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Effectiveness Of Pelvic Floor Exercises, Digital Vaginal Palpation And Interpersonal Support On Stress Urinary Incontinence
UroToday.com - Pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) is most appropriate for patients with mild-to-moderate stress urinary incontinence (SUI). To obtain therapeutic efficacy, it is crucial that PFME be performed correctly and consistently. Without appropriate training; however, up to 30% of patients are not aware of how to perform PFME.

Researchers Plan To Target Immune Cells Responsible For Eluding Antiretroviral Treatment
Certain human immune cells known as macrophages are composed of hybrid HIV strains that elude treatment and antiretroviral drugs, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Florida and other institutions, the Gainesville Sun reports. For the study, researchers examined tissue from HIV-positive people and discovered that as much as half of the macrophages present were hybrids, made from genetic material from several HIV viruses that when combined formed new HIV strains. Marco Salemi -- assistant professor of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine at the University of Florida"s College of Medicine -- said that macrophages likely make HIV more aggressive over time, adding, "If we want to eradicate HIV, we need to find a way to actually target the virus specifically infecting the macrophages." According to the Sun, current research and treatment target T-cells, and although antiretrovirals are effective at blocking infection from new cells and lowering viral loads, they are unable to reduce the viral level in an HIV-positive person to zero. The Sun notes that macrophages can be targeted by HIV multiple times, and once they are infected, they can live for months, unlike T-cells. The team of researchers, led by Michael McGrath of the University of California - San Francisco, is developing macrophage-targeting drugs through a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Sun reports (Chun, Gainesville Sun, 5/28).
News of the day
Researchers Confirm Link Between HPV And Head And Neck Cancer But Europe-wide Survey Shows Woeful Public Ignorance On Role Of Oral Sex
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an important causative agent in squamous cell cancers of head and neck (HNSCC) a new meta-analysis presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) confirms; but a separate European survey at the same meeting reveals the public is woefully ignorant about it and possible ways to avoid it. Lack of public awareness about the possible link between HPV-related head and neck cancer and oral sex with multiple partners presents a case for making vaccinations against HPV more widely available to boys as well as girls before they become sexually active, commented leading expert Professor Jean-Louis Lefebvre of Centre Oscar Lambret, Lille, France.
Mental Health

STAT3 Protein Found To Play A Key Role In Cancer

A protein called STAT3 has been found to play a fundamental role in converting normal cells to cancerous cells, according to a new study led by David E. Levy, Ph.D., professor of pathology and microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. The study, published in the June 26th issue of the journal Science, found that STAT3, in addition to its role in the cell nucleus regulating gene expression, is also present in mitochondria and regulates the activity of the electron transport chain in tumors cells. Mitochondria are the basic energy-producing organelles of the cell and are known to be critical for tumor cell metabolism. "These results open the possibility that inhibiting the mitochondrial function of STAT3 could be a promising cancer therapy in the future," adds Dr. Levy. "By knowing this mitrochondrial function is critical, it may be possible to design therapeutic strategies that specifically target this function while sparing the other functions of the protein, such as its ability to turn genes on. Therefore, we would hope that inhibitors could be developed that would be highly specific for cancer cells." STAT3, which stands for "signal transducer and activators of transcription," is a protein that was discovered as a regulator of gene expression. It"s only function was thought to be to turn genes on in the cell nucleus, particularly when the cells have been exposed to events that require an immune response. It was found, however, to mediate many critical steps in the response to infection. Dr. Levy and colleagues have been studying STAT3 since the mid 1990s, when they first cloned its gene. The current results by Dr. Levy and his colleagues were obtained from experiments that examined tumors caused by the Ras oncogene, which is responsible for many human cancers. "Future experiments will need to determine if a similar mitochondrial role for STAT3 is critical for other types of cancer as well, states Dr. Levy. "We"ll also need a better understanding of the biochemical basis for the function of STAT3. For instance, we are trying to find out what STAT3 does in mitochondria, what enzymes and processes it regulates and how these processes differ in tumors compared to normal cells." The study by Dr. Levy and his colleagues was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. About NYU Langone Medical Center Located in New York City, NYU Langone Medical Center is one of the nation"s premier centers of excellence in health care, biomedical research, and medical education. For over 168 years, NYU physicians and researchers have made countless contributions to the practice and science of health care. Today the Medical Center consists of NYU School of Medicine, including the Smilow Research Center, the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, and the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences; the three hospitals of NYU Hospitals Center, Tisch Hospital, a 705-bed acute-care general hospital, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the first and largest facility of its kind, and NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, a leader in musculoskeletal care; and such major programs as the NYU Cancer Institute, the NYU Child Study Center, and the Hassenfeld Children"s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. New York University Langone Medical Center


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