La UAB patenta un método para precisar el grado de infertilidad masculina

La Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) ha patentado un método para precisar de manera sencilla, económica y fiable la infertilidad masculina mediante el estudio del estrés oxidativo de los espermatozoides, un parámetro poco estudiado hasta ahora.
Para comercializar el sistema, desarrollado por el profesor Jordi Benet y el investigador de doctorado Agustí Garcia Peiró, ambos de la Unidad de Biología Celular y Genética Médica de la UAB, se ha creado la spin-off CIMAB (Centro de Infertilidad Masculina y Análisis de Barcelona).

-El tratamiento más indicado
La infertilidad masculina requiere un análisis exhaustivo del esperma para conocer qué origina el problema del paciente y orientarlo hacia el tratamiento más indicado, ha informado la UAB. Actualmente, el 15% de las parejas en edad de procrear son infértiles y en el 50% de los casos el factor masculino está presente.
Los principales parámetros que se estudian actualmente son la concentración, la movilidad y la morfología espermática, aunque recientemente se ha comenzado a considerar un nuevo parámetro, la fragmentación del ADN espermático.
El estrés oxidativo de los espermatozoides es el principal responsable de la fragmentación del ADN, por ello la determinación de este parámetro puede justificar la presencia de esta fragmentación y descartar otros factores. Todo ello servirá para que el médico pueda determinar la necesidad o no de recetar tratamientos con antioxidantes a quien realmente lo necesite.

-Minimizar los falsos positivos
"A diferencia de otros métodos existentes, el sistema que hemos desarrollado tiene las ventajas de que es sencillo, rápido y barato, y cualquier laboratorio lo podrá incorporar fácilmente", explica Garcia Peiró.
La principal innovación consiste en una nova formulación del medio de análisis, que permite estudiar los espermatozoides de manera más precisa y minimizar los falsos positivos de estrés oxidativo que se hayan podido producir.
Para ofrecer un servicio de diagnóstico con el nuevo método se ha creado el CIMAB --a cuyo frente se encuentra el emprendedor Agustí García Peiró-- que centrará su actividad en determinar el potencial fértil de un individuo a partir de diferentes métodos de análisis de esperma y ofrecerá sus servicios especialistas en infertilidad, como ahora ginecólogos, urólogos, andrólogos, clínicas de reproducción y bancos de esperma.

*AGENCIAS

Norovirus is the leading cause of infection outbreaks in US hospitals

Norovirus, a pathogen that often causes food poisoning and gastroenteritis, was responsible for 18.2 percent of all infection outbreaks and 65 percent of ward closures in U.S. hospitals during a two-year period, according to a new study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the official publication of APIC -- the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. A team of researchers from Chartis, Main Line Health System, Lexington Insurance Company, and APIC Consulting Services collected survey responses from 822 APIC members who work in U.S. hospitals regarding outbreak investigations at their institutions during 2008 and 2009. The study was conducted to determine how often outbreak investigations are initiated in U.S. hospitals, as well as the triggers for investigations, types of organisms, and control measures including unit closures.
Thirty-five percent of the 822 hospitals responding had investigated at least one outbreak in the previous two years. Four organisms caused nearly 60 percent of the outbreaks: norovirus (18.2 percent), Staphylococcus aureus (17.5 percent), Acinetobacter spp (13.7 percent), and Clostridium difficile (10.3 percent). These results reflect 386 outbreak investigations reported by 289 hospitals over a 24-month period.
Medical/surgical units were the most common location of outbreak investigations (25.7 percent), followed by surgical units (13.9 percent). Nearly one-third (29.2 percent) of outbreaks were reported in a category that included emergency departments, rehabilitation units, long-term acute care hospitals, psychiatric/behavioral health units, and skilled nursing facilities. According to the results, the average number of confirmed cases per outbreak was 10.1 and the average duration was 58.4 days. Unit closures were reported in 22.6 percent of the cases, causing an average 16.7 bed closures for 8.3 days.
Of reported outbreaks, only 132 (52.2 percent) of investigations were reported to an external agency, with just 71 (28.4 percent) involving assistance in the investigation by an external resource. In most states, reporting to the state health department is required and can provide hospitals with expertise to expedite and expand their outbreak investigations.
"It is clear that outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections occur with some frequency in hospitals as well as nonacute settings," state the authors. "An infection prevention and control program and its staff should be prepared for all aspects of an outbreak investigation through written policies and procedures as well as communication with internal and external partners."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released updated guidelines for the prevention and control of norovirus outbreaks in healthcare settings.

**Source: Elsevier

Overweight mothers who smoke while pregnant can damage baby's heart

Mothers-to-be who are both overweight and smoke during their pregnancy risk damaging their baby's developing heart, finds research published online in Heart. Congenital heart abnormalities are some of the most common defects found at birth, with around eight in every 1000 babies affected. A likely cause is only found in 15% of cases.
The authors base their findings on an analysis of almost 800 babies and foetuses who were born with congenital heart abnormalities, but no other defects, between 1997 and 2008.
These babies were compared with 322 children and foetuses who were born with chromosomal abnormalities, but without any heart defects.
The analysis pointed to an enhanced damaging effect for a combination of overweight and smoking as opposed to one of these factors alone, after taking account of influential factors, such as the mother's alcohol consumption and educational attainment.
Mums to be who both smoked and were overweight, with a BMI of 25 or more, were more than 2.5 times as likely to have a child with a congenital heart defect as women who either smoked or were overweight, but not both.
The risk of outflow tract obstructive abnormalities, whereby blood flow from the ventricles of the heart to the pulmonary artery or aorta is reduced/blocked, more than tripled in babies born to overweight mums who smoked while pregnant.
"These results indicate that maternal smoking and overweight may both be involved in the same pathway that causes congenital heart defects," write the authors.
While the exact mode of action is not clear, they point to disturbances in plasma cholesterol, which is independently associated with obesity and smoking, and which results in lower levels of "good" cholesterol and higher levels of "bad" cholesterol.
The findings add to the growing body of evidence for the links between smoking and overweight during pregnancy with, variously, miscarriage/stillbirth, stunted growth, and premature birth, say the authors.

*Source: BMJ-British Medical Journal

Pfizer Recalls 1 Million Birth-Control Packs on Mixed Up Dosages

Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drugmaker, recalled 1 million birth-control packs after discovering that pills were mixed up inside the packages, possibly putting women at risk for unintended pregnancies.
The company recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of a generic version of the medicine, New York-based Pfizer said yesterday in an e-mail. About 1 million packs of 28 tablets were withdrawn, Grace Ann Arnold, a Pfizer spokeswoman, said in a separate e-mail.
The pills, manufactured and packaged by Pfizer, were marketed by closely held Akrimax Rx Products of Cranford, New Jersey under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand. The company hasn’t received any reports of adverse health consequences, Arnold said.
Each pack contains 21 white tablets that contain the synthetic hormones norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol and are taken for 21 consecutive days. The remaining seven tablets are inactive pink pills taken for a week.
“An investigation by Pfizer found that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient- tablets and that the tablets may be out of sequence,” the company said. That could cause women to take an incorrect daily dosage and increase the risk of accidental pregnancy.
The error was “identified and corrected immediately,” and doesn’t pose immediate health risks, Pfizer said. “However, consumers exposed to affected packaging should begin using a non-hormonal form of contraception immediately.”
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval of Lo/Ovral-28 in 1976. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. is among companies that offer generic copies. Pfizer acquired Wyeth in 2009.

**BLOOMBERG

Retiradas en EE UU un millón de cajas de anticonceptivos defectuosas

La farmacéutica Pfizer Inc ha anunciado en un comunicado que retira alrededor de un millón de paquetes de píldoras para controlar la natalidad en Estados Unidos porque podrían contener una cantidad de anticonceptivos insuficiente para evitar embarazos.
La compañía precisa que las píldoras no suponen un peligro para la salud pero ha instado a las mujeres afectadas a "empezar a usar de inmediato algún tipo de tratamiento anticonceptivo no hormonal". Según Pfizer, el problema afecta a 14 lotes de Lo/Ovral-28 y otros 14 de pastillas de Norgestrel y Ethinyl Esrtadiol.
Las cajas de estos fármacos contienen 28 píldoras, 21 pastillas con anticonceptivo y otras siete como placebo. El problema es que en algunos paquetes se incluyeron más de esas 21 píldoras activas y en otros se incluyeron menos.
En algunos paquetes se incluyeron más de 21 píldoras activas y en otros se incluyeron menos
Un portavoz de la empresa ha asegurado que la confusión se debio tanto a un fallo mecánico como a un error de supervisión ocular. La fecha de caducidad de las cajas van del 31 de julio dde 2013 al 31 de marzo de 2014.
La cifra de un millón de cajas afectadas la precisó en un correo electrónico al margen del comunicado Grace Ann Arnold, portavoz de la empresa, según informa Bloomberg.
Las pastillas supuestamente defectuosas fueron manofacturadas por Pfiser y comercializadas por Akrimax Pharmaceuticals y enviadas a almacenes, clínicas y farmacias de todo el país. En su comunicado Pfizer precisa que los lotes defectuosos se restringieron al mercado de EE UU.

Websites que facilitan la búsqueda de problemas asociados a miles de fármacos

Dos páginas lanzadas en 2011 han abierto nuevas posibilidades a los pacientes (y sus médicos) que quieren reunir toda la información disponible sobre su tratamiento. Las páginas ordenan y hacen accesible información clave de la FDA.
Los fabricantes de fármacos y de dispositivos médicos tienen la obligación de informar de los problemas que registren en la llamada fase IV, la que se desarrolla una vez el medicamento está en el mercado. En el caso de los pacientes es voluntario. En 2010, según los datos publicados por 'The Wall Street Journal', hubo 759.000 notificaciones de fármacos y 238.000 de dispositivos.
La FDA recopila esta información, pero la falta de referencias claras y unívocas en la base de datos y el sistema de divulgación de las alertas complica el rastreo de la base de datos a los usuarios no especializados. A menudo, además, las enfermedades, los medicamentos (tanto el nombre comercial como el principio activo) y las dosis tienen errores ortográficos.
Adverse Events ha desarrollado un algoritmo que limpia los registros y facilita el acceso a la información a través de una sencilla búsqueda. De esta forma, 200.000 nombres de medicamentos se redujeron a 4.500. El servicio básico es gratuito y el acceso a informe completos costará 10 dólares al mes. La base de datos comprende miles de enfermedades y efectos secundarios desde 2004.
Clarimed ofrece un servicio similar, pero especializado en dispositivos médicos. La página reúne información sobre efectos adversos de 125.000 dispositivos médicos como marcapasos o 'stent'.
Las dos compañías se presentan como una nueva generación de servicios para el paciente informado.
"La mejor manera de producir mejoras en la calidad [de los tratamientos] es hacer las cosas cristalinas y tan transparentes como sea posible", dice al diario económico Nora Illuri, de Clarimed.

**Publicado en "EL MUNDO"

UCLA researchers indentify a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits hepatitis C

Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a cell-permeable peptide that inhibits a hepatitis C virus protein and blocks viral replication, which can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis. This finding by Dr. Samuel French, an assistant professor of pathology and senior author of the study, builds on previous work by the French laboratory that identified two cellular proteins that are important factors in hepatitis C virus infection.
French and his team initially set out to identify the cellular factors involved in hepatitis C replication and, using mass spectrometry, found that heat shock proteins (HSPs) 40 and 70 were important for viral infection. HSP70 was previously known to be involved, but HSP40 was linked for the first time to hepatitis C infection, French said. They further showed that the natural compound Quercetin, which inhibits the synthesis of these proteins, significantly inhibits viral infection in tissue culture.
In this study, published Jan. 30, 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Hepatology, French and his team demonstrated that the viral non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) directly binds to HSP70 and mapped the site of the NS5A/HSP70 complex on NS5A. While HSP70 was previously shown to bind NS5A in cells, a direct NS5A/HSP70 interaction and complex formation was established in this study. In an effort to stop this interaction, they tested peptides that might inhibit HSP70.
"This is important because we've developed a small peptide that binds to that site and blocks the interaction between the proteins that is important for viral replication," French said. "This is another, potentially highly efficacious way to block replication of hepatitis C."
An estimated 160 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C and the conventional treatments -- interferon and ribavirin -- can have significant side effects. A new drug targeting cellular proteins rather than viral proteins would be a valuable addition to the treatment arsenal, French said.
"We were surprised that this peptide works this well," French said. "While its mechanism is different, the activity of this peptide is comparable to other newly developed anti-virals."
The study, done in tissue culture, shows that the peptide gains entry into the cell easily and blocks the cascade of cellular events that allows the virus to replicate, French said. Blocking the HSP70 protein rather than a viral protein also reduces the chance of patients with the hepatitis C virus developing resistance to the peptide.
"There's no direct pressure on the virus, so it is less likely to mutate and develop resistance," French said. "The goal is to achieve a sustained response, essentially a cure, meaning there is no more virus replication. There are a lot of drugs coming out now that are designed to stop hepatitis C replication, but resistance is still an issue. About 10 to 20 percent of patients on the new drugs become resistant. This new peptide may help combat resistance."
Going forward, French and his team are testing variants of the newly discovered peptide to see if they can develop one with an even higher affinity and can decrease the size of the peptide to improve cellular penetration and liver targeting. The new and improved peptides will be tested in animal models.
This peptide "may be a candidate for hepatitis C therapy," the study states. "Considering the potency of the peptide in suppressing viral translation levels, treatment with this peptide may significantly improve the efficacy of conventional treatments in patients who become resistant to conventional therapies."

**Source: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences