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Thai HIV/AIDS Advocates Urge Increased Treatment Access For IDUs
The Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group recently called on the country to launch a comprehensive harm reduction program for injection drug users in an effort to help curb the spread of HIV, Thailand"s The Nation reports. According to the group, many IDUs are unable to access drug treatment and substation therapy because of the stigma surrounding drug use in the country. Karyn Kaplan, director of development and policy for the group, said, "Health care workers have denied many injecting drug users access to an antiviral drug and the use of methadone." Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai recently announced that the country"s harm reduction programs have helped to curb the spread of HIV among IDUs, adding that local substitution programs have reduced the number of HIV-positive IDUs and that the country needs increased support from UNAIDS for such efforts. TTAG called for the government to provide prevention and treatment options, such as substitution therapy and needle-exchange programs. The Nation reports that methadone treatment is offered at hospitals across the country as part of the national health care scheme, but many health care workers refuse to administer treatment. In addition, government treatment is offered for 45 days. Kaplan said that the government should revise its policy regarding treatment access for IDUs, as a majority of IDUs are incarcerated and living with HIV or hepatitis-C without treatment access. She called on the government to "implement the international standards of medical treatment for [IDUs], without discrimination and human rights violations" (The Nation, 5/27).

Israeli Scientists Show Bacteria Can Plan Ahead
Bacteria can anticipate a future event and prepare for it, according to new research at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In a paper that appeared today in Nature, Prof. Yitzhak Pilpel, doctoral student Amir Mitchell and research associate Dr. Orna Dahan of the Institute"s Molecular Genetics Department, together with Prof. Martin Kupiec and Gal Romano of Tel Aviv University, examined microorganisms living in environments that change in predictable ways. Their findings show that these microorganisms" genetic networks are hard-wired to "foresee" what comes next in the sequence of events and begin responding to the new state of affairs before its onset.
News of the day
H1N1 Influenza Pandemic Modelling For Public Health Action
Mathematical modelling can help inform public health policy in outbreaks such as the H1N1 pandemic, write members of the Pandemic Influenza Outbreak Research Modelling Team in Canada in a CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) article http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj090885.pdf. These models are useful tools for simulating plausible scenarios, developing control strategies and identifying important areas for immediate research.
Oncology

Bullied Children 'Four Times More Likely To Develop Psychosis'

Children who are bullied at school are up to four times more likely than their peers to develop psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions and paranoia - and the more severe the bullying the more severe the symptoms. Professor Dieter Wolke, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Warwick Medical School, told the Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Liverpool, that around 5 per cent of the general population displayed psychotic-like symptoms - and the vast majority were likely to have been bullied at school. He told Annual Meeting delegates that bullying in school can be divided into two types: overt bullying, including punching, kicking and physical intimidation; and relational bullying, such as spreading rumours and cyber-bullying which can lead to the victim being ostracised. Children who experience psychotic symptoms are 16 times more likely to develop full-blown psychosis later in their lives. Professor Wolke and colleagues analysed data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The long-term study has followed total of 6,437 expectant mothers and their partners since 1991. The parents, and their children, are followed up annually using a range of physical and psychological assessments. Professor Wolke examined the interviews conducted with the parents and children when the children had reached the age of 13. He found that factors such as a family history of mental health problems, IQ levels, previous psychiatric problems or poor housing had little or no bearing on whether a child went on to develop psychotic symptoms. However, if a child was bullied at primary school, he or she was four times more likely to develop psychotic symptoms. They were also twice as likely to go on to be bullied at secondary school. Professor Wolke said: "We have for the first time show that the bullying has occurred before the psychotic symptoms developed. The more severe the victimisation, the higher the likelihood of having psychotic symptoms. If you are victim of bullying you have twice the risk of psychotic symptoms. But if you are bullied over a long time, your risk quadruples, and if you experience both overt and relational bullying your risk increases 4.6 times. There is a no higher predictor of psychosis than bullying." Children with few friends were more likely to be bullied, because other children were not there to defend them, said Professor Wolke. Being continually bullied could lead to changes in the young brain as a result of overreaction to stress and continual increased in the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Prof Wolke concluded that having friendships and good relationships with classmates plays a vital role in children"s mental health and well-being. Reference: Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, BT Convention Centre, Liverpool, 2 -5 June 2009 Royal College of Psychiatrists


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