On the way to find a cure: Purging latent HIV-1 reservoirs.

Introduction of cART in 1996 has drastically increased the life expectancy of people living with HIV-1. However, this treatment has not allowed cure as cessation of cART is associated with a rapid viral rebound. The main barrier to the eradication of the virus is related to the persistence of latent HIV reservoirs.

New Oral Anaticoagulant Prescribing Decisions amongst General Practitioners: Handle with Care.

Prescribing oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation patients is becoming more challenging as more alternatives enter the market. While warfarin has dominated the market it is a challenging medicine to use owing to its narrow therapeutic range, increased bleeding risk and requirement for continuous monitoring. The introduction of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) offers a wider choice but they are more costly and their use also brings additional pharmacological considerations.

Controversies in clinicopathological characteristics and treatment strategies of male breast cancer: A review of the literature.

Male breast cancer (MaBC) is a rare disease, accounting for less than 1% of malignancies in men. For this reason, literature data on its clinicopathological characteristics are very heterogeneous and treatment strategies have mostly been extrapolated from the female counterpart. However, immunohistochemical peculiarities of MaBC have recently emerged, defining it as a distinct entity from female breast cancer (FBC), thus requiring a tailored clinical approach.

Which Organ is Responsible for the Pathogenesis of Obesity?

Obesity is associated with significant complications and healthcare costs, but our ability to treat obesity has been limited by our understanding of its pathogenesis. We surveyed diabetologists and obesity related health care professionals asking them which organ they believed to be responsible for the pathogenesis of obesity. Participants favoured a central nervous system (CNS) aetiology.

Survey of Health Care Workers Suggests Unmet Palliative Care Needs in Parkinson's Disease.

The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and previous training of Irish health care workers (HCWs) in palliative care in end-stage Parkinson's disease (PD). A survey was distributed to HCWs, including neurologists, geriatricians, general practitioners, nurses, and allied health professionals, in acute and community settings in the Republic of Ireland. Three-hundred and six surveys were returned (32% average response rate).

Blood money.

Foetal blood contains cells that can regenerate all the cellular elements of blood and the immune system (stem cells). This blood can be obtained from the placenta without any harm to mother or baby and is currently used as a successful alternative to bone marrow for paediatric transplantation. Recently, it has been suggested that this blood can be put in storage and used (if needed) for the child that the blood originally came from.