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Minorities who experience pain don’t receive the same care as Caucasians

The first issue of Pain Medicine in 2005 will focus on the inequalities and differences in how pain is assessed and treated amongst various racial and ethnic minority groups. Data from the articles in this themed edition provide evidence that African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and other racial and ethnic minorities do not receive optimal care in treatment for pain.

26 Jan 2005

Counseling and support can boost physical activity among adults

Professional counseling and support can boost physical activity among adults, a new review finds, but researchers aren’t sure what kind of professional advice work best to encourage exercise or whether counseling increases physical activity over the long run.

24 Jan 2005

New federal guidelines for the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV infection

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced new federal guidelines for the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV infection after exposure to HIV through sexual intercourse, sexual assault, injection drug use, or accidents.

20 Jan 2005

Researchers have identified the cellular receptor for the JC virus

Researchers funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have identified the cellular receptor for the JC virus, which causes the fatal neurological disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

17 Jan 2005

Food, exercise and regular physical activity still key to American health

The American Cancer Society (ACS), American Diabetes Association (ADA), and American Heart Association (AHA) commend the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Agriculture (USDA) on the release of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

17 Jan 2005

More research needed to explore links between physical activity and built environment

First deceleration in U.S. national health spending growth in seven years

The pace of health spending growth slowed in 2003, marking the first deceleration in national health spending growth in seven years, a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary shows. The annual report is published in the January/February 2005 issue of Health Affairs.

12 Jan 2005

Why do women live longer than men?

Research by exercise scientists at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) may have an answer to the age old question of why women live longer than men.

12 Jan 2005

Key genetic factor determines HIV/AIDS risk

People with more copies of a gene that helps to fight HIV are less likely to become infected with the virus or to develop AIDS than those of the same geographical ancestry, such as European Americans, who have fewer copies of the gene, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

10 Jan 2005

Fewer children in working families are uninsured, but many still falling through the cracks

Recent strides have been made to increase health care coverage for low income children in California, but a significant number of children in working poor families remain uninsured, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

4 Jan 2005

People with migraine headaches report more angina, but not more heart disease

People with a history of migraines and other headaches lasting at least four hours are more likely to report suffering from the chest pain doctors call angina than people who do not experience such headaches, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study concludes.

28 Dec 2004

Teen concerns about inhalants and painkiller use

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, results from the annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey indicate an almost 7 percent decline of any illicit drug use in the past month by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined from 2003 to 2004.

21 Dec 2004

New compound Viprovex could save millions

The World Health Organization (WHO) and influenza experts worldwide are concerned that the recent appearance and widespread distribution of an avian influenza virus (Influenza A/H5N1) has the potential to ignite the next pandemic and potentially kill millions.

21 Dec 2004

New steps to measure error rates in Medicare payments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced new steps to measure error rates in Medicare payments more accurately and comprehensively at the contractor level, and to further reduce improper payments through targeted error improvement initiatives.

14 Dec 2004

Start today of human tests for a preventive vaccine against the respiratory disease SARS

Powerful research tools that speed up vaccine development have led to the start today of human tests for a preventive vaccine against the respiratory disease SARS. The disease killed hundreds of people around the world before it was brought under control in 2003 with aggressive conventional public health measures.

13 Dec 2004

Interactive talking books delivered to Afghanistan

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced the delivery of thousands of interactive women's health books built with the LeapPad learning system technology to Afghanistan and an additional $6 million in aid to improve the health of the Afghan people.

13 Dec 2004

HHS purchases 1.2 million doses of GSK's Fluarix flu vaccine

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has announced that the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of GlaxoSmithKline influenza vaccine, Fluarix, in the United States under an Investigational New Drug application.

8 Dec 2004

FDA protects U.S. human and animal food supply

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final regulations on the establishment and maintenance of records to protect the U.S. human food and animal feed supply in the event of credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

7 Dec 2004

Life expectancy at 65 is now 81.6 years for men and 84.5 for women

The nation’s medicine cabinets are more crowded than ever, with almost half of all people taking at least one prescription medicine and one in six taking three or more medications, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ annual check-up on Americans’ health.

4 Dec 2004

Rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses steady in the U.S

Rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States stayed steady for the years 2000-2003, but sharp racial disparities remain, according to an analysis of data from 32 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.

1 Dec 2004