Identification Of Major Cause Of Chronic Kidney Disease-Related Inflammation
UC Irvine researchers have uncovered an important source of inflammation seen in people with chronic kidney disease, which is increasingly common due to the epidemic of obesity-related diabetes and hypertension. Dr. N.D. Vaziri, professor emeritus of medicine and physiology & biophysics, found that CKD causes massive depletion of the key adhesive proteins, called the tight junction, that normally seal the space between the cells lining the intestines. This breakdown in the colon allows the leakage of microbial products and other noxious material into the body's internal environment, accounting for the persistent systemic inflammation that frequently occurs in CKD patients.
Hospital Worker Flu Vaccination Rate Increased By Strict Policy
A California hospital raised its employee influenza vaccination rate above 90 percent by shifting from a voluntary vaccination program to one mandating all healthcare workers either get vaccinated or wear a mask at work for the entire flu season (December through March). A five-year study of evolving flu vaccination programs at University of California Irvine Medical Center is published in the January 2012 issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
One Malaria Episode Early In Pregnancy Triples Miscarriage Risk
According to the largest study on the effects of malaria and different anti-malarial drugs in early pregnancy to date, just one episode of malaria in the first trimester is linked to a three-fold greater risk of miscarriage. Researchers also discovered that women treated with anti-malarial drugs did not suffer any serious side effects or increase their likelihood of miscarriage. The study was published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. According to estimates each year, 125 million pregnancies are at risk of malaria.