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Research into a nicotine vaccine and ebola

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Research into a nicotine vaccine and ebola

NICOTINE VACCINE

A newly developed vaccine could enable smokers to quit by preventing nicotine-generated mood change. An earlier vaccine failed because it did not specifically target the main type of nicotine. The new vaccine targets what is called the left-handed version, which represents 99 per cent of nicotine, by attaching derivatives of it to carrier proteins common to other vaccines. In rat models the vaccine produced antibodies to stop nicotine from entering the brain, thus eliminating the familiar kick. Professor Kim Janada, who worked on the project at the Scripps Institute in California, said the technique could also help to create vaccines against other drugs, including cocaine and heroin.

WHERE EBOLA HITS HARDEST

Ebola progresses faster and is more often fatal in under-fives, an international study found in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Young children appear worst hit partly because they lack reserves to tolerate dehydration and other effects, and partly because many carers are infected and cannot cope. More studies are needed, reported specialists led by Medical Research Council and World Health Organisation scientists. Following other research, Africans at risk are being offered vaccination with a rabies-related vaccine containing part of the Ebola virus. Complete protection was recorded in primate trials by researchers from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Kenya and Gabon.

ANTI-CANCER ALTERNATIVE

A non-toxic treatment is being sought for germ cell tumours, which develop mainly in children’s ovaries and testes. The treatment, to replace chemotherapy, which can bring long-term complications, would disarm small pieces of genetic code that help to direct protein production and gather in germ cell cancers. If the testing of drugs against these genetic code molecules, known as microRNAs, gives positive results, human trials will follow. The study is being conducted at Cambridge University over three years with £200,000 from Action Medical Research.

HEADACHE SALT

A third of patients in an American study who cut salt consumption from eight to four grams daily became headache-free. A fall in blood and pulse pressure was the likely explanation, said researchers conducting a hypertension and diet study at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore. Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of the UK’s Consensus Action on Salt & Health, reminded patients that cutting salt intake could lower blood pressure and reduce stroke and heart attack risks as well as preventing headaches.

VITAL TIMING

Medication timing linked to the body clock is being considered in asthma research at Manchester University. Many asthmatics worsen at night because lung function can decrease by more than half. Dr Hannah Durrington is therefore investigating how the biological clock influences lung inflammation and how inflammation levels vary with the time of day. Her research is intended to determine the best times to use existing medication and could lead to new drugs.

BILBERRY BENEFITS

Bilberries have been shown by Finnish researchers for the first time to prevent the high blood pressure and inflammation arising from excessive fat consumption. The benefits observed in tests on mice were thought to result from high levels of polyphenols, micronutrients found in bilberries. The researchers believe bilberries, common in Nordic diets, could have many therapeutic uses.

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