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Change In Measurement Of HBA1C For People With Diabetes, UK
From 1 June 2009, HbA1c (long term blood glucose levels) in all people with diabetes will be measured in millimoles per mol as well as by percentage, the Department of Health said today.

Biological Warfare In Bacteria Offers Hope For New Antibiotics
Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics.
News of the day
Microbicide Under Research For HIV Prevention Examined
A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Missouri and Japan has been studying a compound they believe might prevent HIV transmission, the Columbia Tribune reports. According to the Tribune, "Tests show the microbicide, known as EFdA, stops HIV from replicating or spreading when applied to human cells." Stefan Sarafianos, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri"s School of Medicine, and a researcher working on the compound, said, "Women would be able to apply it to themselves and have control over the situation, unlike other forms of protection," adding that although the compound is in an early stage of research, "hopefully companies will eventually license and develop it as a product." The article also discusses findings from a study by an Indiana University School of Medicine researcher that "found that students who know their lifestyle puts them at risk for sexually transmitted diseases would be more likely to receive an HIV vaccination" if it were available, but that they would be less likely to get a vaccine if they are worried about what others might think of them (Heavin, 8/3).
Mental Health

Statins Can Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease, According To New Study

High cholesterol levels are considered to be a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer"s disease. Therefore, many cholesterol lowering drugs, including statins, have been developed in recent years. In addition to the cholesterol reducing effect of statins Amalia Dolga, PhD, of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and her co-investigators have demonstrated that statins can protect nerve cells against damage which we know to occur in the brain of Alzheimer"s disease patients. The results are published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer"s Disease. How nerve cells die in Alzheimer"s disease is complex but we know that nerve cells eventually die because they are strongly overstimulated, a process called excitotoxicity. In animal experiments conducted in the laboratory of Professor Ulrich Eisel, Department of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Groningen, Dolga and colleagues overstimulated such nerve cells. They clearly demonstrated that treatment with a statin called Lovastatin could prevent the death of nerve cells under these conditions. The statins not only prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity that normally occurs after such cell death. In a previous study Dolga had showed that these statins stimulate the protective capacity of tumor necrosis factor, which is a key player in the brain"s immune response. Dolga has demonstrated in animal experiments that this tumor necrosis factor has a strong beneficial effect on nerve cells and can protect nerve cells against death. A widely prescribed drug like statins can activate this protective pathway revealing strong beneficial effect. IOS Press BV


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