Autoantibodies Are Affecting About 32 Million Americans, NIH Study Shows

January 14, 2012 By pmdaily Leave a Comment

NIH study shows 32 million Americans have autoantibodies that target their own tissues

More than 32 million people in the United States have autoantibodies, which are proteins made by the immune system that target the body’s tissues and define a condition known as autoimmunity, a study shows. The first nationally representative sample looking at the prevalence of the most common type of autoantibody, known as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), found that the frequency of ANA is highest among women, older individuals, and African-Americans. The study was conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers in Gainesville at the University of Florida also participated.

Earlier studies have shown that ANA can actually develop many years before the clinical appearance of autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. ANA are frequently measured biomarkers for detecting autoimmune diseases, but the presence of autoantibodies does not necessarily mean a person will get an autoimmune disease. Other factors, including drugs, cancer, and infections, are also known to cause autoantibodies in some people.

“Previous estimates of ANA prevalence have varied widely and were conducted in small studies not representative of the general population,” said Frederick Miller, M.D., Ph.D., an author of the study and acting clinical director at NIEHS. “Having this large data set that is representative of the general U.S. population and includes nearly 5,000 individuals provides us with an accurate estimate of ANA and may allow new insights into the etiology of autoimmune diseases.” The findings appear online in the Jan. 11 issue of the Journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Miller, who studies the causes of autoimmune diseases, explains that the body’s immune system makes large numbers of proteins called antibodies to help the body fight off infections. In some cases, however, antibodies are produced that are directed against one’s own tissues. These are referred to as autoantibodies.

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers evaluated blood serum samples using a technique called immunofluorescence to detect ANA in 4,754 individuals from the 1994-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The overall prevalence of ANA in the population was 13.8 percent, and was found to be modestly higher in African-Americans compared to whites. ANA generally increased with age and was higher in women than in men, with the female to male ratio peaking at 40-49 years of age and then declining in older age groups.

“The peak of autoimmunity in females compared to males during the 40-49 age bracket is suggestive of the effects that the hormones estrogen and progesterone might be playing on the immune system,” said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of NIEHS and an author on the paper.

The paper also found that the prevalence of ANA was lower in overweight and obese individuals than persons of normal weight. “This finding is interesting and somewhat unexpected,” said Edward Chan, Ph.D., an author on the study and professor of the Department of Oral Biology at the University of Florida.

“It raises the likelihood that fat tissues can secrete proteins that inhibit parts of the immune system and prevent the development of autoantibodies, but we will need to do more research to understand the role that obesity might play in the development of autoimmune diseases,” said Minoru Satoh, M.D., Ph.D., another author on the study and associate professor of rheumatology and clinical immunology at the University of Florida.

The researchers say the paper should serve as a useful baseline for future studies looking at changes in ANA prevalence over time and the factors associated with ANA development. The paper is the first in a series analyzing this data from the NHANES dataset, and exploring possible environmental associations with ANA.

The NIEHS supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human health and is part of NIH. For more information on environmental health topics, visit www.niehs.nih.gov. Subscribe to one or more of the NIEHS news lists (www.niehs.nih.gov/news/releases/newslist/index.cfm) to stay current on NIEHS news, press releases, grant opportunities, training, events, and publications.

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Vitamin D May Improve Bone Health In Those Taking Anti-HIV Drug

January 11, 2012 By pmdaily Leave a Comment

NIH study suggests benefits for young people on long-term tenofovir treatment

Vitamin D may help prevent hormonal changes that can lead to bone loss among those being treated for HIV with the drug tenofovir, according to the results of a National Institutes of Health network study of adolescents with HIV.

Tenofovir is widely used to treat HIV infection. However, the drug causes symptoms that resemble those of vitamin D deficiency ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-QuickFacts, causing bones to lose calcium and reducing bone density. The study found that large monthly doses of vitamin D reduced blood levels of a hormone that stimulates calcium release from bones.

“What we’ve found suggests vitamin D could be used to counteract one of the major concerns about using tenofovir to treat HIV,” said Rohan Hazra, M.D., of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH institute that funds the networks. “People in their teens and twenties may be on anti-HIV treatment for decades to come, so finding a safe and inexpensive way to protect their long-term bone health would be a major advance.”

The findings were published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium to build bones. When the body is deficient in vitamin D, levels of a hormone called parathyroid hormone rise. This rise triggers activity that draws calcium from bones. As a result, the bones become more fragile and can break more easily. Parathyroid hormone also tends to be elevated in people taking tenofovir, whether or not they have sufficient vitamin D.

Because parathyroid hormone levels are elevated in people taking tenofovir in much the same way as they are in people with vitamin D deficiency, the researchers theorized that vitamin D might counteract the bone-depleting effects of tenofovir.

The study was conducted by first author Peter L. Havens, M.D., of the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Dr. Hazra; Kathleen Mulligan, Ph.D., of the University of California at San Francisco; and other researchers affiliated with the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) and the International Maternal–Pediatric–Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Group.

In addition to funding from NICHD, funding was also provided by the National Center for Research Resources, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Mental Health.

About 200 18- to 25-year-olds on antiretroviral therapy took part in the study. Study participants included young adults taking tenofovir and those receiving other forms of anti-HIV treatment. Each month, the adolescents and young adults in the study took a 50,000-unit dose of vitamin D or placebo. At the end of the three months, parathyroid hormone levels had fallen about 14 percent among participants taking tenofovir and vitamin D but remained unchanged in participants taking other kinds of anti-HIV medication. However, youth taking tenofovir still had higher parathyroid hormone levels than those on other anti-HIV drugs. The researchers don’t know if longer treatment with vitamin D would further reduce parathyroid hormone levels.

The recommended daily dose of vitamin D is 600 units. The authors noted that they observed no adverse effects from the vitamin D treatment during the 3 months of this study.

The researchers are now making plans for a two-year follow-up study to examine the longer-term safety of vitamin D in a similar group of HIV-infected youth taking antiretroviral regimens containing tenofovir, and to determine if the changes in parathyroid hormone result in improvements in bone density.

About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s website at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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$9.5 Million Federal Grant to Support “Asthma Genome” Project with African-Americans

January 8, 2012 By pmdaily Leave a Comment

Search on for genetic roots of diseases that disproportionately afflict blacks, especially asthma

A Johns Hopkins-led team of experts in genetics, immunology, epidemiology and allergic disease has embarked on a four-year effort to map the genetic code, or whole genome, of 1,000 people of African descent, including men and women from Baltimore.

Researchers say their initial goal is to find genetic variations underlying asthma and to explain why the disease disproportionately afflicts blacks. As much as 20 percent of African-Americans have asthma, a disease often associated with allergies and marked by difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest. Chronic asthma can lead to serious lung damage, and blacks are three times more likely to be hospitalized or die from the condition than other American adults.

Study principal investigator and immunogeneticist Kathleen Barnes, Ph.D., says the effort to sequence the genetic code of 500 asthmatics and 500 non-asthmatics “represents an exciting opportunity to disentangle the genetic basis of a host of other diseases, not just asthma, which have a hereditary component and uniquely or disproportionately affect minorities.”

Barnes, a professor in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, and her team say they will make their findings freely available to other researchers through the dbGAP national database of genome-wide association studies, maintained by the National Library of Medicine, a member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, also part of the NIH, has provided the Johns Hopkins team with $9.5 million in study funding.

For part of the initiative, the researchers have contracted with Illumina Inc., of San Diego, Calif., to create a commercially available, customized gene chip, or DNA microarray test, dubbed the “African power chip,” to quickly find single mutations in genetic materials from blacks that may be associated with heightened disease risk.

Barnes says her team’s findings should fill in serious gaps in the hunt for genetic variations posed by Illumina’s existing genotyping chip, and a similar gene chip by Affymetrix Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. Both chips were developed from whole genome sequencing of predominantly white European men and women and do not represent potential variations found mostly or only in minority groups.

“One of our biggest barriers as researchers trying to find the underlying genetic roots of disease in minority groups has been the persistent lack of microarray testing tools relevant to each racial profile, especially African-Americans,” says Barnes, director of Johns Hopkins’ Genetics Research Facility and its Lowe Family Genomics Core laboratory.

“Asthma is exacerbated by social factors, such as poverty, and inadequate education and access to medical care,” adds Barnes, “so separating out the genetic component is particularly complex, but scientifically doable.” Barnes is also the Mary Beryl Patch Turnbull Scholar at Hopkins.

Researchers plan to sequence the genomes of blacks selected from among an international group of people participating in existing genetic studies, who have already been clinically diagnosed with asthma, or without, or who have other kinds of compromised lung function, and whose family histories are well documented. The participants will be selected from 15 academic research centers across the United States, the Caribbean and South America, as well as from four additional research sites in Western Africa.

An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from asthma, the most common chronic condition among American children. Each year, more than 4,000 Americans die from the condition, which also accounts for one-quarter of trips (some 2 million) to hospital emergency rooms for breathing problems.

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Green Valley Food Corp. is Expanding Its Recall to Include Additional Products Because of a Possible Health Risk

January 6, 2012 By pmdaily Leave a Comment

Green Valley Food Corp. is expanding its recall to include the following items because of a possible health risk.

“Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. containers with the UPC number 714722228818
“Let’s Grow Healthy Together!”Spicy Sprouts 5 oz. containers with the UPC number 71472222991
Alfalfa Sprouts 4oz. clamshell UPC number 815098001088

“100% Natural Onion Sprouts” 4oz. clamshell UPC number 815098002054Green Valley Food Corp. is recalling approximately 35,159 cases of a variety of products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Random samples tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Any customer who received any of the products on 12/07/2011 to 1/1/2012 are affected in this recall and/or if the items have a use by date ranging from 12/22/2011 to 1/17/2012. The original recall was initiated on 12/23/11 and 12/24/11, we are adding the additional items mentioned in this recall.

The items affected in the recall are as follows , which includes all items from the original press release from 12/23/2011:

Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722228818
Let”s Grow Healthy Together!” Spicy Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722229914
Alfalfa Sprouts 4oz. plastic security sealed clamshell UPC number 815098001088
Green Valley Food Corp.” Onion Sprouts” 4oz. plastic security sealed clamshell UPC number 815098002054
Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Sunflower Greens 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722206069
Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Clover Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722225510
Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Onion Sprouts 2 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722227712
Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Zesty Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722221116
Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Organic Wheat Grass 6oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722608122
Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Mung Bean Sprouts 8oz. red polypropylene bag with the UPC number 815098001071
Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Mung Bean Sprouts 16 oz. clear polypropylene bag with a green label, the UPC number 714722208162
&Green Valley Food Corp. Spicy Sprouts 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 815098002023
Green Valley Food Corp.” Snow Pea Shoots 3 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 714722106062
“Green Valley Food Corp.” Organic Wheatgrass 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 714722608122
Green Valley Food Corp.” Daikon Sprouts 3 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 714722206076
Broccosprouts” Sandwich Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000289
Broccosprouts” Salad Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000265
Broccosprouts” Deli Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 815098000272
Broccosprouts” Broccoli Sprouts 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000258

The sprouts affected in this recall were distributed via truck deliveries to all customers in Texas. Our customers consist on grocery store distribution centers and food service customers

Till this present day there has bee no related illnesses CONFIRMED because of this recall. This is a cautionary measure taken by Green Valley Food Corp. to assure safe and quality products are being distributed by our facility.

On 12/12/2011 a random sample was taken from a customer the product tested positive for Salmonella. Green Valley Food Corp. voluntarily recalled the alfalfa-based products when we were notified of the positive result on 12/23/2011 and 12/24/2011. On 12/21/2011 random samples were taken of our facility, several samples had a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes. To assure our customers of safe products, Green Valley Food Corp., is voluntarily recalling the additional items listed, which consist of “Let’s Grow Healthy Together”, “Green Valley Food Corp.” and “BroccoSprouts” branded products. This is a voluntary cautionary measure taken by Green Valley Food Corp. to assure all customers and consumers of any issues with our products. We are voluntarily requesting this recall and are working closely with the FDA to assure all consumers our products are safe.

If you are a direct customer affected by this recall you will be receiving a letter asking for the quantities you were shipped and their whereabouts.
Consumers who purchased these product at your local grocery store should dispose of the products immediately in a trash receptacle.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact us at (214) 939-3900 from Monday thru Friday from 6:00am to 4:00pm and on Saturday from 6:00am to noon, or via email at info@greenvalleyfood.com. We thank you for your attention to this recall and know with the help of the FDA, Green Valley Food Corp., will continue to produce and ship safe and quality products.

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NIH statement on Glaucoma Awareness Month, January 2012

January 6, 2012 By pmdaily Leave a Comment

Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Eye Institute

Glaucoma is a major cause of vision loss in the United States, affecting about 2.2 million Americans. The National Eye Institute (NEI) leads research toward better prevention, detection, and treatment of this often silent but devastating disease. During Glaucoma Awareness Month, NEI highlights research advances, showcases education and awareness efforts, and reminds Americans that early detection and treatment is the best way to prevent vision loss. NEI advises all Americans at risk of glaucoma to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam every one to two years.

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damages the optic nerve, the bundle of nerve cells that relays visual information from the eye to the brain. In the most common form of glaucoma, called primary open angle glaucoma, nerve damage results from an increase in intraocular pressure — the pressure inside the eye. Increased intraocular pressure occurs when the fluid that circulates in and out of the front part of the eye drains too slowly.

Glaucoma is usually painless, initially affects peripheral vision, and progresses slowly, which helps explain why half of all people with glaucoma are unaware they have it. Without adequate treatment, glaucoma eventually affects central vision and progresses to blindness. Vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible.

Glaucoma is a complex disease and progress toward preventing or reversing the condition has been slow; however, NEI’s multipronged approach to glaucoma research is making great strides. Epidemiological studies funded by NEI have identified populations at higher risk of glaucoma, including African-Americans ages 40 and older; everyone age 60 and older, especially Mexican Americans; and people with a family history of the disease.

The NEI-led Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) and the Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS) helped refine strategies for reducing glaucoma-related vision loss. The OHTS established that medicated eye drops to reduce intraocular pressure are effective at delaying or preventing disease among people identified to be at high risk of glaucoma. The AGIS found that specific traits such as race/ethnicity can help predict which type of surgical treatment is more likely to achieve better visual results.

NEI continues to fund research to advance techniques such as confocal laser scanning ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence tomography, which are used to image the retina and optic nerve. Studies such as the Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study and the Advanced Imaging for Glaucoma Study are using these techniques to develop better tools to diagnose and manage glaucoma.

NEI researchers are devising new techniques to study glaucoma disease mechanisms, such as new mouse models that simulate glaucoma. Such models enable scientists to study how increased eye pressure causes optic nerve cell death.

Some people have normal intraocular pressure despite having glaucoma. A major focus of NEI glaucoma research is the development of neuroprotective treatment strategies. NEI scientists are pursuing gene therapy, stem cells, and vaccines as potential therapies to protect precious optic nerve cells. Such therapies may apply to multiple visual neuropathies and, importantly, glaucoma that does not respond to eye pressure-lowering treatments.

The NEI National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) provides a variety of educational resources, in English and Spanish, as part of its broad eye health outreach effort. New this year is the Keep Vision in Your Future Glaucoma Toolkit, designed for health professionals and community organizations to raise awareness about the importance of comprehensive dilated eye exams for early detection of glaucoma.

According to an NEI survey, more than 90 percent of Americans have heard of glaucoma. However, only 8 percent are aware glaucoma has no early symptoms. During Glaucoma Awareness Month, NEHEP is targeting people at higher risk of glaucoma by working with media outlets to disseminate glaucoma information.

Help spread the word this January. Early detection and treatment is the best way to prevent vision loss from glaucoma. Encourage those at risk to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam.

For more information about glaucoma research programs at NEI, visit www.nei.nih.gov.

For more information about glaucoma, comprehensive dilated eye exams, and financial assistance available for eye care, visit www.nei.nih.gov/glaucoma.

To find educational resources available from NEHEP, visit www.nei.nih.gov/nehep/programs/glaucoma.

The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government’s research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov.

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