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Faith communities play a key role in global AIDS fight

"One of the great lessons of this fight is that the single fastest way to mobilize at the grassroots level around the world is through local congregations. Nothing comes close to the size and scope of this pool of compassionate volunteers," Rick Warren, founder and pastor of the Saddleback Church, writes in a CNN opinion piece reflecting on his involvement in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

6 Jul 2011

Scientists, medical doctors propose integrated method for treating chronic disease

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, chronic respiratory disorders and cancer represent the major global health problem of the 21st century and affect all age groups.

6 Jul 2011

More evidence needed to determine how diets can reduce hypertension in individuals

New research by a University of Kent pharmacist should reveal more evidence about how diets can reduce blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease in different individuals.

6 Jul 2011

India must not become complacent despite AIDS control program's success, Prime Minister says

"India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday hailed the country's success in slashing new HIV/AIDS infections by half in the past decade, but warned against complacency," Agence France-Presse reports. Speaking at a conference on AIDS in New Delhi, Singh said the country's HIV prevention program "can justifiably claim a measure of success," but "there should be no room for complacency," as an estimated 2.4 million Indians are living with the disease, according to AFP.

6 Jul 2011

Former smokers with lung cancer can benefit from celecoxib treatment

Celecoxib may emerge as a potent chemopreventive agent for lung cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

6 Jul 2011

Women with healthy lifestyle may face lower risk of sudden cardiac death

Adhering to a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking, exercising regularly, having a low body weight and eating a healthy diet, appears to lower the risk of sudden cardiac death in women, according to a study in the July 6 issue of JAMA.

6 Jul 2011

New biological insights into fat tissue

For better or worse, a popular class of anti-diabetic drugs does more than lower blood sugar. One known as rosiglitazone has been in the spotlight for its possible link to increased cardiovascular events, but it also seems to come with unexplained vascular benefits and an unwelcome tendency for weight gain.

6 Jul 2011

More breast cancer patients may receive radiation treatments after surgery

More breast cancer patients than previously believed may be receiving radiation treatments after breast-conserving surgery, a University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center study shows.

6 Jul 2011

Maternal anxiety, depression may increase risk of asthma in children

Anxiety, stress and depression during pregnancy may lead to a greater risk of asthma for your child. Study results are published in the July issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

6 Jul 2011

State roundup: Calif. weighs bill to curb premium increases

Assembly Bill 52 … would give the state the authority to approve, deny or modify excessive health insurance rate hikes - much as regulators do now with auto insurance. The bill is a lightning rod for many of the Capitol's most influential interest groups, pitting consumer, labor, small business and health care advocacy groups against the California Chamber of Commerce and hospital, physician and health insurance associations.

6 Jul 2011

UVA biologists discover new information about how Ebola virus works

Molecular and cell biologists at the University of Virginia Health System have discovered new information about how the Ebola virus works that could eventually lead to new drug treatments for the deadly virus.

6 Jul 2011

First flexible endoscopy robotic surgery for gastric tumours performed in India

Patients with gastric tumours in their stomach will no longer have to suffer an eight-hour long surgery, but instead can look forward to a short day surgery which last a few minutes to an hour without the need for hospitalisation.

6 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: 'Imaginary' mandates, premium hikes, Medicare leadership

Liberals are taking a victory lap since a federal appeals court upheld President Obama's health care plan last week, but not so fast. This is an idiosyncratic and flawed opinion, and we trust the Supreme Court, however it rules, will hold itself to a higher standard of jurisprudential reasoning.

6 Jul 2011

Infants treated with certain HIV medication more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction

Infants of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infected mothers who were treated before and after birth with the protease inhibitor lopinavir-ritonavir were more likely to experience adrenal dysfunction, including life-threatening adrenal insufficiency in premature infants, compared with a zidovudine-based regimen, according to a preliminary report in the July 6 issue of JAMA.

6 Jul 2011

Molecular technology detects up to 50% more cases of C. diff than other methods

A study from the microbiology lab at the Lifespan hospitals has found that some lab tests are much more accurate in identifying Clostridium difficile Toxin infection, which causes diarrhea.

6 Jul 2011

Potential new approach for treating obesity, type 2 diabetes

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have uncovered a pathway in mice that allows white fat - a contributor to obesity and type 2 diabetes - to burn calories in a way that's normally found in brown fat and muscle. The findings are in the July 6 edition of Cell Metabolism.

6 Jul 2011

Study: 'Vanishing twin' linked to increased risk of congenital malformations

Professor Michael Davies will tell the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today that the "vanishing twin" phenomenon, in which only one child is born from a pregnancy that originally starts as a multiple pregnancy, is linked to a nearly two-fold increased risk in any congenital malformation and to a nearly three-fold risk of multiple malformations.

6 Jul 2011

New insight into tumor biology

Cancer cells are well known for their altered metabolisms, which may help them generate the energy they need for rapid growth. Using an emerging imaging technology, researchers reporting in the July Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have discovered that those metabolic shifts actually develop even before detectable tumors form.

6 Jul 2011

Alpha-tocotrienol protects brain cells after stroke in three ways

A natural form of vitamin E called alpha-tocotrienol can trigger production of a protein in the brain that clears toxins from nerve cells, preventing those cells from dying after a stroke, new research shows.

6 Jul 2011

AJC: Hospital execs pay raises eyebrows

In other news, The Boston Globe reports that Quincy Hospital has declared bankruptcy just days after its trustees approved a deal for the facility to be acquired by Steward Health Care System.

6 Jul 2011