The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
| A dose of HPV vaccine may be all you need Posted: Early research shows that only one dose of the vaccine is needed to prevent cervical cancer. A single dose – rather than the recommended three – of a vaccine against the sexually transmitted disease HPV may be enough to ward off cervical cancer, researchers said this week. The findings may lead to simpler delivery and lower costs, possibly increasing the number of young people who get vaccinated, said the report in the journal Cancer Prevention Research. The HPV vaccine is recommended for girls and boys before they become sexually active, but US research from 2012 showed that only one third of US female teens and fewer than 7% of US boys got the recommended three doses. "Our findings suggest promise for simplified vaccine administration schedules that might be cheaper, simpler, and more likely to be implemented around the world," said Mahboobeh Safaeian, an investigator in the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, the United States. The study focused on a population of nearly 7,500 women aged 18-25 in Costa Rica. Although all were supposed to get the recommended three doses of the HPV vaccine at different times, about 20% of participants did not. So researchers analysed blood samples from a group of 78 who got one dose, compared to groups of 120 to 192 that received two or three doses as planned. They found that all the women in all three groups had antibodies against virulent strains of HPV, known as 16 and 18. These antibodies persisted in their blood for up to four years, which is about as long as researchers have expected the vaccine to be effective. The levels of antibodies also appeared stable over time, even though they were slightly lower in the single dose group, suggesting "these are lasting responses", said the study. The vaccine used in the study was Cervarix, made by the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. "GSK is continuing to review findings from this trial and is committed to ensuring regulatory authorities and public health officials have access to this information," a company spokesman told AFP. Study authors said antibody responses after a single dose have not been evaluated for Gardasil, the quadrivalent HPV vaccine made by Merck that is more widely used in the United States and many other countries. More research is needed before any formal changes can be decided, but Safaeian said the findings could have far-reaching impact in low income nations. "Vaccination with two doses, or even one dose, could simplify the logistics and reduce the cost of vaccination, which could be especially important in the developing world, where more than 85% of cervical cancers occur, and where cervical cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer-related deaths," she said. HPV can cause oral, anal, and cervical cancer. According to the World Health Organisation, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide, and causes 500,000 new cases and 250,000 deaths each year. — AFP Relaxnews |
| Posted: While baking is not a cure for depression, it does help lift one's mood. From chocolate brownies to cakes and cookies, baking is often associated with comfort foods – and now a new British movement claims that the simple act of baking could help lift you out of a depression. The Independent in Britain reports that baking could emerge "as a form of pill-less Prozac", at least according to John Whaite, last year's winner of the television series The Great British Bake Off. In a report issued last week for Real Bread Campaign, a non-profit organisation promoting artisan baking, Whaite calls for more people "suffering from mental health issues, or who are simply going through a tough time, to get the chance to try their hand at baking real bread to see how it could help them." Whaite, who was diagnosed with manic depression eight years ago, told the BBC: "Baking helps lift my depression. It can't cure it but it helps. "When I'm in the kitchen, measuring the amount of sugar, flour, or butter I need for a recipe or cracking the exact number of eggs – I am in control. That's really important as a key element of my condition is a feeling of no control." Bakeries are being set up all over Britain to help people cope with hard times. The Better Health Bakery in East London provides training placements for adults living with mental health issues, The Independent reports. Plus, The Real Bread Campaign, which received a four-year grant in 2009 from the Big Lottery's Local Food programmes to bring real bread back to local communities, said the potential number of people who could benefit from baking "runs into the hundreds of thousands or even millions". In London, The Depressed Cake Shop, a mental health charity initiative, ran a series of pop-up cake stalls around Britain earlier this summer (a similar initiative also took place in Kuala Lumpur), selling only grey cakes and baked goods. According to the BBC, the publicity stunt raised thousands of money for mental health charities and got people talking more about mental health issues and how baking can help. Whaite has also recently introduced a cookbook called John Whaite Bakes: Recipes For Every Day And Every Mood, with a chapter devoted to lifting your spirits. British novelist Marian Keyes has also relied on baking to help her cope with major depression. In her book Saved By Cake, she writes how she uses baking to help her cope with depression: "Baking hasn't cured me. But it gets me through." — AFP Relaxnews |
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