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Comparative study on African monkeys may provide novel targets for AIDS therapy

Two studies published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation provide a significant advance in understanding how some species of monkeys such as sooty mangabeys and African green monkeys avoid AIDS when infected with SIV, the simian equivalent of HIV.

5 Dec 2009

Number of new active TB cases increases from 2007 to 2008, WHO says

The WHO's Stop TB Department released data on Thursday at the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health indicating that the number of new active TB cases worldwide rose from 9.27 million in 2007 to 9.4 million in 2008, Reuters reports. Experts, who were gathered for the conference in Cancun, Mexico, "called for more research funding to develop better diagnostic tests, vaccines and drugs for tuberculosis, which killed 1.8 million people around the world last year," according to the news service.

4 Dec 2009

Foreign Policy examines 'philanthrocapitalism' trend

Foreign Policy examines "a revolutionary idea for how to remake charity in the 21st century [that] is taking off: philanthrocapitalism." The magazine writes: "Unlike their colleagues in government bureaucracies and tried-and-true NGOs, the philanthrocapitalists are a nimble, business-minded stock."

4 Dec 2009

New York Times examines HIV testing program in China

The New York Times examines an HIV prevention program in China aimed at promoting blood screening that has led "more than 110,000 people" to be tested so far: "On any given night, in 14 cities around the country, hundreds of people flock to makeshift blood collection centers in bars, bathhouses and apartments where workers test for syphilis and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS."

4 Dec 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

Ahead of the U.N. Climate Change conference in Copenhagen next week, a Lancet comment examines the health consequences associated with climate change and the case for linking climate and health goals. "The issue now is not whether climate change is occurring, but how we can respond most effectively. ... Responding to climate change is not a distraction from the business of protecting health: it is part of the same agenda," the author writes (Chan, 12/5).

4 Dec 2009

Campaign for legislation to protect adult film industry performers

On Friday, a broad coalition of health groups will unveil a campaign to press for California legislation to protect adult film industry performers. The legislative push will be formally announced in conjunction with a strategy symposium for the effort being held Friday, December 4th at UCLA (Public Affairs Building, North Campus).

4 Dec 2009

Researchers discover new strategy against invasive parasite

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a possible strategy against an invasive parasite that infects more than a quarter of the world's population, including 50 million Americans.

4 Dec 2009

U.N.-backed report features recommendations to scale up fight against HIV/AIDS in Pacific

A report released Wednesday by the Commission on AIDS in the Pacific region outlines the challenges of preventing the spread of HIV in "22 geographically and culturally diverse countries" of the Pacific and recommends efforts to scale up the region's fight against HIV/AIDS, U.N. News Centre reports.

4 Dec 2009

PlusNews examines push to evaluate HIV prevention strategies

PlusNews examines the growing need to test how well HIV prevention strategies work - a topic addressed Monday at a Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance (SAHARA) conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.

4 Dec 2009

Opinions: Media coverage of HIV/AIDS; WTO and global health; G8, HIV/AIDS; stopping syringe reuse

In a New Republic/NPR opinion piece, Harold Pollack, an associate professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, looks at the media's coverage of World AIDS Day. "Almost six thousand people died of AIDS [Tuesday]. ... That it happened to be World AIDS Day was almost incidental. AIDS was certainly incidental to much of the mainstream media.

4 Dec 2009

Also in global health news: U.S. aid to Philippines, Swaziland, Guyana; Uganda Bills; Botswana HIV/AIDS

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney said the U.S. will give the country an additional $10 million worth of food aid for people affect by the recent typhoons, the Manila Bulletin reports. This brings "the total amount of its disaster relief and recovery assistance to US$30 million" (Sabater, 12/3).

3 Dec 2009

CBO report shows hundreds of millions spent on direct marketing of drugs to consumers

The Congressional Budget Office released an "interesting report" on on how "pharmaceutical companies market prescription drugs, a subject that has received some scrutiny during the debate on ways to control health care spending," The New York Times reports.

3 Dec 2009

Psynova Neurotech, Roche collaborate in development of diagnostic immunoassays for schizophrenia treatment

Rules-Based Medicine, Inc. (RBM) today announced that Psynova Neurotech Limited (Cambridge UK), a majority-owned subsidiary of RBM, has executed an exclusive research and licensing agreement with Roche to collaborate on the discovery, development, validation and commercialization of diagnostic immunoassays to aid the clinical development and commercial differentiation of novel treatments for schizophrenia.

3 Dec 2009

Global HIV reporting and monitoring system provides good indication of overall progress towards HIV goal

Although much work remains to be done, a United Nations global reporting system on HIV/AIDS has already yielded an "unequaled wealth of data" on progress toward meeting UN targets for responding to the global HIV epidemic.

3 Dec 2009

NIDA funds proposed 'seek and treat' strategy in the fight against HIV/AIDS

Dr. Julio Montaner - Director, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), and President, International AIDS Society - congratulated Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for taking a leadership role in the evaluation of the "Seek and Treat" strategy originally developed at the BC-CfE.

3 Dec 2009

U.S. unveils 5-year PEPFAR strategy

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby on Tuesday "unveiled a five-year strategy for fighting AIDS worldwide, shifting the focus from emergency response to sustainable programs in countries worldwide," Agence France-Presse reports.

3 Dec 2009

Leaders respond to World AIDS Day; South Africa to expand HIV treatment program

Marking World AIDS Day on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon "warned ... that new infections are outpacing the gains from treating people with the HIV virus" and that discrimination against HIV-positive people remains "widespread," the Associated Press reports.

2 Dec 2009

Women at high risk of developing breast cancer reluctant to take tamoxifen for prevention

Even when women at high-risk of breast cancer are well-informed about the risks and benefits of using the drug tamoxifen for prevention, only 6 percent said they were likely to take it.

2 Dec 2009

World AIDS Day observed, activists decry budget cuts

A new study on HIV anti-retroviral regimens was released Dec. 1 and events were held to mark World AIDS Day. Meanwhile, advocates in New York and California expressed concern about budget cuts and tight funding for AIDS programs.

2 Dec 2009

Butler Health System implements PatientKeeper’s Platform and Physician Portal

PatientKeeper®, Inc., the leading provider of Physician Information Technology, announced today that Butler Health System of Butler, Pennsylvania selected PatientKeeper to help its organization meet the meaningful use criteria requirements established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The implementation of PatientKeeper’s Platform and Physician Portal, which is scheduled to roll-out in the first quarter of 2010, will extend physician accessibility and connectivity to over 200 physicians and significantly impact patient quality and care.

2 Dec 2009