Mixed Bag

Ibuprofen no good in treating colds or sore throats
Questions have been raised about the advice given to patients with a cold and sore throat, in research published in the British Medical Journal. A study carried out by the University of Southampton showed that compared with paracetamol, ibuprofen or a combination of both ibuprofen and paracetamol provide no advantage for patients overall with respiratory tract infections (otherwise known as colds or sore throats). Eurekalert!

1 dose of HPV vaccine may be enough to prevent cervical cancer
Women vaccinated with one dose of a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine had antibodies against the viruses that remained stable in their blood for four years, suggesting that a single dose of vaccine may be sufficient to generate long-term immune responses and protection against new HPV infections, and ultimately cervical cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Eurekalert!

Mechanism by which metformin inhibits food intake
Metformin may reduce food intake and body weight, but the anorexigenic effects of metformin are still poorly understood. Under normal physiological conditions, Prof. Zheng Zhao and his team from the Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, China observed the changes in food intake after administration of metformin. They found that the central administration of metformin significantly reduced food intake and body weight gain, and a reduction of neuropeptide Y expression and induction of AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation in the hypothalamus were also observed, which could be reversed by compound C, a commonly-used antagonist of AMP-activated protein kinase. Furthermore, metformin also improved lipid metabolism by reducing plasma low-density lipoprotein. These findings were published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 25, 2013). Eurekalert!