2009

Aids-Fighting Gay Bar Finally Opens: Wall Street Journal - December 21, 2009; A part-government-funded gay bar in Dali, in China s Yunnan province, finally opened, three weeks behind schedule after intense media interest spurred concerns about privacy for its customers. State-run Xinhua news agency said that about 60 people turned up for a simple opening ceremony Saturday night in the small tour
U.S. Assails Uganda Plan to Toughen Antigay Law: Wall Street Journal - December 18, 2009; Michael Allen; White House, Clinton, Responding to Pressure From Activists, Step Up Condemnation of Proposal, but Won t Withhold Aid KAMPALA, Uganda -- U.S. officials are turning up the heat on Uganda over a controversial proposal to toughen laws against homosexuality, but the measure s main sponsor vows that the legislation will sur
OPINION: Global Warming and Mt. Kilimanjaro: Wall Street Journal - December 7, 2009; Bjorn Lomborg*; The glaciers on the famous peak, receding for more than a century, attract many tourists; the people of Tanzania attract much less attention. Climate change has captured the attention of politicians around the world. The following article is part of a series, leading up to the United Nations conference on global warmin
Zuma, Reversing Course, Expands HIV Treatment: Wall Street Journal - December 2, 2009; Sarah Childress; South African President Jacob Zuma pledged to expand treatment to all HIV-positive babies and other at-risk individuals, the latest big step in his effort to reverse his predecessor s disastrous policies on HIV/AIDS. Indonesian activists from World Vision lit candles during a World AIDS Day event in Jakarta. Announcing
Another Thing Europe Doesn't Agree On: Wall Street Journal - November 27, 2009; Javier Espinoza; Europe has yet to come up with a unified approach to medical marijuana. The Dutch will tell you it is legal to use the drug to treat certain illnesses; while the Swedish don t recognize any medical use for cannabis at all. European policy is not really changing at all and I don t think this issue is even on the Europea
U.N. Says Deaths Are Down, but AIDS Still a 'Major Priority': Wall Street Journal - November 25, 2009; Gordon Fairclough; SHANGHAI -- The number of people around the world infected with the virus that causes AIDS has stabilized at roughly 33 million, as new infections have declined and wider access to treatment has reduced the annual death toll of the disease, according to the United Nations annual report on the epidemic. But officials wa
New Flu Victim: Blood Supply - Illness Keeps Donors Away, as Worries Surface About Whether Transfusions Spread Infection: Wall Street Journal - November 10, 2009; Laura Landro; The swine-flu pandemic is creating unexpected problems for the nation s blood supply - shrinking the number of blood donors and raising questions about whether the flu can be spread through a transfusion. A number of blood centers are reporting an unusual drop in collections because too many potential donors are sick w
Rare 'Outliers' Drive Search for Cures to Disease: Wall Street Journal - October 20, 2009; Amy Dockser Marcus; Researchers Focus on Individuals With Unusual Medical Profiles; a Few HIV-Positive Patients Avoid Illness Without Treatment Douglas Robinson often wonders why he is still alive. Mr. Robinson, of Truro, Mass., was diagnosed with HIV in November 2003. But the 45-year-old hasn t progressed to AIDS, and he has an extremely
AIDS Vaccine Is of Modest Help, Fuller Research Says: Wall Street Journal - October 20, 2009; Gautam Naik; NEW YORK – A deeper analysis of the results of an HIV vaccine tested in Thailand suggests that the vaccine may not have been as effective as originally indicated. When first publicly disclosing the outcome of the Thai trial in September, researchers said the vaccine had lowered the risk of infection by about 31%. That
Cancer-Causing Virus Linked to Chronic Fatigue: Wall Street Journal - October 12, 2009; Amy Dockser Marcus; Researchers have linked an infectious virus known to cause cancer in animals to chronic-fatigue syndrome, a major discovery for sufferers of the condition and one that concerned scientists for its potential public-health implications. An estimated 17 million people world-wide suffer from chronic-fatigue syndrome, and t
Data Call Into Question HIV Study Results: Wall Street Journal - October 10, 2009; Gautam Naik and Mark Schoofs; Researchers from the U.S. Army and Thailand announced last month they had found the first vaccine that provided some protection against HIV. But a second analysis of the $105 million study, not disclosed publicly, suggests the results may have been a fluke, according to AIDS scientists who have seen it. The second
Another Benchmark in AIDS Fight, but Not Yet a Landmark: Wall Street Journal - September 25, 2009; Ron Winslow; News of the modest success of an AIDS vaccine is a benchmark in the 30-year-long battle against the devastating disease, said Barry Bloom, professor and former dean at the Harvard School of Public Health. But whether it will be a landmark remains to be seen. That would depend on whether it leads to the development of a
Vaccine Shows Promise in Preventing HIV Infection: Thai Experiment Represents 'Modest' Success but Offers Much-Needed Encouragement After Decades of Failed Efforts: Wall Street Journal - September 25, 2009; Gautam Naik; (See Corrections & Amplifications item below.) The first vaccine to show any sign of preventing the spread of HIV has provided the most encouragement since the 1990s in the three-decades quest to stem the global AIDS epidemic. Results of a trial involving more than 16,000 adults in Thailand indicate the v
Many U.S. Health Officials Outearn Cabinet Secretaries: Lawmakers Queries Extended Use of Pay Program: Wall Street Journal - September 17, 2009; Alicia Mundy; WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of federal health officials are earning more than cabinet secretaries, according to federal salary data, as part of a program originally intended to recruit and retain a handful of top-level scientists who might otherwise defect to private-sector jobs. The salary program, known as Title 42 after
New Antibodies to HIV Found: Wall Street Journal - September 4, 2009; Gautam Naik; An international team of researchers has discovered a pair of powerful new antibodies to HIV, providing fresh leads in the quest for a vaccine against AIDS. The two HIV antibodies, reported in a study to appear in the journal Science on Friday, are the first of their kind to have been identified in more than a decade.
U.S. Asks South Africa to Help Ease Zimbabwe Crisis: Wall Street Journal - August 8, 2009; Sarah Childress; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged South Africa , the biggest economy on the world s poorest continent, to take on a bigger role in resolving the political situation in Zimbabwe . In a seven-nation trip across Africa, Mrs. Clinton is scheduled to meet Saturday with South Africa s newly elected president, Jacob Zu
Indian Court Strikes Down Homosexuality Ban: Wall Street Journal - July 3, 2009; Niraj Sheth and Eric Bellman; An Indian court Thursday struck down a British-era law that criminalized homosexuality, marking a milestone for the country s burgeoning gay-rights movement. A law banning consensual sex between two gay adults is at odds with equal-opportunity provisions in the Indian Constitution, the Delhi High Court said in its ruli
To Fix Health Care, Some Study Developing World: Cost-Effective Medical Practices Deployed in Poor Nations Deliver Good Results, but Can They Work in the U.S.?: Wall Street Journal - July 2, 2009; Amy Dockser Marcus; When doctors running the AIDS clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham wanted to increase the number of patients who showed up for treatment, they turned to an unusual place for help: southern Africa. Project Connect is based on a program used in AIDS clinics in Zambia . In the Alabama program, patients were
Young South African Woman's AIDS Diary Touched Millions of Radio Listeners: Wall Street Journal - June 13, 2009; Stephen Miller; Rising from a shack in a South African shantytown, Thembi Ngubane mined a personal tragedy to become an international advocate for people with HIV and AIDS. Ms. Ngubane (N-gu-Ba-nay) died on June 4 at age 24, but her voice had already been heard by millions of radio listeners around the world. In Thembi s AIDS Diary,
Glaxo at Loggerheads With Russia Over HIV Drugs: Pharmaceutial Giant Rejects 15% Price Cut Sought by Government, Saying It Would Allow for Too Little Profit: Wall Street Journal - June 12, 2009; Jeanne Whalen And Andrew Osborn; GlaxoSmithKline PLC and the Russian government are at odds over the price of HIV drugs, underscoring the difficulties drug companies face in the emerging markets on which they have staked their hopes for future growth. The British pharmaceutical giant, one of the world s biggest sellers of HIV medications, refused a
Q&A With the New Drug Czar: Wall Street Journal - May 14, 2009; Gil Kerlikowske, the new director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy sat down with The Wall Street Journal for his first interview since his confirmation last week. What are your priorities? The priorities for me and the direction from the vice president is clear, to have ONDCP be back front and center on
Combination Therapy: Pfizer, Glaxo Team Up on HIV: Wall Street Journal - April 17, 2009; Jeanne Whalen And Dana Cimilluca; -- Units to Merge in Unusual Collaboration as Pharmaceutical Industry Contends With Slowing Growth GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Pfizer Inc. are combining their HIV-drug businesses in a rare collaboration as the pharmaceutical rivals attempt to breathe life into a challenging product segment. The deal shows the lengths t
GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer to Combine HIV Businesses: Wall Street Journal - April 16, 2009; Jeanne Whalen And Dana Cimilluca; Drug giants GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Pfizer Inc. are combining their HIV-drug businesses into a new company as the pharmaceutical giants attempt to trim costs and position themselves for growth. Glaxo will initially get 85% of the joint venture and Pfizer 15%, the companies said in a statement.
New Effort to Warn of HIV Risk in U.S.: Wall Street Journal - April 8, 2009; Betsy Mckay; Federal health officials are launching a national campaign to slow the spread of HIV domestically, as they seek to place new emphasis on an epidemic that continues to rage at home as well as overseas. The campaign is driven in part by revised statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention several
U.S. Launches HIV-Prevention Campaign: Wall Street Journal - April 7, 2009; Betsy Mckay; The federal government is launching a national campaign to prevent HIV infection, moving to improve prevention efforts against an epidemic that continues to spread at home as well as overseas, officials announced. In a news conference Tuesday, officials from the Obama administration and the Department of Health and Hum
A Mom Brokers Treatment for Her Twins' Fatal Illness: Wall Street Journal - April 3, 2009; Amy Dockser Marcus; -- Bucking Scientific Convention, Ms. Hempel Gets Researchers From Different Fields to Share Data on Potential Therapy From the moment her twin daughters, Addison and Cassidy, were diagnosed with a fatal genetic disease in October 2007, Chris Hempel has been searching for a drug that might save their lives. The 5-year-
Circumcision Decreases Risk of Contracting STDs, Study Says: Wall Street Journal - March 25, 2009; Philip Shishkin; Circumcision significantly reduces the risk of contracting herpes and human papillomavirus, says a new study that adds to the growing scientific evidence that the procedure helps stem the spread of some sexually transmitted diseases. Circumcised heterosexual men are 35% less likely to contract human papillomavirus (HPV
WHO Stresses TB-HIV Link: Wall Street Journal - March 25, 2009; Jacob Goldstein; HIV patients accounted for roughly a quarter of people who died from tuberculosis in 2007, according to new World Health Organization estimates that highlight a closer connection between the two diseases than previously known. New data from the World Health Organization show a closer connection between tuberculosis and
Former New York Health Chief Is Top Candidate to Run FDA: Wall Street Journal - March 11, 2009; Alicia Mundy; WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration has settled on two public-health experts to fill top posts at the Food and Drug Administration, people familiar with the matter said. Margaret Peggy Hamburg, a former health commissioner in New York City, is the leading candidate to become FDA commissioner, the agency s top job
Who is Margaret 'Peggy' Hamburg?: Wall Street Journal - March 11, 2009; Sarah Rubenstein; It looks like Margaret Peggy Hamburg is on the verge of being the next FDA commissioner. Her name has been thrown around for a while, and the WSJ reports this morning the Obama administration has her as the leading candidate for the top post at FDA, with Baltimore health commissioner Joshua Sharfstein as a deputy commi
Opinion: The Next Front in the War on Cancer: Faster clinical trials are critical if we are to save more lives: Wall Street Journal - February 27, 2009; Mark Thornton**; On Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced a massive initiative against cancer. Our recovery plan will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that has touched nearly every American, including me, he said in his speech to the nation, by seeking a cure for cancer in our time. Specifically, the president was referring
Firms Race for Hepatitis C Drugs: Vertex, Schering-Plough Lead Big Pack of Companies Developing Therapies: Wall Street Journal - February 25, 2009; Thomas Gryta; Hepatitis C cases are expected to rise sharply in coming years, and current treatments for the liver disease can be debilitating -- but new drugs should increase cure rates and do so in less time. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is seen as the front-runner in bringing such a therapy to the market, with
Glaxo Plans to Cut Drug Prices in Poorest Countries: Wall Street Journal - February 13, 2009; Jeanne Whalen; GlaxoSmithKline PLC, the world s second-biggest drug maker by sales, plans to cut prices in the world s poorest countries and invest 20% of its profit from those markets into building health clinics and other infrastructure. In a speech at Harvard Medical School on Friday, Glaxo Chief Executive Andrew Witty also prop
The Informed Patient: Lax Needle Use in Clinics Raises Alarm - Recent Hepatitis Outbreaks From Reuse of Syringes Spur Efforts to Improve Practices: Wall Street Journal - February 4, 2009; Laura Landro; Getting an injection can hurt, but in the wrong hands it can be a life-threatening experience. Unsafe injection practices are one of the leading causes of infections in doctors offices, outpatient clinics and long-term-care facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although most health-ca
Health Blog Obituary: Martin Delaney, AIDS Activist: Wall Street Journal Blog - January 27, 2009; Posted by Jacob Goldstein; Martin Delaney, an activist who launched what he called medically supervised guerrilla trials of AIDS drugs in the early 1980s, died Friday of liver cancer. He was 63. Delaney never had HIV himself. In 1978, he was diagnosed with hepatitis B and told that he had only months to live, the Los Angeles Times says in its ob
CDC, FDA Set to Get New Leaders: Wall Street Journal - January 11, 2009; Betsy McKay, betsy.mckay@wsj.com and Alicia Mundy, alicia.mundy@wsj.com; The transition team for President-elect Barack Obama, hoping to make a swift break in Bush administration policies at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, is moving toward naming new heads to two of the most important federal health agencies. Julie Gerberding will step do
Heroin Program's Deadly Toll: Needle Exchanges Save Lives but May Imperil Workers: Wall Street Journal - January 9, 2009; Justin Scheck, justin.scheck@wsj.com; SAN FRANCISCO -- Pete Morse devoted his life to saving the lives of heroin users. A dreadlocked community activist with a Ph.D in history, he bore a tattoo that read: Injury to one is an injury to all. So his friends and colleagues were shocked when he was found unconscious in 2007 on a bathroom floor with a needle by
Health-Care Outlays Climb at Slowest Rate in Years: Wall Street Journal - January 6, 2009; Vanessa Fuhrmans, vanessa.fuhrmans@wsj.com and Jane Zhang, Jane.Zhang@wsj.com; Health-care spending grew at its lowest rate in nearly a decade in 2007, but it continued to swallow an ever-bigger portion of U.S. gross domestic product and family budgets, a new federal study shows. Restrained by a sharply slower growth in prescription-drug spending, the nation s health-care tab grew 6.1% to $2.2 tr

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©1980, 2009. AEGiS.