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Tenet Nurses, Healthcare Workers Take Action To Protest Sick Leave Cuts, California And Florida
Registered nurses and hospital workers who provide care at hospitals owned by Tenet Healthcare Corporation organized an unprecedented national protest against attempts to cut their access to sick leave.
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Georgia Receives More Than $60M In Ryan White Funding
Georgia has received $63.9 million in Ryan White Program grants to fund treatment and other services for people living with HIV, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Grant recipients include county health departments and community organizations. The funding will be used to provide outpatient health services, health insurance coverage and support services, such as transportation and housing. According to the Journal-Constitution, more than $1.79 billion in Ryan White funding was allocated nationwide. Several HIV/AIDS organizations said that the funding is necessary to continue providing services for people living with the disease. Tracy Elliot, executive director of AID Atlanta, said that the funding is "critical," noting that more than 18,000 HIV/AIDS cases have been reported in Georgia. He continued, "We would have a lot of deaths without [the funding]. There would be significantly more illnesses without it and significantly more transmission of the disease without it." According to Elliot, "[m]edical treatment and medications are of no value if people cannot have access to them" (Poole, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/19).
News of the day
HIV/AIDS Vaccine Coalition Urges Continued Funding For Research Amid Economic Crisis
A recently released AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition report says that although there has been a renewed focus on discovery, innovation and basic science in vaccine research, action is needed to ensure that research funding continues during the economic downturn, VOA News reports. AVAC executive director Mitchell Warren said the report is "about putting all the pieces together ... not just the search for an AIDS vaccine, but in fact the entire HIV prevention response." He added, "[T]he good news is we have some new pieces of the puzzle, and we"re expecting additional new pieces of understanding through research this year." Warren said that AVAC believes HIV/AIDS vaccine research is in "one of the most exciting times," with "new energy, new commitment to unlocking some of the basic scientific roadblocks that have impeded our ability to find a vaccine." For example, a study released earlier this week examined efforts to produce a vaccine through genetic transfer. Regarding the study, Warren said, "It doesn"t mean we have an AIDS vaccine, but it means we have an entirely new approach to trying to deliver protection." Warren said that the field of HIV/AIDS vaccine research has shown a renewed commitment since Merck canceled its vaccine trial in 2007. According to Warren, the new AVAC report examines knowledge gained from the Merck study, which has provided "an unimaginable amount of information." Meanwhile, the effect of the economic crisis on research funding is concerning, Warren said, adding, "I believe that every dollar spent is going to be held up to a greater scrutiny as budgets tighten and as funders have to re-examine their priorities." According to Warren, without renewed funding commitments, "we will not only incur a much greater public health catastrophe, but I would argue that the economic catastrophes to come, if we don"t respond aggressively to HIV, will actually have repercussions that will ... make the economic crisis pale in comparison" (DeCapua, VOA News, 5/18).
Diagnostics

Vitamin D May Halt Lung Function Decline In Asthma And COPD

Vitamin D may slow the progressive decline in the ability to breathe that can occur in people with asthma as a result of human airway smooth muscle (HASM) proliferation, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The group found that calcitriol, a form of vitamin D synthesized within the body, reduced growth-factor-induced HASM proliferation in cells isolated from both persons with asthma and from persons without the disease. The proliferation is a part of process called airway remodeling, which occurs in many people with asthma, and leads to reduced lung function over time. The researchers believe that by slowing airway remodeling, they can prevent or forestall the irreversible decline in breathing that leaves many asthmatics even more vulnerable when they suffer an asthma attack. "Calcitriol has recently earned prominence for its anti-inflammatory effects," said Gautam Damera, Ph.D., who will present the research at the American Thoracic Society"s 105th International Conference in San Diego on Wednesday, May 20. "But our study is the first to reveal the potent role of calcitriol in inhibiting ASM proliferation." The experiments were conducted with cells from 12 subjects, and the researchers compared calcitriol with dexmethasone, a corticosteroid prescribed widely for the treatment of asthma. Although, dexmethasone is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, the researchers found that it had little effect on HASM growth. Dr. Damera and his colleagues found calcitriol inhibits HASM in a dose-dependent manner, with a maximum inhibitory effect of 60 percent ÷± 3 percent at 100nM. As part of the University of Pennsylvania"s Airway Biology Initiative, the researchers are planning a randomized control trial of calcitriol in patients with severe asthma and expect to have data from the trial in about a year"s time. With its anti-inflammatory qualities and its ability to inhibit smooth muscle proliferation, Dr. Damera said, calcitriol may become an important new therapy, used alone or in combination with already prescribed steroids, for treating steroid-resistant asthma. Dr. Damera and his colleagues have also conducted experiments to determine the mechanism by which calcitriol retards HASM proliferation. They believe the vitamin works by inhibiting activation of distinct set of proteins responsible for cell-cycle progression. The investigators have also conducted experiments to determine whether calcitriol, which is currently used to treat psoriasis, could be an effective therapy for COPD. Although preliminary, their data shows that calcitriol appears to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine secretions in COPD. As with asthma, the researchers believe, calcitriol may also have the added benefit of slowing, if not stopping, the progression of airway remodeling. Others in the field believe calcitriol may also have the potential to inhibit the development and growth of several types of cancer. American Thoracic Society (ATS)


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