Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Illinois Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against HIV/AIDS Nonprofit
The Illinois attorney general on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Center for AIDS Prevention for unlawful fundraising and falsifying official documents, ProPublica reports (Weaver, 7/27). Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the state revoked the organization"s registration 20 years ago, but its director, Steve Neely, also known as Morrell Neely, has continued to solicit donations in the state. "The state says the group tried to reregister as a nonprofit using a phony Chicago address, though its boss, ò€¦ lives in Riverside, Calif.," Courthouse News Service reports (Freeland, 7/27). "If the suit is successful, Illinois could seize money illegally raised there, bar Neely and others involved with the center from future charitable work in the state, freeze their assets, force them to pay back donations they may have "misused and/or wasted" with interest, and attempt to shut the group down for good by revoking its corporate status," ProPublica reports (7/27).

New Promising Alzheimer's Disease Treatment: Mount Sinai
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that a compound called NIC5-15, might be a safe and effective treatment to stabilize cognitive performance in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer"s disease. The two investigators, Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D. , and Hillel Grossman, M.D., presented Phase IIA preliminary clinical findings at the Alzheimer"s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD) in Vienna on Sunday, July 12.
News of the day
Houston Task Force To Target Hispanic Residents For HIV Testing
The Latino HIV Task Force in Houston will offer free HIV testing as part of National HIV Testing Day on June 27, the Houston Chronicle reports. According to the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS), Hispanics comprise 21 percent of the more than 16,000 HIV cases reported to the agency over the last 10 years and 17 percent of the nearly 26,000 AIDS cases since 1981. Porfirio Villarreal, HDHHS"s public information officer and media chair for the Task Force, said that HIV prevention is challenging among Hispanic communities because of stigma and difficulties in talking openly about sex. He added, "People who are undocumented in this country do not go test because they fear they may be deported, which is wrong." The task force was established in 2002 and has brought together several local health agencies and community-based organizations that offer medical treatment or programs focused on HIV/AIDS, according to the Chronicle (Lamkahouan, Houston Chronicle, 6/22).
Mental Health

National Jewish Health And Ceragenix Announce Compound Shows Promise For Treating Potentially Lethal Viral Infections

Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.("Ceragenix") (OTCBB:CGXP), a medical device company focused on infectious disease and dermatology, announced that researchers at National Jewish Health, led by Dr. Donald Y. Leung and Dr. Michael Howell, in collaboration with Dr. Paul B. Savage of Brigham Young University, have demonstrated in a series of in vitro experiments and preclinical animal testing that an investigational drug compound known as CSA-13 shows promise as a potential therapy to treat viral infections from the vaccinia virus. The research appears ahead of print in an advanced online publication of the Journal of Investigate Dermatology, the official journal of the Society for Investigative Dermatology. This work was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Atopic Dermatitis Vaccinia Network. Vaccinia virus infections are of concern as the current smallpox vaccine uses this live virus to inoculate persons against a potential bioterror smallpox attack. Use of the vaccine is contraindicated in persons who are immunocompromised and in persons who have or ever had atopic dermatitis (eczema) as those persons are at greater risk for developing serious and sometimes life-threatening complications related to vaccinia infections. It is estimated that over 40 million persons are at higher risk of serious side effects if widespread smallpox vaccination were to be implemented. CSA-13 is a member of the Company"s developmental Ceragenin™ class of compounds. Ceragenins are synthetic antimicrobial compounds designed to mimic the structure and function of endogenous antimicrobial peptides which form a key component of the body"s innate immune system. In the recent publication, the authors show that CSA-13 exhibits potent antiviral activity against the vaccinia virus by (1) direct antiviral effects against vaccinia; and (2) stimulating the expression of endogenous antimicrobial peptides with known antiviral activity against vaccinia . In addition, the research shows that a topical application of CSA-13 penetrates the skin and reduces subsequent satellite lesion formation. According to Dr. Leung: "In our current study, we demonstrate that CSA-13 exhibits potent anti-viral activity by preferentially targeting and killing the vaccinia virus directly and by inducing antimicrobial peptides with known activity against the virus. Additionally, we demonstrate that topical administration of CSA-13 significantly reduces the development of satellite lesions. Taken together, our current study suggests that CSAs may be effective as an anti-viral agent against disseminated vaccinia virus infections. The development of these synthetic agents for treatment of disseminated viral skin infection represents an exciting advance." Steve Porter, Chairman and CEO of Ceragenix stated: "We thank Dr. Leung and his colleagues for his excellent work and his important findings on the anti-viral properties of our lead compound. Dr. Leung"s group was the first to recognize the potential anti-viral properties of our Ceragenin™ compounds." Ceragenix


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009