The use of inhaled anticholinergic agents (medications that help reduce bronchospasm) by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with a significantly increased risk of heart attack, stroke of cardiovascular death, according to a meta-analysis of randomized trials published in the September 24 issue of JAMA.

COPD is the fourth leading cause of chronic illness and death in the United States, and is projected to rank fifth in 2020 in burden of disease worldwide. Inhaled anticholinergic agents (including ipratropium bromide or tiotropium bromide) are widely used in patients with COPD, but their effect on the risk of cardiovascular outcomes is unknown, according to background information in the article. Inhaled tiotropium is the most widely prescribed medication for COPD, with more than 8 million patients worldwide having used it since its approval in 2002.

Sonal Singh, M.D., M.P.H., of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to determine cardiovascular risks (myocardial infarction [MI; heart attack], stroke, and cardiovascular death) associated with the long-term use of inhaled anticholinergics. After identifying and a detailed screening of 103 articles, 17 randomized trials enrolling 14,783 patients were analyzed. Follow-up duration ranged from 6 weeks to 5 years.

The analysis indicated that inhaled anticholinergics significantly increased the risk, by 58 percent, of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke (1.8 percent vs. 1.2 percent for controls). Among individual components of the primary outcome, inhaled anticholinergics significantly increased the risk of heart attack by 53 percent (1.2 percent vs. 0.8 percent for controls) and also significantly increased (by 80 percent) the risk of cardiovascular death (0.9 percent vs. 0.5 percent for controls).

All-cause death was reported in 149 of the patients treated with inhaled anticholinergics (2.0 percent) and 115 of the control patients (1.6 percent). A sensitivity analysis restricted to 5 long-term trials (greater than 6 months) confirmed the significantly increased risk (73 percent) of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke (2.9 percent of patients treated with anticholinergics vs. 1.8 percent of the control patients).

“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular hospitalization and cardiovascular death. Cardiovascular death is a more frequent cause of death in patients with COPD than respiratory causes, with the proportion of cardiovascular deaths increasing with the severity of the disease,” the authors write.

“Clinicians need to closely monitor patients with COPD who are taking long-term anticholinergics for the development of cardiovascular events. Clinicians and patients should carefully consider these potential long-term cardiovascular risks of inhaled anticholinergics in the treatment of COPD, and decide whether these risks are an acceptable trade-off in return for their symptomatic benefits.”

JAMA. 2008;300[12]:1439-1450.

Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

LONDON: Common antidepressant drugs
may reduce some men’s fertility by damaging the DNA in their sperm, according to
scientists.

A study of 35 healthy men given paroxetine - sold as
Paxil or Seroxat by GlaxoSmithKline - found that, on average, the proportion of
sperm cells with fragmented DNA rose from 13.8% before treatment to 30.3% after
just four weeks.

Similar levels of sperm DNA damage have been linked
to problems with embryo viability in couples trying to have
children.

The research by Peter Schlegel and Cigdem Tanrikut of the
Cornell Medical Center in New York was reported in

New Scientist

magazine and is due to be
presented in November at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive
Medicine.

“The fertility potential of a substantial proportion of men
on paroxetine may be adversely affected by these changes in sperm DNA
integrity,” the experts concluded.

The study adds to concerns voiced
by the same doctors in 2006, after finding that two men had developed low counts
of healthy sperm following treatment with two different selective
serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

SSRIs like Paxil/Seroxat and
Eli Lilly’s Prozac, both of which are now available generically, are the most
commonly prescribed class of antidepressant.

Glaxo said it was
reviewing the investigators’ findings, since the study was not conducted by the
company.

“These medicines remain an important option, in addition to
counseling and lifestyle changes, for treatment of depression and this study
should not be used to cause unnecessary concern for patients,” a spokeswoman
said. “Patients should discuss their situation with their doctor before stopping
use of their medicine.”

Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at
the University of Sheffield, said the apparent increase in sperm DNA damage was
“alarming”, although he noted the level at which damage becomes clinically
significant was open to debate.

“It is a shame that the authors
appear not to have conducted a randomized controlled trial which would be the
most scientific way to investigate the drugs effects, but I agree that the
results are of concern and need to be investigated further,” he
said.

SSRIs have long been known to depress libido in some men and
previous research has also found that women taking the medicines are more likely
to have a low birth weight baby.

 
According to an article published early online and in an upcoming
edition of The Lancet, type I diabetes was not
prevented or delayed by administering insulin (via the nasal cavity) to
infants and children whose genetic profiles and presence of
autoantibodies put them at a high risk of developing the condition.

The authors of the study, Dr Kirsti Näntö-Salonen and Dr Olli Simell
(University of Turku, Finland) and colleagues, performed the clinical
trial after promising results from animal studies. Previous research in
mouse models revealed that several different avenues of insulin therapy
could reduce the incidence of autoimmune (type I) diabetes. Results
were most pronounced when young animals in the early stages of the
disease were treated.

The analysis by Näntö-Salonen, Simell, and colleagues began
with cord blood samples of 116,720 infants (index) from three hospitals
in Finland and 3,430 of their siblings. The researchers tested for
genetic profiles that indicated susceptibility to type I diabetes, and
an increased risk profile was seen in 17,397 of the index infants and
1,613 of the siblings. Of these, 11,225 and 1,574,
respectively, agreed to receive screenings for diabetes-associated
autoantibodies (first recognizable sign of the ongoing autoimmune
process) at every 3 - 12 months. The randomized controlled portion of
the study consisted of 264 children (224 index and 40 siblings) who
tested positive for two or more autoantibodies in consecutive samples
taken 3 - 6 months apart. An insulin group consisted of randomly
selected 115 index children and 22 siblings, and a placebo group
consisted of the remaining 109 index children and 18 siblings. The
average (median) duration of intervention was 1.8 years.

Results indicated that the 49 index children in the insulin group and
47 in the placebo group were diagnosed with type I diabetes - not a
significant difference. In addition, 42 in the insulin group and 38 in
the placebo group continued treatment until diagnosis. Their yearly
rates of diabetes onset were 16.8% and 15.3%, respectively. In the
insulin group, 7 siblings were diagnosed with diabetes compared to 6
siblings in the placebo group. The total number of diabetes cases
diagnosed in all randomized children was 56 in the insulin group and 53
in the placebo group. “Administration of nasal insulin did not delay or
prevent type I diabetes in children with genetically conferred risk of
disease, even when started soon after antibodies to the condition were
detected,” conclude the authors.

An accompanying comment written by Dr David B Dunger and Dr John Todd
(University of Cambridge, UK) adds: “As Näntö-Salonen and colleagues
and others have shown, autoantibody seroconversion in the first 1-3
years of life may be a common prerequisite for development of type I
diabetes, which would suggest that an early window of susceptibility
exists, after which seroconversion and type I diabetes are much less
likely.”

Nasal insulin to prevent type 1 diabetes in children
with HLA genotypes and autoantibodies conferring increased risk of
disease: a double-blind, randomised controlled trial
Kirsti Näntö-Salonen, Antti Kupila, Satu Simell, Heli
Siljander, Tiina Salonsaari, Anne Hekkala, Sari Korhonen, Risto
Erkkola, Jukka I Sipilä, Lotta Haavisto, Marja Siltala, Juhani
Tuominen, Jari Hakalax, Heikki Hyöty, Jorma Ilonen, Riitta Veijola,
Tuula Simell, Mikael Knip, Olli Simell
The Lancet (2008).
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61309-4
Click
Here to View Journal Website

Written by: Peter M Crosta

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

LONDON: A daily dose of computer games
can boost students’ scores on standard math tests, says a new
research.

The study, which was carried out in Scottish schools, was
conducted by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) - the main organisation for
the development of the curriculum.

In the research, experts analysed
the effect of a “brain training” game. The study involved more than 600 pupils
in 32 schools across Scotland using the Brain Training from Dr Kawashima game on
the Nintendo DS every day.

In the study, a group of pupils played the game,
which included reading tests, problem-solving exercises and memory puzzles, for
20 minutes in class for nine weeks.

While all groups had improved
their scores, the group using the game had improved by a further 50%.The time
taken to complete the tests also dropped by five minutes. The improvement in the
games group was double that of the control group.

“Computer games
help flatten out the hierarchy that exists in schools - they are in the domain
of the learner as opposed to the domain of the school,” BBC quoted Derek
Robertson, an LTS adviser, as saying.

 Some academics and government officials in Chile have reported an increasing level of sexuality among Chilean teenagers “like nothing the country has witnessed before,” the New York Times reports. According to the Times, Chile, historically considered to have the “most traditional social mores in South America, is crashing headlong into that reputation with its precocious teenagers.” The Times notes that divorce was not legalized until 2004 and abortion still is illegal.

Ramiro Molina, director of the University of Chile’s Center for Adolescent Reproductive Medicine and Development, said that youth in Chile are “clearly having sex earlier and testing the borderlines with their sexual conduct.” According to the Times, the “sexual awakening is happening through a booming industry for 18-and-under parties,” adding that the increased use of social networking Web sites and explicit content on the Internet are contributing factors to the rise in sexuality and newfound freedom among Latin American adolescents. According to the Times, Web sites such as Fotolog — a photo-sharing network created in the U.S. — are the most popular among the youth in Chile. Nearly 60% of the Fotolong accounts in the country are held by 12- to 17-year-olds.

Miguel Arias — a psychologist and head of the Santiago, Chile, consulting firm Divergente — said that Chilean children ages 6 to 17 are the highest Internet users in the country and are “expressing their sexuality in erotic ways for the whole world to see.” However, sex education in Chile is “badly lagging,” the Times reports. Sex education materials in the country were destroyed after a 1973 military coup, and new sex education curriculum was not developed until 1993. About 47% of students in 2005 reported receiving sex education instruction only once or twice annually, if at all. Some educators said that they struggle to keep up with the increasing amount of sexual information on the Internet. Maria de la Luz Silva, head of the sexual education unit of the Education Ministry, said the Internet has caused a “tremendous cultural breach” that is hindering the reach of educators. Luz Silva said that the ministry will be implementing a new sex education program this year to better “protect” children (Barrionuevo, New York Times, 9/13).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women’s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2008 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

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 Today a clinical trial “PARTNERS HF:
Multi-Site Program to Access and Review Trending Information and Evaluate
Correlation to Symptoms in Patients with Heart Failure,” was presented at
the 12th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America
(HFSA) by Dr. David Whellan, who is an Associate Professor of Medicine,
Jefferson Heart Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
This clinical trial highlighted the results of evaluating the intrathoracic
fluid data collected by implantable devices used to treat patients with
heart failure as a possible tool to determine subsequent heart failure
related adverse events. The scientific meeting began Monday at the Metro
Toronto Convention Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and also featured
new research, advances in treatment, guidelines for care, debates, and late
breaking clinical trials.

“This finding could be important to help us better understand how body
functions (i.e., excess fluid) effect the progression of heart failure,”
said Dr. Barry Greenberg, HFSA President, and Professor of Medicine, and
Director, Advanced Heart Failure Treatment Program, University of
California, San Diego. “Diagnostic measures that would lead to early
detection of changes in various parameters could ultimately allow us to
intervene at an early time and thus prevent cardiac events from occurring.”

This trial enrolled 1,000 patients and followed them for a period of 12
months in order to determine the outcome of diagnostic information obtained
from an implantable cardiac defibrillator which measures changes in fluid
levels in the thoracic cavity. Low electrical pulses travel across the
thorax to measure the level of resistance, changes indicate increasing or
decreasing fluid levels. Worsening heart failure is commonly characterized
by fluid accumulation. This study examined whether certain changes in the
fluid index could identify patients at risk for subsequent heart failure
event. Additionally, if a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia is
detected, the devices in this study were capable of delivering an
electrical pulse or shock to correct it.

Dr. Whellan explained that the trial observed how well the diagnostic
parameters predicted the incidence of clinical events. “We now have this
continuous diagnostic data available for patients during in-clinic visits
as well as a remote follow up over the internet. This trial found that
patients with a high intrathoric fluid were about three times more likely
to have a subsequent heart failure event, independent of other clinical
variables.”

About Heart Failure

Heart failure is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle
becomes weakened after it is injured from heart attack or high blood
pressure and gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the
body’s needs. Many people are not aware they have heart failure because the
symptoms are often mistaken for signs of getting older. Heart failure
affects from 4.6 to 4.8 million individuals in the United States.
Demographic and clinical evidence strongly suggest the prevalence of heart
failure will increase throughout the next decade. Ten to 15 years ago heart
failure was considered a “death sentence;” however, recent advances in
treatment have shown that early diagnosis and proper care in early stages
of the condition are key to slowing, stopping or in some cases reversing
progression, improving quality of life, and extending life expectancy. For
more information on heart failure, please visit http://www.abouthf.org.

About the Heart Failure Society of America

The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) is a nonprofit educational
organization, founded in 1994 as the first organized association of heart
failure experts. Today HFSA has over 1,700 members and provides a forum for
all those interested in heart function, heart failure research and patient
care. The Society also serves as a resource for governmental agencies (FDA,
NIH, NHLBI, CMS). The HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to
highlight recent advances in the development of strategies to address the
complex epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic issues of heart failure.
Additional information on HFSA can be found at http://www.hfsa.org.

The Heart Failure Society of America
http://www.hfsa.org

HONOLULU: A newly discovered dwarf
planet in the solar system has been given a Hawaiian name: Haumea, after the
Hawaiian goddess of earth and fertility.

Haumea’s name was approved
on Wednesday by the International Astronomical Union in Paris.

It is
the solar system’s fifth dwarf planet, in the same category and region as Pluto.

Haumea is shaped like an elongated egg. Astronomers think its shape
comes from its rapid rotation, which could have been caused by a collision with
another object billions of years ago.

Haumea was discovered in 2005.
The other dwarf planets include Ceres, Pluto, Eris and Makemake.

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 Hospitalized patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at higher risk for adverse consequences of medical care compared with those without the disease, according to a study appearing in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that steps should be taken to reduce potentially preventable complications of medical care for CKD patients, a population that is frequently under-recognized in most health care settings.

Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to reduce medical errors, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has established a number of “patient safety indicators” to monitor rates of adverse events among hospitalized patients. These patient safety indicators include complications of anesthesia, post-operative hemorrhage, transfusion reactions, infections due to medical care, and a number of other conditions.

While CKD patients are likely to be at higher risk of experiencing some of these complications compared with other hospitalized patients, few studies have evaluated their risk. To investigate, Jeffrey Fink, MD, of the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore and his colleagues analyzed data from approximately 250,000 hospitalized patients in the Veterans’ Health Administration in 2004-2005.

The researchers found that 29% of the hospitalized veterans had CKD, and had a higher risk of several patient safety indicators, particularly infection due to medical care and death during a hospitalization for a condition considered to be a low mortality risk. CKD patients also were more likely to experience complications of anesthesia, post-operative hip fracture, post-operative physiological or metabolic disturbances, and to have post-operative respiratory failure. Patients with low pre-admission glomerular filtration rates (an indicator of significant kidney damage) were at particularly high risk of experiencing a combination of patient safety indicators.

The authors concluded that their study links the presence of CKD with a greater risk of patient safety mishaps during hospitalization. “Further investigation is needed to examine this association in other health care systems and to define more specific safety measures, with the goal of improving patient safety in CKD patients,” they wrote. According to Dr. Fink, increased recognition of CKD and consideration of this condition when giving medical care may help to reduce the frequency of adverse safety events that occur in the health care setting.

The study was funded by National Institutes of Health Grants R21 DK075675-01 and P60 MD000532-01.

The article, entitled “The Influence of Chronic Kidney Disease on Patient Safety Among Hospitalized Veterans,” is available online at http://jasn.asnjournals.org/ and in the December print issue of JASN.

ASN is a not-for-profit organization of 11,000 physicians and scientists dedicated to the study of nephrology and committed to providing a forum for the promulgation of information regarding the latest research and clinical findings on kidney disease. ASN publishes JASN, The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), and The Nephrology Self-Assessment Program (NephSAP)., In January 2009, the Society will launch , ASN Kidney News, , a newsmagazine for nephrologists, scientists, allied health professionals, and staff.

Source: Shari Leventhal

American Society of Nephrology

More info

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 Bristol-Myers Squibb announced updated survival data from three Phase II studies of ipilimumab in patients with advanced metastatic melanoma (Stage III or IV), which showed that approximately half of previously-treated patients who received ipilimumab (10 mg/kg) remained alive beyond one year. 1,2,3 Ipilimumab is designed to block the activity of CTLA-4 (a molecule on T-cells that plays a critical role in regulating natural immune responses), and thereby activates the immune system to fight metastatic melanoma.4,5

The results are based on a follow-up of the patient population from studies 008, 022 and 007. 47 - 51 percent of patients with advanced metastatic melanoma treated with 10 mg/kg of ipilimumab (induction and maintenance) showed a consistent survival rate of one-year.1,2,3 Specifically, the results show:

- 47 percent of patients who had progressed while on or after receiving standard treatment achieved one year survival (Study 008)1
- 48 percent of patients who were previously treated, relapsed or failed to respond to experimental treatment or were unable to tolerate currently approved therapies achieved one-year survival (Study 022)2
- 51 percent of patients previously treated with therapy other than ipilimumab achieved one year survival (Study 007)3

Recent medical literature, based on a meta-analysis of 42 Phase II trials with 2,100 patients, reported a one-year survival rate of approximately 25.5 percent for patients with Stage III or IV metastatic melanoma, the most advanced type of the disease.6

In the UK, more than 9,500 cases of metastatic melanoma are diagnosed and 1,800 people die of the disease every year.7It is the most-progressive form of skin cancer and occurs when cancer spreads beyond the surface of the skin to other organs, such as the lymph nodes, lungs, brain or other areas of the body.8 Metastatic melanoma accounts for 10 percent of all skin cancers and is the primary cause of death from skin cancer.9

“Currently, there are few treatment options available for patients with advanced melanoma,” said Michele Maio, M.D., Ph.D. Director, Division of Medical Oncology and Immunotherapy, University Hospital of Siena, Italy. “As these data on ipilimumab continue to mature, we are encouraged by the durability of response and consistency of survival results observed across all three Phase II studies.”

Ipilimumab is being developed through a joint partnership between Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medarex (Nasdaq: MEDX), a biopharmaceutical company, in the United States.

About ipilimumab

Ipilimumab is a fully human antibody that binds to CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4), a molecule on T-cells that plays a critical role in regulating natural immune responses. The presence of CTLA-4 suppresses the immune system’s T-cell response in fighting disease. Ipilimumab is designed to block the activity of CTLA-4, and thereby activates the immune system to fight metastatic melanoma. 4,5

About studies 008, 022 and 007

The three studies enrolled a total of 487patients across North America, Europe, South America, Africa and Australia with Stage III or Stage IV metastatic melanoma treated with 0.3 mg/kg, 3.0 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg of ipilimumab therapy. Approximately half of the patients in each of the trials had stage M1c disease, which indicates that melanoma metastases have spread to internal organs.1,2,11 M1c disease can also be associated with an elevated level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and is typically indicative of the worst prognosis.10 Specifically, the three Phase II monotherapy trials include:

- A Phase II open-label, single arm trial (008) evaluating overall response rate in 155 patients who progressed while on or after receiving standard treatment1

- A Phase II randomised, double-blind trial (022) evaluating the efficacy of three dose levels of ipilimumab in 217 patients who were previously treated, relapsed or failed to respond to experimental treatment or who were unable to tolerate currently approved therapies2

- A Phase II randomised, double-blind trial (007) evaluating the rate of grade 2+ diarrhoea in 115 patients receiving ipilimumab with or without prophylactic oral budesonide3

The primary endpoint of studies 008 and 022 was best overall response rate and the primary endpoint of study 007 was to compare the rate of grade 2+ diarrhoea in patients receiving ipilimumab with or without prophylactic oral budesonide. Overall survival, one-year survival rates, disease control rate, stable disease and other measurements of anti-tumor activity and patterns of responses were secondary endpoints in studies 008, 022 and 007.1,2,3

Safety results from the three studies showed that the most common immune-related adverse events (greater than five percent) were rash, diarrhoea and hepatitis, as well as endocrinopathies (four percent); the grade 3 and 4 immune-related adverse event rates were approximately 20 - 29 percent and zero to 12 percent respectively in patients who received 10 mg/kg of ipilimumab.1,2,11 Adverse events were generally manageable and reversible with the use of established treatment guidelines in the majority of patients. 2,3,11

About BMS

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life. http://www.bms.com

References

1. Maio.M et al. Efficacy and Safety of Ipilimumab in Patients with Advanced Melanoma Who had Progressed on One or More Prior Therapies: Results from a Single-Arm, Multicenter Study. European Society for Medical Oncology 2008. Poster no. 776PD. 15 September 2008. (Study 008)

2. Lebbe. C et al. Effect of Dose on Efficacy and Safety in Ipilimumab-treated Patients with Advanced Melanoma: Results from a Phase II, Randomized, Dose-ranging Study. European Society for Medical Oncology 2008. Oral Presentation No. 769O. 15 September 2008. (Study 022)

3. Ridolfi. R et al. Efficacy and Safety of Treatment Naïve and Previously Treated Patients with Advanced Melanoma Receiving Ipilimumab. European Society for Medical Oncology 2008. Poster no. 778PD. 15 September 2008. (Study 007)

4. Cranmer LD & Hersh E. The role of the CTLA4 blockade in the treatment of malignant melanoma. Cancer Invest 2007;25(7):613-31

5. Gabriel EM & Lattime EC. Anti-CTL-associated antigen 4: are regulatory T cells a target? Clin Cancer Res 2007;13(3):785-8

6. Korn, E. “Meta-analysis of Phase 2 Cooperative Group Trials in Metastatic Stage IV Melanoma to Determine Progression-Free and Overall Survival Benchmarks for Future Phase 2 Trials.” Journal of Clinical Oncology. 26 (4).526-534. 2008

7. Cancer Research UK. UK malignant melanoma incidence statistics. Available online at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/skin/?a=5441 [Accessed 9 September 2008]

8. American Cancer Society Web site. “How Is Melanoma Diagnosed?” Available here. [Accessed 9 September 2008]

9. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Improving outcomes for people with skin tumours including melanoma: the manual. Available online here. Accessed 9 September 2008

10. e-Medicine. Malignant Melanoma. January 2008. Available here. [Accessed 9 September 2008]

11. Ron. I et al. Efficacy and Safety of Patients with Advanced Melanoma Treated with Ipilimumab with or without the Addition of Prophylactic Budesonide. European Society for Medical Oncology 2008. Poster Presentation No. 783P. 13 September 2008. (Study 007)

Bristol-Myers Squibb

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JIUQUAN: China’s three-man spacecraft
shifted from an oval orbit to a more stable circular orbit some 213 miles (343
kilometers) above Earth on early Friday in preparation for the country’s first
attempt at a spacewalk.

The three astronauts were in good physical
condition, with normal body temperature and blood pressure, the official Xinhua
News Agency reported.

They were scheduled to assemble and test their
spacesuits later in the day ahead of the spacewalk, which Xinhua said would
likely happen Saturday afternoon.

The Shenzhou 7 spacecraft, China’s
third manned mission, blasted into space atop a Long March 2F rocket shortly
after 9:10 p.m. (1310 GMT) Thursday night.

The launch was broadcast
live on state television in a display of China’s growing confidence in its
16-year manned space program. Shortly before the feed was cut, one of the crew
reported that they were all well and that they had extended the three-module
craft’s solar panels.

At 4:03 a.m. (2003 GMT Thursday), the
astronauts executed a 64-second burn to shift the spaceship from an oval-shaped
orbit into a round one, meaning it was circling the Earth at a constant
distance, Xinhua reported.

The change in orbit ensures the Earth’s
gravitational pull will not vary during the spacewalk attempt, and will allow
for smooth operation of the ship’s instruments, Xinhua said.

A round
orbit will also help Shenzhou make a precise landing on the Inner Mongolian
Steppe on Sunday after its re-entry vehicle bursts through the Earth’s
atmosphere, Xinhua said.

The mission, expected to last three or four
days, is devoted almost entirely to the execution of the spacewalk, a key step
in mastering techniques for docking two orbiters to create China’s first
orbiting space station.

The two astronauts who will don space suits
for the spacewalk will be supported by Russian experts throughout the mission.
Only one will actually leave the orbiter module to retrieve scientific
experiments placed outside, described by Xinhua as solid lubricant samples. They
will then release an 88-pound (40-kilogram) satellite, which will circle the
orbiter sending back images.

Zhai Zhigang, an unsuccessful candidate
for the previous two manned missions, has been touted by the official Xinhua
News Agency as the astronaut likely to carry out the spacewalk. All three
astronauts are 42-year-old fighter pilots with more than 1,000 hours of flying
time.

China’s last manned mission, Shenzhou 6, came in 2005, two
years after the country first put a person into orbit.