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Three-dimensional fabric "scaffold" to repair cartilage damage

Using a unique weaving machine of their design, Duke University Medical Center researchers have created a three-dimensional fabric "scaffold" that could greatly improve the ability of physicians to repair damaged joints with the patient's own stem cells.

7 Feb 2007

Children who sleep more tend to weigh less

Children who slept more had lower BMI (body mass index) measures and were less likely to be overweight five years later than their counterparts who slept less, even when their BMI and overweight status and such factors as parents' income and education and the children's race and ethnicity were taken into consideration.

7 Feb 2007

Machine learning speeds up Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy

A new computer-based technique could eliminate hours of manual adjustment associated with a popular cancer treatment.

7 Feb 2007

Minority women less aware of heart disease than white women

U.S. minority women are less aware than white women of their risk for heart problems and stroke, although they are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the Journal of Women's Health, Reuters reports.

7 Feb 2007

Risk of developing diabetes increasingly involved in decisions regarding HRT

Although doctors for years have "talked about the health effects of hormones on bones, breasts and women's hearts," diabetes has not been "part of the debate" until last week, when the North American Menopause Society in a revised position statement said that women taking hormone replacement therapy appear to be less likely to develop the disease, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Feb 2007

Surrogate motherhood in India

Reuters on Monday examined the practice of surrogate motherhood in India, where surrogacy services are "far cheaper than in the West."

7 Feb 2007

Demand for male circumcision increases across Swaziland

Data from two studies conducted in Kenya and Uganda released in December 2006 by NIH indicate that routine male circumcision could reduce a man's HIV infection risk through heterosexual sex by about 50%.

7 Feb 2007

WHO cautions Thailand against issuing compulsory license for antiretroviral Kaletra

The World Health Organization on Thursday cautioned the Thai government on its decision to allow the country to produce a lower-cost version of Abbott Laboratories' antiretroviral drug Kaletra by granting a compulsory license for the drug, the Bangkok Post reports.

7 Feb 2007

Bush's budget proposal would allocate $5.4 billion for the "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief"

President Bush on Monday released his $2.8 trillion fiscal year 2008 budget proposal, which would allocate $5.4 billion for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Feb 2007

Washington County records four cases of drug-resistant HIV

Four men in King County, Washington, have been diagnosed with a strain of HIV that is resistant to at least two types of antiretroviral drugs, and health officials on Thursday said they are concerned the strain could spread, the Seattle Times reports.

7 Feb 2007

Chinese authorities prevent HIV/AIDS advocate from coming to U.S.

Chinese HIV/AIDS advocate and retired physician Gao Yaojie last week was put under house arrest by Chinese authorities to prevent her from visiting the U.S. next month to accept an award from the group Vital Voices Global Partnership, the New York Times reports.

7 Feb 2007

UNAIDS to introduce HIV testing guidelines in India that recommend provider-initiated testing

UNAIDS in March plans to introduce new HIV testing guidelines in India that recommend health care providers initiate testing and counseling, the Hindustan Times reports.

7 Feb 2007

Senate HELP Committee likely to pass mental health parity bill

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee likely will pass legislation that would require health insurance companies to cover mental illnesses at the same level as they cover physical illnesses, committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said, CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Feb 2007

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association opposes reduction in reimbursements to private Medicare Advantage plans

Alissa Fox, vice president of legislative and regulatory policy for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, on Friday said that additional reductions in reimbursements to private Medicare Advantage plans "would be a disaster" for the program, CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Feb 2007

John Edwards releases universal health coverage plan

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Monday proposed a universal health coverage plan that would raise taxes and impose health insurance mandates on employers, the Washington Post reports.

7 Feb 2007

Most of Medicare and Medicaid savings in Bush's budget proposal come from reducing growth in Medicare provider payments

The "lion's share" of the Medicare and Medicaid savings over five years proposed in President Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget proposal comes from limits on annual inflation adjustments for reimbursements to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers for Medicare, amounting to $39.5 billion, CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Feb 2007

Canadian prescription drugs still being seized in U.S.

At least 37 packages of prescription drugs from Canada were seized by federal officials in South Florida, despite a federal government promise in October 2006 to stop confiscating drugs imported for personal use, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

7 Feb 2007

Ban called for on newer birth control pills

The advocacy group Public Citizen has filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demanding that the sale of some of the newer birth control pills be banned.

6 Feb 2007

Scientists discover how T-cell leukemia viruses evade defense mechanisms

National Cancer Institute (NCI) scientists have discovered how human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), which infects about 20 million people worldwide, evades being held in check by one of the body's natural defense mechanisms.

6 Feb 2007

FDA clears MammaPrint test for marketing

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing a test that determines the likelihood of breast cancer returning within five to 10 years after a woman's initial cancer. It is the first cleared molecular test that profiles genetic activity.

6 Feb 2007