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Portuguese government approves community sites where injection drug users can inject themselves under supervision

The Portuguese government has approved the establishment of community sites where injection drug users can inject themselves under supervision, and new measures call for needle-exchange programs to be installed in prisons by 2008, AFP/Today Online reports.

30 Aug 2006

Ortho-McNeil to lower the price of contraceptive pills and patches

Ortho-McNeil - which supplies contraceptives to the majority of family planning clinics nationwide - on Thursday announced it will lower the price of its contraceptive pills and patches, according to officials, the Chicago Tribune reports.

30 Aug 2006

FDA questions effectiveness of Gestiva at preventing preterm labor

FDA in a review of Adeza's experimental preterm labor prevention drug Gestiva said the drug seems to reduce deliveries before 37 weeks' gestation but not births before 32 or 35 weeks' gestation, according to documents posted Monday on the agency's Web site.

30 Aug 2006

South Carolina's HIV/AIDS problem is an enormous one

South Carolina's HIV/AIDS "problem is an enormous one," and state lawmakers "need to review the programs that fund HIV treatment" in the state, a Columbia State editorial says.

30 Aug 2006

XVI International AIDS conference characterized by 'guarded optimism'

The XVI International AIDS Conference, which was held Aug. 13 through Aug. 18 in Toronto, was characterized by "guarded optimism," the Los Angeles Times reports.

30 Aug 2006

FDA advisory panels almost always recommend approval for new drugs and devices

Eleven randomly selected FDA advisory committees recommended approval for 79% of prescription drugs and medical devices that they considered during a seven-year period, according to a study released on Monday by the National Research Center for Women & Families, Bloomberg/Houston Chronicle reports.

30 Aug 2006

New York Times profiles Clinton's role in fight against HIV/AIDS

The New York Times on Tuesday profiled former President Clinton's role in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa, as well as in the rest of the world.

30 Aug 2006

FDA approves generic Ciprofloxacin injection

The Food and Drug Administration has approved several Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for generic versions of Bayer Corporation Pharmaceutical Division's CIPRO I.V., a drug to treat certain bacterial infections.

29 Aug 2006

FDA looks at clinical emergency research when informed consent cannot be obtained

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking a close look at the implementation of its 1996 regulation, 21 CFR 50.24, which allows clinical emergency research when informed consent cannot be obtained.

29 Aug 2006

How safe is drug which prevents pre-term births? FDA will soon find out

Questions have been raised in the U.S. over the safety and effectiveness of a hormone based drug which is used in women who have a history of pre-term births.

29 Aug 2006

New England Journal of Medicine examines West Virginia's new Medicaid program

Two perspective pieces from the New England Journal of Medicine examine West Virginia's new Medicaid program, which will allow 160,000 Medicaid beneficiaries -- many of whom are parents of children enrolled in the program -- to sign a "personal responsibility contract."

28 Aug 2006

Waterborne infectious diseases could soon be consigned to history

Waterborne infectious diseases, which bring death and illness to millions of people around the world, could largely be consigned to history by 2015 if global health partnerships integrate their programmes, according to Alan Fenwick writing in Science.

28 Aug 2006

Remote Scottish isles may provide genetic clues to osteoporosis

A new study involving 2,000 people in Scotland will hopefully shed some light on why some people develop the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis.

28 Aug 2006

Scientists trick cancer cells into suicide

Scientists in the U.S. believe they have found a way to trick cancer cells into committing suicide.

28 Aug 2006

Boosting enzyme may reverse Alzheimer's

New research by scientists at Columbia University suggests that boosting the function of a certain enzyme may provide a promising strategy for battling Alzheimer's disease, and possibly reversing its effects.

28 Aug 2006

Abolish Asthma!

Asthma is unlikely to be a single disease, so we should abolish the term altogether, states an Editorial in this week's issue of The Lancet.

24 Aug 2006

Drug combo could reduce risk of severe asthma attacks

Giving asthma patients on regular preventive drugs the same drugs to relieve the symptoms of their condition, rather than conventional reliever drugs, could reduce their risk of severe attacks and hospitalisations.

24 Aug 2006

A look at available birthing methods

The Washington Post on Tuesday examined five birthing methods available to pregnant women.

24 Aug 2006

Medicare to reduce payments to pharmacies making their own medications

Beginning in January 2007, CMS will make "significantly lower" Medicare payments to pharmacies that make compounded inhalation drugs for patients with respiratory needs, according to a letter sent on Tuesday from CMS Administrator Mark McClellan to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), USA Today reports.

24 Aug 2006

Women's Health Network petitions FDA to halt sales of estrogen, testosterone combination treatments

The National Women's Health Network has petitioned FDA to stop sales of Solvay's Estratest and Breckenridge Pharmaceuticals' Syntest, which are estrogen-testosterone combination therapies used to treat menopause-associated hot flashes, until they are proven safe and effective, Reuters reports.

24 Aug 2006