Drug ‘Cocktail’ Could Cure Diabetes

The successful regeneration of the cells destroyed by diabetes gives rays of hope for the diabetic patients.

The study was conducted in diabetic mice with type 1 diabetes by the researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston. They found out that a combination of four drugs along with enzyme alpha 1 antitrypsin worked effectively to boost up the immune system. This prevented the disease’s degenerative effect upon the beta cells of pancreas. Since beta cells are involved with insulin production, the new finding may relieve off the diabetic patients from taking the daily injections. The chemicals produced by the body to ease out inflammation also led to the regeneration of insulin-producing pancreatic cells.

Dr Iain Frame, of Diabetes UK, said: "This could potentially be very important research in finding a better treatment for diabetes.”

Up until last year, the researchers succeeded only in stopping the degeneration of cells, but they could not produce any results with regeneration.

This new finding could make treatment for diabetics more effective in coming days.

Source-Medindia
SUN/K

Mix of endocrine disrupters a dangerous cocktail

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which are harmless individually in small doses, can together be a dangerous cocktail. Concurrent exposure to several endocrine-disrupting substances may, among other things, result in malformed sexual organs. Risk assessments of chemical substances should therefore take potential cocktail effects into account. These are the findings of research conducted by the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark.

Many young men have a low sperm count and more and more boys are born with malformed sexual organs. A little less than five per cent of all Danish boys are, for example, born with hypospadias, where the opening of the urethra is on the underside of the penis. Substances disturbing the hormonal balance during the foetal development have long been suspected of being one of the causes of such birth defects.

"Several animal tests have shown that endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which have an effect on the male sex hormone testosterone, can result in such malformations in young male rats. In vitro testing and short-term animal testing have also suggested that concurrent exposure to several chemical substances can result in endocrine-disrupting effects even if exposure to each individual substance does not show any effect. We are now able to document that this is actually the case," says Ulla Hass, senior scientist at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark.

New York: Nightlife

BY JENNY ADAMS

Special to the Herald

Patrons get down and rowdy at the Pink Elephant.

» More Photos

NYC BAR INFO

• Marquee, 289 10th Ave., 646-473-0202; www.marqueeny.com. Open 10 p.m.-4 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Entry: $20. Premium vodka martini: $14.

• Pink Elephant, 527 W. 27th St., 212-463-0000; www.pinkelephantclub.com. Open 11 p.m.-4 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday. Entry: $25. Premium vodka martini: $16.

• Flatiron Lounge, 37 W. 19th St., 212-727-7741; www.flatironlounge.com. Open 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 5 p.m.-4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $13.

• Pegu Club, 77 W. Houston St., 212-473-7348; www.peguclub.com. Open 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 5 p.m.-4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $15.

• Welcome to the Johnson's, 123 Rivington St., 212-420-9911. Open 3 p.m.-4 a.m. Sunday-Thursday; 1 p.m.-4 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $7.

• Galapagos Art Space, 70 N. Sixth St., Brooklyn, 718-782-5188; www.galapagosartspace.com. Open 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, 6 p.m.-4 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $12.

• Moonshine, 317 Columbia St., Brooklyn, 718-852-8057; www.brooklynmoonshine.com. Open 4 p.m.-4 a.m. daily. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $7.

When it comes to choosing a nightlife setting, most of us find sanctuary in one of three categories: nightclubs, cocktail lounges or dive bars. It's a rare city that hosts the three categories in abundance -- and rarer still that can also honestly claim its offerings among the world's best. New York sets the bar for bars -- no matter which type you personally prefer.

Here are some of our picks:

FOR THE VELVET ROPE CELEBRITY SEEKER: Renowned club owner/designer Callin Fortis (creator of Crobar New York and Crobar Miami) once explained nightclubs to me as ``spaces for social hierarchy to flow together to the point where the boundaries are transparent and people no longer feel separated.''

So true. Whether you're out for your fave DJ's playground, the late-night diva martini scene or a Sunday drag dance party, New York's high-tech nightclub choices are a social experiment. And if you're looking for celebrities mixing vodka and Red Bull like the common man, the city is more than capable of appeasing your flashbulb fixation.

Try Marquee and Pink Elephant, both in Chelsea.

Marquee is posh beyond words. The space offers three separate environments to lounge, ogle and dance; a stunning wishbone staircase separating the mezzanine from the first floor; lighting that accentuates and envelopes the constant action; and the world's top DJs on the turntables.

But it's the service that lands Marquee on my ''must visit'' list. Co-owner Noah Tepperberg (he also owns Tao in Las Vegas) wrote a 20-point manual of service for his staff. I pause at a price tag of $375 for a bottle of Grey Goose vodka like everyone else, but at Marquee, you actually receive extreme service. The servers know your name, take your coat, discuss exotic flavor combinations for each liquor, mix fabulous drinks, befriend and blend in with your group of revelers, carefully replenish your ice as if on cue and leave you feeling as though you have left a few new friends behind with your MasterCard slip. From Stevie Wonder in the DJ booth on occasion to Paris Hilton on the dance floor, Marquee is a celebrity haven, but the staff treats each and every visitor as though they all stepped out of the same limo.

Pink Elephant is my other nightclub darling. It shares that philosophy towards extreme service, but this playful pachyderm has a whimsical side as well. The venue is intimate for a nightclub, and because of the circular layout, it's possible to have a casual conversation -- a rare nightclub treat. When I arrive, I always glance up at the ceiling -- a massive wooden sculpture with arched beams of cherry and lacquer wood, its shadows swimming in puddles of red light on polished timber. The careful construction of the rafters is both art and function, because the Pink Elephant's skeleton also conceals lasers, disco balls and smoke machines. When the crowd arrives at that perfect moment of intoxicated frenzied crescendo, the machines descend and the party ascends to a Carnival-like atmosphere with giant bottles of Champagne carried out on cushioned chariots as the theme song to Star Wars erupts on the air.

As if dancing your heart out to the Star Wars melody under twirling disco balls while sipping Veuve Clicquot wasn't enough, the Pink Elephant owners promise each patron a sensory level above taste, sight or sound. It is the best smelling bar in the world. Co-owner David Graziano says that the inspiration for the scent machine came from watching a room periodically erupt and trying to enhance that moment. The machine can produce over 30,000 smells including fresh cut grass, citrus, pheromones and a whiff of Krispy Kreme.

FOR THE CALM, COLLECTED COCKTAIL CONNOISSEUR: Perch atop a chair in either Flatiron Lounge on West 19th Street or Pegu Club in Soho, and you will be treated to succulent fruit, narratives of vintage cocktail history and the best darn drink you ever tasted. Master mixologists and co-owners Julie Reiner and Audrey Saunders can be found often at their respective locations, sometimes switching since each lady has a vested interest in both venues.

Flatiron -- a bar whose ancestral patronage included members of the Rat Pack -- combines an early 1900s ambience with a cocktail list that changes seasonally. You can choose a Martini Flight, a Flight Back in Time (think Sazeracs and Sidecars) or simply converse over a single cocktail with the nearest stranger under the hues of stained glass lights.

The same rules apply at Pegu -- hand-squeezed juices five-seconds-fresh, infusions, tinctures, bitters and syrups. Spend a few minutes and you will notice they use tiny bottles of soda instead of guns. Spend an hour and you will leave with an understanding that bartending was once an apothecary-esque art form and is becoming so again.

FOR THE LOVERS OF THE DARK, DARK DIVE BARS: If you long for a place to ''curl up on a couch and consume'' far away from skull-thumping beats but still harboring entertainment beyond a mere cocktail, my suggestions include checking out dives such as Welcome to the Johnson's on the Lower East Side, decorated to resemble your parent's basement if you were around in the late '70s, complete with Ms. Pac Man, plastic-covered couches and David Bowie tunes; and Brooklyn's Moonshine Barn & Grill, where you can bring your own food, play a game of Jenga and horse around with owner Nick Forlano's pet bulldogs.

But my absolute top choice is Galapagos Art Space, also in Brooklyn, a performance art space with a drinking solution devised to help pay the bills. Many of the installations -- such as the Monday night burlesque show -- are not for the prudish or faint-of-heart. They are, however, great for those faint-of-funds. Most of Galapagos' performances are free or under $10.

Vodka on a rock... the £5k cocktail

Vodka on a rock... the £5k cocktail

Luke O'Toole, manager of Harvilles Cocktail Lounge, prepares the £5,000 Diamond Martini

HOW much do you love your other half? Enough to buy them a drink this Valentine's Day?

Of course you do. But what if the drink was the most expensive in all Yorkshire - a cocktail priced at £5,000?

Only those with the biggest hearts - and the fattest wallets - will be able to splash out five grand for a Diamond Martini at Harvilles Cocktail Lounge, in Fossgate, York, which opens tonight.

As you might expect for the price tag, this is no ordinary drink - this is liquid decadence.

Served in a chilled crystal Martini glass and made with Belvedere, a vodka revered by connoisseurs, the other ingredients are known only to master mixologist Luke O'Toole.

But it is the garnish which guarantees the cocktail will go down a treat - an individually-cut diamond.

Anyone planning to buy a Diamond Martini must give a few days' notice as diamonds are not kept on the premises for security reasons.

Mr O'Toole, manager of Harvilles Cocktail Lounge, said: "Amazingly, I've already taken the first two orders, so someone's in for a night they will remember."

The gems are being supplied by diamond designer, TCJ Designs, of Stonegate, York.

David Hattersley, owner of the bar, said he is impressed by the Diamond Martini, but a little wary of it. "I am trying to keep Mrs Hattersley out of there because knowing her she would order it as a chaser," he said.

The cocktail lounge is part of the new-look, three-floor Harvilles. The six-week refurbishment has seen the restaurant restyled and an oyster cellar and Champagne bar created downstairs.

NAVAN® Unveils a Naturally Inspired Cocktail Collection Designed to Relax and Indulge: The NAVAN Spa Series

- NAVAN Spa Kit Available at 1-877-Spirits.com -

NEW YORK, NY (February 11, 2008)/PRNewswire/—NAVAN® Natural Vanilla Liqueur unveiled the NAVAN Spa Series cocktail collection at an exclusive launch party at The Spa at The Setai, South Beach. NAVAN's luxury spa event featured cocktails and vanilla-inspired treatments hosted by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, President of Marnier-Lapostolle North America and great-granddaughter of Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle, the creator of Grand Marnier®. Created by Master Mixologist Alex Ott, the NAVAN Spa Series pairs the soothing qualities of NAVAN with fresh ingredients such as cucumber, sage, pear and green tea.

[Click here to view NAVAN Spa Series cocktail demos by Alex Ott.]

[Additional Alex Ott Demos]

Natural vanilla, the essential ingredient in NAVAN, inspired Ott to marry the art of the cocktail with the serenity and wellness of spa culture. Using only the purest ingredients, he created four unique NAVAN cocktails designed for relaxation and pleasure.

"Natural vanilla lends each of the NAVAN Spa Series cocktails great character, balance and flavor. NAVAN's latest cocktail collection highlights the versatility of natural vanilla and its soothing aromatic profile," Ott explains.

[Click here to view Alex Ott comment on the trend towards natural ingredients in cocktails.]

"The round, soft flavor of natural vanilla in NAVAN compliments the fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs in our cocktail creations so effortlessly," adds Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle. "The NAVAN Spa Series is aromatic and uplifting-truly as restorative as the ultimate spa treatment."

To enjoy the spa cocktail experience at home, NAVAN has also released the NAVAN Spa Kit on www.1877Spirits.com. The kit includes the essentials for a day of pampering and cocktails and retails for $225 including delivery in the United States. Deliciously decadent, the NAVAN Spa Series and NAVAN Spa Kit are a natural indulgence for today's cocktail connoisseur.

About NAVAN

NAVAN Natural Vanilla Liqueur from the House of Grand Marnier is crafted in France using the same aging and blending processes as the world famous orange liqueur. NAVAN stands for Natural Vanilla and is made exclusively from hand-picked vanilla beans, harvested from precious orchids in Madagascar. As the second most expensive spice in the world, natural vanilla gives NAVAN its sophisticated and sensuous flavor profile, creating smooth cocktails, or simply enjoyed on the rocks. Suggested retail price for a 750-ml bottle is $38.00.

Media Contacts

Helen Gregory/Alexa Matson
HG Marketing
718.403.0097
info@hgmarketing.net

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Fear Factor

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2008

By Elizabeth Thurman

Vendors look for innovative ways to combat a shaky economy.

The threat of recession and a frenzied retail climate are perpetuating uncertainty in apparel, but contemporary and young contemporary manufacturers are digging in their heels and using innovative product, international business growth and reorders as a hedge against a shaky economy. Meanwhile, other companies are launching divisions to attract new customers or cutting back offerings and costs to offset unpredictable markets.

After a difficult holiday season and consequent buyer reluctance, the National Retail Federation projects that retail sales will rise 3.5 percent in 2008, almost flat against a 3.7 percent increase last year. However, industry rumblings that consumers could get a boost in spending power have been heard recently, as a result of the Bush administration's proposed economic stimulus package and lower interest rates on variable debt. To lure potential spenders, manufacturers are upping the design ante with special, must-have items that feature lots of color and architectural interest.

"Current buyer behavior has been cautious but overall optimistic, at least with our company," said Single designer and owner Galina Sobolev. "Majors were experiencing a slowdown at the end of the year, but I feel that innovative specialty stores always shine in tough times and come through because they take more risks, try new merchandise and are willing to test really new and exciting product."

Sobolev said the Los Angeles-based company did $15 million in volume last year, due largely to expansion in international markets because of the weak

dollar. London, Russia and Dubai are among the fastest growing areas, she said. Volume for 2008 is expected to increase 20 percent.

"Our customer still has to go to dinner, on a date, to an art gallery or to a cocktail party, and no matter how tough the financial climate, if she is excited by the product that she sees she will buy it," Sobolev said.

To entice customers, Single offers shift dresses in prints and jacquard, fitted jackets and men's wear-inspired trousers for fall, trending toward cleaner silhouettes and closer fits. Wholesale prices run $58 to $92, and Single's new cocktail dress division, After Eight, is priced $168 to $242.

Cocktails for Your Valentine

Planning a romantic dinner for Valentine's Day? Looking for the perfect sweetheart drink to woo your lover? Well, you're in luck because there are a myriad of cocktails you can make that are perfect for lovers. But what makes a good Valentine's Day cocktail? If your goal is to seduce your valentine then you want to have drinks that include aphrodisiacs. Common ingredients found in cocktails with the supposed ability to induce love include anise, almond, chocolate, coffee, cream, pineapple, strawberry, vanilla and wine. Many of these love potions are ideal dessert drinks, perfect for pairing with chocolate covered strawberries, angel food cake or whatever delicious after dinner treat you have planned. Yet, Champagne is always popular among romantics and there are some fantastic mixes that will fit perfectly into any course.