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Obese, older and poorer Australians get more chronic diseases

According to researchers at the University of Adelaide, in the past 15 years chronic diseases among older, lower income and obese Australians have increased significantly.

15 May 2009

Family-based prevention program helps teens override a gene linked to risky behavior

A family-based prevention program designed to help adolescents avoid substance use and other risky behavior proved especially effective for a group of young teens with a genetic risk factor contributing toward such behavior, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia.

15 May 2009

Australian scientist suggests Swine flu an accident in the lab

The suggestion by an Australian virologist that the new flu virus, H1N1 or swine flu, could have been the result of a laboratory accident has been dismissed by Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the deputy director general of the World Health Organization (WHO).

14 May 2009

Swine flu preoccupies world health leaders

It is expected that the upcoming World Health Organisation's (WHO) annual assembly will be dominated this year by the emergence and spread of the new influenza virus H1N1 (swine flu).

14 May 2009

Too much fluoride in drinking water will mean little public confidence

The revelation that some Brisbane residents were inadvertently exposed to excessive levels of fluoride in their drinking water earlier this month will do little to enhance the case for adding fluoride to public water systems.

14 May 2009

Don't punish people for just staying alive!

Among all the mixed messages on retirement flowing from the budget, the biggest policy development is the decision to extend the working age for Australians to 67. Without doubt, this change will be the enduring legacy of this budget, certainly for future retirees, and for the country as a whole.

14 May 2009

Urgent Care Centers: Between the ER and the family doctor

Urgent care centers (UCCs) are providing an alternative to emergency room treatment. A study published in the open access journal BMC Health Services Research has shown that UCCs tend to be open well outside of office hours and offer a wider range of services than primary care offices.

14 May 2009

California ballot measures would have negative effect on health care access for children, immigrants, minority advocacy groups say

A coalition of ethnic minority advocacy groups has raised concerns that two of six budget-related propositions on the May 19 special election ballot would negatively affect minorities' health, New America Media reports.

14 May 2009

Editorial says, Obama is “right to push for health care reform”

President Obama is "right to push for [health care] reform now, despite calls to postpone efforts solely on the economic recovery," a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial states.

14 May 2009

Missouri Legislature passes bills that impose levies on health care providers to generate additional Federal Medicaid funding

Missouri lawmakers have approved two bills (HB 740 and SB 307) that extend or create health care provider taxes or certification fees as part of an effort to draw in more federal Medicaid matching dollars, the AP/Ann Arbor News reports.

14 May 2009

Prescription drug use dropped in 2008, though spending increased, Medco Research indicates

Use of prescription drugs in the U.S. declined in 2008 -- the first such decrease in a decade -- but total spending on such treatments increased by 3.3%, according to a report released on Wednesday by Medco Health Solutions, the AP/Washington Post reports.

14 May 2009

Senate Finance Committee to discuss public plan options; House Energy and Commerce Committee discusses state, regional plans

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday will meet to discuss the inclusion of a public insurance plan in its health care reform legislation, the Des Moines Register reports (Beaumont, Des Moines Register, 5/14). Supporters of the public plan say it would allow middle-income workers a choice between their employer coverage and coverage offered by the government. The insurance industry and Republican lawmakers oppose such a plan.

14 May 2009

Senate Democrats meet with White House adviser to craft response to Republican criticism on health reform

Senate Democrats on Wednesday worked with senior White House adviser David Axelrod to craft a health care message focused on affordability and choice, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports (Werner, AP/Contra Costa Times, 5/13).

14 May 2009

Health Subcommittee considers bill to eliminate pre-emption for medical devices

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on Tuesday heard testimony on the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 (HR 1346), which would allow consumers to sue medical device manufacturers in state courts, CQ HealthBeat reports.

14 May 2009

Herpes drug Acyclovir does not reduce risk of HIV transmission, does slow HIV progression, study says

The drug acyclovir, which suppresses herpes simplex virus-2, does not reduce the risk of HIV transmission when taken by HIV-positive people who also have herpes, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, United Press International reports.

14 May 2009

Vietnamese HIV/AIDS Department announces funding for prevention efforts

Vietnamese officials announced recently that about 678 billion dong, or about $38.7 million, will be allocated for HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in the country in 2009, the VNA/VietnamPlus.com reports.

14 May 2009

About 20% of surveyed sex workers who use drugs in Irish capital living with HIV, report finds

About one-fifth of commercial sex workers surveyed in Dublin, Ireland, are HIV-positive, while 78% of the surveyed group is living with hepatitis C, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, the Irish Times reports.

14 May 2009

Vigils held worldwide to protest jailing of Iranian physicians who addressed HIV/AIDS

Health professionals on Tuesday held vigils in several cities worldwide to protest the imprisonment of Iranian brothers Kamiar and Arash Alaei -- physicians and leading HIV/AIDS advocates in the country -- following the release of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, the Albany Times Union reports.

14 May 2009

Many Americans support increased domestic funding to address HIV/AIDS, report says

Many Americans support increased funding to address HIV/AIDS in the U.S. according to a report released Wednesday for the National AIDS Coordinating Committee with support from the MAC AIDS Fund, Reuters Health reports.

14 May 2009

HIV drugs from plants

A research team at Örebro University in Sweden has succeeded in changing the genes in plants so they can function as a vaccine against HIV.

14 May 2009

Medical News

Obese, older and poorer Australians get more chronic diseases

Family-based prevention program helps teens override a gene linked to risky behavior

Australian scientist suggests Swine flu an accident in the lab

Swine flu preoccupies world health leaders

Too much fluoride in drinking water will mean little public confidence

Don't punish people for just staying alive!

Urgent Care Centers: Between the ER and the family doctor

California ballot measures would have negative effect on health care access for children, immigrants, minority advocacy groups say

Editorial says, Obama is “right to push for health care reform”

Missouri Legislature passes bills that impose levies on health care providers to generate additional Federal Medicaid funding

Prescription drug use dropped in 2008, though spending increased, Medco Research indicates

Senate Finance Committee to discuss public plan options; House Energy and Commerce Committee discusses state, regional plans

Senate Democrats meet with White House adviser to craft response to Republican criticism on health reform

Health Subcommittee considers bill to eliminate pre-emption for medical devices

Herpes drug Acyclovir does not reduce risk of HIV transmission, does slow HIV progression, study says

Vietnamese HIV/AIDS Department announces funding for prevention efforts

About 20% of surveyed sex workers who use drugs in Irish capital living with HIV, report finds

Vigils held worldwide to protest jailing of Iranian physicians who addressed HIV/AIDS

Many Americans support increased domestic funding to address HIV/AIDS, report says

HIV drugs from plants

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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