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President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief making significant contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic

...but it needs to strengthen its prevention efforts and develop programs that ensure long-term sustainability in focus countries, according to a report released Friday by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, the Washington Post reports

2 Apr 2007

Lesotho struggles to contain spread of tuberculosis

Lesotho is "struggling to contain" the spread of tuberculosis in the face of its HIV/AIDS epidemic, IRIN News reports. In 2006, the country reported 12,000 new TB cases, but TB expert Peter Saranchuk of Medecins Sans Frontieres said the actual number of cases likely is much higher.

2 Apr 2007

Stark introduces universal health insurance bill

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Thursday introduced a bill that would seek to provide health insurance to all U.S. residents through Medicare and employer-sponsored coverage, the Oakland Tribune reports.

2 Apr 2007

Breakthrough research finds genes which may help smoking cessation

Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have for the first time identified genes that might increase a person's ability to abstain from smoking.

2 Apr 2007

SCHIP program needs substantial work

When given health insurance through the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP), teens see their doctors more often, racial disparities are eliminated and more preventive care is received.

2 Apr 2007

Efficacy of Ugandan HIV prevention programs decreasing

The efficacy of Uganda's HIV prevention programs is decreasing because a new generation of young people are no longer receiving the messages of fidelity that helped curb the country's HIV epidemic in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Washington Post reports.

2 Apr 2007

About 50% of people fail to take medication as directed

USA Today on Thursday examined how multiple studies have shown that only about half of people with chronic conditions in the U.S. and other developed countries continue to take medication as directed.

2 Apr 2007

Scientists uncover bacterial cloaking

Scientists have uncovered the workings of a method bacteria responsible for diseases such as meningitis and blood disorders use to hide from the body's immune system.

2 Apr 2007

ESMO explores collaboration to fight cancer on all fronts

Leading figures in the global fight against lung cancer are meeting in the city of Geneva, Switzerland this week to discuss the latest tools for preventing and treating chest malignancies, which kill more than 1.3 million people each year.

2 Apr 2007

AARP says, "give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices"

With the support of its 2.6 million members in New York, AARP is calling on the U.S. Senate to stand with the overwhelming majority of Americans and vote to give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.

2 Apr 2007

Reducing calorie intake later in life still offers health benefits

Much research has shown that reduced calorie intake can increase health and longevity.

2 Apr 2007

Playing in the dirt to counter depression

Treatment of mice with a "friendly" bacteria, normally found in the soil, altered their behavior in a way similar to that produced by antidepressant drugs, reports research published in the latest issue of Neuroscience.

2 Apr 2007

Iron nanoparticles exhibit toxic effects on neuronal cells

Researchers at UC San Diego have discovered that iron-containing nanoparticles being tested for use in several biomedical applications can be toxic to nerve cells and interfere with the formation of their signal-transmitting extensions.

1 Apr 2007

Next generation drugs designed from 3D protein models

The next generation of drugs will be designed on the basis of 3D protein models that scientists are creating. The Structural Genomics Consortium laboratory at Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet has now made available the structure of PARP3, the four hundredth structure in this unique project to chart the body's proteins.

1 Apr 2007

New discoveries offer promise for cholesterol drugs

New discoveries offer promise for developing drugs that improve on the therapeutic profile of niacin, the inexpensive, time-tested B-vitamin that boosts levels of HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol with the potential to protect people against heart attacks and stroke, scientists report.

1 Apr 2007

Coronary procedure adds no benefit over 'optimal medical therapy' alone

Percutaneous coronary intervention plus optimal medical therapy does not improve outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease, compared with optimal medical therapy alone, according to study results presented at the 56th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, and published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Apr 2007

Hearing-protection tablet helps soldiers defend against hearing loss

Soldiers exposed to the deafening din of battle have little defense against hearing loss, and are often reluctant to wear protective gear like ear plugs that could make them less able to react to danger.

31 Mar 2007

Natural mechanism for immune suppression may lead to new cancer drugs

A natural mechanism pirated by tumors and HIV to evade the immune response is opening the door to better treatment for these conditions, researchers say.

31 Mar 2007

FDA approves Ceprotin to treat severe congenital protein C deficiency

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today licensed Ceprotin, the first biologic treatment for patients with a rare genetic defect that can cause a potentially life-threatening clotting disorder.

30 Mar 2007

FDA announces marketing halt for GI drug, Zelnorm

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested that Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation of East Hanover, New Jersey, voluntarily discontinue marketing of Zelnorm (tegaserod) based on the recently identified finding of an increased risk of serious cardiovascular adverse events (heart problems) associated with use of the drug. Novartis has agreed to voluntarily suspend marketing of the drug in the United States.

30 Mar 2007