Sunday, September 23, 2012

Feel bloated? It may be chicken pox 'hidden' in your tum since childhood

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2187918/Feel-bloated-It-chicken-pox-hidden-tum-childhood.html
By CATHERINE QUINN


Chicken pox ‘hidden’ in our guts since childhood could be behind the thousands of cases of unexplained stomach pain and bloating in adulthood. 

New research suggests this ‘intestinal’ chicken pox could even trigger stomach ulcers. 

Scientists have known for some time that following exposure during childhood (which may or may not cause symptoms), the chicken pox virus is locked away in nerve cells near the brain and spinal cord.


New research suggests this 'intestinal' chicken pox could even trigger stomach ulcers


In most people the virus lies dormant without causing any problems, but sometimes it can break free, travelling via nerve cells to the skin, causing the painful condition shingles.

How and why the virus is unleashed is not clear, but one theory is that a period of illness or a weakened immune system allows it to escape.

But now a study from Columbia University in the U.S. suggests the virus — known as varicella zoster — is also locked away in the nerve cells of the gut.

They believe that when it breaks free, it triggers pain and tissue damage, and could be to blame for unexplained conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (which causes cramping, bloating and pain).

The idea of intestinal chicken pox is a new one, says Professor Michael Gershon, one of the lead researchers from Columbia University. 

‘We are now trying to learn whether disorders of the gastro-intestinal tract that have previously been of unknown origin are, in fact, due to the chicken pox virus.’

The researchers’ conclusions are based on several recent studies. In the first, six children who had all had chicken pox were tested and shown to have the virus lying dormant in their intestines.

More recent studies on guinea pigs confirmed the virus can live dormant in the gut, and can be reactivated when the immune system is low.  

In the latest study, six patients with gastric ulcers were all found to have the virus in their gut, following samples taken from their stomach lining.

One patient, a 16-year-old boy suffering with a large stomach ulcer, was found to have the chicken pox virus in all the cells surrounding the ulcer after it was surgically removed. 

The research is being presented this week at a scientific conference in Calgary.

Professor Gershon believes the virus could even be responsible for unexplained patient deaths.


The idea of intestinal chicken pox is a new one


The weeping ulcers that chicken pox causes on the skin could be very dangerous when replicated in the stomach and bowel, and could possibly trigger lethal bleeding, he suggests. 

He also points out that irritable bowel syndrome tends to occur in older people, raising the possibility that a bout of ‘intestinal chicken pox’ has caused ulcers in their gut lining, and prompted the disorder.

Shingles becomes more common after the age of 70, due to a weakened immune system.

And as well as triggering ulcers, the animal studies also suggested that the viral attack could lead to ‘pseudo-obstruction’, a serious digestive condition where the bowel stops pushing food through the gut.

However, the researchers caution that more human studies are needed to confirm if the virus can trigger this condition in people. Other experts are keen to see the findings expanded. 

Pritash Patel, a gastroenterogist at St Anthony’s Hospital, Surrey, and Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust says: ‘Professor Gershon is a leading figure, and the fact that chicken pox in the gut might reactivate over time is interesting. 

‘It is certainly possible that some unexplained gut disorders are due to the chicken pox virus.’

Shingles strikes 250,000 Britons every year — one in four people over 50 will develop the condition, although it can affect younger people too. 

Symptoms usually begin with muscular pain followed by an intensely painful rash of blisters, usually down one side of the face or body.

These symptoms can last up to four weeks. 

Scientists have developed a vaccine against shingles, Zostavax, which is given in a single injection and prevents attacks or reduces their severity. 

It was recently reported that the jab could be offered on the NHS to all over 50s as early as next year.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Detailed map of genome function

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19202141
Fergus Walsh


Fergus Walsh explains the latest findings


Scientists have published the most detailed analysis to date of the human genome.
They've discovered a far larger chunk of our genetic code is biologically active than previously thought.
The researchers hope the findings will lead to a deeper understanding of numerous diseases, which could lead to better treatments.
More than 400 scientists in 32 laboratories in the UK, US, Spain, Singapore and Japan were involved.
Their findings are published in 30 connected open-access papersappearing in three journals, Nature, Genome Biology and Genome Research.
The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (Encode) was launched in 2003 with the goal of identifying all the functional elements within the human genome.
A pilot project looking at 1% of the genome was published in 2007.
Now the Encode project has analysed all three billion pairs of genetic code that make up our DNA.

Start Quote

This will give researchers a whole new world to explore and ultimately, it's hoped, will lead to new treatments.”
Dr Ewan BirneyEncode
They have found 80% of our genome is performing a specific function.
Up to now, most attention has been focused on protein-coding genes, which make up just 2% of the genome.
Junk DNA
Genes are small sections of DNA that contain instructions for which chemicals - proteins - they should produce.
The Encode team analysed the vast area of the genome sometimes called "junk DNA" because it seemed to have little function and was poorly understood.
Dr Ewan Birney, of the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, who led the analysis, told me: "The term junk DNA must now be junked.
"It's clear from this research that a far bigger part of the genome is biologically active than was previously thought."
Switches
The scientists also identified four million gene "switches". These are sections of DNA that control when genes are switched on or off in cells.
They said the switches were often a long way along the genome from the gene they controlled.
dna
More of human DNA is active than was thought
Dr Birney said: "This will help in our understanding of human biology. Many of the switches we have identified are linked to changes in risk for conditions from heart disease to diabetes or mental illness. This will give researchers a whole new world to explore and ultimately, it's hoped, will lead to new treatments."
Scientists acknowledge that it is likely to be many years before patients see tangible benefits from the project.
But another of the Encode team, Dr Ian Dunham said the data could ultimately be of help in every area of disease research.
"Encode gives us a set of very valuable leads to follow to discover key mechanisms at play in health and disease. Those can be exploited to create entirely new medicines, or to repurpose existing treatments."
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute director Prof Mike Stratton said the results were "remarkable" and would "stand as a foundation stone for human biology for many years".
He added: "The Encode project will change the way many researchers conduct their science and give those who seek to understand disease a much better grasp of where genetic variation can affect our genome for ill."

Sunday, September 2, 2012

ASI, Cairan Ampuh Membangun Sistem Imun

http://koran-jakarta.com/index.php/detail/view01/99605

Semua pasti tahu, Air Susu Ibu (ASI) merupakan cairan paling ampuh dalam membangun sistem imun anak. Tetapi, bagaimana dengan pemberian imunisasi untuk anak? Jika anak sudah mendapatkan kekebalan dari ASI, apa mereka masih perlu diberi imunisasi? ASI memang memberikan dasar imun, tapi ASI saja tidak cukup untuk melindungi anak dari penyakit-penyakit ganas.

Ketua Satgas Imunisasi Ikatan Dokter Anak Indonesia (IDAI), Sri Rezeki Hadinegoro, menguraikan, sampai saat ini masih terjadi pro kontra tentang ASI. Ada berpendapat, ASI bisa mewujudkan kekebalan alamiah. Jadi anak ASI tidak perlu lagi diimunisasi. "Memberikan ASI secara benar dapat membebaskan bayi dari berbagai penyakit, jadi, pastikan bayi mendapatkan ASI eksklusif hingga usia enam bulan. Selain mengandung zat gizi yang dibutuhkan, ASI kaya zat imun pencegah penyakit. Namun, ASI tidak bisa menggantikan imunisasi, karena tidak mencukupi untuk membentuk kekebalan spesifik. Air susu ibu memperkuat pertahanan tubuh secara umum, tapi tidak membentuk kekebalan spesifi k terhadap kuman yang berbahaya," tambahnya.

Bila jumlah kumannya banyak dan ganas, dikhawatirkan perlindungan umum (alami) tidak mampu melindungi kesehatan bayi. Hal yang diperhatikan dan terlupakan adalah keteraturan dalam pemberian imunisasi. Menurut Sri, imunisasi sebaiknya dilakukan sesuai jadwal dan melakukan imunisasi ulangan sesuai usia yang telah ditentukan. Sebagian besar vaksin dasar diberikan pada usia enam bulan pertama kehidupan.

Beberapa jenis vaksin memerlukan pemberian ulangan setelah umur satu tahun, tujuannya untuk mempertahankan kadar antibodi dalam jangka waktu lama. Demi mendapatkan hasil optimal, cara pemberian imunisasi dan penyimpanan vaksin perlu diperhatikan dengan baik. Begitu pula dalam memberikan imunisasi. Ada beberapa tahap dalam pemberian imunisasi. Pertama pada usia 0-7 hari, berupa imunisasi HB uninject, yaitu imunisasi untuk penyakit Hepatitis B. Kedua usia 0-1 bulan, imunisasi BCG merupakan imunisasi untuk penyakit Tuberkulosis (TBC).

Ketiga usia 2 bulan, yaitu imunisasi DPT-1 untuk penyakit difteri, pertusis dan tetanus. Keempat pada bayi berusia 3 bulan, berupa imunisasi DPT-2, HB Combo-2 dan Polio-2. Kelima ketika bayi usia 4 bulan, DPT-3, HB Combo-3, Polio-3. Terakhir, ketika berusia usia 9 bulan, yaitu imunisasi Campak dan Polio-4. Jika hingga umur 15 bulan belum mendapatkan imunisasi campak, dapat diberikan MMR (Mumps: gondok, Measles: campak, dan Rubella). Imunisasi MMR pun dianjurkan bagi bayi yang mengalami kelainan tumbuh kembang, seperti belum bisa bicara. faisal chaniago

Manfaat dan Sosialisasi Imunisasi

Mencegah Berbagai Penyakit
Imunisasi mampu meningkatkan kekebalan seorang anak terhadap suatu penyakit, hingga mereka tumbuh sehat.

Generasi Sehat
Kegiatan imunisasi akan menciptakan generasi yang sehat dan cerdas. Kesadaran Orang Tua Untuk menapik nada miring tentang imunisasi, harus ditingkatkan kesadaran orangtua. Caranya, pemerintah harus rajin melakukan sosialisasi.

Aman dan Halal
Vaksin imunisasi adalah produk yang aman dan halal secara agama, tidak memunyai efek buruk terhadap kesehatan anak.

Sudah Teruji
Tidak hanya di Indonesia, imunisasi juga dilakukan di negara-negara maju dan negara Islam. Ini membuktikan bahwa kehebatan vaksin imunisasi sudah teruji.