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Link Between Vitamin D Insufficiency And Bacterial Vaginosis In Pregnant Women
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in US women of childbearing age, and is common in pregnant women. BV occurs when the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Because having BV puts a woman at increased risk for a variety of complications, such as preterm delivery, there is great interest in understanding how it can be prevented. Vitamin D may play a role in BV because it exerts influence over a number of aspects of the immune system. This hypothesis is circumstantially supported by the fact that BV is far more common in black than white women, and vitamin D status is substantially lower in black than white women. This relation, however, has not been rigorously studied. To assess whether poor vitamin D status may play a role in predisposing a woman to BV, Bodnar and coworkers at the University of Pittsburgh and the Magee-Womens Research Institute studied 469 pregnant women. The results of their investigation are published in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
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LSUHSC Research On How Like Cell Receptor Systems Determine Very Different Functions, Supported By Grant
Andy Catling, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has been awarded a $177, 500 supplement to his RO1 grant by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to support his research on the mechanism by which seemingly similar cell receptor systems determine quite different functions influenced by hormones and drugs.
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PEPFAR Funds Used To Encourage Swaziland Couples To Get Tested Together
CNN examines the success of an HIV testing campaign in Swaziland that urges couples to get tested together. "The nationwide initiative - funded by the United States government and implemented by global charity "Population Services International" (PSI) - is aimed at couples because tests can be useless if partners are not aware of the others" HIV status," CNN writes.
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St. Jude Medical Applauds MADIT-CRT Trial

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) commends the efforts of investigators in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (MADIT-CRT). The early results of the trial indicate that early intervention with CRT-D therapy can slow a patient"s progression from early stage heart failure (NYHA Class I-II) to late stage heart failure (NYHA Class III-IV). The trial, led by Arthur J. Moss, M.D., principal investigator and Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, demonstrated cardiac resynchronization therapy is associated with a significant 29 percent reduction (p=0.003) in death or heart failure interventions when compared to traditional implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy in high risk, asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I and II patients. About 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed every year, according to the American Heart Association. Currently, patients are typically only given a CRT-D after they have reached NYHA class III or IV heart failure, a much more serious condition. Expanded indications for CRT-D devices based on the MADIT-CRT data would improve the health of many patients in earlier stages of heart failure (NYHA class I and II) by allowing them to receive a CRT-D device. "The MADIT-CRT trial has shown that if intervention is conducted early enough, the outcome for the patient will be better over time," said Mark Carlson, M.D., chief medical officer of the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division of St. Jude Medical. "The next step for our industry is to ensure physicians and patients are aware of the clinically proven effectiveness of this treatment and that they benefit from the currently available cardiac resynchronization therapies." Cardiac resynchronization therapy is used to treat the symptoms and complications associated with certain types of heart failure (HF). CRT is administered using a pacemaker, called a CRT-P, or an ICD with pacing capabilities, called a CRT-D. A CRT-D has the added ability to defibrillate the heart if a patient is at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias. CRT stimulates both of the heart"s lower chambers so that they are "synchronized" and more efficient in pumping blood to the body. The stimulation takes place via a pulse generator (the ICD or pacemaker) and pacing leads, which are placed next to the heart"s tissue and deliver electrical impulses to the heart. St. Jude Medical


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