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Traditionally low status of girls fueling child sexual abuse in sub-Saharan Africa

The problem of child sexual abuse in sub-Saharan Africa remains "stubbornly resistant to change" in part because of the traditionally low status of girls, a "lingering view" that sexual abuse should be dealt with privately and justice systems that "constitute obstacle courses" for women, some child advocates have said, the New York Times reports.

2 Dec 2006

Chinese court upholds prison term for human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng

A court in China's Shandong province on Friday upheld a four-year, three-month prison sentence for human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng -- who was arrested in China after attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against the government for alleged human rights abuses associated with the enforcement of the country's one-child-per-family policy -- the Washington Post reports.

2 Dec 2006

Governments, donors falling short of antiretroviral treatment goals

Governments and international donors are falling short of their goals of providing antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in developing countries who need them, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, the International Herald Tribune reports.

2 Dec 2006

Spread of HIV threatens India's economy

The spread of HIV in India, as well as looming water shortages and the volatile oil market, is threatening India's economy, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said last week at the India Economic Summit organized by the World Economic Forum, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

2 Dec 2006

CleveMed awarded $245,000 NIH grant to develop a device for quantifying the efficacy of alternative medicine techniques

Cleveland Medical Devices has announced that it has been awarded $245,000 in NIH SBIR funding.

2 Dec 2006

Why COX-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx can cause heart attacks and strokes

COX-2 inhibitors are primarily used to treat pain in conditions such as arthritis. They work by blocking the COX-2 enzyme, which is expressed at sites of inflammation and underlies the production of hormones called prostaglandins which swell the joints and cause the feeling of pain.

2 Dec 2006

Advocates in India shift focus toward preventing spread of HIV among injection drug users

Some HIV/AIDS advocates in India are shifting their approach to fighting the country's epidemic from promoting condom use and safer-sex practices among commercial sex workers, truck drivers and migrant laborers to largely targeting injection drug users, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

2 Dec 2006

New approaches to expanding HIV testing

Nearly 300 U.S. physicians, government health officials and HIV/AIDS advocates on Wednesday gathered in Washington, D.C., for a two-day meeting that focuses on new approaches to expanding HIV testing in the nation and its potential effect on the health system, Reuters Health reports.

2 Dec 2006

Interruptions in antiretroviral treatment increases risk of developing AIDS-related diseases

Interruptions in an HIV-positive person's antiretroviral treatment regimen can increase the risk of developing AIDS-related diseases and sometimes can be fatal, according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Los Angeles Times reports.

2 Dec 2006

HIV/AIDS cases in Shanghai increase by 70%, HIV/AIDS discrimination in China continues

The number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in Shanghai, China, in the first 11 months of 2006 increased by 74% compared with the same period in 2005, the city's Municipal Public Health Bureau said on Wednesday, Xinhuanet reports (Xinhuanet, 11/29).

2 Dec 2006

Cipla, Ranbaxy to cut pediatric antiretroviral drug prices

Indian pharmaceutical companies Cipla and Ranbaxy under an agreement with the Clinton Foundation will reduce the prices of 19 different pediatric antiretroviral drugs in 62 developing countries to an average of 45% less than what treatments currently cost in the countries, former President Clinton announced on Thursday ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the AP/Forbes reports.

2 Dec 2006

Thai Health Ministry to issue compulsory license for Merck's HIV/AIDS drug Efavirenz

Thailand's Ministry Of Public Health on Wednesday announced plans to issue a compulsory license to produce a lower-cost version of Merck's antiretroviral drug Efavirenz, Reuters reports.

2 Dec 2006

Some Christian conservatives calling on Congress to reduce funding for Global Fund because of condom promotion

Some leading Christian conservatives are calling on Congress to reduce U.S. funding allocations to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, saying that the Global Fund does not allocate adequate resources to faith-based programs and that it promotes condom use, the Boston Globe reports.

2 Dec 2006

India's law criminalizing homosexuality is undermining the fight against HIV/AIDS

The law, enacted in 1861 and known as Section 377, makes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal" punishable by up to 10 years in prison and, when strictly interpreted, makes it illegal to distribute condoms to gay men and men in prison.

2 Dec 2006

Some institutional review board members have ties to Rx, medical device firms

About 15% of institutional review board members, who are charged with deciding whether proposed clinical trials are ethical and safe, in the past year were asked to judge at least one proposal involving a drug or medical device company in which they have a financial stake or involving one of those company's competitors, according to a survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine

2 Dec 2006

Medicare prescription drug benefit cost almost $13B less in 2006 than expected

The Medicare prescription drug benefit will cost $30 billion in 2006, a 30% decrease from a previous estimate of $43 billion, according to CMS, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Freking, AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/29).

2 Dec 2006

West Virginia pilot project would create incentive program for Medicaid beneficiaries to live healthier

The New York Times on Friday examined new revisions to the West Virginia Medicaid program that will "reward 'responsible' patients with significant extra benefits or -- as critics describe it -- punish those who do not join weight-loss or anti-smoking programs, or who miss too many appointments, by denying important services" to help reduce costs.

2 Dec 2006

Pataki and Spitzer endorse commission's recommendations to overhaul New York State health care system

New York Gov. George Pataki (R) and Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer (D) on Wednesday endorsed a report recommending nine hospital closures and the reconfiguration of 48 additional hospitals in the state, Long Island Newsday reports (Clancy, Long Island Newsday, 11/30).

2 Dec 2006

Half of consumer-directed health plan enrollees say they would be likely to switch plans if given the opportunity

Half of individuals enrolled in consumer-directed plans said they would switch out of the plans if given the opportunity, while about one-third of enrollees in more traditional employer-sponsored health plans said they would change their coverage if they had the chance, according to a survey released on Thursday.

2 Dec 2006

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

Incoming House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that the federal government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Dec 2006

Medical News

Traditionally low status of girls fueling child sexual abuse in sub-Saharan Africa

Chinese court upholds prison term for human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng

Governments, donors falling short of antiretroviral treatment goals

Spread of HIV threatens India's economy

CleveMed awarded $245,000 NIH grant to develop a device for quantifying the efficacy of alternative medicine techniques

Why COX-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx can cause heart attacks and strokes

Advocates in India shift focus toward preventing spread of HIV among injection drug users

New approaches to expanding HIV testing

Interruptions in antiretroviral treatment increases risk of developing AIDS-related diseases

HIV/AIDS cases in Shanghai increase by 70%, HIV/AIDS discrimination in China continues

Cipla, Ranbaxy to cut pediatric antiretroviral drug prices

Thai Health Ministry to issue compulsory license for Merck's HIV/AIDS drug Efavirenz

Some Christian conservatives calling on Congress to reduce funding for Global Fund because of condom promotion

India's law criminalizing homosexuality is undermining the fight against HIV/AIDS

Some institutional review board members have ties to Rx, medical device firms

Medicare prescription drug benefit cost almost $13B less in 2006 than expected

West Virginia pilot project would create incentive program for Medicaid beneficiaries to live healthier

Pataki and Spitzer endorse commission's recommendations to overhaul New York State health care system

Half of consumer-directed health plan enrollees say they would be likely to switch plans if given the opportunity

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

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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