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 Back to Medical News Today Archives
Medical News Today: 04-17-2006
Many more lives will be saved if condom use is heavily promoted alongside messages to abstain and be faithful in the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), states an editorial in this week's issue of The Lancet.In January 2003, President George W Bush launched PEPFAR, which hopes to secure US$15 billion in funding between 2004 and 2008, to combat HIV/AIDS in some of the poorest parts of the world... click link for more info.
The following highlights recent news of state actions on women's health issues. Abortion Regulations Hawaii: The state Senate on Tuesday voted to approve a bill (HB 1242) that would repeal a current law requiring women seeking abortion to be state residents and also would allow women to undergo the procedure in clinics and physicians' offices outside of hospitals, the Hawaii Channel reports (Hawaii Channel, 4/11)... click link for more info.
Japanese authorities say they have found a suspected case of Mad Cow Disease (BSE) in Fukushima Prefecture, north-east Japan. The animal was a 20-months-old Holstein. If confirmed, it will be the youngest head of cattle to test positive in Japan. (BSE = Spongiform Encephalopathy = Mad Cow Disease)This new development could have an effect on beef imports from North America... click link for more info.
The disastrous events of the TGN1412 trial indicate that urgent change is needed in the approval processes and regulation of phase I trials of biological agents, states an editorial in this week's issue of The Lancet.The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) authorised the phase I first-in-man trial of TeGenero's TGN1412 in which six healthy volunteers developed serious adverse events... click link for more info.
The number of children enrolled in Texas' SCHIP program fell by more than 9,000 in the beginning of April, marking the fourth straight month of decreased enrollment, state officials announced on Tuesday, the AP/Austin American-Statesman reports. More than 30,000 children have left the program since Dec... click link for more info.
Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that ginger not only kills cancer cells, it also prevents them from building up resistance to cancer treatment. Ginger is already used as an effective remedy for nausea and inflammation. The scientists are presenting their results in a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting... click link for more info.
The Canadian Food and Inspection Agency confirmed that a six-year-old dairy cow in Fraser Valley, British Columbia, had BSE (Mad Cow Disease). Canadian authorities are say this finding will probably not lead to a ban on imports of beef from the USA. The USA is Canada's largest export market for beef... click link for more info.
As the "feast" of increased NHS funding comes to an end, we need to prepare for a harsh famine ahead, warn health economists in this week's BMJ.In 2000, the Labour government initiated a programme of NHS investment unequalled in any other healthcare system. Almost seven years on, the spending has improved services, but these improvements have not kept pace with the spending increases, say the authors... click link for more info.
The Inter Press Service on Tuesday examined how the "potent" stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago affects children who have lost parents to AIDS-related causes. According to official figures, Trinidad and Tobago has recorded more than 15,940 HIV/AIDS cases since 1983, with 73% of new cases among people ages 15 to 49... click link for more info.
16 birds have been found dead in north Wales, six at Harlech beach, Gwynedd and ten at Criccieth beach. All the dead birds were Guillemots. The Guillemot is not thought of as an importer of bird flu, therefore the bird flu tests are seen as a precaution. Welsh authorities said the birds are being tested because more than three dead birds have been found together - current guidelines in the UK say that all dead swans, ducks and geese found in the wild, as well as any three dead birds found together should be reported and tested for bird flu... click link for more info.
There is good evidence that fetuses cannot feel pain, says an expert in this week's BMJ.Proposals to tell women seeking abortions that their unborn child will feel pain, or to provide pain relief during abortions, are therefore scientifically unsound and may put women at unnecessary risk, argues Stuart Derbyshire, a senior psychologist at the University of Birmingham... click link for more info.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) on Tuesday vetoed a bill (HB 2254) that would have required physicians to inform women seeking abortion after 20 weeks' gestation that the fetus can feel pain even if the women take pain medication during the procedure, the Arizona Daily Star reports (Fischer, Arizona Daily Star, 4/12)... click link for more info.
Rates of self harm and attempted suicide are high within Goth youth subculture, finds a study published on bmj.com today.Deliberate self harm is common among young people, with rates of 7-14% in the UK. It is particularly widespread in certain populations and may be linked to depression, attempted suicide, and various psychiatric disorders in later life... click link for more info.
The Missouri Senate on Tuesday passed a bill (SB 1210) that would reward whistleblowers who report fraud in the state's Medicaid program and increase penalties for convictions, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. People who report fraudulent claims by individuals and medical providers could receive 20% to 35% of the money recovered (Young, St... click link for more info.
Patients are suffering because not enough basic clinical research is being done, warns a senior doctor in this week's BMJ. He believes that medical academia is failing patients and clinicians by neglecting this vital area of research.Basic observational research provides the information that doctors need to diagnose and treat patients appropriately, writes neurologist Professor Peter Rothwell... click link for more info.
East African Business Week on Tuesday examined the "Something for Something" awareness campaign and the radio drama series "Rock Point 256" in Uganda, two programs that aim to educate young people about HIV and the risks of engaging in relationships where sex is given in exchange for favors or presents... click link for more info.
Parents need help to talk to their children about cancer, say researchers in a study published online by the BMJ.Cancer is relatively common among women of childbearing age. Although the importance of communication with patients and their families has been recognised, relatively little has been published about communication with children when their parent is newly diagnosed as having cancer... click link for more info.
USA Today on Thursday examined how some physicians are questioning the regimen of combination estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy after the release of studies indicating that the hormone progestin, combined with estrogen in postmenopausal women, might increase the risks of some conditions (Rubin, USA Today, 4/13)... click link for more info.
Researchers discovered a new bacterium in an immune-compromised patient, according to a study recently published in PLoS Pathogens. The bacterium belongs to the family Acetobacteraceae and includes bacteria common in the environment, some of which are used in industry, such as vinegar-making. "This is the first reported case of invasive human disease caused by any of the Acetobacteraceae," according to the article... click link for more info.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Wednesday signed into law a bill that aims to expand health care coverage to nearly all of the state's uninsured residents, but he vetoed several provisions, including a fee on certain businesses that do not provide health insurance, the Wall Street Journal reports (Bulkeley, Wall Street Journal, 4/13)... click link for more info.
Scientists have confirmed that prions, the mysterious proteins thought to cause chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, latch on tightly to certain minerals in soil and remain infectious.The discovery that prions stay deadly despite sticking to soil comes as a surprise, because while many proteins can bind to soil, that binding usually changes their shapes and activities... click link for more info.
Health care workers caring for people living with HIV/AIDS are "burning out" from increased workloads as patients are living longer but funding for care remains stagnant, Michael Saag, director of the Center for AIDS Research at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said in an interview on Wednesday on NPR's "All Things Considered... click link for more info.
A recently completed nine-year study of more than 2,300 teen-age girls by Wesleyan University and others found that milk consumption decreased more than 25 percent. However, soda intake increased almost threefold during the course of the study. Decreased milk consumption results in less calcium intake... click link for more info.
By injecting human stem cells into laboratory mice and creating various human tissues, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a way to conduct "human" drug trials on animals. Conducting trials on the human cell tissue carried by the mice gives scientists an indication of whether to even proceed with human trials - and what to expect when they are undertaken... click link for more info.
"Children don't come into this world as clay to be molded," said Phillip Dale, professor and chair of the Communication Science and Disorders Department in the School of Health Professions. "They do have their own interests because there is a genetic component." The study, published in Psychological Science with co-authors Bonamy Oliver and Robert Plomin, used data from more than 6,000 children who are part of the Twins' Early Development Study (TEDS)... click link for more info.
Tokyo, April, 2006 (JCN) - Takeda Pharmaceutical has launched Passif, its proprietary sustained release capsule of morphine hydrochloride. Available in three dosages 30mg, 60mg and 120mg, the new agent is indicated for the treatment of pain control for cancer patients with moderate to severe pain... click link for more info.
Tokyo, April, 2006 (JCN) - Astellas Pharma announced on April 13 that its European subsidiary has filed a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Astellas' proprietary candin antifungal agent, micafungin, with the European Medicines Agency. Astellas Pharma expects that micafungin will be applicable for the treatment of systemic fungal infections... click link for more info.
Roche and Genentech announced today that they have filed Avastin in the US for the treatment of the most common form of lung cancer - non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) has been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use of Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with a platinum-based chemotherapy (carboplatin plus paclitaxel) for previously untreated patients suffering from advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)... click link for more info.
Pfizer Inc said today that it has entered into an agreement with Schwarz Pharma AG under which Pfizer will acquire exclusive worldwide rights to fesoterodine, a new drug candidate for treatment for overactive bladder. Earlier this year, Schwarz submitted new drug applications for fesoterodine with both the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA)... click link for more info.
Novartis announced today that it has submitted applications in the United States and Europe for Glivec® (imatinib) Known as Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate) Tablets in the U.S. as treatment for four rare types of cancer. These filings underscore how cancers of different origin and location can share common pathways that respond to the same targeted treatment... click link for more info.
Merck & Co., Inc. today said it was disappointed that a state court jury in New Jersey awarded punitive damages to a New Jersey resident who claimed that his long-term use of VIOXX contributed to his heart attack. The Company said it will appeal the punitive verdict, as well as Wednesday's split verdict awarding compensatory damages to one of two long-term users of VIOXX... click link for more info.
A procedure that applies two permanent, internal stitches from each side of the vagina to ligaments in the pelvis can help reduce incontinence by 80% in women who have had surgery to correct pelvic prolapse -- a condition that occurs when the pelvic organs weaken and drop into or through the vaginal opening -- according to a study published in the April 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the Chicago Tribune reports... click link for more info.
Researchers from the UC Davis Sports Medicine Program and Nutrition Department are using competitive endurance athletes in a study that will compare the effectiveness of three different forms of carbohydrate supplementation - including sports-formulated jelly beans - versus plain water in warding off fatigue after prolonged exercise and effects on performance... click link for more info.
Welsh Secretary of the BMA, Dr Richard Lewis said: "While the auditor general's report into the financial position of the NHS in Wales demonstrates some improvement on previous months forecast, it continues to show a significant expected deficit of some £ 32 million in 2005 - 2006. "There is no doubt that health service managers across Wales - despite their best efforts - will be preoccupied and concerned when enormous debts such as this are hanging over them, and it is inevitable that such a preoccupation diverts them away from concentrating on how best to deliver services to patients... click link for more info.
For 72 years, scientists have been able to use electric fields to spin polymers into tiny fibers. But there's been just one problem: Like worms that won't stop wriggling, the fibers tangle randomly almost as soon as they are created.Now, researchers at University of California, Berkeley, have found a way to use the electric-field process to make nanofibers in a direct, continuous and controllable manner... click link for more info.
A team led by a Canadian researcher has discovered a process by which a small protein acts directly within muscles to increase the body's metabolism to burn fat while simultaneously suppressing appetite. These findings suggest that the protein, known as the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), could play a key role as a weight loss agent... click link for more info.
Torrential rain and melting snow caused Germany's Elbe River to rise to a record high level in northern parts of the country over the weekend, flooding cities and damaging historic town centres. ESA's ERS-2 satellite has been monitoring the situation from space.The medieval city of Hitzacker, located in Lower Saxony about 100 kilometres from the Baltic Sea, was one of the hardest-hit areas with the Elbe reaching 7... click link for more info.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institite for Biophysical Chemistry and other German and French colleagues have combined magnetic resonance spectroscopy (solid-state NMR) with special protein synthesis procedures to uncover how potassium channels and toxins combine and change in structure. This work could make it possible to develop medications for high blood pressure and many other diseases connected to potassium channel failure (Nature, April 2006)... click link for more info.
The food that people eat is just as important as what kind of cars they drive when it comes to creating the greenhouse-gas emissions that many scientists have linked to global warming, according to a report accepted for publication in the journal Earth Interactions.Both the burning of fossil fuels during food production and non-carbon dioxide emissions associated with livestock and animal waste contribute to the problem, the University of Chicago's Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin wrote in the report... click link for more info.
Researchers striving to create a less expensive version of a life-saving antimalarial drug, artemisinin, have cleared a major hurdle, according to a new report in the journal Nature.Two and a half years ago, a University of California, Berkeley, team led by Jay D. Keasling, UC Berkeley professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering, succeeded in engineering bacteria to make a chemical precursor of artemisinin - the best drug available today to cure malaria... click link for more info.
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