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Green Tea Chemical Shows Potential As Low-Cost Intervention Against Sexual HIV Transmission, Study Says
A chemical found in green tea might be an effective tool against the sexual transmission of HIV, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, AFP/Google.com reports. According to the study, green tea polyphenol -- called epigallocatechin-3-gallete, or EGCG -- neutralizes a protein in sperm that aids in the transmission of HIV during sex. The researchers noted that they "recently identified a peptide fraction in human semen that consistently enhanced HIV-1 infection." The study found that EGCG is able to neutralize the sperm protein, known as a semen-derived enhancer of virus infection, or SEVI. The researchers said that SEVI is "an important infectivity factor of HIV." According to the researchers, EGCG "appears to be a promising supplement to antiretroviral microbicides to reduce sexual transmission of HIV-1." The researchers said that because a majority of people living with HIV contract the disease through heterosexual transmission and that 96% of new cases are reported in developing and impoverished nations, the use of green tea in topical creams could be a "simple and affordable prevention method" (AFP/Google.com, 5/19).
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Alkermes Initiates Two New Clinical Trials Of ALKS 33
Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) announced the initiation of two new clinical trials of ALKS 33, an oral opioid modulator for the potential treatment of addiction and other nervous system disorders. Study ALK33-004 is a phase 1 clinical trial designed to examine the ability of ALKS 33 to block the effects of an opioid following a single oral dose of ALKS 33 in healthy, non-dependent, opioid-experienced subjects. Study ALK33-003 is a phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, safety and tolerability of multiple doses of ALKS 33 in healthy volunteers.
News of the day
August 1-7, 2009 Is World Breastfeeding Week
This week long observation of the importance of breastfeeding is organized by the World Breastfeeding Week organization (worldbreastfeedingweek.org). The theme this year is the importance of breastfeeding during emergency situations. It is important that when natural or man-made disasters strike that all involved remember the importance of maintaining and supporting breastfeeding of infants affected by the disaster.
Endocrinology

Teens Sensitive To Others' Perceptions Of Them

Young adolescents care a lot about what others think about them. A new study confirms this using brain-mapping techniques that shed new light on this complex period of social development. The study, published in the July/August 2009 issue of the journal Child Development, is authored by researchers at the University of Oregon and the University of California Los Angeles. Previous research into this area has relied on reports by teenagers themselves. This study eliminated the potential bias of self-reports by using brain scans to look at the neural systems that support individuals" perceptions of themselves. During the brain scans, 12 early adolescents (11- to 13-year-olds) and 12 young adults (22- to 30-year-olds) responded to researchers" questions about whether short phrases (such as "I am popular") described them, and whether they believed others (mothers, best friends, classmates) thought these phrases described them, too. The researchers then examined activity in the brain that occurred when the participants gave their responses. In comparison to the young adults, the tweens see themselves in ways that may depend more on what they believe others think about their abilities and attributes. And these others - including parents and friends - may have more influence in some areas than in other areas, with moms having more sway over how the tweens view their academic abilities but best friends exerting influence over how they see their social skills. "These findings provide a novel form of evidence confirming the sensitivity of adolescents to what they believe others think of them, especially parents and peers," suggests Jennifer H. Pfeifer, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon and the lead author. "More importantly, they suggest that being able to see others" perspectives on oneself may be particularly critical to development in adolescence. As a result, individuals who lack this social cognitive skill (including those with autism spectrum disorders) may face significant obstacles." The study was funded, in part, by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Center for Research Res, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. Summarized from Child Development, Vol. 80, Issue 4, Neural Correlates of Direct and Reflected Self-Appraisals in Adolescents and Adults: When Social Perspective-Taking Informs Self-Perception by Pfeifer, JH (University of Oregon), Masten, CL, Borofsky, LA, Dapretto, M, Fuligni, AJ, and Lieberman, MD (University of California Los Angeles). Copyright 2009 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved. Sarah Hutcheon Society for Research in Child Development


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