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Delegates agree to focus on HIV/AIDS, other issues hindering African development at close of Tokyo conference

Delegates at the close of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan, on Friday agreed to focus on health issues, including HIV/AIDS, on the continent, the Kyodo News/TMCnet reports. In the Yokohama declaration, delegates also pledged to pay "special attention" to issues -- such as health, poverty and food insecurity -- that are hindering African development.

2 Jun 2008

Uganda should address HIVAIDS-related stigma, discrimination to fight apread of disease, report says

Social stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in Uganda is undermining efforts to fight the spread of the disease and should be addressed, according to a report released Wednesday by the Open Society Institute East Africa Initiative, the New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports.

2 Jun 2008

3 million now receiving anti-retroviral therapy HIV drugs

The close of 2007 marks an important step in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly 3 million people are now receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new report jointly launched today by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF.

2 Jun 2008

UT Southwestern mouse model mimics hyperglycemia, aids in diabetes research

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have genetically engineered a laboratory mouse in which pancreatic beta cells can regenerate after being induced to die. The new animal model's regenerative ability may provide future insights into improved treatments of diabetes, which affects millions of Americans.

2 Jun 2008

New studies provide insight into oral cancer, chronic pediatric ear infections, and hearing health

Three new studies published in the June 2008 edition of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery focus on what role gender plays in the prognosis of oral tongue cancer, chronic ear infections in children, and the success rates of hearing aid implants in the elderly.

1 Jun 2008

Sen. Kennedy to introduce bill to revise national cancer act

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who recently was diagnosed with brain cancer, previously had begun work on legislation that would revise the 1971 National Cancer Act, and supporters hope that the "fact that Kennedy has fallen victim to this disease will generate public support and lend new urgency to the need to update the bill," the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

30 May 2008

International Narcotics Control Board 'out of step' with HIV/AIDS control efforts, opinion piece says

The International Narcotics Control Board "remains out of step" with the rest of the United Nations' efforts to fight the spread of HIV, especially among injection drug users, and its practices should be open for review, Joanne Csete of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Daniel Wolfe, deputy director of Open Society Institute's International Harm Reduction Development program, write in a Lancet opinion piece.

30 May 2008

Thailand's removal of official who supported compulsory licensing 'important' step to 'protecting patients' health,' editorial says

The Thai government's removal last week of Vichai Chokevivat -- "one of the most vocal opponents" of patent protections for drug companies -- from Governmental Pharmaceutical Organization's board is a "small" but "important" step in "restoring Thailand's international reputation and protecting patients' health," a Wall Street Journal Asia editorial says.

30 May 2008

Barbados steps up fight against HIV/AIDS

The Barbados Parliament on Tuesday approved a plan to spend 180 million Barbados dollars, or about $90 million, over the next five years to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, Barbados' Nation News reports.

30 May 2008

Researcher addresses calls for increased focus on male circumcision, partner reduction programs as part of HIV prevention in Africa

NPR's "News & Notes" on Tuesday included a discussion with Daniel Halperin, a senior research scientist in the Department of Population and International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, about a recent study that recommended a shift in HIV prevention strategies in Africa toward the promotion of male circumcision and partner reduction programs.

30 May 2008

Delegates at Tokyo conference discuss ways to address health issues, including HIV/AIDS, in Africa

About 2,500 delegates from 52 African countries, United Nations agencies and aid groups met Wednesday in Yokohama, Japan, for the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development to discuss strategies aimed at solving health issues, including HIV/AIDS, and other challenges on the continent, the Kyodo News reports (Tang, Kyodo News, 5/27).

30 May 2008

UNICEF project uses children, youth as peer educators to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in India

About 400 children from eight Indian states gathered Wednesday at a workshop to discuss their experiences as peer educators in a joint UNICEF-National AIDS Control Organization pilot project that aims to increase HIV awareness among children and youth, the Times of India reports.

30 May 2008

Japan awards new prize for HIV/AIDS, malaria work in Africa

Japan recently awarded the first Hideo Noguchi Prize to two recipients for their work on HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa, AFP/Google.com reports.

30 May 2008

Washington, D.C., council member recommends eliminating HIV, syphilis test requirements for marriage licenses

Washington, D.C., council member Phil Mendelson (D), head of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, recently recommended eliminating a provision from a marriage bill that would require couples applying for marriage licenses to be tested for HIV/AIDS and syphilis, the Washington Post reports.

30 May 2008

South Carolina House approves bill that would modify regulations concerning HIV-positive students

The South Carolina House on Wednesday voted 97-0 to approve a compromise bill that would require school nurses to inform the Department of Health and Environmental Control when any student in grades kindergarten through 12 has contact with another person's blood in order to determine if the student has been exposed to bloodborne diseases such as HIV, the Columbia State reports.

30 May 2008

Sri Lanka vulnerable to a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic

Sri Lanka is vulnerable to a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic despite the country's relatively low HIV/AIDS prevalence, according to a recent study conducted by the Centre for Policy Studies in London, Colombo's Daily Mirror reports.

30 May 2008

US$28 million needed for Myanmar says WHO

WHO and its Health Cluster partners in Myanmar have launched a six-month and US$ 28 million action plan to provide immediate health care for cyclone survivors and to support longer-term efforts to rebuild the country's ravaged health system.

30 May 2008

Toronto Star examines efforts of Stephen Lewis Foundation's grandmother to grandmother campaign in Africa

The Toronto Star on Monday examined the efforts of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign in Africa, particularly Swaziland.

28 May 2008

Case involving HIV-positive man, saliva illustrates 'long way to go' in efforts to reduce stigma

"In the AIDS field, we often talk about how things were 20 years ago when widespread fear prevailed and knowledge of the virus was minimal," John Samuels -- administrative director of AIDS services at Beth Israel Medical Center -- writes in a New York Times letter to the editor written in response to a recent case involving an HIV-positive man who received a 35-year jail sentence for spitting into the mouth and eye of a Dallas police officer.

28 May 2008

University of Pennsylvania researcher to launch drug trial in Chinese province among IDUs

David Metzger, director of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Division at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues plan to launch a trial in China among injection drug users to determine if a drug that reduces the craving for heroin also can reduce the spread of HIV through the sharing of contaminated needles, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

28 May 2008

AIDS News and Research

Delegates agree to focus on HIV/AIDS, other issues hindering African development at close of Tokyo conference

Uganda should address HIVAIDS-related stigma, discrimination to fight apread of disease, report says

3 million now receiving anti-retroviral therapy HIV drugs

UT Southwestern mouse model mimics hyperglycemia, aids in diabetes research

New studies provide insight into oral cancer, chronic pediatric ear infections, and hearing health

Sen. Kennedy to introduce bill to revise national cancer act

International Narcotics Control Board 'out of step' with HIV/AIDS control efforts, opinion piece says

Thailand's removal of official who supported compulsory licensing 'important' step to 'protecting patients' health,' editorial says

Barbados steps up fight against HIV/AIDS

Researcher addresses calls for increased focus on male circumcision, partner reduction programs as part of HIV prevention in Africa

Delegates at Tokyo conference discuss ways to address health issues, including HIV/AIDS, in Africa

UNICEF project uses children, youth as peer educators to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in India

Japan awards new prize for HIV/AIDS, malaria work in Africa

Washington, D.C., council member recommends eliminating HIV, syphilis test requirements for marriage licenses

South Carolina House approves bill that would modify regulations concerning HIV-positive students

Sri Lanka vulnerable to a potential HIV/AIDS epidemic

US$28 million needed for Myanmar says WHO

Toronto Star examines efforts of Stephen Lewis Foundation's grandmother to grandmother campaign in Africa

Case involving HIV-positive man, saliva illustrates 'long way to go' in efforts to reduce stigma

University of Pennsylvania researcher to launch drug trial in Chinese province among IDUs

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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