling accused the Obama administration in no uncertain terms of letting the president's pending re-election cloud its judgment when it set the age limits in 2011.
"The motivation for the secretary's action was obviously political," U.S. District Judge Edward Korman wrote in reference to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who made the 2011 decision. The FDA had been poised to allow over-the-counter sales with no age limits when Sebelius took the unprecedented step of overruling the agency.
If the Obama administration appeals Korman's ruling, it could re-ignite a simmering cultural battle over women's reproductive health ? never far from the surface in American politics ? sidetracking the president just as he's trying to keep Congress and the public focused on gun control, immigration and resolving the nation's budget woes.
"There's no political advantage whatsoever," said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf. "It's a side issue he doesn't need to deal with right now. The best idea is to leave it alone."
Still, Obama has made clear in the past that he feels strongly about the limits. And as a politician whose name won't ever appear on a ballot again, it's hard to see the downside in sticking by his principles.
"As the father of two daughters, I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine," Obama said in 2011 when he endorsed Sebelius' decision.
The Justice Department said it is evaluating whether to appeal. Allison Price, a Justice spokeswoman, said there would be a prompt decision. And the White House said Obama's view on the issue hasn't changed since 2011.
"He supports that decision today. He believes it was the right common-sense approach to this issue," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday.
Appealing the decision could rile liberal groups and parts of Obama's political base that are already upset with his forthcoming budget, which includes cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security. But currying favor with conservatives who want the ruling to stand also is unlikely to do much to help Obama make progress on his second-term priorities.
"It won't help him with Republicans in Congress to get policy matters attended to," Sheinkopf said.
Also weighing on Obama and his aides as he decides how to proceed is the unpleasant memory of previous dust-ups over contraception, including an election-year spat over an element of Obama's health care overhaul law that required most employers to cover birth control free of charge to female workers as a preventive service. That controversy led to a wave of lawsuits that threatened to embroil Obama's health care law, already under fire for a requirement that individuals buy insurance, in even more legal action.
When Obama offered to soften the rule last year, religious groups said it wasn't enough. Obama proposed another compromise on the rule in February to mixed response from faith-based groups.
If the court order issued Friday stands, Plan B One-Step and its generic versions could move from behind pharmacy counters out to drugstore shelves ? ending a decade-plus struggle by women's groups for easier access to these pills, which can prevent pregnancy if taken soon enough after unprotected sex.
Women's health specialists hailed the ruling Friday, arguing there's no reason a safe birth control option shouldn't be available over the counter and dismissing concerns that it could encourage underage people to have sex.
But social conservatives, in a rare show of support for Obama's approach to social policy, said the ruling removes common-sense protections and denies parents and medical professionals the opportunity to be a safeguard for vulnerable young girls.
"The court's action undermines parents' ability to protect their daughters from such exploitation and from the adverse effects of the drug itself," Deirdre McQuade, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Half the nation's pregnancies every year are unintended. Doctors' groups say more access to morning-after pills ? by putting them near the condoms and spermicides so people can learn about them and buy them quickly ? could cut those numbers.
The morning-after pill contains a higher dose of the female progestin hormone than is in regular birth control pills. Taking it within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. But it works best within the first 24 hours. If a woman already is pregnant, the pill has no effect.
Absent an appeal or a government request for more time to prepare one, the ruling will take effect in 30 days, meaning that over-the-counter sales could start then.
___
Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
UN adopts treaty to regulate global arms trade
FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2005 file photo, the flags of member nations fly outside the General Assembly building at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first U.N. treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade Tuesday, April 2, 2013, a goal sought for over a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organized crime. The resolution adopting the landmark treaty was approved by a vote of 154 to 3 with 23 abstentions. Iran, North Korea and Syria voted "no" on Tuesday's resolution. (AP Photo/Adam Rountree, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2005 file photo, the flags of member nations fly outside the General Assembly building at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first U.N. treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade Tuesday, April 2, 2013, a goal sought for over a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organized crime. The resolution adopting the landmark treaty was approved by a vote of 154 to 3 with 23 abstentions. Iran, North Korea and Syria voted "no" on Tuesday's resolution. (AP Photo/Adam Rountree, File)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first international treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade Tuesday, after a more than decade-long campaign to keep weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists, warlords, organized crime figures and human rights violators.
Loud cheers erupted in the assembly chamber as the electronic board flashed the final vote: 154 in favor, 3 against and 23 abstentions.
"This is a victory for the world's people," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "The Arms Trade Treaty will make it more difficult for deadly weapons to be diverted into the illicit market. ... It will be a powerful new tool in our efforts to prevent grave human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law."
The United States, the world's biggest arms exporter, voted yes.
Iran, North Korea and Syria ? all facing arms embargoes ? cast the only no votes. They argued, among other things, that the agreement favors major arms suppliers like the U.S. over importers that need weapons for self-defense.
Russia and China, which are also major arms exporters, abstained along with India and Indonesia, while nuclear-armed Pakistan voted in favor. Many Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Qatar, abstained, while Lebanon voted yes.
Never before has there been a treaty regulating the global arms trade, which is estimated to be worth $60 billion today and which Amnesty International predicts will exceed $100 billion in the next four years.
"Today's victory shows that ordinary people who care about protecting human rights can fight back to stop the gun lobby dead in its tracks, helping to save countless lives," said Frank Jannuzi, deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA.
"The voices of reason triumphed over skeptics, treaty opponents and dealers in death to establish a revolutionary treaty that constitutes a major step toward keeping assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons out of the hands of despots and warlords who use them to kill and maim civilians, recruit child soldiers and commit other serious abuses."
What impact the treaty will actually have remains to be seen. It will take effect 90 days after 50 countries ratify it, and a lot will depend on which ones ratify and which ones don't, and how stringently it is implemented.
As for its chances of being ratified by the U.S., the powerful National Rifle Association has vehemently opposed it, and it is likely to face stiff resistance from conservatives in the Senate, where it needs two-thirds to win ratification.
Secretary of State John Kerry called it a "strong, effective and implementable" treaty and stressed that it applies only to international deals and "reaffirms the sovereign right of any state to regulate arms within its territory."
The treaty prohibits countries that ratify it from exporting conventional weapons if they violate arms embargoes, or if they promote acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, or if they could be used in attacks against civilians or schools and hospitals.
Countries must also evaluate whether the weapons would be used by terrorists or organized crime or would undermine peace and security. They must take measures to prevent the weapons from being diverted to the black market.
The treaty covers battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, and small arms and light weapons.
Enforcement is left up to the nations that ratify it. The pact requires these countries to assist each other in investigating and prosecuting violations.
"The treaty is a noble gesture that may over time acquire the kind of precedence or enforcement that would give it meaning," said Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "At this point it is more a declaration of principles ? and the arms trade is an area where many people don't have principles."
Supporters of the treaty agreed that it is just a first step and that it must be followed by a campaign for implementation.
"The hard work starts now," said Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo, Mexico's vice minister for multilateral affairs.
Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott, who chaired the negotiations, said the U.S. "played a hugely constructive role" in pushing the treaty through the United Nations.
"Obviously, as the world's largest exporter, it would be unfortunate for the Arms Trade Treaty if the U.S. didn't sign it, but obviously it's a sovereign decision for them," he said.
Hopes for adoption of the treaty by consensus instead of a vote were dashed last July when the U.S. said it needed more time to consider it.
At the end of the final negotiating conference last week, Iran, North Korea and Syria blocked another attempt at consensus. Over those countries' objections, the treaty's supporters decided to put it to a vote in the General Assembly.
Proponents of the treaty said it could make it much harder for regimes committing human rights violations to acquire arms, in conflicts such as the brutal civil war in Syria.
"The treaty's prohibition section, if it were in force today, would prohibit the ongoing supply of weapons and parts and components to the Assad regime in Syria," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the independent Washington-based Arms Control Association.
___
Associated Press writers Ron DePasquale at the United Nations and Desmond Butler in Washington contributed to this report.
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