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NMC Responds To RCN Decision On Assisted Suicide, UK
The Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) has responded to the decision by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to move to a neutral position on assisted suicide.
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Can-Fite-Completed Patient Enrollment For The Phase II Trial In Psoriasis With CF101
Can-Fite BioPharma (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, has achieved yet another goal by completion of patients" enrollment in its phase II Psoriasis trial. Approximately 70 patients were enrolled to this study, randomized into 4 groups treated with 1, 2 and 4 mg of CF101 and placebo. Patients are taking the drug for 12 weeks plus 2 weeks of follow-up. The trial is being conducted in 10 sites in Israel and Europe. The company estimates to release study data on Q3 2009.
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Obama Announces Regina Benjamin As Surgeon General Pick
Dr. Regina Benjamin is President Obama"s pick for surgeon general. The Alabama family physician has been an advocate for universal care, and is expected to have a role "at the table" in health reform, which would be an unusual degree of influence over policy for a surgeon general. Obama said Benjamin "represents what"s best about health care in America."
Cardiovascular

New Report Suggests That Zinc Activates A Key Protein On T Cells Needed To Fight Infections

Everyone knows that vitamins "from A to zinc" are important for good health. Now, a new research study in the August 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that zinc may be pointing the way to new therapeutic targets for fighting infections. Specifically, scientists from Florida found that zinc not only supports healthy immune function, but increases activation of the cells (T cells) responsible for destroying viruses and bacteria. "It has been shown that zinc supplementation significantly reduces the duration and severity of childhood diarrhea, lower respiratory infections, and incidence of malaria in zinc-deficient children," said report co-author, Robert Cousins, Ph.D., who also is the director of the Center for Nutritional Sciences within the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department at the University of Florida. "Age-related declines in immune function have also been related to zinc deficiency in the elderly." Scientists administered either a zinc supplement or a placebo to healthy volunteers to assess the effects of zinc on T cell activation. After isolating the T cells from the blood, scientists then simulated infection in laboratory conditions. Results showed that T cells taken from the zinc-supplemented group had higher activation than those from the placebo group. Specifically, cell activation stimulated the zinc transporter in T cells called "ZIP8," which transports stored zinc into the cell cytoplasm where it then alters the expression of a T cell protein in a way needed to fight infections. "As the debate over zinc supplementation in healthy individuals continues," said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, "studies like this help shed light on how zinc may enhance the ability of our immune systems to fight off foreign invaders. Equally important, this work points toward new possible targets for entirely new drugs to help augment immune function and prevent or stop infections that might be resistant to traditional antibiotics." Details: Tolunay B. Aydemir, Juan P. Liuzzi, Steve McClellan, and Robert J. Cousins Zinc transporter ZIP8 (SLC39A8) and zinc influence IFN- expression in activated human T cells. J Leukoc Biol 2009 86: 337. http://www.jleukbio.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/2/337 Cody Mooneyhan Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology


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