By: Martin J. Blaser
Arlington, VA—With extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, life-threatening drug-resistant respiratory and skin infections, and other "bad bugs" routinely making headlines, infectious diseases physicians are applauding Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ) for introducing H.R. 3697, the Strategies To Address Antimicrobial Resistance (STAAR) Act."The STAAR Act has the potential to save thousands of lives," said Martin J. Blaser, MD, past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
"IDSA strongly supports the STAAR Act and the comprehensive approach that Reps. Matheson and Ferguson are taking to tackle the problem of antimicrobial resistance. Infectious diseases physicians have watched in dismay for years as the antibacterials and other antimicrobials we rely upon to treat our patients have lost their power."To make matters worse, there are very few new drugs in the pipeline to replace the failing ones, because the pharmaceutical industry now finds developing new antibiotics less appealing than developing drugs for chronic conditions like heart disease. "We are in danger of slipping backward to the era before antibiotics," Dr. Blaser added. "The STAAR Act gets us back in the fight by enhancing federal leadership, encouraging expert input, and by improving our grasp on resistance and ways to control it.""The issue goes beyond just the pharmaceutical industry," Dr. Blaser said. "We are all in this together—drug companies, physicians, public health experts, and patients. The STAAR Act makes everyone a partner in the solution."The bill takes a holistic approach to address inappropriate use, a significant problem that diminishes the effectiveness of antibiotics once they are approved.It vastly improves the nation’s capacity to control resistance by establishing a network of experts across the country to conduct regional monitoring of resistant organisms as they occur—a kind of "snapshot" to pick up on problems early."It’s a different world versus even five years ago," said Neil Fishman, MD, chair of IDSA’s Antimicrobial Resistance Work Group. "Multi-drug resistant bugs like Klebsiella and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have cropped up and spread practically before anyone has had the chance to examine them under the microscope, much less do anything to stop their spread." The STAAR Act sets up a network to collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on disease surveillance. "The network will be CDC’s extra eyes and ears looking out for resistant bugs around the nation and finding ways to prevent their spread," Dr. Fishman added.In a second major activity of the network, researchers also would work with CDC and the National Institutes of Health to find ways to slow the development of resistance. "We need to determine the best ways to keep approved antibiotics working longer," said Louis Rice, MD, chair of IDSA’s Research on Resistance Work Group. "Currently, very little research is focusing on this. The STAAR Act network provides the range of experts we need to study the complex field of drug resistance."
The STAAR Act also creates a board of infectious diseases, public health and veterinary experts to advise the federal government on reducing resistance, and an Office of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate, help plan, and guide the government’s response to resistance.IDSA thanks Reps. Matheson and Ferguson for their leadership in introducing this important patient safety and public health bill, and encourages Congress to pass it quickly."IDSA has been warning that the ‘bad bugs’ are getting ahead of us," Dr. Blaser said. "We are glad to see Congress is listening. But we need this legislation to pass soon. It takes years to develop, strengthen, and implement new control strategies. These bad bugs are not waiting.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
The STAAR Act
Something to make Depression
Depression is a very widespread problem today affecting one in four women and one in eight men. Many people are aware of the many symptoms of depression, including feelings of hopelessness or helplessness, obsessive negative thoughts, loss or gain in appetite, insomnia or an increased need for sleep, social withdrawal, irritability and loss of memory or concentration, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. It is tempting to think that depression is sadness and the causes of depression will simply disappear and the negative feelings will subside. However, the causes of depression are not so simple, and while a negative event may trigger depression, the causes of depression are not external factors alone. Many of the causes of depression are issues with the sufferer.
Causes of depression are 40 – 70% hereditary and children of depressed children are more likely to be depressed. This would mean that the potential for depression lies in one's genetic makeup, and a stressor may trigger a latent potential for depression. However those who dispute heredity as one of the causes of depression cite other true observations that those who live with depressed individuals are more likely to be depressed, and a depressed parent may lack parenting skills or the necessary energy or patience to deal with a child properly, and may be one of the causes of depression. It is hard to know who really wins the nature versus nurture argument, but once we learn more about the role heredity plays among the causes of depression, the better we will understand how genes have an impact on our moods.
Whether causes of depression are hereditary or not, there is a physiological basis for the problem, which refutes claims that depression is nothing more than a bad mood that will pass. Low serotonin levels have been shown to be one of the causes of depression, and loss of neurotransmitters in the hippocampus has also been identified as one of the causes of depression. Seasonal affective disorder is also one of the causes of depression, and it has been shown that those who are deprived of light and warmth in the wintertime and become depressed as a result are not merely suffering from the “winter blues” but have a problem caused by the shorter days and longer nights. Seasonal effective disorder can develop into full blown depression if it not treated as one of the series causes of depression. Hormones may also play a role as one of the causes of depression, especially among those women who suffer from Pre Menstrual Syndrome or post-partum depression. In fact, while one out of every four women suffers from depression compared to one in every eight men, this discrepancy disappears among women who have undergone menopause, when there are lower levels of estrogen. More study is needed to determine whether these hormonal fluctuations are actual causes of depression, or merely triggers.
Losing one's job, getting a divorce or a death in the family may not be actual causes of depression, but they can trigger the problem in those who have a predisposition for the problem. Certainly, such events can cause sadness and a feeling of worthlessness, but if these feelings are not persistent, they are normal aspects of the grieving process and are not causes of depression. However, if the negative feelings are prolonged and obsessive, they may be triggers in setting off depression. There are some physical aliments which are included among causes of depression. Hepatitis and heart conditions can be causes of depression, in addition to Aids and other illnesses which cause weakness and fatigue. .
Infectious diseases experts applaud bill against 'bad bugs'
By: Martin J. Blaser
Arlington, VA—With extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, life-threatening drug-resistant respiratory and skin infections, and other "bad bugs" routinely making headlines, infectious diseases physicians are applauding Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-NJ) for introducing H.R. 3697, the Strategies To Address Antimicrobial Resistance (STAAR) Act."The STAAR Act has the potential to save thousands of lives," said Martin J. Blaser, MD, past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). "IDSA strongly supports the STAAR Act and the comprehensive approach that Reps. Matheson and Ferguson are taking to tackle the problem of antimicrobial resistance. Infectious diseases physicians have watched in dismay for years as the antibacterials and other antimicrobials we rely upon to treat our patients have lost their power."To make matters worse, there are very few new drugs in the pipeline to replace the failing ones, because the pharmaceutical industry now finds developing new antibiotics less appealing than developing drugs for chronic conditions like heart disease. "We are in danger of slipping backward to the era before antibiotics," Dr. Blaser added. "The STAAR Act gets us back in the fight by enhancing federal leadership, encouraging expert input, and by improving our grasp on resistance and ways to control it.""The issue goes beyond just the pharmaceutical industry," Dr. Blaser said. "We are all in this together—drug companies, physicians, public health experts, and patients. The STAAR Act makes everyone a partner in the solution."The bill takes a holistic approach to address inappropriate use, a significant problem that diminishes the effectiveness of antibiotics once they are approved.It vastly improves the nation’s capacity to control resistance by establishing a network of experts across the country to conduct regional monitoring of resistant organisms as they occur—a kind of "snapshot" to pick up on problems early."It’s a different world versus even five years ago," said Neil Fishman, MD, chair of IDSA’s Antimicrobial Resistance Work Group. "Multi-drug resistant bugs like Klebsiella and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have cropped up and spread practically before anyone has had the chance to examine them under the microscope, much less do anything to stop their spread." The STAAR Act sets up a network to collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on disease surveillance. "The network will be CDC’s extra eyes and ears looking out for resistant bugs around the nation and finding ways to prevent their spread," Dr. Fishman added.In a second major activity of the network, researchers also would work with CDC and the National Institutes of Health to find ways to slow the development of resistance. "We need to determine the best ways to keep approved antibiotics working longer," said Louis Rice, MD, chair of IDSA’s Research on Resistance Work Group. "Currently, very little research is focusing on this. The STAAR Act network provides the range of experts we need to study the complex field of drug resistance."
The STAAR Act also creates a board of infectious diseases, public health and veterinary experts to advise the federal government on reducing resistance, and an Office of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate, help plan, and guide the government’s response to resistance.IDSA thanks Reps. Matheson and Ferguson for their leadership in introducing this important patient safety and public health bill, and encourages Congress to pass it quickly."IDSA has been warning that the ‘bad bugs’ are getting ahead of us," Dr. Blaser said. "We are glad to see Congress is listening. But we need this legislation to pass soon. It takes years to develop, strengthen, and implement new control strategies. These bad bugs are not waiting.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
