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Four Out Of 106 Heart Replacement Valves From Pig Hearts Failed
Pig heart valves used to replace defective aortic valves in human patients failed much earlier and more often than expected, says a report from cardiac surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This is the first report to demonstrate this potential problem, the researchers say.

Chalenges Faced By HIV Patients Living Longer Lives Due To New Therapies
New HIV therapies have prolonged lives and improved health for patients with HIV, but the treatments have also brought the longer-term effects of the disease into sharper focus.
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Budget Deal Slashes Health Care, Saddles California With Greater Costs Over The Long Term
The president of the California Medical Association, Dev A. GnanaDev, issued the following statement today in regards to the announced state budget deal:
Sexual Health

Development Of DNA Drugs Gives Hope To Lupus Patients

A generation of DNA-like compounds, class R inhibitory oligonucleotides (INH-ODNs), have been shown to effectively inhibit cells responsible for the chronic autoimmune condition lupus. Researchers writing in BioMed Central"s open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects of the INH-ODNs in both in vitro and mouse experiments. Petar Lenert, from the University of Iowa, worked with a team of researchers to develop and test the compounds. He said, "The increased potency of class R INH-ODNs for certain cells involved in lupus flare-ups will help patients by providing specific inhibition, yet allowing them to generate a protective immune response when needed". Lenert and his colleagues found that their INH-ODN drugs, composed of double-stranded DNA-like analogues carrying autoimmune-inhibitory sequences, were able to selectively reduce the activity of autoreactive B cells and dendritic cells. When given to mice with lupus, the compounds delayed death and reduced kidney damage. Systemic lupus erythematosus, more commonly known simply as lupus, is thought to affect around a million people in the USA, but prevalence varies by country and ethnicity. It is much more common in women than men and there is currently no known cure. During periodic "flares", the immune system of people with the condition mounts an attack on cells and tissues throughout the body, resulting in a range of symptoms including the characteristic "butterfly rash" across the cheeks. With further testing, Lenert and his colleagues hope that class R INH-ODNs may become another weapon in the fight against the disease. DNA-like class R inhibitory oligonucleotides (INH-ODNs) preferentially block autoantigen-induced B-cell and dendritic cell activation in vitro and autoantibody production in lupus-prone MRL-Fas lpr/lpr mice in vivo Petar Lenert, Kei Yasuda, Liliana Busconi, Patrice Nelson, Courtney Fleenor, Radhika S Ratnabalasuriar, Peter L Nagy, Robert F Ashman, Ian R Rifkin and Ann Marshak-Rothstein Arthritis Research & Therapy http://arthritis-research.com/ Graeme Baldwin BioMed Central


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