Medscape Medpulse, July 27, 2001

_______________________________________________________________________

>>> MEDSCAPE's Infectious Diseases MedPulse(R) <<<

http://id.medscape.com

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Valcyte(TM) (valganciclovir) now available for the treatment of CMV

retinitis for patients living with AIDS.

Valcyte, 2-450 mg tablets taken orally achieved systemic exposure of

ganciclovir comparable to that delivered by intravenous ganciclovir

(5mg/kg). Dosage adjustment required for patients with impaired renal

function.

The clinical toxicity of Valcyte, which is metabolized to

ganciclovir, includes granulocytopenia, anemia and thrombocytopenia.

In animal studies ganciclovir was carcinogenic, teratogenic and caused

aspermatogenesis.

Other side effects (in clinical trials) greater than or equal to 5%

include diarrhea, fever, nausea, neutropenia, headache, vomiting,

insomnia, abdominal pain, retinal detachment, peripheral neuropathy

and paresthesia.

Click here for complete product information:

http://www.medscape.com/mp/sponsor/promo6.2

_______________________________________________________________________

MedPulse is a weekly index of key news and features on Medscape's

specialty sites compiled by Medscape's Editors.

_______________________________________________________________________

___________________ NEW FEATURE ARTICLES THIS WEEK ____________________

-- MMWR --

MALARIA DEATHS FOLLOWING INAPPROPRIATE MALARIA CHEMOPROPHYLAXIS

---UNITED STATES, 2001

This report underscores the need for clinicians and travelers to know

the recommended options for malaria chemoprophylaxis when traveling to

locations with chloroquine-resistant malaria.

MMWR 50(28):597-599, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/40818.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40818.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

EVALUATION OF A REGIONAL PILOT PROGRAM TO PREVENT MOTHER-INFANT HIV

TRANSMISSION --- THAILAND, 1998--2000

Acceptance of HIV testing and adherence to zidovudine were high, and HIV

transmission was reduced, demonstrating the feasibility of implementing

programs to prevent mother-infant HIV transmission on a large scale in a

developing country.

MMWR 50(28):599-603, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/40819.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40819.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

HANTAVIRUS PULMONARY SYNDROME --- VERMONT, 2000

This report describes the first HPS case in Vermont and underscores the

importance of preventing exposure to peridomestic rodents and

recognizing the signs and symptoms of HPS.

MMWR 50(28):603-605, 2001. Centers for Disease Control

http://id.medscape.com/40820.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40820.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES --

GOAT-ASSOCIATED Q FEVER: A NEW DISEASE IN NEWFOUNDLAND

In the spring of 1999 in rural Newfoundland, abortions in goats were

associated with illness in goat workers.

Emerging Infectious Diseases (7)3, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40807.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40807.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

OUTBREAK OF HUMAN MONKEYPOX, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, 1996 TO 1997

Vaccinia vaccination, which protects against human monkeypox, ceased by

1983 after global smallpox eradication, leading to an increase in the

proportion of susceptible people.

Emerging Infectious Diseases (7)3, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40920.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40920.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

HANTAVIRUS SEROCONVERSION OF WILD-CAUGHT PEROMYSCUS DURING QUARANTINE

We describe two cases of seroconversion in Peromyscus spp. that were

undergoing quarantine, which supports the use of a quarantine period in

combination with hantavirus antibody testing to clear mice for indoor

use.

Emerging Infectious Diseases</A> 7(3), 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40944.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40944.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS ISOLATES OF BEIJING GENOTYPE IN THAILAND

Anh and colleagues recently reported that in new tuberculosis (TB) cases

from Vietnam, Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates of the Beijing

genotype are associated with younger age and, in isolates from Ho Chi

Minh City, with resistance against isoniazid and streptomycin

Emerging Infectious Diseases</A> 7(3), 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40945.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40945.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

JUNGLE YELLOW FEVER, RIO DE JANEIRO

Unvaccinated persons who visit yellow fever-endemic areas pose a high

risk of introducing jungle yellow fever cases into nonendemic areas.

Emerging Infectious Diseases 7(3), 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40946.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40946.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- SOUTHERN MEDICAL JOURNAL --

CHANGING ANTIBIOTIC SENSITIVITY PATTERNS AT A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Great concern exists about the emergence of antibiotic resistant

organisms. The goal of this study was to delineate antibiotic

sensitivity patterns at a large university hospital.

South Med J 94(6):619-620, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40761.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40761.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

DELUSIONS OF INTESTINAL PARASITOSIS

Delusions of parasitosis, though uncommon, are an important cause of

distress for affected patients and frequently of frustration for their

physicians.

South Med J 94(5):545-547, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40804.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40804.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- OTHER JOURNALS --

THE AETIOLOGY OF ANTIRETROVIRAL-ASSOCIATED LIPODYSTROPHY REMAINS,

ELUSIVE POSING PROBLEMS FOR ITS PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Lipodystrophy syndrome was first described in 1998 occurring in

HIV-infected individuals receiving HAART.

Drug & Ther Perspect 17(13):11-15, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40803.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40803.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

FIRST REPORTS OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS (ADRS) IN RECENT WEEKS

An overview of first published case reports of adverse drug reactions

identified in the international literature in recent weeks, including

interferon-2b/ribavirin and meningococcal group C conjugate vaccine.

Drug & Ther Perspect 17(13):15, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40745.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40745.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

AN IMPROVING OUTLOOK FOR PATIENTS WITH POSTHERPETIC NEURALGIA

There are now 4 proven first-line treatment options for the management

of postherpetic neuralgia. Trial and error may be required to find the

most suitable treatment for each individual patient.

Drug & Ther Perspect 17(13):8-11, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/40861.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40861.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

UNDERSTANDING COMMON ORAL LESIONS ASSOCIATED WITH HIV

Maintaining a healthy, pain-free mouth poses a challenge for the patient

with HIV and the provider.

Clinician Reviews 11(6):96-106, 2001.

http://id.medscape.com/40922.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40922.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

_______________________________________________________________________

___________________________________ NEWS ______________________________

-- WEST NILE VIRUS --

WEST NILE VIRUS MIGRATES TO SOUTHEAST US

So far this year, West Nile virus (WNV) activity in the US has spread

from the northeast to two states in the southeast -- Florida and Georgia

-- according to data released by the CDC, Atlanta.

http://id.medscape.com/40966.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40966.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

THOUSANDS OF WEST NILE VIRAL INFECTIONS OCCURRED DURING THE 1999

OUTBREAK

Public health officials estimate that thousands of New York City

metropolitan area residents were infected with the West Nile virus

during the first US outbreak in 1999.

http://id.medscape.com/40969.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40969.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- CJD/BSE --

NEW TEST HIGHLY SENSITIVE IN DETECTING PRION PROTEIN IN VCJD TISSUES

British researchers have developed a highly sensitive immunoblot test

for detecting disease-related prion protein (PrP-Sc) in variant

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) tissues that may help in the

development of new risk-assessment models, according to a report

published in the July 21st issue of The Lancet.

http://id.medscape.com/40727.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40727.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- TUBERCULOSIS --

DRUG-RESISTANT TB STRAIN HITS YOUNG BRITONS

Britain is facing one of its worst outbreaks in decades of a

drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis, a health official said on

Wednesday.

http://id.medscape.com/40895.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40895.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

EARLY SERODIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR TB MAY BE ON THE HORIZON

The antibody responses of patients with cavitary and noncavitary

tuberculosis are more homogeneous than previously believed, US

researchers report in the July issue of Infection and Immunity.

http://id.medscape.com/40765.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40765.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT TB CAN BE CURED WITH APPROPRIATE, INTENSIVE

TREATMENT

Data from a recent study suggest that most people with

multidrug-resistant tuberculosis can be cured with intensive treatment.

http://id.medscape.com/40724.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40724.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

M. TUBERCULOSIS LIPOPROTEIN PREVENTS RECOGNITION BY T CELLS

Mycobacterium tuberculosis produces a 19-kDa lipoprotein that inhibits

antigen processing by macrophages, thus allowing it to evade T-cell

effector responses and to maintain chronic infection inside host cells,

investigators report.

http://id.medscape.com/40792.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40792.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- HIV/AIDS --

RATE OF HIV INFECTION FROM HETEROSEXUAL SEX SOARING AMONG US TEEN GIRLS

Teenage girls' rate of HIV infection from heterosexual sex rose by

nearly 117% between 1994 and 1998, US researchers report.

http://id.medscape.com/40778.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40778.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

THAI PROGRAM REDUCES VERTICAL AIDS TRANSMISSION

In Thailand, a simplified zidovudine regimen given to HIV-infected

mothers reduced the rate of vertical transmission by over 50%, according

to a report from the US CDC.

http://id.medscape.com/40786.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40786.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

HAART TIED TO INCREASE IN CERTAIN STDS AMONG GAY MEN IN AMSTERDAM

Confidence in the efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy may

have led to an increase in rectal gonorrhea and syphilis in certain

homosexual men, according to Dutch researchers.

http://id.medscape.com/40838.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40838.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

NEUROIMAGING WARRANTED FOR PATIENTS WITH HEADACHE AND ADVANCED HIV

INFECTION

HIV-infected patients presenting with headache accompanied by CD4 counts

below 200 cells/microliter or neurologic symptoms should undergo

immediate imaging either with CT or MR, radiologists at Washington

University Medical Center, in St. Louis, recommend.

http://id.medscape.com/40713.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40713.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

SCIENTISTS ALTER HIV-1 DRUG RESISTANCE IN VITRO

A mechanism that HIV-1 uses to quickly mutate in response to

antiretroviral agents can be exploited to make the virus less able to

develop drug-resistant mutations, scientists in Belgium report.

http://id.medscape.com/40916.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40916.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

This is only a selection of this week's HIV/AIDS NEWS. Read all the

latest news about advances in this field, from Reuters and Medscape

Wire.

http://www.medscape.com/hiv/news

And you can subscribe to the HIV/AIDS Medpulse, as well as other

specialty Medpulses, by updating your profile at the following link:

http://www.medscape.com/profile

-- OTHER STDs --

SINGLE-DOSE METRONIDAZOLE STILL FIRST CHOICE FOR MOST CASES OF

TRICHOMONIASIS

While low-level resistance to metronidazole in Trichomonas vaginalis is

prevalent throughout the US, high-level resistance to this compound is

rare, according to a study conducted in Atlanta, Georgia.

http://id.medscape.com/40712.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40712.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

REPORT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT EFFECTIVENESS OF CONDOMS

A new report by the National Institutes of Health concluded that condoms

are effective in preventing pregnancy and HIV infection, but that they

may not prevent the spread of most sexually transmitted diseases, the

Washington Post reported on Friday.

http://id.medscape.com/40716.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40716.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

PHYSICIANS, LAWMAKERS ATTACK CDC OVER CLAIMS OF CONDOM EFFICACY AGAINST

STDS

A group of socially conservative physicians has called for the

resignation of the director of the CDC in the wake of last week's

government report on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing sexually

transmitted diseases.

http://id.medscape.com/40857.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40857.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

AIDS CAMPAIGNS IN UK HAVE CUT STI RATES, BUT NEW INITIATIVES ARE NEEDED

Although HIV and AIDS campaigns instituted in the UK in the mid and late

1980s have cut the sexually transmitted infection rates, since 1995,

these rates have risen and new sexual health initiatives are needed,

according to a report published in the August issue of Sexually

Transmitted Infections.

http://id.medscape.com/40787.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40787.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

BUSH ADMINISTRATION DENIES FAMILY PLANNING WAIVERS

Critics are questioning the Bush administration's decision to reject

state requests to offer contraception and family planning services to

low-income women through Medicaid.

http://id.medscape.com/40731.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40731.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- DIARRHEA --

ASTROVIRUSES ARE A COMMON CAUSE OF DIARRHEA IN YOUNG HOSPITALIZED

CHILDREN

Astroviruses are an important cause of acute diarrhea in hospitalized

children <2 years old and, after rotaviruses, these pathogens are the

second most common cause of community-acquired and nosocomial

infections, US researchers report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases

for July 1.

http://id.medscape.com/40728.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40728.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- VACCINATION --

UK PHYSICIANS SUPPORT ROUTINE PNEUMOCOCCAL IMMUNISATION FOR ELDERLY

One out of two physicians in Scotland believes that all elderly people

should be routinely immunised against potentially pneumococcal

infections, survey data show.

http://id.medscape.com/40735.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40735.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

POLYSACCHARIDE VACCINE IS EFFECTIVE AGAINST TYPHOID IN CHINA

Routine use of the Vi polysaccharide (Vi) vaccine can effectively

control typhoid fever in endemic areas, according to researchers in

China and Korea.

http://id.medscape.com/40854.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40854.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

SWEDISH RESEARCHERS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT NEW LYME DISEASE VACCINES

Two investigational vaccines against Borrelia burgdorferi, the

tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme disease, could reach the market by

2004, according to a Swedish researcher.

http://id.medscape.com/40893.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40893.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

FLU VACCINE IS EFFECTIVE FOR MANY HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS

Influenza vaccination appears to be as effective in HIV-infected

individuals with CD4+ counts greater than 100 cells per microliter or

viral loads less than 30,000 copies/mL as it is in uninfected

individuals, according to a recent analysis of an influenza outbreak.

http://id.medscape.com/40894.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40894.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

VAXGEN, BBI BIOTECH INK HIV VACCINE RESEARCH COLLABORATION

VaxGen said on Thursday that it has finalized an agreement with BBI

Biotech, a subsidiary of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts-based Boston

Biomedica, to collect, process and store white blood cells and seminal

plasma from patients enrolled in a phase III trial of VaxGen's HIV

vaccine AIDSVAX.

http://id.medscape.com/40971.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40971.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

VACCINE USING LIVE VIRUS VECTOR PROTECTS AGAINST VAGINAL SIV IN MONKEYS

A vaccine consisting of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) gene

fragments inserted into a live poliovirus vector protected macaque

monkeys against SIV viremia after a vaginal challenge with highly

virulent virus, investigators report.

http://id.medscape.com/40726.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40726.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- HELICOBACTER PYLORI --

ISRAEL'S ORIDION GETS FDA CLEARANCE FOR BREATH TESTING DEVICE

Oridion Systems Ltd. has received clearance from the US Food and Drug

Administration to market a noninvasive testing device that detects

Helicobacter pylori in a single office visit, the Israeli medical device

maker said on Thursday.

http://id.medscape.com/40740.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40740.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- HEPATITIS --

FDA APPROVES MARKETING OF REBETOL SEPARATELY FOR USE WITH INTRON-A

Schering-Plough Corp. announced on Thursday that the US Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) has approved the sale of the company's hepatitis C

drug Rebetol (ribavirin) as a stand-alone product.

http://id.medscape.com/40981.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40981.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

RACE AND HLA-II ALLELES COMBINE TO INFLUENCE HEPATITIS C PERSISTENCE

Race combines with class II human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) to determine

whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection persists, according to a

report in the July 1st issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

http://id.medscape.com/40952.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40952.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

SCREENING IVF COUPLES FOR HIV AND HEPATITIS ALLOWS INFORMED CHOICES

Despite having a low prevalence of HIV and hepatitis B infection,

couples who seek in vitro fertilization (IVF) should be screened for

these viruses to allow them to make an informed decision on whether to

proceed.

http://id.medscape.com/40828.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40828.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

HCV COINFECTION MAY HAVE ROLE IN CHANGES IN BODY COMPOSITION IN HIV

PATIENTS

Among some HIV-infected individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy,

chronic coinfection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) appears to be

related to changes in insulin resistance, plasma lipid profile and body

fat composition, according to a report by French researchers.

http://id.medscape.com/40832.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40832.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- BIOTERRORISM --

MOCK SMALLPOX ATTACK SHOWS US GOVERNMENT UNPREPARED FOR BIOTERRORISM

A simulation held in June to test the government's response to a

biological weapons attack with smallpox virus found US authorities

woefully unprepared, experts have told Congress.

http://id.medscape.com/40910.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40910.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE --

MASK USE REDUCES SPREAD OF METHICILLIN-RESISTANT S. AUREUS

British researchers have found that transmission of

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) could be reduced if

nurses and physiotherapists routinely donned protective masks while

caring for infected patients.

http://id.medscape.com/40968.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40968.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

-- OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASE NEWS --

FIRST CASE OF HUMAN GLANDERS REPORTED IN US IN OVER 50 YEARS

A 33-year-old microbiologist working at the US Army Medical Research

Institute for Infectious Diseases, Ft. Detrick, Maryland, is the first

reported human case of Burkholderia mallei infection in the US in 50

years.

http://id.medscape.com/40977.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40977.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

RISK FACTORS FOR INFECTION IDENTIFIED IN PATIENTS WITH TRAUMATIC

LACERATIONS

Several patient and wound characteristics of traumatic lacerations are

associated with an increased likelihood of infection, according to a

report in the July issue of Academic Emergency Medicine.

http://id.medscape.com/40715.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40715.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

SELF-ASSEMBLING PEPTIDE NANOTUBES KILL BACTERIA, PREVENT INFECTION

A new type of antibacterial agent is described by investigators from The

Scripps Research Institute, in La Jolla, California.

http://id.medscape.com/40917.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40917.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

MEASLES INFECTION SUPPRESSES IL-12 PRODUCTION IN VIVO

The measles-induced suppression of monocytic interleukin-12 (IL-12)

production that has been identified in vitro also occurs in vivo,

according to a report published in the July 1st issue of the Journal of

Infectious Diseases.

http://id.medscape.com/40919.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40919.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

NATUROPATHIC EAR DROPS RELIEVE PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH ACUTE OTITIS MEDIA

Otikon, a naturopathic herbal extract, is as effective as anesthetic ear

drops for reducing ear pain associated with acute otitis media (AOM),

according to a report in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatric and

Adolescent Medicine.

http://id.medscape.com/40955.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40955.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

ELIMINATING PERIODONTITIS DOES NOT LOWER CORONARY HEART DISEASE RISK

Elimination of chronic dental infection does nothing to lower the risk

of coronary heart disease (CHD), according to an analysis of data from

the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I)

Epidemiological Follow-up Study (NHEFS).

http://id.medscape.com/40831.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40831.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

UK AUTHORS CHALLENGE ESTABLISHED THEORY ON 'BLACK DEATH'

A virus similar to the deadly Ebola virus might have caused the 'Black

Death' that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1670, UK-based researchers

say.

http://id.medscape.com/40841.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40841.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

MOST EMPLOYERS STILL OFFER HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMS

Despite healthcare cost increases and other pressures facing corporate

America, an overwhelming majority of US companies still offer some kind

of health promotion program, the benefits consulting firm Hewitt

Associates reports.

http://id.medscape.com/40908.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40908.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

Here</a>

IMPERIAL COLLEGE FINED FOR VIRUS SAFETY LAPSES

London's Imperial College was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of

£21,000 on Monday after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the safety

of a research project that involved the construction of a genetically

modified virus.

http://id.medscape.com/40789.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701

<a href="http://id.medscape.com/40789.rhtml?srcmp=id-072701"> Read it

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