The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has today announced its interim advice to the public over the use of facemasks and respirators in certain public (non-occupational) settings during an influenza pandemic.  It has been stated, that this is part of a very little research about the value of masks for the mere protection of people in public settings.  Moreover, these interim recommendations are based on the best judgment of public health experts who relied in part on information about the protective value of masks in healthcare facilities.

The regulation has been framed in such a way so as to stress on the aspect that during an influenza pandemic a combination of actions will be extensively needed, that includes hand washing, minimizing the likelihood of exposure by distancing people who are infected or likely to be infected with influenza away from others and treating them with antiviral medications; having people who are caring for ill family members voluntarily stay home, and encouraging people to avoid crowded places and large gatherings.  It is therefore expected that when used along with such preventive steps, masks and respirators possibly will help prevent some spread of influenza.

The diabetes researchers, it has been reported, have at last found that insulin-producing beta cells but not adult stem cells, are capable of dividing slowly and replenish their own population. It has been noted the researchers while investigating how the body supplies itself with insulin, were surprised to find that adult stem cells long expected of playing a crucial role in the process, were nowhere to be found. Many researchers have been found also to propose that adult stem cells develop into beta cells in the pancreas, in addition.

Speaking on the striking revelation the study leader Jake A. Kushner, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said, “Ultimately, if diabetes researchers learn how to control insulin production, we can better treat patients who now can’t produce insulin--children and adults with type 1 diabetes.” He continued, “ This research tells us that we need to better understand what regulates the growth of beta cells, rather than searching for adult stem cells that give rise to beta cells.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has confirmed about the meting of more than 500 scientists, clinicians and public health specialists today at their official premise for the discussion over the latest research on drug abuse and the surfacing epidemic of HIV/AIDS. It has also been stated, that this is the first-ever two-day public meeting at NIH while focusing on non-injection drug use and HIV transmission. The meeting was being held in collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Speaking on the spontaneous gathering the NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, who was instrumental in giving opening remarks at the meeting said, “Approximately one million people in the United States are living with HIV/AIDS, which disproportionately afflicts minority populations — particularly African Americans.” “To address this significant public health threat, research at NIH is examining every aspect of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and addiction, including the risk behaviors associated with both injection and non-injection drug abuse, and how drugs of abuse can alter brain function and impair decision making,” he continued.

It has come to the knowledge that according to a new study, the likelihood of developing bipolar disorder depends in part largely on the combined, small effects of variations in many different genes in the brain and none of which is powerful enough to cause the disease by itself. It has also been stated, that by targeting the enzyme produced by one of these genes could lead to development of new and more effective medications. The research was conducted by the eminent scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), it also included others from the Universities of Heidelberg and Bonn and a number of U.S. facilities in the major project called the NIMH Genetics Initiative.

According to sources, the study is the first to scan almost all of the variations in human genes to find those associated with bipolar disorder. The results were already published online May 8 in Molecular Psychiatry by Dr. Amber E. Baum, the prominent researcher Francis J. McMahon, MD, and colleagues.

The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) has come out with the report of a new study where it is stated that only 8 percent of people are identified as drug abusers, and fewer than 40 percent of those diagnosed with drug dependence, have ever gotten any kind of intervention or treatment. It has also been informed, that the study was conducted by scientists from the renowned organizations of National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), components of the National Institutes of Health.

While talking to the newsmen over the report Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of NIH says, “Even though we know drug addiction treatment can work, lifetime treatment rates are substantially lower than corresponding treatment rates of other major psychiatric disorders. This tells us that we should focus on strategies designed to help us close the treatment gap."