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Tobacco companies find it hard to contest nicotine study

The largest tobacco company in the USA has disputed claims that the average amount of nicotine in cigarettes has risen significantly from 1998 to 2004.

13 Sep 2006

Australian world first in cancer therapy screening

A new approach in the treatment of breast cancer, appears to be a world first for Australian doctors.

13 Sep 2006

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medivira announce collaboration to commercialize HIV treatment

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medivir AB have announced a worldwide collaboration to develop and commercialize MIV-170, a preclinical non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or NNRTI, intended for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults as part of an antiretroviral drug regimen.

13 Sep 2006

Dutch court upholds Lipitor patent

Pfizer said today that the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands has ruled that the basic patent covering atorvastatin - the active ingredient in Lipitor - would be infringed by a competitor product from generics manufacturer Ranbaxy.

13 Sep 2006

Study extends the number of antigenic peptides that can be produced from a single protein

Understanding medical research problems often relies on the direct, linear relationship between the sequence of a protein and the DNA encoding that protein. In fact, colinearity of DNA and protein sequences is thought to be a fundamental feature of the universal genetic code.

13 Sep 2006

Are we getting enough vitamin D?

Scientists from the University of Ulster are to explore if we are getting enough vitamin D - vital for the formation of healthy bones and which may also help prevent diseases such as diabetes, cancers, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

13 Sep 2006

1 in 4 men suffer incontinence

Incontinence is common among men. A new study shows that a forth of men between the ages of 40 - 80 suffers from different symptoms of incontinence.

13 Sep 2006

Protection for nerve cells - eating up defective proteins

Nerve cells in the Central Nervous System can defend against and recover from damage by proteinlike clusters which are associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's Chorea.

13 Sep 2006

Green tea slows down plaque formation in Huntington's disease

Green tea can apparently inhibit the formation of the lethal protein aggregates that are a characteristic feature of Huntington's disease (HD).

13 Sep 2006

"Allergy cells" can aggravate cancer and psoriasis

The body's mast cells are mainly associated with allergic reaction in the way they release histamine and other inflammatory substances.

13 Sep 2006

Molecular chaperones protect cells

Falsely folded proteins and their aggregations in neurons are considered to be the cause of neurodegenerative diseases, among them Chorea Huntington.

13 Sep 2006

Industry using third parties to manage public concerns about genetic screening

The use of genetic tests to screen for inherited diseases is one of the most controversial applications of gene technologies.

13 Sep 2006

Lower urinary tract symptoms and related help-seeking behavior in South Asian men living in the UK

South Asian men have more urinary problems than white men, but are only half as likely to seek help, according to a study of just under 8,000 men published in the September issue of the urology journal BJU International.

13 Sep 2006

Introduction of Bill to provide HIV tests for inmates at the beginning and end of their incarcerations

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) last week introduced a bill (HR 6038) that would require federal prisons to provide HIV tests for inmates at the beginning and end of their incarcerations, The Hill reports.

13 Sep 2006

Church of England appoints first HIV-positive, gay priest

A Church of England assistant bishop has appointed the first HIV-positive gay priest to head a congregation in the United Kingdom, London's Times reports.

13 Sep 2006

Thailand urges married couples to regularly test for HIV

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health is urging hospitals nationwide to encourage abstinence, faithfulness, condom use and regular HIV testing for married couples after the country recorded an increase in new HIV cases among married women, Sombat Tanprasertsuk -- director of the country's AIDS, Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Bureau -- said on Friday, the Bangkok Post reports.

13 Sep 2006

Government officials worldwide should become more involved in international AIDS conferences

"Time To Deliver" -- the theme of last month's XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, which was the "largest ever on AIDS" with 26,000 participants -- in part was a "call for everyone responsible for AIDS work to explain what they had done and not done to achieve the goal of stopping AIDS," New York Times reporter Lawrence Altman writes in a Times opinion piece titled "Bright Spots, Lost Chances on AIDS."

13 Sep 2006

Prospect for passage of final health care IT bill uncertain

Negotiations to reconcile House and Senate versions of legislation that would promote the implementation of health care information technology have not progressed, and prospects for passage of a final bill prior to the midterm elections are uncertain, according to congressional aides, CongressDaily reports (Lee, CongressDaily, 9/12).

13 Sep 2006

Life expectancy in the U.S. - differences

U.S residents in eight groups based on geography, income and race have significant differences in life expectancy, according to a study published on Monday in the journal PloS Medicine, USA Today reports (Sternberg, USA Today, 9/12).

13 Sep 2006

Sex education increasing slightly in China

Although sex education remains a taboo issue in much of China, some approaches to the subject recently have started to change and some schools have begun to teach the subject several times annually, the Washington Post reports.

13 Sep 2006