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Study looks at adults who provide alcohol to underage drinkers

Nearly 20 percent of young males are willing to purchase alcohol for underage youth when approached outside of an alcohol establishment, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

26 Jun 2007

Free insecticidal bednets, not social marketing, key to controlling malaria in Africa

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Professor Chris Curtis has joined the Earth Institute's Professor Jeffrey Sachs to call for the mass distribution of free insecticidal bed nets to replace social marketing as a means of controlling malaria in Africa.

26 Jun 2007

SSRIs associated with lower bone density in older men and women

The class of antidepressant medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be associated with an increased rate of bone loss in older men and women, according to two articles in the June 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

26 Jun 2007

Worldwide clinical trial of cardiac resynchronization therapy

The University of Zurich has announced an investigator initiated large-scale prospective randomized controlled clinical trial to assess the clinical impact of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) in heart failure patients.

23 Jun 2007

Evolutionary dynamics of immune-related genes and pathways in disease vector mosquitoes

The genes that make up the immune system of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits deadly viral diseases to humans have been identified in new research in Science.

23 Jun 2007

Vitamin D deficient rickets in infants

The message about preventing vitamin D deficient rickets in children is not getting through, warn senior doctors in this week's BMJ.

23 Jun 2007

Hyperglycemia and adverse pregnancy outcome study (HAPO)

Gestational diabetes may place a much higher percentage of pregnant women -- and their unborn babies -- at risk for adverse outcomes than previously believed, according to a major international study presented at the American Diabetes Association's 67th Annual Scientific Sessions.

23 Jun 2007

EPA wants stronger air quality standards for smog

EPA is proposing to strengthen the nation's air quality standards for ground-level ozone, revising the standards for the first time since 1997.

23 Jun 2007

Morning sickness may indicate lower risk of breast cancer

It may not seem so at the time, but women who suffer through morning sickness during their pregnancies actually may be fortunate.

23 Jun 2007

Link between levels of urate in the blood and risk of Parkinson's disease

In a new, large-scale, prospective study exploring the link between levels of urate in the blood and risk of Parkinson's disease, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that high levels of urate are strongly associated with a reduced risk of the disease.

23 Jun 2007

EPA ozone pollution standards unhealthy for America

David H. Ingbar MD, president of the American Thoracic Society, today called the proposed standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency for ozone pollution, commonly known as smog-unhealthy for America's kids, unhealthy for America's seniors, and unhealthy for America."

23 Jun 2007

Anacor finds novel mechanism for lead anti-fungal drug, AN2690

Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company, has announced that the journal Science will publish results of research that details how AN2690, the company's lead clinical candidate, kills fungal cells by interfering with synthesis of a specific protein required for fungal growth.

23 Jun 2007

Requiring HPV vaccination for school-age girls for upcoming school year 'too soon,' researcher says

It is premature to require middle-school age girls to receive Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil for the upcoming school year, Doug Lowy -- head of the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Cellular Oncology and one of the scientists responsible for the development of the vaccine -- said on Wednesday, CQ HealthBeat reports (Bartolf, CQ HealthBeat, 6/20).

22 Jun 2007

New trade agreement language to allow developing countries more flexibility in circumventing drug patents, other restrictions

Democratic lawmakers and U.S. trade officials are in the final stages of negotiation over language to be added to international free trade agreements that would allow developing countries more flexibility in circumventing drug patents and other restrictions on pharmaceuticals, sources said recently, CongressDaily reports.

22 Jun 2007

Gay pride events offer opportunity to identify new HIV cases among MSM

Gay pride events provide opportunities outside of health care settings to identify new HIV cases among men who have sex with men, particularly among MSM in racial and ethnic minorities, according to a study published in the June 22 edition of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Reuters Health reports (Reuters Health, 6/21).

22 Jun 2007

WHO-based tropical disease research programme to focus on emerging diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO) based Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) has adopted a new strategy for strengthening and expanding research to prevent and control 'infectious diseases of poverty.'

22 Jun 2007

Early drug use a predictor of violent and delinquent behavior

John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy, has released a new Special Report showing that teens who use drugs are more likely to engage in violent and delinquent behavior and join gangs. Early use of marijuana -- the most commonly used drug among teens -- is a warning sign for later gang involvement.

20 Jun 2007