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Telephone monitoring improves drug use, psychiatric symptoms

Patients being treated for a substance use disorder achieve significant short-term improvements in their drug use and psychiatric symptoms when receiving telephone continuing care, show study findings.

10 Jul 2012

Herpes zoster vaccine recommendations questioned in patients on biologics

Administration of the live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine is not associated with an increased risk for shingles shortly after vaccination in patients receiving biologic treatments for immune-mediated diseases, researchers report in JAMA.

10 Jul 2012

AF care ‘inadequate’

Cardiology experts are supporting a call for greater attention to diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation in primary care to prevent strokes.

10 Jul 2012

Gestational diabetes may be more likely with antipsychotic use

Women who take antipsychotic medication during pregnancy may be at an increased risk for developing gestational diabetes, report researchers.

10 Jul 2012

BP variability link to stroke risk reinforced

Analysis of data from the Women’s Health Initiative supports the contention that variability in a person’s blood pressure affects their risk for stroke.

10 Jul 2012

Booklet simplifies dizziness care

Giving patients with chronic dizziness a simple booklet to help them learn vestibular rehabilitation exercises is a highly cost-effective alternative to the usual way of treating them, report researchers in the BMJ.

10 Jul 2012

‘Sexting’ reflects sexual behavior in adolescents

Research suggests that the prevalence of teenage “sexting,” where adolescents send nude pictures of themselves or sexually explicit text messages by SMS, is on the increase and is a marker of risky sexual behavior.

10 Jul 2012

Scientists identify novel strategy to target Taspase1 enzyme

Scientists at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany identified a novel strategy to target the oncologically relevant protein-cleaving enzyme Taspase1.

10 Jul 2012

Laws based on evidence and human rights strengthen global AIDS response

Punitive laws and human rights abuses are costing lives, wasting money and stifling the global AIDS response, according to a report by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, an independent body of global leaders and experts. The Commission report, "HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights and Health," finds evidence that governments in every region of the world have wasted the potential of legal systems in the fight against HIV.

10 Jul 2012

U.N. report calls for innovative ways to fund development initiatives

The U.N.'s annual World Economic and Social Survey, released last week, "says it is critical to find new ways to help the world's poor as pledged cash fails to flow" and "calls for a tax on billionaires to help raise more than $400 billion a year for poor countries," Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Jul 2012

MiR-33 plays a key role in regulating bile metabolism

In research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association and published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, Saint Louis University investigator -ngel Bald-n, Ph.D., found that the microRNA miR-33 plays a key role in regulating bile metabolism. Further, the research suggests that, in an animal model, the manipulation of this microRNA can improve the liver toxicity that can be caused by statins.

10 Jul 2012

Researchers develop new silk-based stabilizer for vaccines and antibiotics

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new silk-based stabilizer that, in the laboratory, kept some vaccines and antibiotics stable up to temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

10 Jul 2012

FDA approves risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for ER and LA opioids

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) for extended-release (ER) and long-acting (LA) opioids, highly potent drugs approved for moderate to severe, persistent pain that requires treatment for an extended period.

10 Jul 2012

Oligomers may be responsible for onset of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most dreaded and debilitating illnesses one can develop. Currently, the disease afflicts 6.5 million Americans and the Alzheimer's Association projects it to increase to between 11 and 16 million, or 1 in 85 people, by 2050.

10 Jul 2012

HIV drug coverage in sub-Saharan Africa continues to improve but not sustainable, UNAIDS' Sidibe says

At the end of 2011, 6.2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were taking antiretroviral drugs, about 56 percent of the people in need in the region, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe noted in an interview last week, saying, "Ten years ago, nobody would have imagined that such a result would be possible," Agence France-Presse reports. "Sidibe -- visiting Paris ahead of the July 22-27 International AIDS Conference in Washington -- said he was worried that African countries remained so dependent on foreign help," the news service states.

10 Jul 2012

Einstein researchers to study molecular mechanism behind Ebola virus infection

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $4.8 million grant to study the molecular mechanism that allows the Ebola virus to cause infection and spread in animals.

10 Jul 2012

Study clarifies anti-inflammatory impact of boswellic acids

It was one of the gifts of the Magi - in addition to myrrh and gold they offered frankincense to the newly born baby Jesus. Since the ancient world the aromatic fragrance of burning Boswellia resin has been part of many religious ceremonies and is still used as a means to indicate special festive atmosphere in the church today. But frankincense can do much more: "The resin from the trunk of Boswellia trees contains anti-inflammatory substances," Professor Dr. Oliver Werz of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) says.

10 Jul 2012

Adiponectin reduces depression-like symptoms in mice

A hormone with anti-diabetic properties also reduces depression-like symptoms in mice, researchers from the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio reported today.

10 Jul 2012

Alcoholic hepatitis linked to hepatitis C risk

Hepatitis C virus is more common in patients with alcoholic hepatitis than the general population, but infections may be going undetected, US data show.

9 Jul 2012

NPR series examines global progress against AIDS

In a special series called "AIDS: A Turning Point," NPR reports on global progress against HIV/AIDS ahead of the AIDS 2012 conference taking place in Washington, D.C., this month. As part of the series, NPR's "Morning Edition" examines Botswana's response to the epidemic, writing, "A decade ago, Botswana was facing a national crisis as AIDS appeared on the verge of decimating the country's adult population.

9 Jul 2012