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Chinese Government Reports Abortion Statistics
Chinese state media on Thursday reported that women in the country have about 13 million abortions annually, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. According to the China Daily newspaper, the actual number likely is much higher because the 13 million includes abortions performed in hospitals but not unreported procedures performed in rural clinics. Most of the abortions were among single young women who experts say know little about contraception. The paper also said that about 10 million pills for medical abortion are sold annually in the country. China imposed strict population controls in the 1970s that prohibit most couples from having more than one child. For married women, sterilization and the use of intrauterine devices are widely promoted and subsidized. However, Chinese policies typically do not address the needs of unmarried women, even as national attitudes have become more accepting of sex outside of marriage, the AP/Chronicle reports. According to the newspaper, about 62% of the abortions were among unmarried women ages 20 to 29. The Chinese report called the number of abortions "an unfortunate situation" but did not indicate whether the procedures are increasing or decreasing from year to year. National Population and Family Planning Commission official Wu Shangchun is quoted in the report as saying that almost half of the women seeking abortion had used no form of contraception. Wu also said that reducing abortions is a national challenge that requires significant effort. Peking University professor Li Ying said that sex education in China must be improved at the university level and that Chinese parents must do more to teach children about sex (AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/30).

Novel Non-Surgical Therapy Dramatically Increases Weight Loss In Obese Patients; Results From Pilot Clinical Study Presented At ASMBS
GI Dynamics, a leader in non-surgical treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, today announced results from a pilot clinical study which demonstrated the substantially enhanced weight loss effects of combining the company"s EndoBarrier Gastrointestinal Liner with a new EndoBarrier Flow Restrictor. The EndoBarrier Flow Restrictor provides an adjustable restriction at the outlet of the stomach and is designed to delay gastric emptying, an additional mechanism which adds to the therapeutic effects of the liner. The results were presented today at the 26th annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
News of the day
Diamyd(R) Phase III Study Approved For Younger Patients In The US
Diamyd Medical reported that the company has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include children with type 1 diabetes from 10 years of age in the company"s Phase III study with the diabetes vaccine Diamyd(R).
Endocrinology

New Path For Cocaine Addiction Research

Cocaine is one of the oldest drugs known to humans, and its abuse has become widespread since the end of the 19th century. At the same time, we know rather little about its effects on the human brain or the mechanisms that lead to cocaine addiction. The latest article by Dr. Marco Leyton, of the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre, which was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry on May 15, 2009, not only demonstrates a link between cocaine and the reward circuits in the brain but also associates the susceptibility to addiction with these mechanisms. The results of this study show that sniffing cocaine triggers high levels of dopamine secretion in a central region of the brain called the striatum. Dopamine is known to play a critical role in the brain"s response to reward as well as in its response to addictive drugs. This study was carried out in ten non-addicted users of cocaine, all of whom sniffed cocaine on one test day and placebo powder on another. Participants underwent blood tests before and after taking the drug, and dopamine release in the brain was measured using PET scans. "The ability of cocaine to activate dopamine release varies markedly from person to person. Our study suggests that this is related to how much of the drug the person consumed in the past," explained Dr. Leyton. The more cocaine someone has used in his or her lifetime, the more the brain will secrete dopamine during subsequent cocaine use. "It"s possible therefore that the intensity of the reward-circuit response is related to increased susceptibility to addiction," stated Dr. Leyton. Although the relationship between the intensity of dopamine secretion and the frequency of drug use has been demonstrated, researchers still do not fully understand its mechanism of action. Is it the repeated stimulation of the reward circuit that leads to addiction, or is it an inherent sensitivity to addiction that leads to the increased secretion of dopamine? This question is not easy to answer, especially since other factors come into play, such as other aspects of the subject"s personal history. Whatever the answer, the relationship between dopamine and cocaine means that this hormone could be a potential target for treatment against addiction. More research is required before treatments are available, but this study opens a new door in this direction. Funding This study was funded with a grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Salary support was given by the Fond de recherche en santçİ du Quçİbec Dr Marco Leyton Dr. Marco Leyton is a researcher on mental illnesses and addiction at the Research Institute of the MUHC andthe Montreal Neurological Institute. He is also an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University and the recipient of a William Dawson research chair. Partners This study is a collaboration between several laboratories of the McGill University Health Centre and McGill University, involving : Dr Sylvia M.L. Cox, Dr Chawki Benkelfat, Dr Alain Dagher, Dr J. Scott Delaney, France Durand, Samuel A. McKenzie, Dr Theodore Kolivakis, Kevin F. Casey, Dr Marco Leyton. This release is available in a French. Isabelle Kling McGill University Health Centre


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