August 7, 2012 Clippings

Imagine a world without malaria – Aussie docs are working on it!

Researchers have made a major breakthrough in the quest for a vaccine against malaria, which causes over a million deaths every year. The findings show that people who develop immunity to malaria develop antibodies that primarily target a protein known as PfEMP1, which is produced by Plasmodium falciparum, causing most cases of malaria. James Beeson, professor and senior study author at the Burnet Institute, Australia’s largest virology and communicable disease research centre, said that these findings are a major advance towards developing an effective vaccine, the Journal of Clinical Investigation reports.

These findings unlock the mystery of which malaria proteins, known as variant surface antigens (VSAs), could be targeted by an effective vaccine to achieve immunity to malaria, according to a Burnet statement.

“A vaccine against malaria is urgently needed to reduce this disease globally and currently there is no licensed malaria vaccine available. The new findings support the idea that a vaccine could be developed that stimulates the immune system so that it specifically mounts a strong response (or attack) against the PfEMP1 protein that malaria produces,” said Beeson.

Study co-author, Jo-Anne Chan said the findings also showed that when the immune system attacks other proteins that malaria produces, this is not as effective in protecting people. This emphasises that the immune system has to ‘get it right’ in order to fight malaria infection effectively.

Malaria is caused by a parasite that infects human red blood cells and replicates within them. While inside these cells, malaria parasites produce specific proteins that enable infected cells to stick and clog-up blood vessels in the body.

This clogging can occur in organs such as the brain and lungs, and the placenta in pregnant women, and causes severe illness and death.

Source: http://health.india.com

07.08.2012

Mothers have sharper memories after childbirth

A new study has found that after childbirth, mothers could remember many more things with much more ease. The study showed that mothers performed better in tests regarding the ability to perceive and remember information about their surroundings compared with those who didn’t have children. Melissa Santiago from Carlos Albizu University in Miami, US, who led the study, said the findings negate the belief that women experience a decline in memory and cognitive function after they have children. “You don’t have to feel that because you have kids, your memory isn’t the same,” she said.

Previous studies on the topic have had mixed results: some showed motherhood hurts cognition, and others showed the opposite. Santiago analysed information from 35 first-time mothers whose children were aged 10 to 24 months, and 35 women who had never been pregnant. To test such memory, the women were shown a paper containing six symbols for 10 seconds, and then asked to draw what they remembered. This task was repeated several times. The first time women were shown the paper, both groups remembered about the same amount, according to the Daily Mail.

On the second and third occasions, mothers performed better than those without children, indicating that the mothers garnered more information each time than the other women. Later, the women were shown a variety of different symbols and asked to remember which ones were present on the earlier task. Again, the mothers displayed a better memory. In pregnancy, many physiological changes happen to the body, and previous research has suggested the brain even shrinks up to five percent.

It returns to its normal size six months after childbirth, and during this time of re-growth, the brain may re-map itself in a way that is responsible for the memory changes seen in the study, Santiago said. These findings would be presented at a meeting of the American Psychological Association in the US.

Source: http://health.india.com

07.08.2012

People living near sea 'healthier'

People, who live on the English coast have better health compared to people who live inland, a new survey has revealed.

According to researchers, living in areas such as Skegness, St Ives or Scarborough had been linked to a "small, but significant" improvement in health.

Lower stress and more opportunities to exercise have been suggested as possible explanations.

The researchers had looked at data from 48 million people in England from the 2001 census.

They compared how close people had been to the bracing sea air and their answer to a question about their own health.

The study had been conducted by the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Exeter.

It found that people living less than 1 km from the sea had been more likely to say that they were in "good health" than people living further away.

The effect had been small but the researchers said that when magnified across 48 million people, it could have a large impact on public health.

Lead researcher Dr Ben Wheeler said that loads of explanations had been suggested, although they had not yet been tested.

"One of the most obvious is the opportunity for physical activity or being more motivated to go for a walk along the coast," the BBC quoted Wheeler as saying.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

07.08.2012

No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person

Willa Cather