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Chicago Public Schools To Launch Education, Treatment Program To Curb Chlamydia, Gonorrhea
The Chicago Public Schools system this year will launch a pilot program to provide students in grades 11 and 12 with voluntary education, testing and treatment for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Chicago Department of Public Health will administer the program at six Cook County, Ill., schools at no cost to the school system.According to the Sun-Times, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2007 -- the most recent year available -- showed that Cook County had the second-highest number of reported chlamydia cases in the U.S. at 583 cases per 100,000 people, or 30,881 total cases. In addition, the county rated first in the nation for reported gonorrhea cases at 233 per 100,000 people, or 12,338 total cases.Christopher Brown, assistant commissioner of the health department, said, "It"s a very large problem with teens and adolescents in Chicago, and it"s very, very important that they get the information about these sexually transmitted infections." He added, "Our goal is to get the information out to teens -- about how they"re transmitted in particular -- and also that there"s treatment available."The six schools have yet to be selected, and they may opt not to participate if chosen, the Sun-Times reports. To qualify, schools must have their own health centers. Monique Bond, a spokesperson for CPS, said that the health centers will administer the testing and provide treatment to students with the STIs (Ihejirika, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/26).
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London Health Service Begins Offering Rapid HIV Tests
Barts and the London NHS Trust has become the first National Health Service provider in the United Kingdom to offer rapid, oral HIV tests, BBC News reports. Officials hope that the service will increase the number of people who seek testing because requirements of giving blood and waiting for test results are eliminated with the rapid tests. Barts will offer the rapid, oral tests in non-health care settings such as outreach centers. In addition, sexual health workers hope to be able to offer the test in night clubs in the future. About 200 people in Barts clinics have received rapid tests since March, and officials hope to test 250 people monthly. Merle Symonds, the sexual health adviser at the trust, said the message that HIV is a treatable disease has not "filtered through and stigma does remain around HIV, even if it is waning." Lisa Power of the Terrence Higgins Trust -- an HIV/AIDS organization that also offers rapid, oral tests -- said that a major problem surrounding HIV/AIDS in the United Kingdom is that many people are not aware of their status. She added, "Anything we can do to increase the take-up of testing is welcome, and we think what Barts is doing is fantastic."According to BBC News, the United Kingdom has the largest number of people living with HIV in Western Europe, with men who have sex with men accounting for 41% of new cases. BBC News reports that approximately one-third of HIV-positive people in the country are not aware of their status (BBC News, 5/20).
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Talecris Presents New Data From Phase III Studies Of A More Concentrated Formulation Of Prolastin(R) To Treat AAT Deficiency
Talecris Biotherapeutics presented results last week from two phase III studies assessing the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic comparability of a more concentrated formulation of Prolastin® (Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor [Human]) produced via a modification of the current manufacturing process that incorporates technological changes.
Medical Devices

Cimzia(R), The Only PEGylated Anti-TNF, Recommended For Approval In The EU For Rheumatoid Arthritis

UCB announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has issued a positive opinion recommending that the European Commission grants a marketing authorisation for Cimzia® (certolizumab pegol), in combination with methotrexate (MTX), for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients when the response to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including MTX, has been inadequate. In these patients, Cimzia® can be given as monotherapy in case of intolerance to MTX or when continued treatment with MTX is inappropriate. Cimzia® has been shown to reduce the rate of progression of joint damage as measured by X-ray and to improve physical function, when given in combination with MTX. The recommendation has been granted for Cimzia® to be administered as a subcutaneous injection using the pre-filled syringe. "The CHMP positive opinion is a significant milestone for UCB, but especially for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis," said Roch Doliveux, Chief Executive Officer of UCB. "Cimzia® can provide an additional effective treatment option for patients with this debilitating condition, helping them to lead fuller lives." The European Commission usually delivers a European marketing authorisation subsequent to a positive CHMP opinion within three months. Following European marketing authorisation the first launches of Cimzia®, in the European Union, are anticipated before the end of 2009. The CHMP decision is supported by data from a comprehensive clinical development programme, involving more than 2 300 patients with RA and over 4 000 patient-years experience. In the pivotal clinical trials, reported serious adverse reactions, as with other anti-TNF"s, included infections (including tuberculosis) and malignancies (including lymphoma), and the most commonly occurring adverse events were upper respiratory tract infections, rash and urinary tract infections. A pooled analysis of the safety data showed a low incidence of injection site pain (1.5%) and a low level of discontinuations due to adverse events (5%). Cimzia® demonstrated a favorable risk-benefit profile in patients with at least up to two years of drug exposure. On 14 May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cimzia® for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis. Cimzia UCB


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