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New map depicts the spread of HIV in Europe

Those travelling abroad should take seriously advice to pack their condoms and keep their needles to themselves: research published today in the open access journal Retrovirology shows that tourists, travellers and migrants from Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain actively export HIV-1 subtype B to other European nations.

19 May 2009

Discovery of proteins underlying devastating brain diseases

Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered a set of brain proteins responsible for some of the most common and devastating brain diseases.

19 May 2009

GIS used to map past and predicted malaria outbreak hotspots

A Geographic Information System (GIS)-driven digital map of past and predicted malaria outbreak hotspots has been used in India as part of a national control program.

19 May 2009

Resverlogix files two patents on compounds for inflammatory diseases

Resverlogix Corp. has announced today that it has made significant advancement in the Company's research and development (R&D) program for inflammatory diseases.

19 May 2009

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke (or who is otherwise known to be at risk), regardless of their blood pressure, according to the largest analysis of blood pressure trials to date, published on bmj.com today.

19 May 2009

Atherotech receives patent for ApoB measurement for determining heart disease risk

Atherotech, Inc., developer of the VAP Cholesterol Test, has announced it has received a patent on its method to derive and report apolipoprotein B100 (apoB) using the Vertical Auto Profile (VAP) technology. The patent recognizes the unique ability of the VAP Cholesterol Test to accurately report apoB, the next milestone in heart disease risk assessment.

19 May 2009

Innovative prism glasses help hemianopia patients

In a study of specially designed peripheral prism glasses for hemianopia patients (blinded in half the visual field in both eyes), scientists found that two-thirds of patients continued to wear the glasses at the end of the study period and beyond, indicating a high level of success.

19 May 2009

Obstructive sleep apnea sufferers should avoid driving after poor sleep or consuming alcohol

Patients with undiagnosed or untreated obstructive sleep apnea are especially vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation and even legal doses of alcohol when it comes to lowered driving performance and increased risk of vehicular accidents, according to new research to be announced on May 19 at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego.

19 May 2009

Autism discovery may explain why disorder strikes boys four times more than girls

UCLA scientists have discovered a variant of a gene called CACNA1G that may increase a child's risk of developing autism, particularly in boys. The journal Molecular Psychiatry publishes the findings in its May 19 advance online edition.

19 May 2009

'Singing brains' offers hope for better treatments for epilepsy and schizophrenia

Studying the way a person's brain 'sings' could improve our understanding of conditions such as epilepsy and schizophrenia and help develop better treatments, scientists at Cardiff University have discovered.

19 May 2009

People with darker skin might be more susceptible to nicotine addiction

Blacks and others with darker skin might be at greater risk for tobacco addiction than whites and those with lighter skin because the greater the amount of melanin, the coloring pigment in skin, the more nicotine appears to be stored, according to preliminary findings published in the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the New York Times reports.

19 May 2009

Pennsylvania House approves bill allowing young adults to remain on parents' health insurance policies up to age 29

The Pennsylvania House last week voted to approve a bill that allows state residents up to age 29 to be added to or remain on their parents' health insurance plans as long as they live in the state or are full-time students, the Harrisburg Patriot-News reports. They also must be single and not have dependents.

19 May 2009

Sixteen States, DOJ join whistle-blower lawsuits alleging Wyeth defrauded Medicaid programs

The U.S. Department of Justice and 16 states have joined two whistle-blower lawsuits filed in federal District Court in Massachusetts alleging that Wyeth defrauded the government by not offering the same discounts on two medications to Medicaid that it offered to hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports.

19 May 2009

Hospital room design can have effect on patient care, outcomes, studies show

Hospital room design can help reduce medical errors, infections and falls, as well as patient stress, according to results emerging from more than 1,500 studies, the New York Times reports.

19 May 2009

Waits to see specialists in Boston increased to average of 50 days, study finds

The average time patients in Boston wait for an appointment to see a specialist has increased over the last five years to an average of 50 days and can be up to one year, despite the fact that the city has an "abundance" of specialists, according to a recent study, the Boston Globe reports.

19 May 2009

Los Angeles Times examines increase in Caesarean births, related rise in risk, cost

Caesarean sections -- which are performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965 -- often are considered an unnecessary risk and "an example of how the intensive and expensive U.S. brand of medicine has failed to deliver better results and may, in fact, be doing more harm than good," the Los Angeles Times reports.

19 May 2009

Sen. Olympia Snowe holds private meetings to discuss fallback public plan

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) last week held a private meeting to discuss a compromise on health care reform legislation that would include a "fallback public plan," implemented in several years if private insurers do not take steps to make coverage more affordable and accessible, CongressDaily reports.

19 May 2009

Senate Finance Committee releases policy paper describing options to pay for health overhaul

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday released a 41-page document outlining policy options for financing health care reform, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 5/18).

19 May 2009

Opinion piece examines efficacy of foreign aid

"President Obama signaled recently a major shift in the way the United States tries to help poor countries," Philip Stevens, policy director at the International Policy Network, writes in a Providence Journal opinion piece, adding, "Whereas the Bush presidency pushed to spend enormous sums on individual high-profile diseases such as AIDS, Obama says he will broaden U.S. aid to improve health more generally."

19 May 2009

Convicting HIV-positive people contributes to spread of virus, opinion piece says

The recent conviction of HIV-positive Toronto resident Johnson Aziga is "part of an upward trend," as more "charges and prosecutions for HIV transmission -- and even potential HIV exposure -- are popping up around the planet," Regan Hofmann, editor-in-chief of POZ, writes in a Dallas Morning News opinion piece.

19 May 2009

Medical News

New map depicts the spread of HIV in Europe

Discovery of proteins underlying devastating brain diseases

GIS used to map past and predicted malaria outbreak hotspots

Resverlogix files two patents on compounds for inflammatory diseases

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke

Atherotech receives patent for ApoB measurement for determining heart disease risk

Innovative prism glasses help hemianopia patients

Obstructive sleep apnea sufferers should avoid driving after poor sleep or consuming alcohol

Autism discovery may explain why disorder strikes boys four times more than girls

'Singing brains' offers hope for better treatments for epilepsy and schizophrenia

People with darker skin might be more susceptible to nicotine addiction

Pennsylvania House approves bill allowing young adults to remain on parents' health insurance policies up to age 29

Sixteen States, DOJ join whistle-blower lawsuits alleging Wyeth defrauded Medicaid programs

Hospital room design can have effect on patient care, outcomes, studies show

Waits to see specialists in Boston increased to average of 50 days, study finds

Los Angeles Times examines increase in Caesarean births, related rise in risk, cost

Sen. Olympia Snowe holds private meetings to discuss fallback public plan

Senate Finance Committee releases policy paper describing options to pay for health overhaul

Opinion piece examines efficacy of foreign aid

Convicting HIV-positive people contributes to spread of virus, opinion piece says

Edoardo Fabini

Reducing polypharmacy through innovative drug formulation technologies

How innovation in dried blood spot testing is transforming neurological disease monitoring

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