DNA sequencing with chain terminating inhibitors

Pediatric obesity results from a daily energy imbalance between intake and expenditure, an imbalance potentially as slight as ~30-50 kcal/day (e.g., a few extra sips of cola or bites of a cookie). That an 'energy gap' so small may be so powerful suggests the importance of understanding mechanisms of food intake self-regulation (FISR). This review focuses on 4 behavioral indices of FISR in childhood: (1) eating in the absence of hunger; (2) eating rate; (3) caloric compensation and satiety responsiveness, and (4) food responsiveness. Evidence from pediatric samples around the world indicates that these traits are associated with body mass index, are heritable, and are linked to polymorphisms in the FTO gene. We review these data, also discussing their relevance to practical issues of parental feeding styles, portion sizes, and health literacy and numeracy. Research gaps and opportunities for future investigation are discussed. Multidisciplinary approaches and study designs that can address gene-environment interactions are needed to advance the science of FISR and stimulate new avenues for childhood obesity prevention.

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Genetics of Food Intake Self-Regulation in Childhood: Literature Review and Research Opportunities

After decades of discovery, inherited variations have been identified in approximately 20 genes that affect about 80 medications and are actionable in the clinic. And some somatically acquired genetic variants direct the choice of 'targeted' anticancer drugs for individual patients. Current efforts that focus on the processes required to appropriately act on pharmacogenomic variability in the clinic are moving away from discovery and towards implementation of an evidenced-based strategy for improving the use of medications, thereby providing a cornerstone for precision medicine.

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Pharmacogenomics in the clinic

Unraveling the Mystery of Health

The abstract should provide a summary of the HiT in no more than 250 words The Box provides an example from the Philippines HiT, 2011 Philippines HiT abstract Consistent with its commitment to the Alma Ata in 1978, the Philippine Government adopted the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach in 1979 to achieve health for all Filipinos by year 2000 The promulgation of the Local Development Code (RA 7160) in 1991 was in line with the community participation ideals of PHC (1992-1999) as it devolved responsibility for health care was devolved to Local Government Units The Health Sector Reform Agenda was introduced in 2005 to address problems in health care delivery at local level brought about by the devolution proves Issues of poor accessibility, inequities and inefficiencies of the health system have been the target of health reforms over the last 30 years Hospital, public health, financing, local health system and regulatory reforms comprised the HSRA approach In 2005, the DOH streamlined the reform program to ensure access and availability of essential and basic health packages by reducing the four reform areas, namely: 1) designating providers of basic and essential health service package in strategic locations; 2) assuring the quality of both basic and specialized health services; and 3) intensifying the current efforts to reduce the public health threats brought about by endemic, vaccine-preventable and priority diseases Although studies have yet to be done on the impact of reforming health service delivery, implementation of strategies to improve the hospital services and public health programs have shown some positive gains However, huge disparities in health outcomes across income groups and geographic areas and challenges in ascertaining physical and financial access to health services as evidenced by high out-of-pocket expenditures, concentration of physical and human resources for health in urban areas and migration of health professionals still exist The focus of future developments in health should be towards providing universal health care for Filipinos, starting with improving access of the poor and vulnerable to health services Source: APO, Philippines HiT Vol 1 No 2 2011

https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/231516/HiT-Estonia.pdf

Health systems in transition.

Background: in older people, induction of cutaneous vitamin D production by ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure may be preferable to oral supplementation: it cannot cause toxic levels, it helps to prevent polypharmacy and, moreover, there are indications that UVB exposure has beneficial effects on health and well being by mechanisms other than the vitamin D pathway alone. Objective: the aim of this pilot study is to investigate whether weekly, half-body, UVB irradiation after showering can increase serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) to sufficient levels, in a Dutch psychogeriatric nursing home population. Method: subjects were eight psychogeriatric nursing home patients, mean age: 79 ± 8. Exclusion criteria were going outdoors into the sun more than once a week, the presence of actinic or cancer skin lesions and known resistance to body contact. The intervention consisted of weekly half-body UVB irradiation, after showering, over 8 weeks, with 0.5 minimal erythemal dose (MED). Main outcome measures were change in fasting serum levels of 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone (PTH) at 0, 2, 4 and 8 weeks. Results: at baseline, mean serum 25(OH)D was 28.5 nmol/l. Mean serum 25(OH)D levels increased to 46.5 nmol/l. Median serum PTH levels decreased by 20% after 8 weeks of treatment. Conclusion: an 8 week course of weekly, frontal half-body irradiation with UVB, at 0.5 MED, leads to an significant increase in 25(OH)D serum levels, but this period is too short to reach vitamin D sufficiency.

https://topaz.nl/media/152924/prevention-and-treatment-of-vitamin-d-victor-chel-dec-2010-.pdf

Prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in Dutch psychogeriatric nursing home residents by weekly half-body UVB exposure after showering: a pilot study

Integrative genomics, personal-genome tests and personalized healthcare: the future is being built today

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Integrative genomics, personal-genome tests and personalized healthcare: the future is being built today.

Sepsis, with its often devastating consequences for patients and their families, remains a major public health concern that poses an increasing financial burden. Early resuscitation together with the elucidation of the biological pathways and pathophysiological mechanisms with the use of "-omics" technologies have started changing the clinical and research landscape in sepsis. Metabolomics (i.e., the study of the metabolome), an "-omics" technology further down in the "-omics" cascade between the genome and the phenome, could be particularly fruitful in sepsis research with the potential to alter the clinical practice. Apart from its benefit for the individual patient, metabolomics has an impact on public health that extends beyond its applications in medicine. In this review, we present recent developments in metabolomics research in sepsis, with a focus on pneumonia, and we discuss the impact of metabolomics on public health, with a focus on free/libre open source software.

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Metabolomics in Sepsis and Its Impact on Public Health.

Cross-border health activities in the Euregios: good practice for better health.

National and international medicines agencies have developed innovative methods to expedite promising new medicines to the market and facilitate early patient access. Some of these approval pathways are the conditional approval and the adaptive pathways by the European Medicines Agency (EMA); the Promising Innovative Medicine (PIM) designation and the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as the Fast Track, Breakthrough or Accelerated Approval methods by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, at least in Europe, these methods cannot achieve the goal of improving timely access for patients to new medicines on their own; the reimbursement process also has to become adaptive and flexible. In the past 2 years, the effective access (national patient access) to newly approved oncology drugs ranged from 1 to 30 months, with an extremely high variability between European countries. The goal of early patient access in Europe can only be achieved if the national health technology assessment bodies, such as NICE (ENG), HAS (FR), G-BA (DE) or AIFA (IT), provide harmonized, transparent, flexible, conditional and adaptive methods that adopt the level of evidence accepted by the medicines agencies. The efforts from medicines agencies are welcome but will be in vain if health technology assessments do not follow with similar initiatives, and the European 'postcode' lottery will continue.

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Angela Brand

Papers

Prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in Dutch psychogeriatric nursing home residents by weekly half-body UVB exposure after showering: a pilot study

Integrative genomics, personal-genome tests and personalized healthcare: the future is being built today.

Metabolomics in Sepsis and Its Impact on Public Health.

Cross-border health activities in the Euregios: good practice for better health.

Early Patient Access to Medicines: Health Technology Assessment Bodies Need to Catch Up with New Marketing Authorization Methods.