A link between different strains of malaria parasites that cause severe disease has been identified, which could help develop vaccines or drugs against life-threatening cases of the infection.

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh have found a key protein that is common to many potentially fatal forms of the condition, and found that antibodies that targeted this protein were effective against these severe malaria strains.


The protein has sticky properties that enable it to bind to red blood cells and form dangerous clumps that can block blood vessels. These clumps, or rosettes, can cause severe illness, including coma and brain damage.

Presently, between 10 and 20 per cent of people with severe malaria die from it, and the disease, which is spread by blood-sucking mosquitoes, claims about one million lives per year.

Malaria parasites, once in the bloodstream, are able to alter the protein molecules on their surfaces to evade attack by the immune system. These surface proteins are usually poor targets for treatments or vaccines because they are highly variable between different malaria parasite strains.

Now, researchers have found that the surface proteins of rosette-forming parasites share similarities that may allow them to act as a target for treatments to block progress of the disease.

The scientists worked with collaborators from Cameroon, Mali, Kenya and The Gambia to test their antibodies against parasites collected from patients.

"We knew that clusters, or rosettes, of blood cells were found in many cases of severe or life-threatening malaria, so we looked at rosette-forming parasites and found a common factor that we could target with antibodies. We hope this discovery will inform new treatments or vaccines to block the formation of rosettes and so prevent many life-threatening cases of malaria," said Professor Alexandra Rowe of the University of Edinburgh``s School of Biological Sciences, who led the study.

Earlier milk feeds would benefit at-risk premature babies, a new study has suggested.

The University of Oxford study found that babies were not at a higher risk of severe bowel problems if moved off tube-feeds early, as was feared.


400 babies, born at least five weeks early and small for their age, were studied for the Pediatrics paper.

The premature baby charity Bliss said it hoped the findings would lead to a change in feeding practices.

High-risk premature babies are vulnerable to severe bowel problems, including a condition called necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). Concerns over this risk have led to special care units previously tending to delay the start of milk feeds.

But tube feeding can also cause complications, including liver problems.

The researchers behind this study, which was funded by the charity Action Medical Research, wanted to examine if underweight premature babies could take milk earlier, which would then help them gain a healthy weight sooner.

The study was co-ordinated by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, and carried out at 54 hospitals across UK and Ireland.

Almost half of the babies in the trial needed some help with their breathing, although really sick babies were not included.

Half of the babies were introduced to milk feeds on day two of life, while the remainder were given milk on day six.

Three quarters were given their mother`s breast milk, rather than donor milk or formula.

"Earlier discharge home not only frees up cot space but also means that the whole family can benefit as the emotional and financial stresses will be reduced," the BBC quoted Jane Abbott, fro Bliss, as saying.

Full feeding - defined as babies successfully taking milk feeds for 72 hours - was achieved earlier in the babies who started milk feeds on day two.

On an average, babies who started milk feeds on day two of life were being fully milk fed by 18 days of age - compared with an average of 21 days of age in those who started on day six.

And the early milk feed group spent an average of 11 days in high-dependency cots, compared with 15 for the later group.

Crucially, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of babies experiencing severe bowel problems, including NEC.

In the group given early feeds, 36 (18 percent developed NEC, compared with 30 (15 percentof those who started later.

The authors of the paper, led by Alison Leaf and Peter Brocklehurst conclude that babies "would generally benefit from starting milk feeds within the first 24-48 hours after birth".

"These babies are a challenge to feed. Good nutrition and growth is very important, however their body organs, including the bowel, are immature," Leaf said.

A new brain cancer vaccine, which uses material from patients` own tumours, holds promise of extending their lives by several months, show results of a multicentre phase-two clinical trial of the vaccine.

The effectiveness of the vaccine was tested on more than 40 patients undergoing treatment at the University of California, San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University Hospitals Case Medical Centre, Cleveland, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York City.

The patients suffered from recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumour that kills thousands of Americans every year.

The trial found that the vaccine could extend survival of the patients by several months compared to 80 other patients who were treated at the same hospitals and received standard therapy. Several of the patients who had received the cancer vaccine have survived for more than a year, according to a university statement.
"These results are provocative," said California neurosurgeon Andrew Parsa, who led the research. "They suggest that doctors may be able to extend survival of patients even longer by combining the vaccine with other drugs that enhance their immune response."

The next step, he said, would be a more extensive and randomised clinical trial to look at the effectiveness of the vaccine combined with the drug Avastin, a standard therapy for this type of cancer, compared to the effectiveness of Avastin alone. The next phase of trials, to be run by the National Cancer Institute, will begin enrolling patients later this year.

A dash of lime juice and a dose of sunshine make a cheap, effective combination for safer drinking water in impoverished countries

Adding lime juice to water being treated with a solar disinfection method removes detectable levels of harmful bacteria such as E. coli significantly faster than solar disinfection alone, researchers say.

"For many countries, access to clean drinking water is still a major concern," says Kellogg Schwab, professor of environmental health science at Johns Hopkins University and director of the Global Water Program. "Previous studies estimate that, globally, half of all hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from a water-related illness."

Schwab, senior author of a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, says the research showed that solar disinfection of water combined with the citrus juice greatly reduces E. coli levels in just 30 minutes-on par with boiling and other household water treatment methods.

In low-income regions, solar disinfection is used in the home to reduce diarrheal illness. One method recommended by the U.N. Children's Fund is known as SODIS, or solar water disinfection. It calls for filling 1- or 2-liter PET plastic bottles with water and then exposing them to sunlight for at least six hours. In cloudy weather, exposure times of up to 48 hours may be necessary.

The 30 milliliters of Persian lime juice per 2 liters of water used in the study to speed up the process-roughly an ounce per half gallon-would "likely not be prohibitively expensive or create an unpleasant flavor," Schwab says.

Schwab and Alexander Harding, lead author and a medical student at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, designed their study to determine if lime constituents known as psoralenes could enhance solar disinfection of water.

The researchers filled PET plastic bottles with dechlorinated tap water and then added lime juice, lime slurry or synthetic psoralen, and either E. coli, MS2 bacteriophage or murine norovirus.

Levels of both E. coli and MS2 bacteriophage were significantly lower following solar disinfection when either lime juice or lime slurry was added to the water. Noroviruses, however, were not dramatically reduced using the technique, indicating it is not a perfect solution.

"Many cultures already practice treatment with citrus juice, perhaps indicating that this treatment method will be more appealing to potential SODIS users than other additives such as TiO2 [titanium dioxide] or H2O2[hydrogen peroxide]," the authors write.

They caution, however, that "additional research should be done to evaluate the use of lemon or other acidic fruits, as Persian limes may be difficult to obtain in certain regions."

The research was supported in part by the Osprey Foundation of Maryland, the Johns Hopkins University Global Water Program, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Don't stop with just allopathic treatment for haemophilia, said Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy, as he urged medical students to research traditional Indian systems of medicine to find new answers, "There is a wealth of knowledge in traditional medicinal forms like siddha, unani and even ayurveda that may have the answer to a better life for this condition," he said. After inaugurating an awareness camp hosted jointly by the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Haemophilia Society - Madras Chapter, he said that it was laudable that so many were raising awareness about such a rare disease.

The mayor was all praise for the foresight of the Chief Minister and the Health Minister in including the treatment of haemophilia under the CM's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. Very few people came forward earlier to avail of the treatment - which could cost between `5,000 and `10,000 per sitting. "Now this has been made free through the insurance scheme for poor people in all government hospitals and other places," he said. This would hopefully reduce the number of people going to witch doctors and priests for exorcisms and black magic cures, he added.

A panel discussion was held on ways in which awareness about haemophilia can be taken to more doctors and eventually the country's masses. As part of World Haemophilia Day a scholarship scheme for affected people called 'I Believe I Can Fly' was launched at the programme. This will help 20 students with haemophilia pursue their studies for the next three years. Dr Margaret Chellaraj, HoD of Haematology, Dr V Kanagasabai, Dean Madras Medical College and R Satyanarayanan, member of Haemophilia Society - Madras Chapter were part of the proceedings.