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Lack of agreement over compensation package stalling deal on Libyan HIV infection case, families of HIV-positive children say

The families of HIV-positive children in Libya on Friday announced that a lack of agreement over a compensation package has stalled an agreement that could lead to the release of six medical workers who were sentenced to death for allegedly intentionally infecting the children with HIV, AFP/EU Business reports (AFP/EU Business, 6/22).

22 Jun 2007

Women's perspectives on male circumcision as HIV prevention method

PlusNews/Mail & Guardian on Wednesday examined women's perspectives on male circumcision as an HIV prevention method. Informal discussions with women "reveal a range of concerns, preferences and views" that governments and researchers should consider before planning a national circumcision program, PlusNews/Mail & Guardian reports (PlusNews/Mail & Guardian, 6/20).

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

Report examines programs that would give HIV-positive people access to new drugs before final federal approval

"Rethinking the Approach to Expanded Access Programs," Forum for Collaborative HIV Research: The report says that reform of expanded access programs that allow HIV-positive people to take new drugs before final federal approval is needed.

22 Jun 2007

Indiana Medicaid program to enroll disabled, elderly in managed care plans

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is negotiating two managed care contracts for state Medicaid beneficiaries who are blind, elderly or disabled, agency Secretary Mitch Roob said on Tuesday, the AP/Louisville Courier-Journal reports.

22 Jun 2007

Texas sues three drug makers alleging Medicaid fraud

Texas on Wednesday filed lawsuits against Mylan Laboratories, Sandoz, Teva Pharmaceuticals and subsidiaries of those companies alleging that the state Medicaid program overpaid retailers by at least tens of millions of dollars for medications because the companies did not disclose discounts they were providing to retailers, the Houston Chronicle reports.

22 Jun 2007

Senate appropriations committee approves labor-HHS-education spending bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 26-3 to approve a $152 billion fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill after the addition of an amendment that would expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, CongressDaily reports (Cohn, CongressDaily, 6/22).

22 Jun 2007

Defense Secretary Gates says military mental health system 'will get fixed'

Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday during a press conference said that the military mental health system "must and will get fixed," the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

22 Jun 2007

Diabetes care accounts for one of every eight health care dollars in 2005

About one of every eight federal health care dollars in fiscal year 2005, or nearly $80 billion, was spent treating people with diabetes, according to a study released on Tuesday by the National Changing Diabetes Program and the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 Jun 2007

House Committee passes prescription drug user fee act reauthorization legislation

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday voted 39-0 to approve nine bills that would expand FDA's authority to regulate prescription drug safety and increase user fees paid by drug and medical device companies, Dow Jones reports.

22 Jun 2007

CBO Director discusses health care spending growth

Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag on Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee said that federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid would increase from about 4.5% to about 20% of U.S. gross domestic product by 2050, CongressDaily reports.

22 Jun 2007

FDA makes final ruling on dietary supplements

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a final rule establishing regulations to require current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) for dietary supplements.

22 Jun 2007

Autistic boys have high levels of growth hormones

Boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder had higher levels of hormones involved with growth in comparison to boys who do not have autism, reported researchers from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine.

22 Jun 2007

Stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle

In the first trial of its kind in the world, 60 patients who have recently suffered a major heart attack will be injected with selected stem cells from their own bone marrow during routine coronary bypass surgery.

22 Jun 2007

Whitehead scientist to study key mechanism in cell division

"Cell division is one of the most fundamental aspects of biology, the process that makes life," says Iain Cheeseman, PhD. "And it has an intrinsic beauty."

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

New plan to contain extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB)

Hundreds of thousands of cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) can be prevented and as many as 134 000 lives saved through the implementation of a two-year response plan, published/launched today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop TB Partnership.

22 Jun 2007

Multifunctional nanoparticle platforms for targeting and imaging cancer cells

There has been much recent interest in how nanotechnology will impact the field of medicine. Unfortunately, a number of promising nanostructured systems have turned out to be extremely toxic to humans, thus precluding their use in clinical applications and dashing hopes of an early success for the interdisciplinary field of nanobiotechnology.

21 Jun 2007

Women more prone than men to have mid-life strokes

After analysing data from 17,000 people over the age of 18, taking part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers in the United States have found that women were more likely than men to have a stroke in mid-life.

21 Jun 2007