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

Cellular Circuits That Count Events Engineered By MIT, BU
MIT and Boston University engineers have designed cells that can count and "remember" cellular events, using simple circuits in which a series of genes are activated in a specific order.
generic viagra online
Boston To Unveil New Teen Sex Awareness Program After Spike In STI Cases
Boston"s health agency on Tuesday is scheduled to launch a safer-sex campaign that reaches out to teenagers through Web sites such as Facebook and YouTube, the Boston Globe reports. The campaign was created in response to rising rates of sexually transmitted infections among young people in the city, according to the Globe. The $100,000 campaign originally was intended to address communicable diseases in general. However, experts noticed the increase in STI cases among teenagers and decided to spend all the funding on the campaign targeting STIs.The increase in chlamydia cases in particular demonstrates the "scope of the challenge," as 1,383 Boston youths between ages 15 and 19 were diagnosed with the STI in 2007, a 70% increase since 1999, the Globe reports. The overall rate of chlamydia in Boston is more than twice the national average, and chlamydia and gonorrhea are more common among adolescents than any other age group in Boston. According to the Globe, a city study released in early 2009 found that 56% of Boston public high school students have had sex, and 24% of the sexually active students said they have had more than six partners.For the campaign, "teenagers will do much of the talking" in a video that offers information on STIs, the Globe reports. The video will air on cable channels that are popular with teenagers, such as MTV, FX and BET. It shows teenagers in a classroom receiving information on safer sex, including details about condoms and STI screening. The video does not discuss sexual abstinence.The campaign also includes advertisements on mass transit and the radio, as well as a team of teenagers that will travel around Boston performing street theater addressing the risks associated with STIs. Through the social networking Web site Facebook, teenagers can post questions anonymously regarding sexual health that will be answered by a disease specialist. Videos related to the campaign also will be posted on YouTube.Margaux Joffe, multimedia coordinator at the Public Health Commission, said teenagers "told us, "We don"t want some 40-year-old woman telling us about sex and STIs."" Joffe added that it "makes sense" because a teenager "may not trust the advice of an adult as much as you would someone in your peer group." Mark Schuster, the chief of general pediatrics at Children"s Hospital Boston who was not involved in the design of the campaign, said that using a "multilevel approach" to address the issue is a "great strategy." He added that young people "can be interested and learn from" a sex education curriculum in school, but "they need it in other settings too."Specialists speculate that the rise in STIs may reflect teenagers" casual attitudes about sex and parents" shifting attention to other children"s health concerns, the Globe reports. Experts also have said that the increase in STIs could reflect increased screening efforts by physicians, who have been "pressed for many years to screen much more carefully kids at younger and younger ages," Stephen Boswell, president of Fenway Health, said. The Globe reports that teenagers do not view HIV/AIDS in the same way previous generations have because of advancements in treatment, so preventing the virus "no longer seems quite as important." Experts are concerned that the spread of other STIs could be a forewarning of a rise in HIV/AIDS cases among teenagers. Anita Barry, a top disease specialist at BPHC, said the gonorrhea and chlamydia cases are "our future HIV cases unless we intervene" (Smith, Boston Globe, 8/4).
News of the day
Establishment Of Five New Multiple Sclerosis Research Centres In Canada
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada has made public the creation of five research and training centers with the participation of over one hundred established scientists and two hundred and fifty trainees. Funded entirely by the MS Society of Canada, which has already raised 32 million dollars from a goal of 60 million, the objectives of these new centers is to considerably increase the speed on MS research investigations so that an end to MS may be found as quickly as possible. These centres will serve as key establishments in achieving these goals.
Mental Health

Folic Acid May Improve Asthma, Allergies

Folic acid, or vitamin B9, may help treat allergic reactions and allergy symptoms, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children"s Center. Folate occurs naturally in food while folic acid is the synthetic form of this vitamin. s include cereals, baked goods, leafy vegetables, asparagus, fruits, legumes, yeast, mushrooms and organ meat (such as beef liver or kidneys). Previous studies have noted a potential link between folate and inflammatory conditions such as heart disease. In the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers reviewed medical data from in 8,083 patients ages 2-85 who participated in the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). During the study, serum folate levels and total IgE levels were measured. IgE, or immunoglobulin E, is a class of antibodies that mediates allergic reactions. The authors also recorded asthma and respiratory symptoms. Higher levels of folate were linked to lower IgE levels, fewer reported allergies, less wheezing and a lower likelihood of developing asthma. People with the lowest folate levels (less than eight nanograms per milliliter of blood) had a 40 percent increased risk of wheezing, 30 percent increased risk of having elevated IgE levels, 31 percent increased risk of allergic symptoms and a 16 percent higher risk of asthma compared to those with the highest levels of folate (above 18 nanograms per milliliter of blood). However, additional research is needed to confirm these early findings and to determine exactly how folate may work. The researchers plan to compare the effects of folic acid to placebo in people with allergies and asthma. References: 1. Natural Standard: The Authority on Integrative Medicine. http://www.naturalstandard.com. Copyright © 2009. 2. Matsui EC, Matsui W. Higher serum folate levels are associated with a lower risk of atopy and wheeze. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Apr 29. View Abstract Natural Standard


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

© Copyright 2009