A new North American study shows that starting antiretroviral treatment earlier could reduce the risk of death by up to 94 percent – Begin treatment as early as possible: this general common sense rule seems to apply to most diseases except HIV-AIDS, which is only treated once a certain number of immune cells called “CD4+” cells have disappeared.
Circumcision in heterosexual men significantly reduces their risk of acquiring HIV by 54% over a two year period, compared with uncircumcised men. – Three recent African trials support male circumcision for reducing the risk of contracting HIV in heterosexual men.
Amalgamated Produce, Inc. Recalls Sprouts in the North Eastern United States Because of Possible Health Risk – Amalgamated Produce, Inc. (API), Bridgeport, CT, announced a voluntary recall of its Specialty Farms, Vermont Sprout House, Nature’s Promise and BroccoSprouts (noted as distributed by API, Bridgeport, CT) sprout items with sell by date codes of March_31 through April_27, 2009.
Major breakthrough in transplantation immunity – this new research findings are promising for organ transplant patients. – Australian scientists have made a discovery that may one day remove the need for a lifetime of toxic immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplants.
A small, pilot study in 50 people in Japan suggests that eating two and a half ounces of broccoli sprouts daily for two months may confer some protection against a rampant stomach bug that causes gastritis, ulcers and even stomach cancer. – Three-day-old broccoli sprouts, a widely available human food, suppressed Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections, according to a report in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
European Commission grants marketing authorization for Intercell?s IXIARO, the first licensed vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis for travelers and military personnel in Europe. – Intercell AG (VSE: ICLL) announced that its new vaccine to prevent Japanese Encephalitis, IXIARO, has been approved by the European Commission.
World’s Health ministers to accelerate efforts against drug-resistant TB – M/XDR-TB. – Health ministers from countries with the greatest burdens of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) have agreed to a series of actions to accelerate efforts to halt and reverse the global epidemic of the disease.
FDA Alerts Consumers to Recall of Certain Pistachios. FDA and California Inspectors Identify Salmonella. – The FDA and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) are investigating Salmonella contamination in pistachio products sold by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc, Calif.
FDA Warns Against Consuming Peanuts and Peanut Products Sold by Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc.; Westco/Westcott Products Linked to Recalled Peanuts from the Peanut Corporation of America. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to consume any peanuts or peanut-derived products sold by Irvington, New Jersey-based Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc. (Westco/Westcott) due to possible Salmonella contamination.
Queen’s scientists find new way to battle MRSA – Experts from Queen’s University Belfast have developed new agents to fight MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections that are resistant to antibiotics.
Human papillomavirus genotype distribution in New Mexico cervical cancers – DNA from human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) and HPV type 18 (HPV18) were found in the majority of invasive cervical cancers in New Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s, according to a population-based study published in the March 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Increased schooling across sub-Saharan Africa lowering new HIV infections among younger adults. – Increased schooling across sub-Saharan Africa may be lowering new HIV infections among younger adults, according to sociologists, suggesting a shift in a decades-long trend where formal education is considered an AIDS risk factor.
