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UK's first totally implantable hearing aid operation performed at Queen Alexandra Hospital

A woman from Portsmouth has received the UK's first totally implantable hearing aid thanks to the work of the South of England Cochlear Implant Centre (SOECIC), based at the University of Southampton.

8 Feb 2011

Ability of e-cigarettes to help smokers cut down or quit still unknown

Electronic cigarettes are drawing heavy media and marketing attention, and while a new study finds that consumer interest also runs high, a companion study underscores that e-cigarettes' ability to help smokers cut down or quit is unknown.

8 Feb 2011

Researchers identify immune cell population that acts as body's border patrol with the outside world

So-called barrier sites -- the skin, gut, lung - limit the inner body's exposure to allergens, pollutants, viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Understanding how the immune system works in these external surfaces has implications for understanding such inflammatory diseases as asthma, psoriasis, IBD, and food allergies, all of which occur at the body's barriers.

8 Feb 2011

Republican FY 2011 budget proposal to be introduced as legislation soon

On Capitol Hill this week, "Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., is expected to turn [the proposed FY 2011] budget allocation into legislative language with specific allocations for federal agencies. That bill would then be brought to the House floor, setting the stage for a lengthy debate as conservative Republicans seek larger cuts than [Rep. Paul Ryan, (R-Wis).] proposed," according to CQ (Goldfarb, 2/4).

8 Feb 2011

Vatican to host one-day international HIV/AIDS conference in May

The Vatican on Thursday announced it "will host an international conference in May on preventing [HIV/AIDS] and caring for those afflicted with it amid continued confusion over its position concerning condoms as a way to prevent HIV transmission," the Associated Press reports.

8 Feb 2011

BAI releases 2011 State of AIDS in Black America report

The Black AIDS Institute ("BAI"), the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on the Black community in the US, today released its 2011 State of AIDS in Black America report, Deciding Moment. 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic in America and presents unique opportunities to curtail the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but key challenges remain to moving forward in the AIDS response in Black America.

7 Feb 2011

Patient need to share medication side effects with health care team: Retired family doctor

"I had a wonderful gentleman patient who had resistant blood pressure," recalls Vicki Koenig, M.D., a retired family doctor in Exmore, VA. "When he came for a blood pressure check on the latest new med and it was great, I was ecstatic. Then he said, 'But I notice my urine's a little dark.' His was one of the first cases of fatal liver complications from this medication."

5 Feb 2011

HHS Secretary releases statement on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

On February 7, the nation will observe the 11th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the first reports of AIDS in the United States.

5 Feb 2011

Global Fund announces measures to increase fraud detection, prevention

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Thursday announced "it is to launch a wide-ranging review of its procedures following concern over mismanagement of funds by countries receiving its money," the Financial Times reports. The U.N.-backed organization "which channels $3bn a year in donor funds to developing countries, will restructure its auditing procedures and appoint outside officials to review its systems," according to the news service.

5 Feb 2011

Studies show growing problems of non-communicable diseases in low-, middle-income countries

Obesity rates have doubled worldwide since 1980," according to a study published Friday as part of a series in the Lancet that also looked at global blood pressure and cholesterol trends, ABC News reports (Carolo, 2/4).

5 Feb 2011

New community for women survivors of gender violence opened in Bukavu, DRC

V-Day and the Fondation Panzi (DRC), with support from UNICEF, announce today the opening of City of Joy, a revolutionary new community for women survivors of gender violence in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

5 Feb 2011

AIDS United awards new grants to improve lives of people with HIV/AIDS

Thousands of individuals living with HIV/AIDS in low-income and/or rural areas will now receive local, high quality care, thanks to new grants awarded by AIDS United for its Access to Care initiative.

5 Feb 2011

The Female Health Company first quarter FY2011 net revenues decrease 33%

The Female Health Company, which manufactures and markets the FC2 Female Condom, today reported its operating results for the first quarter of FY2011.

5 Feb 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

"Africa should be one of the leading regions in shaping global food security policies and feeding the future instead of others shaping it for Africa. Developing practical, integrative and more small-scale solutions for agricultural inputs and outputs, farming, and for managing both land and water resources, will help Africa provide for future generations on the Continent and elsewhere," Robin Renee Sanders, the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, writes in a Huffington Post blog post.

5 Feb 2011

Opinions: Global Fund; Accountability for Haiti Aid

Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson writes of the "breathless Associated Press story" about the uncovering of some corruption in grants given by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the subsequent reaction: "When scandals fit preexisting ideological narratives, they assume a life of their own. This particular narrative - the story of useless, wasted aid - is durable. It is also misleading and might be deadly."

4 Feb 2011

Research roundup: Comparing profit and nonprofit hospice care; Hospital mortality and spending; High-deductible insurance plans

Association Of Hospice Agency Profit Status With Patient Diagnosis, Location of Care, and Length of Stay - "The current Medicare Hospice Benefit reimburses hospices at a fixed per diem rate that does not consider the patient's diagnosis, location of care, or hospice LOS [length-of-stay]," and as such, "profit can be maximized by caring for patients with certain diagnoses that require fewer skilled services, patients residing in nursing homes, or patients with longer hospice stays."

4 Feb 2011

Report examines how health worker shortages could keep developing countries from achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment

A shortage of healthcare workers in developing countries may hold developing countries back from achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goal to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2015, according to a report by the WHO/Global Health Workforce Alliance, IRIN/PlusNews writes.

4 Feb 2011

American Cancer Society report released on World Cancer Day

A new American Cancer Society report says cancers associated with lifestyles and behaviors related to economic development, including lung, breast, and colorectal cancers, will continue to rise in developing countries if preventive measures are not widely applied. The finding comes from the second edition of Global Cancer Facts & Figures and its academic publication, Global Cancer Statistics, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

4 Feb 2011

Researchers identify regulatory defect that drives lupus

Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Cambridge, Mass., in collaboration with Jackson Laboratory scientists, have identified a regulatory defect that drives lupus.

4 Feb 2011

AHF urges all AIDS drug manufacturers to reduce medication cost by 20%

As part of its ongoing advocacy to lower drug prices and increase access to lifesaving medications AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest global AIDS organization, today urged all AIDS drug manufacturers to reduce the cost of their medications by 20% for cash-strapped state.

4 Feb 2011