health

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Early Immunity to Chimp Virus Leaves Humans Open to HIV

An advantage 4M years ago is a weakness now

(Newser) - Humans are more susceptible to HIV than other primates because our ancestors evolved a protein that could fight off a different retrovirus that infected chimps, says Scientific American. The most conspicuous difference between the chimpanzee genome sequenced in 2005 and the human one, says a Seattle virologist, was 130 copies...

New Studies Give Hope to Parkinson's Patients

Gene therapy, drug could halt disease

(Newser) - Two new experimental treatments for Parkinson's could stop the progress of the devastating disease and allay its symptoms, researchers say. A new study shows gene therapy was successful in boosting production of an enzyme that calms overactive neurons, reducing the jittery effects of the brain disorder.

ESTROGEN THERAPY GETS A REPRIEVE
ESTROGEN THERAPY GETS A REPRIEVE
Jun 21, 2007 6:09 PM CDT

ESTROGEN THERAPY GETS A REPRIEVE

5-year-old study linking to heart risks was misinterpreted, researchers now say

(Newser) - Estrogen replacement therapy was wrongly villified five years ago, when researchers told millions of post-menopausal women to stop taking it because it increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, a reanalysis of the same data shows. It was a false alarm, the Los Angeles Times reports. In fact, the...

Breast Cancer Can Come From Dad, Too

Stealth gene at fault in half of inherited cases; better screening urged

(Newser) - Half of congenital breast cancer victims inherit the disease from their fathers, not their mothers, according to a new study. And unless dad has female relatives with the affliction, the responsible gene may go undiscovered. The study in JAMA warns doctors, increasingly screening family trees for cancer, not to overlook...

Bloodthinner Can Help Frostbite Victims

Drug spares digits, study says

(Newser) - A clot-busting drug is remarkably effective in treating frostbite patients, according to new research from the University of Utah health center, reports the Los Angeles Times. Patients whose treatment included tissue plasmingoen activator (tPA) kept 90% of affected fingers and toes; patients treated before the drug was in use had...

TB Patient Preps for Surgery
TB Patient Preps for Surgery
Jun 15, 2007 3:42 PM CDT

TB Patient Preps for Surgery

Docs will remove tubercular portion of Andrew Speaker's lung; could clear the disease

(Newser) - The TB traveler will go under the knife to remove a tennis-ball sized area of infected lung tissue, his doctors said today. Andrew Speaker, who triggered an international health crisis last month when he took a transatlantic flight while infected with an extremely drug-resistant strain of TB, will undergo surgery...

FDA Advisory Panel Rejects Weight-Loss Drug

Possible side effects send Acomplia to the sidelines

(Newser) - Accomplia, a weight-loss drug marketed in 18 other countries, failed to win approval from an FDA advisory board yesterday. The 14-member panel of outside experts ruled unanimously that manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis had not dispelled concerns about the safety of the drug, whose potential side effects include suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression.

Women Alerted to Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Subtle signs may aid early diagnosis of stealthy disease

(Newser) - In an effort to dispel the belief that ovarian cancer has few early symptoms, experts are urging women to acquaint themselves with an array of common conditions associated with one of the deadliest types of cancer. The new guidelines acknowledge for the first time that late diagnosis is not a...

Genes Give Up Secrets of 7 Serious Diseases

Landmark study sheds light on diabetes, depression, more

(Newser) - In an outcome one scientist describes as a "new dawn," researchers have identified genetic variations linked to seven common diseases, opening the door to improved tests and treatments. The study, which focused on depression, Crohn's disease, coronary artery disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 and 2 diabetes,...

Controversy Rages Over Diabetes Drug's Heart Risks

FDA official says superiors ordered her to back off serious warning

(Newser) - Troubling questions about the diabetes drug Avandia persisted yesterday as an FDA official revealed that she was barred from recommending a critical warning about the medication, the Times reports. In the run-up to congressional hearings that began today, manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline rushed to disseminate interim clinical findings in hopes of blunting...

China to Test Controversial Malaria Treatment

Researchers aim to eradicate disease on African island

(Newser) - A Chinese researcher will test a radical new strategy designed to wipe out malaria on a small African island, the International Herald Tribune reports. Mass treatment with a highly effective antimalarial drug would virtually clear the parasite from patients' blood, but critics fear the plan could backfire, causing drug resistance...

China to Mandate Booty-Shaking
China to Mandate Booty-Shaking
Jun 5, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

China to Mandate Booty-Shaking

Daily dancing requirement targets childhood obesity

(Newser) - The childhood obesity epidemic has found its way to China—and will stop there, if the government's new dance requirement has the desired effect. Starting in September, mandatory classes will get millions of schoolchildren off their butts and onto the dance floor. Experts are developing routines for the curriculum, which...

Gates Gives $105 Mil to Track Global Public Health

UW center will eye effectiveness of giving

(Newser) - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given $105 million to the  University of Washington to study the effectiveness of public health programs around the world. The money will be used to create a center to track such measures as child mortality, the prevalence of major diseases  and the availability...

UK to Patients Who Smoke: Put That Out

National Health Service imposes four-week window before surgery

(Newser) - Smokers in Britain must kick the habit for at least four weeks before undergoing routine surgery or the National Health Service will deny them the operations, the Daily Mail reports. Doctors will use blood tests to enforce the new policy, which could affect up to 500,000 smokers awaiting procedures...

New Drug Battles Liver Cancer
New Drug Battles Liver Cancer
Jun 4, 2007 7:37 AM CDT

New Drug Battles Liver Cancer

Nexavar, already approved for kidney cancer, shows promise in liver patients

(Newser) - An impressive clinical trial has produced what could be the first effective drug treatment for liver cancer, the New York Times reports. Nexavar, which blocks both the blood supply to the tumor and proteins that spur tumor growth, extended the lives of patients in the trial by almost three months,...

'Outbreak' Morphs Into 'Rashomon'
'Outbreak' Morphs Into 'Rashomon'
Jun 2, 2007 12:13 PM CDT

'Outbreak' Morphs Into 'Rashomon'

Finger-pointing over TB patient's travels spreads across two continents

(Newser) - The Atlanta lawyer whose honeymoon baggage included a dangerous strain of TB is at the center of a contentious international public-health dispute. The Times reports on the conflicting accounts of warnings issued to Andrew Speaker and the governments of the countries he visited. Meanwhile, other American passengers on his flights...

Coke, Cargill Team Up on New Sweetener

Based on herb called stevia, not yet approved in US

(Newser) - Coke has teamed up with Cargill to produce and market the all-natural, calorie-free sweetener rebiana, based on a South American herb called stevia. Coke and Cargill plan to market it in 12 countries that have approved stevia as a food additive, while attempting to win regulatory approval in the US...

Drug-Resistant TB Patient Flies Commercial

Carrier crossed Atlantic twice, putting passengers at risk

(Newser) - A man infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis boarded two transatlantic flights in two weeks, CNN reports, putting his fellow passengers at risk. Planes are equipped with air filters that should catch the rod-shaped TB bacili, but the CDC recommends anyone on Air France 385, from Atlanta to Paris May 12, or...

Scientists Find Lead in Bird Flu Vaccine

Antibodies from survivors have been effective in curing infected mice

(Newser) - In the first break in the deadly bird flu epidemic, an international team of researchers using antibodies from survivors of the Vietnamese strain of the disease were able to prevent it from developing in mice, and to neutralize those already infected.

Scientists ID New Breast Cancer Genes

Biggest breakthrough in a decade may advance prevention, treatment

(Newser) - Four newly discovered genes can increase a woman's chance of developing breast cancer by as much as 60%, say scientists who hail the isolation of the genes as the biggest advance in the field since 1994. The breakthrough raises hopes for more advanced treatment and even prevention of breast cancer...

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