A bump on the head can cause permanent disability -- even months after the injury, a Chicago-area neurologist said.

Dr. Jose Biller, a neurologist at Loyola University Medical Center, said a patient slipped on the ice and bumped her head but she wasn't too concerned until two months later, when she began to experience weakness in her right leg and right arm.

Biller ordered an immediate magnetic resonance imaging scan, which showed a large subdural hematoma -- a mass of blood on the surface of the brain. With the hematoma compressing the brain, the patient was in imminent danger of suffering permanent paralysis or cognitive deficits, similar to disabilities caused by strokes, Biller said.

Biller referred the patient to Loyola neurosurgeon Dr. Douglas Anderson, who performed emergency surgery by drilling two holes in the patient's skull and draining the hematoma -- which was about 2 inches long and 1.5 inches thick. The patient made a full recovery, Biller said.

Subdural hematomas are triggered by head injuries that cause blood vessels between the surface of the brain and its outer covering -- the dura -- to stretch and tear.

The subdural hematomas are usually caused by severe head injuries that cause bleeding, which rapidly fills the brain area. However, less severe head injuries can cause chronic subdural hematomas and these slow bleeds might not cause symptoms for days or weeks, Biller said.

Researchers have found that gene mutations may play critically important role in acute myeloid leukaemia - one of the most common types of human leukaemia- suggesting a promising new target for the condition.

The study led by physician-scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center validates certain activating mutations in the FLT3 gene as targets for acute myeloid leukemia therapy-a critically important finding for developing drugs.

"These mutations are critically important for the survival of leukemia cells that harbor them," said Neil Shah, MD, PhD, who led the research, and is co-leader of the Hematopoietic Malignancies Program at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF and the Edward S. Ageno Distinguished Professor of Hematology/Oncology.

"Our results also identify drug-resistant mutations in FLT3 that represent high-value targets for future drug development, and will hopefully rekindle interest in developing potent FLT3 inhibitors for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia," he stated.

The new work also suggests why a handful of older drugs developed to treat acute myeloid leukemia by targeting FTL3 have previously failed in clinical trials. The problem with these drugs was not lack of precision but of power-they were aimed at the right target needed to stop the cancer, but most likely did not hit this target hard enough.

Patients in the future may be better served by therapies that involve combinations of multiple, more potent drugs that can suppress all drug-resistant forms of FLT3, said Shah, whose lab is working to identify such compounds and bring them to the clinic as quickly as possible.

Acute myeloid leukemia occurs when the precursors of our own blood cells become corrupted by mutations in their DNA. The mutant precursors then fail to produce several critical components of blood: white cells, which fight infections; red cells, which carry the blood's oxygen supply; and platelets, which clog vessels when they are cut and help minimize blood loss.

Instead, the mutant precursors give rise to leukemia cells, which accumulate in the bone marrow and bloodstream, crowding out the healthy blood components, and commonly lead to life-threatening infections, anemia, and bleeding.

Over the last several decades, the five-year survival for acute myeloid leukemia has not improved, even as better diagnostic tests, imaging techniques and treatments have driven down mortality for other forms of cancer.

Shah and his colleagues worked with eight leukemia patients who participated in a clinical trial involving a compound known as AC220, the first clinically-active FLT3 inhibitor. All eight relapsed after first achieving deep remissions with AC220.

In collaboration with Pacific Biosciences, a Menlo Park, Calif. company, a new sequencing technology was adapted to more sensitively and precisely detect drug-resistant mutations. The team showed that in all eight cases, one or more of these mutations evolved at the time AC220-resistant disease developed.

They are now searching for compounds that can specifically target these mutated, AC220-resistant forms of FTL3, and have identified several promising candidates, one of which is currently being evaluated in a clinical trial at UCSF by Catherine Smith MD, who works in Shah's laboratory and is the first author of the article.

A chemical used in make-up and self tanning lotions has been linked to obesity.

Scientists found that those who were exposed to phthalates, colourless man-made substances included in a variety of common consumer products, were more prone to weight gain.

And subjects with even 'modest' levels of the substance in their bloodstream were twice as likely to develop diabetes.

One billion tons of phthalates are produced worldwide each year and they have been widely used as gelling agents in cosmetics, cleaning products and to make plastic bottles for more than half a century.

But now mounting evidence suggests they could have a negative health impact, prompting the body to store more belly fat and become resistant to insulin as they disrupt the hormone balance.

Lead researcher Monica Lind, associate professor of environmental medicine at Uppsala University in Sweden, said: 'Those pollutants containing phthalates are making people obese and now we find they could get diabetes. These products need to be tested.

'Many are used in body products, like face creams, fake tan, make up and perfumes. Not only does the packaging contain them, but they are absorbed into the body and bloodstream through the skin.
'In perfume, we inhale the phthalates that are used to delay the scent and increase the lifetime of the perfume.'

Data from 1,000 people aged over 70 was looked at during the study and in total 119 had diabetes while 88 of them had a history of the condition.

After taking into account factors that are known to cause type 2 diabetes, including obesity, smoking and high cholesterol, they found people with higher levels of phthalates in their blood were more likely to develop insulin resistance.

It is thought that in men phthalates have an anti-testosterone capacity linked to weigh gain, while in women they disrupt the hormone balance similar to those that might occur during the menopause or at puberty.

It is unclear which products contain the chemicals, as in many countries don't require them to be listed as ingredients, but it is known that perfumes and hair products, such as hairspray and mousse, are the worst offenders.

A spokesperson from Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said: 'Phthalates are found in about 70 per cent of fragrance containing personal care products (that's everything from perfume and cologne to fragrance-containing shampoos and deodorants).

'They are not listed on labels because fragrance is considered a trade secret so companies don't have to disclose what's in it.'

Dr Paula Baillie-Hamilton, author of Stop the 21st Century Killing You and a researcher on human metabolism who has studied the connection between chemicals and obesity at the University of Stirling, is convinced that the abundance of chemical calories in our lives is the reason why so many people are getting fatter despite dieting and exercising more.

'It's a theory that was poo-pooed a decade ago but which has become a new field of medicine in itself,' says Dr Baillie-Hamilton.

In 2003 the European Union passed legislation banning some phthalates in cosmetics and has kept three phthalates out of toys since 1999.

Johanna Congleton, a senior scientist from the Environmental Working Group, a U.S. environmental organisation, said the study gives further reason for the cosmetics industry to ban the use of phthalates completely.

She said; 'The implications of this study enforce the notion that environmental chemicals can act as 'obesogens' and alter biological functions involved in fat metabolism, which can influence body weight.

'Avoiding exposure is a good precautionary measure, and consumer product manufacturers should phase out the use of these compounds.'

However Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK raised concerns over the recent study and the sample selected.

He said: 'This paper attempts to link the presence of phthalates in the bloodstream and the presence of Type 2 diabetes in an elderly population.

'It is a difficult area to research and this study was based on a relatively small number of white adults over 70 years old.

'It shows an association between some metabolites, which are breakdown products, and the presence of Type 2 diabetes, but does not show that their presence causes Type 2 diabetes.

'We would be concerned if the reporting of this study diluted the very simple and evidence-based message that limiting the amount of calories in your diet and being regularly physically active is the best way of maintaining a healthy weight and so reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes.'

Following the publication of the findings in the journal Diabetes Care, Prof Lind added: 'Although our results need to be confirmed in more studies, they do support the hypothesis that certain environmental chemicals can contribute to the development of diabetes.

'Consumers should ask for labelling. As it is now It's impossible know which products contain the chemical. We should also ask for better regulation.

'There's lots of also lots of other health problems (asthma, allergy, obesity, reproduction problem etc) which has been shown to be linked to the phthalates.

'We now know enough to regulate these chemicals. In general all chemicals should be tested for safety before they go on the market not afterwards.'

HIV-infected cells may now be killed by genetically engineered human stem cells, in a huge breakthrough research at the University of California.

Stem cells are biological cells found in every living being that can divide and differentiate into any specialized cell type. They can also multiply to produce more stem cells. During this research on HIV-AIDS, it was found that these stem cells can be made to form immune cells to target HIV viruses.The lead scientist in this research is Scott G Kitchen from the University of California.

He added: "We believe that this study lays the groundwork for the potential use of this type of an approach in combating HIV infection in infected individuals, in hopes of eradicating the virus from the body."

Right now, the research and findings are based on work on a surrogate model, a humanised mouse in which the infection very closely resembles that in humans.

The engineered stem cells were introduced into the humanised mice. A series of tests were then conducted on their blood, organs and plasma after two and six weeks. It was found that the number of CD4 'helper' T-cells increased (they usually decrease in HIV infection). The levels of HIV infection in the blood also decreased. It was further found that the engineered stem cells were capable of migrating to different organs by themselves to fight infections.

It is indeed a big moment for research in the field of HIV-AIDS. However, what remains to be seen is if this would work on humans too.

With a view to tackle the new wave of H1N1 cases in various states including Karnataka since March, the Central government on Thursday announced that the government's medical response system has been put on a state of preparedness and there was enough stocks of Tamiflu the commonly used medicine to treat it.

"The medical response system has been put on a state of preparedness. Forty five laboratories are testing samples (26 in government sector and 19 in private). A nationwide network of laboratories in the private sector is also available for rapid diagnosis," health ministry said in a statement after reviewing the scenario.

Between March 1 and April 9, as many as 35 H1N1 deaths have been reported from all over the country out of which 15 were from Maharashtra, nine from Rajasthan, six from Andhra Pradesh, two from Gujarat and one each from Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

In the same period, there was 689 cases of H1N1 Maharashtra (392 cases), Karnataka (104), Andhra Pradesh (66), Rajasthan (84), Tamil Nadu (28), Delhi (6), Gujarat (5) and Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The review was chaired by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth and attended by secretaries from health, biotechnology and pharmaceutical ministries.After elaborate examination at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, the ministry officials ruled out any change in genetic structure of the H1N1 virus.