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Weakened immune response resulting from HIV infection can lead to trouble when it comes to treating malaria

"Our study demonstrates that HIV-1 infected patients with suppressed immunity represent, next to children and pregnant women, an additional vulnerable group for malaria," says Jean-Pierre Van geertruyden, MD, MSc, lead author of the article.

7 Sep 2006

Study shows how the plague bacteria Yersinia pestis causes disease

The bacteria responsible for the plague and some forms of food poisoning "paralyze" the immune system of their hosts in an unexpected way, according to a new study in the September 8, 2006 issue of the journal Cell.

7 Sep 2006

13 of 79 Iowa judges respond to questionnaire asking for views on abortion rights, other issues

Thirteen of the 79 Iowa judges who are running in the November election responded to a questionnaire sent by a conservative group that asked the judges to share their views on abortion rights and other issues, the AP/WHO-TV reports.

7 Sep 2006

Thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased

The number of new cases of thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased over the past decade despite a decline among women in mortality rates for most cancers, according to a report released Wednesday by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the National Cancer Institute, CDC and the American Cancer Society, Long Island Newsday reports.

7 Sep 2006

Sens. Specter, Harkin say 'hype' surrounding Nature study harms chances of expanding Federal stem cell funding

"Hype" surrounding a study published in the Aug. 24 edition of the journal Nature describing a technique that could derive human embryonic stem cells without destroying the embryo is harming chances of approving legislation to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 9/6).

7 Sep 2006

Congressional black caucus to promote plans to expand health coverage

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday during the group's annual legislative conference announced plans to promote expanding health care coverage and boosting the minimum wage in the 110th Congress, moves that CBC Chair Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) said would contribute to the "alleviation of poverty" in the U.S., CongressDaily reports.

7 Sep 2006

Reps. Price, Baldwin urge passage of bill that would encourage State health coverage expansion proposals

Reps. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on Wednesday at a joint event by the Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation encouraged lawmakers to back a bill (HR 5864) that would "allow states to act as laboratories where lawmakers could test methods to reduce the number of uninsured Americans," CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Sep 2006

What are the challenges facing medical education?

This question is discussed in this week's British Medical Journal, ahead of the annual meeting of the Association for Medical Education in Europe.

7 Sep 2006

NHS staff need basic knowledge about the social and physical ill effects of alcohol misuse

Large amounts of money and resources would be saved if all frontline NHS staff had basic knowledge about the social and physical ill effects of alcohol misuse, say doctors in this week's British Medical Journal.

7 Sep 2006

Claims that the discovery of a gene could help prevent diabetes may raise unrealistic expectations

Earlier this year, scientists discovered that a variant of the TCF7L2 gene was associated with type 2 diabetes. In subsequent media coverage, they claimed this could lead to a diagnostic test to identify people who carry the variant gene and that people who knew of their extra risk would then be motivated to avoid the lifestyle habits that lead to diabetes.

7 Sep 2006

Ageism is endemic in health services

In England, decades of health service underfunding have provided an environment in which ageism has flourished, writes Professor John Young in an editorial.

7 Sep 2006

Trial shows H5N1 vaccine safe and effective

A vaccine in development against the H5N1 influenza virus can produce a safe immune response in healthy people at low doses, according to an article published by The Lancet.

7 Sep 2006

New radiotherapy/chemotherapy strategy improves outcomes for children with medulloblastoma

Radiotherapy that is adapted for the severity of disease and followed by a shortened course of chemotherapy substantially improves the outcome of children with a type of brain tumour called medulloblastoma, claim investigators in an Online/Article in The Lancet Oncology.

7 Sep 2006

Mexico's health system reforms working

Julio Frenk, Minister of Health of Mexico, outlines the results of the country's 6-year project of health system reform in a Public Health article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

7 Sep 2006

SSRI's developed for premature ejaculation, safe and effective

A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) developed specifically for the treatment of premature ejaculation is safe and effective for men severely affected by the condition, according to an Article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

7 Sep 2006

Medicare should increase oversight to ensure privacy, security

Nearly half of insurers who sponsor Medicare Advantage plans experienced security breaches involving Medicare beneficiaries' private health records in the last two years, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

7 Sep 2006

Sacramento City Council approves sale of nonprescription needles

The Sacramento, Calif., City Council on Tuesday voted 6-2 to approve a measure that will allow the nonprescription sale of syringes to adults, the Sacramento Bee reports (Stern, Sacramento Bee, 9/6).

7 Sep 2006

U.S., Africa HIV/AIDS epidemics deserve equal attention, funding

Over the last few years, the U.S. increasingly has "turned its attention" to the HIV/AIDS "crisis" in Africa even though in "large parts of this country, America is Africa," Patrick Moore, author of "Tweaked: A Crystal Meth Memoir," writes in a Long Island Newsday opinion piece.

7 Sep 2006

Many adults need help understanding basic medical instructions, as most are written at above-average level

Fewer than one in six U.S. adults have proficient health literacy, according to report released on Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

7 Sep 2006

Please go Tshabalala-Msimang!

HIV/AIDS advocates and scientists, including a U.S. Nobel laureate, on Tuesday in a letter to South African President Thabo Mbeki called for Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to step down and protested the government's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Sep 2006

Medical News

Weakened immune response resulting from HIV infection can lead to trouble when it comes to treating malaria

Study shows how the plague bacteria Yersinia pestis causes disease

13 of 79 Iowa judges respond to questionnaire asking for views on abortion rights, other issues

Thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased

Sens. Specter, Harkin say 'hype' surrounding Nature study harms chances of expanding Federal stem cell funding

Congressional black caucus to promote plans to expand health coverage

Reps. Price, Baldwin urge passage of bill that would encourage State health coverage expansion proposals

What are the challenges facing medical education?

NHS staff need basic knowledge about the social and physical ill effects of alcohol misuse

Claims that the discovery of a gene could help prevent diabetes may raise unrealistic expectations

Ageism is endemic in health services

Trial shows H5N1 vaccine safe and effective

New radiotherapy/chemotherapy strategy improves outcomes for children with medulloblastoma

Mexico's health system reforms working

SSRI's developed for premature ejaculation, safe and effective

Medicare should increase oversight to ensure privacy, security

Sacramento City Council approves sale of nonprescription needles

U.S., Africa HIV/AIDS epidemics deserve equal attention, funding

Many adults need help understanding basic medical instructions, as most are written at above-average level

Please go Tshabalala-Msimang!

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

From street to lab: Advancing controlled substance testing with handheld Raman and FTIR

Reimagining light scattering for biotherapeutics

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