Hope we never need this one.

The face of nuclear terror has changed since the Cold War, but disaster-medicine expert Irwin Redlener reminds us the threat is still real. He looks at some of history’s farcical countermeasures and offers practical advice on how to survive an attack.

First we were using stem cells to create blood in order to sustain life. Now we are creating life.

What’s next - the Universe!!!

A team of biologists and chemists is closing in on bringing non-living matter to life.

It’s not as Frankensteinian as it sounds. Instead, a lab led by Jack Szostak, a molecular biologist at Harvard Medical School, is building simple cell models that can almost be called life.

(Image: Creating life forms in the video game Spore)

Reference: Wired

In continuation to my earlier post, now there is more proof that measles vaccine does not cause autism. And I reiterate that the benefits of MMR vaccination far outweighs any risks.

Researchers at Columbia University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sought to allay some of their fears today, releasing study results they said showed “no connection” between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism in kids.

The researchers were dealing with a hypothesis out there that, as they explained it in a call with reporters, goes something like this: The measles virus from the vaccine could reproduce in the intestinal tract, leading to inflammation and bowel permeability. That leaky bowel could permit the release of chemicals that would make their way to the nervous system, causing trouble.

The researchers compared bowel tissues from two groups of kids, one with gastrointestinal problems and autism, and the other with gastrointestinal problems alone. But they didn’t find any differences between the two groups that suggested the vaccine could be to blame.

References: Wall Street Journal Health Blog, Public Library of Science

In a new article released online (ahead of print) in the New England Journal of Medicine (SEAS Trial), Schering-Plough’s “would be” blockbuster drug ezitimibe (Zetia) has again not only fallen short of it’s expectations, but now may also be linked with increased cancer risk.

In patients taking Vytorin (simvastatin + ezitimibe) there was an increased number of cancers (no particular type) when it was given to try to prevent aortic stenosis (thickening of a valve located in the blood outflow tract in the heart).

Aortic stenosis in elderly is related to atherosclerosis and has many of the same risk factors as for heart attacks. This trial was therefore designed to see if Vytorin could prevent/delay development of aortic stenosis. Unfortunately, Vytorin fell short in this criterion also.

Of note, another article published online, analyzed data from 2 more trials (which are ongoing - SHARP , IMPROVE-IT) in addition to the SEAS trial and concluded that there may not be any relationship of Vytorin with cancer. However, both the other studies are sponsored by Schering-Plough!!!!!

But these articles most likely will drive the nail in the coffin for Vytorin.

Reference: NEJM

What is better: Coronary artery bypass surgery OR Angioplasty with stent? Another article (SYNTAX Study), another viewpoint!!

For heart patients with clogged arteries, the choice between bypass surgery or an angioplasty may come down to one question: How many procedures would you like to have?
In research presented Monday at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich, experts concluded that while bypass surgery and angioplasty offer comparable results, patients who have angioplasties are twice as likely to require another procedure within a year.

Also note:

After one year, researchers found that the death rate among the two groups was virtually the same: 7.7 percent among surgery patients and 7.6 percent among angioplasty patients.

In patients who had an angioplasty, nearly 14 percent needed another procedure after a year, compared with about 6 percent of surgery patients.

But patients who had surgery had about a 2 percent stroke risk versus nearly zero risk for patients who had an angioplasty. Doctors said that any surgery had an inherent stroke risk, compared with an angioplasty.

The study was also underpowered to provide definite results.

Reference: European Society of Cardiology, Associated Press