US approves HIV-prevention drug Truvada

US health regulators have for the first time approved a drug to prevent HIV infection. Truvada can be used by those at high risk of infection and anyone having HIV-infected partners. Studies showed the drug reduced the risk of contracting HIV by up to 73%.

Some health workers and groups active in the HIV community opposed a green light for the once-daily pill. There have been concerns the circulation of such a drug could engender a false sense of security and mean people will take more risks. There have also been fears that a drug-resistant strain of HIV could develop.

In a statement, the FDA stressed that the drug should be used as part of a "comprehensive HIV prevention plan", including other methods and regular HIV testing. In May, an advisory group of health experts recommended approval for the pill.

Truvada, made by California-based Gilead Sciences, is already backed by the FDA to be taken with existing antiretroviral drugs for people who have HIV. Studies from 2010 showed that Truvada reduced the risk of HIV in healthy gay men - and among HIV-negative heterosexual partners of HIV-positive people - by between 44% and 73%.

Michael Barton of UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, said there was good trial evidence that the drug could significantly cut the risk of the infection being passed on, but only if the tablets are taken consistently.

Many of the men in the trials did not take the drug regularly enough to get the full protection. He said that, in most circumstances, it would be better to treat the HIV-positive partner in the couple rather than focus on the HIV-negative one. "We know that for HIV-positive people if they consistently take antiretroviral drugs and their viral load is suppressed for them it's almost impossible to transmit the virus."

Antiretroviral drugs will also prolong their life. But he said the new drug might be useful in situations where, for example, a woman has a partner with HIV who is unwilling to take antiretrovirals or use other methods. Truvada is approved in the UK for the treatment of HIV, but not prevention.

Types of HIV drug treatment

Antiretroviral therapy - used to treat the infection, reduce the chance of onward transmission and prolong life

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) - emergency treatment (within 72 hours of exposure) aimed at preventing infection shortly after exposure

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) - medication taken to reduce or eliminate the chance of getting infected

UCLA study shows high-fructose diet sabotages learning, memory

A new UCLA study is the first to show how a diet steadily high in fructose slows the brain, hampering memory and learning — and how omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the disruption. “Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think,” said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a professor of integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. “Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage.”

While earlier research has revealed how fructose harms the body through its role in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the first to uncover how the sweetener influences the brain. The UCLA team zeroed in on high-fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive liquid six times sweeter than cane sugar, that is commonly added to processed foods, including soft drinks, condiments, applesauce and baby food. The average American consumes more than 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

 

 Fernando Gomez-Pinilla

“We’re not talking about naturally occurring fructose in fruits, which also contain important antioxidants,” explained Gomez-Pinilla, who is also a member of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center. “We’re concerned about high-fructose corn syrup that is added to manufactured food products as a sweetener and preservative.”

Team studied two groups of rats that each consumed a fructose solution as drinking water for six weeks. The second group also received omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which protects against damage to the synapses — the chemical connections between brain cells that enable memory and learning.

“DHA is essential for synaptic function — brain cells’ ability to transmit signals to one another,” Gomez-Pinilla said. “This is the mechanism that makes learning and memory possible. Our bodies can’t produce enough DHA, so it must be supplemented through our diet.”

The animals were fed standard rat chow and trained on a maze twice daily for five days before starting the experimental diet. The UCLA team tested how well the rats were able to navigate the maze, which contained numerous holes but only one exit. The scientists placed visual landmarks in the maze to help the rats learn and remember the way. Six weeks later, the researchers tested the rats’ ability to recall the route and escape the maze. What they saw surprised them.

“The second group of rats navigated the maze much faster than the rats that did not receive omega-3 fatty acids,” Gomez-Pinilla said. “The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity. Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats’ ability to think clearly and recall the route they’d learned six weeks earlier.”

The DHA-deprived rats also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates synaptic function in the brain. A closer look at the rats’ brain tissue suggested that insulin had lost much of its power to influence the brain cells. “Because insulin can penetrate the blood–brain barrier, the hormone may signal neurons to trigger reactions that disrupt learning and cause memory loss,” Gomez-Pinilla said.

He suspects that fructose is the culprit behind the DHA-deficient rats’ brain dysfunction. Eating too much fructose could block insulin’s ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar for the energy required for processing thoughts and emotions. “Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning,” he said. “Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new.”

Gomez-Pinilla, a native of Chile and an exercise enthusiast who practices what he preaches, advises people to keep fructose intake to a minimum and swap sugary desserts for fresh berries and Greek yogurt, which he keeps within arm’s reach in a small refrigerator in his office. An occasional bar of dark chocolate that hasn’t been processed with a lot of extra sweetener is fine too, he said.

Also eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, walnuts and flaxseeds, or take a daily DHA capsule. Gomez-Pinilla recommends one gram of DHA per day. “Our findings suggest that consuming DHA regularly protects the brain against fructose’s harmful effects,” said Gomez-Pinilla. “It’s like saving money in the bank. You want to build a reserve for your brain to tap when it requires extra fuel to fight off future diseases.”

The UCLA study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Gomez-Pinilla’s lab will next examine the role of diet in recovery from brain trauma. The UCLA Department of Neurosurgery is committed to providing the most comprehensive patient care through innovative clinical programs in minimally invasive brain and spinal surgery; neuroendoscopy; neuro-oncology for both adult and pediatric brain tumors; cerebrovascular surgery; stereotactic radiosurgery for brain and spinal disorders; surgery for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease; and epilepsy surgery. For 20 consecutive years, the department has been ranked among the top 10 neurosurgery programs in the nation by US News & World Report.

World's oldest yoga teacher Tao Porchon-Lynch at 93

Tao Porchon-Lynch has been named the oldest yoga teacher in the world by Guinness World Records. The 93-year-old, who has had a hip replacement, said she would continue teaching "until I can't breathe any more. I love yoga, it brightens my day and makes everybody smile."

Student With Flesh-Eating Disease Will Lose Fingers

   

Aimee Copeland, the Georgia student who contracted a rare flesh-eating disease after a zip line injury will lose her fingers. "Aimee will suffer the loss of her fingers, however physicians have hope of bringing life back to the palms of her hands, which could allow her the muscle control to use helpful prosthetics. They are awaiting a safe time before embarking on surgery for this," said a post on the University of West Georgia Psychology website.

Copeland, a 24-year-old graduate student at the school, has already lost her left leg and may also lose her remaining foot, according to her family. Despite being hooked up to a ventilator and unable to speak, Copeland's family said she's showing signs of recovery.

"Aimee appears to have normal brain function at this time, which is something I'm celebrating because within Aimee we have a very compassionate heart and an incredible mind of intellect," said Copeland's father, Andy Copeland.

Aimee Copeland was riding a homemade zip line near the Little Tallapoosa River May 1 when the line snapped, causing a fall that cut open her left calf. Doctors at a nearby hospital cleaned and closed the gash with 22 staples, but bacteria that burrowed deep into the wound caused necrotizing fasciitis, a rare but deadly infection that claimed her leg one week ago.

Copeland's family said she's coherent and able to nod and shake her head, a gesture she used to pick the Grateful Dead over the Rolling Stones Thursday, according to her sister Paige. "I just told her if she keeps improving like this, she'll be out of here in no time," said Paige Copeland. It's unclear how much of the ordeal Copeland remembers.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she has mouthed, "What happened?" and "Where am I?" Her family has started to give her answers, but has not told her she lost her leg. The bacteria that triggered the infection, Aeromonas hydrophila, thrives in warm climates and fresh water, such as the river where Copeland was zip lining with friends. But experts say the common germ rarely causes flesh-eating disease.

Although the infection is rare, it's extremely dangerous. Mortality rates for Aeromonas-related necrotizing fasciitis are upward of 60 percent, according to a report. After her leg was amputated, Copeland was flown to Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga., where her recovery has been touch and go. Tuesday, one week after the accident, her heart stopped beating, forcing doctors to resuscitate her.

Students and faculty at the University of West Georgia, where Copeland was completing a masters degree in psychology, gathered for a vigil. "Despite the fact that medical evidence says she should be dead, she isn't," Chris Aanstoos, a professor of psychology, said. "I think that's what makes it so precious to so many people to see how amazing she really is."