Panel Backs Vaccine as Cervical Cancer Alternative
The panel gave a limited endorsement to GlaxoSmithKlines vaccine, Cervarix, which the government licensed last week. Merck & Co. has had the vaccine Gardasil on the market since 2006.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices did not state a preference for one vaccine over the other. But officials noted that while both protect against cervical cancer, the older Merck vaccine also protects against genital warts.
The committee advises a federal public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC still has to adopt the new recommendation for it to become official advice for U.S. physicians.
Both shots are a three-dose [...]
Sperm Donor Passed On Sudden Demise Heart Defect
Two children, both now teenagers, have developed symptoms and are at risk for sudden cardiac death, the report says. Its the second documented instance of a genetic condition being inherited through sperm donation.
The latest case highlights the importance of thoroughly screening sperm donors, according to the report and an editorial published with it in Wednesdays Journal of the American Medical Association.
The San Francisco sperm bank involved now gives all donors electrocardiogram tests to weed out men with genetic heart problems; the study authors recommend that other sperm banks follow suit.
Voluntary sperm bank guidelines say donors should be required to provide [...]
Study: Heart Failure Drug Guidelines Often Ignored
Only one-third of 12,565 patients eligible for the drugs got them - even though they were treated at 201 hospitals that had voluntarily enrolled in the American Heart Associations Get with the Guidelines program.
Reasons why so few doctors “got with the program” are unclear. But the study authors offered some theories, from lack of marketing for the decades-old drugs to concerns about their safety.
The main drug studied, spironolactone, is a water pill that helps prevent kidneys from absorbing too much sodium, which can lead to excess fluid. In heart failure, water often builds up in lungs, blood and tissue because [...]
Sugar Cereals Are Smart Choices? Fda Not So Sure
Well, federal health officials are having similar thoughts, and theyre warning food manufacturers.
The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that nutritional logos from food manufacturers may be misleading consumers about the actual health benefits of cereal, crackers and other processed foods. The agency sent a letter to companies saying it will begin cracking down on inaccurate food labeling. The FDA did not name specific products or give a timeline for enforcement.
U.S. manufacturers, including Kellogg, Kraft Foods and General Mills, rolled out their so-called Smart Choices program last year, amid growing concern about obesity rates. The green labels appear on the [...]
Glaxo, Human Genome Say Lupus Drug Worked 16 Weeks Into Study
The 865-patient study, known as Bliss-52, found Benlysta was more effective at easing pain, hair loss and skin rash than a placebo, London-based Glaxo and Rockville, Maryland-based Human Genome said in July, when they announced the initial results of the trial.
A full presentation of the data today showed that the improvement was statistically significant and sustained for both the higher dose and lower dose of the drug from week 24 and week 28, respectively, for the duration of the 52-week test. The rate of improvement was [...]
Full Results Show Aids Vaccine Is Of Modest Help
Yet the findings are exciting to scientists, who think that blood samples from the trial may show how to make a vaccine that does a better job.
The results also hint that the vaccine may work better in the general population than in those at higher risk of infection, such as gay men and intravenous drug users. It was the first time an AIDS vaccine was tested mostly in heterosexuals at average risk, and doctors have long known that how a person is exposed to HIV affects the odds of becoming infected.
“This study becomes a landmark. You can put it on [...]
Somers New Target: Conventional Cancer Treatment
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NEW YORK (AP) - Suzanne Somers is at it again.
Less than a year after the former sitcom actress frustrated mainstream doctors (and cheered some fans) by touting bioidentical hormones on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” shes back with a new book. This ones on an even more emotional topic: Cancer treatment. Specifically, she argues against what she sees as the vast and often pointless use of chemotherapy.
Somers, who has rejected chemo herself, seems to relish the fight.
“Cancers an epidemic,” said the 63-year-old actress in an interview in a Manhattan hotel a day before Tuesdays release of “Knockout,” her 19th book. “And [...]
Obama Says Insurers Using Smoke And Mirrors In Health Debate
In his weekly address on the radio and Internet, Obama criticized a report released by the trade group Americas Health Insurance Plans earlier this week that warned a Senate proposal would more than double insurance premium costs.
“Like clockwork, weve seen folks on cable television who know better, waving these industry-funded studies in the air,” Obama said. “Its smoke and mirrors. Its bogus.”
Two days after the release of the health insurance study, the [...]
Merck, Glaxo Prepare For Hpv Vaccine Battle With U.s. Approvals
The Food and Drug Administration authorized sales of Gardasil to prevent genital warts in males ages 9 to 26 and Glaxos Cervarix to prevent cervical cancer in females ages 10 to 25, the companies said today in separate statements. Gardasil has been approved in the U.S. since 2006 and is part of routine vaccinations for school-age girls.
The shots target strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, a common sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer and serious infections. Concerns about Cervarixs safety contributed to a regulatory delay [...]
Merck, Glaxo Prepare For Hpv Vaccine Battle With U.s. Approvals
The Food and Drug Administration authorized sales of Gardasil to prevent genital warts in males ages 9 to 26 and Glaxos Cervarix to prevent cervical cancer in females ages 10 to 25, the companies said today in separate statements. Gardasil has been approved in the U.S. since 2006 and is part of routine vaccinations for school-age girls.
The shots target strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, a common sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer and serious infections. Concerns about Cervarixs safety contributed to a regulatory delay [...]