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Cancer; Not Simply A Question Of Life Or Death, Macmillan Cancer Support
Health and social care services are overlooking the long-term physical and emotional effects of cancer survivors, leaving many of the two million people living with or beyond the disease in the UK suffering alone and in silence. According to Macmillan Cancer Support, cancer survivors are suffering needlessly and in silence: overlooked by health and social care services that frequently miss the long-term physical and emotional effects of the disease.

Male Circumcision Does Not Appear To Reduce HIV Transmission Risk To Female Partners
Although several studies have shown that circumcision, removal of the foreskin which contains cells that are particularly susceptible to HIV, appears to reduce a man"s risk of contracting HIV from his female sex partner, it does not reduce the female sex partners" risk of contracting the virus, according to a study in the Lancet, Reuters reports. Maria Wawer of Johns Hopkins University and colleagues in Uganda followed 922 HIV-positive, uncircumcised men ages 15 to 49. Some of the men immediately underwent a circumcision, and some had the procedure two years later. The researchers also followed 163 female partners of the men.The researchers decided to end the study early when they found that male circumcision did not convey the expected benefits to women. The study also found that men"s partners were no less likely to contract other sexually transmitted infections, except for trichomonas.However, based on observational studies, researchers say that circumcision is so effective in protecting men that it will still likely benefit women indirectly by reducing circulation of the virus in general (Fox, Reuters, 7/16).
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Treatment For HIV In South Africa Would Be More Effective If Started Earlier, Study
More people would benefit and it would be more cost effective if HIV treatment with antivirals started earlier in countries like South Africa where medical res are limited, said researchers.
Cardiovascular

High Calcium Level In Arteries May Signal Serious Heart Attack Risk

Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology. Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology. "The amount of calcium in the coronary vessels, as measured by CT, is of high predictive value for subsequent serious or fatal heart attack in these patients, independent of the patient"s age, sex and other coronary risk factors," said the study"s lead author, Marcus Hacker, M.D., resident physician in the Department of Nuclear Medicine, leader of the research unit for nuclear cardiology and assistant medical director at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. CAD is the most common type of heart disease. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, it is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for both men and women, killing more than 500,000 Americans each year. CAD is a condition in which plaque, consisting of cholesterol, calcium, fat and other substances, builds up inside the arteries that supply blood to the heart. When plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, blood flow to the heart is reduced and may lead to arrhythmia, heart attack or heart failure. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging is a nuclear medicine diagnostic procedure that provides excellent three-dimensional images of the coronary arteries to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of CAD. Currently, calcium scoring-measuring the amount of calcium in the arteries-is used as a screening exam and in cases of suspected CAD, but not in cases of known CAD. Dr. Hacker and colleagues set out to determine if calcium scoring would lend additional prognostic value to SPECT findings in patients with known, stable CAD. For the study, 260 patients with CAD underwent coronary artery calcium scoring in addition to SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging. Over a median period of 5.4 years, the patients were followed up for severe cardiac events, meaning cardiac death or nonfatal heart attacks. Twenty-three of the 260 patients had a fatal or severe heart attack, and 40 additional patients underwent bypass surgery. The results showed that patents with an initial calcium score greater than 400 were at significantly increased risk for severe cardiac events. "We found that coronary calcium seems to play an important role in predicting subsequent heart attack or sudden cardiac death, and adds prognostic value to SPECT findings," said co-author Christopher Uebleis, M.D., member of the research unit for nuclear cardiology at Ludwig Maximilians University. Dr. Hacker pointed out that combining calcium scoring and SPECT can help to identify patients with known CAD who are at highest risk for serious or fatal heart attacks. "In these patients, intensified medical therapy, shorter follow-up intervals and, if necessary, bypass procedures may be required to prevent future severe cardiac events." "Stable Coronary Artery Disease: Prognostic Value of Myocardial Perfusion SPECT in Relation to Coronary Calcium Scoring ?Long Term Follow-up." Collaborating with Drs. Hacker and Uebleis were Alexander Becker, M.D., Ines Griesshammer, Paul Cumming, Ph.D., Christoph Becker, M.D., Michael Schmidt, M.D. and Peter Bartenstein, M.D. Radiology is edited by Herbert Y. Kressel, M.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (radiology.rsnajnls.org) RSNA is an association of more than 43,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to excellence in patient care through education and research. (RSNA.org) For patient-friendly information on CT, CAD and calcium scoring, visit http://www.RadiologyInfo.org. RSNA


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