Why Breastfeeding In The First Hour Of Life Is Important
Today countries around the world start celebrating World Breastfeeding Week, which this year emphasizes the importance of breastfeeding in the first hour of life.World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2007 is encouraging breastfeeding in the first hour of life because research shows that early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for six months can save lives.

China Orders Hotels, Other Venues To Provide Condoms, Education Material In Effort To Fight Spread Of HIV
China's Ministry of Health and Ministry of Commerce have ordered all hotels, resorts and public bath houses in the country to provide condoms in an effort to fight the spread of the disease, Reuters reports. The order also requires the venues to display pamphlets about HIV/AIDS (Reuters, 7/27).

Susceptibility To Environmental Disease Researched Via Mouse Genome
Research on the DNA of 15 mouse strains commonly used in biomedical studies is expected to help scientists determine the genes related to susceptibility to environmental disease.

Ambulatory Surgical Centers Gain Popularity; Experts Express Concern About Breadth Of Services After Surgery
USA Today on Monday examined the growing popularity and the risks of medical procedures performed at ambulatory surgical centers.

Fatal Genetic Disorder Linked With Gene Mutation, Findings Could Help In Aging And Diabetes Research
Twenty-one years after they first described a fatal genetic disorder in Missouri and Arkansas families, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have linked the condition to mutations in a gene known as TREX1.The study appears online in Nature Genetics.

Washington Pharmacists Sue State, Alleging Rule That Requires They Dispense EC Violates Civil Rights
A pharmacy owner and two pharmacists in Washington state on Wednesday in federal court filed a lawsuit claiming that a Washington Board of Pharmacy rule that took effect on Thursday and requires pharmacies to dispense emergency contraception violates their civil rights, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

Lupus And Genetic Mutations Linked By Research
A gene discovered by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has been linked to lupus and related autoimmune diseases. The finding, reported in the current issue of Nature Genetics, is the latest in a series of revelations that shed new light on what goes wrong in human cells to cause the diseases.

California Company Developing CD4+ Blood Test For Use In Developing Countries
Fullerton, Calif.-based Beckman Coulter is taking part in an international initiative to develop a type of blood test that can be used widely in developing countries to measure a person's CD4+ T cell count, the Orange County Register reports. The initiative -- which has received an $8.

Study Reveals Genetic Variation In Laboratory Mice More Varied Than Previously Thought
A collaborative study by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, has found that the genetic variation in the most widely used strains of laboratory mice is vastly greater than previously thought.Where previously there were only 140,000 variations in DNA sequence described, it turns out there are 8.3 million.

New York Times Examines Cancer As Part Of Series On Six Leading Causes Of Illness, Death In U.S.
The New York Times on Sunday examined cancer, the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, as part of a series on the six leading causes of illness and death in the U.S.According to the Times, cancer cases "can be overwhelmingly complicated to treat" because they often involve several physicians, who "do not always agree.

First Major Genetic Advance In 30 Years In Multiple Sclerosis Research
A newly identified gene may hold the promise of guiding future research into therapies for multiple sclerosis in what its discoverers say is the first major genetic advance in 30 years for understanding this nervous system disease.

Amnesty International Likely To Affirm New Abortion Policy Despite Opposition From Catholic, Conservative Leaders
Amnesty International is likely to affirm a policy adopted in May that supports a woman's right to have an abortion under certain circumstances, despite opposition from Roman Catholic and conservative leaders worldwide, the AP/Guardian reports (Crary, AP/Guardian, 7/26).

Explaination Of The Origins Of Cardiac Fibrosis
A report led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) helps explain the origins of cardiac fibrosis, a stiffening of the heart muscle that leads to a variety of cardiac diseases, most notably heart failure.

New York Times Magazine Examines Increase In Maternal, Family Care Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits
There has been a "flood" of workplace discrimination lawsuits filed since the mid-1990s because of "family care-giving obligations," including pregnancy and maternal care, the New York Times Magazine reports. According to the Times Magazine, family care discrimination lawsuits claiming workplace discrimination "were rare" until recently, in part because employers "could often get away with it.

2 Pronged Attack On Kidney Cancer
A combination of two drugs works better than either drug alone for patients with renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer, according to a pilot study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.

Medical Workers' Release Brings Attention To HIV/AIDS Epidemic In Libya, New York Times Reports
The "drawn-out drama" of the six medical workers released recently from Libyan prison after being sentenced to death for allegedly intentionally infecting hundreds of children with HIV is bringing attention to the country's HIV/AIDS epidemic, the New York Times reports.

Nanoparticles That May Deliver Morphine To Wounded Soldiers Faster And More Safely
University of Michigan scientists have received a pilot grant of nearly $1.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to test whether nanoparticles can solve a pressing problem in battle zones like Iraq: how to administer sustained, safe doses of the most effective painkillers to injured soldiers, long before they can reach expert medical help.

California Budget Delay Could Affect Payments To State's Medicaid Providers
California has exhausted a $2 billion safety-net fund intended to help pay Medicaid providers during budget impasses, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Since July 1, California has been without a budget for the current fiscal year.

Epigenetics In Action During Pregnancy
Experiments in animals have provided additional and tantalizing evidence that what a pregnant mother eats can make her offspring more susceptible to disease later in life.This susceptibility is the result of a process that alters how a gene is expressed without actually changing or mutating the gene itself.

Woo Suk Hwang, Who Faked Research, Made Spectacular Breakthrough
It has emerged that Woo Suk Hwang, the South Korean scientist who was named and shamed for faking his research, made an amazing breakthrough. According to Cell Stem Cell, he may have managed to create stem cells solely from human eggs, without fertilization with sperm. This breakthrough is possibly much more valuable than his original false claims about his work.

Nicaraguan Group Launches HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign
Arely Cano, president of the Nicaraguan HIV/AIDS association, on Monday announced that the group plans to launch a new campaign to fight the disease in the country, Xinhua/People's Daily reports. The campaign aims to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in Nicaragua and mobilize people to undergo testing and practice safe sex.

Study Of Bladder Damage Reveals Properties That May Enable Scientists To Bio-Engineer New Bladders
Researchers at the University of York are using an understanding of the special cells that line the bladder to develop ways of restoring continence to patients with serious bladder conditions, including cancer. The research, highlighted in the quarterly magazine of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) this week, is looking at urothelial cells.

Sex Abstinence Programs Have No Impact On Preventing Unwanted Pregnancies Or Stopping Risky Sexual Behavior
Sex abstinence programs in the USA have made no difference to the number of people engaging in unprotected sex, rates of sexually transmitted diseases and the risk of unwanted pregnancies, say researchers from the University of Oxford, England. One third of President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) budget is spent on abstinence programs.

Florida Advisory Panel Makes Recommendations To Enroll, Retain Children In KidCare
An advisory panel created by Florida CFO Alex Sink on Monday made recommendations to help enroll more children in KidCare and retain those already enrolled, the AP/St. Petersburg Times reports. The panel said that parents who work for large employers should be allowed to pay KidCare premiums through automatic paycheck deductions.

Mathematical Model Clarifies Progression of HIV To AIDS
A new UC Irvine study sheds light on how HIV develops into AIDS and suggests a possible way to block the deadly transformation.UCI biologist Dominik Wodarz has shown for the first time that the development of AIDS might require HIV to evolve within a patient into a state where it spreads less efficiently from cell to cell.

Women At High Risk For Breast Cancer Benefit From Screening MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables radiologists to accurately identify tumors missed by mammography and ultrasound, according to a multicenter study comparing the three screening methods in women at high-risk for breast cancer. The findings of the study appear in the August issue of the journal Radiology.

Faster And More Accurate Imaging Technique For Aneurysm Detection And Therapy Planning
Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography is highly accurate in depicting intracranial aneurysms, according to a study published in the August issue of Radiology. In addition, MDCT angiography can be used to quickly determine the possibility of using minimally invasive treatment rather than open surgery.

Schizophrenia Hallucinations And Brain Area That Processes Voices Linked
For the first time, researchers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have found both structural and functional abnormalities in specific brain regions of schizophrenic patients who experience chronic auditory hallucinations, according to a study published in the August issue of Radiology.

Research Collaboration To Detect Life-Threatening Fungus
Hear the word fungus, and mushrooms and mold might leap to mind. But the University of Florida is about to house the nation's first research repository for one species that has nothing to do with pizza toppings or marbling blue cheese: Aspergillus, which increasingly poses a major health threat to cancer patients and transplant recipients.

Everything In Our Power To Eradicate Foot-and-mouth, Says Prime Minister, Gordon Brown
About sixty cattle animals have been culled at a farm in Surrey, England, after tests came back positive for foot-and-mouth. Immediately, authorities set up a three-kilometer zone around the infected farm as a measure to try to stem the spread of the disease. A further radius of ten-kilometers is being monitored for animal movements.

Researchers Focus On Inflammation In War Against Type 1 Diabetes
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that a triple combination therapy consisting of both tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory properties is successful in abolishing adverse autoimmunity against insulin-producing cells in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes.

Immediate Action Required To Correct Labelling Of Drugs For Use In Pregnancy
September 12, 2007 marks the tenth anniversary of a public hearing that was hoped to spark substantial changes in the way drugs are labeled for use during pregnancy. However, 10 years after the FDA recognized that the rules needed to be revamped, they have still not been modified, resulting in anxiety on the part of physicians and patients and the unnecessary termination of wanted pregnancies.

Blindness Caused By Glaucoma Successfully Treated In Rat Model
Iowa State University researchers have developed a new technique that successfully treated rats for blindness caused by glaucoma. Their experimental treatment will be used on canine patients in the next year. If successful, it is expected to move to human trials.An estimated 3 million people in the U. S.

Studying The Effect Of An Anti-Inflammatory COX-2 Inhibitor On The Development Of Pancreatic Cancer
Nimesulide, a cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, delays the progression of precancerous pancreatic lesions in mice, according to researchers at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Foot And Mouth Virus May Have Escaped From Nearby Lab, England
Tests have indicated that the latest foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey, England, is of the same strain as one located at a laboratory four miles from the infected farm - it is a 01 BFS67-like virus, isolated in the 1967 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Great Britain. Authorities are now focusing their investigation on how the virus may have escaped from there.

Brain Regions That Enable 3D Visualization Identified
In studies with monkeys, researchers have identified in detail the brain regions responsible for the unique ability of primates, including humans, to process visual 3D shapes to guide their sophisticated manipulation of objects.

Musical Appreciation Increases Current Knowledge Of Event Segmentation Processes In The Brain
In what has to be one of the most pleasant brain studies on record, researchers asked subjects to listen to symphonies in order to probe one of the central talents of the brain -- its ability to segment the continual stream of sensory information into perceptual chunks to extract meaning.

Transient Immune Suppression Often Seen In Acute Infections Could Be Explained By Immune Mechanism
Scientists have discovered that at the same time the immune system is vigorously attacking invading viruses or bacteria, it is unexpectedly reducing its production of a particular type of factor that directs the movement of immune cells.

Approval Of Wyeth's Experimental Drug Pristiq As Depression Treatment Will Not Be Delayed By FDA, Company Officials Say
FDA's request for more data on Wyeth's experimental drug Pristiq as a nonhormonal treatment for hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms should not delay its approval as a depression treatment, company officials said Tuesday, the AP/BusinessWeek reports (Johnson, AP/BusinessWeek, 7/31).Pristiq is a new version of Wyeth's depression treatment Effexor, which will lose patent protection in 2010.

Dr. Daniel Malamud Of NYUCD Receives $6.25 Million NIH Grant For HIV Research
New York University College of Dentistry's (NYUCD) Dr.

Needle-Exchange Programs In Four New Jersey Cities Approved, Health Officials Say
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services on Tuesday approved the establishment of needle-exchange programs in four cities in the state, health officials announced, the Bergen Record reports. According to the Record, Atlantic City, Camden, Newark and Paterson have been approved by the health department to operate three-year pilot programs (Groves, Bergen Record, 8/1).

Effectiveness Of Zinc Lozenges For The Common Cold Not Proven
Despite 20 years of research, the benefits of zinc lozenges as a therapy for the common cold have not been proven. A new study, published in the Sept. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online, reviews the 14 placebo-controlled studies from the past two decades and finds significant fault with 10 of the studies.

Medicare Beneficiaries Often Cannot Obtain Necessary Medications For 'Off-Label' Uses Through Prescription Drug Benefit, Report Finds
Medicare beneficiaries often cannot obtain medications prescribed for "off-label" uses -- such as the treatment of pain, rare diseases and other conditions -- through the prescription drug benefit, according to a report released on Thursday by the Medicare Rights Center, USA Today reports.

Women Protest Sex-Selective Abortion, Killing Of Female Infants In India
Hundreds of women on Wednesday in the Indian state of Orissa protested against sex-selective abortion and killing of recently born female infants after local authorities discovered a number of cases involving the practice, Reuters reports (Reuters, 8/1). Orissa officials last week found 40 skulls of female fetuses and newborn infants in an abandoned well.

Senate Approves Legislation To Expand SCHIP By $35B Over Five Years
The Senate on Thursday voted 68-31 to approve legislation (S 1893) that would reauthorize SCHIP and expand funding for the program by $35 billion over five years, the Wall Street Journal reports (Lueck, Wall Street Journal, 8/3). Two independents, 18 Republicans and all 48 Democrats voted to pass the measure, with the 31 opposition votes coming from Republicans (Pear, New York Times, 8/3).

Rural Heart Attack Patients Receive Faster Treatment With Coordinated Care
Heart attack patients as far as 150 miles away from a 24-hour emergency heart care center were able to receive treatment for blocked arteries within or faster than current recommended time frames, according to a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Claims Of Foundation Role In Corporate Capture Of Road Safety Are False And Absurd
The claim made by Professor Ian Roberts in a Royal Society of Medicine Journal article to be published Monday (6) suggesting that the FIA Foundation is part of an attempted "corporate capture" of road safety by the motor industry is totally false and absurd. The FIA Foundation, a UK registered charity, has no relationship with auto manufacturers whatsoever.

Maryland Nursing Shortage Continues To Worsen Despite Increased Salaries, Other Efforts, Report Finds
The nursing shortage in Maryland continues to worsen, despite increased salaries, improved recruitment efforts and publicly funded scholarship programs, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Maryland Hospital Association, the Baltimore Sun reports. According to the report, the vacancy rate for nursing positions in the state increased to 13% in 2006 from 10.

Pursuing The Site Where Broken DNA Is Repaired
Ionizing radiation, toxic chemicals, and other agents continually damage the body's DNA, threatening life and health: unrepaired DNA can lead to mutations, which in turn can lead to diseases like cancer.

Children Raised On Diet Foods Can Turn Into Obese Adults
A team of scientists in Canada has suggested that raising children on diet foods and drinks could inadvertently turn them into obese adults.

Vitamin B1 Deficiency Likely Key To Vascular Problems For Diabetics
Researchers at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, have discovered that deficiency of thiamine -- Vitamin B1 -- may be key to a range of vascular problems for people with diabetes. They have also solved the mystery as to why thiamine deficiency in diabetes had remained hidden until now.

Novel Approach To Disease Prevention In Smoking-Related Oxidative Stress
In the August 7, 2007, issue of PLoS One, researchers show how a poorly understood and previously unsuspected mechanism may be the key to understanding how life-style associated forms of oxidative stress, such as exposure to cigarette smoke, damage cells in the lungs.

Letter To Editor Clarifies UNICEF's Position On Breast-Feeding For HIV-Positive Women
Although UNICEF "support[s] programs to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child in more than 90 countries," the agency "does not now provide infant formula to mothers with HIV and has never provided infant formula in Botswana," Alan Court, a UNICEF program director, writes in a Washing

Treatment Guideline Recommendations For Clinicians
Practising physicians are nowadays presented with official guidelines on the treatments they should give their patients.

Bill Would Prevent Delay Of Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Pharmacy Payments
Senate Finance Committee leaders on Thursday introduced a bill (S 1954) that would require Medicare prescription drug plans to reimburse pharmacies within 14 days for electronically submitted claims and within 30 days for paper claims, CQ HealthBeat reports.

Women's Health Is 'More At Risk' With Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, Opinion Piece Says
Women's health is "more at risk" now than it was before the Supreme Court upheld the so-called "partial-birth" abortion ban, New York Times columnist Judith Warner writes in an opinion piece. According to Warner, "doctors have been forced into a danger zone where they must weigh what they believe to be best medical practices against the need to protect themselves from the threat of prosecution.

International Research Team Advances Understanding Of Heart Failure
A potential new biomarker for heart failure may be more powerful than established measures in identifying patients at increased risk for death from several causes.

AHA Affiliate Releases Toolkit For ED-Based HIV Testing Programs
HIV Testing Programs Toolkit, Health Research and Educational Trust: HRET, an affiliate of the American Hospital Association, has launched a no-cost, online toolkit to facilitate planning, implementation or expansion of hospital emergency department-based HIV testing programs for clinicians and administrators.

Research Could Lead To Gene Therapy Approach For Treating Sickle Cell Anemia And Beta-Thalassemia
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers studying hemoglobin genes, mutations of which play a role in genetic blood disorders like sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia, have identified two proteins that are responsible for regulating overlapping groups of genes during the development of red blood cells.

FDA Provision In Spending Bill Would Eliminate Conflicts On Advisory Committees
A provision included in the fiscal year 2008 Agricultural appropriations bill (HR 3161) passed last week by the House would require FDA to eliminate all conflicts of interest on its advisory committees, the Boston Globe reports. According to the Globe, the provision, proposed by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), "faces a tough fight" in the Senate. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.

Largely Misunderstood By Sufferers, Hypertension Is A Common But Serious Health Problem
The distrust of healthcare providers shown by people with high blood pressure impedes effective treatment, as emphasized in a new study published in Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

FDA Okays Stomach Drugs Prilosec And Nexium, For Now
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that a preliminary review of new data on the safety of two stomach drugs made by AstraZeneca, Prilosec (generic name omeprazole) and Nexium (generic name esomeprazole) suggests that long term use of these medications does not lead to heart attacks and other heart related events.

Focused Ultrasound Effective In Treating Uterine Fibroid Symptoms, Study Says
Focused ultrasound can be an effective treatment for uterine fibroid symptoms and might limit the need for subsequent procedures for at least two years, according to a study published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, Reuters Health reports (Reuters Health, 8/6).

Grassley, Baucus Introduce Bill To Revise Medicare QIO System
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) last week introduced a bill (S 1947) under which Medicare quality improvement organizations could not conduct investigations of beneficiary complaints about health care providers when they serve as consultants for those providers, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 8/8).

Wireless Capsule Endoscopy Is A Useful And Safe Technique To Study Small Bowel Health In Children
A new study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology suggests that wireless capsule endoscopy is a useful and safe technique to study small bowel health in children. While the technology has become widely used in adult treatment, this is the first study to examine its use in pediatrics.

Many Hospitals Establish Patient Advisory Councils
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how many hospitals have begun "striking far-reaching new partnerships with patients and their families, creating advisory councils whose members help plan new facilities, set hiring standards and interview job candidates," as well as participate in the

Vibrating Tumor With High-Intensity Ultrasound May Stimulate Immune System To Respond
An intense form of ultrasound that shakes a tumor until its cells start to leak can trigger an 'alarm' that enlists immune defenses against the cancerous invasion, according to a study led by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering.

Investigating The Role Of Thyroid Hormones In Sleep Regulation
While the thyroid has long been linked to metabolism, cutting-edge research underway at Rutgers University-Camden is investigating the possibility that thyroid hormones have an important role in sleep regulation.

Raw Oysters From Tip Of Hood Canal Contaminated With Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Bacteria, Says FDA
Beware of eating raw oysters that were harvested in 'growing area 6', the southern tip of Hood Canal, Washington state, warns the FDA, as they may be tainted with Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria. So far there have been six reports of humans becoming ill after consuming them. Authorities say that the area in Washington state linked to the contaminated oysters has been closed.

Greater Risk Of Morbidity When Chronic Kidney Disease Patients Are Overweight
For patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the risk of elevated levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), or hyperparathyroidism -- a significant complication that increases the risk of cardiovascular problems and death -- increases along with body weight, reports a study in the September Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Regulators Pull Plug On Los Angeles Hospital That Serves Poor Neighborhood
According to Federal Regulators, $200 million in funding is being pulled after a Los Angeles hospital, county-run Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, failed two federal inspections. Dr.

Refusal Of Medical And Surgical Interventions Common Among Chronically Ill Elderly
Chronically ill older persons frequently refuse medical and surgical interventions recommended by their physicians, according to a recent study by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

Novel Pathway For Increasing 'Good' Cholesterol Discovered By Penn Researchers
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that a group of liver enzymes called proprotein convertases (PCs) may be the key to raising levels of good cholesterol (HDL-C). The pathway by which these proteins are able to achieve an increase in HDL cholesterol involves another enzyme that normally degrades HDL-C, and was also discovered at Penn.

Understanding The Mechanisms Of Cancer In Order To Develop More Targeted Treatments
An in-depth understanding of the mechanisms that trigger cancer cell growth is vital to the development of more targeted treatments for the disease. An article published in Molecular Cell provides a key to these mechanisms that may prove crucial in the future.

Stem Cell Research Reveals Culprit In Aging Muscles That Heal Poorly
Communication is critical. Garbled in, garbled out, so to (mis-)speak. Workers who get incomplete instructions produce an incomplete product, and that's exactly what happens with the stem cells in our aging muscles, according to researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Inflammation, Angiogenesis And Breast Cancer Linked In Chain Of Events
A well-known inflammatory protein spawns an enzyme that inactivates two tumor-suppressing genes, ultimately triggering production of new blood vessels to nourish breast cancer cells, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the August edition of the journal Cell.

Honors For 'Heroes Of Chemistry' In Science And Medicine
An improved antipsychotic medicine, a cost-effective, environmentally friendly polyester production process, a new treatment for patients with iron-overload from transfusions, a new method using corn instead of petrochemicals to create numerous products and a process that improves packaging for food are the inventions of the 2007 Heroes of Chemistry.

Greater Risk Of Heart Failure With High Blood Pressure And Low Energy
Many people with long-standing high blood pressure develop heart failure. But some don't. Daniel P. Kelly, M.D., and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions are trying to figure out what could explain that difference.

Why Persistent Acid Reflux Sometimes Turns Into Cancer
New research from scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center underscores the importance of preventing recurring acid reflux while also uncovering tantalizing clues on how typical acid reflux can turn potentially cancerous.

Women Sensitive About Their Appearance Prefer Exercise To Emphasise Health Not Looks
A new study suggests that women with chronic issues with their body-image are more likely to benefit from an exercise class where the instructor emphasizes the health benefits of the workout over improved appearance, even if those women chose the class in hopes of improving their physique.

British Columbia To Launch Program To Provide HPV Vaccine To Sixth-Grade Girls Next Fall If Approved, Official Says
The Canadian province of British Columbia will begin providing Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil at no cost to all sixth-grade girls in the province in September 2008 if the program is approved, Perry Kendall, B.C.'s provincial health officer, said on Tuesday, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports (Drake, Globe and Mail, 8/8).

Study Challenges Popular Beliefs Regarding Oxidative Stress
Antioxidants are widely considered an important defense against heart disease, but University of Utah researchers have found excessive levels of one antioxidant -- reduced glutathione -- actually may contribute to the disease.The findings, published in the Aug.

Presidential Candidate Obama Promotes Importance Of Home Health Workers After Participating In SEIU 'Walk A Day In My Shoes' Campaign
Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Wednesday participated in the Service Employees International Union's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" program, spending two hours cleaning, folding laundry and preparing breakfast with a home health care worker, the Chicago Tribune reports. Participating in the program "has become a new ritual for the Democratic candidates" because the 1.

Link Between Chromatin Remodeling And DNA Damage Control Holds Potential For New Cancer Treatments
When molecular disaster strikes, causing structural damage to DNA, players in two important pathways talk to each other to help contain the wreckage, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the August edition of Cell.

Montana Health Trust Insurance Plan Provides Contractors With Portable, No Premium Coverage
The Billings Gazette on Tuesday examined the Montana Contractors Association health trust insurance plan as part of the latest installment in a series about health insurance and costs in Montana. The association's health trust is a not-for-profit entity that uses premiums paid by member companies to finance health benefits for policyholders. Companies pay premiums of $3.

Pro-Death Proteins Required To Regulate Healthy Immune Function, Penn Study Finds
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that proteins known to promote cell death are also necessary for the maturation and proliferation of immune cells. Activation of T-cell receptors on the surface of lymphocytes by foreign antigens initiate a calcium-mediated signaling pathway that ends in cell differentiation and growth.

NIH Panel Releases Conclusions About Compound BPA's Effect On Reproductive Disorders
A 12-member panel from NIH's Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction on Wednesday said it has "minimal" or "negligible" concerns that the compound bisphenol A, which is found in plastic and is similar to estrogen, can cause human reproductive disorders, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Clue To Reversing Resistance To Tamoxifen In Breast Cancer Cells Discovered At Lombardi
When a woman receives a breast cancer diagnosis her entire life may change in the blink of an eye. But the nature of that change is governed by the smallest alterations that take place within the proteins of the tumor cells, determining what treatments she can pursue with a hope of cure and those to which her cancer is resistant.

Democratic Presidential Candidate Clinton Discusses U.S. Health Care System, Need For Reform At Journalists' Conference
Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Thursday during a forum in Las Vegas, Nev., sponsored by the National Association of Black Journalists said that she does not support "socialized medicine," the Washington Post reports.

Risk Of Preterm Birth Linked To Common Vaginal Infection Appears Higher For Blacks
Risk of a common vaginal infection linked to preterm birth appears to escalate when even one partner is African-American, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study presented at the 34th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Boston.

Infections Acquired At Massachusetts Hospitals Cost Up To $473M Annually, Report Finds
Infections contracted during stays at hospitals in Massachusetts cost between $200 million and $473 million annually, as a result of extended hospital stays and the costs of medications and surgeries, according to a state report released on Wednesday, the Boston Globe reports.

High Meat And Fat Diet Linked To Higher Recurrence And Death For Colon Cancer Survivors
A new US study has found that colon cancer survivors whose diet consisted mostly of meat, refined grains, fat and desserts had a greater risk of cancer recurrence and death compared to those whose diet least resembled this pattern.The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and is the work of Dr Jeffrey A.

Obstetric Outcomes Compared Between On-Call And Patients' Own Obstetricians
Pregnant women frequently ask their physician "will you be delivering my baby?" Dr. Haim A. Abenhaim MPH and co-authors wanted to determine whether obstetric outcomes differed between women whose babies were delivered by their own obstetrician and those attended by an on-call obstetrician who did not provide antenatal care.

Gastrointestinal Bleeding And Drug Interactions With Warfarin
Anticoagulants (e.g., warfarin) and antiplatelet drugs (e.g., acetylsalicylic acid) are key therapeutic agents in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, Joseph Delaney MSc, Dr. James Brophy and colleagues looked for drug-drug interactions in 4,028 cases with a diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding and 40,171 matched controls in the United Kingdom.

Five Republican Presidential Candidates Discuss Health Care System Change At Iowa State Fair
Five Republican presidential candidates on Friday during a forum at the Iowa State Fair discussed issues related to health care, the Des Moines Register reports. Divided We Fail, a campaign launched by AARP and other groups that seeks to focus the 2008 presidential election on health care and financial security issues, sponsored the forum.During the forum, former Arkansas Gov.

Cases Of Undiagnosed Diabetes Drop Sharply
The number of men in the United States with undiagnosed diabetes has declined sharply over the past 25 years, with Hispanics and African-Americans no longer more likely than whites to unknowingly have the disease, according to a RAND Corporation study just issued.Study author James P.

Health Plan Initiative Reduced Prescription Drug Spending By $6.6M Over Two Years
Applying four cost-reduction strategies to its MedCost health plan from 2003 to 2005 saved Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center more than $6.6 million in prescription drug costs, according to a study published this week in the American Journal of Managed Care, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. The health plan covers 11,000 employees and a similar number of dependents.

The Politico Examines Roles Of Supreme Court Justices Roberts, Alito In 2008 Elections
The Politico on Sunday examined the roles U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito will play in 2008 congressional and presidential races.

Racial Disparities In Breast Cancer Survival Persist
Racial differences in breast cancer survival increase according to stage of disease, a new study finds.

Syphilis Cases Increasing In New York City, Could Fuel Increase In HIV Cases
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the first three months of 2007 recorded 260 syphilis cases, including 10 among women, an increase in the number of cases recorded during the same period in 2006, the New York Times reports.

Reversing Cocaine's Effects On The Cardiovascular System
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a treatment that counteracts the effects of cocaine on the human cardiovascular system, including lowering the elevated heart rate and blood pressure often found in cocaine users.

Coalition Pushes For State Cigarette Tax Increase To Fund Children's Health Care
The Healthy Kids Oregon coalition on Thursday launched a campaign in support of a state ballot measure that would increase cigarette taxes to provide health care for more than 100,000 uninsured Oregon children, the Oregonian reports. The group has raised approximately $700,000 in cash and commitments for the campaign, which is urging voters to support Measure 50 in the Nov.

Wave Generator Discovered In Immune System
Scientists have discovered that torrents of microscopic waves propel white blood cells toward invading microbes. The discovery - recorded on videotape -- holds the potential for better understanding and treatment of cancer and heart disease.Visible only under a very high-resolution light microscope, the dynamic waves are made of a signaling protein that directs cell movement.

South Dakota Circuit Court Judge Says Identity Of Abortion Ban Campaign Donor Not Required To Be Revealed
A South Dakota judge on Monday ruled that state Rep. Roger Hunt (R) should not be required to identify the person who gave $750,000 to Hunt's corporation, Promising Future, which contributed to a campaign to uphold a state law (HB 1215) that would have banned abortion in the state except to save a woman's life, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports (Kafka, AP/Sioux City Journal, 8/14).

Laser-based approach to producing bubbles, which may be used for future tests to study properties of eye materials, and eventually treat eye condition
By bouncing sound waves off tiny bubbles generated inside eye tissue, a biomedical engineer at The University of Texas at Austin is developing a new tool that could improve the outcome of laser eye surgery and address common eye conditions.

Asian Development Bank Partners With Private Operators To Improve HIV/AIDS Services In Papua New Guinea
The Asian Development Bank's HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Rural Development Enclaves Project has partnered with two private companies in Papua New Guinea to improve HIV/AIDS treatment, primary health care and prevention facilities in the country, ADB announced Tuesday, Xinhua/People's Daily reports (Xinhua/People's Daily, 8/14).

Improving Human Health By Learning From Developmental Processes
When the first four-legged animals sprouted fingers and toes, they took an ancient genetic recipe and simply extended the cooking time, say University of Florida scientists writing in the journal PLoS ONE.Even sharks -- which have existed for more than half a billion years -- have the recipe for fingers in their genetic cookbook -- not to eat them, but to grow them.

Avandia, Actos Labels To Include Black Box Warnings
The labels of the type 2 diabetes medications Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, and Actos, manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, will include black box warnings to indicate that the treatments can increase risk for heart failure, FDA announced on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports (Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 8/15).

Mount Everest Poses Greater Risk To Older Climbers
In this era of not surrendering to age, some claim that 60 is the new 40. But new research shows that 60 year olds cannot keep up with 40 year olds on Mount Everest and suffer a sharply higher chance of dying if they do reach the summit.

Improved Diagnostic Test For Detecting Infection In Prosthetic Joints
A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has discovered a new, more accurate diagnostic test to detect infection of prosthetic joints, potentially leading to better treatment options and patient outcomes.

Identification Of Sirtuin Protein Offers Potential To Fight Obesity And Diabetes
A new Joslin Diabetes Center-led study has identified a protein found in fat cells that may play a major role in how fat is produced and stored, offering a new target for treatments to prevent obesity and reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes. This latest research appears in the August 2007 issue of Cell Metabolism.

Developing New Anti-Influenza Drugs
Scientists at Cure Lab, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Canton, Massachusetts, in collaboration with researchers at Boston University and Harvard Medical School have discovered a potential new target for the development of anti-influenza (flu) drugs, including those that may be effective against potentially pandemic influenza strains like H5N1.

Lupus Patients May Benefit From Organ-Transplant Rejection Drug
A compound related to a drug used in humans to prevent organ-transplant rejection attacks a key biochemical process in the faulty immune cells of lupus-prone mice, suggesting a possible new approach to combating the disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

Mathematical Model To Predict Spread And Continue Fight Against Flesh Eating Bacteria 'Super-Bug'
Researchers at UCLA have developed a mathematical model that mimics a particularly nasty and ongoing outbreak in the Los Angeles County Jail (LACJ) of the flesh eating bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus.

Local Pharmacies Could Help In Combating Health Care Disparities
Despite years of effort in reaching out to their local communities, the role pharmacists play as health care providers still remains unclear to the people who need them the most -- elderly Americans with multiple medications for chronic diseases.

Understanding HIV-Associated Dementia
New evidence reported in the August issue of Cell Stem Cell, a publication of Cell Press, offers a novel perspective on how the HIV/AIDS virus leads to learning and memory deficits, a condition known as .

Diabetic Women At Increased Risk Of Vascular Disease
Diabetes is associated with the development of vascular (blood vessel) disease. As we age, vascular disease becomes more common. It has been thought that females may be more susceptible to the earlier development of vascular disease, as vascular changes are observed in females long before any significant development occurs in males.

Traumatic Brain Injuries Research To Be Carried Out At New Injury Control Research Center
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City as its newest Injury Control Research Center (ICRC). The new center will conduct research on persons with traumatic brain injuries in order to better understand the consequences of their injury and to help enhance the quality of their lives.

In Healthy Young Adults Cardiovascular Risk Indices Linked With Air Pollution
Researchers in Taiwan have demonstrated for the first time that urban air pollution simultaneously affects key indicators of cardiovascular risk in young adults: inflammation, oxidative stress, coagulation and autonomic dysfunction.

Children Chronically Exposed To Air Pollution Suffer Long Term Lung Deficiencies
Children who are chronically exposed to higher levels of air pollution show marked deficiencies in lung growth and function, and not just short-term breathing problems, according to researchers in Mexico."Our study revealed significant deficits in lung function growth in children with long-term exposure to air pollutants," wrote Isabelle Romieu, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study.

Study Concludes Ambulatory Oxygen Rarely A Benefit In COPD Patients Without Resting Hypoxemia
Prescribing ambulatory oxygen in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improves exercise performance, but not the quality of their daily life unless they have resting hypoxemia, according to researchers in Toronto."Ambulatory oxygen therapy is routinely prescribed for those who do not meet criteria for mortality reduction," wrote Roger S. Goldstein, M.B., Ch.B.

News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation
Eyeing up a role for S1P2R in abnormal blood vessel formationMany millions of individuals worldwide suffer from vision loss as a result of the formation of an abnormal network of blood vessels in the eye. This abnormal blood vessel network forms in response to damage to the retina and often occurs in individuals who are diabetic.

Americans Using Painkillers More Than Ever
According to a recent analysis by the Associated Press (AP) news agency of figures from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Americans are using painkillers more than ever before. Between 1997 and 2007 the volume of five major painkillers sold and distributed in the United States by hospitals, retail pharmacies, doctors and teaching centres has risen by 90 per cent.

New Pediatric Nephrology Research Centre Established
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $4.6 million over the next five years to the Medical College of Wisconsin to establish a Research Center of Excellence in Pediatric Nephrology at Children's Research Institute.

CMS Terminates Contract With South Florida Medicare Advantage Plan
CMS on Monday announced the cancellation of its Medicare Advantage contract with the SunCoast Physicians Health plan in South Florida, CQ HealthBeat reports. The agency did not provide a specific reason for the cancellation, but press accounts show that the plan failed to maintain $1.5 million in reserves required by the state to pay patient medical bills in case of financial problems.

Link Between Unemployment And Hospital Trauma Admissions Highlighted By New Study
The researchers looked at the link between unemployment rates and the types of trauma admissions in New Orleans over six years. Unemployment rates were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The trauma registry of the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans (Charity Hospital) provided data on the trauma emergency room admissions, including patient demographics.

Philippines Not Equipped To Handle Phase-Out Of USAID Contraceptive Program, Family Planning Advocates Say
Some family planning advocates Tuesday said the Philippine government is not equipped to handle the phase-out of a USAID-funded program that provides contraceptives to women in the country, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (AP/International Herald Tribune, 8/14).

Health Risk Assessment Discussed In New Book
Risks are borne voluntarily, as in the case of medical tests or elective surgery, or thrust upon us, as in the case of exposure to environmental contamination.

Barr Pharmaceuticals Challenges Warner Chilcott Patent By Filing Application For Generic Version Of Chewable Oral Contraceptive
Warner Chilcott on Wednesday announced it has received a notice from Barr Laboratories indicating that Barr has filed an abbreviated new drug application with FDA for a generic version of the chewable oral contraceptive Femcon Fe, Reuters reports (Tickoo, Reuters, 8/15).

30-40 Percent Of Americans May Be Infected With H. pylori, New Guidelines Address Treatment Of Dangerous Infection
The American Journal of Gastroenterology has published medical guidelines for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, one of the most common worldwide infections and an important factor linked to the development of peptic ulcer disease, gastric malignancy and dyspeptic symptoms.According to guideline author Dr. William D.

NASTAD Releases New Report On AIDS Drug Assistance Programs
"ADAP Watch," National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors: The report found that a total of 308 people in Alaska and South Carolina were on waiting lists for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs as of July 19 (ADAP Watch, 8/16).

African Children Need Free Insecticide-treated Bed Nets
Experts have today called for international agencies to provide insecticide-treated bed nets for all children in Africa as the most equitable way of tackling malaria. Their call is supported by new research co-funded by the Wellcome Trust showing how successful a scheme run by the Kenyan government has been at distributing the nets.Over a million children die from malaria in Africa each year.

South Carolina To Shift Medicaid Beneficiaries To Managed Care Plans
South Carolina will move more than 550,000 Medicaid beneficiaries to managed care plans starting Nov. 1, the Columbia State reports. State officials say the shift will improve preventive care and provide beneficiaries with a primary care physician, which will reduce costs associated with care received in hospital emergency departments.

Marburg Fever A Global Threat, Bats Could be Involved
Marburg hemorrhagic fever, a serious and often fatal disease that produces sudden bleeding and high fever, is caused by a virus that is related to the one that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The World Health Organization says the virus poses a threat to global public health and in the meantime scientists think bats could be spreading the virus.

One-Year Results On The Use Of Miglustat (Zavesca®) In Niemann-Pick Type C Disease Published In "The Lancet Neurology"
Actelion Ltd (SWX: ATLN) announced the online publication in "The Lancet Neurology" of the one-year results from a randomized controlled study evaluating safety and efficacy of miglustat (Zavesca®) in patients suffering from Niemann-Pick type C (NP-C) [1].

FDA Issues Warning For BMS Hepatitis B Drug Entecavir
FDA on Thursday issued a warning that Bristol-Myers Squibb's hepatitis B drug entecavir might increase the likelihood of developing resistance to antiretroviral drugs among people coinfected with HIV, Reuters reports. The agency also added a black box warning to the drug's label.

Neurologist Wins Major Award
The K.J. Zulch Prize, Germany's highest honor for basic neurological research, will be awarded to Brown University brain scientist John P. Donoghue at an Aug. 31, 2007 ceremony in Cologne, Germany.The Zülch Prize recognizes outstanding achievements in basic neurological research. Donoghue was recognized for his research on how the brain translates thought into action.

FDA To Reconsider Plan To Close Seven Field Laboratories
FDA on Friday announced a decision to reconsider a plan to close seven of 13 field laboratories after lawmakers and advocacy groups raised concerns that the proposal would limit the ability of the agency to respond to public health emergencies, McClatchy/Seattle Times reports.

Virus May Be Contributing Factor In Obesity Epidemic
Scientists have reported new evidence that infection with a common virus may be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic sweeping through the United States and other countries.

At Levels Found In The Diet Acrylamide Not Linked To Breast Cancer, Study Finds
Foods that contain acrylamide are unlikely to cause breast cancer in women, according to preliminary results of a new study involving 100,000 U.S. women. The finding, the largest epidemiological study to date exploring the possible link between acrylamide and cancer in humans, was described at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Judge Assigned To Case Involving Abortion Provider Tiller Steps Down, Case To Be Reassigned
Sedgwick County, Kan., District Judge Anthony Powell on Friday recused himself from a case involving abortion provider George Tiller, who has been charged with 19 misdemeanors for allegedly violating a state law that requires an independent, consulting physician to approve some late-term abortions, the AP/Lawrence Journal-World reports (Hegeman, AP/Lawrence Journal-World, 8/18).

Small Fish Farms Increase Incomes, Improve Diets Of Families Affected By HIV/AIDS In Malawi, Review Says
Small fish farms in Malawi have helped 1,200 impoverished families affected by HIV/AIDS in rural areas of the country increase their incomes and improve their diets, according to a project review released Monday, Reuters reports.

Long-Term Effects Of Pediatric Brain Tumors And Treatment Study Funded By American Cancer Society
A team of researchers from Emory and Georgia State Universities has been awarded a four-year, nearly $850,000 grant from the American Cancer Society to study risk factors for long-term social and cognitive problems in adult survivors of pediatric brain tumors. The study will focus on more than 100 adults, currently in their 20s, who have survived at least ten years beyond their initial diagnosis.

Dentists Can Be First To Detect Some Medical Conditions
Some dentists are giving patients blood tests before and after treatment of gum disease to help screen for more than 20 medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic heartburn, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Anaphylactic Reaction To Cancer Drug In The Middle Southern US Puzzles Scientists
A patient's expectations about the side effects of chemotherapy usually focus on nausea, hair loss, fatigue and other side effects. Worries about severe allergic reactions to their therapy is usually not a concern.

Boston Globe Examines Presidential Candidate Romney's Promotion Of Massachusetts Health Insurance Law On Campaign Trail
Presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov.

High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema Study
Research into a life-threatening condition that occurs at high altitude is to benefit from an international database launched at the University of Edinburgh.Experts at the University are studying an illness known as HAPE (high altitude pulmonary oedema), which causes fluid to build up in the lungs and can occur from as low as 2,500 metres, affecting people of all age groups and fitness levels.

Physicians Call For Rapid Treatment Of Stroke Using Catheter-Based Techniques
A coalition of physicians representing a wide range of medical specialties has issued a call to action to improve the treatment of stroke.

News From The Journal Of Neuroscience
1. Targeting Arc to Synaptic SitesFen Huang, Jennifer K. Chotiner, and Oswald StewardArc/Arg 3.1 is not only an immediate early gene, but its mRNA is also targeted to dendrites. Thus it has become a focus of studies linking neural activity to changes in synaptic efficacy. This week, Huang et al.

AVAC Releases 2007 Report On AIDS Vaccine Research, Development
"Resetting the Clock," AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition: The 2007 AVAC report's three sections outlined specific deadlines and obstacles in AIDS vaccine development strategies, clinical trials and the broader field of HIV prevention.

Separate Areas Of Brain Responsible For 'Self-Control' And 'Taking Action' May Help Explain Why Some People Are Impulsive
The area of the brain responsible for self-control -- where the decision not to do something occurs after thinking about doing it -- is separate from the area associated with taking action, scientists say in The Journal of Neuroscience.

More Gulf Coast Residents Have Suicidal Thoughts, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Survey Finds
An increased number of Gulf Coast residents have experienced suicidal thoughts or symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder as the recovery from Hurricane Katrina continues, according to the preliminary results of a new survey, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports.

Massachusetts Municipalities Should Be Able To Join State Health Insurance Program Without Unions' Permission, According To Report
Massachusetts municipalities should be allowed to bypass negotiations with labor unions to join the state's health insurance program, according to a joint report released on Monday by the Boston Municipal Research Bureau and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the Boston Globe reports. Gov.

R.J. Reynolds Forms Committee To Oppose Oregon Cigarette Tax Increase That Would Fund Children's Health Care
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco on Friday filed with the Oregon state Elections Division to form the "Oregonians Against the Blank Check" committee to oppose a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to increase the state cigarette tax by 84.5 cents per pack to fund health initiatives, the Oregonian reports (Har, Oregonian, 8/18).

Minnesota Law Requires Medicaid Prescription Drug Formulary Panel Members To Disclose Ties To Pharmaceutical Companies
A Minnesota law that requires pharmaceutical companies to report certain payments to physicians is "shining a rare light onto the big money" spent on Medicaid drug formulary panel members, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The state is one of three in the U.S.

Report Examines State Medicaid Agencies' Efforts To Implement Health IT
"State Medicaid Agencies' Initiatives on Health Information Technology and Health Information Exchange," HHS Office of Inspector General: According to the report, state Medicaid agencies are making progress implementing health information technology and health information exchange initiatives, whi

Diabetes Prevention Focuses On Family Lifestyles In The UK
Family lifestyles and their impact on the health of individual family members will be the focus of a new approach to preventing diabetes.

Injecting Science Into The Skin-Care Industry
The multi-billion-dollar global cosmetics and skin-care-product industry sometimes is beset by a me-too mindset in which research and development focuses on matching the competition rather than applying sound science to improve products, a scientist told the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Fast And Simple Screening Test For Early Diagnosis Of Common Brain Diseases
Until recently physicians have had to rely on time-consuming and uncertain behavioural examinations to diagnose the onset of brain diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.

Jogging Not As Good As Soccer For Burning Fat
The experiment Sports scientist Peter Krustrup and his colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen University Hospital and Bispebjerg Hospital have followed a soccer team consisting of 14 untrained men aged 20 to 40 years.

Epilepsy And Alzheimer's Research May Benefit From The Solving Of A Molecular Mystery
Carnegie Mellon University chemists have solved a decade-long molecular mystery that could eventually help scientists develop drug therapies to treat a variety of disorders, including epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.

No Link Found Between Working The Night Shift And An Increased Risk Of Cancer, Study Finds
Working the night shift doesn't appear to increase the risk of developing cancer, suggests the findings of a new study of Swedish workers.Recent studies --and corresponding news headlines -- have found that regularly working the night shift may increase the risk of developing breast, prostate and colon cancers.

Beauty Secret For Balanced Skin Color And Tone Discovered By Scientists
In the timeless quest for healthier, younger looking skin, scientists from the University of Cincinnati and Tokyo Medical University have made an important discovery toward manipulating skin tone and color.

Liver Transplant Recipients Helped By Inhaling Nitric Oxide
A new report from a team of researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham indicates that one of the main complications of liver transplantation can be treated very simply by allowing the transplant recipients to inhale nitric oxide (NO) during the operation in which they received their new liver.

Weight-Loss Surgery Significantly Reduces Deaths From Obesity-Related Diseases, Study Finds
Obese individuals who undergo bariatric surgery are less likely to die from heart disease, diabetes and cancer seven to 10 years after the procedure compared with obese people who do not undergo surgery, according to two studies published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, USA Today reports (Hellmich, USA Today, 8/25).

Obesity Continues To Grow In The United States
Adult obesity is becoming more common in 31 states in the USA, according to a report "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007 report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH)". According to the report, not one single state was able to report a fall in obesity rates for the year 2006 - twenty two states experienced a second consecutive year increase.

Embryonic Stem Cells Can Repair Damaged Hearts And Improve Heart Function
Not only can human embryonic stem cells restore damaged hearts, they can also improve heart function and significantly hold back the progression of heart failure, say scientists from the Center for Cardiovascular Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington, in Seattle, who carried out experiments on rats. You can read about this in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Drug Prevents Disease In Mouse Model Of Leukemia
In a new study, Danilo Perrotti and colleagues from Ohio State University, Columbus, show that treatment with a drug known as FTY720 prevents disease in a mouse model of many leukemias caused by the cancer protein BCR-ABL (nearly all cases of blast crisis chronic myeloid leukemia [CML-BC] and some cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia [ALL]).

Perspectives Examine Health Care Sector Influence In 2008 Elections, U.S. Health Reform Efforts
"Election 2008 -- Campaign Contributions, Lobbying, and the U.S. Health Sector," New England Journal of Medicine: In the perspective piece, Robert Steinbrook, a national correspondent for NEJM, discusses the role that health care sector lobbying and campaign contributions will play in the 2008 presidential election.

Federal Judge To Rule On Request For Temporary Injunction Against Enforcing Missouri Abortion-Related Law
Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri would have to end abortion services at clinics in Columbia and Kansas City if a new Missouri law (SB 370) is allowed to take effect Thursday, PPKM CEO Peter Brownlie testified at a federal court hearing Thursday, the Kansas City Star reports (Morris, Kansas City Star, 8/23).

Understanding How Dietary Restriction Cleans Cells
Reduce, recycle and rebuild is as important to the most basic component of the human body, the cell, as it is to the environment.And a University of Florida study shows just how much the body benefits when it "goes green," at least if you're a rat: Cutting calories helps rodents live longer by boosting cells' ability to recycle damaged parts so they can maintain efficient energy production.

Court Settlement Increases Medicaid Reimbursements For Treatment Of Children
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland last week approved a settlement in a federal lawsuit between child advocacy groups and the Michigan Department of Community Health that will increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for physicians and dentists who treat children and expand access to the program, the Detroit Free Press reports (Kresnak, Detroit Free Press, 8/23).

PLoS Medicine Examines Effectiveness Of Performance-Based Funding To Fight HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria
"Making Performance-Based Funding Work for Health," PLoS Medicine: Daniel Low-Beer of the Judge Business School at Cambridge University and colleagues examined the effectiveness of performance-based funding to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries.

California Gov. Schwarzenegger Threatens To Veto Democrats' Health Care Legislation
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Wednesday said he will veto a health care bill by Democratic lawmakers if it relies solely on employer contributions for funding, the Sacramento Bee reports. The Democrats' bill would require employers to spend at least 7.5% of payroll on employee benefits (Yamamura, Sacramento Bee, 8/23).

News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation
System overload: infusion of IgG helps clear therapeutic and imaging antibodies from the circulationThe use of monoclonal IgG antibodies attached to toxins or radioactive substances for treating and imaging cancer is currently limited by the ability of IgG to remain in the blood for a long time because this decreases the tumor-to-background contrast and increases normal tissue toxicity.

Discovery Of Formula For Spiderman Suit Could Have Applications For Rescue Workers
Physicists have found the formula for a Spiderman suit. Only recently has man come to understand how spiders and geckos effortlessly scuttle up walls and hang from ceilings but it was doubted that this natural form of adhesion would ever be strong enough to hold the weight of real life Peter Parkers.

Sex Education Courses Failing To Meet Needs Of Students In New Zealand, Report Finds
The sex education programs in primary and secondary schools in New Zealand are failing to meet the needs of its students, according to a report conducted by the New Zealand Education Review Office, the New Zealand Herald reports. Sex education in the country became a requirement in 2001, but some students have been exempted because of religious and cultural beliefs, the Herald reports.

Republican Presidential Candidate Romney Says Federal, 'One-Size-Fits-All' Approach To Health Care Reform Would Fail
Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Friday before the Florida Medical Association outlined his health care proposal, which would allow states to develop their own plans to expand access to health insurance and make coverage more affordable, the Washington Times reports.

HPV Infection In Men Contributes To The High Rates Of Oropharyngeal Cancers
Though the overall incidence of head and neck cancers has fallen in the United States, the rate of oropharyngeal (chiefly, tonsil and base of tongue) cancers is stagnant and appears to be rising is certain populations and these trends are likely due to oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas Consider Health Care Proposals
Newspapers recently published articles examining efforts in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois and Kansas to overhaul their health care systems. Summaries of the coverage appear below.

Female Smokers At Increased Risk For Head And Neck Cancers
Smoking significantly increases the risk for head and neck cancers for both men and women, regardless of the anatomic site. Published in the October 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, a large, prospective study confirmed strong associations between current and past cigarette smoking and malignancies of the head and neck in both genders.

Texas Supreme Court Declines To Consider Case Of Frozen Embryos Of Texas Couple
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday declined to consider the case of three frozen embryos of a Texas couple who divorced before the woman underwent in vitro fertilization, the AP/New York Times reports (AP/New York Times, 8/26).

Novartis Will Not Pursue Patent Application For Antiretroviral Atazanavir In India
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis will not pursue a patent application for its antiretroviral drug atazanavir in India after the patent was declared "abandoned" by the country's patent office, India's Business Standard reports (Mathew, Business Standard, 8/25). Atazanavir, sold under the brand name Reyataz, is used in second-line HIV/AIDS drug treatments.

Reprogrammed Embryonic Stem Cells Identified By Appearance Alone
Some scientific results are hard to spot, especially in genetic research. Often scientists are unable to physically see if the gene they inserted into a cell has produced the desired trait. To overcome this problem researchers use various genetic markers that contain pieces of foreign DNA that cause cells to, for example, glow when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Scientists Find Estrogen Protects Women's Brains
A long term, unique study by scientists in America has found that estrogen may protect the brains of premenopausal women from cognitive impairment and even dementia in later life.The study is published in the August 29th online edition of Neurology and is the work of researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Florida Medical Association Delegates Discuss Policy Changes With Focus On Access To Care
The 500-member Florida Medical Association House of Delegates over the weekend in Hollywood, Fla., met to discuss a number of potential policy changes, with much of the focus on access to care, the Miami Herald reports.

Medicare Increases Coverage Of Preventive Services, Promotes Screenings Among Beneficiaries
Fewer than 10% of Medicare beneficiaries receive recommended health screening and immunizations, even as Medicare increasingly is covering preventive services, according to CMS, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Vatican, Legislators Call For Change In Abortion Law After Error Performed During Abortion
The Vatican and some Italian legislators on Monday called for changing the country's abortion law after news of a case in which a healthy twin fetus mistakenly was aborted instead of the other fetus, which had been diagnosed with Down syndrome, AFP/New York Times reports. The abortion was preformed on a woman in Milan who had two fetuses at 18 weeks' gestation.

More American Children Being Vaccinated Each Year
According to new figures issued yesterday, 30th August, by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more American children are being vaccinated each year. The nation's immunization rates for childhood vaccinations are at or near record levels, said the CDC, reflecting a rising trend of more children being protected against vaccine-preventable diseases each year.

Number Of Uninsured U.S. Residents Increases By 2.2M To 47M In 2006
The number of uninsured U.S. residents grew by 2.2 million in 2006 to 47 million, up from 44.8 million in 2005, according to data released on Tuesday by the Census Bureau, USA Today reports (Appleby, USA Today, 8/29). To compile the data, the Census Bureau collected information about the health insurance status of 300,000 individuals (Lopes, Washington Times, 8/29). The percentage of the U.S.

Diabetes Treated During Pregnancy Breaks Link To Childhood Obesity
Treating diabetes during pregnancy can break the link between gestational diabetes and childhood obesity, according to a Kaiser Permanente study featured in the September issue of Diabetes Care.

Median Compensation For Physicians Increased By Less Than Inflation Rate In 2006, Survey Finds
Median compensation for U.S. primary care physicians increased by 2% to 171,519 in 2006, compared with a 3.2% increase in the inflation rate, according to an annual survey released on Monday by the Medical Group Management Association, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports.

Transplanted Pancreas Cells More Effective When Fat Formation Limited
Dietary restrictions or other strategies that limit fat formation might make pancreatic cell transplants more effective, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.