When most people think about swine flu, they think of the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic. The H1N1 virus is thought to have come from a reassortment between influenza viruses in North American pig herds and Eurasian pig herds.

The H1N1 virus isn't what people are talking about anymore though. There is a new swine flu virus that is making the news, although fortunately this one has limited person-to-person spread, so there hasn't been any sustained spread in communities where it has been found. Instead, the H3N2 variant (H3N2v) virus is spreading from pigs to people.

So far, there have been at least 305 confirmed cases in the current influenza A (H3N2) variant virus outbreak. However, since our routine flu tests do not detect this virus, you have to wonder if there are many more cases that are undetected.

Fortunately, most cases are mild. The CDC does report however that at least 16 people have been hospitalized and there has been one death, a 61-year-old woman in Ohio. And there is always the risk that the H3N2v virus could change and start spreading from person to person more easily. That makes it important to try and protect your family from the H3N2v virus, including that your kids:

Avoid pigs and swine barns if they are visiting a state fair and they are at high risk for serious flu complications, which includes children younger than age 5 years and kids with chronic health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, or a problem with their immune system, etc.
Don't take food or drink into pig areas; don't eat, drink or put anything in your mouth in pig areas.
Wash your hands often with soap and running water before and after exposure to pigs.
Avoid contact with pigs if you have flu-like symptoms.

While an H3N2v vaccine is not available and this year's seasonal flu vaccine won't protect you from H3N2v, it can be treated with anti-viral flu medications, such as Tamiflu or Relenza. Early treatment with one of these medicines is a good idea for those who are at high risk for severe complications from the flu.

Keep in mind that even if you aren't worried about swine flu, it is still a good idea to make sure your kids wash their hands if they have contact with animals, whether it is at home or at a State Fair or petting zoo. As many parents hopefully know, since there have been multiple warnings about this over the years, farm animals and even many household pets, are notorious for their ability to spread infections, including E. coli and Salmonella.

More than half of insomniacs are risking their health by taking sleeping pills without getting medical advice.

Around 30% of people struggling to sleep have taken remedies for more than a month without talking to a doctor, and 14% for longer than six months, research by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society revealed yesterday.

But the study of 2,000 people also found that in 80% of cases there were underlying health problems, such as heart disease, that needed to be dealt with immediately.

The RPS's Neal Patel said: "If it lasts longer than a month, there will possibly be an underlying medical condition.

"It could be a mental health problem, like depression, or a physical symptom like asthma."

It is believed 25% of adults have trouble sleeping and up to 10% have insomnia.

There has been a rise in the use of pills, with NHS spending on the drugs reaching nearly 50million (euros) last year.

Some 15.3 million prescriptions were handed out in 2010/11, compared to 14.5 million in 2007/08, NHS figures show.

Sheila Fitzpatrick, 76, used to buy pills over the counter and also suffered from depression.

She now uses an online programme instead and yesterday said she would never go back.

She said: "It's been a lifeline for me. I was totally dependent.

"How can you carry on life when you haven't had any sleep? I thought seriously of suicide."

Researchers led by an Indian-origin investigator are testing the suitability of a synthetic cannabinoid drug - dexanabinol - for curing brain cancer. Preliminary tests show that it kills cultured cancer cells derived from many tumour types, a US report says. Additional research in Santosh Kesari's neuro-oncology lab at the University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center, demonstrated the drug's anti-cancer effects in patient-derived brain cancer cell lines. Kesari is the principal study-investigator.

It could be given as a weekly intravenous infusion. More recently, researchers at e-Therapeutics, the study sponsor, showed that dexanabinol (ETS2101) kills cultured cancer cells derived from many tumour types. "In this Phase I study, we are examining the safety of multiple doses of dexanabinol, extent of penetration into the brain, and suitability for future trials. What we hope to determine is the safe and optimal dose of drug in the brain," said Kesari, according to a California statement.

Dexanabinol is a cannabinoid derivative that causes no psychotropic (altering perception or behaviour) effects. It was tested previously as a neuro-protective in patients with traumatic brain injury. During these trials the drug was found to cross the blood-brain barrier.

The blood-brain barrier has been defined by The Free Dictionary "as a physiological mechanism that alters the permeability of brain capillaries so that certain drugs are prevented from entering brain tissue, while other substances are allowed to enter freely."

Dexanabinol's potential in fighting cancer was identified through a new approach to drug discovery called network pharmacology, a way to analyze the network of proteins underlying a disease process. Network pharmacology enables scientists to seek drugs from among existing compounds, or design new molecules, that act simultaneously on a number of individual proteins to disrupt the cancer-susceptible network.

Scientific trials are to test whether mistletoe can help boost the immune system of cancer patients.

The Aberdeen University pilot study will be overseen by cancer specialist Professor Steven Heys, from the university's medical school.

The study will be run jointly with Camphill Medical Practice in Aberdeen, which regularly offers cancer patients mistletoe therapy.

It will involve women with breast cancer.

Dr Stefan Geider, a GP at the Camphill practice, said some patients who have had mistletoe injections had noticed an impact on their wellbeing.

"We see an increase in energy levels, less fatigue, good appetite, better sleeping, high motivation, from my clinical experience," he said.

"From seeing patients on a regular basis, my experience is that mistletoe has, with some people - although not with all - an impact on tumour reduction."

However, he said it was important people realised that it was not a miracle cure.

"Mistletoe has to my experience helped a lot of patients tremendously, both in terms of quality of life as well as life expectancy," he said.

"But it does not work for everybody - it's not a miracle cure. We need to find out why the mistletoe works for some people, and not for others - that's why we need the trials."

Many in the medical profession do not believe mistletoe has any effect on cancer, and think it should not be prescribed, citing a lack of good quality evidence.
'Quality of life'

Cancer specialist Prof Heys said: "There isn't any evidence that mistletoe does have an anti-cancer effect, in terms of prolonging the life of patients.

"What it does do, possibly, is improve the quality of life of patients with breast cancer who are having chemotherapy.

"Therefore I think it's important to look and evaluate that and study it, in very good randomised controlled trials, conducted in a very controlled setting."

He said many of his patients were now using alternative treatments alongside traditional ones.

"A recent study we conducted last year showed that 70% of patients were taking complementary or alternative medicines," he said.

"Given that, I think it's important to be able to understand if mistletoe does have effects on quality of life so that we can present that to patients."

Researchers have found a special population of stem cells in cord blood that has the innate ability to migrate to the intestine and contribute to the cell population there, suggesting the cells' potential to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

These cells are involved in the formation of blood vessels and may prove to be a tool for improving the vessel abnormalities found in IBD, said lead author Graca Almeida-Porada, MD, PhD, a professor at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

IBD, which is characterised by frequent diarrhoea and abdominal pain, actually refers to two conditions ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in which the intestines become red and swollen and develop ulcers.

With IBD, blood vessels in the intestine leak and contribute to inflammation

While there is currently no cure for IBD, there are drug therapies aimed at reducing inflammation and preventing the immune response. However, these therapies aren't always effective. The long-term aim of the research is to develop an injectable cell therapy to induce tissue recovery.

The work, performed while Almeida-Porada was at the University of Nevada, also involved colleagues from Indiana University School of Medicine.

The researchers studied a special population of cells, known as endothelial colony-forming cells, found in cord blood, bone marrow and circulating blood.

The finding in 1997 that the cells can contribute to blood vessel formation in adults, not just embryos, initiated the notion of using them for therapy. Studies in humans have validated the ability of these cells to improve reduced blood flow to the limbs and to treat heart diseases.

However, there have been few studies to explore the inherent biologic ability of these cells to home to different organs and contribute to tissue-specific cell populations. Evaluating their potential to migrate to the intestine was an obvious choice, said Almeida-Porada, because dysfunctional blood vessels are a hallmark of IBD.

Not only are circulating levels of vessel-forming cells reduced in patients with IBD, but a key factor in IBD progression is the development of abnormal or immature blood vessels, which leads to chronic inflammation.

The cells were injected into fetal sheep at 59 to 65 days gestation. About 11 weeks later, intestinal tissue was analysed to detect the presence of the human cells. The researchers found that the human cells had migrated to the intestine and contributed significantly to the cell population there.

"This study shows that the cells can migrate to and survive in a healthy intestine and have the potential to support vascular health. Our next step will be to determine whether the cells can survive in the 'war' environment of an inflamed intestine," said Almeida-Porada.

The researchers also evaluated the ability of the cells to home to the liver. Smaller numbers of cells reached the liver than the intestine, suggesting that new strategies would be needed to enhance the therapeutic potential for this organ.

The research has been published in the current print issue of the journal Hepatology.