Future Implementation of Adult Stem Cell Therapy in the Current Standards of Care for Myocardial Infarction

Purpose: Adult stem cells are among the new methods of approaching the treatment of myocardial tissue damage. The purpose of this review is to clarify misconceptions about stem cell therapy efficacy in clinical trials and provide a thorough understanding of adult stem cells as a future treatment for patients with myocardial infarction. Methods: A comprehensive review of literature was performed analyzing and comparing 12 clinical trials involving the treatment of patients with acute and chronic myocardial infarction. Results: Stem cell treatments carry an excellent safety profile with the ease of one-time dosing, and have shown dramatic functional improvements while reducing the recurrence of myocardial infarction and enhancing quality of life. Important changes with adult stem cell treatments include 1) formation of new cardiomyocytes, 2) sufficient and sustained improvements in cardiac output, 3) increased myocardial contractility, 4) decreased infarct zone diameter, 5) increased left ventricular function, 6) increased exercise ability, and 7) increased coronary perfusion secondary to neovascularization. Conclusion: At this time, based on the current clinical evidence, adult stem cell therapy is in a position to be considered as an optional treatment for patients with acute or chronic myocardial infarction. Adult stem cell therapy is still in experimental stages of development and the continued clinical involvement will provide more evidence to the therapeutic effects of the treatment

Millennium development goal 6 and HIV infection in Zambia : what can we learn from successive household surveys?

Background: Geographic location represents an ecological measure of HIV status and is a strong predictor of HIV prevalence. Given the complex nature of location effects, there is limited understanding of their impact on policies to reduce HIV prevalence. Methods: Participants were 3949 and 10 874 respondents from two consecutive Zambia Demographic and Health Surveys from 2001/2007 (mean age for men and women: 30.3 and 27.7 years, HIV prevalence 14.3% in 2001/2002; 30.3 and 28.0 years, HIV prevalence of 14.7% in 2007). A Bayesian geo-additive mixed model based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques was used to map the change in the spatial distribution of HIV/AIDS prevalence at the provincial level during the 6-year period, accounting for important risk factors. Results: Overall HIV/AIDS prevalence changed little over the 6-year period, but the mapping of residual spatial effects at the provincial level suggested different regional patterns. A pronounced change in odds ratios in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces in 2001/2002 and in Lusaka and Central provinces in 2007 was observed following adjustment for spatial autocorrelation. Western province went from a lower prevalence area in 2001 (13.4%) to a higher prevalence area in 2007 (17.3%). Southern province went from the highest prevalence area in 2001 (17.3%) to a lower prevalence area in 2007 (15.9%). Conclusion: Findings from two consecutive surveys corroborate the Zambian government's effort to achieve Millennium Developing Goal (MDG) 6. The novel finding of increased prevalence in Western province warrants further investigation. Spatially adjusted provincial-level HIV/AIDS prevalence maps are a useful tool for informing policies to achieve MDG 6 in Zambia. (C) 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkin

Institute of Archaeology & Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter Volume 25.2

Conference on Early Israelite History, Paul J. Ray, Jr. Open House, Paul J. Ray, Jr. Monumental Destruction, Robert D. Bates William Foxwell Albright and the Origins of Biblical Archaeology Random Surveyhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/iaham-news/1018/thumbnail.jp

The Institute of Archaeology & Siegfried H. Horn Museum Newsletter Volume 35.1

ASOR 2013 Annual Meeting, Paul J. Ray, Jr. Running Dies, Robert D. Bates Al-Maktába: The Bookstore Random Surveyhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/iaham-news/1057/thumbnail.jp

Institute of Archaeology & Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter Volume 24.1

Annual Meetings, Paul J. Ray, Jr. Van der Steen, Robert D. Bates Al-Maktába: The Bookstore Random Surveyhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/iaham-news/1013/thumbnail.jp

Institute of Archaeology & Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter Volume 23.1

2001 Annual Meeting, Paul J. Ray, Jr. Gane Lectures on Sennacherib Prism, Robert D. Bates Hesban 6 Random Surveyhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/iaham-news/1009/thumbnail.jp