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Economic Recession, Emerging Diseases Should Not Replace Efforts To Fight HIV/AIDS, IAS President Says
Concerns regarding the H1N1 flu strain or the current global economic recession should not take attention away from the long-term fight against HIV/AIDS, Julio Mantaner, head of the International AIDS Society, said recently, VOA News reports. Mantaner said global health issues need to be "put ... into the proper perspective," adding, "No doubt that ... whatever new flu or any other epidemic that may show up the day after tomorrow ... is something that we need to respond to. But it cannot be at the expense of a proven, established killer" like HIV/AIDS. He said that although it is important to remain vigilant in detecting emerging epidemics and infectious diseases, "we"re (doing) ourselves a very serious disservice" when res are taken away from combating HIV/AIDS and given to "the next new potential epidemic."Mantaner said that although it is "clear that we failed to meet original targets" in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, there has been an increase in the number of HIV-positive people in developing countries receiving antiretroviral treatments from about 500,000 in 2003 to more than three million by the end of 2007. In addition, he said that antiretrovirals are "saving lives of people" and "preserving the social network, the family structure ... that is so severely compromised by HIV and AIDS." Despite this progress, Mantaner said that "[w]e need to recognize more [people] are being infected every day by a factor of nearly two than the number of people accessing antiretroviral therapy."Mantaner urged members of the World Health Assembly -- who recently met in Geneva -- to honor HIV/AIDS commitments, noting that the gains in fighting the pandemic cannot be reversed. He said that he is concerned the global recession, worries over the H1N1 flu and other "competing needs or hypothetical epidemics" could lead to donor nations "losing their interest" in fighting HIV/AIDS. Mantaner said that he is disappointed with President Obama"s recent $63 billion, six-year proposed global health initiative, adding that it falls short of his campaign promises. He said that IAS is asking leaders from the Group of Eight industrialized nations to "refocus their efforts" and "meet their commitments." He warned that if the commitments are not met, "[h]istory is going to judge us very harshly," adding, "We"ve been distracted by the epidemic of the day without recognizing that we have a killer within our midst that we can control" (DeCapua, VOA News, 5/21).

Payment By Results Needs Radical Overhaul - NHS Alliance
Payment by Results has inflated NHS costs and encouraged acute trusts to become "profit centres", so nothing short of a radical overhaul will put matters right, says the NHS Alliance.
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Sirona Biochem Starts Testing First Batch Of Drug Candidates Designed To Combat Diabetes And Obesity
Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V: SBM), an emerging biotech company focused on diabetes and obesity, announced today that it has now taken delivery of its first batch of unique SGLT compounds from its French partner TFChem (Rouen, France) for screening and evaluation.
Nutrition

Cardiologist Urges People To Get Informed About Angioplasty

A report broadcast during the CBS Evening News on June 8 noted that one in 200 patients die during elective coronary angioplasty procedures and suggested that patients may be safest at institutions where surgical backup is readily available when complications occur. The report also noted that as many as 40 percent of the angioplasties performed may be unnecessary because patients could experience the same benefits from drug therapies. Coronary angioplasty is widely practiced and is also known as percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI. The procedure is minimally-invasive and performed both in emergency situations and on an elective basis. During PCI, interventional cardiologists thread a catheter up through a small incision in a patient"s groin or wrist into the coronary artery. There, they inflate a surgical balloon to clear away plaque blockages and insert stents to keep arteries open. Michael Ragosta, M.D., Director of Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories and Director of Interventional Cardiology at the University of Virginia Health System, recommends that patients considering elective angioplasty do their homework before deciding to proceed. "Make sure you know if medications or other therapies would work just as well for you, and find out about your hospital"s PCI mortality rates, PCI experience levels and surgical back-up capabilities," he says. "Do your best to learn about the risks and benefits of this procedure. Make the most informed decision possible." Ragosta offers the following information about UVA"s PCI results, experience and surgical backup capabilities: PCI mortality UVA recognizes the potential overuse of PCI and make every effort to be sure patients are likely to benefit before inserting stents. It has one of the nation"s lowest mortality rates for PCI overall (elective, urgent and emergent PCI) mortality is only 0.67%, which is in the 84th percentile (with 100 being the highest) according to national benchmarking provided by the American College of Cardiology/NCDR). Experience UVA performs over 600 PCI procedures each year and, on average, its interventional cardiologists perform more than 75 cases a year. Studies have shown that patients undergoing procedures performed by low volume operators (On-site surgical backup The issue of on-site surgical backup is an area of debate in cardiology. At the present time, the major professional societies including the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention only recommend the performance of elective angioplasty at institutions with surgical backup. Although the need for emergency surgery is low (about 2-3 per 1,000 interventions), it remains unpredictable. Delays in transferring a patient after a failed angioplasty to an institution with bypass surgery capabilities can lead to a fatal outcome. It is important for prospective patients to understand the potential risks of undergoing PCI at an institution without surgical backup. University of Virginia Health System


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