Popular Articles

Secrets Of Scorpion Venom Revealed By Genetic Analysis
Transcriptomic tests have uncovered the protein composition of venom from the Scorpiops jendeki scorpion. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Genomics have carried out the first ever venom analysis in this arachnid, and discovered nine novel poison molecules, never before seen in any scorpion species.

For Many Young Adults, No Health Insurance, No Regular Doctor, USA
Approximately 5 million adults age 19 to 23 in the United States had no health insurance in 2006 for the entire year and 30 percent of them said they didn"t think it was worth the cost, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
News of the day
One In Four HIV-Positive Women Does Not Undergo Cervical Cancer Screenings, Study Finds
About one in four HIV-positive women in the U.S. does not opt to undergo an annual Pap test for cervical cancer even though they are at an increased risk for the disease, according to a study in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Reuters reports. For the study, Alexandra Oster and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed the responses of 2,417 HIV-positive women from 18 states who participated in interviews for the Supplement to HIV/AIDS Surveillance Project.The researchers found that 23% of the women had not undergone a Pap test in the year before the interviews and that older age and a poorly functioning immune system were independent predictors of whether women had Pap tests.They wrote, "The risk of cervical cancer has not decreased since the introduction of (highly active antiretroviral) therapy, highlighting the continued importance of cervical cancer screening in this population." They added that "cervical cancer screening should be a high priority" for HIV-positive women (Reuters, 7/30).
Cardiovascular

Efforts Underway In Namibia To Treat Pediatric HIV

Inter Press Service examines how efforts underway in Namibia have helped to decrease the number of infants born with HIV while also increasing the number of HIV-positive infants on life-saving antiretrovirals (ARVs). According to the news service, since the launch of an early infant detection (EID) program in 2006, "the number of HIV-infected newborns has dropped from 13 percent to two percent in Namibia, according to the national Ministry of Health" -- figures that "stand in sharp contrast with data from other African countries where many pregnant women are not diagnosed in time to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus and only a few HIV-positive infants receive ARVs." Of the 20,000 children living with HIV in Namibia, "7,622 children are receiving ARV treatment," according to Angela Mushavi, who is PMTCT coordinator of the CDC, a major donor for Namibia"s EID-programme. "Namibia"s progress in paediatric HIV has been particularly impressive, in light of the challenges facing its health care system," the news service writes. The article highlights how the dry-blood sampling used for EID testing can be completed by parents and preserved during week-long shipments to laboratories and additional ways that the government has worked to make ARV treatments easier for infants and their caregivers (Van Den Bosch, 7/28). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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