Answer: Starting a regular exercise program can be one of the most valuable tools you can include in your recovery program. Regular exercise is an excellent way to manage stress and anxiety as well as increase your feelings of well-being. James West is retired medical director at the Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower Medical Center. Mail questions to him at 39-000 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.

via mydesert.com

A new study has found that people with schistosomes, and possibly other parasitic worm infections, may be more likely to become infected with HIV than persons without worm infections. The study showed that the infectious dose of HIV-like virus necessary to infect rhesus macaques was 17-fold lower in animals with acute schistosomiasis than in controls.

via living.oneindia.in

A gene variant found only in people of African ancestry increases the chances of becoming infected with HIV-1 by 40 percent, according to a long-term study. Interestingly, however, after infection, the same variant seemed to protect against progression of the disease, allowing those who carry it to live about two years longer.

via newkerala.com

Teenage girls who are sexually active and those who are not eventually all have the same risk for infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV), new research suggests.
The finding that early sexual activity is not predictive of future HPV infection suggests that using risk factors as a means of determining who should get vaccinated against HPV is not an effective strategy, researcher Amanda F. Dempsey, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan tells WebMD.

via medicinenet.com

A new device meant to make surgical treatment of ear infections safer and faster has been developed by a University of Virginia team. The device, which combines three of the tools used in the surgical implantation of ear ventilation tubes, has shown promising results in clinical trials.

via medicinenet.com

A new study has found that extreme climatic conditions, such as the increased frequency of droughts and floods expected with global warming, can turn normally harmless infections into considerable threats. An international research team, including University of Minnesota researcher Craig Packer, found that weather extremes are capable of altering normal host-pathogen relationships and causing a "perfect storm" of multiple infectious outbreaks that can devastate populations of wildlife or livestock.

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A team of researchers including an Indian scientist has discovered how an anticancer drug dampens the immune system. HDAC inhibitors, which have anti-tumour activity and can be used to treat some forms of skin cancer and some types of leukemia, are also known to have anti-inflammatory properties. However, the mechanisms by which they modulate the immune system have not been determined.

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The herpes drug acyclovir (Zovirax) doesn't reduce the risk of HIV-1 infection in people who have sex with men infected with genital herpes, a U.S. study finds. Previous research has shown that herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) infection — the most common cause of genital herpes — increases the risk for HIV-1 infection by two- to threefold. In this new, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III study, Dr. Connie Celum.

via medicinenet.com

Taking good care of teeth and gums may be crucial in preventing heart valve infection, a U.S. study finds.
Researchers examined whether daily dental activities such as brushing were as likely as major dental procedures such as tooth extraction to cause infective endocarditis (IE), a dangerous infection of the lining of the heart or heart valve that can occur when bacteria enter the bloodstream.

via medicinenet.com

Endotracheal tubes coated with silver dramatically reduce infections from highly resistant bacteria, researchers report. Patients on ventilators breathe through a tube placed through their trachea and into the lung, and they are at risk for developing what is called ventilator-associated pneumonia. "Ventilator-associated pneumonia can be caused by a variety of pathogens," said lead researcher Dr. Andrew Shorr, from the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.

via medicinenet.com

A new study from Italy has provided new insights into how the cholera bacteria work within the human body. The study led by Dr Carla Pruzzo, Dr Luigi Vezzulli and Dr Rita R Colwell analysed the interaction of the bacteria with the environment that shed light on how organism causes disease. The researchers focused their study over Vibrio cholerae, responsible for Cholera. In the aquatic environment this bacteria interacts with chitin, a naturally occurring compound found in the cell walls of fungi, and in the exoskeleton of crustaceans and insects.

via newkerala.com

Researchers have been able to block HIV infection by disabling a human protein in key cells. The breakthrough will enable doctors to outwit the fast mutating HIV virus that has been the bane of treatment. Earlier, doctors either prescribed multi-drug regimens or switched drugs.
But such strategies are fraught with risks. They can increase the risk of toxic side effects, be difficult to follow and are not always successful. Most of the drugs used against HIV that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), target the virus's own proteins.
However, because HIV has a high rate of genetic mutation.

via newkerala.com

South Korea is testing to see if one of the workers taking part in a mass cull of poultry infected with bird flu may have become infected with the deadly virus, the health ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry said it would take about one to three weeks to confirm if the soldier, said to be 22-years old by local media, had been infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu. "The soldier's symptoms are consistent with that of suspected AI (avian influenza) patients, according to World Health Organisation standards, but the clinical symptoms also resemble bacterial pneumonia so we are on a close watch," the ministry said in a statement.

via reuters.com

Exercise may help improve fatigue caused by cancer and its treatments, new research says. "A lot of time, the medical response to patients is that they should expect to be fatigued, that it is a normal side effect. If patients are told that fatigue is just a side effect and to accept it, what they are not getting is any advice or support to help them cope," review lead author Fiona Camp, a lecturer at the University of the West of England in Bristol, said in a prepared statement.Read the rest of this entry »

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Here is yet another reason to kick the butt. Nicotine prevents short-lived white blood cells from neutralising bacteria and thus exposes smokers to a host of infections, a new study has found. In a first, the study looks at the mechanisms at work when nicotine is present during cell differentiation of these white blood cells - called neutrophils-generated by the bone marrow. The study, by University of Louisville researchers, found that impaired neutrophil function partially explained a tobacco user's susceptibility to bacterial infection and inflammatory diseases.

via newkerala.com