Day: 09/13/2010

Miliary kôch’s

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koch's

Nano-treated bednets last five times longer

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Bednets_Flickr_Bread_for_the_World.jpgStandard bednets last for a year at most before they must be recoated with insecticide

Flickr/Bread for the World

[BANGKOK] Insecticide-treated bednets that retain their lethal qualities for up to five years may be possible after Thai researchers found a way of “locking in” the chemical they contain using nanotechnology.

The nets contain a nano-scale formulation of pyrethroid, the common insecticide used for bednets, with particles so small that washing does not dislodge them.

Thailand’s National Nanotechnology Center (Nanotec) unveiled the nets last month (25 August) at an event at the Thailand Science Park.

Pyrethroid kills mosquiotes when they land on a treated net. It is an integral part of public health campaigns against mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria.

Sirirurg Songsivilai, executive director of Nanotec, told SciDev.Net that, because nanoparticles of pyrethroid are so small, they are incorporated more easily into the net’s fibres, making them difficult to wash out.

Standard bednets last for a year at most before they must be recoated with insecticide, according to the Insecticide Research Unit at Thailand’s Mahidol University.

A longer-lasting net could help reduce people’s costs, as it would not need to be replaced or recoated so frequently, said Narumon Komalamisra, head of the Insecticide Research Unit. However, nano-nets are likely to be more expensive than conventional bednets, which cost around US$7-15 in Thailand.

Songsivilai said Nanotec is now ready to licence the technology. Manufacturers, he said, would test their nets in field conditions before releasing them on to the market. He added that, while no discussions about affordability for the poorest people have taken place, he believes competition between manufacturers will drive prices down.

Songsivilai said that developing this technology has been part of the centre’s health and medical research programme, one of the first programmes to be prioritised under the country’s nanotechnology strategy.

“The nano-based bednets have shown how sophisticated technology can be adopted to help solve the country’s critical health problems,” he said, adding that the centre is also willing to share the technology with other developing countries.

Charles Delacolette, coordinator of the WHO-Mekong Malaria Programme, told SciDev.Net he did not yet know whether the new nets met international standards, but that the WHO would be contacting Nanotec.

Maternal body mass index and congenital anomaly risk: a cohort study

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To investigate the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and major, structural congenital anomalies.

Design:

Cohort study using prospectively collected data.

Methods:

Data on all singleton pregnancies booked at five maternity units in the north of England between 01 January 2003 and 31 December 2005 and data on congenital anomalies notified to the Northern Congenital Abnormality Survey were linked using key variables. Maternal pre-gestational diabetic status was derived from the Northern Diabetes in Pregnancy Survey. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by maximum-likelihood logistic regression models, with missing values modelled as explicit categories.

Results:

There was a total of 41 013 singleton pregnancies during the study period, of which 682 were affected by a structural congenital anomaly, a total prevalence of 166 (95% CI: 154, 179) per 10 000 registered births. Overall, the risk of a congenital anomaly was significantly increased among the maternal underweight (BMIless than or equal to18.5 kg m–2; aOR=1.60, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.36; P=0.02) and maternal obese groups (BMIgreater than or equal to30 kg m–2; aOR=1.30, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.63; P=0.03), but not for maternal overweight (BMI=25–29.9 kg m–2; aOR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.68, 1.06; P=0.15), compared with mothers of recommended BMI. Maternal obesity was associated with significantly increased risk of ventricular septal defect (aOR=1.56, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.40; P=0.04), cleft lip (aOR=3.71, 95% CI: 1.05, 13.10; P=0.04) and eye anomalies (aOR=11.36, 95% CI: 2.25, 57.28; P=0.003). Maternal underweight was associated with significantly increased risks of atrial septal defect (aOR=2.86, 95% CI: 1.18, 6.96; P=0.02), genital anomalies (aOR=6.30, 95% CI: 1.58, 25.08; P=0.009) and hypospadias (aOR=8.77, 95% CI: 1.42, 54.29; P=0.02).

Conclusions:

We found an overall increased risk of congenital anomalies in women who are obese and women who are underweight compared with women of recommended weight. Women should be made aware of these risks and supported to optimize their weight before pregnancy.

Cilostazol Seems to Outperform Aspirin in Preventing Secondary Stroke

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The antiplatelet drug cilostazol is at least as effective as aspirin — and may even surpass aspirin’s efficacy — in preventing secondary stroke, according to an industry-funded, noninferiority trial in the Lancet Neurology. Commentators note that the findings need verification in a more diverse population.

The CSPS 2 study investigators randomized some 2700 Japanese patients with recent noncardioembolic ischemic stroke to daily regimens consisting of either 200 mg of cilostazol or 81 mg of aspirin. The primary outcome was the occurrence of stroke, defined as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, or subarachnoid hemorrhage. During a mean follow-up of roughly 2.5 years, patients on cilostazol had a lower annual incidence of stroke than those on aspirin (2.8% vs. 3.7%), as well as fewer hemorrhagic events.

Commentators warn that the generalizability of the findings is limited, owing to the homogeneous East Asian population studied.