The HPV vaccine has cut infections by up to 90% in the past 10 years

“This is remarkable.”

— Dr. Dale

The HPV vaccine has cut infections by up to 90% in the past 10 years

http://www.sciencealert.com/the-hpv-vaccine-has-halved-cervical-cancer-rates-in-the-past-10-years

A recent review of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is has found that in the 10 years since its original release, the infection rate of HPV has been lowered by up to 90 percent in countries with high levels of immunisation.

The review found that with more than 187 million doses of the vaccine administered in 130 countries around the world, the number of HPV infections fell by up to 90 percent in some areas, with similar decreases in genital warts and cervical abnormalities also being reported.

"Reductions in HPV infections as well as reductions in the prevalence of HPV 6/11/16/18-related diseases, as noted by decreases in Pap abnormalities, cervical pre-cancers, and genital warts, were detected within four years after vaccine introduction," said lead researcher Suzanne Garland, from the Royal Woman’s Hospital in Australia.

HPV is a DNA virus that spreads through sexual contact. Before this vaccine, having one of more of these viruses were very common, with the CDC concluding that nearly all sexually active men and woman have had it.  

"One in two of us will get it in our lifetime, so it is extremely common infection," said HPV vaccine co-creator Ian Frazer, from the University of Queensland told the Brisbane Times. "The chances of you getting a cancer if you have the virus is about one in 100."

What’s worse is that HPV causes more than 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases, and also increases the risk of vulva, penile, anal, and throat cancers.

"Five percent of all cancers worldwide are caused by papillomavirus infection, cervical cancer is the big one," said Frazer, "but there are also some cancers in the throat and mouth we recognise are being increasingly caused by these viruses and then on top of that are a number of rarer cancers caused by these viruses."

"About 20 percent of all cancers are caused by a virus infection, and about a quarter of those are caused by papillomavirus," he adds.

Analysing the findings of 58 studies from nine different countries on the effects of the HPV vaccine, the researchers found that in high immunisation areas such as Australia, where the vaccine is provided in specialised school vaccination programs for free to all 12-year-old school children, the rates of HPV and HPV-caused diseases plummeted.

"Maximal reductions of approximately 90 percent for HPV 6/11/16/18 infection, approximately 90 percent for genital warts, approximately 45 percent for low-grade cytological cervical abnormalities, and approximately 85 percent for high-grade histologically proven cervical abnormalities have been reported," the researchers report.

Another study from February this year showed in the US, the rates of HPV infection declined from 11.5 to 4.3 percent. That’s a 64 percent reduction, which is pretty incredible when you realise that only 37 percent of girls and 13 percent of boys between 13 and 17-years-old have received all their shots.

The US reportedly has such low levels of HPV vaccination due to controversyover the sexually transmitted nature of HPV, and the age at which kids are recommended to receive the shot. But research has shown that the vaccine is most effective when the patients have had no sexual contact to be able to spread the virus.

The research is a pretty good indication that we’re on the right track in dealing with HPV, and with proper implementation, we might some day be able to eradicate HPV-related diseases altogether.

"Observations from over the past 10 years are that the HPV vaccines, if delivered effectively to the majority of 10 to 12 year-old-girls in the developing world from today forward, should lead to the global elimination of new cervical and other HPV associated cancers by 2050," said Frazer.

How Thoughts Of Death Can Be A Key To Happiness

“Interesting topic, but worth the read!”

— Dr. Dale

How Thoughts Of Death Can Be A Key To Happiness 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-m-wyatt-md/how-thoughts-of-death-can_b_11366248.html

What if you thought about death multiple times a day, every day? In Western society you would probably be labeled as depressed, morbid, pessimistic, or neurotic, much like a character from a Woody Allen movie. But in the tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan, which has been named “the happiest country on Earth,” people contemplate death five times a day as part of their Buddhist tradition.

Clearly, thinking about death doesn’t prevent happiness and it seems, from the example of the Bhutanese people, that acceptance of death might actually be helpful in finding peace, meaning and joy in life. Indeed Tibetan Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche writes in “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” that regular contemplation of death can lead to a deep experience of joy as old attachments and negative habits are released.

But most of us in the West are terrified of death and avoid addressing it unless absolutely necessary. Furthermore as many as two thirds of Americans report that they are not very happy in their day-to-day lives. Clearly something is missing for most Americans and it is important to address this issue since studies have shown that happiness is a key factor for overall physical health.

Researcher Laura Kubzansky has found that characteristics like resilience, positive outlook on life, and a sense of meaning and purpose all lead to increased happiness and therefore better health. Interestingly, these are some of the same traits that Sogyal Rinpoche teaches are enhanced by accepting the reality of death, along with a reduction in fear and stress.

So is there enough reasonable evidence to try a practice of “death awareness” for greater happiness and better health? If so, here are some tips for beginning your own daily routine of thinking about death.

1. Establish a regular time of day for your practice.
To maintain any new routine it helps to set aside the same time every day, like first thing in the morning or before going to bed at night. This regularity will help you remember to do the practice each day and will ingrain it as a habit more quickly than if you do it on a random, variable schedule.

2. Stay relaxed.
Take a few deep breaths before you begin to help you get into a state of relaxation. We know from neuroscience that what “fires together, wires together” so it is important to couple your thoughts of death with a sense of physical and emotional calmness rather than fear. Then in the future whenever you think about death your brain will recall this calm feeling at the same time. Deep breathing can help you achieve this because it triggers the relaxation response mentally, physically and emotionally.

3. Make it a pleasant experience.
During your routine include some enhancements for your five senses like peaceful music, a scented candle, flavorful tea, beautiful art, or a view of nature. In this way you will gradually train your brain to conjure up pleasant sensual memories along with a state of calmness when you think about death.

4. Avoid fearful images of death.
One of the reasons many of us are terrified of death is because we have witnessed frightening scenes of dying in the past through news reports, movies, books, or our own life experiences. Start by visualizing the leaves of a tree in Autumn as they turn brown and fall to the ground. This peaceful representation of death can be expanded upon over time to include other images as you become more comfortable.

5. Focus on the “big picture.”
Rather than obsess about the details of your own death, which might create stress and anxiety in the beginning, contemplate the cycle of life and death that exists in nature and throughout the entire universe. Remember that even stars and planets die and that all deaths ultimately bring about new life.

6. Keep a journal.
After your session of death contemplation it can be helpful to keep a few notes in a journal. You can process your thoughts and record your progress as you become more and more comfortable with the idea of death in general and your own mortality, in particular.

Since death is inevitable for each one of us, there is nothing to lose and much to gain from increased comfort with thoughts of mortality, including becoming more peaceful and less fearful of life. Imagine how free you would feel if you could rid yourself of your fear and live each moment to the fullest. That is one of the promises of a “death awareness” practice that is most enticing.

If we can learn to enjoy our fleeting and brief lives just as they are perhaps we will become less materialistic and more focused on the deep values of life like love and joy. There is no denying that our world needs more love and less fear right now so let’s emulate the Bhutanese people and get comfortable with thoughts of death. 

To enhance your own “death awareness” practice check out Dr. Wyatt’s book “The Tao of Death”, which can be used as a daily guide to contemplation and comes with a free Companion Journal. Learn more about these books online.

HPV-vaccinated women protect men from infection

“This is great!”

HPV-vaccinated women protect men from infection

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-08-hpv-vaccinated-women-men-infection.html

A Melbourne study has found the first evidence of 'herd protection' from vaccinations against the cervical cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV).

Eric Chow from Alfred Health has found that women who vaccinate against HPV not only protect themselves, they also protect their male partners from the virus.

There are over 100 different types of HPV, some of which are known to cause cancer. The disease is well known for its impact on women, but it can also cause genital warts, penile and anal cancer in men.

In an 11-year study (2004 to 2015), Eric found a dramatic decline in the prevalence of vaccine-targeted types of HPV in young Australian men—from a 20 per cent prevalence in 2004, down to just three per cent in 2015.

These males were unvaccinated, suggesting that their vaccinated female partners were protecting them from the virus. This herd protection hasn't been seen in HPV before.

While the vaccination program for girls was brought into schools in 2007, the program wasn't introduced for boys until 2013.

The current vaccine available in Australia is effective against four types of HPV. But a new vaccine is on the way that will protect against another five types.

This is the first study in the world to assess the annual trends in vaccine-targeted HPV genotypes in men before and after the introduction of the female HPV vaccination programme. The research was published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases in June.