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Kenya approves first clinical trial of herbal product used to treat HIV/AIDS

The Kenyatta National Hospital Ethics and Research Board recently approved the first human clinical trial in Kenya of an herbal product to treat HIV/AIDS, Kenya's Nation reports.

11 Sep 2006

Death rates increasing in South Africa primarily because of HIV/AIDS

The death rate among adults in South Africa increased significantly from 1997 through 2004, according to a government report released on Thursday by Statistics South Africa, the New York Times reports.

11 Sep 2006

Pope urges Catholics to combat HIV/AIDS

Catholics need to rely on faith, in addition to science, to deal with the problems of the world, including HIV/AIDS, Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday during an outdoor Mass in Munich, Germany, the Los Angeles Times reports.

11 Sep 2006

UNAIDS Executive Director Piot urges China to include HIV-positive people, NGOs in efforts to combat spread of HIV

Although China should be commended for some of its HIV prevention policies -- including providing antiretroviral drugs at no cost, clean needles to injection drug users and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment information to migrant workers -- the government must involve HIV-positive people and nongovernmental organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

11 Sep 2006

NYT editorial criticizes proposed Medicaid reimbursement rules

Rules proposed by the Bush administration that would reduce Medicaid reimbursements to public hospitals and nursing homes could "have a huge potential impact on an extremely frail population" in states that have enacted laws to "take full advantage" of current rules, a New York Times editorial states (New York Times, 9/10).

11 Sep 2006

September 11, five years on

Five years on from September 11, the University of Western Sydney can offer expert comment on how the anniversary is likely to affect those who lost loved ones in the tragedy and how it will impact on people around the world.

11 Sep 2006

Johns Hopkins ACG team releases pharmacy-based predictive model

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed Johns Hopkins ACG Rx-PM - new predictive modeling software based on retail pharmacy claims information.

11 Sep 2006

Cure for sickle cell pain

GenoMed announced today that it has submitted a case report of a sickle cell patient whose pain disappeared with GenoMed's treatment approach, only to recur when GenoMed's treatment was stopped.

11 Sep 2006

New data on Federal funding for HIV/AIDS to states

Statehealthfacts.org has just updated FY 2005 data on federal funding streams for HIV/AIDS.

11 Sep 2006

Hand gel kills bird flu virus and Indonesian update

A company in the UK has come up with a hand gel which has the ability to kill the H5N1 bird flu virus in under a minute.

11 Sep 2006

New drug sorts out premature ejaculation

According the American Urological Association, premature ejaculation affects about 20% of males in the U.S. aged 18-59.

11 Sep 2006

Why H5N1 bird flu is so lethal

Researchers in Vietnam have discovered why the H5N1 bird flu virus currently at large is so lethal to humans.

11 Sep 2006

Brain scans show unconscious woman played tennis in her head

Neuroscientists at Britain's Cambridge University say functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI brain scans appear to show that a woman in a vegetative state seemed to play tennis in her head despite the fact that she had been unconscious for five months after a motor vehicle accident.

11 Sep 2006

Black women should get mammograms, enroll in clinical trials, take other measures to prevent breast cancer

Although the number of new breast cancer cases in the U.S. has "leveled off" according to a recent a report, black women must "participate in ... clinical trials, tend to their diets, exercise more, do monthly self-exams and get mammograms," Joyce King, a freelance writer, writes in a USA Today opinion piece.

11 Sep 2006

Surveys show most pharmacists, doctors believe Medicare Drug Benefit helps patients, though most think it is too complicated

Most pharmacists and physicians believe that the Medicare prescription drug benefit has helped beneficiaries save money on their medications but also believe that the program is overly complex, according to two surveys released on Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

11 Sep 2006

AMA lobbies Congress to block planned Medicare physician payment cut before recess

Most U.S. residents are not aware of a Bush administration proposal to cut Medicare reimbursements for physician services by 5.1% for 2007, but when informed, a majority say they are concerned that the cuts could restrict access, according to a survey released on Thursday by the American Medical Association, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

11 Sep 2006

More companies opening in-house clinics for employees to help reduce health costs

A "combination of both definable and intangible savings are driving more companies to open medical clinics to cope with ever-rising health care costs," the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

11 Sep 2006

World leaders must to do more to address the needs of migrant women

...and to protect them from human rights violations, such as human trafficking, according to this year's State of the World Population report released Wednesday by the United Nations Population Fund, New Era/AllAfrica.com reports.

11 Sep 2006

'Plenty of time' to pass final health care IT Bill, Rep. Deal says

House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Chair Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) on Thursday said Congress has "plenty of time" prior to midterm elections to pass legislation that would promote the implementation of health care information technology, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 9/7).

11 Sep 2006