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New study maps global zoonotic disease 'hotspots'

"A global study mapping human diseases that come from animals like tuberculosis, AIDS, bird flu or Rift Valley fever has found that just 13 such diseases are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths a year," Reuters reports.

6 Jul 2012

FDA approves at-home HIV test, available in Oct.

The FDA has approved an at-home HIV test that gives results in under 40 minutes. The tests should be available in stores in October.

6 Jul 2012

FDA action affects companies that manufacture and distribute unapproved oxycodone drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a Federal Register notice instructing companies to stop manufacturing and distributing certain unapproved drugs that contain oxycodone. The notice is part of the FDA's Unapproved Drugs Initiative to remove unapproved new drugs from the market.

6 Jul 2012

Roche receives FDA approval for CMV viral load test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first DNA test to help health care professionals gauge the progress of anti-viral treatment in solid organ transplant patients undergoing cytomegalovirus (CMV) antiviral therapy.

6 Jul 2012

Study represents starting point for future clinical applications using propolis

A team of researchers from the University of Valencia, the Universitat Politècnica de València, the University Hospital La Fe and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona conducted in vitro studies of cytotoxicity (cellular affection) to assess the optimal concentration level of propolis in which this natural substance extracted from bee resin would offer the maximum protection against ionised radiation and not be toxic for blood cells.

6 Jul 2012

Peptides block MORs and curb appetite

Feeling full involves more than just the uncomfortable sensation that your waistband is getting tight. Investigators reporting online on July 5th in the Cell Press journal Cell have now mapped out the signals that travel between your gut and your brain to generate the feeling of satiety after eating a protein-rich meal. Understanding this back and forth loop between the brain and gut may pave the way for future approaches in the treatment and/or prevention of obesity.

6 Jul 2012

$Higher doses of Vitamin D may be most beneficial in reducing bone fractures in older adults$

Higher doses of Vitamin D may be most beneficial in reducing bone fractures in older adults

Based on the results of a pooled analysis of 11 unrelated randomized clinical trials investigating vitamin D supplementation and fracture risk in more than 31,000 older adults, Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University, says higher doses of Vitamin D may be the most beneficial in reducing bone fractures in this age group.

6 Jul 2012

Diabetes on the rise among Chinese teenagers

A study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found Chinese teenagers have a rate of diabetes nearly four times greater than their counterparts in the United States. The rise in the incidence of diabetes parallels increases in cardiovascular risk, researchers say, and is the result of a Chinese population that is growing increasingly overweight.

6 Jul 2012

Around 7% of adults suffer from an intolerance to wine

Around seven percent of adults suffer from an intolerance to wine. This is the result of a survey presented by Peter Wigand and co-authors in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

6 Jul 2012

Fewer Danes contract Salmonella infections from eggs

In 2011, 1,166 Danes were registered with a Salmonella infection, which corresponds to 21 cases per 100,000 citizens. This is the lowest number since the 1980s. Almost half of all these Salmonella infections were contracted abroad, in particular on travels to Egypt, Thailand and Turkey.

5 Jul 2012

Study: 13 zoonoses responsible for 2.4B cases of human illness per year

A new global study mapping human-animal diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and Rift Valley fever finds that an "unlucky" 13 zoonoses are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths per year. The vast majority occur in low- and middle-income countries.

5 Jul 2012

UN food standards body agrees on new regulations to protect health of consumers across the world

The UN food standards body has agreed on new regulations - including the maximum level of melamine in liquid milk formula for babies - to protect the health of consumers across the world. Other measures adopted include new food safety standards on seafood, melons, dried figs and food labelling.

5 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 5, 2012

Early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including articles on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's statement that the health law individual mandate is a tax.

5 Jul 2012

Developing countries struggle to meet UN’s child hunger target

Insufficient progress has been made in most developing countries to meet the United Nations' target of halving the proportion of children who suffer from hunger by 2015 compared with 1990 levels, according to a systematic analysis of data on children's height and weight, published today in the Lancet.

5 Jul 2012

Live zoster vaccine associated with reduced risk of HZ in patients with immune-mediated diseases

Although some have suggested that patients receiving medication for immune-mediated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis may be at increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ; shingles) shortly after receipt of the vaccine, an analysis that included nearly 20,000 vaccinated Medicare beneficiaries finds that the live zoster vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of HZ shortly after vaccination in patients currently treated with biologics, and that it is associated with a significantly reduced longer-term risk of HZ in patients with an immune-mediated disease, according to a study in the July 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jul 2012

GlaxoSmithKline agrees to plead guilty, pay $3B settlement

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges and pay $3 billion in total -- with some money going to nearly every state -- for promoting its bestselling antidepressants such as Paxil and Wellbutrin for unapproved uses, failing to report safety data about a top diabetes drug and improperly marketing other drugs.

4 Jul 2012

FDA proposes UDI regulations for most medical devices

Today, in response to requirements in legislation that passed Congress with broad bipartisan support, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed that most medical devices distributed in the United States carry a unique device identifier, or UDI.

4 Jul 2012

Extensive health benefits associated with milk consumption

Milk is designed by nature as a complete food. Its composition has evolved with each mammalian species to reflect the particular environmental conditions and evolutionary demands of the young of that species. Humans have exploited this valuable resource since the dawn of the agricultural revolution through domestication of animals, in particular the cow. We have developed the technology to preserve milk during times of abundance and this has resulted in an array of foods now common in the diets of most human cultures.

4 Jul 2012

Researchers identify mechanism responsible for inhibition of AMPK activity in the hypothalamus

In the complex chain of molecular events that underlie eating behaviors and body weight, the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) enzyme has proven to be a critical link.

4 Jul 2012

Shingles vaccine may not increase risk of varicella in people with auto-immune diseases

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham casts doubt on the long-standing belief that the vaccine for shingles should not be given to patients taking biologics for auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

4 Jul 2012