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Treating Gum Disease Helps Rheumatoid Arthritis Sufferers
Not yet convinced about keeping your healthy teeth, here"s another reason.

New Research Discovers Link Between Smoking And Brain Damage
New research which suggests a direct link between smoking and brain damage will be published in the July issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry. Researchers, led by Debapriya Ghosh and Dr Anirban Basu from the Indian National Brain Research Center (NBRC), have found that a compound in tobacco provokes white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, leading to severe neurological damage.
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New Phase 3 Data Continue To Indicate That Wyeth's Investigational 13-valent Vaccine Has The Potential To Cover Against Pneumococcal Disease
New data from Phase 3 European clinical trials reinforce that Wyeth"s (NYSE: WYE) investigational pneumococcal vaccine, Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine, 13-valent [Adsorbed]), has the potential to provide coverage against the 13 most prevalent serotypes associated with pneumococcal disease (PD), the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in children younger than five worldwide.
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Vitamin A Supplements Can Reduce Malaria Cases In Children By One-Third, Study Finds

In malaria-endemic areas, vitamin A supplements - which cost about 2 U.S. cents each - can help reduce infections in children by one-third, according to a study published in the Malaria Journal, IRIN reports. The study analyzed results from previous studies conducted in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Papua New Guinea since 1995. It found that vitamin A supplements decreased malaria cases by one-third in Papua New Guinea and Burkina Faso. Peter Olumese of the WHO"s Global Malaria Programme said although the relationship between vitamin A deficiency and malaria requires more research, it is clear that vitamin A supplements help to prevent a range of infectious diseases in children. "We do not need to wait for all the answers," Olumese said. "While waiting on results [of further studies into the link], vitamin A supplements can be used to decrease morbidity and mortality in children, including those at risk of malaria." According to the WHO, children younger than age five in Africa and Southeast Asia had the highest levels of vitamin A deficiency between 1995 and 2005. UNICEF estimates it reaches 70 percent of children worldwide at risk of vitamin A deficiency with supplements twice a year. But that means that one-third of children might not receive the minimum amount, Olumese said. "Vitamin A supplement programming is often run as a donor-funded project and is not tied in with national child health programmes. When donors leave, so do the vitamin A supplements," he said. In addition, government health budgets rarely allocate sufficient funds for nutrients, said Banda Ndiaye of the non-profit Micronutrient Initiative, which helps governments carry out twice-yearly micronutrient campaigns. "Re allocation is very competitive and the basis of allocation may have as much to do with which constituency has more influence [rather] than what is needed most." "At a 2008 malnutrition conference hosted by the Copenhagen Consensus Center, economists calculated that an annual $60-million investment in micronutrients, especially vitamin A and zinc, would yield annual benefits of more than $1 billion, including health care cost savings," IRIN writes (IRIN 6/25). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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