Medical News

RSS

First Edition: July 27, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about a new effort launched by the Obama administration and insurers to fight health care fraud.

27 Jul 2012

Watching sexual content in movies linked to adolescents' sexual behavior

Young people who watch more sexual content from movies also tend to engage in more sexual behavior and begin sexual activity at an earlier age, according to a University of Missouri researcher's study.

27 Jul 2012

HIV drug resistance: an interview with Dr. Silvia Bertagnolio

Sexual intercourse is the major mode of HIV transmission. HIV may also be transmitted through sharing of needles or contaminated blood products (although this is rare).

27 Jul 2012

Heart attack and stroke risk increased with shift work

Shift work is associated with an increased risk of major vascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

27 Jul 2012

WHO announces efforts to fight 'hidden epidemic' of hepatitis

Ahead of World Hepatitis Day on July 28, the WHO "announced on Wednesday measures to fight the 'hidden epidemic' ... which kills more than one million people a year," Agence France-Presse reports. The virus "affects 500 million people worldwide but can go unnoticed for years and even decades," the news service reports.

27 Jul 2012

Coca-Cola sold in California now contains little of cancer-causing chemical 4-methylimidizole

Carcinogenicity and regulation of caramel colorings by Michael Jacobson, (Executive Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest, USA), an article due to be published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, states that Coca-Cola sold in California now contains little of the cancer-causing chemical 4-methylimidizole (4-MI).

27 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: AIDS spread in U.S. South; Abortion opponents battle in Ariz.; GOP's costly effort to kill health law

More than 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, a combination of safe-sex education and a new generation of pharmaceuticals has left many Americans convinced that HIV/AIDS is a problem that has been, if not solved, at least addressed. But that's certainly not true in the American South, which accounts for nearly 50% of all new HIV infections in the United States.

27 Jul 2012

A2bAR receptor plays a significant role in regulation of type 2 diabetes and obesity

A recent study led by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) demonstrates that the A2b-type adenosine receptor, A2bAR, plays a significant role in the regulation of high fat, high cholesterol diet-induced symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

27 Jul 2012

Bone marrow transplant eradicates traces of HIV in men

Two men with longstanding HIV infections no longer have detectable HIV in their blood cells following bone marrow transplants. The virus was easily detected in blood lymphocytes of both men prior to their transplants but became undetectable by eight months post-transplant. The men, who were treated at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), have remained on anti-retroviral therapy.

27 Jul 2012

Longer looks: Religious health care; 'The big lie' about expanding Medicaid

The Affordable Care Act has a section that exempts members of health care sharing ministries from purchasing insurance. The Amish, Mennonite, Christian Science and Indian tribe communities also are exempt from the penalty that will be incurred on Americans who fail to purchase health insurance by 2014.

27 Jul 2012

Anakinra can dramatically limit amount of brain damage in stroke patients

Scientists led by the President of The University of Manchester have demonstrated a drug which can dramatically limit the amount of brain damage in stroke patients.

From The University of Manchester 27 Jul 2012

Rate of new HIV infections among young U.S. black MSM is high: Study

The rate of new HIV infections among black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States, particularly younger men, is high and suggests the need for prevention programs specifically tailored to this population, according to initial findings from the HPTN 061 study.

27 Jul 2012

Treatment with robotic surgery offers dramatic benefit for people with head and neck cancer

Predictors of disease severity in human papillomavirus-derived head and neck cancer, tobacco use, and the dramatic benefits of robotic surgery in people with head and neck cancer are among landmark research presented by Mount Sinai School of Medicine at the Eighth International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer. The meeting took place from July 21-25, 2012 in Toronto.

27 Jul 2012

Biodel to develop ultra-rapid-acting insulin formulations for use in closed loop pump system

Biodel Inc. announced today that the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Biodel a grant for the development of concentrated ultra-rapid-acting insulin formulations for use in an artificial pancreas, also known as a closed loop pump system.

27 Jul 2012

Roundup: Ore. Gov. suggests malpractice reform; Mass. Gov. proposes new scrutiny for health care providers; Texas has offered HPV vaccine since 2007

The state can cut health care costs and reduce the number of medical-related lawsuits by requiring earlier notification of injuries as well as pretrial mediation, according to a recommendation Gov. John Kitzhaber issued Wednesday. The product of closed-door talks between representatives of interest groups including the Oregon Medical Association and the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Kitzhaber's recommendation now goes to a work group including lawmakers, a trial lawyer and doctor that begins public meetings next week.

27 Jul 2012

HPTN study results show additional benefits of early ART in HIV clinical outcomes

Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show additional benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV clinical outcomes.

27 Jul 2012

FDA DODAC recommends approval of ThromboGenics’ ocriplasmin for VMA

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative ophthalmic medicines, today announces that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee has recommended that the FDA grant ocriplasmin approval for the treatment of symptomatic Vitreomacular Adhesion.

27 Jul 2012

Skin microbiota may help protect the body from infection

A research team at the National Institutes of Health has found that bacteria that normally live in the skin may help protect the body from infection. As the largest organ of the body, the skin represents a major site of interaction with microbes in the environment.

27 Jul 2012

Retractable Technologies introduces novel safety blood collection device

Retractable Technologies, Inc. announced today the launch of a new innovative product, the VanishPoint Blood Collection Set (BCS).

27 Jul 2012

Recent release: Blog examines faith-based response to HIV/AIDS

In a post in KPLU's "Humanosphere" blog, journalist Tom Paulson discusses the role of faith-based organizations in the response to HVI/AIDS, writing, "PEPFAR is mentioned in perhaps every other speech here at the International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2012, as one of those game-changers. Infrequently, some folks also mention, usually just in passing, something like the 'contributions of the faith-based community.'

27 Jul 2012