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Teen births cost U.S. Government $9.1 billion in 2004

The U.S. government in 2004 incurred at least $9.1 billion in costs related to teen births, despite significant decreases in teen pregnancy and birth rates since the early 1990s, according to a report released on Monday by the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, USA Today reports (Koch [1], USA Today, 10/30).

30 Oct 2006

USA Today examines issues Supreme Court will decide in challenge to federal abortion ban

USA Today on Monday examined how Congress' "power to limit the reach" of Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that effectively barred state abortion bans -- by "restricting medical options for women" will be tested in the Department of Justice's appeal to the high court to uphold a federal law banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion.

30 Oct 2006

HIV/AIDS and poverty in Zambia threatens economic growth

HIV/AIDS and poverty in Zambia "are threatening" economic growth the country has achieved since gaining its independence in 1964, President Levy Mwanawasa said last week in a speech on the eve of Zambia's 42nd anniversary of independence, Reuters reports.

30 Oct 2006

Shortage of health workers in developing countries is affecting global health efforts

The critical shortage of health workers in developing countries is affecting global health efforts, including the fight against HIV/AIDS, and must be addressed, a panel of experts said Tuesday at an event sponsored by the Global Health Council, CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Oct 2006

Oral contraceptives increase risk for breast cancer in some women

A meta-analysis published in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings indicts oral contraceptives as putting premenopausal women at significantly increased risk for breast cancer, especially women who use them prior to having a child.

30 Oct 2006

Sequencing of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for early breast cancer

For women who have had surgery for early breast cancer, it may not matter whether they receive follow-up chemotherapy before, after or during radiation therapy, according to a new review of studies.

30 Oct 2006

Stigma, discrimination in India hindering HIV/AIDS treatment, care

The stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS in India is delaying treatment and care for HIV-positive people, according to a study conducted by the Population Council's Horizons program; Sharan, an Indian nongovernmental organization; and the New Delhi-based Institute of Economic Growth, IRIN/Kenya London News reports.

30 Oct 2006

U.S. should develop 'strategic plan' to tackle HIV/AIDS

Although there is "no easy fix" for HIV/AIDS in the U.S., "refocusing our sights on improved outcomes and developing a comprehensive strategic plan to achieve them" would be a good start, Chris Collins, author of a new Open Society Institute report on HIV/AIDS in the U.S., writes in a Chicago Defender opinion piece.

30 Oct 2006

PRI's 'The World' interviews physician on efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe

PRI's "The World," a production of BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston, on Thursday interviewed Carlo Spagnolli -- an Italian physician who runs the privately funded HIV/AIDS treatment program Project Zimbabwe at the Luisa Guidotti Hospital in Mutoko, Zimbabwe -- about efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the country despite antiretroviral drug shortages.

30 Oct 2006

Trial involving medical workers accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV involves 'profound political issues'

The "scientific community, AIDS activists and Libyan government would do well to recognize ... the political and diplomatic import of the case" involving five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV, Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in a PLoS Medicine opinion piece (Garrett, PLoS Medicine, 10/26).

30 Oct 2006

Botswana launches infant HIV testing program

Botswana in a ceremony in Francistown -- attended by Mark Dybul, who serves as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator and administers the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- launched a program to test six-month-old infants for HIV, according a U.S. embassy statement released on Wednesday, SAPA/SABC News reports.

30 Oct 2006

Pfizer provides opinion on European Lipitor patent

Pfizer has said that the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued an opinion upholding, in its entirety, the company's calcium salt patent covering Lipitor.

30 Oct 2006

Nanogen announces new patents for inventions related to diabetes and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers

Nanogen has announced that it has been issued four patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for inventions related to diabetes and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.

30 Oct 2006

Spanish patent victory favoring Ranbaxy on Atorvastatin unaffected

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited said today that recently, in two separate rulings, the Spanish courts (the Mercantile Court of Barcelona, No. 2) found Spanish patent ES 2,167,306 (counterpart of Pfizer's EP 409 281) to be invalid for lack of novelty.

30 Oct 2006

World's first fully digital neuroscience center at Singapore General Hospital

BrainLAB has signed a contract with Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), the largest healthcare group in Singapore, for the establishment of the world's first fully digital neuroscience center at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), one of Asia's leading teaching hospitals.

30 Oct 2006

Liver damage can be reversed

Saint Louis University Liver Center scientists are presenting research today on a more effective way to treat hepatitis C patients who have been unresponsive to current drug therapies.

30 Oct 2006

Israeli physicians share HIV/AIDS treatment methods with Ethiopian colleagues

Israeli physicians who gained experience treating Ethiopian immigrants living with HIV/AIDS in Israel are sharing techniques for treating HIV/AIDS with Ethiopian physicians, Reuters reports.

30 Oct 2006

Accusations against medics charged with infecting children with HIV - attempt to cover up poor Libyan medical system

The accusations against five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor charged with infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV are "an attempt to deflect Libyans' attention from the shocking state of their own medical system," a Washington Post editorial says (Washington Post, 10/29).

30 Oct 2006

Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip

Osteoarthritis (OA) has a major impact on patients' mobility and quality of life but the anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat it are associated with a number of side effects.

30 Oct 2006

Turmeric for prevention of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis

An ancient spice, long used in traditional Asian medicine, may hold promise for the prevention of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, according to a recently completed study at The University of Arizona College of Medicine.

30 Oct 2006