Spain, Germany Join European Halt On Novartis Flu Vaccines.

Reuters (10/26, Kane) reports Spain has joined regulatory bodies in Italy and Switzerland in halting the sales of Novartis AG's flu vaccines, after the company earlier this week, informed Italian authorities of white particles floating in some of the injection vials. The Spanish Medicines and Health Products Agency announced Thursday that it has placed all sales of Novartis's Chiromas and Chiroflu vaccines on hold. On Wednesday, Italy halted sales and issued an advisory recommending against purchasing or using Agrippal, Fluad, subunit Influpozzi and adjuvated Influpozzi until the quality and safety of the vaccines is confirmed. Switzerland followed suit, issuing a similar consumer notice and placing an embargo on all deliveries of the vaccine products.

        Separately, Reuters (10/26, Burger) reports that the Paul-Ehrlich Institute on Thursday announced that no buildup of particles was observed in any of Novartis's vaccine products in Germany. Still, the German vaccination agency issued what it called a "precautionary" recall of the company's Begripal and Fluad vaccines.

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What Causes Inflammation? Comprehensive Look At The Causes and Effects of Inflammation

April 7, 2012 by Dov Michaeli

melodija/Shutterstock

Both the causes of inflammation, and the specific dangers of inflammation have been poorly understood from a scientific perspective. But this is changing. Inflammation is now understood as playing a crucial role in moderating many chronic diseases of lifestyle. Despite this, there is a lot of confusion as to exactly what causes inflammation, and what we can do to reduce it. [read more]

I (Dov Michaeli here) recently came across a great article in the PEERtrainer  website, explaining what inflammation is all about, and what can be done about it. I especially liked the road-accident metaphor. The article is long, so we’ll post it in 3 consecutive installments.

Written By Brian Rigby, Edited By Jackie Wicks , PEERtrainer Founder
Both the causes of inflammation, and the specific dangers of inflammation have been poorly understood from a scientific perspective. But this is changing.

Inflammation is now understood as playing a crucial role in moderating many chronic diseases of lifestyle. Despite this, there is a lot of confusion as to exactly what causes inflammation, and what we can do to reduce it.

This article will discuss the latest science and research, and also provide some practical advice that you can put to immediate use!

Inflammation is very well-defined by specific factors, and if you understand what these factors are and, more importantly, why they are associated with inflammation, then you are better equipped to make choices which reduce inflammation.

Inflammation is not a catch-all phrase for a lack of health, nor is it a result of unknown factors–there are very specific reasons why the actions we make in our daily lives lead to a state of chronic inflammation, just as there are specific mechanisms by which we may reduce inflammation.

What Causes Inflammation?
The first thing which must be addressed is why we get inflammation at all, and how short-term acute inflammation differs from chronic inflammation.
Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury. Although the symptoms of acute inflammation are unpleasant, they are necessary for the healing processes the body goes through. The characteristic symptoms are pain, redness, heat, swelling, and loss of mobility.
If an ailment ends with the suffix “itis”, it is a form of inflammation. For example, arthritis comes from arthro, meaning joint, and itis, meaning inflammation. Thus, arthritis is inflammation of the joints.
more...
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