BumpWatch: Anna Paquin Debuts Baby Belly

Anna Paquin debuts her barely-there baby bump Saturday evening at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

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Are Relationships Sacred? | Frank Love on Relationships

I am a light-hearted guy ? and, as many of the people closest to me put it, a ?knucklehead.? So, I find the generally serious, aggressive tone that looms over many relationships ? whether discussing their basics or specifics ? to be overkill. And a little dangerous.

There are some aspects of marriage that many people consider ?too sacred? to even discuss or negotiate ? such as monogamy. And while I appreciate the romantic sentiment at work here, self-censorship undermines the importance of communication in human relationships. Many of us are raised to think that certain topics, such as money, religion, and politics, should be off limits ? for the sake of politeness or keeping the peace. But if we never discuss them, we limit our opportunities for learning, growth and/or understanding.

Speaking freely can be important in relationships, and agreeing that nothing is too sacred to discuss can save you lots of heartache and confusion down the road. Without conversation and negotiation, assumptions may arise and linger. And assumptions can get us into trouble.

Sacred means ?reverently dedicated to some person, purpose or object.? Sure, there are certainly things I believe to be sacred ? including my family, my friendships and my quiet time. But I have learned that this reverence is mine and pretty much only mine. Strangers and even friends may not value any of these things. This value is determined and felt by me, but not by the world. To assume otherwise would only lead to disappointment.

Bottom line: You can make whatever you want to make sacred ? to you. But it gets tricky when others are involved. And because a relationship is an agreement between two people, it?s only as sacred as its participants make it. People change and, therefore, so do the players in agreements, often without your permission or consent.

Is your relationship or some aspect of it too sacred to discuss? Perhaps it would hurt too much if the two of you were to analyze or change it? Or, maybe you had a discussion, considered the matter closed, and made it clear that you never want to revisit it. But if there is something you believe to be set in stone, remember this: Stone breaks. It is just the nature of working with someone else. An understanding of this is both flexible and Powerful.

Keep Rising,

?

Frank Love
www.FrankLove.com

PS: To become a Frank Love sponsor you can make a one-time contribution or contribute monthly by clicking on the amount you?d like to donate each month: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $35, $50, $75, $100, $200 or $500.

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Drug interactions won't exclude HCV transplant or HIV co-infected patients from treatment

Public release date: 19-Apr-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Travis Taylor
easlpressoffice@cohnwolfe.com
44-789-438-6428
European Association for the Study of the Liver

Additional data provides hope for HCV non-responders

Barcelona, Spain, Thursday 19 April 2012: New data from a number of clinical trials presented for the first time at the International Liver Congress 2012 provides hope for previously difficult to treat hepatitis C (HCV) patient populations.

In the first multicentric study of the efficacy and safety of the protease inhibitors (PI) Boceprevir or Telaprevir in patients with severe HCV genotype 1 (GT1) recurrence after liver transplantation(1), results show that 57% of patients achieve undetectable hepatitis C viral loads 24 weeks after treatment (SVR24) with pegylated Interferon-alfa-2b (PegIFN-?-2b), ribavirin (RBV) and either Boceprevir or Telaprevir. Interactions between immunosuppressants and PIs were easily controlled.

Further new data shows that, in HCV GT1 and HIV co-infected patients, the addition of Boceprevir to PegIFN-?-2b and RBV results in higher rates of undetectable HCV RNA levels compared to treatment with only PegIFN-?-2b and RBV alone.(2) At the end of treatment (week 48), 63.9% of patients receiving Boceprevir, PegIFN-?-2b and RBV had undetectable HCV RNA, compared to 29.4% in the control arm. The study found the safety and tolerability profile of Boceprevir, PegIFN-?-2b and RBV was consistent with that observed in HCV-monoinfected patients.

The combination of these findings provides new hope for various difficult to treat hepatitis C populations. Professor Mark Thursz, EASL's Secretary General commented on the exciting new data: "Patients with HIV co-infection and patients who have been transplanted for HCV infection often have more aggressive disease and have been harder to treat. Worries about drug-drug interactions have caused concern about the use of protease inhibitors in these groups. The new trial data shows that the benefits of direct anti-virals can now be experienced by a wider group of patient populations."

In a study of chronic HCV GT1 patients previously unresponsive to treatment with PegIFN and RBV alone , new data shows TMC435 - an oral, once-daily, investigational HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor - combined with PegIFN-alfa-2a and RBV achieves significantly higher SVR24 rates compared with placebo.(3) In the hardest to treat group of prior null-responders with cirrhosis, TMC435, PegIFN-alfa-2a and RBV treatment shows 61-80% SVR24 compared to 23% with placebo.

In other exciting data presented at the congress, the authors of a study on PSI-7977, a uridine nucleotide analog, propose that it may signal an end to response guided therapy in HCV GT1 patients.(4) Response-guided therapy is a paradigm for treating chronic HCV infections in which treatment decisions are based on how rapidly HCV responds to treatment.(5) With response-guided therapy, patients who rapidly clear virus from their bloodstream are eligible to receive a shorter duration of therapy, while slower responders receive standard or extended durations of therapy.(5)

In earlier studies, PSI-7977 has been associated with greater than 90% SVR (sustained virological response undetectable HCV RNA level 24 weeks after treatment) in HCV GT1, GT2, or GT3 patients, independent of predictors of poor responsiveness to interferon. In new data presented at the congress, the study authors show HCV GT1, GT4, or GT6 patients treated with PSI-7977 and PEG/RBV achieved 97% RVR (rapid virological response undetectable HCV RNA level after four weeks of treatment), with no viral breakthrough or relapse observed to date in subjects completing at least 10 weeks of PSI-7977.

###

Notes to Editors

About EASL

EASL is the leading European scientific society involved in promoting research and education in hepatology. EASL attracts the foremost hepatology experts and has an impressive track record in promoting research in liver disease, supporting wider education and promoting changes in European liver policy.

EASL's main focus on education and research is delivered through numerous events and initiatives, including:

• The International Liver CongressTM (http://www.easl.eu/_the-international-liver-congress/general-information) which is the main scientific and professional event in hepatology worldwide
• Meetings including Monothematic and Special conferences, Post Graduate courses and other endorsed meetings that take place throughout the year
• Clinical and Basic Schools of Hepatology, a series of events covering different aspects in the field of hepatology
• Journal of Hepatology published monthly
• Participation in a number of policy initiatives at European level
• iLiver iPhone app - a free medical app developed by EASL, with content fully authored, validated and accredited by 42 independent liver specialists

About The International Liver CongressTM 2012

The International Liver Congress 2012, the 47th annual meeting of the European Association for the study of the Liver, is being held at the Centre Convencions Internacional (CCIB) in Barcelona from April 18 22, 2012. The congress annually attracts over 8,000 clinicians and scientists from around the world and provides an opportunity to hear the latest research, perspectives and treatments of liver disease from principal experts in the field.

References

1. Coilly A, et al, EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF PROTEASE INHIBITORS FOR SEVERE HEPATITIS C RECURRENCE AFTER LIVER TRANSPLANTATION: A FIRST MULTICENTRIC EXPERIENCE. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

2. Mallolas J, BOCEPREVIR PLUS PEGINTERFERON/RIBAVIRIN FOR THE TREATMENT OF HCV/HIV CO-INFECTED PATIENTS: END OF TREATMENT (WEEK 48) INTERIM RESULTS. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

3. Zeuzem S, et al, TMC435 IN HCV GENOTYPE 1 PATIENTS WHO HAVE FAILED PREVIOUS PEGYLATED INTERFERON/RIBAVIRIN TREATMENT: FINAL SVR24 RESULTS OF THE ASPIRE TRIAL. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

4. Kowdley KV, ATOMIC: 97% RVR FOR PSI-7977 + PEG/RBV X 12 WEEK REGIMEN IN HCV GT1: AN END TO RESPONSE-GUIDED THERAPY?. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

5. Kwo PY, Response-guided Therapy for HCV. Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2011 January; 7(1): 43-45.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 19-Apr-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Travis Taylor
easlpressoffice@cohnwolfe.com
44-789-438-6428
European Association for the Study of the Liver

Additional data provides hope for HCV non-responders

Barcelona, Spain, Thursday 19 April 2012: New data from a number of clinical trials presented for the first time at the International Liver Congress 2012 provides hope for previously difficult to treat hepatitis C (HCV) patient populations.

In the first multicentric study of the efficacy and safety of the protease inhibitors (PI) Boceprevir or Telaprevir in patients with severe HCV genotype 1 (GT1) recurrence after liver transplantation(1), results show that 57% of patients achieve undetectable hepatitis C viral loads 24 weeks after treatment (SVR24) with pegylated Interferon-alfa-2b (PegIFN-?-2b), ribavirin (RBV) and either Boceprevir or Telaprevir. Interactions between immunosuppressants and PIs were easily controlled.

Further new data shows that, in HCV GT1 and HIV co-infected patients, the addition of Boceprevir to PegIFN-?-2b and RBV results in higher rates of undetectable HCV RNA levels compared to treatment with only PegIFN-?-2b and RBV alone.(2) At the end of treatment (week 48), 63.9% of patients receiving Boceprevir, PegIFN-?-2b and RBV had undetectable HCV RNA, compared to 29.4% in the control arm. The study found the safety and tolerability profile of Boceprevir, PegIFN-?-2b and RBV was consistent with that observed in HCV-monoinfected patients.

The combination of these findings provides new hope for various difficult to treat hepatitis C populations. Professor Mark Thursz, EASL's Secretary General commented on the exciting new data: "Patients with HIV co-infection and patients who have been transplanted for HCV infection often have more aggressive disease and have been harder to treat. Worries about drug-drug interactions have caused concern about the use of protease inhibitors in these groups. The new trial data shows that the benefits of direct anti-virals can now be experienced by a wider group of patient populations."

In a study of chronic HCV GT1 patients previously unresponsive to treatment with PegIFN and RBV alone , new data shows TMC435 - an oral, once-daily, investigational HCV NS3/4A protease inhibitor - combined with PegIFN-alfa-2a and RBV achieves significantly higher SVR24 rates compared with placebo.(3) In the hardest to treat group of prior null-responders with cirrhosis, TMC435, PegIFN-alfa-2a and RBV treatment shows 61-80% SVR24 compared to 23% with placebo.

In other exciting data presented at the congress, the authors of a study on PSI-7977, a uridine nucleotide analog, propose that it may signal an end to response guided therapy in HCV GT1 patients.(4) Response-guided therapy is a paradigm for treating chronic HCV infections in which treatment decisions are based on how rapidly HCV responds to treatment.(5) With response-guided therapy, patients who rapidly clear virus from their bloodstream are eligible to receive a shorter duration of therapy, while slower responders receive standard or extended durations of therapy.(5)

In earlier studies, PSI-7977 has been associated with greater than 90% SVR (sustained virological response undetectable HCV RNA level 24 weeks after treatment) in HCV GT1, GT2, or GT3 patients, independent of predictors of poor responsiveness to interferon. In new data presented at the congress, the study authors show HCV GT1, GT4, or GT6 patients treated with PSI-7977 and PEG/RBV achieved 97% RVR (rapid virological response undetectable HCV RNA level after four weeks of treatment), with no viral breakthrough or relapse observed to date in subjects completing at least 10 weeks of PSI-7977.

###

Notes to Editors

About EASL

EASL is the leading European scientific society involved in promoting research and education in hepatology. EASL attracts the foremost hepatology experts and has an impressive track record in promoting research in liver disease, supporting wider education and promoting changes in European liver policy.

EASL's main focus on education and research is delivered through numerous events and initiatives, including:

• The International Liver CongressTM (http://www.easl.eu/_the-international-liver-congress/general-information) which is the main scientific and professional event in hepatology worldwide
• Meetings including Monothematic and Special conferences, Post Graduate courses and other endorsed meetings that take place throughout the year
• Clinical and Basic Schools of Hepatology, a series of events covering different aspects in the field of hepatology
• Journal of Hepatology published monthly
• Participation in a number of policy initiatives at European level
• iLiver iPhone app - a free medical app developed by EASL, with content fully authored, validated and accredited by 42 independent liver specialists

About The International Liver CongressTM 2012

The International Liver Congress 2012, the 47th annual meeting of the European Association for the study of the Liver, is being held at the Centre Convencions Internacional (CCIB) in Barcelona from April 18 22, 2012. The congress annually attracts over 8,000 clinicians and scientists from around the world and provides an opportunity to hear the latest research, perspectives and treatments of liver disease from principal experts in the field.

References

1. Coilly A, et al, EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF PROTEASE INHIBITORS FOR SEVERE HEPATITIS C RECURRENCE AFTER LIVER TRANSPLANTATION: A FIRST MULTICENTRIC EXPERIENCE. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

2. Mallolas J, BOCEPREVIR PLUS PEGINTERFERON/RIBAVIRIN FOR THE TREATMENT OF HCV/HIV CO-INFECTED PATIENTS: END OF TREATMENT (WEEK 48) INTERIM RESULTS. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

3. Zeuzem S, et al, TMC435 IN HCV GENOTYPE 1 PATIENTS WHO HAVE FAILED PREVIOUS PEGYLATED INTERFERON/RIBAVIRIN TREATMENT: FINAL SVR24 RESULTS OF THE ASPIRE TRIAL. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

4. Kowdley KV, ATOMIC: 97% RVR FOR PSI-7977 + PEG/RBV X 12 WEEK REGIMEN IN HCV GT1: AN END TO RESPONSE-GUIDED THERAPY?. Abstract presented at the International Liver Congress 2012.

5. Kwo PY, Response-guided Therapy for HCV. Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2011 January; 7(1): 43-45.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Governor Rick Perry's Game-Changing Texas Budget Compact. (Willisms)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Did Caravaggio meet a grisly end - with the Vatican's complicity?

Citing documents from the Vatican Secret Archives, an Italian historian argues that 17th-century documents reveal Renaissance artist Caravaggio was assassinated by the Knights of Malta.

In one of his most graphic paintings, the rabble-rousing Renaissance artist Caravaggio?depicted his tortured face on the head of Goliath, slain and decapitated by the boy warrior David.

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An Italian historian thinks that Caravaggio may have met just such a grisly end ? at the hands of the Knights of St. John of Malta, the chivalric order founded during the Crusades.

Vincenzo Pacelli, a Caravaggio expert from the University of Naples, has unearthed documents from the Vatican Secret Archives and state archives in Rome that suggest the Knights ordered the artist to be assassinated in revenge for him attacking and wounding on one of their members during a brawl.

They then dumped his body in the sea at Palo, north of Rome, which would explain why there are no documents recording his death.

Until now, conventional wisdom said Caravaggio died either from an illness or lead poisoning from the oil paints he used.

The murder was ?commissioned and organized? by the Knights of Malta and carried out with the complicity of the Vatican, Mr. Pacelli says in his forthcoming book, "Caravaggio ? Between Art and Science."

The historian found strange discrepancies in correspondence between Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a powerful Vatican secretary of state, and Deodato Gentile, a papal ambassador, in which the painter?s place of death was cited as the island of Procida near Naples, ?a place that Caravaggio had nothing to do with,? according to Pacelli.

A document written by Caravaggio?s doctor and first biographer claimed that the painter died at the age of 38 north of Rome, but the place name was later scrubbed out and replaced by the name of a town in Tuscany.?Pacelli also found an account written 20 years after Caravaggio?s death in which an Italian archivist wrote that the artist had been ?assassinated.?

He believes it all adds up to evidence of an assassination plot by the Knights of Malta which was then covered up.

Not all experts are convinced by the new theory.?John T. Spike, a Caravaggio expert at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., is skeptical of the idea that the painter was murdered on the Knights' orders.

?The problem with the theory is that the Knights had ample opportunities to kill him sooner ? either when he was living in Malta, or when he then went to Sicily, which is very close,? says Mr. Spike. ?Why did they wait so long??

The academic sparring will continue, but more than four centuries after his death in 1610, the true fate of Caravaggio remains an enigma.

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'Rock Of Ages' Spotlights A Tom Cruise You've Never Seen

'He's a guy who loves challenges,' enthuses director Adam Shankman, as part of MTV News' Summer Movie Preview Week.
By Amy Wilkinson

Tom Cruise in "Rock of Ages"
Photo: Warner Bros

This summer, the city — and the cinema — will be built on rock and roll when "Rock of Ages" packs its ax, journeying from Broadway to a theater near you.

Set in Los Angeles and featuring the biggest jams of the '80s, the movie musical follows busboy/ aspiring rocker Drew Boley (played by Diego Boneta) as he falls for new-in-town Sherrie Christian (played by Julianne Hough) and lands a gig opening for rock legend Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise). All the while, greater forces are at work trying to convert the drug- and sex-fueled Sunset Strip into a safer, gentler piece of prime real estate, much to the chagrin of the bandannaed masses.

In anticipation of opening night (June 15), MTV News caught up with director Adam Shankman ("Hairspray") to chat about Tom Cruise's crazy work ethic, '80s nostalgia and the perils of working with a baboon.

MTV News: Movie musicals are nothing new for you. What is it about translating a work from stage to screen that is so compelling?

Adam Shankman: It's a matter of, I guess, finding a story you enjoy telling and a medium you enjoy. I grew up doing musical theater, so it's something that's in my bones, and I love it. I feel it's always informed a lot of the way I think and the way I approach material. It's just sort of a natural thing for me to be doing, given my history with music and dance and all that. All I ever wanted to be in my life was a chorus boy, so how things turned out couldn't be a bigger surprise to me.

MTV: What was it specifically about "Rock of Ages" that drew you in?

Shankman: I thought, "Holy moly!" Here's an opportunity to make a musical truly for straight men. I mean, straight guys walk into the theater and they know every word of the music. So it's a completely different experience from girls having to drag their boyfriends to boys dragging their girlfriends.

MTV: There's been a lot of '80s nostalgia in pop culture lately. Is that an era you're particularly nostalgic for?

Shankman: I mean, that was my time. I graduated high school in '82. My dad's office was on Sunset. I saw my first concert at the Roxy. I was choreographing music videos in '87 when, it happens, I actually choreographed a video for someone whose music is in the movie. It was, you know, the last time I remember everything being kind of innocent. Everything kind of shifted then, suddenly fun became drug addiction and crazy, casual sex became AIDS. It was the end of all of that.

MTV: Diego Boneta, who plays Drew, is a fairly under-the-radar talent right now. How did he land the role?

Shankman: His audition just sort of stopped me in my tracks. I saw it on my casting website. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of guys on there, and his stopped me because there was no acting — he just was that guy. And he also sang so great. In the best casting moments, you're looking at somebody and saying, "How much do I have to do with this person to get them there?" I just looked at him and he just dropped into it very easily and naturally. And then, of course, there's that face.

MTV: One of the film's many familiar faces is Tom Cruise, though I have a feeling this is a Tom Cruise we've never seen before.

Shankman: We have definitely never seen him do this before. A lot of the joy in this for him was just the adventure of trying something that was so foreign. I think part of the reason that he said yes to doing it was that he was so stunned that he was asked, and he thought, "Oh my god, of all the millions of things I've done in my career, nothing has ever been like this." He's a guy who loves challenges.

MTV: We did see him sing in "Top Gun."

Shankman: Not like this.

MTV: For fans of the original, how closely does the film hem to the Broadway musical?

Shankman: It's pretty close. I mean, I changed who the villains are. They were Europeans in the play, and I wanted them to be more L.A.-based so it had more of a local resonance. The character Lonnie, the Russell Brand character, isn't the narrator. I didn't think the movie should have a narrator. But in terms of spirit, the boy-meets-girl and what happens to the boy and girl is very close.

MTV: Is there a favorite musical number for you?

Shankman: I never cease to be in awe of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" because it was Tom on his first day of shooting, and he spent the day performing it for a giant crowd, and Def Leppard showed up on set and were there. That was an incredibly crazy, magical day.

MTV: Conversely, there's always a scene or two that give a director pause. Any particularly difficult moments for you on the set?

Shankman: Well, I have one of those that turned into one of the best scenes in the movie. There's a giant protest outside of the Bourbon, where Catherine Zeta-Jones and all the anti-Bourbon moms and all the rockers are fighting and they do a mash-up of "We Built This City" and "We're Not Going to Take It." Then, you know, we had the baboon there and the baboon got loose, and it was a nightmare and nobody could move because it was going to eat your face off. And then we were standing there for 20 minutes stuck on the street. Bizarre, bizarre day. On top of which, it was just really daunting because there was a lot going on. We had Sebastian Bach and Debbie Gibson and all these rockers there from that period. It was insane.

Check out everything we've got on "Rock of Ages."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Related Videos

• Rock of Ages
• Summer Movie Preview 2012

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• Get Psyched For 2012's Summer Movies!

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Sheree Whitfield Leaving 'Real Housewives of Atlanta'

Attention Real Housewives fans: Atlanta is officially losing one of its cast members: Sheree Whitfield, who says she's tired of all the catty drama on the series.

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