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Ethnic minorities more likely than whites to develop type 2 diabetes regardless of weight

Native Hawaiians, Hispanics, blacks and Japanese-Americans are significantly more likely than whites to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes regardless of weight, even though the disease is closely linked with obesity, according to a recent study in Ethnicity and Disease, Reuters Health reports. The findings suggest that genetics might play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

24 Mar 2009

Global map identifying areas at high risk of malaria transmission could help efforts to control disease

It might be easier than previously thought to eradicate malaria in some high-risk areas worldwide, according to a study published Tuesday in PLoS Medicine, Reuters India reports. For the study, led by Simon Hay of Oxford University, researchers created a global map that identifies areas at high risk of malaria.

24 Mar 2009

Canadian researchers to launch clinical trial to determine efficacy of treating latent TB with four-month course of Rifampin

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal on Tuesday announced they will soon launch an international clinical trial to determine if latent tuberculosis can be treated successfully with a four-month treatment course of the TB drug rifampin rather than the standard nine-month treatment with the TB drug isoniazid, the CP/Toronto Sun reports.

24 Mar 2009

Phase II clinical trial of tuberculosis vaccine candidate to begin next month in South Africa

The Areas Global TB Vaccine Foundation next month will begin a Phase II clinical trial of a new tuberculosis vaccine candidate that aims to improve on the existing BCG vaccine, Bloomberg reports.

24 Mar 2009

Recession exacerbates financial problems at California community health clinics

California community health clinics are struggling to meet an increased demand from new patients who have lost their jobs and health insurance, the Los Angeles Times reports.

24 Mar 2009

Texas offering loan repayments to pediatric dental, medical physicians who accept Medicaid

The Texas Department of State Health Services is offering as much as $140,000 in student loan repayments disbursed over four years to pediatric dentists and physicians who treat Medicaid beneficiaries, the Houston Chronicle reports.

24 Mar 2009

Drop in Walgreen profits reflects change in consumer prescription needs

Rising unemployment and other economic problems have led some consumers to delay filling prescriptions or cut pills in half, according to Walgreen executives, the Wall Street Journal reports.

24 Mar 2009

New York judge orders FDA to reconsider permitting 17-year-olds to Use Plan B emergency contraception without prescription

U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in New York on Monday ordered FDA to reconsider allowing 17-year-old girls access to the morning-after pill Plan B without a prescription within the next 30 days and consider allowing access to the pill for women of all ages (Stein, Washington Post, 3/24).

24 Mar 2009

Local, state health departments forced to cut services for undocumented immigrants amid economic recession

Reductions to public health and nonemergency services by state and county health departments in response to the economic recession have resulted in limited access to care for undocumented immigrants, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

24 Mar 2009

One in five U.S. workers uninsured

One in five U.S. workers is uninsured, a statistically significant increase from fewer than one in seven during the mid-1990s, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study released on Tuesday, the AP/Detroit News reports.

24 Mar 2009

White House announces plans for Obama to nominate IHS Director

President Obama plans to nominate Yvette Roubideaux, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine, as director of Indian Health Service, the White House announced on Monday along with several other appointments, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The nomination is expected to be made official by the Senate in coming weeks.

24 Mar 2009

Speakers at White House-sponsored forum discuss possibility of public health coverage option, preventive care

Congressional Democrats intend to pass health care reform legislation by "August or September" that could include an option allowing uninsured U.S. residents to buy into a government-run health care plan, Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said on Monday, Kansas Health Institute News reports.

24 Mar 2009

Administration officials signal White House might accept cuts to proposed budget as long as health care reform, other priorities are preserved

Obama administration officials have indicated they might be willing to accept reductions to President Obama's budget proposal as long as his "signature initiatives," including health care reform, remain untouched, the Washington Post reports.

24 Mar 2009

Lancet opinion piece examines progress made against HIV/AIDS

"Nearly 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, we are able to access our progress in tackling the disease with both increased knowledge and the benefit of hindsight," former UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot of Imperial College London, who also serves as an adviser on global health strategy to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Mark Dybul of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University and former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator; and Julian Lob-Levyt of the GAVI Alliance write in a Lancet opinion piece.

24 Mar 2009

Philadelphia Inquirer examines developments, ethics in microbicide research

The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday examined issues surrounding microbicide research, including recent developments and ethical issues. Philadelphia Inquirer examines developments, ethics in microbicide research

24 Mar 2009

New HIV/AIDS data released in Latvia

Latvia's Public Health Agency recently released data about HIV/AIDS in the country in 2008, indicating that the spread of the virus through heterosexual contact is increasing, the Baltic Times reports.

24 Mar 2009

USAID switching to cheaper condoms produced overseas

USAID -- which has distributed an estimated 10 billion U.S.-manufactured condoms worldwide -- is switching to less-expensive condoms made overseas, the Kansas City Star reports.

24 Mar 2009

Formal education curbing spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Formal education is helping to curb the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa after having opposite effects during the early stages of the pandemic, according to a study by researchers from Pennsylvania State University and published recently in the UNESCO journal Prospects, UPI/RedOrbit reports.

24 Mar 2009

Clotrimazole drug used to treat skin conditions is a marine pollutant

Clotrimazole is a common ingredient in over-the-counter skin creams. Recent results from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, now show that it is associated with major environmental risks. "The pharmaceuticals and chemicals in everyday use form a mixture in the ocean that has a direct impact on the growth and reproduction of organisms", says scientist Tobias Porsbring.

24 Mar 2009

Anti-microbial catheter to cut infection risk for dialysis patients

Medical experts at The University of Nottingham have shown that an innovative anti-microbial catheter could vastly improve treatment and the quality of life for many community-based dialysis patients.

24 Mar 2009

Medical News

Ethnic minorities more likely than whites to develop type 2 diabetes regardless of weight

Global map identifying areas at high risk of malaria transmission could help efforts to control disease

Canadian researchers to launch clinical trial to determine efficacy of treating latent TB with four-month course of Rifampin

Phase II clinical trial of tuberculosis vaccine candidate to begin next month in South Africa

Recession exacerbates financial problems at California community health clinics

Texas offering loan repayments to pediatric dental, medical physicians who accept Medicaid

Drop in Walgreen profits reflects change in consumer prescription needs

New York judge orders FDA to reconsider permitting 17-year-olds to Use Plan B emergency contraception without prescription

Local, state health departments forced to cut services for undocumented immigrants amid economic recession

One in five U.S. workers uninsured

White House announces plans for Obama to nominate IHS Director

Speakers at White House-sponsored forum discuss possibility of public health coverage option, preventive care

Administration officials signal White House might accept cuts to proposed budget as long as health care reform, other priorities are preserved

Lancet opinion piece examines progress made against HIV/AIDS

Philadelphia Inquirer examines developments, ethics in microbicide research

New HIV/AIDS data released in Latvia

USAID switching to cheaper condoms produced overseas

Formal education curbing spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Clotrimazole drug used to treat skin conditions is a marine pollutant

Anti-microbial catheter to cut infection risk for dialysis patients

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

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

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