Air passengers from Israel quarantined in Canada for flu symptoms
About 80 passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv were quarantined for several hours at a Canadian airport late Tuesday after some of them showed flu symptoms, reports reaching here said Wednesday.
Eight people were violently ill during Air Canada flight 085, which arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport from Tel Aviv, carrying 201 passengers.
The quarantined passengers, aged 18 to 26, reportedly belong tothe same travel group. Some of them were suffering symptoms of vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.
Health officials said the eight had "acute gastroenteritis." One person was taken to hospital, while the rest were released later.
As many as 75 other passengers were detained at the airport for a few hours for extra screening as a precautionary measure.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Indonesian teenager hospitalized for suspected bird flu
Indonesian teenager hospitalized for suspected bird flu
A 12-year-old boy was hospitalized in Indonesia for developing bird flu symptoms and earlier contacts with a dead chicken, local press said Wednesday.
He was admitted to the Hasan Sadikin Hospital in the West Java capital of Bandung Tuesday with high fever, cough and respiratory problems.
A relative said he picked up a dead chicken in front of the house with bare hands and threw it to a nearby river. The following day, he became ill, reported major national newspaper Tempo's website.
If confirmed, he could be the 108th bird flu case in the country, where 94 people have died of the virus to make the world's highest death toll among any other affected countries.
A 12-year-old boy was hospitalized in Indonesia for developing bird flu symptoms and earlier contacts with a dead chicken, local press said Wednesday.
He was admitted to the Hasan Sadikin Hospital in the West Java capital of Bandung Tuesday with high fever, cough and respiratory problems.
A relative said he picked up a dead chicken in front of the house with bare hands and threw it to a nearby river. The following day, he became ill, reported major national newspaper Tempo's website.
If confirmed, he could be the 108th bird flu case in the country, where 94 people have died of the virus to make the world's highest death toll among any other affected countries.
U.S.: bacteria-laced milk kills 3, woman miscarries
U.S.: bacteria-laced milk kills 3, woman miscarries
The fifth-generation owners of Whittier Farms are proud of their Holstein cows, still deliver milk in glass bottles to front doors, and customers enjoy their products because they are a hormone-free taste of old New England.
But U.S. health officials now say three elderly men have died and at least one pregnant woman has miscarried since last June after drinking bacteria-contaminated milk from the dairy's plant in Shrewsbury, about 35 miles west of Boston.
All were infected with listeria, which is extremely rare in pasteurized milk. It is more often found in raw foods, such as uncooked meat and vegetables, and processed foods such as soft cheeses and cold cuts.
The outbreak is believed to be only the third time listeria has ever been linked to pasteurized milk in the United States, said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, state director of communicable disease control. A 1983 outbreak in Boston that was believed to have been caused by pasteurized milk led to 14 deaths.
"We know something is going on; we just don't know what it is," DeMaria said. "We just need to find out how the bacteria is getting into the milk."
Listeria bacteria are often present in manure and are commonly found in soil and water. Pasteurization is supposed to kill listeria. Tests at the Whittier Farms plant found nothing wrong with its pasteurization process.
Health investigators are now looking at the cooling and bottling machinery, including the connecting pipes, for the source of the bacteria, DeMaria said. Investigators have taken about 70 samples from vents, ceilings, floors, tanks, bottle-washers, bottles and other equipment.
Brian Gay, owner of Maple Farm Dairy, has distributed Whittier's milk for about a decade and said many of his customers were shocked by the outbreak. Some canceled their service, Gay said, but most seem willing to return to Whittier when the milk is deemed safe.
The fifth-generation owners of Whittier Farms are proud of their Holstein cows, still deliver milk in glass bottles to front doors, and customers enjoy their products because they are a hormone-free taste of old New England.
But U.S. health officials now say three elderly men have died and at least one pregnant woman has miscarried since last June after drinking bacteria-contaminated milk from the dairy's plant in Shrewsbury, about 35 miles west of Boston.
All were infected with listeria, which is extremely rare in pasteurized milk. It is more often found in raw foods, such as uncooked meat and vegetables, and processed foods such as soft cheeses and cold cuts.
The outbreak is believed to be only the third time listeria has ever been linked to pasteurized milk in the United States, said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, state director of communicable disease control. A 1983 outbreak in Boston that was believed to have been caused by pasteurized milk led to 14 deaths.
"We know something is going on; we just don't know what it is," DeMaria said. "We just need to find out how the bacteria is getting into the milk."
Listeria bacteria are often present in manure and are commonly found in soil and water. Pasteurization is supposed to kill listeria. Tests at the Whittier Farms plant found nothing wrong with its pasteurization process.
Health investigators are now looking at the cooling and bottling machinery, including the connecting pipes, for the source of the bacteria, DeMaria said. Investigators have taken about 70 samples from vents, ceilings, floors, tanks, bottle-washers, bottles and other equipment.
Brian Gay, owner of Maple Farm Dairy, has distributed Whittier's milk for about a decade and said many of his customers were shocked by the outbreak. Some canceled their service, Gay said, but most seem willing to return to Whittier when the milk is deemed safe.
Nearly 5% of poultry in Vietnam bear bird flu viruses
Nearly 5% of poultry in Vietnam bear bird flu viruses
Nearly five percent of 15,000 samples from healthy poultry in different cities and provinces in Vietnam have been tested positive to bird flu viruses, local newspaper People reported Wednesday.
Nearly 1.8 percent of tested waterfowls have bird flu viruses, the newspaper quoted a recent survey by the country's Department of Animal Health as reporting.
Fowls having high rates of bearing the viruses are raised in Lang Son, Ha Nam and Thai Binh in the northern region, Ha Tinh, DaNang and Quang Nam in the central region, and Long An, Dong Thap, Ca Mau and Tra Vinh in the southern region.
Bird flu is now hitting northern Thai Nguyen province and southern Tra Vinh province, said the department.
Nearly five percent of 15,000 samples from healthy poultry in different cities and provinces in Vietnam have been tested positive to bird flu viruses, local newspaper People reported Wednesday.
Nearly 1.8 percent of tested waterfowls have bird flu viruses, the newspaper quoted a recent survey by the country's Department of Animal Health as reporting.
Fowls having high rates of bearing the viruses are raised in Lang Son, Ha Nam and Thai Binh in the northern region, Ha Tinh, DaNang and Quang Nam in the central region, and Long An, Dong Thap, Ca Mau and Tra Vinh in the southern region.
Bird flu is now hitting northern Thai Nguyen province and southern Tra Vinh province, said the department.
Dengue death toll in S'pore raised from 8 to 20 last year
Dengue death toll in S'pore raised from 8 to 20 last year
Total 20 people died of dengue in Singapore last year, more than the originally reported eight fatalities, local English daily The Straits Times reported Wednesday.
This is nearly three times the number who lost their lives to the bite of the Aedes mosquito in 2006, when seven died, and not much lower than in 2005, when 25 were killed in the worst dengue outbreak here to date.
The proportion of deaths to the total number of reported cases of 8,826 last year is 0.2 percent, similar to that in 2006.
The new tally of 20 is based on the latest figures compiled by the Registry of Birth and Deaths, the Health Ministry told the English daily.
The newspaper said the under-reporting of deaths does highlight a loophole in the reporting system, which requires doctors to notify the Health Ministry when they discover a patient has dengue. However, it is currently not compulsory for doctors or hospitals to tell the ministry if dengue is detected or confirmed after a patient has died.
The ministry said it is acting to fix the oversight immediately.
Dengue fever is transmitted to humans by the Aedes mosquito, which breeds in still water. The virus can cause fever, severe headache, joint and muscular pains, vomiting, diarrhea and rashes. There is no commercially ready vaccine for dengue.
Total 20 people died of dengue in Singapore last year, more than the originally reported eight fatalities, local English daily The Straits Times reported Wednesday.
This is nearly three times the number who lost their lives to the bite of the Aedes mosquito in 2006, when seven died, and not much lower than in 2005, when 25 were killed in the worst dengue outbreak here to date.
The proportion of deaths to the total number of reported cases of 8,826 last year is 0.2 percent, similar to that in 2006.
The new tally of 20 is based on the latest figures compiled by the Registry of Birth and Deaths, the Health Ministry told the English daily.
The newspaper said the under-reporting of deaths does highlight a loophole in the reporting system, which requires doctors to notify the Health Ministry when they discover a patient has dengue. However, it is currently not compulsory for doctors or hospitals to tell the ministry if dengue is detected or confirmed after a patient has died.
The ministry said it is acting to fix the oversight immediately.
Dengue fever is transmitted to humans by the Aedes mosquito, which breeds in still water. The virus can cause fever, severe headache, joint and muscular pains, vomiting, diarrhea and rashes. There is no commercially ready vaccine for dengue.
Vietnam faces acute diarrhea return
Vietnam faces acute diarrhea return
Vietnam's Health Ministry has warned that acute diarrhea poses a threat to the coming Lunar New Year festival in February, following 17 cases of infections in Hanoi capital since the outbreak in the country was announced to have ended on Dec. 25, 2007, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Wednesday.
Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu on Tuesday asked all localities to deal with the reemergence of the disease by implementing inspections on food hygiene and safety, water supplies, and food processing workshops, especially those processing shrimp paste and raw vegetables. He also called for a serious response to any hygiene violations to ensure a healthy festival.
In his urgent message, Trieu urged strict supervision to find and treat acute diarrhea patients in a timely manner. City and provincial People's Committees had to take responsibility if widespread outbreaks occurred in their territories, he said.
Trieu also called for a public awareness campaign on food safety and hygiene with the help of the mass media.
Last October, acute diarrhea spread to 13 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Hanoi suffered the most with a majority of cases. There were about 2,000 cases with no fatalities in the capital, said the newspaper.
Brazil vaccinates in 18 states following yellow fever cases
Brazil vaccinates in 18 states following yellow fever cases
Brazil's Ministry of Health is carrying out vaccinations against yellow fever in 18 states following two human cases in Brasilia, local media reported Tuesday.
A 38-year-old man was taken to hospital in Brasilia last week, suffering from acute kidney failure. Doctors confirmed he was suffering from yellow fever.
Suspicions were raised late December when monkeys died of the disease in a national park in the federal capital.
The government's National Health Surveillance Agency vaccinated all citizens and visitors in Brasilia as well as in the neighboring state of Goias, where the patient had spent New Year's Eve.
However, because another case was tracked in the region, the agency extended vaccinations to 16 further states, including all those in northern and mid-western Brazil, as well as the states of Bahia, Maranhao and Piaui in the northeast, Santa Catarina in the south, Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo in the southeast, and the western region of Sao Paulo state.
Any person planning to visit the areas listed by the government must take the vaccine 10 days before arrival.
Over the past 12 years, 349 cases of the disease have been reported in Brazil, leading to 161 deaths. The cases were mainly in the rainforest region.
Cuban scientists discover new drugs for fighting heart diseases, parasites
Cuban scientists discover new drugs for fighting heart diseases, parasites
Cuban researchers have discovered substances that can reverse the side effects of drugs used to fight heart diseases and parasites, the country's Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported Tuesday.
The chemicals were derived from tiadiazines, based on their potential anti-parasite properties and the diversification of heterocyclical systems with pharmaceutical properties, the newspaper quoted Hortensia Rodriguez, head of Havana University's Organic Synthesis Laboratory, as saying.
After studying new agents which could be more effective against dangerous parasites, the researchers then sought compounds with novel molecular structures, using methods with a minimal environmental impact, the newspaper said.
Heart diseases and acute parasitic infections are among the world's most serious diseases.
Cuban researchers have discovered substances that can reverse the side effects of drugs used to fight heart diseases and parasites, the country's Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported Tuesday.
The chemicals were derived from tiadiazines, based on their potential anti-parasite properties and the diversification of heterocyclical systems with pharmaceutical properties, the newspaper quoted Hortensia Rodriguez, head of Havana University's Organic Synthesis Laboratory, as saying.
After studying new agents which could be more effective against dangerous parasites, the researchers then sought compounds with novel molecular structures, using methods with a minimal environmental impact, the newspaper said.
Heart diseases and acute parasitic infections are among the world's most serious diseases.
Study challenges drug's role in autism
Study challenges drug's role in autism
The use of mercury-based preservative thimerosal may not be linked with autism as previously thought, according to a new study.
The prevalence of autism in California children continued to rise after many vaccine manufacturers started to remove the mercury-based preservative thimerosal in 1999, suggesting that the chemical was not a primary cause of the disorder, according to the study published in the January issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The analysis found that from 2004 to 2007, when exposure to thimerosal dropped significantly for 3- to 5-year-olds, the rate continued to increase in that group from 3.0 to 4.1 per 1,000 children, according to the study.
"If mercury exposure in vaccines was a major cause of autism, then the number of ... affected kids should have diminished once they were no longer exposed to thimerosal," said Dr. Robert Schechter, lead author of the study and a medical officer at the state Department of Public Health. "That is not what we found."
The study is the latest in a series that has investigated the connection between thimerosal and autism. The majority have found no association.
The latest study was based on data from the California Department of Developmental Services, which provides services to about 36,000 people with autism and has one of the country's best reporting systems.
The researchers looked at all reported cases in the state of California starting with children born in 1989. They found the number of cases per 1,000 children has been steadily increasing from that point to March 2007, the end point of the study.
Steve M. Edelson, an experimental psychologist who is director of the Autism Research Institute, a nonprofit organization in San Diego of California, said the study, along with evidence from previous research, argued against thimerosal as the major culprit in autism.
But, he added, it still does not rule out all blame. Edelson said such large-scale analysis could overlook smaller groups of children, who for whatever reasons have a particular vulnerability to mercury. He said more solid evidence can only come from laboratory studies, such as postmortem analyses of the brains of autistic children.
The use of mercury-based preservative thimerosal may not be linked with autism as previously thought, according to a new study.
The prevalence of autism in California children continued to rise after many vaccine manufacturers started to remove the mercury-based preservative thimerosal in 1999, suggesting that the chemical was not a primary cause of the disorder, according to the study published in the January issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The analysis found that from 2004 to 2007, when exposure to thimerosal dropped significantly for 3- to 5-year-olds, the rate continued to increase in that group from 3.0 to 4.1 per 1,000 children, according to the study.
"If mercury exposure in vaccines was a major cause of autism, then the number of ... affected kids should have diminished once they were no longer exposed to thimerosal," said Dr. Robert Schechter, lead author of the study and a medical officer at the state Department of Public Health. "That is not what we found."
The study is the latest in a series that has investigated the connection between thimerosal and autism. The majority have found no association.
The latest study was based on data from the California Department of Developmental Services, which provides services to about 36,000 people with autism and has one of the country's best reporting systems.
The researchers looked at all reported cases in the state of California starting with children born in 1989. They found the number of cases per 1,000 children has been steadily increasing from that point to March 2007, the end point of the study.
Steve M. Edelson, an experimental psychologist who is director of the Autism Research Institute, a nonprofit organization in San Diego of California, said the study, along with evidence from previous research, argued against thimerosal as the major culprit in autism.
But, he added, it still does not rule out all blame. Edelson said such large-scale analysis could overlook smaller groups of children, who for whatever reasons have a particular vulnerability to mercury. He said more solid evidence can only come from laboratory studies, such as postmortem analyses of the brains of autistic children.
More Americans suffer heart problems due to terror stress
More Americans suffer heart problems due to terror stress
More Americans suffer heart problems because of stress and fear about terrorism after 9/11, according to a new study.
Heart problems are common even among those who have no personal connection to the attacks, according to the study conducted by researchers at the University of California in Irvine (UCI).
UCI researchers linked psychological stress responses to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to a 53 percent increase in heart problems -- including high blood pressure and stroke -- in the three years after Sept. 11, 2001, said the study published on Tuesday by the Los Angeles Times.
It was the first study to show the effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on cardiac health.
Most of those surveyed watched the attacks on live television, and one-third had no personal connection to them. Most of them had no preexisting heart problems, and the results persisted even when risk factors such as high cholesterol, smoking and obesity were taken into account, according to the study.
"It seems that the 9/11 attacks were so potent that media exposure helped to convey enough stress that people responded in away that contributed to their cardiovascular problems," Alison Holman, an assistant professor of nursing science at UCI and the study's lead researcher, said.
The three-year study took a random nationwide survey of more than 1,500 adults whose health information had been recorded before the terror attacks.
Researchers then asked participants about their stress responses in the weeks after the attacks and issued yearly follow-up questions ending in late 2004, said the study.
Chronic worriers -- those who continued to fear terrorism for several years after the attacks -- were the most at risk of heart problems, said the study.
More Americans suffer heart problems because of stress and fear about terrorism after 9/11, according to a new study.
Heart problems are common even among those who have no personal connection to the attacks, according to the study conducted by researchers at the University of California in Irvine (UCI).
UCI researchers linked psychological stress responses to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to a 53 percent increase in heart problems -- including high blood pressure and stroke -- in the three years after Sept. 11, 2001, said the study published on Tuesday by the Los Angeles Times.
It was the first study to show the effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on cardiac health.
Most of those surveyed watched the attacks on live television, and one-third had no personal connection to them. Most of them had no preexisting heart problems, and the results persisted even when risk factors such as high cholesterol, smoking and obesity were taken into account, according to the study.
"It seems that the 9/11 attacks were so potent that media exposure helped to convey enough stress that people responded in away that contributed to their cardiovascular problems," Alison Holman, an assistant professor of nursing science at UCI and the study's lead researcher, said.
The three-year study took a random nationwide survey of more than 1,500 adults whose health information had been recorded before the terror attacks.
Researchers then asked participants about their stress responses in the weeks after the attacks and issued yearly follow-up questions ending in late 2004, said the study.
Chronic worriers -- those who continued to fear terrorism for several years after the attacks -- were the most at risk of heart problems, said the study.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Dieting hardest for emotional eaters: study
Dieting hardest for emotional eaters: study
French fries are shown in Hollywood, California October 3, 2007. Emotional eaters -- people who eat when they are lonely or blue -- tend to lose the least amount of weight and have the hardest time keeping it off, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)CHICAGO (Reuters) - Emotional eaters -- people who eat whenthey are lonely or blue -- tend to lose the least amount ofweight and have the hardest time keeping it off, U.S.researchers said on Thursday.
They said the study may explain why so many people who loseweight gain it all back.
"We found that the more people report eating in response tothoughts and feelings, the less weight they lost," HeatherNiemeier, an obesity researcher at The Miriam Hospital and TheWarren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said in astatement.
"Amongst successful weight losers, those who reportemotional eating are more likely to regain," said Niemeier,whose study appears in the journal Obesity.
The study included 286 overweight men and women who wereparticipating in a behavioral weight loss program.
A second group consisted of more than 3,300 adults who havelost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year.
Niemeier and her team analyzed responses to an eatinginventory questionnaire.
They focused on people who ate because of externalinfluences, such as people who eat too much at parties, andpeople who ate because of internal influences, such as feelinglonely or as a reward.
What they found is that the more a person ate for internalreasons, the less weight they lost over time.
"Our results suggest that we need to pay more attention toeating triggered by emotions or thoughts as they clearly play asignificant role in weight loss," Niemeier said.
The study was funded by a grant from the NationalInstitutes of Health.
French fries are shown in Hollywood, California October 3, 2007. Emotional eaters -- people who eat when they are lonely or blue -- tend to lose the least amount of weight and have the hardest time keeping it off, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)CHICAGO (Reuters) - Emotional eaters -- people who eat whenthey are lonely or blue -- tend to lose the least amount ofweight and have the hardest time keeping it off, U.S.researchers said on Thursday.
They said the study may explain why so many people who loseweight gain it all back.
"We found that the more people report eating in response tothoughts and feelings, the less weight they lost," HeatherNiemeier, an obesity researcher at The Miriam Hospital and TheWarren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said in astatement.
"Amongst successful weight losers, those who reportemotional eating are more likely to regain," said Niemeier,whose study appears in the journal Obesity.
The study included 286 overweight men and women who wereparticipating in a behavioral weight loss program.
A second group consisted of more than 3,300 adults who havelost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year.
Niemeier and her team analyzed responses to an eatinginventory questionnaire.
They focused on people who ate because of externalinfluences, such as people who eat too much at parties, andpeople who ate because of internal influences, such as feelinglonely or as a reward.
What they found is that the more a person ate for internalreasons, the less weight they lost over time.
"Our results suggest that we need to pay more attention toeating triggered by emotions or thoughts as they clearly play asignificant role in weight loss," Niemeier said.
The study was funded by a grant from the NationalInstitutes of Health.
FDA to allow general sales of Zyrtec-D
FDA to allow general sales of Zyrtec-D
WASHINGTON - The popular allergy drug Zyrtec-D can now sell without a prescription, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
Zyrtec-D combines the antihistamine cetirizine with a nasal decongestant, pseudoephedrine. It is for use by adults and children 12 or older to relieve symptoms of hay fever and other respiratory allergies.
Like other brands that contain pseudoephedrine, nonprescription Zyrtec-D will be sold from behind store counters because of a new law that requires customers to show identification, among other steps, before buying the decongestant. The law is intended to limit purchases of large quantities of pseudoephedrine, which can be used to cook the illegal drug methamphetamine.
Zyrtec-D is distributed by McNeil Consumer Healthcare.
WASHINGTON - The popular allergy drug Zyrtec-D can now sell without a prescription, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
Zyrtec-D combines the antihistamine cetirizine with a nasal decongestant, pseudoephedrine. It is for use by adults and children 12 or older to relieve symptoms of hay fever and other respiratory allergies.
Like other brands that contain pseudoephedrine, nonprescription Zyrtec-D will be sold from behind store counters because of a new law that requires customers to show identification, among other steps, before buying the decongestant. The law is intended to limit purchases of large quantities of pseudoephedrine, which can be used to cook the illegal drug methamphetamine.
Zyrtec-D is distributed by McNeil Consumer Healthcare.
Zyrtec-D Approved Without Prescription
Zyrtec-D Approved Without Prescription
FRIDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and DrugAdministration approved on Friday the allergy drug Zyrtec-D fornon-prescription use in people 12 and older. It combines theantihistamine Zyrtec with a nasal decongestant.
Zyrtec-D (cetirizine hydrochloride/pseudoephedrine) has been sold as aprescription drug since 2001. Sold by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, it'sprescribed for relief of allergy symptoms, including runny nose, sneezing,itchy eyes and nose, and nasal congestion.
Zyrtec-D also is used for reducing swelling of nasal passages, forrelief of sinus congestion and pressure, and for restoring freer breathingthrough the nose.
Hay fever and other allergies are the sixth-leading cause of chronicdisease, with about 50 million sufferers each year in the United States,according to the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases.
"The approval of this widely used drug for nonprescription use willenable many people to have access to another effective treatment for theirallergy symptoms," Dr. Andrea Leonard-Segal, director of the FDA'sDivision of Nonprescription Clinical Evaluation, said in a preparedstatement.
Common side effects of Zyrtec-D include drowsiness and dry mouth, theFDA said.
Because the drug contains pseudoephedrine, it is subject to salesrestrictions imposed by the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act,passed in 2005. These restrictions include limiting the amount that aperson can buy, and tracking requirements imposed on stores distributingthe product, the FDA said.
More information
The FDA has more about this drug's history.
FRIDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and DrugAdministration approved on Friday the allergy drug Zyrtec-D fornon-prescription use in people 12 and older. It combines theantihistamine Zyrtec with a nasal decongestant.
Zyrtec-D (cetirizine hydrochloride/pseudoephedrine) has been sold as aprescription drug since 2001. Sold by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, it'sprescribed for relief of allergy symptoms, including runny nose, sneezing,itchy eyes and nose, and nasal congestion.
Zyrtec-D also is used for reducing swelling of nasal passages, forrelief of sinus congestion and pressure, and for restoring freer breathingthrough the nose.
Hay fever and other allergies are the sixth-leading cause of chronicdisease, with about 50 million sufferers each year in the United States,according to the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases.
"The approval of this widely used drug for nonprescription use willenable many people to have access to another effective treatment for theirallergy symptoms," Dr. Andrea Leonard-Segal, director of the FDA'sDivision of Nonprescription Clinical Evaluation, said in a preparedstatement.
Common side effects of Zyrtec-D include drowsiness and dry mouth, theFDA said.
Because the drug contains pseudoephedrine, it is subject to salesrestrictions imposed by the federal Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act,passed in 2005. These restrictions include limiting the amount that aperson can buy, and tracking requirements imposed on stores distributingthe product, the FDA said.
More information
The FDA has more about this drug's history.
Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 9, 2007
Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 9, 2007
(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesyof Thomson CenterWatch:
Dupuytren's Disease
If you are 18 or older and have Dupuytrens contracture,an abnormal thickening beneath the skin in the palm of the hand, you maybe eligible to participate in this clinical study.
The research siteis in Phoenix, Ariz.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat255.html.
-----
Insomnia
If you are 18 or older and wake frequently during thenight, or wake too early in the morning without being able to get back tosleep, you may be eligible to participate in this study.
Theresearch site is in Mineola, N.Y.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat189.html.
-----
Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial
If you are 12 or older and have had seasonal allergysymptoms for at least two years, you may be eligible to participate inthis study.
The research site is in Austin, Texas.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat804.html.
-----
Copyright 2007 Thomson CenterWatch. All rights reserved.
(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesyof Thomson CenterWatch:
Dupuytren's Disease
If you are 18 or older and have Dupuytrens contracture,an abnormal thickening beneath the skin in the palm of the hand, you maybe eligible to participate in this clinical study.
The research siteis in Phoenix, Ariz.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat255.html.
-----
Insomnia
If you are 18 or older and wake frequently during thenight, or wake too early in the morning without being able to get back tosleep, you may be eligible to participate in this study.
Theresearch site is in Mineola, N.Y.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat189.html.
-----
Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial
If you are 12 or older and have had seasonal allergysymptoms for at least two years, you may be eligible to participate inthis study.
The research site is in Austin, Texas.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat804.html.
-----
Copyright 2007 Thomson CenterWatch. All rights reserved.
Pill Poses Little Cervical Cancer Risk
Pill Poses Little Cervical Cancer Risk
FRIDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Women taking oralcontraceptives are at a slightly increased risk for developing cervicalcancer, but a decade after stopping the pill even this very small riskdisappears, a new British study suggests.
However, that finding doesn't change the recommendation for women tocontinue getting screened for cervical cancer, experts say.
"This is good news," said lead researcher Dr. Jane Green, anepidemiologist in the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University ofOxford. "We have been able to estimate the lifetime risk of cervicalcancer for women on the pill and find it's really quite small," shesaid.
"The small increase in cervical cancer we see in women who are takingoral contraceptives starts to fall once pill use stops and has really goneaway by 10 years after stopping use," Green said.
"The pill has many other benefits, including reducing the risk of othercancers, such as ovarian cancer and womb cancer," Green added.
The report is published in the Nov.10 issue of The Lancet.
In the study, Green and her colleagues from the InternationalCollaboration of Epidemiological Studies of Cervical Cancer collected dataon almost 16,600 women with cervical cancer and more than 35,500 womenwithout cervical cancer. These women had participated in a total of 24studies.
Green's team confirmed that the risk of cervical cancer among women whouse oral contraceptives does increase over time. But this increase in riskis very small -- women who take contraceptives for five years or more haveonly about twice the risk compared with women who never took the pill.
In absolute terms, that means that a 20-year-old woman living in adeveloped country who uses an oral contraceptive for 10 years increasesher odds of developing cervical cancer by age 50 from 3.8 cases per 1,000women (without Pill use) to 4.5 per 1,000 women after using oralcontraception. In less developed countries, where access to cervicalcancer screening is more limited, that risk rises from 7.3 to 8.3 casesper 1,000 women, the researchers estimated.
Similar risk was seen for invasive and localized cancer and in womenwho have the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes about 70 percent ofall cervical cancers, Green noted.
Although the risk for cervical cancer associated with the Pill issmall, Green advised women to still be screened for the disease."Screening for cervical cancer is effective," she said. "The advice is togo for regular screenings."
Eventually, Green hopes that the vaccination against the humanpapillomavirus will go a long way to preventing many cases of cervicalcancer.
One expert agreed that the findings showed the risk for cervical cancerfrom oral contraceptives was very small.
"This is reassuring news for women," said Dr. Peter Sasieni, from theWolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Queen Mary University ofLondon and author of an accompanying journal comment. "There is really aminimal risk from oral contraceptives, and that risk disappears fairlysoon when you stop taking them," he said.
"When making a decision about what from of contraception to use, womenshouldn't worry about cervical cancer," Sasieni concluded. "It's not anissue," he said.
However, he believes that taking oral contraceptives is another goodreason to get screened regularly for the disease. "By going for regularscreenings, a women can reduce her risk by 80 percent," Sasieni said.
Another expert agreed that women shouldn't worry about the Pill andcervical cancer risk.
"I don't think women are basing their decision of which form ofcontraception to use on the risk for cervical cancer," said Debbie Saslow,director of breast and gynecologic cancer at the American Cancer Society."People who want to use oral contraceptives should not be alarmed over theslight increase in cervical cancer risk," she said.
However, women -- whether they take oral contraceptives or not --should be getting regular cervical cancer screening, Saslow said.
FRIDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Women taking oralcontraceptives are at a slightly increased risk for developing cervicalcancer, but a decade after stopping the pill even this very small riskdisappears, a new British study suggests.
However, that finding doesn't change the recommendation for women tocontinue getting screened for cervical cancer, experts say.
"This is good news," said lead researcher Dr. Jane Green, anepidemiologist in the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University ofOxford. "We have been able to estimate the lifetime risk of cervicalcancer for women on the pill and find it's really quite small," shesaid.
"The small increase in cervical cancer we see in women who are takingoral contraceptives starts to fall once pill use stops and has really goneaway by 10 years after stopping use," Green said.
"The pill has many other benefits, including reducing the risk of othercancers, such as ovarian cancer and womb cancer," Green added.
The report is published in the Nov.10 issue of The Lancet.
In the study, Green and her colleagues from the InternationalCollaboration of Epidemiological Studies of Cervical Cancer collected dataon almost 16,600 women with cervical cancer and more than 35,500 womenwithout cervical cancer. These women had participated in a total of 24studies.
Green's team confirmed that the risk of cervical cancer among women whouse oral contraceptives does increase over time. But this increase in riskis very small -- women who take contraceptives for five years or more haveonly about twice the risk compared with women who never took the pill.
In absolute terms, that means that a 20-year-old woman living in adeveloped country who uses an oral contraceptive for 10 years increasesher odds of developing cervical cancer by age 50 from 3.8 cases per 1,000women (without Pill use) to 4.5 per 1,000 women after using oralcontraception. In less developed countries, where access to cervicalcancer screening is more limited, that risk rises from 7.3 to 8.3 casesper 1,000 women, the researchers estimated.
Similar risk was seen for invasive and localized cancer and in womenwho have the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes about 70 percent ofall cervical cancers, Green noted.
Although the risk for cervical cancer associated with the Pill issmall, Green advised women to still be screened for the disease."Screening for cervical cancer is effective," she said. "The advice is togo for regular screenings."
Eventually, Green hopes that the vaccination against the humanpapillomavirus will go a long way to preventing many cases of cervicalcancer.
One expert agreed that the findings showed the risk for cervical cancerfrom oral contraceptives was very small.
"This is reassuring news for women," said Dr. Peter Sasieni, from theWolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Queen Mary University ofLondon and author of an accompanying journal comment. "There is really aminimal risk from oral contraceptives, and that risk disappears fairlysoon when you stop taking them," he said.
"When making a decision about what from of contraception to use, womenshouldn't worry about cervical cancer," Sasieni concluded. "It's not anissue," he said.
However, he believes that taking oral contraceptives is another goodreason to get screened regularly for the disease. "By going for regularscreenings, a women can reduce her risk by 80 percent," Sasieni said.
Another expert agreed that women shouldn't worry about the Pill andcervical cancer risk.
"I don't think women are basing their decision of which form ofcontraception to use on the risk for cervical cancer," said Debbie Saslow,director of breast and gynecologic cancer at the American Cancer Society."People who want to use oral contraceptives should not be alarmed over theslight increase in cervical cancer risk," she said.
However, women -- whether they take oral contraceptives or not --should be getting regular cervical cancer screening, Saslow said.
Fighting fat and climate change
Fighting fat and climate change
WASHINGTON - America's obesity epidemic and global warming might not seem to have much in common. But public health experts suggest people can attack them both by cutting calories and carbon dioxide at the same time.
How? Get out of your car and walk or bike half an hour a day instead of driving. And while you're at it, eat less red meat. That's how Americans can simultaneously save the planet and their health, say doctors and climate scientists.
The payoffs are huge, although unlikely to happen. One numbers-crunching scientist calculates that if all Americans between 10 and 74 walked just half an hour a day instead of driving, they would cut the annual U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, by 64 million tons.
About 6.5 billion gallons of gasoline would be saved. And Americans would also shed more than 3 billion pounds overall, according to these calculations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering public promotion of the "co-benefits" of fighting global warming and obesity-related illnesses through everyday exercise, like walking to school or work, said Dr. Howard Frumkin, director of the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health.
"A simple intervention like walking to school is a climate change intervention, an obesity intervention, a diabetes intervention, a safety intervention," Frumkin told The Associated Press. "That's the sweet spot."
Climate change is a deadly and worsening public health issue, said Frumkin and other experts. The World Health Organization estimated that 160,000 people died in 2000 from malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition and drownings from floods — problems that public health and climate scientists contend were worsened by global warming. Officials predict that in the future those numbers will be higher.
The American Public Health Association, which will highlight the health problems of global warming in April, is seeking to connect obesity and climate change solutions, said executive director Dr. Georges Benjamin.
"This may present the greatest public health opportunity that we've had in a century," said University of Wisconsin health sciences professor Dr. Jonathan Patz, president of the International Association for Ecology and Health.
The key is getting people out of the car, Patz and Frumkin told the public health association at its annual convention. Reducing car travel in favor of biking or walking would not only cut obesity and greenhouse gases, they said, it would also mean less smog, fewer deaths from car crashes, less osteoporosis, and even less depression since exercise helps beat the blues.
In a little-noticed scientific paper in 2005, Paul Higgins, a scientist and policy fellow with the American Meteorological Society, calculated specific savings from adopting federal government recommendations for half an hour a day of exercise instead of driving.
The average person walking half an hour a day would lose about 13 pounds a year. And if everyone did that instead of driving the same distance, the nation would burn a total of 10.5 trillion calories, according to the scientist, formerly with the University of California at Berkeley. At the same time, that would cut carbon dioxide emissions by about the same amount New Mexico produces, he said.
"The real bang for the buck in reducing greenhouse gas emissions was from the avoided health expenses of a sedentary lifestyle," said Higgins.
But it's not just getting out of the car that's needed, said Dr. Robert Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. A diet shift away from heavy meat consumption would also go far, he said, because it takes much more energy and land to produce meat than fruits, vegetables and grains.
Recent studies support that argument. Last year the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that the meat sector of the global economy is responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Much of that is indirect, including the fertilizer needed to grow massive amounts of feed for livestock, energy use in the whole growing process, methane released from fertilizer and animal manure, and transportation of the cattle and meat products.
Similar calculations were made in a study in September in the medical journal Lancet.
The average American man eats 1.6 times as much meat as the government recommends, Lawrence said. Some studies have shown eating a lot of red meat is linked to a higher risk for colon cancer.
As for fighting obesity and global warming by walking and cycling, don't expect people to do it easily, said Kristie Ebi. She's a Virginia public health consultant and one of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.Citing the decades-long effort to curb smoking, she said, "It turns out changing people's habits is very hard."___On the Net:American Public Health Association: http://www.apha.org/National Center for Environmental Health: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/climatechange/
WASHINGTON - America's obesity epidemic and global warming might not seem to have much in common. But public health experts suggest people can attack them both by cutting calories and carbon dioxide at the same time.
How? Get out of your car and walk or bike half an hour a day instead of driving. And while you're at it, eat less red meat. That's how Americans can simultaneously save the planet and their health, say doctors and climate scientists.
The payoffs are huge, although unlikely to happen. One numbers-crunching scientist calculates that if all Americans between 10 and 74 walked just half an hour a day instead of driving, they would cut the annual U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, by 64 million tons.
About 6.5 billion gallons of gasoline would be saved. And Americans would also shed more than 3 billion pounds overall, according to these calculations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering public promotion of the "co-benefits" of fighting global warming and obesity-related illnesses through everyday exercise, like walking to school or work, said Dr. Howard Frumkin, director of the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health.
"A simple intervention like walking to school is a climate change intervention, an obesity intervention, a diabetes intervention, a safety intervention," Frumkin told The Associated Press. "That's the sweet spot."
Climate change is a deadly and worsening public health issue, said Frumkin and other experts. The World Health Organization estimated that 160,000 people died in 2000 from malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition and drownings from floods — problems that public health and climate scientists contend were worsened by global warming. Officials predict that in the future those numbers will be higher.
The American Public Health Association, which will highlight the health problems of global warming in April, is seeking to connect obesity and climate change solutions, said executive director Dr. Georges Benjamin.
"This may present the greatest public health opportunity that we've had in a century," said University of Wisconsin health sciences professor Dr. Jonathan Patz, president of the International Association for Ecology and Health.
The key is getting people out of the car, Patz and Frumkin told the public health association at its annual convention. Reducing car travel in favor of biking or walking would not only cut obesity and greenhouse gases, they said, it would also mean less smog, fewer deaths from car crashes, less osteoporosis, and even less depression since exercise helps beat the blues.
In a little-noticed scientific paper in 2005, Paul Higgins, a scientist and policy fellow with the American Meteorological Society, calculated specific savings from adopting federal government recommendations for half an hour a day of exercise instead of driving.
The average person walking half an hour a day would lose about 13 pounds a year. And if everyone did that instead of driving the same distance, the nation would burn a total of 10.5 trillion calories, according to the scientist, formerly with the University of California at Berkeley. At the same time, that would cut carbon dioxide emissions by about the same amount New Mexico produces, he said.
"The real bang for the buck in reducing greenhouse gas emissions was from the avoided health expenses of a sedentary lifestyle," said Higgins.
But it's not just getting out of the car that's needed, said Dr. Robert Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. A diet shift away from heavy meat consumption would also go far, he said, because it takes much more energy and land to produce meat than fruits, vegetables and grains.
Recent studies support that argument. Last year the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that the meat sector of the global economy is responsible for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Much of that is indirect, including the fertilizer needed to grow massive amounts of feed for livestock, energy use in the whole growing process, methane released from fertilizer and animal manure, and transportation of the cattle and meat products.
Similar calculations were made in a study in September in the medical journal Lancet.
The average American man eats 1.6 times as much meat as the government recommends, Lawrence said. Some studies have shown eating a lot of red meat is linked to a higher risk for colon cancer.
As for fighting obesity and global warming by walking and cycling, don't expect people to do it easily, said Kristie Ebi. She's a Virginia public health consultant and one of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.Citing the decades-long effort to curb smoking, she said, "It turns out changing people's habits is very hard."___On the Net:American Public Health Association: http://www.apha.org/National Center for Environmental Health: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/climatechange/
Record number of recalls in US bring raft of safety tests
Record number of recalls in US bring raft of safety tests
This image received courtesy of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission shows Aqua Dots. China's product safety watchdog halted the export of a toy suspected of containing toxic substances in the latest scandal plaguing the "made in China" brand, state press said Saturday. A wave of recalls in the United States, including the withdrawal from sale of several products aimed at children, has sparked a surge in the number of product safety tests which are uncovering yet more dangerous items.(AFP/HO)WASHINGTON (AFP) - A wave of recalls in the United States, including the withdrawal from sale of several products aimed at children, has sparked a surge in the number of product safety tests which are uncovering yet more dangerous items.
Last month, the Consumers Union dubbed 2007 "the year of the recall," saying a record number of dangerous foods and unsafe products had been pulled off the shelves in the United States.
"One million cribs with side rails that can separate and strangle infants, 175 million pieces of children??s jewelry made with hazardous levels of lead, and 30 million pounds of ground beef contaminated with the deadly e-coli bacteria all appeared on the list of recalls for 2007," the non-profit consumer group said in a statement.
The latest massive recall came on Wednesday when 4.2 million Chinese-made toy bead sets were taken off sale because they contained a substance that has a similar toxic effect as GHB, the so-called date rape drug, when ingested.
"Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures," the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The same day, nearly 400,000 Chinese-made toys, most of them miniature cars, were recalled for containing unacceptable levels of lead paint.
And on Thursday, 175,000 Curious George plush toys and 51,000 sets of children's sunglasses were recalled, also for having high levels of lead in their decorative paint.
Since the wave of recalls, many involving products made in China, began gathering speed this summer, consumer protection groups, officials from different states and even individuals have begun conducting safety tests on all manner of products.
Greenpeace Research Laboratories found the plastic coating of Apple iPhone headphone cables to contain "a high level of chlorine... along with phthalates plasticizers."
The phthalates found in the headphone cables are classified as "toxic to reproduction, category 2, because of their long-recognised ability to interfere with sexual development in mammals," Greenpeace senior scientist, Dr. David Santillo said on the environmental activist organization's international website.
"These phthalates are banned from use in all toys or childcare articles sold in Europe," he said.
Officials at Apple were not available for comment.
Greenpeace also tested five makes of laptop computer for dangerous chemicals. Those tests showed high levels of some potentially toxic substances in Apple and Hewlett Packard laptops in particular.
In Arizona, the department of health services issued an alert on Thursday about poker chips with potentially dangerous levels of lead.
Up to 20 million of the tainted poker chips are used in large casinos in the United States, as well as in individual homes.
Just weeks before Halloween, a hugely popular holiday with children in the United States that falls on the last day of October, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown commissioned a university chemistry department to conduct lead tests on 22 items.
The paint on three of the items, or 14 percent of the products tested, was found to be excessively high in lead.
Lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system of children, behavior and learning problems, slowed growth, hearing problems and headaches.It is also potentially harmful to adults, in whom it can lead to reproductive problems, high blood pressure, and memory and concentration problems, among others.In the first half of October, more than two million products, many of them aimed at children, were recalled in the United States for exceeding the levels of lead allowed by US safety laws.As the number of lead-related recalls has soared, kits for home lead tests have been snapped up like hotcakes."Our sales have increased quite dramatically," a spokesperson at Homax Lead Check said, without quantifying the rise.Meanwhile, the independent Consumer Reports watchdog has warned that its lab tests have "detected lead at widely varying levels in samples of dishware, jewelry, glue stick caps, vinyl backpacks, children's ceramic tea sets, and other toys and items not on any federal recall list."
This image received courtesy of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission shows Aqua Dots. China's product safety watchdog halted the export of a toy suspected of containing toxic substances in the latest scandal plaguing the "made in China" brand, state press said Saturday. A wave of recalls in the United States, including the withdrawal from sale of several products aimed at children, has sparked a surge in the number of product safety tests which are uncovering yet more dangerous items.(AFP/HO)WASHINGTON (AFP) - A wave of recalls in the United States, including the withdrawal from sale of several products aimed at children, has sparked a surge in the number of product safety tests which are uncovering yet more dangerous items.
Last month, the Consumers Union dubbed 2007 "the year of the recall," saying a record number of dangerous foods and unsafe products had been pulled off the shelves in the United States.
"One million cribs with side rails that can separate and strangle infants, 175 million pieces of children??s jewelry made with hazardous levels of lead, and 30 million pounds of ground beef contaminated with the deadly e-coli bacteria all appeared on the list of recalls for 2007," the non-profit consumer group said in a statement.
The latest massive recall came on Wednesday when 4.2 million Chinese-made toy bead sets were taken off sale because they contained a substance that has a similar toxic effect as GHB, the so-called date rape drug, when ingested.
"Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures," the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The same day, nearly 400,000 Chinese-made toys, most of them miniature cars, were recalled for containing unacceptable levels of lead paint.
And on Thursday, 175,000 Curious George plush toys and 51,000 sets of children's sunglasses were recalled, also for having high levels of lead in their decorative paint.
Since the wave of recalls, many involving products made in China, began gathering speed this summer, consumer protection groups, officials from different states and even individuals have begun conducting safety tests on all manner of products.
Greenpeace Research Laboratories found the plastic coating of Apple iPhone headphone cables to contain "a high level of chlorine... along with phthalates plasticizers."
The phthalates found in the headphone cables are classified as "toxic to reproduction, category 2, because of their long-recognised ability to interfere with sexual development in mammals," Greenpeace senior scientist, Dr. David Santillo said on the environmental activist organization's international website.
"These phthalates are banned from use in all toys or childcare articles sold in Europe," he said.
Officials at Apple were not available for comment.
Greenpeace also tested five makes of laptop computer for dangerous chemicals. Those tests showed high levels of some potentially toxic substances in Apple and Hewlett Packard laptops in particular.
In Arizona, the department of health services issued an alert on Thursday about poker chips with potentially dangerous levels of lead.
Up to 20 million of the tainted poker chips are used in large casinos in the United States, as well as in individual homes.
Just weeks before Halloween, a hugely popular holiday with children in the United States that falls on the last day of October, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown commissioned a university chemistry department to conduct lead tests on 22 items.
The paint on three of the items, or 14 percent of the products tested, was found to be excessively high in lead.
Lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system of children, behavior and learning problems, slowed growth, hearing problems and headaches.It is also potentially harmful to adults, in whom it can lead to reproductive problems, high blood pressure, and memory and concentration problems, among others.In the first half of October, more than two million products, many of them aimed at children, were recalled in the United States for exceeding the levels of lead allowed by US safety laws.As the number of lead-related recalls has soared, kits for home lead tests have been snapped up like hotcakes."Our sales have increased quite dramatically," a spokesperson at Homax Lead Check said, without quantifying the rise.Meanwhile, the independent Consumer Reports watchdog has warned that its lab tests have "detected lead at widely varying levels in samples of dishware, jewelry, glue stick caps, vinyl backpacks, children's ceramic tea sets, and other toys and items not on any federal recall list."
China to relax ban on HIV/AIDS carriers entering the country
China to relax ban on HIV/AIDS carriers entering the country
A Chinese nurse prepares an injection at a Shanghai hospital, 2002. China is planning to relax regulations barring HIV/AIDS carriers from entering the country. The move came in response to improved public understanding about the way the virus spreads, health officials said, without specifying when the new rules would come into effect.(AFP/File/Liu Jin)BEIJING (AFP) - China plans to relax rules that are currently barring HIV/AIDS carriers from entering the country, the health ministry said on Monday.
Ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an said the decision was based on current knowledge of the way the AIDS virus spreads.
He said the existing restrictions, strongly criticised by AIDS activists as discriminatory, were introduced when people were "unfamiliar" with how the disease may spread.
Mao did not disclose when the new rules would take effect, or if the relaxation would mean a complete end to limits on HIV/AIDS carriers' entry into China.
China had 650,000 HIV/AIDS patients according to an estimate put forward jointly by the government and United Nations health agencies in January 2006.
Mao said the government would release its latest estimate of the number of people having HIV/AIDS in China at the end of November.
A Chinese nurse prepares an injection at a Shanghai hospital, 2002. China is planning to relax regulations barring HIV/AIDS carriers from entering the country. The move came in response to improved public understanding about the way the virus spreads, health officials said, without specifying when the new rules would come into effect.(AFP/File/Liu Jin)BEIJING (AFP) - China plans to relax rules that are currently barring HIV/AIDS carriers from entering the country, the health ministry said on Monday.
Ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an said the decision was based on current knowledge of the way the AIDS virus spreads.
He said the existing restrictions, strongly criticised by AIDS activists as discriminatory, were introduced when people were "unfamiliar" with how the disease may spread.
Mao did not disclose when the new rules would take effect, or if the relaxation would mean a complete end to limits on HIV/AIDS carriers' entry into China.
China had 650,000 HIV/AIDS patients according to an estimate put forward jointly by the government and United Nations health agencies in January 2006.
Mao said the government would release its latest estimate of the number of people having HIV/AIDS in China at the end of November.
Eight-limbed Indian toddler stable after surgery
Eight-limbed Indian toddler stable after surgery
Lakshmi before surgery to remove her 'parasitic twin' that stopped developing in the womb. A two-year-old Indian girl, born with four arms and four legs, is making a good recovery after a 27-hour operation last week. Doctors say her condition is stable and will decide later this week whether to move her from the intensive care unit.(AFP/File)BANGALORE, India (AFP) - A two-year-old Indian girl who was born with four arms and four legs is making a good recovery after a marathon operation last week, doctors said Monday.
"She is more or less stable now but her wounds have to heal still," said Sharan Patil, who led the team of surgeons that completed the 27-hour procedure last Wednesday.
Lakshmi, named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, was born fused to the pelvis of the twin that stopped developing in her mother's womb.
"Infection is still an issue because she is so little," Patil told AFP. "We will decide tomorrow when to move her from the ICU (Intensive Care Unit)."
Lakshmi is cheerful and has been spending time with her father, Shambhu, mother Poonam, and older brother Mithelesh over the past two days, responding well to interaction with her family and hospital staff, the surgeon said.
She is able to eat semi-solid food such as rice pancakes and soft breads after regaining consciousness and being taken off a respirator Friday, Patil said.
In the rare, risky operation -- the first of its kind to be performed in India -- doctors separated Lakshmi from the organs and body parts of the other foetus, a condition that occurs once in 50,000 conjoined twin births.
Her parents, from a remote district in poverty-stricken eastern Bihar state, brought her to Bangalore after a New Delhi hospital refused to perform the operation, saying the case was too complex and the cost prohibitive.
The surgery, which cost 2.4 million rupees (60,000 dollars), was performed free by the Bangalore hospital.
Lakshmi before surgery to remove her 'parasitic twin' that stopped developing in the womb. A two-year-old Indian girl, born with four arms and four legs, is making a good recovery after a 27-hour operation last week. Doctors say her condition is stable and will decide later this week whether to move her from the intensive care unit.(AFP/File)BANGALORE, India (AFP) - A two-year-old Indian girl who was born with four arms and four legs is making a good recovery after a marathon operation last week, doctors said Monday.
"She is more or less stable now but her wounds have to heal still," said Sharan Patil, who led the team of surgeons that completed the 27-hour procedure last Wednesday.
Lakshmi, named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, was born fused to the pelvis of the twin that stopped developing in her mother's womb.
"Infection is still an issue because she is so little," Patil told AFP. "We will decide tomorrow when to move her from the ICU (Intensive Care Unit)."
Lakshmi is cheerful and has been spending time with her father, Shambhu, mother Poonam, and older brother Mithelesh over the past two days, responding well to interaction with her family and hospital staff, the surgeon said.
She is able to eat semi-solid food such as rice pancakes and soft breads after regaining consciousness and being taken off a respirator Friday, Patil said.
In the rare, risky operation -- the first of its kind to be performed in India -- doctors separated Lakshmi from the organs and body parts of the other foetus, a condition that occurs once in 50,000 conjoined twin births.
Her parents, from a remote district in poverty-stricken eastern Bihar state, brought her to Bangalore after a New Delhi hospital refused to perform the operation, saying the case was too complex and the cost prohibitive.
The surgery, which cost 2.4 million rupees (60,000 dollars), was performed free by the Bangalore hospital.
Drug injecting triggers most Mauritius HIV cases
Drug injecting triggers most Mauritius HIV cases
A volunteer aiming to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS displays clean syringes at Baie du Tombeau, Mauritius, November 12, 2007. (Ed Harris/Reuters)ROCHE BOIS, Mauritius (Reuters) - Drug abuse accounts for92 percent of new HIV infections in Mauritius, up from just 14percent in 2002, the government said on Monday.
The Indian Ocean island nation has an estimated HIVprevalence rate of 1.8 percent, which is low for the region. Onthe African mainland, HIV infection rates stand at 16.1 percentin Mozambique and 18.8 percent in South Africa, for example.
But officials say risky practices like sharing needles usedfor injecting drugs are causing many more infections. Mauritiussuffers the second highest rate of heroin and opiate use in theworld, according to U.N. figures.
"Some 92 percent of the virus' transmission today isthrough the exchange of needles by drug addicts," saidMauritius' minister of health and quality of life, SatyaFaugoo.
The government was expanding a needle exchange program tosupply drug users, he said.
"Initially, we are targeting some 2,000 drug addicts byJune," Faugoo told Reuters, adding that the authorities werealso planning to treat another 1,000 addicts with opiatesubstitute methadone.
Mauritius has an estimated 20,000 drug addicts among its1.3 million population, according to government figures, butmany people who work with users think the real number ishigher.
(Reporting by Ed Harris; Editing by Daniel Wallis andCaroline Drees)
A volunteer aiming to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS displays clean syringes at Baie du Tombeau, Mauritius, November 12, 2007. (Ed Harris/Reuters)ROCHE BOIS, Mauritius (Reuters) - Drug abuse accounts for92 percent of new HIV infections in Mauritius, up from just 14percent in 2002, the government said on Monday.
The Indian Ocean island nation has an estimated HIVprevalence rate of 1.8 percent, which is low for the region. Onthe African mainland, HIV infection rates stand at 16.1 percentin Mozambique and 18.8 percent in South Africa, for example.
But officials say risky practices like sharing needles usedfor injecting drugs are causing many more infections. Mauritiussuffers the second highest rate of heroin and opiate use in theworld, according to U.N. figures.
"Some 92 percent of the virus' transmission today isthrough the exchange of needles by drug addicts," saidMauritius' minister of health and quality of life, SatyaFaugoo.
The government was expanding a needle exchange program tosupply drug users, he said.
"Initially, we are targeting some 2,000 drug addicts byJune," Faugoo told Reuters, adding that the authorities werealso planning to treat another 1,000 addicts with opiatesubstitute methadone.
Mauritius has an estimated 20,000 drug addicts among its1.3 million population, according to government figures, butmany people who work with users think the real number ishigher.
(Reporting by Ed Harris; Editing by Daniel Wallis andCaroline Drees)
Global Fund approves over 1 bln dlrs in new grants to fight disease
Global Fund approves over 1 bln dlrs in new grants to fight disease
Former UN secretary general and Global Fund Replenishment Chair Kofi Annan addresses the closing press in September 2007. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday said it has approved 73 new grants worth more than 1.1 billion dollars (757 million euros) in developing countries over the next two years.(AFP/File/John MacDougall )GENEVA (AFP) - The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday said it has approved 73 new grants worth more than 1.1 billion dollars (757 million euros) in developing countries over the next two years.
The Fund, a public-private partnership set up by the then United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan in 2002, approved the grants during a board meeting in Kunming, China, it said in a statement.
The new grants mean the Fund's budget is now 32 percent higher than the 846 million dollars initially forecast for 2007.
AIDS projects make up 48 percent of the total, malaria 42 percent and TB 10 percent, the Fund said.
Two thirds of the projects (66 percent) are in Africa, 13 percent in Asia, 13 percent in the Middle East and 5 percent in Latin America, it added.
"This is the largest funding round in the Global Fund's history. The board is pleased with the strength and high level of ambition of the new grants and is looking forward to scaling up in the fight against the three diseases," said board chair Rajat Gupta.
For malaria, some 62 percent of the proposals were approved and 19 countries will benefit from the new packages.
The Global Fund has said it needs between 12 and 18 billion dollars to fund its existing programmes and initiate new ones between 2008 and 2010.
Former UN secretary general and Global Fund Replenishment Chair Kofi Annan addresses the closing press in September 2007. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday said it has approved 73 new grants worth more than 1.1 billion dollars (757 million euros) in developing countries over the next two years.(AFP/File/John MacDougall )GENEVA (AFP) - The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Monday said it has approved 73 new grants worth more than 1.1 billion dollars (757 million euros) in developing countries over the next two years.
The Fund, a public-private partnership set up by the then United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan in 2002, approved the grants during a board meeting in Kunming, China, it said in a statement.
The new grants mean the Fund's budget is now 32 percent higher than the 846 million dollars initially forecast for 2007.
AIDS projects make up 48 percent of the total, malaria 42 percent and TB 10 percent, the Fund said.
Two thirds of the projects (66 percent) are in Africa, 13 percent in Asia, 13 percent in the Middle East and 5 percent in Latin America, it added.
"This is the largest funding round in the Global Fund's history. The board is pleased with the strength and high level of ambition of the new grants and is looking forward to scaling up in the fight against the three diseases," said board chair Rajat Gupta.
For malaria, some 62 percent of the proposals were approved and 19 countries will benefit from the new packages.
The Global Fund has said it needs between 12 and 18 billion dollars to fund its existing programmes and initiate new ones between 2008 and 2010.
Abbott says gets FDA nod for lower-strength HIV pill
Abbott says gets FDA nod for lower-strength HIV pill
(Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories said it received approvalfrom U.S. health regulators for a new lower-strength tabletformulation of its HIV drug, Kaletra, which is also marketed asAluvia in developing countries.
The lower-strength Kaletra tablets, which will be used totreat children, would be available in the United States thismonth.
(Reporting by Aniruddha Basu in Bangalore; Editing byPratish Narayanan)
(Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories said it received approvalfrom U.S. health regulators for a new lower-strength tabletformulation of its HIV drug, Kaletra, which is also marketed asAluvia in developing countries.
The lower-strength Kaletra tablets, which will be used totreat children, would be available in the United States thismonth.
(Reporting by Aniruddha Basu in Bangalore; Editing byPratish Narayanan)
Condom use reduces risk of bacterial vaginosis
Condom use reduces risk of bacterial vaginosis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For women who have a high riskof contracting a sexually transmitted disease, their risk ofdeveloping bacterial vaginosis and the associated changes invaginal microflora is reduced if they use condoms during everysexual encounter, according to a report in the journalEpidemiology.
Bacterial vaginosis is caused by an imbalance of thebacteria normally found in a woman's vagina, referred to asvaginal microflora, which is upset by an overgrowth of bacterianot usually present. It is the most common vaginal infection inwomen of child-bearing age. Symptoms include discharge, odor,pain, itching and burning.
Although any woman can get bacterial vaginosis, someactivities or behaviors can upset the normal balance ofbacteria in the vagina and put women at increased risk. Theseinclude having a new sex partner or multiple sex partners andusing an intrauterine device (IUD) for contraception.
It remains unclear how effective condoms are at reducingbacterial sexually transmitted infections, explain Dr. RobertaB. Ness and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania. They therefore investigated condom use, bacterialvaginosis and the growth of vaginal microorganisms associatedwith bacterial vaginosis in 871 women at high risk for sexuallytransmitted diseases.
Overall, women who consistently used condoms (10/10 sexacts) had a 45-percent decreased risk of bacterial vaginosiscompared with women who did not use condoms, the authorsreport.
For women at an intermediate stage of bacterial imbalance,consistent condom use had even more protective effects (63percent risk reduction)," the researchers found.
The study findings "lend some support to the theory thatbacterial vaginosis is sexually transmitted, and provides afurther rationale for recommending that women use condoms toreduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis," the investigatorsconclude.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, November 2007.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For women who have a high riskof contracting a sexually transmitted disease, their risk ofdeveloping bacterial vaginosis and the associated changes invaginal microflora is reduced if they use condoms during everysexual encounter, according to a report in the journalEpidemiology.
Bacterial vaginosis is caused by an imbalance of thebacteria normally found in a woman's vagina, referred to asvaginal microflora, which is upset by an overgrowth of bacterianot usually present. It is the most common vaginal infection inwomen of child-bearing age. Symptoms include discharge, odor,pain, itching and burning.
Although any woman can get bacterial vaginosis, someactivities or behaviors can upset the normal balance ofbacteria in the vagina and put women at increased risk. Theseinclude having a new sex partner or multiple sex partners andusing an intrauterine device (IUD) for contraception.
It remains unclear how effective condoms are at reducingbacterial sexually transmitted infections, explain Dr. RobertaB. Ness and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania. They therefore investigated condom use, bacterialvaginosis and the growth of vaginal microorganisms associatedwith bacterial vaginosis in 871 women at high risk for sexuallytransmitted diseases.
Overall, women who consistently used condoms (10/10 sexacts) had a 45-percent decreased risk of bacterial vaginosiscompared with women who did not use condoms, the authorsreport.
For women at an intermediate stage of bacterial imbalance,consistent condom use had even more protective effects (63percent risk reduction)," the researchers found.
The study findings "lend some support to the theory thatbacterial vaginosis is sexually transmitted, and provides afurther rationale for recommending that women use condoms toreduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis," the investigatorsconclude.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, November 2007.
Weight gain may make asthma control more difficult
Weight gain may make asthma control more difficult
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Weight gain is associated withan increased risk of poorly controlled asthma, according tofindings presented in Grapevine, Texas, at the annual meetingof the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
In a 3-year study, the researchers observed 2,396 patientswith severe or difficult-to-treat asthma. Those who gained 5pounds or more between the beginning of the study and 1 yearreported poorer asthma control and worse quality of life thanpatients who maintained their initial weight or lost 5 or morepounds during the same period, researchers reported.
"Our findings are consistent with reports that increases inbody mass index are associated with decreased asthma controland asthma-related quality of life," commented Dr. TmirahHaselkorn, of EpiMetrix, Inc., of South San Francisco."Strategies to prevent weight gain could help patients achievebetter asthma control and improve asthma-related quality oflife."
After considering the potential influence of other knownasthma risk factors, the initial body mass index, co-existingillness, duration and severity of asthma, lung function andoral steroid use, the odds of having poorly controlled asthmaafter 12 months were increased by 22 percent in patients whogained weight during the first year compared to patients whokept a steady weight.
Patients who gained weight were also 31 percent more likelyto have at least one steroid burst in the previous 3 months anda worse quality of life during the next 12 months. A steroidburst is when an asthma patient requires a short-term increasein steroid pills or syrups to reduce the severity of an asthmaattack and avoid an emergency room visit or hospitalization.The burst may last 2 days to several weeks.
"It is not clear if increased body weight or body massindex precedes asthma onset or results from physical andphysiological restrictions imposed by asthma," Haselkorn noted.
"The finding that patients who gained 5 pounds or more hadmore asthma control problems, lower quality of life, and moresteroid bursts suggests that weight gain affected thoseoutcomes rather than vice versa," the researcher added.
Haselkorn cautioned, however, that the relationship betweenbody weight and asthma is complex, with asthma controldetermined by the interaction of many demographic and clinicalvariables.
"Future studies should more closely examine variables thatcontribute to poor asthma control and determine the thresholdat which body weight affects asthma severity and control,"Haselkorn said.
A better understanding of the mechanisms by which bodyweight influences asthma control and other asthma-relatedhealth outcomes will enable treatment specialists to formulatetreatment programs that include a weight management component,"the researcher concluded.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Weight gain is associated withan increased risk of poorly controlled asthma, according tofindings presented in Grapevine, Texas, at the annual meetingof the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
In a 3-year study, the researchers observed 2,396 patientswith severe or difficult-to-treat asthma. Those who gained 5pounds or more between the beginning of the study and 1 yearreported poorer asthma control and worse quality of life thanpatients who maintained their initial weight or lost 5 or morepounds during the same period, researchers reported.
"Our findings are consistent with reports that increases inbody mass index are associated with decreased asthma controland asthma-related quality of life," commented Dr. TmirahHaselkorn, of EpiMetrix, Inc., of South San Francisco."Strategies to prevent weight gain could help patients achievebetter asthma control and improve asthma-related quality oflife."
After considering the potential influence of other knownasthma risk factors, the initial body mass index, co-existingillness, duration and severity of asthma, lung function andoral steroid use, the odds of having poorly controlled asthmaafter 12 months were increased by 22 percent in patients whogained weight during the first year compared to patients whokept a steady weight.
Patients who gained weight were also 31 percent more likelyto have at least one steroid burst in the previous 3 months anda worse quality of life during the next 12 months. A steroidburst is when an asthma patient requires a short-term increasein steroid pills or syrups to reduce the severity of an asthmaattack and avoid an emergency room visit or hospitalization.The burst may last 2 days to several weeks.
"It is not clear if increased body weight or body massindex precedes asthma onset or results from physical andphysiological restrictions imposed by asthma," Haselkorn noted.
"The finding that patients who gained 5 pounds or more hadmore asthma control problems, lower quality of life, and moresteroid bursts suggests that weight gain affected thoseoutcomes rather than vice versa," the researcher added.
Haselkorn cautioned, however, that the relationship betweenbody weight and asthma is complex, with asthma controldetermined by the interaction of many demographic and clinicalvariables.
"Future studies should more closely examine variables thatcontribute to poor asthma control and determine the thresholdat which body weight affects asthma severity and control,"Haselkorn said.
A better understanding of the mechanisms by which bodyweight influences asthma control and other asthma-relatedhealth outcomes will enable treatment specialists to formulatetreatment programs that include a weight management component,"the researcher concluded.
Beta carotene protects memory in study
Beta carotene protects memory in study
A split-view image showing PET scans of a normal brain (L) and a brain with Alzheimer's disease. Beta carotene taken as a dietary supplement for many years may protect against declines in memory, thinking and learning skills that often precede Alzheimer's disease, researchers said on Monday. (National Institute on Aging/Handout/Reuters)WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Beta carotene taken as a dietarysupplement for many years may protect against declines inmemory, thinking and learning skills that often precedeAlzheimer's disease, researchers said on Monday.
The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,pointed to a protective effect against cognitive decline inhealthy men who look beta carotene for about 18 years, but notin men who took the supplements for an average of a year.
The findings indicate beta carotene may be an importantweapon in warding off memory problems that may foreshadowAlzheimer's and other forms of dementia, the researchers said.
"This is the first trial that has found any way to helpyour memory if you're healthy. I think it does tell us that wecan change how our memory improves or worsens," FrancineGrodstein of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who ledthe study, said in a telephone interview.
Taking beta carotene may have risks for some people such asraising lung cancer risk in smokers, Grodstein said.
Beta carotene is one of the antioxidants -- substances thatprevent some of the damage from unstable molecules known asfree radicals -- created when the body turns food into energy.Some experts think antioxidants can lower the risk of cancer,heart disease and other ailments.
"Beta carotene is an antioxidant vitamin. So the reason wethought it might help your brain is because there is now a lotof evidence that oxidative damage harms your brain. And thatmay be one of the initiating factors which leads to memoryproblems," Grodstein said.
In this study, researchers examined the effects of betacarotene on cognitive ability in two groups of men.
Those in a group of 4,052 men were randomly assigned in1982 to take either 50 milligrams of beta carotene or a placeboevery other day. Another 1,904 men between 1998 and 2001 werealso randomly assigned to take either the same amount of betacarotene or a placebo every other day.
The men in the long-term group took the supplements for anaverage of 18 years. The men in the short-term group did so foran average of a year, with the longest being three years.
Men who took beta carotene in the long-term group recordedsignificantly higher scores on several cognitive tests --particularly tests of verbal memory -- compared with those whotook a placebo, the study found. In the short-term group, themen taking beta carotene did no better in cognitive tests.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Dr. Kristine Yaffeof the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center andUniversity of California at San Francisco sounded a note ofcaution, saying studies have yielded mixed results aboutantioxidant supplements and better cognitive outcomes.
"For the clinician, there is no convincing justification torecommend the use of antioxidant dietary supplements tomaintain cognitive performance in cognitively normal adults orin those with mild cognitive impairment," Yaffe wrote.
Another study also examined the link between diet anddementia. French researchers, writing in the journal Neurology,tracked the diets of 8,085 men and women over age 65. They werefollowed for four years, during which 183 of the participantsdeveloped Alzheimer's and 98 developed some other dementia.
Risk for developing dementia was found to be lower in thosewith diets heavy in fish, omega-3 oils, fruits and vegetables.
(Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Todd Eastham)
A split-view image showing PET scans of a normal brain (L) and a brain with Alzheimer's disease. Beta carotene taken as a dietary supplement for many years may protect against declines in memory, thinking and learning skills that often precede Alzheimer's disease, researchers said on Monday. (National Institute on Aging/Handout/Reuters)WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Beta carotene taken as a dietarysupplement for many years may protect against declines inmemory, thinking and learning skills that often precedeAlzheimer's disease, researchers said on Monday.
The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,pointed to a protective effect against cognitive decline inhealthy men who look beta carotene for about 18 years, but notin men who took the supplements for an average of a year.
The findings indicate beta carotene may be an importantweapon in warding off memory problems that may foreshadowAlzheimer's and other forms of dementia, the researchers said.
"This is the first trial that has found any way to helpyour memory if you're healthy. I think it does tell us that wecan change how our memory improves or worsens," FrancineGrodstein of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who ledthe study, said in a telephone interview.
Taking beta carotene may have risks for some people such asraising lung cancer risk in smokers, Grodstein said.
Beta carotene is one of the antioxidants -- substances thatprevent some of the damage from unstable molecules known asfree radicals -- created when the body turns food into energy.Some experts think antioxidants can lower the risk of cancer,heart disease and other ailments.
"Beta carotene is an antioxidant vitamin. So the reason wethought it might help your brain is because there is now a lotof evidence that oxidative damage harms your brain. And thatmay be one of the initiating factors which leads to memoryproblems," Grodstein said.
In this study, researchers examined the effects of betacarotene on cognitive ability in two groups of men.
Those in a group of 4,052 men were randomly assigned in1982 to take either 50 milligrams of beta carotene or a placeboevery other day. Another 1,904 men between 1998 and 2001 werealso randomly assigned to take either the same amount of betacarotene or a placebo every other day.
The men in the long-term group took the supplements for anaverage of 18 years. The men in the short-term group did so foran average of a year, with the longest being three years.
Men who took beta carotene in the long-term group recordedsignificantly higher scores on several cognitive tests --particularly tests of verbal memory -- compared with those whotook a placebo, the study found. In the short-term group, themen taking beta carotene did no better in cognitive tests.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Dr. Kristine Yaffeof the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center andUniversity of California at San Francisco sounded a note ofcaution, saying studies have yielded mixed results aboutantioxidant supplements and better cognitive outcomes.
"For the clinician, there is no convincing justification torecommend the use of antioxidant dietary supplements tomaintain cognitive performance in cognitively normal adults orin those with mild cognitive impairment," Yaffe wrote.
Another study also examined the link between diet anddementia. French researchers, writing in the journal Neurology,tracked the diets of 8,085 men and women over age 65. They werefollowed for four years, during which 183 of the participantsdeveloped Alzheimer's and 98 developed some other dementia.
Risk for developing dementia was found to be lower in thosewith diets heavy in fish, omega-3 oils, fruits and vegetables.
(Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Todd Eastham)
Nursing home patients need basic eye care, study finds
Nursing home patients need basic eye care, study finds
A cataract patient is examined inside a hospital in Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia, China September 21, 2007. Nursing home patients often are overlooked when it comes to taking basic steps to improve their vision, leading to a decline in their quality of life and problems such as depression, U.S. researchers said on Monday. (Bobby Yip/Reuters)CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nursing home patients often areoverlooked when it comes to taking basic steps to improve theirvision, leading to a decline in their quality of life andproblems such as depression, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Optical services tend to be unavailable to residents ofnursing homes for several reasons, according to the research byCynthia Owsley and colleagues at the University of Alabama,Birmingham.
One factor is a pervasive attitude among care givers,family members and others that new or upgraded eyeglasses won'tdo any good for those who are already mentally or physicallyimpaired, they said.
The study looked at nearly 200 residents of 17 nursinghomes in the Birmingham area. Some were given glasses a weekafter a vision checkup and others got them two months aftertheir exams.
The group that received glasses first reported higherscores for general vision, reading, activities and hobbies andsocial interaction as well as fewer depressive symptoms in twomonths compared to the group still waiting for glasses.
"This study implies that there are significant, short-termquality-of-life and psychological benefits to providing themost basic of eye care services -- namely, spectacle correction-- to older adults residing in nursing homes," concluded thestudy published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.
The findings are significant, the researchers said, becausenursing home residents in the United States and otherindustrialized nations are up to 15 times more likely to havevision problems than people of the same age who liveindependently.
This is in part because those with poor vision are morelikely to be admitted to nursing homes, and those in need oftenlack transportation or escorts to eye clinics, the report said.
At the same time, doctors who offer eye care services atnursing homes are in short supply, and only 12 percent of U.S.nursing homes have optometric services on-site, the reportsaid.
(Reporting by Michael Conlon; Editing by Andrew Stern andXavier Briand)
A cataract patient is examined inside a hospital in Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia, China September 21, 2007. Nursing home patients often are overlooked when it comes to taking basic steps to improve their vision, leading to a decline in their quality of life and problems such as depression, U.S. researchers said on Monday. (Bobby Yip/Reuters)CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nursing home patients often areoverlooked when it comes to taking basic steps to improve theirvision, leading to a decline in their quality of life andproblems such as depression, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Optical services tend to be unavailable to residents ofnursing homes for several reasons, according to the research byCynthia Owsley and colleagues at the University of Alabama,Birmingham.
One factor is a pervasive attitude among care givers,family members and others that new or upgraded eyeglasses won'tdo any good for those who are already mentally or physicallyimpaired, they said.
The study looked at nearly 200 residents of 17 nursinghomes in the Birmingham area. Some were given glasses a weekafter a vision checkup and others got them two months aftertheir exams.
The group that received glasses first reported higherscores for general vision, reading, activities and hobbies andsocial interaction as well as fewer depressive symptoms in twomonths compared to the group still waiting for glasses.
"This study implies that there are significant, short-termquality-of-life and psychological benefits to providing themost basic of eye care services -- namely, spectacle correction-- to older adults residing in nursing homes," concluded thestudy published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.
The findings are significant, the researchers said, becausenursing home residents in the United States and otherindustrialized nations are up to 15 times more likely to havevision problems than people of the same age who liveindependently.
This is in part because those with poor vision are morelikely to be admitted to nursing homes, and those in need oftenlack transportation or escorts to eye clinics, the report said.
At the same time, doctors who offer eye care services atnursing homes are in short supply, and only 12 percent of U.S.nursing homes have optometric services on-site, the reportsaid.
(Reporting by Michael Conlon; Editing by Andrew Stern andXavier Briand)
Brain development found to be slower in children with ADHD
Brain development found to be slower in children with ADHD
Children play in a playground as the sun sets in this file photo from June 5, 2004. (John Kolesidis/Reuters)CHICAGO (Reuters) - Children and teenagers with attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder have developmental delays of upto three years in some regions of the brain, U.S. researcherssaid on Monday.
"The sequence in which different parts of the brain maturedin the kids with ADHD was exactly the same as in healthy kids.It's just that everything was delayed by a couple of years,"said Dr. Philip Shaw National Institutes of Health's NationalInstitute of Mental Health.
Shaw said the delays are most pronounced in regions of thebrain that are important for controlling thought, attention andplanning.
ADHD is a condition suffered by about 2 million U.S.children that often becomes apparent in preschool and earlyschool years. Children with ADHD have a tougher timecontrolling their behavior and paying attention.
Shaw said the study helps settle the question of whetherthe brain develops differently in children with ADHD or is justdelayed. "This is very much in favor of a delay," said Shaw,whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academyof Science.
The finding was based on imaging studies involving 223children and teens with ADHD and 223 without the disorder.
Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scansto look at the brain structure at various ages, measuring thethickness of the developing cortex, a key area for attentionand impulse control.
While prior imaging studies have mostly relied on measuringthe four lobes of the brain, Shaw and colleagues used a newtechnique that enabled them to measure the thickness of braintissue in 40,000 different sites in the cortex.
They focused on the age at which cortex thickening peaksduring childhood, then starts to thin after puberty as unusedneural connections are pruned.
They found that in children with ADHD, the cortex reachedpeak thickness at an average age of 10.5, compared with age 7.5in normal children.
"The delay was carried forward into adolescence," Shaw saidin a telephone interview.
He said the study was not able to answer the question ofwhy some kids grow out of ADHD, nor does it address anyquestions about the benefits of treating children.
"What I wouldn't take away from this study is: 'Just sitand wait three years and your kid will be OK,"' Shaw said.
"We know ADHD is a real problem for children and theirfamilies and the schools, and it does need treatment," he said.
Treatment often includes drugs like Ritalin, ormethylphenidate, a stimulant intended to lower impulsivenessand hyperactivity and boost attention. It also may includebehavioral strategies to help children and their familiesmanage the disorder.
A study published in September found that fewer than halfof U.S. children who meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD receivetreatment.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen, editing by Will Dunham andStuart Grudgings)
Children play in a playground as the sun sets in this file photo from June 5, 2004. (John Kolesidis/Reuters)CHICAGO (Reuters) - Children and teenagers with attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder have developmental delays of upto three years in some regions of the brain, U.S. researcherssaid on Monday.
"The sequence in which different parts of the brain maturedin the kids with ADHD was exactly the same as in healthy kids.It's just that everything was delayed by a couple of years,"said Dr. Philip Shaw National Institutes of Health's NationalInstitute of Mental Health.
Shaw said the delays are most pronounced in regions of thebrain that are important for controlling thought, attention andplanning.
ADHD is a condition suffered by about 2 million U.S.children that often becomes apparent in preschool and earlyschool years. Children with ADHD have a tougher timecontrolling their behavior and paying attention.
Shaw said the study helps settle the question of whetherthe brain develops differently in children with ADHD or is justdelayed. "This is very much in favor of a delay," said Shaw,whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academyof Science.
The finding was based on imaging studies involving 223children and teens with ADHD and 223 without the disorder.
Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scansto look at the brain structure at various ages, measuring thethickness of the developing cortex, a key area for attentionand impulse control.
While prior imaging studies have mostly relied on measuringthe four lobes of the brain, Shaw and colleagues used a newtechnique that enabled them to measure the thickness of braintissue in 40,000 different sites in the cortex.
They focused on the age at which cortex thickening peaksduring childhood, then starts to thin after puberty as unusedneural connections are pruned.
They found that in children with ADHD, the cortex reachedpeak thickness at an average age of 10.5, compared with age 7.5in normal children.
"The delay was carried forward into adolescence," Shaw saidin a telephone interview.
He said the study was not able to answer the question ofwhy some kids grow out of ADHD, nor does it address anyquestions about the benefits of treating children.
"What I wouldn't take away from this study is: 'Just sitand wait three years and your kid will be OK,"' Shaw said.
"We know ADHD is a real problem for children and theirfamilies and the schools, and it does need treatment," he said.
Treatment often includes drugs like Ritalin, ormethylphenidate, a stimulant intended to lower impulsivenessand hyperactivity and boost attention. It also may includebehavioral strategies to help children and their familiesmanage the disorder.
A study published in September found that fewer than halfof U.S. children who meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD receivetreatment.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen, editing by Will Dunham andStuart Grudgings)
Herbal sex pills pose hidden dangers
Herbal sex pills pose hidden dangers
LOS ANGELES - Many of the pills marketed as safe herbal alternatives to Viagra and other prescription sex medications pose a hidden danger: For men on common heart and blood-pressure drugs, popping one could lead to a stroke, or even death.
"All-natural" products with names like Stamina-RX and Vigor-25 promise an apothecary's delight of rare Asian ingredients, but many work because they contain unregulated versions of the very pharmaceuticals they are supposed to replace.
That dirty secret represents a special danger for the millions of men who take nitrates — drugs prescribed to lower blood pressure and regulate heart disease. When mixed, nitrates and impotency pharmaceuticals can slow blood flow catastrophically, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
An Associated Press investigation shows that spiked herbal impotency pills are emerging as a major public health concern that officials haven't figured out how to track, much less tame.
Emergency rooms and poison control hot lines are starting to log more incidents of the long-ignored phenomenon. Sales of "natural sexual enhancers" are booming — rising to nearly $400 million last year. And dangerous knockoffs abound.
At greatest risk are the estimated 5.5 million American men who take nitrates — generally older and more likely to need help with erectile dysfunction.
The all-natural message can be appealing to such men, warned by their doctors and ubiquitous TV commercials not to take Viagra, Cialis or Levitra.
James Neal-Kababick, director of Oregon-based Flora Research Laboratories, said about 90 percent of the hundreds of samples he has analyzed contained forms of patented pharmaceuticals — some with doses more than twice that of prescription erectile dysfunction medicine. Other testers report similar results, particularly among pills that promise immediate results.
While no deaths have been reported, the AP found records of emergency room visits attributed to all-natural sex pills in Georgia, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego and elsewhere.
An elderly man in a retirement community north of Los Angeles took an in-the-mail sample and landed in the hospital for four days. A Michigan man sued the maker of Spontane-ES, blaming it for the stroke he suffered 20 minutes after taking a freebie that was advertised as "extremely safe." Tim Fulmer, a lawyer representing Spontane-ES, said the pill did not contain any pharmaceutical and was not responsible for the stroke.
Mark B. Mycyk, a Chicago emergency room doctor who directs Northwestern University's clinical toxicology research program, said he is seeing increasing numbers of patients who unwittingly took prescription-strength doses of the alternatives, a trend he attributes to ease of purchase on the Internet and the desperation of vulnerable men. He said he wouldn't be surprised if there'd been undetected deaths from bad herbal pills.
Some herbal labels warn off users with heart or blood-pressure problems if they have taken their medicine within six hours; some doctors say 24 hours or more would be safer.
The AP often couldn't determine from records whether incidents reported to tracking systems of the federal Food and Drug Administration and state poison control centers involved mixing herbal alternatives with nitrates.
Some men in their 30s who went to emergency rooms after taking herbal sex pills were presumably otherwise healthy, but they showed the transitory side effects of the active ingredients in regulated impotency pharmaceuticals, such as difficulty seeing clearly or severe headaches, records show.
While public health officials don't know the extent of the problem, they agree that incidents are vastly underreported, with national tracking systems capturing perhaps as little as 1 percent of them. Victims may be embarrassed, and doctors rarely ask about supplements.
Since 2001, sales of supplements marketed as natural sexual enhancers have risen $100 million, to $398 million last year, including herbal mixtures, according to estimates by Nutrition Business Journal. Some legitimate herbal mixtures claim to work gradually over weeks; it's the herbals marketed for immediate trysts that often are the problem.
Tight budgets, weak regulations and other priorities limit the FDA's ability to police the products, often promoted via blasts of e-mail spam and fly-by-night Web sites.
"The Internet poses many enforcement challenges," said Dr. Linda Silvers, who leads an FDA team that targets fraudulent health products sold online. "A Web site can look sophisticated and legitimate, but actually be an illegal operation."In many cases, the ingredients used to alter herbal pills come from Asia, particularly China, where the sexual enhancers are cooked up in labs at the beginning of a winding supply chain. The FDA has placed pills by two manufacturers in China and one from Malaysia on an import watch list.Pills like Cialis generally retail at pharmacies for between $13 and $20, while herbals can cost less than $1, up to about $5.Many health insurance plans provide limited coverage for prescription sex pills, especially for those with health-related difficulties. Few over-the-counter treatments are covered, and herbals aren't likely to be among them, in part because they're classified as foods not pharmaceuticals, said Mohit M. Ghose, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, which represents major health insurers.Spiked pills have turned up in Thailand, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to testing done by Pfizer Inc., the New York-based pharmaceutical giant that developed Viagra. The company said that 69 percent of 3,400 supplements it purchased in China contained sildenafil citrate, the main ingredient in Viagra. Pfizer didn't check for the patented ingredients of its rivals.Under U.S. law, because such pills are "dietary supplements," they're far less regulated than pharmaceuticals and face few barriers to market. Viagra, by contrast, underwent years of testing before it was publicly available.While herbal alternatives often contain exact copies of the patented drugs, some makers tweak the molecules to keep the effect of the original pharmaceutical while avoiding the scrutiny of the FDA and outside testing labs.Federal officials have only recently stepped up investigations and prosecutions, and in any case, the FDA's recall power is limited. Last week, in response to safety concerns about imported toothpaste, dog food and toys, President Bush recommended that the FDA be authorized to order mandatory recalls of dangerous products.Currently, recalls are voluntary, and even if the agency determines that a product poses a "significant health risk," a firm may refuse to cooperate. Plus, recalled products are widely offered on the Internet and pills are hard to round up.Before a product called Nasutra was recalled a year ago by its manufacturer, the FDA had received a 30-year-old man's report of a raging headache and an erection that wouldn't go down. Following the recall, a 32-year-old man reported having spontaneous nose bleeds after taking the pill, records show.E-mails requesting comment from Nasutra LLC, the company that voluntarily recalled the product in September 2006, were not returned. The FDA says the firm is located in Los Angeles; there is no listed phone number in the region.During the past year, the FDA has orchestrated eight recalls of "herbal" pills that contained the ingredients found in Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, or their unregulated chemical cousins. Many of the firms were based around Los Angeles, their offices ranging from an unsigned door in a grungy hall on the fringe of downtown to a gated complex near Beverly Hills.One recall involved a pill called Liviro3.The current owner of the drug's marketing and distributing firm said that after he tried the product, he quit his job at a car dealership and bought the brand name and stock of several thousand pills in 2004 for $450,000. In January, he said, FDA agents seized his stockpile after an agency lab found that Liviro3 contained tadalafil, the main ingredient in Cialis. The man told the AP he'd had no idea the pills were drug-laced.One prosecution involved V. Vigor Corp., the Long Island-based maker of Vigor-25. While the product was advertised as containing Asian ginseng, lycium fruit and Chinese yam rhizome, FDA testing indicated that the pills contained Viagra.Company executive Michael Peng had agreed to stop selling Vigor-25 following an FDA agent's visit in late 2004, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. But between then and his arrest in September, at least 4.5 million pills were packaged for distribution, the affidavit said. According to prosecutors, Peng thought he could evade tests simply by switching from the sildenafil citrate he imported from China to Levitra's active ingredient, vardenafil — a shipment of which U.S. Customs intercepted from Thailand.Peng, who said through his attorney that he was "unaware that there was anything other than natural supplements" in Vigor-25, faces a charge of misbranding — in this instance, claiming that a pharmaceutical is a dietary supplement.Two other pills, Spontane-ES and Stamina-RX, were made by companies run by Jared Wheat, who's facing federal charges in Atlanta that he peddled knockoff pharmaceuticals cooked in a Central American lab. Prosecutors tried to keep Wheat from posting bail by asserting that he contemplated killing an FDA investigator and bribing a prosecutor.Fulmer rejected those assertions, which did not lead to charges, saying Wheat is hardworking and nonviolent. Fulmer said Wheat's two businesses are legitimate and continue to be successful.Wheat was granted bond after pledging approximately $7.5 million in cash and property; he's free under home confinement.___Associated Press researcher Julie Reed in New York and Associated Press writer Andrew Bridges in Washington contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES - Many of the pills marketed as safe herbal alternatives to Viagra and other prescription sex medications pose a hidden danger: For men on common heart and blood-pressure drugs, popping one could lead to a stroke, or even death.
"All-natural" products with names like Stamina-RX and Vigor-25 promise an apothecary's delight of rare Asian ingredients, but many work because they contain unregulated versions of the very pharmaceuticals they are supposed to replace.
That dirty secret represents a special danger for the millions of men who take nitrates — drugs prescribed to lower blood pressure and regulate heart disease. When mixed, nitrates and impotency pharmaceuticals can slow blood flow catastrophically, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
An Associated Press investigation shows that spiked herbal impotency pills are emerging as a major public health concern that officials haven't figured out how to track, much less tame.
Emergency rooms and poison control hot lines are starting to log more incidents of the long-ignored phenomenon. Sales of "natural sexual enhancers" are booming — rising to nearly $400 million last year. And dangerous knockoffs abound.
At greatest risk are the estimated 5.5 million American men who take nitrates — generally older and more likely to need help with erectile dysfunction.
The all-natural message can be appealing to such men, warned by their doctors and ubiquitous TV commercials not to take Viagra, Cialis or Levitra.
James Neal-Kababick, director of Oregon-based Flora Research Laboratories, said about 90 percent of the hundreds of samples he has analyzed contained forms of patented pharmaceuticals — some with doses more than twice that of prescription erectile dysfunction medicine. Other testers report similar results, particularly among pills that promise immediate results.
While no deaths have been reported, the AP found records of emergency room visits attributed to all-natural sex pills in Georgia, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego and elsewhere.
An elderly man in a retirement community north of Los Angeles took an in-the-mail sample and landed in the hospital for four days. A Michigan man sued the maker of Spontane-ES, blaming it for the stroke he suffered 20 minutes after taking a freebie that was advertised as "extremely safe." Tim Fulmer, a lawyer representing Spontane-ES, said the pill did not contain any pharmaceutical and was not responsible for the stroke.
Mark B. Mycyk, a Chicago emergency room doctor who directs Northwestern University's clinical toxicology research program, said he is seeing increasing numbers of patients who unwittingly took prescription-strength doses of the alternatives, a trend he attributes to ease of purchase on the Internet and the desperation of vulnerable men. He said he wouldn't be surprised if there'd been undetected deaths from bad herbal pills.
Some herbal labels warn off users with heart or blood-pressure problems if they have taken their medicine within six hours; some doctors say 24 hours or more would be safer.
The AP often couldn't determine from records whether incidents reported to tracking systems of the federal Food and Drug Administration and state poison control centers involved mixing herbal alternatives with nitrates.
Some men in their 30s who went to emergency rooms after taking herbal sex pills were presumably otherwise healthy, but they showed the transitory side effects of the active ingredients in regulated impotency pharmaceuticals, such as difficulty seeing clearly or severe headaches, records show.
While public health officials don't know the extent of the problem, they agree that incidents are vastly underreported, with national tracking systems capturing perhaps as little as 1 percent of them. Victims may be embarrassed, and doctors rarely ask about supplements.
Since 2001, sales of supplements marketed as natural sexual enhancers have risen $100 million, to $398 million last year, including herbal mixtures, according to estimates by Nutrition Business Journal. Some legitimate herbal mixtures claim to work gradually over weeks; it's the herbals marketed for immediate trysts that often are the problem.
Tight budgets, weak regulations and other priorities limit the FDA's ability to police the products, often promoted via blasts of e-mail spam and fly-by-night Web sites.
"The Internet poses many enforcement challenges," said Dr. Linda Silvers, who leads an FDA team that targets fraudulent health products sold online. "A Web site can look sophisticated and legitimate, but actually be an illegal operation."In many cases, the ingredients used to alter herbal pills come from Asia, particularly China, where the sexual enhancers are cooked up in labs at the beginning of a winding supply chain. The FDA has placed pills by two manufacturers in China and one from Malaysia on an import watch list.Pills like Cialis generally retail at pharmacies for between $13 and $20, while herbals can cost less than $1, up to about $5.Many health insurance plans provide limited coverage for prescription sex pills, especially for those with health-related difficulties. Few over-the-counter treatments are covered, and herbals aren't likely to be among them, in part because they're classified as foods not pharmaceuticals, said Mohit M. Ghose, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, which represents major health insurers.Spiked pills have turned up in Thailand, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to testing done by Pfizer Inc., the New York-based pharmaceutical giant that developed Viagra. The company said that 69 percent of 3,400 supplements it purchased in China contained sildenafil citrate, the main ingredient in Viagra. Pfizer didn't check for the patented ingredients of its rivals.Under U.S. law, because such pills are "dietary supplements," they're far less regulated than pharmaceuticals and face few barriers to market. Viagra, by contrast, underwent years of testing before it was publicly available.While herbal alternatives often contain exact copies of the patented drugs, some makers tweak the molecules to keep the effect of the original pharmaceutical while avoiding the scrutiny of the FDA and outside testing labs.Federal officials have only recently stepped up investigations and prosecutions, and in any case, the FDA's recall power is limited. Last week, in response to safety concerns about imported toothpaste, dog food and toys, President Bush recommended that the FDA be authorized to order mandatory recalls of dangerous products.Currently, recalls are voluntary, and even if the agency determines that a product poses a "significant health risk," a firm may refuse to cooperate. Plus, recalled products are widely offered on the Internet and pills are hard to round up.Before a product called Nasutra was recalled a year ago by its manufacturer, the FDA had received a 30-year-old man's report of a raging headache and an erection that wouldn't go down. Following the recall, a 32-year-old man reported having spontaneous nose bleeds after taking the pill, records show.E-mails requesting comment from Nasutra LLC, the company that voluntarily recalled the product in September 2006, were not returned. The FDA says the firm is located in Los Angeles; there is no listed phone number in the region.During the past year, the FDA has orchestrated eight recalls of "herbal" pills that contained the ingredients found in Viagra, Cialis or Levitra, or their unregulated chemical cousins. Many of the firms were based around Los Angeles, their offices ranging from an unsigned door in a grungy hall on the fringe of downtown to a gated complex near Beverly Hills.One recall involved a pill called Liviro3.The current owner of the drug's marketing and distributing firm said that after he tried the product, he quit his job at a car dealership and bought the brand name and stock of several thousand pills in 2004 for $450,000. In January, he said, FDA agents seized his stockpile after an agency lab found that Liviro3 contained tadalafil, the main ingredient in Cialis. The man told the AP he'd had no idea the pills were drug-laced.One prosecution involved V. Vigor Corp., the Long Island-based maker of Vigor-25. While the product was advertised as containing Asian ginseng, lycium fruit and Chinese yam rhizome, FDA testing indicated that the pills contained Viagra.Company executive Michael Peng had agreed to stop selling Vigor-25 following an FDA agent's visit in late 2004, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. But between then and his arrest in September, at least 4.5 million pills were packaged for distribution, the affidavit said. According to prosecutors, Peng thought he could evade tests simply by switching from the sildenafil citrate he imported from China to Levitra's active ingredient, vardenafil — a shipment of which U.S. Customs intercepted from Thailand.Peng, who said through his attorney that he was "unaware that there was anything other than natural supplements" in Vigor-25, faces a charge of misbranding — in this instance, claiming that a pharmaceutical is a dietary supplement.Two other pills, Spontane-ES and Stamina-RX, were made by companies run by Jared Wheat, who's facing federal charges in Atlanta that he peddled knockoff pharmaceuticals cooked in a Central American lab. Prosecutors tried to keep Wheat from posting bail by asserting that he contemplated killing an FDA investigator and bribing a prosecutor.Fulmer rejected those assertions, which did not lead to charges, saying Wheat is hardworking and nonviolent. Fulmer said Wheat's two businesses are legitimate and continue to be successful.Wheat was granted bond after pledging approximately $7.5 million in cash and property; he's free under home confinement.___Associated Press researcher Julie Reed in New York and Associated Press writer Andrew Bridges in Washington contributed to this report.
Slower brain maturity seen in ADHD kids
Slower brain maturity seen in ADHD kids
WASHINGTON - Crucial parts of brains of children with attention deficit disorder develop more slowly than other youngsters' brains, a phenomenon that earlier brain-imaging research missed, a new study says.
Developing more slowly in ADHD youngsters — the lag can be as much as three years — are brain regions that suppress inappropriate actions and thoughts, focus attention, remember things from moment to moment, work for reward and control movement. That was the finding of researchers, led by Dr. Philip Shaw of the National Institute of Mental Health, who reported the most detailed study yet on this problem in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Finding a normal pattern of cortex maturation, albeit delayed, in children with ADHD should be reassuring to families and could help to explain why many youth eventually seem to grow out of the disorder," Shaw said in a statement.
But not all children do outgrow the disorder, and co-author Dr. Judith Rapoport, also of the NIMH Child Psychiatry Branch, said the researchers are working to determine the differences between those that have a good outcome and those who do not.
Between 3 percent and 5 percent of school-age children are thought to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Dr. Louis J. Kraus, chief of child psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said "what is really important about this study is it shows us there is clearly something biologically driven for children with ADHD."
Kraus, who was not part of the research team, said that with this finding no one can argue that children are making it up. "We don't know what the meaning is yet, whether it would change any type of treatment, but it is showing that there is something biologically different."
It is important that parents don't immediately jump out and want to get some type of MRI of their child's brain, or functional study to support a diagnosis," Kraus added in a telephone interview.
Shaw agreed: "Brain imaging is still not ready for use as a diagnostic tool in ADHD. Although the delay in cortex development was marked, it could only be detected when a very large number of children with the disorder were included. It is not yet possible to detect such delay from the brain scans of just one individual. The diagnosis of ADHD remains clinical, based on taking a history from the child, the family and teachers."
The research team used scans to measure the cortex thickness at 40,000 points in the brains of 223 children with ADHD and 223 others who were developing in a typical way. The scans were repeated two, three or four times at three-year intervals.
In both groups the sensory processing and motor control areas at the back and top of the brain peaked in thickness earlier in childhood, while the frontal cortex areas responsible for higher-order executive control functions peaked later, during the teen years, they said.
Delayed in the ADHD children was development of the higher-order functions and areas which coordinate those with the motor areas.
The only part of the brain that matured faster in the ADHD children was the motor cortex, a finding that the researchers said might account for the restlessness and fidgety symptoms common among those with the disorder.
Earlier brain imaging studies had not detected the developmental lag, the researchers said, because they focused on the size of the relatively large lobes of the brain.
The sharp differences were discovered only after a new image analysis technique allowed the researchers to pinpoint the thickening and thinning of thousands of cortex sites in hundreds of children and teens, with and without the disorder.
"If you're just looking at the lobes, you have only four measures instead of 40,000," explained Shaw. "You don't pick up the focal, regional changes where this delay is most marked."
Slowest to mature in ADHD children were parts of the front and side of the brain that integrate information from the sensory areas with the higher-order functions. One area lagged five years in those with the disorder.
Also participating in the study were researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Canada. The research was funded by the Intramural Research Program at NIH.___On the Net:PNAS: http://www.pnas.org
WASHINGTON - Crucial parts of brains of children with attention deficit disorder develop more slowly than other youngsters' brains, a phenomenon that earlier brain-imaging research missed, a new study says.
Developing more slowly in ADHD youngsters — the lag can be as much as three years — are brain regions that suppress inappropriate actions and thoughts, focus attention, remember things from moment to moment, work for reward and control movement. That was the finding of researchers, led by Dr. Philip Shaw of the National Institute of Mental Health, who reported the most detailed study yet on this problem in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Finding a normal pattern of cortex maturation, albeit delayed, in children with ADHD should be reassuring to families and could help to explain why many youth eventually seem to grow out of the disorder," Shaw said in a statement.
But not all children do outgrow the disorder, and co-author Dr. Judith Rapoport, also of the NIMH Child Psychiatry Branch, said the researchers are working to determine the differences between those that have a good outcome and those who do not.
Between 3 percent and 5 percent of school-age children are thought to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Dr. Louis J. Kraus, chief of child psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said "what is really important about this study is it shows us there is clearly something biologically driven for children with ADHD."
Kraus, who was not part of the research team, said that with this finding no one can argue that children are making it up. "We don't know what the meaning is yet, whether it would change any type of treatment, but it is showing that there is something biologically different."
It is important that parents don't immediately jump out and want to get some type of MRI of their child's brain, or functional study to support a diagnosis," Kraus added in a telephone interview.
Shaw agreed: "Brain imaging is still not ready for use as a diagnostic tool in ADHD. Although the delay in cortex development was marked, it could only be detected when a very large number of children with the disorder were included. It is not yet possible to detect such delay from the brain scans of just one individual. The diagnosis of ADHD remains clinical, based on taking a history from the child, the family and teachers."
The research team used scans to measure the cortex thickness at 40,000 points in the brains of 223 children with ADHD and 223 others who were developing in a typical way. The scans were repeated two, three or four times at three-year intervals.
In both groups the sensory processing and motor control areas at the back and top of the brain peaked in thickness earlier in childhood, while the frontal cortex areas responsible for higher-order executive control functions peaked later, during the teen years, they said.
Delayed in the ADHD children was development of the higher-order functions and areas which coordinate those with the motor areas.
The only part of the brain that matured faster in the ADHD children was the motor cortex, a finding that the researchers said might account for the restlessness and fidgety symptoms common among those with the disorder.
Earlier brain imaging studies had not detected the developmental lag, the researchers said, because they focused on the size of the relatively large lobes of the brain.
The sharp differences were discovered only after a new image analysis technique allowed the researchers to pinpoint the thickening and thinning of thousands of cortex sites in hundreds of children and teens, with and without the disorder.
"If you're just looking at the lobes, you have only four measures instead of 40,000," explained Shaw. "You don't pick up the focal, regional changes where this delay is most marked."
Slowest to mature in ADHD children were parts of the front and side of the brain that integrate information from the sensory areas with the higher-order functions. One area lagged five years in those with the disorder.
Also participating in the study were researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Canada. The research was funded by the Intramural Research Program at NIH.___On the Net:PNAS: http://www.pnas.org
ADHD Delays Growth of Certain Brain Areas
ADHD Delays Growth of Certain Brain Areas
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- While some regions of the brainmature a few years late in youngsters with attention deficit hyperactivitydisorder (ADHD), their brains do develop in a normal pattern, concludes astudy by researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH).
They found that the delay in brain maturation in children with ADHD wasmost prominent in regions at the front of the brain's outer mantle(cortex), which is involved in thinking, planning and attention.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brains of 223 childrenwith ADHD revealed that half of 40,000 cortex sites attained peakthickness at an average age of 10.5, compared to age 7.5 in a group ofchildren without ADHD.
However, both youngsters with ADHD and those without the disordershowed a similar back-to-front progression of brain maturation withdifferent regions peaking in thickness at different times.
"Finding a normal pattern of cortex maturation, albeit delayed, inchildren with ADHD should be reassuring to families and could help toexplain why many youth eventually seem to grow out of the disorder,"research team leader Dr. Philip Shaw, of the NIHM Child Psychiatry Branch,said in a prepared statement.
The study was published this week in the online edition of the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
These findings support the theory that ADHD is caused by a delay incortex maturation, the researchers said. They plan to investigate thegenetic roots of this delay and methods of promoting recovery fromADHD.
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- While some regions of the brainmature a few years late in youngsters with attention deficit hyperactivitydisorder (ADHD), their brains do develop in a normal pattern, concludes astudy by researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH).
They found that the delay in brain maturation in children with ADHD wasmost prominent in regions at the front of the brain's outer mantle(cortex), which is involved in thinking, planning and attention.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brains of 223 childrenwith ADHD revealed that half of 40,000 cortex sites attained peakthickness at an average age of 10.5, compared to age 7.5 in a group ofchildren without ADHD.
However, both youngsters with ADHD and those without the disordershowed a similar back-to-front progression of brain maturation withdifferent regions peaking in thickness at different times.
"Finding a normal pattern of cortex maturation, albeit delayed, inchildren with ADHD should be reassuring to families and could help toexplain why many youth eventually seem to grow out of the disorder,"research team leader Dr. Philip Shaw, of the NIHM Child Psychiatry Branch,said in a prepared statement.
The study was published this week in the online edition of the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
These findings support the theory that ADHD is caused by a delay incortex maturation, the researchers said. They plan to investigate thegenetic roots of this delay and methods of promoting recovery fromADHD.
Long-Term Beta Carotene Use May Protect Against Dementia
Long-Term Beta Carotene Use May Protect Against Dementia
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Taking supplements of theantioxidant beta carotene for a long time -- 15 years or more -- appearsto lessen the decline in thinking ability that comes with Alzheimer'sdisease, a study finds.
"My hypothesis is that it's how long you take it," said study leadauthor Francine Grodstein, an associate professor of medicine at HarvardMedical School and a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital inBoston.
The idea that antioxidants such as beta carotene can help protectagainst Alzheimer's disease is not new. But the idea remainscontroversial, because a number of studies have not produced positiveresults. This latest trial, which started as the Physicians Health StudyII, stretches back to 1982.
That year, 4,052 men were assigned to take daily doses of either 50milligrams of beta carotene -- the amount in about five large carrots --or a placebo every other day. An additional 1,904 men were randomlyassigned to one of the two groups between 1998 and 2001.
All the men filled out yearly questionnaires about their health andcompliance with the regimen, and all had telephone assessments of theirthinking ability at least once between 1998 and 2002.
A difference emerged between long-term and short-term participants. Themen who had stayed in the trial for an average of 18 years scoredsignificantly higher on most of the tests of cognitive ability. "Theirmemory was equivalent to that of men about a year younger," Grodsteinsaid.
What works for men almost certainly should work for women, she said,and the idea that long-term use of an intervention is important should beapplied to other preventive measures against Alzheimer's disease.
"Our research supports the possibility of successful interventions atearly stages of brain aging in healthy adults," Grodstein said.
But beta carotene is not entirely risk-free, she noted. "In studies ofmale smokers, beta carotene supplements increase the lung cancer mortalityrate," Grodstein said.
The findings are published in the Nov. 12 issue of Archives ofInternal Medicine.
An accompanying editorial in the journal by Dr. Kristine Yaffe,professor of psychiatry, neurology, epidemiology and biostatistics at theUniversity of California, San Francisco, circled warily around the conceptof long-term antioxidant supplements. One possibility, Yaffe said, is thatsomeone who remembers to take a supplement for 18 years is in bettermental shape to begin with than someone who doesn't. (Grodstein said thatcompliance had been checked as carefully for the men taking theplacebo.)
The idea that long-term use of the supplements is necessary "iscertainly plausible, given that the neuropathologic changes underlyingclinically significant impairment appear to take years, if not decades,"Yaffe wrote. But evidence for that concept would be difficult to obtain,since it would require trials lasting 25 to 30 years, she said.
"For the clinician, there is no convincing justification to recommendthe use of antioxidant dietary supplements to maintain cognitiveperformance in cognitively normal adults or those with mild cognitiveimpairment," Yaffe concluded.
The Alzheimer' Association makes no recommendation about antioxidantsupplements. Both the American Heart Association and the American CancerSociety say the evidence for supplements is inconclusive and recommend adiet rich in fruits and vegetables.
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Taking supplements of theantioxidant beta carotene for a long time -- 15 years or more -- appearsto lessen the decline in thinking ability that comes with Alzheimer'sdisease, a study finds.
"My hypothesis is that it's how long you take it," said study leadauthor Francine Grodstein, an associate professor of medicine at HarvardMedical School and a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital inBoston.
The idea that antioxidants such as beta carotene can help protectagainst Alzheimer's disease is not new. But the idea remainscontroversial, because a number of studies have not produced positiveresults. This latest trial, which started as the Physicians Health StudyII, stretches back to 1982.
That year, 4,052 men were assigned to take daily doses of either 50milligrams of beta carotene -- the amount in about five large carrots --or a placebo every other day. An additional 1,904 men were randomlyassigned to one of the two groups between 1998 and 2001.
All the men filled out yearly questionnaires about their health andcompliance with the regimen, and all had telephone assessments of theirthinking ability at least once between 1998 and 2002.
A difference emerged between long-term and short-term participants. Themen who had stayed in the trial for an average of 18 years scoredsignificantly higher on most of the tests of cognitive ability. "Theirmemory was equivalent to that of men about a year younger," Grodsteinsaid.
What works for men almost certainly should work for women, she said,and the idea that long-term use of an intervention is important should beapplied to other preventive measures against Alzheimer's disease.
"Our research supports the possibility of successful interventions atearly stages of brain aging in healthy adults," Grodstein said.
But beta carotene is not entirely risk-free, she noted. "In studies ofmale smokers, beta carotene supplements increase the lung cancer mortalityrate," Grodstein said.
The findings are published in the Nov. 12 issue of Archives ofInternal Medicine.
An accompanying editorial in the journal by Dr. Kristine Yaffe,professor of psychiatry, neurology, epidemiology and biostatistics at theUniversity of California, San Francisco, circled warily around the conceptof long-term antioxidant supplements. One possibility, Yaffe said, is thatsomeone who remembers to take a supplement for 18 years is in bettermental shape to begin with than someone who doesn't. (Grodstein said thatcompliance had been checked as carefully for the men taking theplacebo.)
The idea that long-term use of the supplements is necessary "iscertainly plausible, given that the neuropathologic changes underlyingclinically significant impairment appear to take years, if not decades,"Yaffe wrote. But evidence for that concept would be difficult to obtain,since it would require trials lasting 25 to 30 years, she said.
"For the clinician, there is no convincing justification to recommendthe use of antioxidant dietary supplements to maintain cognitiveperformance in cognitively normal adults or those with mild cognitiveimpairment," Yaffe concluded.
The Alzheimer' Association makes no recommendation about antioxidantsupplements. Both the American Heart Association and the American CancerSociety say the evidence for supplements is inconclusive and recommend adiet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Eyeglasses Upgrade Helps Elderly Battle Depression
Eyeglasses Upgrade Helps Elderly Battle Depression
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Correcting nursing home residents'poor vision not only boosts quality of life, it may lower risks fordepression, U.S. researchers report.
A team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham studied 78 nursinghome residents, 55 and older, who received eyeglasses one week afterhaving an eye exam and 64 residents who received eyeglasses two monthsafter an eye check-up.
The residents' vision-related quality-of-life and depressive symptomswere assessed at the start of the study and again two months later.
At the start of the study, both groups had similar medical/demographiccharacteristics and similar visual acuity and refractive error. After twomonths, those who received eyeglasses at the start of the study showedimprovement in distance and near visual acuity, while those who didn'treceive eyeglasses showed no change in visual acuity.
Also at two months, residents who received eyeglasses had higher scoresfor general vision, reading, activities, hobbies, social interaction, andfewer depressive symptoms, said the study, which was published in theNovember issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.
"This study implies that there are significant, short-termquality-of-life and psychological benefits to providing the most basic ofeye care services -- namely, spectacle correction -- to older adultsresiding in nursing homes," the researchers concluded.
"These findings underscore the need for a systematic evaluation of thefactors underlying the pervasive unavailability of eye care to nursinghome residents in the United States so that steps can be taken to improvedelivery and eye care utilization."
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Correcting nursing home residents'poor vision not only boosts quality of life, it may lower risks fordepression, U.S. researchers report.
A team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham studied 78 nursinghome residents, 55 and older, who received eyeglasses one week afterhaving an eye exam and 64 residents who received eyeglasses two monthsafter an eye check-up.
The residents' vision-related quality-of-life and depressive symptomswere assessed at the start of the study and again two months later.
At the start of the study, both groups had similar medical/demographiccharacteristics and similar visual acuity and refractive error. After twomonths, those who received eyeglasses at the start of the study showedimprovement in distance and near visual acuity, while those who didn'treceive eyeglasses showed no change in visual acuity.
Also at two months, residents who received eyeglasses had higher scoresfor general vision, reading, activities, hobbies, social interaction, andfewer depressive symptoms, said the study, which was published in theNovember issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.
"This study implies that there are significant, short-termquality-of-life and psychological benefits to providing the most basic ofeye care services -- namely, spectacle correction -- to older adultsresiding in nursing homes," the researchers concluded.
"These findings underscore the need for a systematic evaluation of thefactors underlying the pervasive unavailability of eye care to nursinghome residents in the United States so that steps can be taken to improvedelivery and eye care utilization."
Obesity Linked to Prostate Cancer Death Rates
Obesity Linked to Prostate Cancer Death Rates
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- In another sign that too muchweight spells health problems, new research suggests that fat men aretwice as likely to die after being diagnosed with prostate cancer than menof normal weight.
The research doesn't confirm a cause-and-effect link between obesityand a higher risk of death from prostate cancer, and it's not clear iflosing weight would help patients after they're diagnosed with thedisease.
Still, "if you look down the list of factors that are most predictiveof a bad outcome, this [excess weight] ranks up there pretty high," saidstudy co-author Dr. Matthew R. Smith, an oncologist at MassachusettsGeneral Hospital in Boston.
According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the disease strikes one insix American men and is the most prevalent form of non-skin cancer in theUnited States. Risk rises with age, with more than 65 percent of all casesdiagnosed in men over the age of 65.
However, prostate cancer can successfully be treated in many cases,particularly if it's caught early.
In the new study, Smith and his colleagues examined the results of menwith advanced prostate cancer who were enrolled in a drug study between1987 and 1992. The researchers looked at 788 men whose weights wererecorded at the time of diagnosis to see if their body mass index -- BMI,a ratio of weight to height -- affected their risk of dying.
The researchers found that 6.5 percent of men with normal or lowweight -- a BMI of less than 25 -- died from prostate cancer within fiveyears. But the death rate for overweight men (a BMI of 25 to 30) was 13.1percent, and it was 12.2 percent for obese men (a BMI of 30 orhigher).
The higher rate of death remained constant even when the researchersadjusted their findings for other possible factors.
The study results are published in the Nov. 12 online issue of thejournal Cancer.
It remains unclear why there might be a link between obesity and deathrates from prostate cancer. It's possible that metabolism rates in heavymen might make the cancer more aggressive, Smith said, or obesity couldrender treatments less effective.
Dr. Martha K. Terris, a professor of urology at the Medical College ofGeorgia, who's familiar with the study findings, said hormone balancecould be another factor. "Obesity changes the proportion of estrogen andtestosterone in the blood, and this change may impact on the cancerbehavior," she said.
Terris added that "obese individuals generally eat more high-fat dietswith less fruits and vegetables that could contain key vitamins that helpcontrol cancer growth."
For now, Smith said, "the part we can't know is whether improvements inlifestyle intervention after prostate cancer diagnosis would improveoutcomes."
Still, it would be wise for doctors to tell their patients about theapparent link between weight and prostate cancer death rates, Smith said."This may be a teachable moment that prompts a discussion about generalhealth considerations," he said.
In a related study published in Cancer, University of Michiganresearchers found that families coping with prostate cancer reportedimproved quality of life from a structured support program integrated intothe patients cancer management. The study, led by Dr. Laurel Northouse,found that patients and their spouses who participated in a five-sessionhome counseling program reported significant improvement in such areas assymptom management, hope, uncertainty and the couples' communication.
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- In another sign that too muchweight spells health problems, new research suggests that fat men aretwice as likely to die after being diagnosed with prostate cancer than menof normal weight.
The research doesn't confirm a cause-and-effect link between obesityand a higher risk of death from prostate cancer, and it's not clear iflosing weight would help patients after they're diagnosed with thedisease.
Still, "if you look down the list of factors that are most predictiveof a bad outcome, this [excess weight] ranks up there pretty high," saidstudy co-author Dr. Matthew R. Smith, an oncologist at MassachusettsGeneral Hospital in Boston.
According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the disease strikes one insix American men and is the most prevalent form of non-skin cancer in theUnited States. Risk rises with age, with more than 65 percent of all casesdiagnosed in men over the age of 65.
However, prostate cancer can successfully be treated in many cases,particularly if it's caught early.
In the new study, Smith and his colleagues examined the results of menwith advanced prostate cancer who were enrolled in a drug study between1987 and 1992. The researchers looked at 788 men whose weights wererecorded at the time of diagnosis to see if their body mass index -- BMI,a ratio of weight to height -- affected their risk of dying.
The researchers found that 6.5 percent of men with normal or lowweight -- a BMI of less than 25 -- died from prostate cancer within fiveyears. But the death rate for overweight men (a BMI of 25 to 30) was 13.1percent, and it was 12.2 percent for obese men (a BMI of 30 orhigher).
The higher rate of death remained constant even when the researchersadjusted their findings for other possible factors.
The study results are published in the Nov. 12 online issue of thejournal Cancer.
It remains unclear why there might be a link between obesity and deathrates from prostate cancer. It's possible that metabolism rates in heavymen might make the cancer more aggressive, Smith said, or obesity couldrender treatments less effective.
Dr. Martha K. Terris, a professor of urology at the Medical College ofGeorgia, who's familiar with the study findings, said hormone balancecould be another factor. "Obesity changes the proportion of estrogen andtestosterone in the blood, and this change may impact on the cancerbehavior," she said.
Terris added that "obese individuals generally eat more high-fat dietswith less fruits and vegetables that could contain key vitamins that helpcontrol cancer growth."
For now, Smith said, "the part we can't know is whether improvements inlifestyle intervention after prostate cancer diagnosis would improveoutcomes."
Still, it would be wise for doctors to tell their patients about theapparent link between weight and prostate cancer death rates, Smith said."This may be a teachable moment that prompts a discussion about generalhealth considerations," he said.
In a related study published in Cancer, University of Michiganresearchers found that families coping with prostate cancer reportedimproved quality of life from a structured support program integrated intothe patients cancer management. The study, led by Dr. Laurel Northouse,found that patients and their spouses who participated in a five-sessionhome counseling program reported significant improvement in such areas assymptom management, hope, uncertainty and the couples' communication.
Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 12, 2007
Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 12, 2007
(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesyof Thomson CenterWatch:
Prostate Cancer
If you are 18 or older and have prostate cancer withmetastatic bone disease, you may be eligible for this study.
Theresearch site is in Austin, Texas.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat36.html.
-----
Lupus
If you are 16 or older and have Lupus nephritis, youmay qualify to participate in this study.
The research site is inManhasset, N.Y.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat384.html.
-----
Celiac Disease
If you are aged 18 to 68, have Celiac disease, and havebeen gluten free for the past six months, you may be eligible toparticipate in this study.
The research site is in Lexington, Ky.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat708.html.
-----
Copyright 2007 Thomson CenterWatch. All rights reserved.
(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesyof Thomson CenterWatch:
Prostate Cancer
If you are 18 or older and have prostate cancer withmetastatic bone disease, you may be eligible for this study.
Theresearch site is in Austin, Texas.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat36.html.
-----
Lupus
If you are 16 or older and have Lupus nephritis, youmay qualify to participate in this study.
The research site is inManhasset, N.Y.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat384.html.
-----
Celiac Disease
If you are aged 18 to 68, have Celiac disease, and havebeen gluten free for the past six months, you may be eligible toparticipate in this study.
The research site is in Lexington, Ky.
More information
Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat708.html.
-----
Copyright 2007 Thomson CenterWatch. All rights reserved.
Fallout From Failed AIDS Vaccine Could Dampen Research
Fallout From Failed AIDS Vaccine Could Dampen Research
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental AIDS vaccine usedin a recent trial may have placed participants at higher risk of infectionwith HIV -- although whether or not that was truly the case remainsunclear.
What is clear is the concern among experts that the news willkeep would-be trial participants away from future AIDS vaccinestudies.
"That's always a possibility, and that's the reason why we have to bevery transparent and open and honest, and be very energetic to educatepeople to understand just what went on here," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, anAIDS research pioneer and director of the U.S. National Institute ofAllergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The institute was a partner inthe trial.
"Already we have a lot of people misinterpreting that the vaccineitself actually gave [recipients] HIV infection -- that's impossible," hesaid. "We have a lot of education to do, and there's always a danger thatthis could sour people on getting involved in vaccine trials."
Another expert agreed that the collapse of the large, phase II trial ofMerck & Co.'s V520 vaccine could send the wrong message.
"It's a blow to the HIV prevention field," said Rowena Johnston, vicepresident of research at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in NewYork City. "Clearly, we want to be very careful that people aren'tthinking that AIDS researchers are going to be putting them at risk."
The V520 vaccine was the first of the so-called "viral vector" HIVvaccines to make it all the way to such a large, phase II trial, aftershowing much promise in smaller, earlier studies.
The vaccine used a harmless adenovirus -- a type of cold virus -- as a"vector" to deliver a set of three synthetically derived HIV genes. Thehope was those genes would help prime the immune system against the virusthat causes AIDS.
The virus vector approach is a common one in vaccine researchgenerally, and HIV/AIDS experts had high hopes for the Merck vaccine,which was meant to be tested in more than 3,000 volunteers uninfected withHIV.
Unfortunately, the vaccine failed to deliver. In September, apreliminary analysis of the data showed no statistical difference betweenthose who got the shot and those who got a placebo, in terms of newinfections. The trial was halted at that time.
Reporting last Wednesday at a scientific meeting in Seattle, theresearch team said an updated review of the numbers had since revealed awidening gap in infections that actually favored the placebo.
So far, the researchers said, 49 of 914 men vaccinated have testedpositive for HIV, compared to 33 of 922 men who got the placebo shot.
And in a puzzling twist, individuals who had higher levels ofpreexisting immunity to the adenovirus before vaccination were actuallymuch more prone to developing HIV infection, compared to participants withlow levels of immunity, the researchers said.
Among 778 male volunteers with a high level of preexisting adenovirusimmunity, 21 of those vaccinated are now HIV-positive, versus nine in theplacebo arm of the trial.
In terms of vaccine's effectiveness at slowing progression from HIVinfection to AIDS, the trial was also a bust. Among participants infectedwith HIV, researchers have so far seen no difference in "viral load" --HIV levels in the blood -- between those who received a shot and thosewho did not.
The vaccine's failure comes as a disappointment to AIDS researchers,the experts said. However, the notion that the vaccine actually heightenedusers' risk for infection is still far from certain, they added.
First of all, the numbers of cases of new infection recorded in thetrial simply didn't reach statistical significance, Fauci said. However,the trend "is noticeable enough that you have to pay attention to it," headded.
Fauci and Johnston stressed that it's impossible for the vaccine itselfto directly infect a person with HIV, because the adenovirus was the onlypathogen included in the shot.
However, there is the possibility that vaccination might have spurredchanges in the immune systems of individuals whose immune systems werealready primed to fight the adenovirus. Theoretically, thoseimmune-system changes could have made HIV infection more likely in thesepeople if they were exposed to the virus.
"HIV replicates much better in [immune] cells that are activated,"Fauci explained. For certain trial participants with a high preexistingimmunity to the adenovirus, vaccination could have put their immune systemon a kind of "high alert" -- activating exactly the type of CD4+ T-cellsthat HIV is attracted to, he said.
"Those CD4+ T-cells are then going to be very vulnerable targets forHIV when you become exposed to HIV," Fauci theorized.
But he also stressed that this only remains a theory. Research iscontinuing to see if the vaccine did, in fact, leave participants morevulnerable to contracting HIV.
"What we are trying to do now is to mine the data to see if we can findout any mechanistic or other circumstantial information that could help usdecipher that out, and determine whether this is 'really real,'" Faucisaid. That research could take up to a year to yield results, henoted.
In the meantime, Fauci and Johnston agreed that vaccine research usingviral vectors should continue to go forward, albeit with an added note ofcaution.
If the trend seen in the study is confirmed, it could mean changes inthe way the organizers of vaccine trials recruit participants in thefuture, they said.
"If it turns out to be biologically significant, then we will have tobe very careful when using a viral vector to which people have underlyingimmunity, because that [could lead] to a significant activation of theirimmune responses," Fauci said.
Trial organizers would become more selective as they recruitparticipants, he said, "to make sure that we don't have people who haveunderlying immunity to the vector in question."
Both experts stressed that trial participants should always do theirbest to prevent exposure to HIV and not assume that an experimentalvaccine gives them added protection.
"The counseling that people in trials get is really very thorough,"Johnston said, "and yet I think that as trial participants, many peoplereally do come away with the perception that they are being given aproduct that might protect them."
Safe behaviors -- especially condom use -- remain the surest way toprevent infection with HIV, whether you are in a trial or not, Johnstonsaid. "To protect yourself, you really need to assume that the vaccinewon't work, and then keep on protecting yourself in every waypossible."
In the meantime, an estimated 39 million people remain infected withHIV worldwide, and the hope for a safe, effective vaccine delivered by aviral vector remains high, she said.
"The viral vector is really a very good idea -- it's still one of thebest ideas that's out there," Johnston said. "I don't think the failure ofone candidate from one company should signal the end of this as aconcept."
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental AIDS vaccine usedin a recent trial may have placed participants at higher risk of infectionwith HIV -- although whether or not that was truly the case remainsunclear.
What is clear is the concern among experts that the news willkeep would-be trial participants away from future AIDS vaccinestudies.
"That's always a possibility, and that's the reason why we have to bevery transparent and open and honest, and be very energetic to educatepeople to understand just what went on here," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, anAIDS research pioneer and director of the U.S. National Institute ofAllergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The institute was a partner inthe trial.
"Already we have a lot of people misinterpreting that the vaccineitself actually gave [recipients] HIV infection -- that's impossible," hesaid. "We have a lot of education to do, and there's always a danger thatthis could sour people on getting involved in vaccine trials."
Another expert agreed that the collapse of the large, phase II trial ofMerck & Co.'s V520 vaccine could send the wrong message.
"It's a blow to the HIV prevention field," said Rowena Johnston, vicepresident of research at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in NewYork City. "Clearly, we want to be very careful that people aren'tthinking that AIDS researchers are going to be putting them at risk."
The V520 vaccine was the first of the so-called "viral vector" HIVvaccines to make it all the way to such a large, phase II trial, aftershowing much promise in smaller, earlier studies.
The vaccine used a harmless adenovirus -- a type of cold virus -- as a"vector" to deliver a set of three synthetically derived HIV genes. Thehope was those genes would help prime the immune system against the virusthat causes AIDS.
The virus vector approach is a common one in vaccine researchgenerally, and HIV/AIDS experts had high hopes for the Merck vaccine,which was meant to be tested in more than 3,000 volunteers uninfected withHIV.
Unfortunately, the vaccine failed to deliver. In September, apreliminary analysis of the data showed no statistical difference betweenthose who got the shot and those who got a placebo, in terms of newinfections. The trial was halted at that time.
Reporting last Wednesday at a scientific meeting in Seattle, theresearch team said an updated review of the numbers had since revealed awidening gap in infections that actually favored the placebo.
So far, the researchers said, 49 of 914 men vaccinated have testedpositive for HIV, compared to 33 of 922 men who got the placebo shot.
And in a puzzling twist, individuals who had higher levels ofpreexisting immunity to the adenovirus before vaccination were actuallymuch more prone to developing HIV infection, compared to participants withlow levels of immunity, the researchers said.
Among 778 male volunteers with a high level of preexisting adenovirusimmunity, 21 of those vaccinated are now HIV-positive, versus nine in theplacebo arm of the trial.
In terms of vaccine's effectiveness at slowing progression from HIVinfection to AIDS, the trial was also a bust. Among participants infectedwith HIV, researchers have so far seen no difference in "viral load" --HIV levels in the blood -- between those who received a shot and thosewho did not.
The vaccine's failure comes as a disappointment to AIDS researchers,the experts said. However, the notion that the vaccine actually heightenedusers' risk for infection is still far from certain, they added.
First of all, the numbers of cases of new infection recorded in thetrial simply didn't reach statistical significance, Fauci said. However,the trend "is noticeable enough that you have to pay attention to it," headded.
Fauci and Johnston stressed that it's impossible for the vaccine itselfto directly infect a person with HIV, because the adenovirus was the onlypathogen included in the shot.
However, there is the possibility that vaccination might have spurredchanges in the immune systems of individuals whose immune systems werealready primed to fight the adenovirus. Theoretically, thoseimmune-system changes could have made HIV infection more likely in thesepeople if they were exposed to the virus.
"HIV replicates much better in [immune] cells that are activated,"Fauci explained. For certain trial participants with a high preexistingimmunity to the adenovirus, vaccination could have put their immune systemon a kind of "high alert" -- activating exactly the type of CD4+ T-cellsthat HIV is attracted to, he said.
"Those CD4+ T-cells are then going to be very vulnerable targets forHIV when you become exposed to HIV," Fauci theorized.
But he also stressed that this only remains a theory. Research iscontinuing to see if the vaccine did, in fact, leave participants morevulnerable to contracting HIV.
"What we are trying to do now is to mine the data to see if we can findout any mechanistic or other circumstantial information that could help usdecipher that out, and determine whether this is 'really real,'" Faucisaid. That research could take up to a year to yield results, henoted.
In the meantime, Fauci and Johnston agreed that vaccine research usingviral vectors should continue to go forward, albeit with an added note ofcaution.
If the trend seen in the study is confirmed, it could mean changes inthe way the organizers of vaccine trials recruit participants in thefuture, they said.
"If it turns out to be biologically significant, then we will have tobe very careful when using a viral vector to which people have underlyingimmunity, because that [could lead] to a significant activation of theirimmune responses," Fauci said.
Trial organizers would become more selective as they recruitparticipants, he said, "to make sure that we don't have people who haveunderlying immunity to the vector in question."
Both experts stressed that trial participants should always do theirbest to prevent exposure to HIV and not assume that an experimentalvaccine gives them added protection.
"The counseling that people in trials get is really very thorough,"Johnston said, "and yet I think that as trial participants, many peoplereally do come away with the perception that they are being given aproduct that might protect them."
Safe behaviors -- especially condom use -- remain the surest way toprevent infection with HIV, whether you are in a trial or not, Johnstonsaid. "To protect yourself, you really need to assume that the vaccinewon't work, and then keep on protecting yourself in every waypossible."
In the meantime, an estimated 39 million people remain infected withHIV worldwide, and the hope for a safe, effective vaccine delivered by aviral vector remains high, she said.
"The viral vector is really a very good idea -- it's still one of thebest ideas that's out there," Johnston said. "I don't think the failure ofone candidate from one company should signal the end of this as aconcept."
Experts Release New Asthma Care Guidelines
Experts Release New Asthma Care Guidelines
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Asthma control and prevention ofattacks are the focus of new national asthma guidelines released by theU.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's National Asthma Educationand Prevention Program (NAEPP).
The 23 million Americans -- including 6.5 million children -- withasthma can avoid serious symptoms and disability if they follow theselatest guidelines to keep their asthma under control, said the experts whowrote the guidelines.
"Asthma is not an event, it is a chronic disease that can be managed sothat symptoms are controlled and severe attacks are prevented," Dr.Michael B. Foggs, chief of asthma, allergy and immunology at AdvocateHealth Care in Chicago, said in a prepared statement. "The guidelinesunderscore the fact that people who are diagnosed with asthma do not haveto suffer breathing difficulties or cut back on their activities. We wantto make this a reality for all asthma patients."
The guidelines place a new emphasis on doctor-patient partnerships andongoing asthma monitoring and management. Among the specificrecommendations:
All patients with asthma should be monitored by a doctor every one tosix months, regardless of how severe their condition is and whether theyare experiencing symptoms.Every patient should have a written asthma action plan withinstructions for daily treatment and what to do if symptoms become worse.The action plan should be developed by a doctor or a nurse, with inputfrom the patient, and shared with all those who interact with the patient,such as family members, teachers and coaches.Asthma care should include education that takes into account apatient's cultural background and literacy level. Patients should play anactive role in managing their asthma.Asthma treatment based on severity is now classified in six steps,rather than the four steps used in previous guidelines. A stepwiseapproach is still recommended, with medication increased when asthmasymptoms worsen and decreased, if possible, when asthma is undercontrol.
"When patients and physicians work together to follow these guidelines,asthma symptoms can be prevented, and patients can participate in allactivities and not miss days of work or school because of asthma. No oneshould expect anything less," Foggs said.
The new guidelines -- the first major update in a decade -- alsohighlight the routine use of inhaled corticosteroids as the standard ofcare for most patients with chronic persistent asthma.
"Low- to medium-dose inhaled corticosteroids are very safe and remainthe first line of treatment for preventing asthma symptoms. Unfortunately,they are not prescribed as often as they should be," H. William Kelly,professor emeritus, department of pediatrics, University of New MexicoHealth Sciences, Albuquerque, said in a prepared statement.
"Some people confuse these safe medications with the risky anabolicsteroids used by some athletes to improve performance. When usedappropriately, corticosteroids are safe and effective in controllingasthma," Kelly said.
Based on research suggesting that children ages 5 to 11 may respondsomewhat differently to medications than adults, children in this agegroup were singled out as a separate category by the guidelineauthors.
For many children ages 5 to 11, asthma can be controlled with a lowdaily dose of inhaled corticosteroid, rather than combination treatments,such as long-acting beta agonists, required by many adult asthmapatients.
The guidelines also stress the need for patients to take theircontroller medications even when they don't have asthma symptoms. Patientsalso need to be taught how to use inhalers properly so the medicationreaches their lungs.
The new guidelines were to be presented Sunday at the annual meeting ofthe American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, in Dallas.
MONDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Asthma control and prevention ofattacks are the focus of new national asthma guidelines released by theU.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's National Asthma Educationand Prevention Program (NAEPP).
The 23 million Americans -- including 6.5 million children -- withasthma can avoid serious symptoms and disability if they follow theselatest guidelines to keep their asthma under control, said the experts whowrote the guidelines.
"Asthma is not an event, it is a chronic disease that can be managed sothat symptoms are controlled and severe attacks are prevented," Dr.Michael B. Foggs, chief of asthma, allergy and immunology at AdvocateHealth Care in Chicago, said in a prepared statement. "The guidelinesunderscore the fact that people who are diagnosed with asthma do not haveto suffer breathing difficulties or cut back on their activities. We wantto make this a reality for all asthma patients."
The guidelines place a new emphasis on doctor-patient partnerships andongoing asthma monitoring and management. Among the specificrecommendations:
All patients with asthma should be monitored by a doctor every one tosix months, regardless of how severe their condition is and whether theyare experiencing symptoms.Every patient should have a written asthma action plan withinstructions for daily treatment and what to do if symptoms become worse.The action plan should be developed by a doctor or a nurse, with inputfrom the patient, and shared with all those who interact with the patient,such as family members, teachers and coaches.Asthma care should include education that takes into account apatient's cultural background and literacy level. Patients should play anactive role in managing their asthma.Asthma treatment based on severity is now classified in six steps,rather than the four steps used in previous guidelines. A stepwiseapproach is still recommended, with medication increased when asthmasymptoms worsen and decreased, if possible, when asthma is undercontrol.
"When patients and physicians work together to follow these guidelines,asthma symptoms can be prevented, and patients can participate in allactivities and not miss days of work or school because of asthma. No oneshould expect anything less," Foggs said.
The new guidelines -- the first major update in a decade -- alsohighlight the routine use of inhaled corticosteroids as the standard ofcare for most patients with chronic persistent asthma.
"Low- to medium-dose inhaled corticosteroids are very safe and remainthe first line of treatment for preventing asthma symptoms. Unfortunately,they are not prescribed as often as they should be," H. William Kelly,professor emeritus, department of pediatrics, University of New MexicoHealth Sciences, Albuquerque, said in a prepared statement.
"Some people confuse these safe medications with the risky anabolicsteroids used by some athletes to improve performance. When usedappropriately, corticosteroids are safe and effective in controllingasthma," Kelly said.
Based on research suggesting that children ages 5 to 11 may respondsomewhat differently to medications than adults, children in this agegroup were singled out as a separate category by the guidelineauthors.
For many children ages 5 to 11, asthma can be controlled with a lowdaily dose of inhaled corticosteroid, rather than combination treatments,such as long-acting beta agonists, required by many adult asthmapatients.
The guidelines also stress the need for patients to take theircontroller medications even when they don't have asthma symptoms. Patientsalso need to be taught how to use inhalers properly so the medicationreaches their lungs.
The new guidelines were to be presented Sunday at the annual meeting ofthe American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, in Dallas.
Global Fund approves 132 million dollars to Kenya's anti-AIDS drive
Global Fund approves 132 million dollars to Kenya's anti-AIDS drive
File photo shows Felicitas Masaa, a 55 year old HIV-positive mother of five children, in her makeshift house in Kibera, Africa's largest slum in Nairobi. The Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved a grant of 132.3 million dollars (90.7 million euros) to boost Kenya's anti-HIV/AIDS drive, the health ministry announced Tuesday.(AFP/File/Simon Maina)NAIROBI (AFP) - The Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved a grant of 132.3 million dollars (90.7 million euros) to boost Kenya's anti-HIV/AIDS drive, the health ministry announced Tuesday.
The grant will finance programmes over the next five years, but an initial amount of 47.1 million dollars (32.3 million euros) will be released in the first two years, said health ministry permanent secretary Hezron Nyangito.
"The new grant to Kenya is targeted to provide ARV treatment with inclusion of a nutrition component, strengthening of health systems and strategic communication," he said.
The grant brings the total funding for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis programmes in Kenya to 306 million dollars (210 million euros) since the fund was created in 2002.
Kenya's official AIDS prevalence rate is 5.1 percent, down from 5.9 percent in 2005 due to the use of free ARV therapy for adults and distributing new drugs to prevent child-mother transmission.
Since the savage virus roared from African jungles in the early 1980s, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for a staggering 72 percent of global AIDS deaths, and two-thirds of all people infected with HIV.
After the disease was first diagnosed in Kenya in 1984, it has killed at least 1.5 million people, overturned decades of healthcare gains and now threatens to burn through development efforts if it is not reversed.
As of June last year, around one million Africans were receiving anti-retroviral drugs. This was still less than a quarter of the estimated 4.6 million people in need of the drugs on the continent.
With this, African leaders have been forced to divert mammoth funds, stripping other sectors and failingly tried to enforce laws to counter traditional risky practices like wife inheritance.
File photo shows Felicitas Masaa, a 55 year old HIV-positive mother of five children, in her makeshift house in Kibera, Africa's largest slum in Nairobi. The Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved a grant of 132.3 million dollars (90.7 million euros) to boost Kenya's anti-HIV/AIDS drive, the health ministry announced Tuesday.(AFP/File/Simon Maina)NAIROBI (AFP) - The Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved a grant of 132.3 million dollars (90.7 million euros) to boost Kenya's anti-HIV/AIDS drive, the health ministry announced Tuesday.
The grant will finance programmes over the next five years, but an initial amount of 47.1 million dollars (32.3 million euros) will be released in the first two years, said health ministry permanent secretary Hezron Nyangito.
"The new grant to Kenya is targeted to provide ARV treatment with inclusion of a nutrition component, strengthening of health systems and strategic communication," he said.
The grant brings the total funding for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis programmes in Kenya to 306 million dollars (210 million euros) since the fund was created in 2002.
Kenya's official AIDS prevalence rate is 5.1 percent, down from 5.9 percent in 2005 due to the use of free ARV therapy for adults and distributing new drugs to prevent child-mother transmission.
Since the savage virus roared from African jungles in the early 1980s, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for a staggering 72 percent of global AIDS deaths, and two-thirds of all people infected with HIV.
After the disease was first diagnosed in Kenya in 1984, it has killed at least 1.5 million people, overturned decades of healthcare gains and now threatens to burn through development efforts if it is not reversed.
As of June last year, around one million Africans were receiving anti-retroviral drugs. This was still less than a quarter of the estimated 4.6 million people in need of the drugs on the continent.
With this, African leaders have been forced to divert mammoth funds, stripping other sectors and failingly tried to enforce laws to counter traditional risky practices like wife inheritance.
China to revise law on HIV foreigners
China to revise law on HIV foreigners
BEIJING - China will relax a long-standing rule that bars foreigners with HIV from entering the country, a health official said.
The law will be revised but a date has not yet been set, said Mao Qun'an, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, according to a transcript of a news conference posted on the ministry's Web site late Monday.
Under a 1994 law, foreigners applying for a residency permit in China must take an HIV test. Visitors to the country are asked to declare whether they have the virus — and can be refused entry or deported if they do. The law also affects those with other sexually transmitted diseases or tuberculosis.
But Mao said China's attitudes have changed.
"At present, we are considering, and we are changing the present regulation that stops foreigners with HIV and AIDS from entering the country, and this job is under way," he said. He did not give any details on how the law would be revised.
The country has made more open efforts to tackle the disease in recent years, but still clamps down on some AIDS-awareness activists who are critical of the government's policies on the spread of the virus.
In the past, the law has stopped those with HIV or AIDS from attending conferences on the disease in China.
"The change is correct and significant. It will benefit international cooperation on HIV/AIDS and will eliminate most Chinese people's concept that AIDS comes from foreigners," said Wan Yanhai, a Chinese activist for AIDS awareness and effective public health policies. Chinese police have occasionally detained him for his work.
Wan said the Geneva-based Global Fund was behind the government's decision. The group finances programs that combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and recently granted China $5.8 million to fight HIV and AIDS.
The fund is holding a board meeting this week in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, and may have pressured the government to revise the law, Wan said.
China holds a seat on the board of the Global Fund, which has approved a total of $424 million to fight disease in the country.
The World Health Organization welcomed the news Tuesday, saying it was a major step in fighting discrimination and will lead to a greater understanding of how the virus is transmitted.
"Decisions like this show that the Chinese government is continuing to make important progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said a statement issued by Joanna Brent, a WHO spokeswoman in China.
An estimated 650,000 people in China live with HIV, according to the most recent government statistics, which date from 2005.
BEIJING - China will relax a long-standing rule that bars foreigners with HIV from entering the country, a health official said.
The law will be revised but a date has not yet been set, said Mao Qun'an, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, according to a transcript of a news conference posted on the ministry's Web site late Monday.
Under a 1994 law, foreigners applying for a residency permit in China must take an HIV test. Visitors to the country are asked to declare whether they have the virus — and can be refused entry or deported if they do. The law also affects those with other sexually transmitted diseases or tuberculosis.
But Mao said China's attitudes have changed.
"At present, we are considering, and we are changing the present regulation that stops foreigners with HIV and AIDS from entering the country, and this job is under way," he said. He did not give any details on how the law would be revised.
The country has made more open efforts to tackle the disease in recent years, but still clamps down on some AIDS-awareness activists who are critical of the government's policies on the spread of the virus.
In the past, the law has stopped those with HIV or AIDS from attending conferences on the disease in China.
"The change is correct and significant. It will benefit international cooperation on HIV/AIDS and will eliminate most Chinese people's concept that AIDS comes from foreigners," said Wan Yanhai, a Chinese activist for AIDS awareness and effective public health policies. Chinese police have occasionally detained him for his work.
Wan said the Geneva-based Global Fund was behind the government's decision. The group finances programs that combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and recently granted China $5.8 million to fight HIV and AIDS.
The fund is holding a board meeting this week in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, and may have pressured the government to revise the law, Wan said.
China holds a seat on the board of the Global Fund, which has approved a total of $424 million to fight disease in the country.
The World Health Organization welcomed the news Tuesday, saying it was a major step in fighting discrimination and will lead to a greater understanding of how the virus is transmitted.
"Decisions like this show that the Chinese government is continuing to make important progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said a statement issued by Joanna Brent, a WHO spokeswoman in China.
An estimated 650,000 people in China live with HIV, according to the most recent government statistics, which date from 2005.
Eight-limbed Indian girl now doing fine with four
Eight-limbed Indian girl now doing fine with four
In this photograph provided by the Sparsh Hospital, Poonam, right, holds her daughter Lakshmi inside a ward of the Sparsha Hospital in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007. Nearly a week after surgeons removed the extra limbs from the Indian girl born with four arms and four legs, the bright-eyed 2-year-old made her first public appearance Tuesday after leaving the hospital's intensive care unit. (AP Photo/Sparsha Hospital)BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - An Indian girl born with fourlegs and four arms appeared in public for the first time onTuesday since a grueling operation to remove her extra limbs.
Two-year-old Lakshmi Tatma, who was named after thefour-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, was carried in her father'sarms at a press conference, looking somewhat subdued, her legsin a blue cast.
"I am happy to announce that she will be out of intensivecare today," Dr Sharan Patil, who lead a team of around 30 inLakshmi's surgery, told reporters at the Sparsh Hospital inBangalore, southern India.
"We have taken her off all the monitoring. She is copingvery well."
A week ago, doctors operated for more than a day to removewhat amounted to Lakshmi's headless identical twin sister, whowas joined at the pelvis and who did not develop and separateproperly in the womb.
The rare birth defect is known as a parasitic twin.
As well as cutting off the extra limbs, doctors alsoremoved extra internal organs and corrected a deformedskeleton.
She had since been under intensive care at the hospital. DrPatil said she was now eating semi-solid food and her woundswere healing.
"She recognized us as soon as she became conscious afterthe operation." said Lakshmi's father, Shambu, a poor laborerfrom a village in the eastern state of Bihar. "We are veryhappy to see her recovering.
Lakshmi will still need another operation to correct herclub feet, doctors said, but she will probably not be wellenough for more surgery for at least a couple weeks.
(Editing by Jonathan Allen)
In this photograph provided by the Sparsh Hospital, Poonam, right, holds her daughter Lakshmi inside a ward of the Sparsha Hospital in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007. Nearly a week after surgeons removed the extra limbs from the Indian girl born with four arms and four legs, the bright-eyed 2-year-old made her first public appearance Tuesday after leaving the hospital's intensive care unit. (AP Photo/Sparsha Hospital)BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - An Indian girl born with fourlegs and four arms appeared in public for the first time onTuesday since a grueling operation to remove her extra limbs.
Two-year-old Lakshmi Tatma, who was named after thefour-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, was carried in her father'sarms at a press conference, looking somewhat subdued, her legsin a blue cast.
"I am happy to announce that she will be out of intensivecare today," Dr Sharan Patil, who lead a team of around 30 inLakshmi's surgery, told reporters at the Sparsh Hospital inBangalore, southern India.
"We have taken her off all the monitoring. She is copingvery well."
A week ago, doctors operated for more than a day to removewhat amounted to Lakshmi's headless identical twin sister, whowas joined at the pelvis and who did not develop and separateproperly in the womb.
The rare birth defect is known as a parasitic twin.
As well as cutting off the extra limbs, doctors alsoremoved extra internal organs and corrected a deformedskeleton.
She had since been under intensive care at the hospital. DrPatil said she was now eating semi-solid food and her woundswere healing.
"She recognized us as soon as she became conscious afterthe operation." said Lakshmi's father, Shambu, a poor laborerfrom a village in the eastern state of Bihar. "We are veryhappy to see her recovering.
Lakshmi will still need another operation to correct herclub feet, doctors said, but she will probably not be wellenough for more surgery for at least a couple weeks.
(Editing by Jonathan Allen)
HIV programs in workplace save money: IOM
HIV programs in workplace save money: IOM
GENEVA (Reuters) - Companies can save money and retain morestaff by offering their workers HIV programs, particularly inareas where infection rates are high, an international aidagency said on Tuesday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) analyzedconditions in Zambia, where 17 percent of adults have HIV andmany large private-sector companies depend on migrant workerswho are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
Its study, which looked at copper mining and agriculturalfirms, found that HIV "had an enormous impact on all companiesamong all ranges of skills," IOM spokeswoman Jemini Pandyasaid.
"By implementing a range of HIV programs for staff, thebenefits far outweigh the costs, both human and financial," shetold a Geneva news briefing.
HIV programs in the workplace -- including health care,testing and counseling -- gave employees a chance to combatdiscrimination and learn about prevention, the IOM found.
They also helped prevent absenteeism, employee turnover,and lost productivity, according to the study which assesseddata from seven of the biggest companies in Zambia, employingbetween 350 and 10,000 people.
The typical company spent nearly $9,000 per employee lostto the disease, including funeral expenses and the costs havinga supervisor train a successor. Six of the seven companiesshowed net benefits for their programs, amounting to an averageof $47 per employee in the year 2006, according to the report.
The largest company saved nearly $500,000 in what wouldhave been lost productivity from sick employees, Pandya said,adding: "The larger the company, the greater the benefits itderived."
The IOM reported a general belief among companies in Zambiathat labor was "plentiful, cheap and always there," but warnedthis was extremely short-sighted.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Laura MacInnis)
GENEVA (Reuters) - Companies can save money and retain morestaff by offering their workers HIV programs, particularly inareas where infection rates are high, an international aidagency said on Tuesday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) analyzedconditions in Zambia, where 17 percent of adults have HIV andmany large private-sector companies depend on migrant workerswho are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
Its study, which looked at copper mining and agriculturalfirms, found that HIV "had an enormous impact on all companiesamong all ranges of skills," IOM spokeswoman Jemini Pandyasaid.
"By implementing a range of HIV programs for staff, thebenefits far outweigh the costs, both human and financial," shetold a Geneva news briefing.
HIV programs in the workplace -- including health care,testing and counseling -- gave employees a chance to combatdiscrimination and learn about prevention, the IOM found.
They also helped prevent absenteeism, employee turnover,and lost productivity, according to the study which assesseddata from seven of the biggest companies in Zambia, employingbetween 350 and 10,000 people.
The typical company spent nearly $9,000 per employee lostto the disease, including funeral expenses and the costs havinga supervisor train a successor. Six of the seven companiesshowed net benefits for their programs, amounting to an averageof $47 per employee in the year 2006, according to the report.
The largest company saved nearly $500,000 in what wouldhave been lost productivity from sick employees, Pandya said,adding: "The larger the company, the greater the benefits itderived."
The IOM reported a general belief among companies in Zambiathat labor was "plentiful, cheap and always there," but warnedthis was extremely short-sighted.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Laura MacInnis)
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