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 Flu Information - August 30, 2008
| Sens. John Cary (D-Mass.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), are proposing a bill that would fight Aids in other countries and at the same time lift a two-decade-long ban on visitors to the U.S. with HIV. Other countries that have the same ban include Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Russia. Kerry, the co-author of the bill, pointed out that China has amended its policy and challenged the U.S. to "move beyond an antiquated, knee-jerk reaction" to persons with HIV | | Diabetes and obesity can affect male fertility in a negative way, new research has found. The findings, presented Wednesday at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference here, could mean that men need to keep tabs on their weight when planning a family. Researchers from the University of Aberdeen found that men of average weight have healthier sperm in higher volumes than those outside the normal range. The research follows reports made by doctors earlier this week that male fertility begins to decline when men reach their mid-30s | | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided Cipro and its class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones will now bear a "black box" after reports confirmed that the drugs increase the risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture. The federal agency said that the warning on the drug is necessary to ensure that the drugs' benefits outweigh the risks. It is also requiring the manufacturers to provide a medication guide to patients about the potential side effects of tendon rupture | | Pharmaceutical firm Roche launched on Thursday a program that allowed stockpiling of Tamiflu by U.S. firms in preparation for a flu pandemic. Tamiflu is an anti-viral drug to prevent and treat influenza. To join the program, a company must commit to order a minimum of 2,500 courses of Tamiflu at $6 a piece, which is less than 10 percent of the final market price. That amounts to an annual order of $15,000, according to Roche president and chief executive officer George Abercrombie. A course is made up of 10 doses | | A hand-held trans-cranial magnetic stimulation device could be helpful in treatment of most severe migrane attacks, researchers say. When held against the back of the head and turned on, the device delivers two quick magnetic pulses into the brain, which scientists believe short-circuit the electrical storm. Invented by Medtronic, the device was tested in a trial of 61 patients who experienced on average 15 or more headache days in a month and whose condition did not respond to conventional medicine for three months. The device is put up against the back of the head, and users push a button to administer the magnetic pulse | |
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