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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

Concerns that stem cell study could influence future embryonic stem cell legislation

Technique that could derive human embryonic stem cells without destroying human embryos, recently published in the journal Nature, could impede funding for stem cell research in this week's "Health on the Hill From kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

13 Sep 2006

Zimbabwe's new four-year plan to address the HIV/AIDS

Zimbabwe's National AIDS Council has drafted a new four-year plan to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic that will be launched soon, Amon Mpofu, NAC evaluation and monitoring manager, said on Sunday, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

13 Sep 2006

Md. County school system's revised condom demo video receives positive reviews

The Montgomery County, Md., Public Schools' revised condom demonstration video has received positive reviews from members of Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum -- one of the groups involved in a lawsuit against the school system regarding the original video and sex education curriculum -- the Washington Post reports (Aratani, Washington Post, 9/12).

13 Sep 2006

Australia's Foreign Minister to review ban on foreign abortion services funding

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer recently asked for a review of the government's ban on funding for abortion services in other countries, Sharman Stone, minister for workforce participation, said on Sunday, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

13 Sep 2006

Accutane iPledge program requirements leading to illegal online sales

The strict regulations governing the prescription and use of the acne drug isotretinoin, sold by Roche under the brand name Accutane, are affecting the drug's sale and dispensation and raising concerns about sales of the medication over the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reports (Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 9/12).

13 Sep 2006

Department of Justice joins Whistleblower lawsuit alleging overcharging by drug company Dey

The Department of Justice on Monday joined a whistleblower lawsuit filed against California-based Dey, a generic medication division of Germany-based Merck KGaA, over allegations that the company inflated prices reported to federal health insurance programs, the Boston Globe reports.

13 Sep 2006

Four largest Massachusetts insurers plan double-digit premium increases for 2007

The four largest health insurers in Massachusetts -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan and Fallon Community Health Plan -- in 2007 are expected for most of their insurance options to raise premiums by at least 10% for the seventh consecutive year, the Boston Globe reports.

13 Sep 2006