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Improved Academic Success Associated With Better Sleep In Adolescence
According to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, getting more high-quality sleep is associated with better academic performance. The positive relationship is especially relevant to performance in math.
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New Online Scheme To Help Families Caring For Sick And Disabled Children, Wales
Help for families with sick and disabled children in Wales is now available at the click of a mouse, Deputy Minister for Social Services Gwenda Thomas will announce.
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Sex Workers In Pakistan Give Recommendations On HIV Prevention To Health Officials
Although the recorded HIV prevalence in Pakistan is relatively low, health officials are concerned that a concentrated epidemic of the virus among injection drug users could carry over to commercial sex workers and other high risk groups in the country, IRIN/PlusNews reports. To address the issue, the National AIDS Control Program and the United Nations Population Fund recently held a meeting, called the National Consultation on HIV and Sex Work, in an effort to improve HIV prevention efforts targeted at sex workers by consulting with workers in the field.Sex workers at the meeting made various recommendations, including HIV testing, referrals and increased efforts to decrease stigma. The Ministry of Health reports that from 2006 to 2007, female sex workers were at a high risk of HIV in 12 cities across Pakistan. A survey of 4,639 female sex workers found that less than 25% reported condom use; 10% had a partner that had used injection drugs during the past six months; and that illiterate sex workers were less likely to use condoms than those with a higher level of education. A female sex worker at the meeting said, "It is very hard for us to convince [partners] to put on a condom, but I feel that a female condom would put us in a position where we can protect ourselves against HIV and sexually transmitted infections." She added that female condoms are not widely available. Legalizing sex work would make it easier for sex workers to protect their rights, another female sex worker at the conference said. She added that often, outreach workers face barriers from police forces. Daniel Baker, UNFPA"s country representative for Pakistan, said that sex workers should have greater involvement in creating and implementing HIV programs. He added, "The female sex workers have to be in there as managers, workers and leaders to benefit in the long run." Safdar Kamal Pasha with UNFPA agreed that the recommendations from sex workers are critical points to address in future programming. "The female sex workers agreed that there should be vocational training and the means for alternative work opportunities for those who want to move out of sex work, as well as those who are past their prime and do not find sustainability in sex work," Pasha said (IRIN/PlusNews, 5/14).
Sexual Health

QIAGEN Launches Novel Product Enabling Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnostics And Cancer Detection

QIAGEN announced the launch of a novel product for extraction of free circulating fragments of tumor- and fetal-derived nucleic acids as well as viral nucleic acids in human blood. Scientists consider these DNA and RNA fragments to have great potential for the highly sensitive and non-invasive diagnosis of a wide range of diseases, including congenital disorders, malignancies such as colon and lung cancer, and infections. The new QIAamp Circulating Nucleic Acid Kit is expected to significantly facilitate the corresponding biomarker research and the introduction of novel molecular tests in prenatal diagnostics which can replace risky, invasive procedures such as amniocentesis. Free circulating DNA and RNA fragments are found in body fluids such as plasma, serum and urine. Scientific research has demonstrated that plasma, in particular, carries a variety of nucleic acids from viruses and different tissues throughout the body, including developing fetuses and tumors. In cancer research, it has also been shown that the concentration of tumor DNA fragments is related to the extent of the disease. The analysis of such DNA and RNA fragments thus not only enables new, virtually non-invasive approaches to the early and highly sensitive detection of different malignancies such as colon or lung cancer, but can also help to monitor the progress of the disease and to assess patient outcomes. Likewise, fetal DNA and RNA fragments circulating in maternal blood can be used for the non-invasive molecular detection of congenital disorders in prenatal diagnostics, an area where QIAGEN also cooperates with Sequenom, Inc. which is a leader in this field. QIAGEN"s new QIAamp Circulating Nucleic Acid Kit for the first time enables the isolation and purification of all types and all sizes of nucleic acids from large-scale plasma and serum samples - and thereby enables unprecedented yields of the isolated molecules and the highest sensitivity of downstream applications. This significantly facilitates the molecular detection of viral infections, where extraction of even the scarcest traces of genetic material is a key requirement for reliable results. Moving forward, the company plans to extend the use of the product to urine samples and the isolation of free circulating miRNA molecules from plasma and serum, which can serve as highly specific biomarkers for cancer. "Our new product brings major improvements to biomarker research for cancer and the development of novel, virtually non-invasive diagnostics based upon nucleic acid fragments circulating in body fluids", said Uwe Oelmueller, Senior Director R&D Diagnostic Sample Preparation and Stabilization at QIAGEN. "The clinical value of this method is well documented, but its widespread implementation and progress in further research have been hampered by the cumbersome and demanding methodology for handling such molecules. The new QIAamp kit removes this bottleneck and will bring significant value for researchers and clinicians." The novel kit is currently available for research use only. The company plans to validate the product for in-vitro diagnostic applications in the United States and Europe. QIAGEN


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