Health Briefs
Mar 07, 2008
Start ART earl<br>Spanish researchers have found further evidence to support the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) before a patient’s CD4 cell count falls below 350 cells/cubic millimetre. In Uganda, due to resource constraints, people living with HIV are put on sponsored ART only after
Start ART earl
Spanish researchers have found further evidence to support the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) before a patient’s CD4 cell count falls below 350 cells/cubic millimetre. In Uganda, due to resource constraints, people living with HIV are put on sponsored ART only after their CD4 count falls below 350. Now a study published in the February edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes showed that patients who started ARVs with CD4 cell counts between 200 - 350 cells/cubic millimetre were significantly more likely to fail than patients who started with a CD4 cell count above this level. HIV treatment guidelines in the US and Europe already recommend that ART should be started before an individual’s CD4 cell count falls below 350 cells/cubic millimetre.
Folic acid good in pregnancy
Every woman who could become pregnant should take atleast a teaspoonful of folic acid every day. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and while pregnant, her baby is less likely to have a major birth defect of the brain or spine. Folic acid is a B vitamin which our bodies use to make new cells. Everyone needs it but for women, it is more important! You can get folic acid from drug suppliments and foods such as Leafy vegetables (spinach, turnip greens, lettuces), dried beans and peas, fortified cereal products, sunflower seeds, fruits and whole grain breads.
Sociable people likely to be fat
Outgoing people tend to be overweight, while anxious ones are more likely to be thin, according to Japanese researchers who examined the links between personality and body mass. More than 30,000 people aged 40-64 were studied to prove they were more likely to have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25, a definition of overweight, said Masako Kakizaki of Tohoku University, Japan, who led the analysis. “These results may provide clues to devising effective measures for preventing overweight, obesity or underweight,†the researchers said.
Spanish researchers have found further evidence to support the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) before a patient’s CD4 cell count falls below 350 cells/cubic millimetre. In Uganda, due to resource constraints, people living with HIV are put on sponsored ART only after their CD4 count falls below 350. Now a study published in the February edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes showed that patients who started ARVs with CD4 cell counts between 200 - 350 cells/cubic millimetre were significantly more likely to fail than patients who started with a CD4 cell count above this level. HIV treatment guidelines in the US and Europe already recommend that ART should be started before an individual’s CD4 cell count falls below 350 cells/cubic millimetre.
Folic acid good in pregnancy
Every woman who could become pregnant should take atleast a teaspoonful of folic acid every day. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and while pregnant, her baby is less likely to have a major birth defect of the brain or spine. Folic acid is a B vitamin which our bodies use to make new cells. Everyone needs it but for women, it is more important! You can get folic acid from drug suppliments and foods such as Leafy vegetables (spinach, turnip greens, lettuces), dried beans and peas, fortified cereal products, sunflower seeds, fruits and whole grain breads.
Sociable people likely to be fat
Outgoing people tend to be overweight, while anxious ones are more likely to be thin, according to Japanese researchers who examined the links between personality and body mass. More than 30,000 people aged 40-64 were studied to prove they were more likely to have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25, a definition of overweight, said Masako Kakizaki of Tohoku University, Japan, who led the analysis. “These results may provide clues to devising effective measures for preventing overweight, obesity or underweight,†the researchers said.