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Safety concerns over testosterone gel prompt FDA to require label changes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it is requiring manufacturers of two prescription topical testosterone gel products, AndroGel 1% and Testim 1%, to include a boxed warning on the products' labels.

7 May 2009

Swine flu: Action and response from the Cochrane Library

Fears about Swine Flu and notions of the best methods of preventing the spread are sweeping over the world like wild fire, with everyone voicing a different opinion. Is stocking Tamiflu the best option? Do facemasks work? Should we be constantly washing our hands, or never leaving the house?

6 May 2009

IBM and University of Texas Medical Branch launch effort to find flu drug treatments

IBM and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) launched an effort using IBM's World Community Grid "virtual supercomputer" to allow laboratory tests on drug candidates for drug-resistant influenza strains and new strains, such as H1N1, in less than a month.

6 May 2009

U.S. 'investing every resource necessary' to address H1N1 flu emergency, Obama says

President Obama on Saturday during his weekly radio and Internet address said that his administration is working to address the recent public health emergency involving the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu, The Hill reports.

5 May 2009

Warning on fraudulent 2009 H1N1 influenza products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission are alerting the public to be wary of Internet sites and other promotions for products that claim to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.

3 May 2009

Sebelius, Obama take action on swine flu

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday held two press conferences and briefed congressional lawmakers on the recent public health emergency involving swine flu, also known as the "2009 H1N1 influenza virus," CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 4/29).

30 Apr 2009

Survey identifies factors associated with early detection of melanoma in older men

Older men whose melanoma is detected by a physician are more likely to have thinner and therefore more treatable tumors at diagnosis, according to results of a survey published in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology.

21 Apr 2009

Penn's online survivorship care plans empower cancer survivors, caregivers

An online tool that provides cancer survivors and their family members with an easy-to-follow roadmap for managing their health as they finish treatment and transition to life as a survivor got high marks from users, according to new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine research which will be presented this weekend at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver.

20 Apr 2009

Facebook lowers grades in college, according to pilot study

College students who use Facebook spend less time studying and have lower grade point averages than students who have not signed up for the social networking website, according to a pilot study at one university.

13 Apr 2009

Processing patents sped up by European research

Processing patents is complex and time-consuming. Using semantic web technology, researchers have come up with a powerful tool to process patents faster and better.

12 Apr 2009

Health problems associated with Chinese slimming capsules

Taking herbal food supplements is certainly not free of risk. Since 2005, the poison emergency centers in the German cities of Freiburg and Gottingen have registered a total of 17 patients with health problems after taking Chinese slimming capsules.

8 Apr 2009

Digital photo album puts focus on kids' health

Modern moms and dads snap thousands of photos, recording every drooling smile and flailing attempt to crawl.

8 Apr 2009

FDA warns 14 pharmaceutical companies about short internet ads lacking risk information

FDA has warned 14 major pharmaceutical firms about brief Internet advertisements that could have misled patients because they did not include information about health risks related to the drugs, according to letters posted to the agency's Web site Friday, the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Apr 2009

California HIV/AIDS group launches web-based program aimed at MSM

The Palm Springs, Calif.-based Desert AIDS Project has launched an Internet-based education and prevention program aimed at men who have sex with men, the Desert Sun reports. The program was launched ahead of the area's White Party Easter weekend, according to the Sun.

6 Apr 2009

Higher hospital safety rating not associated with lower risk of in-hospital death

Hospitals that reported higher scores on measures of safe practices did not have a significantly lower rate of in-hospital deaths compared to hospitals that reported lower scores on these measures, according to a study in the April 1 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

1 Apr 2009

AP/Google.com examines efforts to address drug-resistant tuberculosis in China, other countries

The AP/Google.com on Monday examined efforts to prevent and control the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis in China and other countries.

30 Mar 2009

Obama discusses health reform during internet town hall meeting

President Obama on Thursday fielded questions from U.S. residents on a range of topics, including health care, at a town hall meeting that was broadcast on the Internet and cable news channels, Politico reports (Gerstein, Politico, 3/26).

30 Mar 2009

AHF delegation meets with WHO and UNAIDS, urges action on access to AIDS treatment, testing and condoms

An international delegation from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS group in the US which currently provides medical care to more than 98,000 individuals in 21 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, met today with officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to call for action and partnership to vastly increase global access to HIV/AIDS treatment, testing and condoms.

29 Mar 2009

Concern over inappropriate diagnosis and treatment of primary hypothyroidism

More and more people are being inappropriately diagnosed and treated for underactivity of the thyroid gland (known as primary hypothyroidism), warn doctors in an editorial published on bmj.com today.