Loneliness among older adults living with HIV: the "older old" may be less lonely than the "younger old".

Loneliness is common among older (age 50+) people living with HIV (PLWH). However, little is known about the prevalence of loneliness across subgroups of older PLWH, and the factors that impact loneliness. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from 998 older PLWH.

Comparison of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy in a private cord blood bank to an epidemiological sample.

Background: Although cord blood (CB) stem cell research is being conducted for treatment of cerebral palsy (CP), little is known about children with CP and stored CB.

Aims: To compare demographic and clinical characteristics of children with CP and stored CB to children with CP identified in a population-based study.

Methods And Procedures: The Longitudinal Umbilical Stem cell monitoring and Treatment REsearch (LUSTRE®) Registry recruited children from the largest US private CB bank.

Identifying an early treatment window for predicting breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy using immunohistopathology and hemoglobin parameters.

Background: Breast cancer pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) varies with tumor subtype. The purpose of this study was to identify an early treatment window for predicting pCR based on tumor subtype, pretreatment total hemoglobin (tHb) level, and early changes in tHb following NAC.

Methods: Twenty-two patients (mean age 56 years, range 34-74 years) were assessed using a near-infrared imager coupled with an Ultrasound system prior to treatment, 7 days after the first treatment, at the end of each of the first three cycles, and before their definitive surgery.

Prevalence of Medical Conditions Potentially Amenable to Cellular Therapy among Families Privately Storing Umbilical Cord Blood.

Introduction Little is known about the prevalence of conditions potentially amenable to cellular therapy among families storing umbilical cord blood in private cord blood banks. Methods A cross-sectional study of families with at least one child who stored umbilical cord blood in the largest private cord blood bank in the United States was performed. Respondent families completed a questionnaire to determine whether children with stored cord blood or a first-degree relative had one or more of 16 conditions amenable primarily to allogeneic stem cell transplant ("transplant indications") or 16 conditions under investigation for autologous stem cell infusion ("regenerative indications"), regardless of whether they received a transplant or infusion.

Editorial on "What is a potentially damaging vaccination delay in children younger than 2 years?".

Control of hepatitis B through routine infant immunization in more than 95% of countries has reduced the prevalence of chronic hepatitis carriers to less than 1%-2% in immunized cohorts of children even in high endemicity countries. In that context the authors of this editorial found the results of a paper by Gras et al in this issue concerning. They performed a Delphi survey of 37 French immunization experts and the results concluded that delayed hepatitis B immunization would cause "potential damage" only after 11 years.

Assessment of Functional Differences in Malignant and Benign Breast Lesions and Improvement of Diagnostic Accuracy by Using US-guided Diffuse Optical Tomography in Conjunction with Conventional US.

Purpose To investigate ultrasonography (US)-guided diffuse optical tomography to distinguish the functional differences of hemoglobin concentrations in a wide range of malignant and benign breast lesions and to improve breast cancer diagnosis in conjunction with conventional US. Materials and Methods The study protocol was approved by the institutional review boards and was HIPAA compliant. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients.

Demographic determinants of syphilis seroprevalence among U.S. blood donors, 2011-2012.

Background: No cases of transfusion-transmitted syphilis have been described for over four decades. While there is mandatory transfusion screening for syphilis, the absence of transmission is in part ascribed to a low prevalence of syphilis in the blood donor population, the concomitant use of antibiotics in a high proportion of transfusion recipients, allied with poor survival of T. pallidum during refrigerated storage of blood products.

Comprehensive control of human papillomavirus infections and related diseases.

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide, as well as the causal factor in other diseases. Strong evidence for a causal etiology with HPV has been stated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for cancers of the cervix uteri, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx (including base of the tongue and tonsils). Of the estimated 12.

Comprehensive control of human papillomavirus infections and related diseases.

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide, as well as the causal factor in other diseases. Strong evidence for a causal etiology with HPV has been stated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for cancers of the cervix uteri, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx (including base of the tongue and tonsils). Of the estimated 12.

Comprehensive control of human papillomavirus infections and related diseases.

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide, as well as the causal factor in other diseases. Strong evidence for a causal etiology with HPV has been stated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for cancers of the cervix uteri, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx (including base of the tongue and tonsils). Of the estimated 12.

Origins, design and implementation of the China GAVI project.

China received GAVI support for hepatitis B vaccination in 2001 because of high disease burden and strong government will to protect infants at risk. The China/GAVI project, implemented since 2002, was funded 50% by GAVI and 50% by the Government of China. The purpose of the project was to increase coverage of hepatitis B vaccine through a pro-poor approach targeting all counties of the 12 Western provinces and poverty counties of the 10 Central provinces, to accelerate integration of hepatitis B vaccine into routine immunization, and assure immunization injection safety.

Key outcomes and addressing remaining challenges--perspectives from a final evaluation of the China GAVI project.

During the China GAVI project, implemented between 2002 and 2010, more than 25 million children received hepatitis B vaccine with the support of project, and the vaccine proved to be safe and effective. With careful consideration for project savings, China and GAVI continually adjusted the budget, additionally allowing the project to spend operational funds to support demonstration projects to improve timely birth dose (TBD), conduct training of EPI staff, and to monitor the project impact. Results from the final evaluation indicated the achievement of key outcomes.

Evaluation of immunization injection safety in China, 2010: achievements, future sustainability.

Objective: The study objectives were to evaluate injection practices in China in the post GAVI project era and provide guidance for policy makers to update national standards for injection practices and further improve vaccination services.

Methods: We conducted a national stratified, cross-sectional survey in October 2010, according to WHO recommended sampling methods. First, we stratified China into three regions (Eastern, Central and Western) based on economic criteria.

Evaluation of policies and practices to prevent mother to child transmission of hepatitis B virus in China: results from China GAVI project final evaluation.

Background: Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT) has remained a leading cause of HBV infection in China, accounting for 40% of total infections. Providing hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) to all infants within 24h of birth (Timely Birth Dose, TBD), and subsequent completion of at least 3 vaccine doses is key to preventing perinatal HBV infection. In 2002, with the financial support of the Global Alliance on Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) targeted to Western region and 223 poverty-affected counties in Central region, hepatitis B vaccine was provided for free.

Comprehensive control of human papillomavirus infections and related diseases.

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide, as well as the causal factor in other diseases. Strong evidence for a causal etiology with HPV has been stated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for cancers of the cervix uteri, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx (including base of the tongue and tonsils). Of the estimated 12.

Breast cancer: assessing response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy by using US-guided near-infrared tomography.

Purpose: To assess initial breast tumor hemoglobin (Hb) content before the initiation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, monitor the Hb changes at the end of each treatment cycle, and correlate these findings with tumor pathologic response.

Materials And Methods: The HIPAA-compliant study protocol was approved by the institutional review boards of both institutions. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients.

Implementation of human papillomavirus immunization in the developing world.

Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in less developed regions of the world and the leading cause of cancer deaths in GAVI-eligible countries, where 54% of worldwide cervical cancer deaths occur. If prevention is not implemented in these countries, population growth alone will lead to a 63% increase in deaths by 2025. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are routinely used in the National Immunization Programs in most industrial countries, and the decision by the GAVI Alliance to accept applications from eligible developing countries for HPV vaccine support is the single most important opportunity for children in these countries to be protected against HPV-related diseases.

Reframing cervical cancer prevention. Expanding the field towards prevention of human papillomavirus infections and related diseases.

The reframed paradigm of cervical cancer prevention will include strategic combinations of at least four major components: 1) routine introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines to women in all countries, 2) extension and simplification of existing screening programs using HPV-based technology, 3) extension of adapted screening programs to developing populations, and 4) consideration of the broader spectrum of cancers and other diseases preventable by HPV vaccination in women, as well as in men. On a global scale, vaccination of newborns and infants is well established and has developed a successful working infrastructure. The hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination programs offer a model for HPV introduction in which newborn and infant immunization achieves a rapid reduction in the prevalence of the HBV carrier rates in immunized cohorts of children, and of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer decades later.

Preventing cancer with vaccines: progress in the global control of cancer.

The cancer control community is largely unaware of great advances in the control of major human cancers with vaccines, including the dramatic control of hepatocellular (liver) cancer with hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine, now used routinely in more than 90% of countries. The biotechnology revolution has given us a new generation of highly effective vaccines against major global killers, global funding for immunization is orders of magnitude higher than ever before, and the vaccine delivery infrastructure has improved very significantly even in the poorest countries. Liver cancer is the greatest cause of cancer deaths in men of sub-Saharan Africa and much of Asia.

Global reduction of cervical cancer with human papillomavirus vaccines: insights from the hepatitis B virus vaccine experience.

Background: Worldwide, prophylactic vaccines against two major human cancers are now commercially available: hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccines (first licensed in 1982) against primary hepatocellular carcinoma and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines (first licensed 2006) against cervical cancer. Initial implementation strategies for HBV vaccination were not successful in preventing disease in the community: it took 15 years for significant global reduction in the burden of this disease.

Methods: We compare and contrast HBV vaccine experiences to challenges for successful global HPV vaccination strategies, and make recommendations accordingly.

Early-stage invasive breast cancers: potential role of optical tomography with US localization in assisting diagnosis.

Purpose: To investigate the potential role of optical tomography in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum with ultrasonographic (US) localization as a means of differentiating early-stage cancers from benign lesions of the breast.

Materials And Methods: The protocol was approved by the institutional review boards and was HIPAA compliant; all participants signed an informed consent. One hundred seventy-eight consecutive women (mean age, 52 years; range, 21-89 years) who underwent US-guided biopsy were imaged with a hand-held probe consisting of a coregistered US transducer and an NIR imager.

Global implementation of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine: lessons from hepatitis B vaccine.

Development of safe and effective vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV)-the second vaccine against a major human cancer-is one of the most important medical and public health achievements of this century. As with all new vaccines, HPV is currently expensive and this cost precludes its use in the developing world, which has the greatest burden of disease from HPV-related cancers. Hepatitis B (HB) virus vaccine, which prevents chronic HB infection and related cirrhosis and liver cancer, has been successfully introduced as a routine vaccine for children in 89% of countries, including the poorest.

Introduction of human papillomavirus vaccines into developing countries - international strategies for funding and procurement.

This paper explores different international vaccine financing and procurement strategies used by the Pan American Health Organization, United Nation's Children's Fund, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the Gulf Cooperation Model, and the Advanced Market Commitments. The aim is to identify lessons learned to help ensure equitable distribution of life-saving vaccines for cervical cancer prevention, with particular emphasis on sustainability. A critical first step in the cascade of activities necessary for Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine introduction should be the creation of an informed policy decision making process that is grounded in the best available information at a national level.