UMN: Bio-Med Library - Public Health

Fri May 28, 2004 09:18 AM ET

By Patricia Reaney
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Twin global epidemics of obesity and diabetes are out of control and could reduce life expectancy in the future, health experts said on Friday.

Obesity, a major risk factor for diabetes, already affects 300 million people worldwide while an estimated 194 million suffer from diabetes.

By 2025 the number of obese people is expected soar to 333 million.

"I suspect that within a short period of time we will begin to see a reduction in life expectancy because of the twin epidemics," said Professor Claude Bouchard, president of the International Society for the Study of Obesity (IASO).

He was speaking at the 13th European Congress on Obesity here, being attended by some 2,500 doctors and health experts. Professor Rhys Williams, a vice president of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), noted that a fall in deaths from cardiovascular disease in the United States is now showing signs of stopping.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5287875

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 12:04 PM | Permalink

Fri May 28, 2004 12:09 PM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - Most condoms contain a cancer-causing chemical and their manufacture should be subject to greater quality control, a German scientific research institute said Friday.
The Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, said it found the carcinogen N-Nitrosamine present in 29 of 32 types of condoms it tested in simulated conditions.

"N-Nitrosamine is one of the most carcinogenic substances," the study's authors said. "There is a pressing need for manufacturers to tackle this problem."

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5289700

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 12:03 PM | Permalink

1. Cigarette Smoking Among Adults ― United States, 2002
2. Immunization Registry Progress ― January-December, 2002
3. Wild Poliovirus Importations ― West and Central Africa, January 2003-March 2004

Link

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:03 AM | Permalink

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/smokingconsequences/

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:01 AM | Permalink

Thu May 27, 2004 11:23 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly two-thirds of American adults use some form of complementary or alternative medicine ranging from prayer to herbs, a U.S. government survey showed on Thursday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the survey of 31,000 U.S. adults, asking about 27 types of therapies such as acupuncture and chiropractic, the use of herbs or botanical products, special diets, and megavitamin therapy.

About 36 percent of those surveyed said they had used one or more of those approaches. When prayer was considered, the number rose to 62 percent.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5281506

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:00 AM | Permalink

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The list of diseases linked to smoking just got longer.

Surgeon General Richard Carmona released his first official assessment of smoking Thursday. The surgeon general's report concluded that smoking causes a number of diseases not previously attributed to smoking.

They include: acute myeloid leukemia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach; abdominal aortic aneurysm, cataracts, periodontitis and pneumonia.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/27/surgeon.general.smoking.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:58 AM | Permalink

New dietary guidelines from feds expected to focus on exercise

With America focused more than ever on its growing waistline, the federal government's best advice is to exercise at least five times a week, eat less fat and -- sorry, Atkins fans -- make carbohydrates part of a balanced diet.

The recommendations, with a new emphasis on exercise, fish and fiber, are part of a draft of dietary guidelines due out in January. Although the draft hasn't been made public, a two-day work session in Washington, D.C., that concluded Thursday offers an early peek at what will eventually determine the new shape of the famous Food Guide Pyramid, the government's attempt to translate nutrition science into practical consumer advice.

The dietary guidelines also influence federal food programs, including school lunches and food stamps.

A panel of 13 scientists led by Janet King, a senior scientist at Children's Hospital Research Center at Oakland, is preparing the guidelines. The panel was expected to pass its final draft to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services by the end of the month. But after this week's meeting, it became clear that scientific debate about what makes a healthy diet had become so complex that the group needs to meet again in August to finish, according to people who attended the sessions.

Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/05/28/MNGPR6TB2L1.DTL

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:56 AM | Permalink

An annual report adds nine diseases or medical conditions to those already known to be associated with smoking

Friday, May 28, 2004
PATRICK O'NEILL
A new U.S. surgeon general's report shows that smoking can cause disease in nearly every organ of the body.

The report, "The Health Consequences of Smoking," adds nine diseases and medical conditions to the list of those already linked to smoking. Jeffrey Fellows, a senior research associate at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, is a co-author of the 960-page report.

Article: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/108574534088130.xml

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:54 AM | Permalink

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Posted: 10:02 AM EDT (1402 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Changes in Medicare will do little to shield older Americans from drug prices that are going up much faster than inflation, say two groups pressing for lower drug prices.

AARP and the consumer group Families USA released separate studies Tuesday that show prices for brand-name prescription medicines rose at more than three times the rate of overall inflation last year and that the rate of increase has accelerated in recent years.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/26/drug.prices.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:45 AM | Permalink

Global epidemic 'getting worse before getting better'
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 Posted: 9:57 AM EDT (1357 GMT)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Reuters) -- Obesity is a global problem that affects 300 million people but local policies are needed to control an epidemic which is likely to get worse before it gets better, a leading expert says.

Professor Peter Kopelman, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), believes it could be five or 10 years until the epidemic peaks.

"We need to have strategies at a national and local level to tackle the immediate problems that every population is facing," he said ahead of the start of the 13th European Congress on Obesity in Prague.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/26/prague.obesity.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:43 AM | Permalink

12:42 26 May 04

NewScientist.com news service

Bacteria naturally present in our mouths could stop newborn babies from contracting HIV via their mother's milk.

Although the treatment has not yet been tested in animals or people, the US researchers developing the treatment expect few side effects because the bugs are harmless.

They also hope it will work on future variants of the HIV virus because it does not rely on the bacteria recognising viral coat proteins which are known to mutate frequently. "This technique will block all HIV that we know of," says Lim Tao, who led the team at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

About one in five babies born to HIV-positive mothers acquire the disease via her milk. This route is responsible for the majority of the 800,000 infant infections per year globally.

Article: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995041

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:41 AM | Permalink

Damp or moldy buildings are linked to episodes of sniffles, coughing and wheezing in otherwise healthy people and pose a potential health threat to asthmatics already allergic to mold, a National Academies scientific panel concluded Tuesday.

But the independent scientific advisory panel also found insufficient evidence to blame indoor mold for a raft of other health problems -- from fatigue to cancer.

The 281-page report, "Damp Indoor Spaces and Health," was commissioned by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in light of rising public concern about mold. The panel reviewed existing research and did not conduct new studies

Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/05/26/MNG7J6RQ881.DTL

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:40 AM | Permalink

17:49 2004-05-26
According to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, regularly taking aspirin appeared to lower women's risk of developing the most common type of breast cancer.

The Columbia University study of 2,862 women found that those who reported taking at least one aspirin a week for six months or longer had a 20 percent lower risk of getting breast cancer than women who didn't take the commonly used pain-killer.

The drug's protective effects against breast cancer seemed to be strongest among the heaviest aspirin users, those who took at least seven tablets a week, informs suntimes.com

Article: http://newsfromrussia.com/science/2004/05/26/54138.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:39 AM | Permalink

Tue May 25, 2004 08:05 AM ET

By Andrew Quinn
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - A new dispute has broken out between South Africa and the world's chief AIDS funding organization, which accuses Pretoria of delaying disbursement of millions of dollars in HIV/AIDS assistance.

South Africa has an estimated five million people infected with the AIDS virus -- the highest number in the world -- and has frequently been accused of moving too slowly to combat the epidemic.

Richard Feachem, head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, told South African media this week that Pretoria was failing to get international grant money to organizations fighting the disease on the ground.

"It's intolerable that the money gets stuck in Pretoria and if Pretoria can't move it for any reason, we will simply withdraw it and establish direct relationships with the people actually doing the work," Feachem said.

South African Health Minister Manto Tshablala-Msimang on Tuesday expressed "surprise and disbelief" at Feachem's comments -- the latest ruction in a relationship with the Fund that has been marked by disputes in the past.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5248615

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:11 AM | Permalink

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 Posted: 10:05 AM EDT (1405 GMT)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Scientists suspect that a new milder strain of the Ebola virus may have caused the latest outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever in southern Sudan, the World Health Organization said Saturday.

Four of the 10 people infected with the Ebola-like virus have died in Yambio, a Sudanese town near the border with Congo, said Abdullahi Ahmed, head of WHO's southern Sudan office.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/05/24/sudan.mystery.ap/index.html

Related article: WHO Confirms 19 Cases of Ebola in Southern Sudan

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Source: (cancerfacts.com)
Monday, May 24, 2004

HOUSTON – May 24, 2004 – The rate of male breast cancer is on the rise and the disease in men is usually detected when the tumors are bigger, have spread and may be more aggressive, compared to diagnosis of the disease in women, concludes the largest study ever conducted of male breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, the incidence of the disease in men has increased from about 1,500 cases in 2001 to about 1,600 cases in 2004.

Article: http://www.cancerfacts.com/Home_News.asp?NewsId=1679&CB=14&CancerTypeId=4

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:07 AM | Permalink

By Xiao Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-05-25 22:15

Results from the initial clinical tests of the world's first SARS vaccine will be published Wednesday.

Four volunteers injected with the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) vaccine on Saturday are in good condition, said Lin Jiangtao, head of the Respiratory Medical Department at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, during an interview with the Beijing News.

The volunteers are three healthy male and a female students from Beijing-based universities.

After two hours of observation after the inoculation, they left hospital.

The volunteers took blood tests and were observed for reaction daily during first three days. The whole observation process will last 210 days

Article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-05/25/content_333679.htm

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:06 AM | Permalink

To all U of MN Public Health Faculty,

At this time I am pulling together a list of monograghs for purchase before the end of our fiscal year.

As you are the experts in your field, I would appreciate any and all reccomendations for various books to be added to our collection. Although I can't make any guarantees, I do feel that unless I get a huge deluge I should be able to add your suggested books. Please e-mail me ASAP. I am looking at a 6/10 to submit my list.

Thank you...suggestions and questions can be emailed to me at: Cindy Gruwell

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 10:52 AM | Permalink

Monday, May 24, 2004 Posted: 9:56 AM EDT (1356 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Male breast cancer is on the rise in the United States -- bad news for men and their doctors, who do not even know to look for it, researchers reported Monday.

Although the disease remains extremely rare -- just 1,600 cases are predicted for 2004 -- the 25 percent increase in 25 years is worrying, said Dr. Sharon Giordano of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who led the study.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/05/24/cancer.men.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sat May 22, 2004 06:32 AM ET

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations' health agency agreed Saturday to launch a global campaign against obesity, blamed for an increase in deadly chronic diseases worldwide.
The Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was backed by the policy committee of the World Health Organization's annual assembly, and its formal adoption by the full body later in the day was a formality, diplomatic sources said.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5225340

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:55 AM | Permalink

21 May 2004

Aventis announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Taxotere® (docetaxel) Injection Concentrate for use in combination with prednisone as a treatment for men with androgen-independent (hormone-refractory) metastatic prostate cancer.

The FDA approval is based on the final results of a landmark phase III clinical trial that met its primary endpoint of increasing survival in this patient population. The pivotal study, TAX 327, along with an additional study of Taxotere in this patient population, has been selected for presentation at the Plenary Session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting on Monday, June 7, in New Orleans, LA. A regulatory submission for Taxotere in prostate cancer is also pending with the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA).

Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/index.php?newsid=8553

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:34 AM | Permalink

Saturday, May 22, 2004

In a shift of its domestic AIDS priorities, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $49 million Friday to private community organizations fighting the epidemic, but denied money to 2 out of 3 such groups that had sought to renew their grants from previous years.

The policy overhaul is designed to steer increasingly scarce federal dollars away from prevention programs that focus on the uninfected and toward programs that promote AIDS prevention to those who are HIV-positive and might pass the virus to someone else.

According to Dr. Robert Janssen, director of the agency's HIV prevention programs, 67 of the 189 programs currently receiving grants will continue to do so. Another 75 programs that currently do not receive direct grants from the federal agency will get them when the new round of funding begins in July.

Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/22/BAGH06QC9A1.DTL

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:32 AM | Permalink

Press Release
For Immediate Release:
May 20, 2004 Contact: CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today implemented a new system for providing travelers with guidance about potential health hazards and the steps they can take to protect themselves when traveling abroad. The new system makes it easier for the public to understand what their risks may be during an emerging public health crisis and what they can do to protect themselves.

Link: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r040520.htm

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:38 AM | Permalink

The “Centers for Disease Control” Pierre Decouflé Fellowship is awarded to an individual seeking a career in the health research field who will benefit from an applied epidemiologic and developmental disabilities research learning experience with CDC. The fellowship will also help to build CDC's long-term capacity to conduct applied studies in developmental disabilities. The fellowship is named for the late Dr. Pierre Decouflé.

Dr. Decouflé began his career in the area of developmental disabilities research at CDC in 1988. Prior to that, he spent 5 years in research with the Agent Orange Program at the National Center for Environmental Health and 12 years in statistical, epidemiologic, and leadership positions at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. During his long and prestigious career, Dr. Decouflé was also an associate professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Arizona, a role he never quite relinquished and which infused his professional life through teaching, mentoring, advising, and assisting others in their professional development. This fellowship honors that spirit of both caring and professionalism that Dr. Decouflé exemplified in his life and his work.

Please Note: This fellowship closes on June 4, 2004. Applicants need to specify the Decoufle Fellowship on their application form. View Application and Selection Procedure for additional information.

Link: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/orise.htm

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:36 AM | Permalink

Thu May 20, 2004 12:18 PM ET

By Kim Dixon
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new law encouraging private health insurers to bid for Medicare business will cost the government $2.75 billion more this year than a fully government-run program, a nonprofit group reported on Thursday.

The Commonwealth Fund's study suggests that the government may be better than private insurers at managing health-care costs for the elderly, the authors said.

"It suggests that private health plans don't save more money," said Brian Biles, professor of health policy at George Washington University, an author of the study, "The Cost of Privatization" in Medicare.

The analysis of government data found that payments to the private plans in 2004

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5208142

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:32 AM | Permalink

By Ellen Beck
United Press International
Published 5/20/2004 3:10 PM

WASHINGTON, May 20 (UPI) -- Health savings accounts are popular with insurers, who say they are popular with employers -- but on Capitol Hill, five months after they became law via the Medicare drug bill, they remain not very popular among some Democrats.

Sen. John Breaux, D-La., ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, told a hearing Wednesday that HSAs, "as they are currently designed, are a terrible idea whose time has not yet come."

HSAs that combine a tax-free savings account with a high-deductible insurance plan for individuals, Breaux said, make for "unprecedented tax policy," because savings are deductible when they go into the account and not counted as income when they come out. "We've never done that before," Breaux added and referenced other retirement vehicles, such as 401(k) plans.

Article: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040520-104151-6718r

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:30 AM | Permalink

Thursday, May 20, 2004 Posted: 10:58 AM EDT (1458 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- People who donate sperm, eggs and other commonly transplanted tissues will have to be screened for infectious diseases like blood donors are, under long-awaited federal rules announced Thursday.

Donated blood and organs have been strictly regulated for a long time. But less subject to oversight are other donated tissue such as skin for burn victims, ligaments for knee surgery, umbilical cord blood, and sperm and eggs.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/20/tissue.rules.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:28 AM | Permalink

Friday, May 21, 2004 Posted: 4:13 AM EDT (0813 GMT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Thousands of people may unwittingly be carrying the agent responsible for the human form of mad cow disease, according to research by British scientists, media reports said on Friday.

The scientists calculate that about 4,000 people in Britain could be carrying the prion protein responsible for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), the reports said, citing a UK government-funded study in the Journal of Pathology.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/21/britain.cjd.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:26 AM | Permalink

Wed May 19, 2004 08:46 PM ET

By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to encourage drug and vaccine makers to find ways to counter a potentially devastating bioterror attack cleared the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

The $5.6 billion, 10-year Project BioShield, approved on a 99-0 vote, expands public sector and private research incentives and guarantees a market for treatments, antidotes and vaccines that otherwise may not find a commercial niche.

"We have to put the threat in context, and regrettably the context is serious," said New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, a lead sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5198458

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 10:08 PM | Permalink

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 Posted: 9:09 AM EDT (1309 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Sharp increases in out-of-pocket prescription drug payments could cause people to cut use of medications for chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes and may lead to more costly medical problems, according to a study.

Doubling co-payments, the amount paid by patients, was linked to reduced use of eight types of drugs for problems like asthma, depression and allergies, according to a study released by a unit of the nonprofit research organization RAND Corp.

Spending on outpatient prescription drugs, along with hospital and doctor costs, is rising at several times the rate of inflation.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/19/prescription.use.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 10:04 PM | Permalink

The following Web sites provide a variety of information on their given topics. They are definitely worth checking out and bookmarking:

Maternal and Child Health Library
http://www.mchlibrary.info/

eHealth Initiative: Connecting Communities for Better Health
http://www.ccbh.ehealthinitiative.org/default.mspx

Medicaid and Family Planning
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/medicaid050304.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:19 AM | Permalink

Wed May 19, 2004 05:46 AM ET

By Patricia Reaney
HARROGATE, England (Reuters) - A genetically engineered mouse that is resistant to bowel cancer may help scientists develop new methods to prevent and treat one the most common cancers in the developed world.

Professor Alan Clarke and a team of researchers at Cardiff University in Wales created the GM mouse by knocking out a gene called Mbd2 and breeding it with so-called "Min" mice which are highly susceptible to the disease.

They found that the offspring that inherited the predisposition to cancer but did not have the gene lived twice as long as the other mice and had a ten-fold reduction in tumors.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5190042

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:11 AM | Permalink

Tuesday, May 18, 2004
By Alister Doyle, Reuters

OSLO, Norway — Few poisons have ridden such a roller coaster through environmental history as DDT.

Once hailed as a miracle pesticide, DDT is outlawed as one of a "Dirty Dozen" chemicals as of Monday, even as it stays in use as a controversial spray against malaria-spreading mosquitoes.

The man who discovered its power to kill insects won a Nobel Prize in 1948, while shock at its damage to wildlife awoke a global environmental movement in the 1960s.

Into the 21st century, countries including South Africa and Ethiopia still swear by DDT to combat malaria, which kills a million people a year. They say there is scant evidence that DDT is carcinogenic for humans.

"There is still a role for DDT," said Jim Willis, head of the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) chemicals division, estimating that about 25 countries will use DDT under exemptions from the DDT pesticide ban.

Articel: http://www.enn.com/news/2004-05-18/s_23972.asp

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:24 PM | Permalink

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 Posted: 8:55 AM EDT (1255 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Low-carbohydrate diets help people lose weight in the short term but work no better than other diets after a year, researchers reported on Monday.

Two studies of the popular diets that limit sugar and processed starches show they can work faster than some low-fat diets.

Both studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that after six months, the low-carb dieters lost more weight than the low-fat group.

But one of the studies showed that after 12 months, both groups had lost about the same amount of weight.

In one study, a team at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia followed 132 obese adults who were assigned randomly either to a low-carbohydrate diet with intake of less than 30 grams of carbs a day, or a low-calorie diet that kept fat intake at a moderate 30 percent of calories from fat.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/17/health.diet.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:21 PM | Permalink

Tue May 18, 2004 11:11 AM ET

By Patricia Reaney
HARROGATE, England (Reuters) - Diet is second only to tobacco as a leading cause of cancer and, along with alcohol, is responsible for nearly a third of cases of the disease in developed countries, a leading researcher said on Tuesday.

Dr Tim Key, of the University of Oxford, told a cancer conference that scientists are still discovering how certain foods contribute to cancer but they know that diet, alcohol and obesity play a major role.

"Five percent of cancers could be avoided if nobody was obese," he said.

While tobacco is linked to about 30 percent of cancer cases, diet is involved in an estimated 25 percent and alcohol in about six percent.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5180610

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:18 PM | Permalink

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 Posted: 1:00 PM EDT (1700 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- There is no evidence that a controversial mercury-based vaccine preservative causes autism, concludes an eagerly anticipated scientific review that says it's time to lay vaccine suspicions to rest and find the real culprit.

Tuesday's conclusion by the prestigious Institute of Medicine pointed to five large studies, here and abroad, that tracked thousands of children since 2001 and found no association between autism and vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal.

Many parents of autistic children blame vaccination for the brain disorder.

But the panel of prominent scientists said that while high doses of mercury can cause neurological damage, there's no evidence that this type of damage causes the symptoms specific to autism -- and no laboratory or animal research that proves how the much smaller amounts of mercury in thimerosal could do so either, the IOM concluded.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/18/vaccines.autism.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:15 PM | Permalink

2 hours, 7 minutes ago Add Health - AFP to My Yahoo!

OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada moved to make the "morning after" birth control pill available without prescription country-wide.

The pill prevents pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, and Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew said the government move would provide timely help to women facing an emergency.

A public consultation period about the government changes to regulations will be held before the pills go on sale over the counter.

The "morning after" pill, technically known as levonorgestrel, is already available prescription-free in Canadian provinces British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec, and across parts of Europe.

Articel: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1508&ncid=751&e=7&u=/afp/20040518/hl_afp/health_canada_pill

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:14 PM | Permalink

Mon May 17, 2004 10:44 AM ET

LONDON, England (Reuters) - A simple blood test may help to improve survival rates for ovarian cancer by revealing which patients are likely to develop a resistance to chemotherapy drugs.
Professor Robert Brown, of Glasgow University in Scotland, told a cancer conference Monday that he and his colleagues found that the body can switch off genes that enable chemotherapy to kill cancer cells if the tumor reappears after initial treatment.

The blood test would enable doctors to identify patients who are likely to respond to additional treatment following a recurrence, or those who could benefit from soon-to-be tested drugs that are designed to turn the genetic switch back on.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5166291

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:05 PM | Permalink

Mon May 17, 2004 01:05 PM ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - New cases of the virus that causes AIDS hit an historic high in Singapore in 2003, led by middle-aged heterosexual men, the government said on Monday.
New HIV infections in the wealthy city-state totaled 242 in 2003, the highest since records began in 1985, the Health Ministry said. A total of 2,075 people are infected by the virus.

Heterosexuals accounted for 76 percent of all new cases, with most infections contracted through casual sex or sex with prostitutes, the ministry added.

"This is a worrying trend," said Benedict Jacob-Thambiah, executive director at Action for Aids, a non-governmental group.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5167766

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:04 PM | Permalink

Mon May 17, 2004 04:03 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - People with diabetes could have a higher risk of brain-wasting Alzheimer's disease, a U.S. study said on Monday.
Among those in the study with diabetes, the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease was 65 percent greater than those without diabetes.

Of 824 elderly Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers participating in the study, 151 developed Alzheimer's disease, according to the study in The Archives of Neurology. Thirty-one of those who developed the disease had diabetes.

Participants with diabetes also had lower levels of cognition and greater memory problems, said researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5168891

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:02 PM | Permalink

Monday, May 17, 2004 Posted: 7:39 AM EDT (1139 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government has opened a new front in the battle over getting cheap AIDS drugs to the poorest countries that need them, saying it will consider approving and providing cheap, multiple-dose generics.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has said the Food and Drug Administration would give fast-track approval to new ready-made, single dose cocktails -- even to copycats made in India.

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Randal Tobias said any drugs approved under the program could then be used in programs across Africa and the Caribbean, under which the United States is targeting $15 billion in aid to the countries hardest-hit by the epidemic.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/05/17/aids.policy.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:09 AM | Permalink

Scientists have identified a further gene which increases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. An international study of 20,000 women found having a faulty version of the CHEK2 gene doubles their cancer risk.

UK women have a one in nine chance of developing breast cancer. Carrying CHEK2 increases that to one in four.

The American Journal of Human Genetics study said the findings brought a comprehensive genetic test of breast cancer risk a step closer.

Identifying the first of a new set of breast cancer genes puts us in a much better position to tackle the cancer Professor Robert Souhami, Cancer Research UK Two other faulty genes, BRCA1 and BRCA 2, which increase a woman's breast cancer risk by between 50 and 80%, were identified in the mid-1990s.
Women can already be tested to see if they have inherited these genes.

Previous research had suggested there could be a link between having a faulty CHEK2 gene and developing breast cancer.

The normal version of the gene acts like a car mechanic, shutting down faulty cells so they can be repaired and do not pass on affected DNA.

Mutated versions of CHEK2 are unable to initiate this shutdown so faults in other genes are more likely to evade the body's repair process and continue replicating, potentially leading to a tumour.

Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3720939.stm

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:05 AM | Permalink

The Bio-Medical Library Presents:

Lunch and Learn Open Discussion Series

Bring your lunch over to the Bio-Medical Library conference room located at 555 Diehl Hall and eat together with resident experts, guests, and peers we have discussed topics such as Open Access journals, images.MD and PowerPoint: Posters and PDAs. Our informal monthly events will be your opportunity to discuss and raise questions concerning topics that concern both you and the library. Held from 11:30 - 1:00 on the third Thursday of every month.

Mark your calendar for the 3rd Thursday of each month and don't forget to join us!

Join us May 20th in 555 Diehl Hall for : Alternative Medicine Information Resources

Coming In June: PDA User Group - Questions and Resources Updates

For more information contact: Cindy Gruwell x63995 or by email: gruwell

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:51 PM | Permalink

Fri May 14, 2004 12:48 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Companies can save millions in health-care costs simply by encouraging their employees to exercise a little bit, researchers reported on Friday.
They said obese employees have higher health-care costs, but lowered those expenses by exercising just a couple of times a week -- without even losing any weight.

Feifei Wang and colleagues at the University of Michigan studied 23,500 workers at General Motors.

They estimated that getting the most sedentary obese workers to exercise would have saved about $790,000 a year, or about 1.5 percent of health-care costs for the whole group.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5150297

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:26 PM | Permalink

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced a new program that will allow state employees to obtain certain prescription drugs for free if they order the medication from a state-inspected Canadian pharmacy.

The program applies to 45 of the most popular name-brand medicines that do not have generic alternatives. State officials estimate savings of $1.4 million a year because the drugs can be purchased for less in Canada.

About 120,000 employees and their dependents would be eligible. The state would cover shipping fees, along with the $15 monthly co-payments that are required for each prescription if employees buy their medicines from U.S. pharmacists.

The governor cautioned that the program carries risks, explaining he hoped it would not invite a government crackdown on drug imports.

But he said state experts believe federal guidelines generally prevent the government from punishing people who import medications for their own use.

Federal law forbids the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, where brand-name medicines can cost half the price because of tighter government controls. The government argues that it cannot ensure the safety of drugs imported into the United States.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/14/canadian.drugs.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:24 PM | Permalink

From UNEP Geneva
Friday, May 14, 2004

STOCKHOLM/NAIROBI, 14 May 2004 - The 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) enters into force on Monday, 17 May, marking the start of an ambitious international effort to rid the world of PCBs, dioxins and furans, and nine highly dangerous pesticides.

"The Stockholm Convention will save lives and protect the natural environment -- particularly in the poorest communities and countries - by banning the production and use of some of the most toxic chemicals known to humankind", said Executive Klaus Toepfer of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), under whose auspices the Convention was adopted.

Link: http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1364B000000FC83A4A3F8BFB537F3

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 10:11 AM | Permalink

This Program Announcement (PA) redefines the NIOSH Small Grant (R03) mechanism, and it supersedes all previous announcements of this grant program.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invites small grant applications for research related to occupational safety and health. NIOSH research programs support priority areas identified in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) and other significant programs related to occupational safety and health. The overall purpose of this grants program is to develop knowledge that can be used in preventing occupational diseases and injuries, and to understand better their underlying pathophysiology. The intent of the R03 award is to support small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. The characteristics, requirements, preparation and review criteria for the small grant application are described in this document. This award may not be used for thesis, dissertation, or postdoctoral research.

Link: http://www2a.cdc.gov/nora/

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:07 AM | Permalink

Thu May 13, 2004 05:37 PM ET

By Randy Fabi
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department's blunder in failing to test a condemned Texas cow for mad cow disease may reflect wider problems in the government's surveillance program, a Democratic lawmaker said on Thursday.

The USDA last week acknowledged it erred in failing to test a 12-year-old cow for the brain-wasting disease when the animal arrived at a Texas slaughterhouse exhibiting a possible central nervous system disorder.

A USDA supervisor in Austin, Texas refused to test the animal despite requests from federal animal health inspectors, said California Rep. Henry Waxman.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5138460

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:03 AM | Permalink

11.07AM, Fri May 14 2004

Babies who are breastfed will be less likely to suffer from heart disease later in life, a study has revealed.

Research carried out over a 20-year period showed those fed on breast milk grew more slowly than those on formula.

And the report revealed that babies who grow fast - regardless of their weight at birth - are at a higher risk of heart disease and strokes in adulthood.

The study, published in The Lancet, examined 216 teenagers aged between 13 and 16 who were given either breast milk or formula as babies in the early 80s.

Scientists assessed levels of cholesterol as well as evidence of the c-reactive protein (CRP) which - when found in high concentrations - is linked with atherosclerosis, an arterial disease.

Article: http://www.itv.com/news/498029.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Researchers in Hamilton find that particles of soot and dust cause genetic mutations in sperm that affect offspring

By ANNE McILROY
SCIENCE REPORTER
Friday, May 14, 2004 - Page A17

Researchers in the heavily industrialized city of Hamilton have found that the microscopic particles of soot and dust in air pollution cause genetic mutations in mice sperm that are passed down to the next generation.

They say their findings add to the accumulating evidence that air pollution may pose genetic risks to both humans and wildlife, in addition to the well-documented cardiovascular and respiratory problems caused by breathing smog.

Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040514/HGENES14/TPHealth/

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:17 AM | Permalink

Thursday, May 13, 2004 Posted: 9:05 AM EDT (1305 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has named his acting AIDS adviser, Carol J. Thompson, as head of the Office of National AIDS Policy.

Bush's first two AIDS advisers, Scott Evertz and Joseph O'Neill, were both male doctors who were openly gay. Thompson, a woman, is not a physician and is heterosexual.

The appointments of Evertz and O'Neill to the job were applauded by gay groups and AIDS activists. Evertz was the first openly gay person nominated to an executive branch office by a Republican president, but his association with gay groups and his support of condom use rankled some conservatives.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/13/aids.adviser.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:15 AM | Permalink

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

May 13, 2004
Posted to the web May 13, 2004

Cape Town

The first national study of HIV risk in South African children aged between two and 18 has revealed an overall prevalence rate of 5.4 percent.

The National Household HIV Prevalence and Risk Survey of South African Children by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) showed that 6.2 percent of children aged between two and nine were HIV positive, 4.7 percent of 10 to 14 year-olds, and 5 percent of teenagers aged 15 to 18.

"Most of the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS research that has been conducted is on youth and adult - there is a dearth of information on HIV risk among children," Dr Olive Shisana, executive director of HSRC told PlusNews.

Article: http://allafrica.com/stories/200405130745.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:20 PM | Permalink

Thu May 13, 2004 05:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Soot and other types of air pollution can not only affect animals and people, but their unborn children, too, researchers reported on Thursday. They found that genetic mutations known to be caused by some pollutants can be passed through sperm to baby mice. Presumably, the same thing could happen to human beings, they report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Mice that breathed polluted air from a steel mill were much more likely to father offspring with clear genetic mutations than mice that breathed filtered air, the team at McMaster University in Toronto found.

"Our study identifies airborne particulate matter as a contributor to heritable mutation induction in mice; however, a direct link between ... mutations and health effects has not yet been established," they wrote.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5138182

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:14 PM | Permalink

Thu May 13, 2004 03:17 PM ET

By David Douglas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite a successful response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), drug resistant strains of HIV are still found in blood cells of patients who have previously shown drug resistance, according to Belgian researchers.

"We were able to show that all drug-resistant HIV-1 variants that arise during therapy failure remain archived in the cells of the infected person for a very long period of time--at least 7 years and most probably much longer, lead investigator Dr. Chris Verhofstede told Reuters Health. This occurred "even if drug pressure was removed or if a patient subsequently responded well to a new drug combination."

As reported in the April 15th issue of the Journal of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndromes, Verhofstede and colleagues from Ghent University Hospital studied 11 patients who had had success with HAART for mean of 59 months. All patients also had a history of receiving suboptimal therapy and had previously developed drug resistance.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5137258

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:12 PM | Permalink

Thursday, May 13, 2004 Posted: 2:52 PM EDT (1852 GMT)

San Francisco, California (Reuters) -- California immigrants live an average of four years longer than U.S.-born residents of the state but researchers concede they do not know why, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Immigrants on average have a life expectancy of 81 years versus 77 years for U.S.-born residents of the nation's most populous state.

The study -- The Demographics of Mortality in California -- was based on data from the 2000 U.S. Census and the state's Department of Public Health. It was released Wednesday.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/13/immigrant.mortality.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:08 PM | Permalink

Thursday, May 13, 2004 Posted: 11:02 AM EDT (1502 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government should pick up more of the costly medical tab for low-income Americans with HIV and create a new federal benefits program to do it, a scientific panel recommended Thursday.

Such expanded coverage could cost $5.6 billion over 10 years, says the report by the Institute of Medicine, which suggests streamlining HIV/AIDS care by shifting current federal spending, including Medicaid funds, to a single entitlement program.

Despite the advent of new and improved AIDS drugs, thousands of people are left with inadequate treatment because government programs are hampered by shortfalls in state budgets and confusing eligibility standards that vary among states, says the report.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/05/13/hiv.aids.care.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:05 PM | Permalink

Wednesday, May 12, 2004 Posted: 9:02 AM EDT (1302 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- More than 4 percent of young adults in the United States are infected with chlamydia, and the sexually transmitted disease is six times more common in blacks than in whites, researchers say.

In a nationally representative study of 14,322 people ages 18 to 26 conducted in 2001-02, University of North Carolina researchers found that 4.7 percent of women and 3.6 percent of men had chlamydia. The overall prevalence was 4.2 percent.

The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/05/12/chlamydia.ap/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:17 AM | Permalink

www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-12 20:08:22

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhuanet) -- As the International Nurses' Day fell on Wednesday, Liu Xiaodong, a surse, was still busy working in Ditan Hospital in Beijing, where SARS patients were receiving medical treatment.

When asked if she knew the day was her festival, Liu said with a smile, "Yes, but I have no time to celebrate it or go home because I am taking care of the SARS patients."

Including Liu, 46 nurses have come to look after the SARS patients since the quarantine wards were set up on April 22.

Recalling the evacuation of the wards on that day, chief nurse Chen Zheng said his staff were "marvelously quick" in moving out 124 patients to other areas or hospitals in only half a day. Thirty-two doctors and nurses got ready and began working four shifts a day.

Article: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/12/content_1465786.htm

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:00 AM | Permalink

BY DELTHIA RICKS
STAFF WRITER

May 12, 2004

A vaccine that prevents pneumonia, meningitis and ear infections is reducing those invasive conditions among black children and closing a long-existing health care gap, public health experts report in a study to be released today.

Historically, the incidence of infections with the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae has been significantly higher in black children than in white. The microbe causes a range of illnesses from pneumonia to blood infections. Some infections can be lethal.

A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention targeted children between 6 weeks and 23 months of age in seven states, putting an emphasis on black children. The idea was to determine if a disparity could be alleviated and several infectious disorders reduced.

The analysis, begun in 1998, demonstrated that something as simple as immunization can greatly impact public health in reducing disparities in medical care. Doctors administered a vaccine called Prevnar, approved for general use in 2000.

Before Prevnar, infections among black children were 3.3 times higher than the rate among white youngsters. By the end of the first round of the study in 2002, the rate of infection among black children was only 1.6 times higher.

Article: http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsvac123798448may12,0,7976890.story?coll=ny-health-headlines

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:59 AM | Permalink

By FIONA FLECK

Published: May 12, 2004

ENEVA, May 11 - The World Health Organization says in its annual report, due next week, that AIDS was the leading single cause of death worldwide for people ages 15 to 59. In 2003, three million people died of AIDS and five million people were infected with H.I.V., the agency reported.

Advertisement


Lee Jong Wook, the director general of the W.H.O., called for a sharp increase in the supply of antiretroviral drugs to treat H.I.V. He said in the report, which is to be formally presented next week in Geneva, that less than 7 percent of the six million people with H.I.V. in developing countries were thought to have access to treatment.

Mr. Lee said the agency set a goal to distribute antiretroviral drugs to three million H.I.V. patients in sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2005.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/12/health/12aids.html?ex=1084939200&en=61539d3110c4209c&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:58 AM | Permalink

Copyright-protection also to be studied
Monday, May 10, 2004 Posted: 2:30 PM EDT (1830 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) -- Hollywood lobbyists will be busy this week as lawmakers examine smoking on film and legislation that could undo some key portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The hearings, one in the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday and one in the House Commerce Committee on Wednesday, make nice legislative bookends for the entertainment industry's current troubles in Washington as one focuses on content and the other on copyright

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/10/film.smoking.reut/index.html

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:56 AM | Permalink

Partnership for Clear Health Communication member Pfizer Inc is seeking
proposals for short-term research projects (e.g. 6-12 months) that address whether use of Ask Me 3 is accepted and used by patients and providers, and if it improves provider-patient interactions, health outcomes for patients and office or hospital practice management. There is also a need to determine if acceptance, use and outcomes of Ask Me 3 vary among patients who have different sociodemographic backgrounds, and to determineif optimal implementation and use of Ask Me 3 varies in different practice settings.

Pfizer will provide support for up to three research proposals. Total
costs, including both direct and indirect costs, are limited to $70,000
per award.

Ask Me 3 grant applications are due June 1. The online RFP is available
online at the Pfizer Clear Health Communication Web site,

http://www.clearhealthcommunication.org/partnerships_awards.html

and includes additional details on Ask Me 3 background, scope of research, selection criteria and application procedures.

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 12:08 PM | Permalink

Greetings from Brad Myers:

For many of you who have asked for a web-based tutorial or example of how
findings from the Guide to Community Preventive Services can be used to
enhance or support public health efforts at the state and local level, I am
pleased to announce the next broadcast of Public Health Grand Rounds,
"Tobacco Prevention and Control: Using Evidence Based Strategies to Save
Lives and Resources," scheduled to air Friday, May 21, 2004, at 2:00 - 3:00
p.m. Eastern Time. The case study for this program will focus on the
efforts of the New York State tobacco prevention and control program,
county level partners (in particular the Onondaga County Health Department)
and their community partners in Syracuse, NY, to save lives and improve the
health of their citizens by using evidence based strategies (in particular
findings on tobacco prevention and control from the Community Guide).

Please register at
http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/>http://www.PublicHealthGrandRounds.unc.eduRegistration and evaluation allow us to measure the impact of this program
and receive funding to offer this series at no cost to the
viewer. Evaluation will also provide staff at CDC supporting the Task
Force on Community Preventive Services critical information about awareness
and use of Community Guide findings.

This broadcast may be viewed at a satellite downlink site near you or
online. If you need assistance in finding a site close to you, please
contact Public Health Grand Rounds staff by emailing
grand.rounds@sph.unc.edu or phone 919.843.9261.
Remember! Your nearest site facilitator may need a request from you before
registering a viewing site for the broadcast.

Continuing education credit for various health professions will be offered
based on one hour of instruction.

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:55 AM | Permalink

The IJBNPA is a scholarly, multidisciplinary journal devoted to understanding the
behavioral aspects of diet and physical activity.
The IJBNPA publishes original research findings in the following areas:

• Behavioral interventions
• Population behaviors
• Predictors of behavior
• Innovative behavioral theories
• Measurement issues
• Policy and public health issues

Main criteria for publication are methodologic quality, innovativeness and novelty, and contribution to the field.

• For more information visit www.ijbnpa.org.
• E-mail any questions to ijbnpa@epi.umn.edu.
• To submit a manuscript go to www.ijbnpa.org/manuscript.
• Author instructions are available at www.ijbnpa.org/info/instructions/.

IJBNPA Co-Editors:
Simone A. French, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
french@epi.umn.edu

Tony Worsley, Ph.D.
Deakin University
tonyw@deakin.edu.au

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:52 AM | Permalink

Mon May 10, 2004 09:28 PM ET

By Joan Gralla
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The cost of providing health care for U.S. citizens who have no insurance will total $125 billion this year, with taxpayers and private entities footing most of the bill, a report issued on Monday said.

The report by a health care research foundation estimated that there are 44 million Americans without any health insurance, and soaring health care costs have become a presidential campaign issue.

On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused President Bush of letting skyrocketing health care costs push families to the brink of financial ruin.

Bush signed legislation last year adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, but that measure is now embroiled in controversy, including much higher-than-projected costs.

The new report, sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, argued that the country can afford health care for all of the uninsured.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5097392

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:49 AM | Permalink

Tue May 11, 2004 12:04 PM ET

By Ransdell Pierson and Jed Seltzer
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have approved Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s second plant-derived female hormone replacement tablet, an alternative to animal-derived products that have been linked to serious health risks.

Barr spokeswoman Carol Cox said there is no proof the company's new Enjuvia tablets are safer than estrogens made from animal proteins such as Wyeth's Premarin, whose sales have plunged since being linked to stroke and blood clots.

"We can't make a claim for that. Our product gives women another option," Cox said.

Enjuvia was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of moderate to severe symptoms associated with menopause, which typically include hot flashes, vaginal dryness and night sweats.

Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5106816

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:48 AM | Permalink

11 May 2004

LUEBECK - A vaccine to prevent SARS could be just two to three years away, scientists said at a conference in Germany to compare notes on the fight against a disease which has killed 800 people so far, mainly in Asia.

But a specific medicine to cure severe acute respiratory syndrome after a victim has fallen sick remains uncertain, most agreed at the gathering which began Sunday in the port city of Luebeck.

British scientists described early successes in developing a vaccine using genetically modified virus-like substances.

Article: http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=52&story_id=7433

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:45 AM | Permalink

By Jacob Santini
The Salt Lake Tribune

As Cover the Uninsured Week launched Monday, big dreams shared the stage with small wishes.
Rocky Anderson, Salt Lake City's mayor, wants universal health care coverage.
Joseph Jarvis, a local doctor, wants the same but confined to Utah's borders.
The Utah Jazz hope 60,000 kids can continue participating in their junior basketball league with adequate health insurance.
And Stormy Rodriquez, a mother with two jobs, just wants to find a way to afford coverage for her four children.
Cover the Uninsured Week, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is about raising awareness about the growing number of uninsured people -- in Utah there are 200,000 and nationally there are nearly 44 million.
"I work and I should be able to afford this," Rodriquez said. "I could feed and keep a roof over [my children's] heads, or I could pay insurance premiums."