Teen Doing Well 2 Years After Stem Cell Windpipe Transplant

Teen Doing Well 2 Years After Stem Cell Windpipe Transplant

Treatment may offer hope for other ill children, researchers say
July 26, 2012
WEDNESDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- Two years after he became the first child to receive a stem cell-supported trachea (windpipe) transplant, a 13-year-old boy is able to breathe normally, has grown about four inches taller, does not require any anti-rejection drugs and has returned to school.

Ciaran Finn-Lynch, born with a structural defect of his large airway, underwent the transplant in March 2010 at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. After his windpipe was removed, it was

Researchers report more condom use among teenagers

Researchers report more condom use among teenagers

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer / July 24, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) — More high school students are using condoms than 20 years ago — but progress has stalled with a lot of work still needed to protect young people from the AIDS virus, government researchers reported Tuesday.

Today, 4 of every 10 new HIV infections occur in people younger than 30, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and the teen years, just as youths become sexually active, are key for getting across the safe-sex message.

Using a long-standing survey of high school students’ health, the CDC tracked how teen sexual behavior has changed over 20 years. The results are decidedly mixed.

European Agency Backs Approval of a Gene Therapy

European Agency Backs Approval of a Gene Therapy

By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: July 20, 2012
After more than two decades of dashed expectations, the field of gene therapy appears close to reaching a milestone: a regulatory approval.
The European Medicines Agency has recommended approval of a gene therapy to treat a rare genetic disease, according to the agency’s Web site.

If the European Commission follows the advice, as it usually does, this would be the first regulatory approval of a gene therapy drug in the Western world. That could give a boost to the field, which at

AIDS specialists release 'road-map' for HIV cure

AIDS specialists release 'road-map' for HIV cure

Published July 20, 2012
Associated Press
For years it seemed hopeless. Now the hunt for a cure for AIDS is back on.
International AIDS specialists on Thursday released what they call a road map for research toward a cure for HIV - a strategy for global teams of scientists to explore a number of intriguing leads that just might, years from now, pan out.
"Today's the first step," said French Nobel laureate Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, co-discoverer of the HIV virus who also co-chaired development of the strategy.
"No one thinks it's going to be easy," added strategy co-chair Dr. Steven Deeks of the University of California, San Francisco. "Some don't think it's possible."

Prostate cancer surgery fails to cut deaths in study

Prostate cancer surgery fails to cut deaths in study

Published July 19, 2012
Reuters
Prostate cancer surgery didn't appear to save lives compared with observation alone in a new study that tracked men for a decade after their diagnosis.
However, nearly twice as many men who had surgery reported incontinence and impotence after two years, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"These are very compelling data," said Dr. Durado Brooks, director of prostate and colorectal cancers at the American Cancer Society, who was not involved in the research.
Both he and study author Dr. Timothy Wilt of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine said

Inactivity 'killing as many as smoking'

17 July 2012

Inactivity 'killing as many as smoking'

By Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, BBC News
A lack of exercise is now causing as many deaths as smoking across the world, a study suggests.

The report, published in the Lancet to coincide with the build-up to the Olympics, estimates that about a third of adults are not doing enough physical activity, causing 5.3m deaths a year.

That equates to about one in 10 deaths from diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and breast and colon cancer.

Researchers said the problem was now so bad it should be treated as a pandemic.

And they said tackling it required a new way of thinking, suggesting the public needed to be warned

FDA approves Vivus’ anti-obesity pill associated with significant weight loss in patients

FDA approves Vivus’ anti-obesity pill associated with significant weight loss in patients

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, July 17

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a new weight loss drug from Vivus Inc. that many doctors consider the most effective therapy in a new generation of anti-obesity pills designed to help patients safely shed pounds.

The agency cleared the pill Qsymia for adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.
Patients taking Qsymia for a year lost 6.7 percent of their body weight in one study and 8.9 percent in another study, the FDA said. That was more than two other weight loss pill recently reviewed by the FDA.

Study: More TV Linked to Larger Waists, Weaker Legs for Kids

Study: More TV Linked to Larger Waists, Weaker Legs for Kids

By CARRIE GANN (@carrie_gann) , ABC News Medical Unit
July 16, 2012
The more television a child watches, even in the first years of life, the more likely he or she is to be thicker around the middle and less muscularly fit, according to a new study.

Previous studies have linked lots of television with childhood obesity and other child health detriments, but this study's authors say their report is the first to relate how time in front of the boob tube affects a specific measure of physical fitness, their explosive leg strength, an important asset for sports like soccer, basketball and football.

Caroline Fitzpatrick, the study's lead author, said the measure isn't just important for children who want to be athletes.

Study: Some Personal Care Products May Increase Diabetes Risk in Women

Study: Some Personal Care Products May Increase Diabetes Risk in Women

JULY 15, 2012
DAILY DISRUPTION
A study led by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) shows an association between increased concentrations of phthalates in the body and an increased risk of diabetes in women. Phthalates are endocrine disrupting chemicals that are commonly found in personal care products such as moisturizers, nail polishes, soaps, hair sprays and perfumes. They are also used in adhesives, electronics, toys and a variety of other products. This finding is published in the July 13, 2012 online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.

Vast F.D.A. Effort Tracked E-Mails of Its Scientists

Vast F.D.A. Effort Tracked E-Mails of Its Scientists

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and SCOTT SHANE
Published: July 14, 2012
WASHINGTON — A wide-ranging surveillance operation by the Food and Drug Administration against a group of its own scientists used an enemies list of sorts as it secretly captured thousands of e-mails that the disgruntled scientists sent privately to members of Congress, lawyers, labor officials, journalists and even President Obama, previously undisclosed records show.
What began as a narrow investigation into the possible leaking of confidential agency information by five scientists quickly grew in mid-2010 into a much broader campaign to counter outside critics of the agency’s medical review process, according to the cache of more than 80,000 pages of computer documents generated by the surveillance effort.

Moving to quell what one memorandum called the “collaboration” of the F.D.A.’s opponents, the surveillance operation identified 21 agency employees, Congressional officials, outside medical researchers and journalists thought to be working together to put out negative and “defamatory”

Weight Loss Techniques That Work

Weight Loss Techniques That Work

By MIKAELA CONLEY (@mikaelaconley)
July 13, 2012
Keep a food journal. Don't skip meals, but do skip your afternoon lunch dates. Those recommendations come from research published Friday in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center evaluated the impact of self-monitoring and diet-related behavior and patterns among overweight and obese post-menopausal women. Among the 123 women who participated in the study, they found that those who completed food journals lost about six more pounds than those who did not note their food intake. Women who skipped meals lost eight fewer pounds than those who did not miss meals, and those who ate lunch out at least once a week lost five fewer pounds than those who ate out less frequently.

Melinda Gates pledges $560 million for contraception

Melinda Gates pledges $560 million for contraception

By Chris Wickham
LONDON | Wed Jul 11, 2012 
(Reuters) - Melinda Gates has pledged $560 million as part of a campaign to expand access to contraception for women in some of the poorest countries in the world.
The funding commitment was unveiled on Wednesday at the London Summit on Family Planning alongside pledges totaling $4.3 billion from the British government and leaders from African nations wrestling with the health and social problems brought on by high rates of unplanned pregnancy.

The summit launched a program to extend family planning services to 120 million women out of an estimated 220 million around the world who want, but cannot get, reliable access to contraception by 2020.

Supporters of the campaign estimate that this year will see 80 million unintended pregnancies in

Five millionth 'test tube baby'

1 July 2012

Five millionth 'test tube baby'

By James Gallagher
Health and science reporter, BBC News, Istanbul
Five million "test tube babies" have now been born around the world, according to research presented at a conference of fertility experts.

Delegates hailed it as a "remarkable milestone" for fertility treatments.

The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in the UK in July 1978. Her mother Leslie Brown died last month.

Man plagued by porn-induced headaches

Man plagued by porn-induced headaches

A 24-year-old bachelor in India got severe headaches whenever he tried to watch an X-rated movie. But not from actually having sex
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2012
A terrible headache probably isn't the sensation people are hoping for when they turn on a porn video.
But unfortunately for a 24-year-old bachelor in India, that's exactly what has happened for the last two years whenever he tried to watch an X-rated movie.
According to a case study on the man, who is unnamed, he experiences "severe, exploding" headaches that develop gradually and peak about 10 minutes into a sex scene.
"The intensity was so severe that he had to abort watching," researchers from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in New Delhiwrote wrote in the study, published this month in the journal

FDA approves new weight loss drug

From: To: Date: Date:

FDA clears first new weight-loss pill in 13 years

By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP Health Writer
June27,2012
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved Arena Pharmaceutical's anti-obesity pill Belviq, the first new prescription drug for long-term weight loss to enter the U.S. market in over a decade.
Despite only achieving modest weight loss in clinical studies, the drug appeared safe enough to win the FDA's endorsement, amid calls from doctors for new weight-loss treatments.
The agency cleared the pill Wednesday for adults who are obese or are overweight with at least one medical complication, such as diabetes or high cholesterol. The drug should be used in combination with a healthy diet and exercise.
Obesity Society President Patrick O'Neil said he's encouraged by the drug's approval because it underscores the notion that lifestyle changes alone are not enough to treat obesity.
"This is good news because it tells us that the FDA is indeed treating obesity seriously," said O'Neil,

Moderate exercise tied to lower breast cancer risk

Moderate exercise tied to lower breast cancer risk

By Amy Norton
NEW YORK | Mon Jun 25, 2012
(Reuters Health) - Women who exercise moderately may be less likely than their inactive peers to develop breast cancer after menopause, a study published Monday suggests.
Researchers found that of more than 3,000 women with and without breast cancer, those who'd exercised during their childbearing years were less likely to develop the cancer after menopause.

The same was true when women took up exercise after menopause.

And it did not take a vigorous workout; regular exercise at any intensity level was linked to a lower breast cancer risk, the researchers say.

Obesity Screening for All

Task Force to Doctors: Obesity Screening for All

Experts Also Advise Counseling at-Risk Patients on Diet, Exercise
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
June 25, 2012 -- Next time you see your doctor, be prepared to be weighed and measured -- and possibly referred to a weight loss program.

In an updated recommendation, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts, is recommending that doctors screen all patients for obesity.

The task force also recommended universal screening in its previous 2003 recommendation, but the new one goes a step farther, says David Grossman, MD, MPH, a USPSTF member who is also medical director for preventive care at Group Health Research Institute in Seattle.

It recommends that doctors refer obese patients to intensive counseling for weight loss.

Bird flu pandemic just "three mutations" away, scientists show

Bird flu pandemic just "three mutations" away, scientists show

A bird flu pandemic may be close to being a real threat after scientists discovered the virus is already just "three mutations" away from evolving into a strain which would be able to pass from human to human.
By Richard Alleyne, and Nick Collins 22 Jun 2012
Avian H5N1 influenza can currently only be transmitted to humans from birds, meaning it cannot spread quickly through the air between large groups of people.
But a recent study at Cambridge University shows that there are strains already existing which are just "three mutations" away from being passable form one human to another.
It suggests the airborne strain could evolve naturally in the wild – even in one person.
Prof Derek Smith, one of the Cambridge researchers, said the study had shown that the risk – like an

Feds Probe Hepatitis C Outbreak in New Hampshire

Feds Probe Hepatitis C Outbreak in New Hampshire
CONCORD, N.H. June 19, 2012 (AP)
The U.S. attorney's office in Concord has joined an investigation into a hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire.
A hospital worker and 19 patients at its cardiac catheterization lab have tested positive for the liver-destroying disease since the investigation began last month. State health officials suspect a lab employee's misuse of drugs led to the outbreak.

Vein grown from stem cells saves 10-year-old girl

Vein grown from stem cells saves 10-year-old girl

 June 14, 2012
Reuters

Doctors in Sweden have replaced a vital blocked blood vessel in a 10-year-old girl using the first vein grown in a lab from a patient's own stem cells.
The successful transplant operation, reported online in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday, marks a further advance in the search for ways to make new body parts.
It could open the door to stem cell-based grafts for heart bypass and dialysis patients who lack suitable blood vessels for replacement surgery, and the Swedish team said it is now working with an undisclosed company to commercialize the process.