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Adolescent Drinking Linked To Behavioural Problems
Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have behavioural and attention problems and suffer from anxiety and depression, a team led by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has reported.

Editorial, Opinion Piece Respond To Health Care Reform Issues
President Obama is "right to push for [health care] reform now, despite calls to postpone efforts solely on the economic recovery," a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial states. According to the editorial, cost-cutting initiatives proposed by industry groups earlier this week "may not amount to anything" because they are voluntary and "providers" past efforts at containing costs have failed every time." However, the groups" vow to reduce future health care spending by $2 trillion "shows how much fat and waste is in the system," according to the Inquirer. The editorial also states that the "most assured means of tamping down costs while providing greater access to health coverage could be through" a government-run public health insurance option. In addition, Obama "needs to warm to the idea of requiring that all Americans obtain health insurance," in order to spread out the cost of care, the editorial continues. The editorial concludes that "it"s encouraging that Obama doesn"t plan to let a couple of wars and a recession sidetrack him from his pledge to reform health care and expand coverage to all Americans" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/14). Opinion Piece
News of the day
Meeting Addresses MTCT Of HIV In Africa
Health officials recently held a regional consultation in Kenya to examine mother-to-child HIV transmission services and pediatric HIV/AIDS care in nine Eastern and Southern African countries, IRIN/PlusNews reports. The consultation -- hosted by UNICEF, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization -- included representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The meeting addressed issues in MTCT prevention services -- including the continued use of single-dose nevirapine instead of more effective combination therapies, as well as delays in diagnosing and initiating treatment -- that are weakening prevention programs in focus countries. According to IRIN/PlusNews, 70% of pregnant women in Eastern and Southern African countries are seen by a health care provider at least once during pregnancy. However, 43% of HIV-positive pregnant women have a health care worker present during labor who can administer PMTCT treatment. In Uganda, a national policy calls for all sub-county level health facilities to provide PMTCT services, but only 53% offer such services because of health worker shortages. Janet Kayita, regional PMTCT adviser for UNICEF, said, "We are doing a bad job of testing women for HIV and then following them up, and an even worse job of ensuring that infants receive appropriate prevention and treatment services." She added that national PMTCT guidelines have not reached local levels. "These policies must become a reality for the people they were designed to help," Kayita said, adding that primary health care systems at all levels must be strengthened (IRIN/PlusNews, 5/25).Some officials at the meeting called on African governments to reach 80% of pregnant women, mothers and children with services; reduce by 50% the number of women and infants who do not receive follow-up care; and double the number of HIV-positive children who receive antiretroviral treatment. Xinhuanet reports that prevention services currently reach about 50% of pregnant women in all Eastern and Southern African countries. At the close of the consultation, officials issued a set of recommendations for meeting PMTCT goals, including increased community involvement in prevention programs; reduced workloads for health workers; and increased coverage of and compliance with PMTCT regimens. In addition, the experts urged governments to prioritize regions with high HIV burdens and strengthen data management to better understand trends (Ooko, Xinhuanet, 5/25). James Kamau, coordinator of the Kenya Treatment Access Movement, recommended that more women in the country deliver in hospitals in order to ensure that they receive PMTCT services (Mwaniki, Daily Nation, 5/25). David Alnwick, a UNICEF regional adviser, said, "It is critical at this juncture, when many countries are faced with shrinking budgets and competing demands, that we do not lose the momentum of what needs to be done to create an AIDS-free generation" (Xinhuanet, 5/25).
Diagnostics

Infiltrating Blood-Derived Macrophages Are Vital Cells Playing An Anti-inflammatory Role In Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury In Mice

Although macrophages are known as essential players in wound healing, their contribution to recovery from spinal cord injury is a subject of debate. Using a mouse model of spinal injury, Michal Schwartz and colleagues from the Weizmann institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel tested the effect of macrophages on the recovery process after injury and demonstrate an important anti-inflammatory role for a subset of infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages that is dependent upon their expression of the anti-inflammatory molecule interleukin-10. These results suggest that this subset of macrophages may have a beneficial effect on spinal cord injuries. Funding: MS holds the Maurice and Ilse Katz Professorial Chair in Neuroimmunology. The work was supported in part by the High Q Foundation, an NRSAD award, ERC award, and by IsrALS, given to MS. This work was supported also by the Israel Science Foundation, given to MS and SJ. SJ was supported by the MINERVA Foundation and by a joint ISF Bio-Med research grant, and is the incumbent of the Pauline Recanati Career Development Chair. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Citation: "Infiltrating Blood-Derived Macrophages Are Vital Cells Playing an Anti-inflammatory Role in Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury in Mice." Shechter R, London A, Varol C, Raposo C, Cusimano M, et al. (2009) PLoS Med 6(7): e1000113. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000113 PLoS Medicine


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