►January 17, 2004 - Single-jab clinic sees 60 infants - This Is Local London - "Parents fearful of the effects of the controversial MMR vaccine got a chance to give their children separate jabs...The children will have the same vaccines injected into them as the triple MMR but by nine separate injections over a longer period of time instead of the single MMR administered in one go."

►January 17, 2004 - Health Ministers Vow to Eradicate Polio This Year - www.voanews.com 

►January 18, 2004 - Poultry workers to get flu jabs - http://thestar.com.my

►January 18, 2004 - Muslim fears pose barrier to fighting polio - The Boston Globe via www.startribune.com

►January 18, 2004 - Colombian gunmen prevent Indians receiving vaccine - Reuters via www.alertnet.org - "Marxist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries are preventing health workers entering Colombian's Sierra Nevada to vaccinate native Indians against an epidemic of yellow fever, the government said on Sunday...Palacio did not say why the armed groups were preventing the teams from entering the area."

►January 19, 2004 - Bird flu vaccine may come too late - Daily Yomiuri Online - "Concerns are rising among researchers that if the bird flu that is spreading on chicken farms throughout Asia mutates into a human influenza virus, the international medical community will be hard-pressed to come up with enough doses of an effective vaccine in time...The difficulty stems partly from the fact that most of the relevant patent rights deemed necessary for the development and production of an effective vaccine are held separately by various venture businesses around the world, according to a researcher."

►January 17, 2004 - Fate of autistic boy's mom uncertain after 2nd meeting - The Modesto Bee - "Immigration officials didn't tell Felipa Gutierrez to bring a suitcase to a second meeting regarding her possible deportation back to Mexico...Gutierrez's attorney, Solange Altman, took that as a promising sign that the 34-year-old mother of three may get to stay in the United States."

►January 17, 2004 - Autistic children left hanging - Wind Lake mom, others scramble to replace therapy service after state switch - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - "Hundreds of families across the state, many in southeastern Wisconsin, are scrambling to maintain treatment for their autistic children after a providersuddenly dropped out of the Medicaid-funded program in December...It is the latest setback for parents of these often severely impaired children, at a time when some are exploring a class-action lawsuit to restore treatment levels cut as part of a state budget compromise reached last year."

►January 18, 2004 - Boy, 10, explains autism and camp - www.indystar.com

►January 18, 2004 - Camp lets kids with autism be themselves - Program designed to help youths with the disorder feel accepted and safe, founder says. - www.indystar.com

►January 14, 2004 - Coping With Autism Many Moms Left Straining For Services - Daily News via YellowBrix - "For parents, there is little relief in sight...'The increase in autism is causing an increase in demand in services,' said Steve Graff, director of the Tri-County Regional Center in Simi Valley, which offers referrals to parents. 'And there are only so many people out there that can do that kind of service.'"

►January 18, 2004 - Evolving empathy: Through a workshop, South Butler students gain a better understanding of a life with disabilities - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

►December 2003 - Underrecognition of Preexisting Cognitive Impairment by Physicians in Older ICU Patients* -  Chest via http://mentalhelp.net

►January 18, 2004 - COA kills chickens to prevent spread of bird flu disease - Taipei Times

►January 19, 2004 - Proteins 'may help memories form' - Proteins which behave like those linked to vCJD and BSE may play a role in forming memories, scientists claim. - BBC - "Prions, abnormal proteins which change normal proteins into copies of themselves, are thought to cause neurodegenerative diseases...But researchers at New York's Columbia University say a protein which behaves in the same way may help make memories...Writing in Nature magazine, they say prions may perform other beneficial roles in the body."

Comment:  How much do we really know about these prions?  Might we be barking up the wrong tree and in an effort to neutralize the alleged negative effect of prions end up doing some damage instead?

►January 18, 2004 - China has two more SARS patients - www.theage.com.au

►January 19, 2004 - Coffee lowers diabetes risk - China Daily - "People who gulp several cups of coffee a day can greatly lower their risk of developing diabetes later in life, even if they are overweight, according to a US Study published on Tuesday...The study of 125,000 people suggests that caffeinated coffee - not caffeine-free - may affect the body's metabolism in positive ways, the researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health said."

►January 17, 2004 - China's two suspect cases confirmed to have SARS but WHO cautious - www.channelnewasia.com

►November/December 2003 - Annual Review Of Immunology - book review - Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo via http://mentalhelp.net

►December 2003 - High Expression of p40^sup tax^ and Proinflammatory Cytokines and Chemokines in the Lungs of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type 1- Related Bronchopulmonary Disorders* - Chest via http://mentalhelp.net

►December 2003 - Pulmonary Cryptococcosis in Nonimmunocompromised Patients* - Chest via http://mentalhelp.net

►January 17, 2004 - Anti-Counterfeit Steps By Drugmakers Sought - Legislators' Goal Is to Halt Illegal Sales - Washington Post - "Congressional lawmakers asked five of the nation's largest drugmakers yesterday to explain what they are doing to stop counterfeit drugs from entering the marketplace. The letters are part of a widening effort in Congress and among federal agencies to crack down on the illegal distribution of prescription drugs."

►January 18, 2004 - Probe Sought Into NIH Officials' Outside Work Three House Democrats ask the investigative arm of Congress to look into 'potential conflicts of interest' stemming from drug-firm payments. (requires registration) - The Los Angeles Times - "Citing details from a Los Angeles Times article published last month, the House members called for an "investigation into potential conflicts of interest" at the federal government's center for medical research on humans...In an interview, Waxman said, 'It is evident that there is a real problem at NIH, when researchers can make hundreds of thousands of dollars consulting, at the same time they're doing research paid for by the public.'"

►January 15, 2004 - Study Finds Huge Variability in Vitamin E Absorption - Oregon State University - "The research may explain, Traber said, why many past research studies done with vitamin E have varied findings. It's quite possible, she said, that the manner in which people took vitamin E supplements and the variation in its bioavailability from person to person have yielded widely inconsistent results about the value of this nutrient in heart disease and other degenerative diseases."

►January 19, 2004 - Scientists say singing boosts immune system - www.abc.net.au