Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Desert Sun Publishes Series On HIV/AIDS Amid Proposed Funding Cuts In California State Budget
The Desert Sun published a series of articles related to HIV/AIDS. The articles include a feature profiling people living with the virus and others looking at efforts by advocates to offer culturally appropriate information on HIV to Hispanics, blacks and other minorities; the efficacy of antiretrovirals, and how the drugs are enabling people to live longer; and the potential effects of proposed state budget cuts on HIV/AIDS programs in Riverside County (Brambila, Desert Sun, 6/10).
generic viagra online
Unvaccinated Children At Higher Risk Of Whooping Cough
New research from the US suggests that children whose parents won"t let them be vaccinated are 23 times more likely to get whooping cough
News of the day
Georgia Receives More Than $60M In Ryan White Funding
Georgia has received $63.9 million in Ryan White Program grants to fund treatment and other services for people living with HIV, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Grant recipients include county health departments and community organizations. The funding will be used to provide outpatient health services, health insurance coverage and support services, such as transportation and housing. According to the Journal-Constitution, more than $1.79 billion in Ryan White funding was allocated nationwide. Several HIV/AIDS organizations said that the funding is necessary to continue providing services for people living with the disease. Tracy Elliot, executive director of AID Atlanta, said that the funding is "critical," noting that more than 18,000 HIV/AIDS cases have been reported in Georgia. He continued, "We would have a lot of deaths without [the funding]. There would be significantly more illnesses without it and significantly more transmission of the disease without it." According to Elliot, "[m]edical treatment and medications are of no value if people cannot have access to them" (Poole, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/19).
Nutrition

Winter- And Spring-Onset RA Patients Have Worse 6 Month Outcomes Than Those With Summer Onset

When a patient"s first symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occur in winter, the severity of their RA (as measured by the modified Total Sharp Score, mTSS, an assessment of erosion and joint space narrowing) was rated more severe at six months, when compared to patients whose RA first became symptomatic in summer (Odds Ratio (OR) =2.82 [1.14;7], p=0.0255). Furthermore, RA patients with their first symptoms in spring showed poorer radiographic outcome compared to summer-onset patients (OR=2.83 [1.10;7.37], p=0.0322), according to the results of a new study presented today at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark. Similarly, patients" mTSS after six months was worse if their first symptoms had occurred in winter (OR=2.61 [1.20; 5.71], p=0.0158) or in spring (OR=2.63 [1.13; 6.14], p=0.0025) versus autumn as the reference season. This effect was not however observed at 12 month follow up, which the study authors suggest could suggest that these initial environmental factors exert less of an effect on longer term radiographic progression. Dr Gaç«l Mouterde, Immuno-Rheumatology Department, Lapeyronie Hospital, Montpellier, France who led the research, said: "During our study of predictors of radiographic progression, we have unveiled a distinct relationship between RA progression and seasonal onset and postulate that this could be as a result of either a vitamin D deficiency or environmental factors, such as winter viruses, influencing protein citrullination. Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) are often found in the immune systems of RA patients. This finding may assist towards the identification of RA patients at a higher risk of developing structural damage, in order to propose early intensive therapy and minimise disease progression." Of the 736 patients from the multicentre French ESPOIR cohort analysed in the study (48÷±12 years of age, females 77%, mean disease duration 103+/-53 days, DAS28 5.11÷±1.31, HAQ score 0.97÷±0.68, CRP 21.9÷±32 mg/l, HLA-DRB1*01 or 04 57.5%), those found to have anti-CCP antibodies (total n=290) were also likely to have experienced increased radiographic disease progression (defined by an increase of at least 1 point of the mTSS), than those without anti-CCP antibodies, both after six months (OR=3.73 [2.04;6.82], p


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009