* ►May 15, 2008 - Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses to a Hepatitis B Vaccine Booster 15–18 Years after Neonatal Immunization (full text) - journal article (The Journal of Infectious Diseases) - "Booster doses are recommended only for those with impaired immune functions, such as those with chronic renal failure, HIV infection, or organ transplantations. Nevertheless, there have also been reports of cases of chronic HBV infections that occurred after vaccine-induced protecting antibodies had disappeared. Studies of the persistence of plasma-derived HB vaccine–induced immunity beyond 15 years after primary vaccination are limited. Uncertainties about whether the protection conferred by HB vaccination can truly span >15 years and the need for a booster dose during adolescence or adulthood exist. This article presents the results of a large-scale study of adolescents who received immunization during infancy."

* ►May 15, 2008 - Reemergence of Recombinant Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Outbreak in Madagascar (full text) - journal article (The Journal of Infectious Diseases) - "Our findings have important implications for the future of the polio eradication program and associated viral surveillance. In both cases, these outbreaks emerged after efficient mass vaccination campaigns with OPV and subsequent low vaccine coverage during a period of 2–3 years. Therefore, priority should be given to (1) achieving and maintaining high population immunity to prevent the emergence of VDPV; (2) continuing research to refine the risk management strategies for possible emergence of VDPVs during the posteradication and OPV cessation era; (3) improving surveillance and diagnostic tools for VDPVs; and (4) conducting detailed epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory studies to clarify the risk factors for VDPV and help prevent its reemergence."

* ►May 15, 2008 - Safety and Immunogenicity of Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine in Infants - journal article (The Journal of Infectious Diseases)

* ►May 15, 2008 - Type-Specific Duration of Human Papillomavirus Infection: Implications for Human Papillomavirus Screening and Vaccination - journal article (The Journal of Infectious Diseases)

►May 15, 2008 - T Cell Response to the Cytomegalovirus Major Capsid Protein (UL86) Is Dominated by Helper Cells with a Large Polyfunctional Component and Diverse Epitope Recognition - journal article (The Journal of Infectious Diseases)

* ►May 1, 2008 - 1994 All Over Again? Public Opinion and Health Care (free full text) - journal article (NEJM)

* ►May 1, 2008 - The FDA, Preemption, and the Supreme Court (free full text) - journal article (NEJM)

* ►May 1, 2008 - The aryl hydrocarbon receptor links TH17-cell-mediated autoimmunity to environmental toxins - journal article (Nature)

►May 1, 2008 - Human monocytes/macrophages are a target of Neisseria meningitidis Adhesin A (NadA) - journal article (The Journal of Immunology)

►May 1, 2008 - Tick Saliva Inhibits Dendritic Cell Migration, Maturation, and Function while Promoting Development of Th2 Responses - journal article (Journal of Leukocyte Biology)

►May 1, 2008 - IFN-{gamma} and IL-17 Production in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Depends on Local APC–T Cell Complement Production - journal article (The Journal of Immunology)

►May 1, 2008 - Miracle man - Peter Smith will never forget the day his body declared war on HIV. - The Australian

►May 1, 2008 - Control of Treg and TH17 cell differentiation by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor - journal article (Nature)

►May 1, 2008 - A Behavioral Intervention to Improve Obstetrical Care - journal article (NEJM)

* ►May 1, 2008 - Chinese officials failed to raise alarm over killer viral illness - The Guardian, UK

►May 2008 - Vaccine research - journal article (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery)

►May 2008 - Strategies for prevention of RSV nosocomial infection - journal article (Journal of Perinatology)

►May 2008 - Classification accuracy of the Portland digit recognition test in persons claiming exposure to environmental and industrial toxins - journal article (Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology)

►May 2008 - Targeting the glutamatergic system to develop novel, improved therapeutics for mood disorders - journal article (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery)

►May 2008 - Food allergies and hypersensitivity: a review of pharmacotherapy and therapeutic strategies. - journal article (Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy)

►May 2008 - Parental religious affiliation and survival of premature infants with severe intraventricular hemorrhage - journal article (Journal of Perinatology)

►May 2008 - Sensitivity of the children's category test level 2 to brain dysfunction - journal article (Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology)

►May 2008 - Patterns of pregnancy exposure to prescription FDA C, D and X drugs in a Canadian population - journal article (Journal of Perinatology)

►May 2008 - Surfactants: past, present and future - journal article (Journal of Perinatology)

►May 2008 - Infants born at the threshold of viability in relation to neonatal mortality: Colorado, 1991 to 2003 - journal article (Journal of Perinatology)

►May 2008 - Limits of viability: definition of the gray zone - journal article (Journal of Perinatology)

* ►May 2008 - Autism Research Institute Newsletter - http://autism.com

* ►May 2008 - Parent Letters: It's Never Too Late for an Older Child by Melinda Alleyne - Autism Research Institute Newsletter

* ►April 30, 2008 - Questions and Answers: Merck Warning Letter - FDA/CBER

* ►April 30, 2008 - Product Approval Information: Proper Name: Rotavirus Vaccine, Live, Oral, Pentavalent RotaTeq - FDA/CBER - "Date: April 30, 2008 Revised Labeling: Include changes to the post-marketing experience section of the label to include a post-marketing report of a death due to intussusception that has occurred after vaccination with RotaTeq®"

* ►April 30, 2008 - Rotateq Product Approval Information - Licensing Action - FDA/CBER - "Dear Dr. Koser: We have received your April 14, 2008, Supplement to your Biologics License Application for Rotavirus Vaccine, Live, Oral, Pentavalent, to include changes to the post-marketing experience section of the label to include a post-marketing report of a death due to intussusception that has occurred after vaccination with RotaTeq®. The patient package insert has also been updated to include this information."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Merck says warning letter won't hurt vaccine sales - Reuters

* ►April 30, 2008 - FDA warns Merck to clean up violations at vaccine plant - AP via Yahoo!

* ►April 30, 2008 - FDA wants more information about Merck plant - The Star-Ledger via NJ.com - "In December, Merck announced the recall of 1.2 million doses of two vaccines given to infants and toddlers to protect against pneumonia, meningitis and upper respiratory infections. No other vaccines manufactured at the plant were included in the recall. At the time, federal officials said the recall was precautionary, and Merck has said none of the recalled batches were found to be contaminated."

►April 30, 2008 - Merck Receives FDA Warning Letter Over Problems at Pennsylvania Plant (free preview) - Wall Street Journal

* ►April 30, 2008 - What it means to be a soldier - The Oregonian via OregonLive.com - "Rex Putnam High grad Bradley Shawn Jennings was buried this week with full military honors. The three jarring rounds blasted from seven rifles. The final note of taps drifting off into the gray stillness of a spring afternoon at Willamette National Cemetery. His wife, Michele, dropping her face to the perfectly folded flag in her lap. Jennings' death was nothing you heard about on the local news. There was no roadside bomb, no single sniper's shot from a nearby rooftop. His was a long, agonizing decline over many years from complications of his anthrax vaccinations."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Olmsted On Autism: Amish. Vaccinated. Autistic. by Dan Olmsted - Age of Autism - "Look at the photo to the left, of a 9-year-old Old Order Amish child and her special ed teacher. This child's parents want people to know their never-vaccinated daughter was taken away from them at age 1, immunized at the Clinic For Special Children (more about them later), and returned a year later with full-syndrome, non-genetic, no-doubt-about-it autism (professionally diagnosed). That's why, contrary to Amish tradition, they let me take her photo. They are mad. They are heartbroken. This is not a study."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Paul Offit's Rotateq Causes Death by Intussusception - Age of Autism - "There is no joy in this report. Somewhere, a family is grieving the loss of a child. The FDA has announced today that a death by intussusception has been reported by Merck, maker of Dr. Paul Offit's RotoTeq vaccine.  You may recall that the last Rotovirus vaccine was pulled a decade ago for the same reason. The only reports we can find so far are from stock market sites."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Treatment helped my autistic son - letter - Concord Monitor - "Re 'A forceful voice in autism debate' (Sunday Monitor front page, April 27): I am one of those parents who has watched my autistic son go from being a vegetable to becoming human, thanks to chelation. What Kathleen Seidel claims is about respect, acceptance and whatever other phony rhetoric she uses is, in reality, about convincing parents to ignore treatments that will cure their children of autism."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Parents publicize reported link between coal plants and autism (includes video) - CW 33 Dallas/Fort Worth - "Parents gathered in front of the federal courthouse in Dallas to show there's a link between mercury emissions from coal fire plants and autism. Doctor Raymond Palmer with the University of Texas Health Science Center is the lead researcher. 'There is a statistically significant increase in autism risk with closer proximity to the pollution source. On average we find that with every 10 mile increment closer to the pollution source, autism prevalence is increased by approximately two percent,' he said....For the last three years the McDermott's have been testing Ty's urine up to four times a month and each time find high levels of mercury. 'He hasn't been vaccinated in four years. We're still dumping metals,' said Tracy McDermott, Ty's mother. 'If any mainstream medical doctor can please tell me, where is he getting this exposure?'"

* ►April 30, 2008 - Vandy Initiates Groundbreaking Autism Studies - Program Looks To Catch Autism In Toddlers (includes video) - WSMV Nashville - "Vanderbilt's Kennedy Center's Autism Early Identification and Intervention Program is working to reprogram autistic children's brains, so social skills and communication aren't impossible and growing up isn't such a challenge. Dr. Wendy Stone said in addition to working on interaction, Vanderbilt is also educating teachers, day care workers and pediatricians on early signs of autism."

►April 30, 2008 - A high-tech way to lower the cost of autism - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

►April 30, 2008 - Autism's many challenges - The Daily Times via Delmarvanow.com

►April 30, 2008 - Understanding the mysteries of autism - Conroe Courier

►April 30, 2008 - Autism, prostate health and epilepsy get attention - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - "Autism: The Musical, a 93-minute documentary about children rehearsing and putting on a musical-comedy revue, will be shown as part of the Rochester High Falls International Film Festival."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Children More Vulnerable to Harmful Effects of Lead at Age 6 Than as Toddlers, Says New Study - Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center via PRNewswire

►April 30, 2008 - Speaker tells parents to get second opinions if they suspect autism - The Royal Gazette

* ►April 30, 2008 - Mainstream Vaccination Support: Another Chapter in an Old Story - NaturalNews.com

►April 30, 2008 - Incoming 7th graders subject to new immunization requirement - Reno Gazette-Journal

* ►April 30, 2008 - Bill Would Allow Parents To Opt Out Of Vaccines - In order to establish an exemption to mandatory vaccines, the Philosophical Exemption to Immunizations Act recently was introduced in the New York State Assembly. Currently, there are 18 states that give parents this right, while most other states offer only religious or medical exemptions. - Suffolk Life Newspapers - "'As a parent, I don't like the state making medical decisions for my children,' said NYS Assemblyman Marc Alessi (D-Wading River), who sponsored of the bill. 'I think if you are philosophically opposed to vaccinations, the state shouldn't be stepping into the role of parents to make the decision for children.'"

* ►April 30, 2008 - Report questions link between pollution, health problems - AP via MLive.com - "CDC officials have asked the Institute of Medicine, an independent scientific advisory organization, to review the report's various drafts and assess their quality. The panel's first session begins Thursday."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Review of ATSDR's Great Lakes Reports - Institute of Medicine

►April 30, 2008 - CDC/ATSDR Issues Revised Great Lakes Report for Public Comment - StreetInsider.com

* ►April 30, 2008 - Mass Protests against GM Crops in India - India-wide coalition against GM Brinjal in the wake of toxic GM cotton - Institute of Science in Society - "Bt Brinjal, if allowed in India, would be the first food crop in the world with the Bt gene inserted into it that is to be directly consumed by human beings. Indians feel that they are about to be made guinea pigs by USAID, and by Monsanto and Cornell University that have developed this crop."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Mothers Less Likely to Pursue HPV Vaccination for Youngest Daughters - Mothers' Intentions Run Counter to CDC Recommendations - press release - Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center via PRNewswire

►April 30, 2008 - Fed: Health absent in talks - Improving health will cut costs, making universal coverage more practical, official says - The Salt Lake Tribune

►April 30, 2008 - HPV information bill heads to Granholm - AP via MLive.com

►April 30, 2008 - Ignorance on an unknown epidemic - StateHornet.com

►April 30, 2008 - Measles warning for football fans - Irish Health

* ►April 30, 2008 - N. Side pupil might have the measles - The Arizona Daily Star - "Only two other students and an undetermined number of staff members at the school, 2837 N. Los Altos Ave., have not been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine — for measles, mumps and rubella, according to a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by Amphitheater Public Schools. It said they were removed from the school and will be able to return when they have proof of vaccination or "naturally acquired immunity."

* ►April 30, 2008 - WHO denies advising tourists to China for Olympics to pack bird flu drug - Canadian Press via Google

* ►April 30, 2008 - Chinese virus infections rising - The number of children infected with a deadly virus in eastern China has increased by nearly 700 in the past two days. - BBC

►April 30, 2008 - Lethal H5N1 bird flu virus entraps 108th Indonesian - The Money Times

►April 30, 2008 - Flu Study Yields New Way of Making Monoclonal Antibodies - Nature via MedPage Today

►April 30, 2008 - Method for fast human antibodies against flu could find broad use - Emory University via EurekAlert!

* ►April 30, 2008 - Young Children Hospitalized for Flu Associated With Higher Costs and Higher Risk Illness - Importance of Preventive Flu Shots for Children and Their Contacts Underscored by Research Led by Cincinnati Children's and Presented at PAS - press release - Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center via PRNewswire - "'Our study emphasizes the importance of ensuring that children and people they are in regular contact with be immunized for flu. It's vital to protect their health and to avoid the high costs of hospitalizations that are preventable,' said Mary Staat, M.D., Ph.D., a physician and researcher in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children's and study co-author."

►April 30, 2008 - East Kilbride Parent's relief after baby beats brain bug - icLanarkshire, UK

►April 30, 2008 - Technique could help fight infectious diseases, city researchers say - NewsOK.com

* ►April 30, 2008 - Eugenics and Environmentalism: From quality control to quantity control - Old-Thinker News via Infowars.com - "In 1989 research was conducted by the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi India on the use of ‘carriers’ such as Tetanus Toxoid and Diphtheria to bypass the immune system and deliver the female hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). The research paper was carried in the Oxford University Press in 1990 and was titled 'Bypass by an alternate ‘carrier’ of acquired unresponsiveness to hCG upon repeated immunization with tetanus-conjugated vaccine."' [1] While hCG is required to maintain pregnancy, the injection of hCG bound to Tetanus Toxoid triggers an auto-immune response, thus causing sterilization. The NII research cited above used four women as test subjects - who had been surgically sterilized prior to the experiment - and found that multiple doses of the Tetanus Toxoid hCG carrier vaccine was required in order to achieve the desired results. The research also found that if an alternate carrier such as Diphtheria was used as a booster in combination with Tetanus the sterilization vaccine would be more effective."

►April 30, 2008 - Barack Obama must set record straight on how AIDS virus is transmitted - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News Blog

►April 30, 2008 - Can biologic drugs tackle antibiotic resistance? - Antibody-based products present a novel approach to the treatment and prevention of infections, as an alternative to conventional antibiotics. Several companies are developing such agents for a range of indications, but their cost, complex manufacturing methods and mode of administration are restrictive. A high unmet need and well defined target groups are key to commercial success in this market. - Pharmaceutical Business Review

►April 30, 2008 - Antibodies test reduces time and cost of identification - TECH.BLORGE.com

►April 30, 2008 - CDC: 3 out of 4 new moms in US now breast-feed their infants - The Associated Press via Google

►April 30, 2008 - Crying baby: sorting out the symptoms - Every day GPs face symptoms which they have to make sense of. GPs Dr Keith Hopcroft and Dr Vincent Forte kick off their new series which looks at some common presentations and offers guidance on likely causes, how to come to sensible conclusions and when alarm bells should ring. (may require registration) - Pulse, UK

►April 30, 2008 - Vaccine aims to combat Bluetongue - A vaccine for farm disease bluetongue - which affects cattle and sheep - is now available, the government says. - BBC - "The message to animal keepers is clear: Don't hesitate, vaccinate".

►April 30, 2008 - Think carefully about your vaccine, farmers urged - Livestock keepers are being urged to give careful consideration to the size of bluetongue vaccine bottle they order, following the announcement that the vaccine is ready to go. - Farmers Guardian

►April 30, 2008 - New York judge tosses Zyprexa suit - IBJ.com

►April 30, 2008 - Big Pharma, Generics Fund Lobbying War Over Patents - Wall Street Journal Health Blog

* ►April 30, 2008 - Heparin Contamination May Have Been Deliberate, F.D.A. Says (requires registration) - The New York Times - "LeRoy Hubley of Toledo, Ohio, described how both his 65-year-old wife and his 47-year-old son died within a few weeks of each other. Both suffered from a genetic kidney disease that required constant dialysis, for which heparin is routinely used."

►April 30, 2008 - Whooping cough spreads at unprecedented pace - The Asahi Shimbun

►April 30, 2008 - China tries to calm fears about virus outbreak - Reuters

►April 30, 2008 - Europe Launches $3B Drug-Discovery Scheme - Pharmalot

►April 30, 2008 - FDA to hire 1,300 as criticism grows - AP via USA Today

* ►April 30, 2008 - FDA Embarks on Major Hiring Initiative for its Public Health Mission - Agency will fill more than 1,300 positions within the next several months - FDA - "The critical need occupations are medical officers, consumer safety officers, chemists, nurse consultants, biologists, microbiologists, health/regulatory/general health scientists, mathematical statisticians, epidemiologists, pharmacologists, pharmacists and veterinary medical officers."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Partnership plans €2bn boost for medical research (requires registration) - Financial Times - "The European Commission and the pharmaceutical industry will today unveil a €2bn (£1.6bn) partnership to arrest the EU's declining international role in medical research. The money will be offered to academic researchers and small businesses, writes Andrew Jack in London."

►April 30, 2008 - Tiny Ticks Cause for Caution: Know the Facts - It's tick season again, and time to learn the facts about tick bites and Lyme disease. A tiny tick called the black-legged deer tick or Ixodes scapularis is a primary carrier of the bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) that causes Lyme disease, which is a bacterial infection often accompanied by flu-like symptoms, typically accompanied by a round, bull's-eye-shaped rash around the tick bite area. - Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) via PRWeb

►April 30, 2008 - Newly Refined Antibody Therapy May Be Potent Treatment For Autoimmune Diseases - An old, fickle therapy for a variety of autoimmune diseases is getting a makeover, thanks to a decade-long investigation by Rockefeller University researchers. The original treatment, called intravenous immunoglobulin or IVIG, is an amalgam of specific antibodies made from the pooled blood plasma of thousands of healthy donors. Physicians have used it both on-label and off in patients with lupus, arthritis, asthma and other immune disorders, to varying degrees of success. But new research shows that understanding how the therapy works at a molecular level can help researchers create a version in the lab that’s many times more potent. - Rockefeller University via ScienceDaily

►April 30, 2008 - A Little Zetia To Sweeten Your Day - Pharmalot

* ►April 29, 2008 - Intention of Parents to have male children vaccinated with the HPV vaccine - journal article (BMJ) - "Of the 1381 respondents with male children, 67.8% (95%CI: 65.3, 70.3) intend to vaccinate their son(s) against HPV. Parents who had positive attitudes toward vaccines and the HPV vaccine in particular (AOR 41.5, 95%CI: 9.5, 181.7), parents who were influenced by subjective norms (AOR 7.8, 95%CI: 5.8, 10.5), parents who felt that the vaccine had limited influence on sexual behaviour (AOR 2.3, 95%CI: 1.6, 3.3), and parents who were aware of HPV(AOR 1.4, 95%CI: 1.1, 2.0) were significantly more likely to report an intention to vaccinate boys against HPV. In contrast, residence in British Columbia compared to Atlantic Canada (AOR 0.4, 95%CI:0.2, 0.8) and higher education (AOR 0.7, 95%CI: 0.5, 0.9) were negatively associated with intention to vaccinate. Parents who reported an intention to vaccinate their daughters were also highly likely to report an intention to vaccinate their sons (ê = 0.9, p<0.001)."

* ►April 29, 2008 - HHS adds H5N1 clade 2.2 vaccine to stockpile - CIDRAP News

* ►April 29, 2008 - Senators seek ban on plastic chemical - Bisphenol A, used for baby bottles, is possibly toxic - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

►April 29, 2008 - Whole tumor antigen vaccination using dendritic cells: Comparison of RNA electroporation and pulsing with UV-irradiated tumor cells (pdf) - journal article (Journal of Translational Medicine)

* ►April 29, 2008 - Mysteries and Complications (blog) - You Wonder What He Thinks. The little boy who flaps his arms and bangs his head. - News Today 4 U - "But some parents continue to believe their children were injured by modern medicine. Sen. John McCain lent his voice to their cause recently when he said "there's strong evidence" that autism is connected to "a preservative in vaccines." That, and this month's ruling in the Poling case—which was one of thousands yet to be decided by a federal "vaccine court"—have given new fodder to the debate. In a CNN "quick vote" conducted after the news broke, 58 percent of respondents said they believe there's a connection between childhood vaccines and autism."

►April 29, 2008 - Outbreak Of Hepatitis A - News 8 KFMB, San Diego

* ►April 29, 2008 - A Convenient Lack Of Disclosure? - Pharmalot - "There are situations, though, where the task force believes faculty can “interact appropriately with industry,” such as participation on boards of directors and scientific advisory boards, as well as consulting, assuming such activities are “conducted in full compliance with the policies of the medical center and applicable law, and compensation reflects fair market value.” Nothing, however, is said about disclosing such activities. And so several task force members were more than happy to practice what they preach - at least six members have had recent ties to various drugmakers, but these connections weren’t disclosed in the affiliations listed in the report. Here they are…Haile Debas, a member of PLx Pharma’s scientific advisory board; Victor Dzau, a director at Genzyme, Alnylam Pharma and Medtronic; Jane Henney, a director at AmerisourceBergen and AstraZeneca; Elizabeth Ofili, a consultant to Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Nitromed and Sanofi-Aventis, and a speaker for Merck; Michael Johns, a Johnson & Johnson director; and Ellen Stovall of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, which receives funding from several drugmakers."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Five jailed over lethal fake medicine scandal - Xinhua via China View

►April 29, 2008 - Advaxis Taps Former ''Big Pharma'' FDA Specialist - Business Wire via Genectic Engineering & Biotechnology News

►April 29, 2008 - Merck Tumbles After FDA Rejects Drug - The Street

* ►April 29, 2008 - New firm will concentrate on pediatric drugs - Kansas City Business Journal

►April 29, 2008 - IU specialists create center to help patients with pediatric diseases transition to adulthood - Indiana University News

►April 29, 2008 - Motivations for consulting complementary and alternative medicine practitioners: A comparison of consumers from 1997-8 and 2005 - journal article (BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

►April 29, 2008 - Mental workout 'boosts the brain' - Even the slower-witted among us can improve mental agility with a few daily brain teasers, a study suggests. - BBC

►April 29, 2008 - FDA ends probe of Watson Pharmaceuticals plant - AP via Forbes

►April 29, 2008 - Pharma And Requests To The US Trade Rep - Pharmalot

►April 29, 2008 - Huff Post: There's Lead In Your Lipstick: What Cosmetic Companies Aren't Telling You - Huffington Post via Environmental Working Group

►April 29, 2008 - Herd of Virus-Spreading Wildebeest to Be Killed - WOAI, San Antonio

►April 29, 2008 - Immune Response: Friend and Foe - Emergency Medical Service Resources (EMS1)

►April 29, 2008 - Study: Pet Dogs Can Boost Children's Immune System - The European Respiratory Journal via All Headline News

►April 29, 2008 - Training may boost type of intelligence - Pro­ceed­ings of the Na­tio­n­al Aca­de­my of Sci­en­ces via World Science

►April 29, 2008 - Scientists make weight loss claim - Australian scientists believe they may have discovered how to help people lose weight without cutting back on food. - BBC

* ►April 29, 2008 - Merck Plant Dumps Vaccine Waste and Chemicals Into Water Supply - NaturalNews.com

* ►April 29, 2008 - Nutrasweet - the History of this Toxic Chemical and Its Promotion (Part 1) - NaturalNews.com

* ►April 29, 2008 - Former Shill for Big Pharma Tells the Truth About Drug Testing - NaturalNews.com

* ►April 29, 2008 - Senators seek ban on plastic chemical - Bisphenol A, used for baby bottles, is possibly toxic - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - "A Journal Sentinel investigation published last year found that a government panel minimizing the concerns about the chemical relied on studies paid for by the chemical industry."

►April 29, 2008 - Tributes to girl, 10, killed by meningitis - Hereford Times, UK - "The majority of meningitis sufferers contract a viral form of the disease but Beren died of a rare strain called meningococcal septicaemia, which has no vaccine and kills around 300 people a year. The strain is caused by bacteria found on nasal droplets, carried by around 10% of the population."

►April 29, 2008 - 3 years and counting until justice for family of shaken baby (includes video) - 14 WFIE

►April 29, 2008 - Butter-flavored popcorn ingredient suspected cause of lung disease - Research published in a special issue of Toxicologic Pathology - SAGE Publications via EurekAlert!

►April 29, 2008 - Ohio man pleads guilty to courthouse mercury spill - AP via WTTE FOX 28

* ►April 29, 2008 - Bullies use peanut butter to threaten kids with allergies - Parents of kids with severe allergies say their kids are increasingly facing threats of being touched or, worse, forced to eat the food they have spent their lives avoiding (requires registration or subscription) - The Globe and Mail

* ►April 28, 2008 - Warning Letter: Merck - FDA - "Written procedures for the use of cleaning and sanitizing agents designed to prevent contamination of your facility are incomplete. Specifically, SOP 204-608X, [redacted] does not provide a frequency for performance of the multi-step decontamination with [redacted]. Maintenance of Equipment: Written procedures are not followed for the maintenance of equipment used in manufacture, processing, packing or holding. Specifically: Work order 1400076, dated August 29, 2007, issued for the 6-month maintenance on the PedvaxHIB® [redacted] tank [redacted], required a check of the condition of the [redacted]. This action was documented as "NA". However, there was no documentation as to why this prescribed action was not completed. Work order 1415800, dated September 9, 2007, issued for the annual maintenance of the PedvaxHIB® [redacted] on [redacted], documented the first (10) inspections on the work order as "NA". However, there was no documented reason for the failure to complete these activities. Containers and Closures: You failed to assure that container closure systems provide adequate protection against foreseeable external factors in storage and use that can cause deterioration or contamination of bulk drug substances and sterile solutions used in production. For example: Study FR #99-053, [redacted] did not include an assessment of the effect of storage conditions. This container/closure is used for bulk drug substances including Pedvax®HIB, RECOMBIVAX®, and [redacted]."

►April 28, 2008 - Man dies following explosion at pharmaceutical plant - Belfast Telegraph

* ►April 28, 2008 - Get Help on Communications! - Eye on FDA - "The last time the Commissioner of Food and Drugs was here, he promised to return and give us the details of how he was going to fix this mess. I hope that his testimony will not resemble what he told the Senate Appropriators last week, which appeared short on substance and heavy on bureaucratic buzzwords."

►April 28, 2008 - Single-Celled Bacterium Works 24-7 - Converting light to energy by day, moonlighting at night - Washington University in St. Louis via Biocompare

►April 28, 2008 - Study: Link Between Industrial Release Of Mercury And Increased Autism Rates - All Headline News

* ►April 28, 2008 - Agrobacterium & Morgellons Disease, A GM Connection? - CDC launch investigation on Morgellons’ Disease - Preliminary findings suggest a link between Morgellons Disease and Agrobacterium, a soil bacterium extensively manipulated and used in making GM crops; has genetic engineering created a new epidemic? - Institute of Science in Society

* ►April 26/May 2, 2008 - Probable limited person-to-person transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus in China - journal article (The Lancet)

* ►April 25, 2008 - Mercury Exposure, Autism Linked In Study - Texas study is first to show link between autism and distance from mercury source - Consumer Affairs

►April 24, 2008 - Health Science Center discovers new link between autism, power plants - San Antonio Business Journal

* ►April 24, 2008 - Royalty Pharma pays $182M for CHOP's interest in vaccine - PhillyInc Blog via Philadelphia Inquirer - "Here's what Children's Hospital CEO Steven M. Altschuler said: CHOP will use this money in the continual pursuit of advancing science to benefit children. RotaTeq is a vaccine against rotavirus, which kills hundreds of thousands of children in the developing world. The vaccine was created from research performed at Children's Hospital and the Wistar Institute in West Philadelphia. Merck won approval from the Food and Drug Administration for RotaTeq in February 2006."

►April 23/27, 2008 - Helping the Body Heal Itself - Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine & Regenerative Biomedical Technologies via Ivanhoe - "A device for sports injuries, acute and chronic pain, depression, Parkinson's disease, migraines and even wrinkles? Sound too good to be true? Doctors say it might not be thanks to low frequency pulsed magnetic resonance cell rejuvenation."

* ►April 23, 2008 - A Simplified 4-Site Economical Intradermal Post-Exposure Rabies Vaccine Regimen: A Randomised Controlled Comparison with Standard Methods (full text) - journal article (PLoS Clinical Trials)

►April 23, 2008 - Intradermally Administered Yellow Fever Vaccine at Reduced Dose Induces a Protective Immune Response: A Randomized Controlled Non-Inferiority Trial (full text) - journal article (PLoS Clinical Trials)

►April 21, 2008 - Adverse reactions to food: allergies and intolerances. - journal article (Digestive Diseases)

►April 18, 2008 - Recent advances in the management of Crohn's disease. - journal article (Digestive and Liver Disease)

►April 16, 2008 - IgE antibody responses in young children with atopic dermatitis. - journal article (Pediatric Allergy & Immunology)

* ►April 15, 2008 - Antidepressants: cornerstone of treatment, but beware of side effects - journal article (Geriatrics)

* ►April 9, 2008 - Safety and Immunogenicity of a Malaria Vaccine, Plasmodium falciparum AMA-1/MSP-1 Chimeric Protein Formulated in Montanide ISA 720 in Healthy Adults (full text) - journal article (PLoS Clinical Trials)

►April 2, 2008 - Measurable Prediction for the Single Patient and the Results of Large Double Blind Controlled Randomized Trials (full text) - journal article (PLoS Clinical Trials)

►April 2008 - Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age - A conversation with Dr. George Carlo - Common Ground

►April 2008 - Vaccine-Autism Conflict of Interest for "Dr Paul Offit" - The Dobbs Fraud Report
 

* ►March 11, 2008 - The World According to Monsanto - video - Wide Eye Cinema

* ►February 6, 2008 - Barriers and facilitators to human papillomavirus vaccination among Chinese adolescent girls in Hong Kong: a qualitative-quantitative study - journal article (Sexually Transmitted Infections)

►Issue 68 Volume 6, 2008 - Meropenem : a review of its use in the treatment of serious bacterial infections. - journal article (Drugs)

* ►January 17, 2008 - The Three Inviolable Traditions of the Top FDA Officials and Their Inception of a Fourth Tradition,1975-2006 by Philip Rudnick - www.thenhf.com

►November 23, 1998 - Thousands fear mercury poisoning from fillings - Thousands of people are concerned that mercury dental fillings are to blame for their poor health, BBC East Health Correspondent Gill Higgins reports. - BBC

►Defeat Autism Now! Fall 2008 Conference - October 23rd-27th, 2008 Town and Country Resort 500 Hotel Circle North San Diego, California 92108 - Defeat Autism Now!

►August 27, 2005 - California Sues to Require Cancer Warnings on Potato Chips and French Fries - Action Against Nine Firms Says Warnings Required by Proposition 65 - Consumer Affairs

►Facing Autism in New Brunswick - blog

►Ask Congress to Restore the Level Playing Field for Children with Disabilities Reinstate Parents' Rights to Recover Expert Witness Fees Make the Burden of Proof Fair and Equitable - The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. via COPAA.org

* ►April 30, 2008 - One in a million: Measles vaccine crippled this girl - Daily News & Analysis, India - "When the Bhatts read about the death of four infants in Tamil Nadu after they were given the measles vaccine recently, it was almost as if their nightmare was unfolding all over again.  Twelve years ago, the Borivli couple’s daughter was left crippled after taking the measles vaccine. Over the past 12 years, Pankti — who turned 18 in March — has laid immobilised in bed. She has gradually lost her vision, speech and control over movements due to a disease known as Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE). The rare progressive neurological disorder is caused by a persistent infection of the immune resistant measles virus."

* ►April 30, 2008 - 'Under Our Skin' Examines Lyme Disease Rift - Hartford Courant - "A movie that had its premiere during the weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival is sure to reinvigorate the scuffle between the mainstream medical community, which cites the lack of conclusive scientific proof of chronic Lyme disease, and the dissenters, who insist chronic infection exists and treat it with a long-term program of antibiotics. 'Under Our Skin,' a documentary by Andy Abrahams Wilson, played Sunday night to a sell-out crowd at the Directors Guild Theater in Manhattan."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Amputee scientist's safe-labs fight goes on - A British scientist who had limbs amputated after contracting meningococcal disease in Wellington is continuing her campaign to improve safety in New Zealand laboratories. - The Dominion Post via www.stuff.co.nz

►April 30, 2008 - Uganda: Gas Shortage Limiting Vaccine Supplies - The Monitor (Kampala) via AllAfrica.com

►April 30, 2008 - House calls for inquiry into U.S. lab - The Jakarta Post - "The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) proposed the interfaction fact-finding team because of allegations the U.S. laboratory is engaging in espionage and the lack of apparent benefits to Indonesia from their research, said senior PDI-P lawmaker Sidarto Danusubroto."

* ►April 30, 2008 - Patent Law Battle a Boon to Lobbyists (requires registration) - The New York Times - "A fight has erupted in Congress over whether drug makers and other companies should be allowed to keep patents they obtained by misrepresentation or cheating. The issue has emerged as a contentious point in legislation to overhaul patent laws. In several cases, the courts have voided patents after finding that companies intentionally misled the Patent and Trademark Office. The legislation, affecting a wide swath of the American economy, has been a boon to lobbyists. In 15 months, two dueling business coalitions have spent $4.3 million lobbying on the legislation, which calls for the biggest changes in United States patent law in more than 50 years. Companies from almost every major industry have joined the battle."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Patent battle in Congress hinges on equitable conduct - AP via International Herald Tribune - "Patents can protect an invention for up to 20 years. But U.S. judges can void patents after finding that companies engaged in 'inequitable conduct,' meaning that they misrepresented or concealed important information with an intent to deceive the patent office. In such cases, judges can declare the patents unenforceable. Robert Armitage, senior vice president and general counsel of Eli Lilly, said, 'This is like imposing the death penalty for relatively minor acts of misconduct.' Brand-name drug companies are urging Congress to eliminate the penalty."

* ►April 29, 2008 - United Methodist Church Passes Resolution Against Mercury In Medicine - In A First – Faith Community Takes Historic Position Opposing Mercury in Medicines & Vaccines - press release - CoMeD, Inc. via A-CHAMP.org

* ►April 29, 2008 - We must vaccinate kids - Vaccines protect us all. We can't allow the fears of a few parents to endanger society. - editorial (requires registration or subscription) - Los Angeles Times - "Though state law requires that all children be up to date on their shots before entering kindergarten, there are liberal exemptions for medical, religious or 'personal belief' reasons. In Los Angeles County, personal exemptions have crept up in recent years but still account for less than 1% of children. In Mendocino County, though, such exemptions now are at 5.3%, and in Nevada County, 14.4%. Parents cannot be allowed to endanger other people's children. The Legislature should revisit the 'personal belief' exemption."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Another infant succumbs to measles vaccine allergy - IANS via Thaindian.com - "An eight-month-old baby succumbed here Tuesday to an allergic fever contracted following administration of a measles vaccine last week, hospital sources said. They said the baby girl was administered the vaccine April 23. With this, the vaccine death toll in Tamil Nadu has reached five."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Immunization Rates Falling, CDC Study Finds - Toddlers May Be Missing Crucial Vaccines, CDC Says (includes video) - ABC News

* ►April 29, 2008 - Protecting Your Child From Improper Vaccination - Government Study Finds 1 in 4 Children Are Improperly Vaccinated - ABC News

* ►April 29, 2008 - CDC says one in four children are out of compliance with U.S. vaccination guidelines - Your toddler might be improperly vaccinated, even if she's had every immunization the government recommends, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. - American Journal of Preventive Medicine via Health Behavior News Service via www.news-medical.net - "Missed doses account for two-thirds of vaccine lapses, according to the new estimate. The study also revealed that some children get their shots too early. For instance, about 3 percent of children had their last hepatitis B vaccines prior to age 6 months, the minimum recommended for that immunization. Other toddlers received their first measles vaccine while their mother's antibodies still protected them, in effect wasting that dose. Another lapse - getting serial doses too close together - affects 3 percent of children."

* ►April 29, 2008 - 1 in 4 U.S. Toddlers Improperly Vaccinated (requires registration) - HealthDay via Washington Post - "'Part of it depends on how you are slicing and dicing this,' said Dr. Robert Frenck, professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and a committee member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on infectious diseases. 'If you look at children going into kindergarten [four to six years old], our immunization rates are as high or higher than they've ever been.'"

►April 29, 2008 - Time for adults to join kids - The Arizona Republic - "If you were a kid, the doctor could just look up your records in the state's electronic registry of childhood vaccinations. But adults aren't included. The Legislature can cure the problem by passing Senate Bill 1098, which would expand the Arizona State Immunization Information System to cover adults."

►April 29, 2008 - Importance of immunizations being highlighted - The Fairfield Ledger - "Governor Culver has declared this week as 'Iowa Infant Immunization Week.'"

►April 29, 2008 - Fewer Parents Choosing To Vaccinate Their Children - Pembina Valley Online

* ►April 29, 2008 - Parents of autistic kids push for vaccine law - Newsday - "'I don't know what specifically the county legislature can do,' said Robert Krakow, a Garden City lawyer and a founding member of Autism United, who said his son 'descended into what is described as autism,' following a thimerosal-containing flu shot when he was 6 years old. Other parents highlighted a 'philosophical exemption' measure pending in the State Assembly that would allow them to decline recommended vaccines. Currently in New York parents can object to any vaccinations based on religion only. 'We live in the United States of America, we are supposed to have freedom of choice,' said Evelyn Ain, whose son has an autism spectrum disorder, and who publishes a national autism-related magazine in Hicksville. Assemb. Marc Alessi (D-Wading River), author of the bill, said as far as vaccines are concerned, 'it should be up to the parents, not the government.'"

* ►April 29, 2008 - Vaccinations and drugs are being forced on the public, Part III - Renew America - "Many doctors are now starting to see the negative effects that vaccines have on children and are standing against the dangers associated with vaccines and the vaccination overload and that we are now seeing with children. I say overload because in 1983, children were given around 10 vaccinations before starting school. Now children receive an astounding 36. Before a child reaches a year old, they've received 24 vaccines! A plethora of physicians, nutritionists, and even a candidate for president are taking their stand against the administering of current vaccines on the public."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Mercury is in the Air by Mark Blaxill - Age of Autism

* ►April 29, 2008 - The "Ever-Excitable" Writer Gets Excited! by Kent Heckenlively, Esq. - Age of Autism

* ►April 29, 2008 - Autism Mercury Emissions Dallas Press Conference - Age of Autism

* ►April 29, 2008 - New Evidence Links Mercury Emissions to Rates of Autism - NaturalNews.com

* ►April 29, 2008 - For one family, son's autism a mix of highs and lows - Tri-Parish Times - "According to McGee, the autism community is separated into two camps: those who believe autism is caused by vaccines and those who don't. 'I for one don't feel it's the shots,' says McGee. 'Science will have to show me proof that it's the shots before I believe it.'"

* ►April 29, 2008 - The autism numbers - Opinion L.A. Blog via Los Angeles Times

►April 29, 2008 - House Call with Dr. Andy: Study links autism to early births - The News-Press

►April 29, 2008 - UAB, Glenwood achieve autism research - The Kaleidoscope - "'It is important to educate parents, teachers and others about autism,' said Nancy Minshew, M.D., director of the NIH Autism Center of Excellence, and professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. 'These are children who are never invited to birthday parties or called on the telephone. Others need to be taught that teasing and bullying are not acceptable.'"

►April 29, 2008 - Answers About Autism: Part 2 (includes video) - WCTV.tv

►April 29, 2008 - Wait list for autism therapy growing, critics charge (requires registration or subscription) - Toronto Star

►April 29, 2008 - Choose fish that are low in mercury, B.C. disease centre warns - Vancouver Province via Canada.com

* ►April 29, 2008 - Ending Autism Awareness Month, Menendez Backs Package to Help - Cape May County Herald - "According to a release, the Helping HANDS for Autism Act is a three-part legislative package that includes a program to guide families seeking services and care, increased public awareness and housing for adults with ASD. At 1 in 94 children diagnosed with ASD, New Jersey has the highest rate in the nation."

►April 29, 2008 - Autism and Illness: an Informal Poll - http://autism.about.com

►April 29, 2008 - Require autism coverage - editorial - Palm Beach Post

* ►April 29, 2008 - Rev. Jeremiah Wright is Right about how U.S. Government Uses Blacks for Medical Experiments, Including AIDS - NaturalNews.com - "Skeptical that any of this really happened? Maybe you just haven't learned any of this yet. To help you out, I've published a list of just a few of the medical experiments conducted on blacks, minorities and prisoners in the United States. You can read the list yourself here: http://www.naturalnews.com/019189.html Part two is here: http://www.naturalnews.com/019187.html"

* ►April 29, 2008 - Kerry pushes for ban of potentially toxic baby bottles - The Green Blog via Boston Globe - "U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), along with Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) are part of the proposed ban."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Merck hit hard by cholesterol drug rejection - Reuters - "Merck for years has touted the drug, called Cordaptive, as one of its most important experimental medicines and a major new weapon to prevent heart attacks and stroke. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late on Monday slapped the product down with a so-called not-approvable letter."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Merck Isn't Down For The Count, But The Punches Keep Coming - Dow Jones via CNNMoney - "Merck still has strengths: The new drugs and vaccines it has launched over the past few years, including cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, together are expected to generate several billion dollars in sales in coming years."

* ►April 29, 2008 - FDA, Baxter CEO Face Questions On Heparin Scandal - Dow Jones via CNNMoney - "Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the chairman of the powerful House Commerce and Energy Committee, said the FDA was 'woefully lacking' in the personnel, effective policies, and the will at the highest level in its regulation of the heparin scandal. 'Our citizens can no longer trust that their food, drugs, or medical devices are safe when the FDA says they are,' said Dingell in his opening remarks at the hearing. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said in his opening remarks that while it's 'regrettable' that the FDA didn't inspect a plant in China where heparin was produced, he said a greater responsibility lies with the drug companies themselves. He said Baxter and the company's Chinese supplier have 'failed the American public.'"

* ►April 29, 2008 - US FDA Officials Ask for Resources, Authorities to Improve Drug Safety - Officials of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say Congress must provide them with more resources and authorities to ensure the safety of imported drugs. A congressional hearing Tuesday included dramatic testimony by family members of people whose deaths are thought to have been caused by contaminated doses of the medication Heparin. More from VOA's Dan Robinson on Capitol Hill. - Voice of America

►April 29, 2008 - Is the FDA Doing Enough? - Glick Report Blog via FOX Business

►April 29, 2008 - Nigerian state, Pfizer resume talks over drug trial - Reuters

►April 29, 2008 - Group wants support for study of Fort Detrick lab expansion - The Frederick News-Post via WTOP.com

* ►April 29, 2008 - Safety and Immunogenicity Evaluation After One or Two Doses of Novartis Meningococcal ACWY Conjugate Vaccine in Healthy Infants and Toddlers - Sponsors and Collaborators: Novartis Vaccines  via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of Novartis Meningococcal B Recombinant Vaccine Administered to Healthy Adolescents According to Different Vaccination Schedules - Sponsors and Collaborators: Novartis Vaccines  via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - Safety and Efficacy Study of Fluzone® Vaccine Combined With Different Doses of JVRS-100 Adjuvant (H-100-001) - Sponsored by:  Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc. via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - Safety and Immunogenicity of Booster Dose of An Inactivated, Adjuvanted Whole-Virion Pandemic Influenza(H5N1)Vaccine - Sponsors and Collaborators: Sinovac Biotech Co., Ltd China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - Study of the Safety, Immunogenicity and Lot Comparability of DAPTACEL When Administered With Other Recommended Vaccine - Sponsored by:  Sanofi-Aventis via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - Study of Different Formulations of an Intramuscular A/H5N1 Inactivated, Split Virion Influenza Adjuvanted Vaccine - Sponsored by: Sanofi-Aventis via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - Pilot Study to Determine the Safety and Efficacy of Gardasil Against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in HIV-Infected Men - Sponsors and Collaborators: Southern California Institute for Research and Education Merck via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - A Study to Determine the Effects of an Investigational Malaria Vaccine Given to Adults Living in the United States - Sponsors and Collaborators: U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General GlaxoSmithKline United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - Studies of P. Vivax and P. Falciparum Malaria in Cambodia - Sponsored by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) via www.clinicaltrials.gov

* ►April 29, 2008 - One-fifth Of US 2-year-olds Not Fully Immunized, Warns CDC - www.cdc.gov/vaccines via Medical News Today

►April 29, 2008 - Law Leads to Home Depot Canada Stopping Toxic Pesticide Sales - Beyond Pesticides

►April 29, 2008 - Many Egyptians keep birds despite bird flu - poll - Reuters

►April 29, 2008 - Conroe family says immune system disease can go undetected - The Courier

►April 29, 2008 - Wyeth cutting 1,200 jobs, including some in Mass. - The Boston Globe

►April 29, 2008 - The Placebo Effect and Irritable Bowel Syndrome - A supportive clinician–patient relationship augments the efficacy of placebo treatment. - journal article (Journal Watch)

* ►April 29, 2008 - DOR BioPharma Initiates Non-Human Primate Efficacy Studies of RiVax(TM), Its Vaccine Against Ricin Toxin - DOR BioPharma, Inc. via Marketwire via CNNMoney

* ►April 29, 2008 - SIGA Begins Negotiations with Government Agency for Additional Funding to Accelerate ST-246 Commercial Scale Manufacturing - press release - SIGA Technologies, Inc. via Business Wire

►April 29, 2008 - Bavarian Nordic reiterates full year guidance; Q1 loss widens slightly - Thomson Financial via Forbes

►April 29, 2008 - Watson Pharma shares spike on removal of FDA plant ban - AP via Business Week

►April 29, 2008 - Meningitis survivor urges vaccinations - AP via Norman Transcript

* ►April 29, 2008 - It's Meningitis Awareness Day - A survivor wants vaccinations to be mandatory for new college freshmen. - Oklahoma colleges still don't require incoming freshmen to be vaccinated for bacterial meningitis, despite the vigorous efforts of activist Amanda Moran. - Tulsa World

* ►April 29, 2008 - Most Aussies still avoiding flu jab - AAP via The Age, Australia

►April 29, 2008 - Update of influenza situation - The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) received no report of outbreaks of influenza-like illness today (April 28). There is also no report under the influenza surveillance arrangement set up by CHP with private and public hospitals. - www.chp.gov.hk. via Media-Newswire.com

* ►April 29, 2008 - Cash-strapped city to spend $1.5M on Tamiflu - Posted Toronto via National Post - "Brian Ashton, the councillor for Scarborough Southwest, wondered how the city could spend so much on stockpiling a flu medication without knowing the strain that could eventually result in a pandemic or whether the antiviral will even be an effective treatment."

* ►April 29, 2008 - Indonesian boy dies of bird flu - Reuters

►April 29, 2008 - IFPMA Vaccine Task Force Funds University Of Cambridge Virus Mapmaker To Help WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network - Medical News Today

►April 29, 2008 - Sindh’s fourth polio case confirmed - Pakistan Dawn

►April 29, 2008 - Playgroups cut childhood leukaemia risk by 30% - Nursing in Practice

►April 29, 2008 - Nevada AG seeks order against Drs. linked to Hepatitis C outbreak - LegalNewsline

►April 29, 2008 - New HIV finding could prevent drug resistance, toxic side-effects - CBC

►April 29, 2008 - Africa: The Plight of the Disabled HIV/Aids Patients - The Monitor (Kampala) via AllAfrica.com

►April 29, 2008 - A Great Pox’s Greatest Feat: Staying Alive (requires registration) - The New York Times

►April 29, 2008 - Rabies cases prompt vaccination warnings - Moultrie Observer

►April 29, 2008 - Targeted Combination Therapy Triggers Cell Death in Mouse Models of Metastatic Cancer - Journal of the National Cancer Institute, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS via ScienceDaily

* ►April 29, 2008 - FDA let artificial-blood trials continue despite risks - A report that pools data from 16 studies concludes that the FDA should have halted research years earlier because of increased incidence of heart attacks and deaths. (requires registration or subscription) - Los Angeles Times

* ►April 28, 2008 - The Future of Clinical Trials - Meta-Analysis shows ALL Blood Substitutes Increase Death - Alliance for Human Research Protection

* ►April 28, 2008 - Canada's C-51 Law May Outlaw 60% of Natural Health Products; Big Pharma Pushing to Criminalize Supplements - NaturalNews.com

* ►April 28, 2008 - Wright: U.S. 'Capable' of Inventing HIV for Genocide - CNSNews.com

►April 28, 2008 - Therapy helps child to counteract autism - Gloucester County Times via NJ.com

►April 28, 2008 - UMaine’s Zeph to Serve on National Autism Research, Strategic Planning Workgroup - The University of Maine

►April 28, 2008 - The demands of autism - This 16-year-old computer whiz, and his family, face challenges - Coshocton Tribune

►April 28, 2008 - Answers About Autism: Part 1 (includes video) - WCTV.tv

►April 28, 2008 - Insurers must cover autism, says Crist - Palm Beach Post

►April 28, 2008 - Video game looks to "retrain" autism brain - Seattle Post-Intelligencer Blog

►April 28, 2008 - What's true, false about coal - The Wichita Eagle via Kansas.com - "There is no such thing as clean coal. All coal plants emit sulfur, nitrous oxide, mercury, particulates and carbon dioxide. But modern plants, like those planned at Holcomb, are cleaner than older plants, such as Jeffrey Energy Center."

* ►April 28, 2008 - Study: Pregnant Women With Pre-Existing Diabetes Doubles (requires registration) - The New York Times

* ►April 28, 2008 - Children With Autism Display Surprising Language Abilities - University of Western Ontario via Medical News Today

* ►April 28, 2008 - Human Subject Protection; Foreign Clinical Studies Not Conducted - Food and Drug Administration, HHS

►April 28, 2008 - Conflicts on HHS stem cell council (requires registration) - The Scientist - "Nearly half the voting members of a Department of Health and Human Services stem cell advisory council have financial conflicts of interest despite the committee's pledge to limit these types of conflicts, according to a survey conducted by a science watchdog group."

►April 28, 2008 - Hit the host to target HIV - Novel tactic for stopping virus replication may lead to new antiretrovirals. - news (Nature)

►April 28, 2008 - No to gene patents, says Euro group (requires registration) - The Scientist

►April 28, 2008 - Judge Halts Spraying Planned for California - Beyond Pesticides

►April 28, 2008 - Cell-Free Hemoglobin-Based Blood Substitutes and Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Death - journal article (JAMA)

►April 28, 2008 - Elan sales of MS drug triple - Biotechnology Ireland

►April 27, 2008 - Overuse Of Codeine, Oxycodone And Barbiturates Increases Risk Of Chronic Migraine - People who overuse barbiturates and opioids, such as codeine, butalbital, and oxycodone, to treat migraine are at an increased risk of developing chronic migraine, according to new research. People with chronic migraine have headaches on 15 or more days a month. - American Academy of Neurology via ScienceDaily

* ►April 26, 2008 - Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Vaccine as a Potential Cause of Encephalitis (Brain Inflammation) in Children - Harold E. Buttram, MD - JABS Forum via www.jabs.org.uk

►April 26, 2008 - Autism Society of North Carolina and Autism Speaks partner to explore health insurance coverage - Initiative will examine exclusion of health insurance coverage for ASD - The Autism Society of North Carolina

►April 25, 2008 - Junior doctors attack NHS reforms - Junior doctors will warn patient care could suffer as a result of NHS reforms as their annual conference takes place. - BBC

►April 24, 2008 - Indonesia, U.S. wrangle over future of naval lab - Reuters

►April 24, 2008 - Ozzie Guillen and Autism - New York Times Blog

►April 24, 2008 - Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus - journal article (Endocrine Review)

►April 24, 2008 - Cognitive Dysfunction and Diabetes Mellitus - journal article (Endocrine Review)

►April 24, 2008 - Sharing the womb with a brother may influence a girl's development - Science News

►April 19, 2008 - Muslim clerics winning polio battle, cases down from 71% to 33% in a year - ExpressIndia.com

* ►April 18, 2008 - Pediatric Ethics Subcommittee of the Pediatric Advisory - Food and Drug Administration, HHS

►April 17, 2008 - Pneumococcal Disease Kills 1 Million Children In Worldwide Each Year - Bernama

►April 16, 2008 - The Assessment of Autoimmunological Status and Prevalence of Different Forms of Celiac Disease among Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Celiac Disease - journal article (Mediators of Inflammation)

* ►April 2008 - Progress in Vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b in the Americas (full text) - journal article (PLoS Medicine)

* ►April 2008 - Standardising Outcomes in Paediatric Clinical Trials (full text) - journal article (PLoS Medicine)

►April 2008 - Improving Defences at the Portal of HIV Entry: Mucosal and Innate Immunity (full text) - journal article (PLoS Medicine)

►April 2008 - Electrical Neuroimaging Reveals Timing of Attentional Control Activity in Human Brain (full text) - journal article (PLoS Biology)

►April 2008 - Better Reporting, Better Research: Guidelines and Guidance in PLoS Medicine (full text) - journal article (PLoS Medicine)

►April 2008 - Progress toward Public Access to Science (full text) - journal article (PLoS Biology)

►April 2008 - Host PrP Glycosylation: A Major Factor Determining the Outcome of Prion Infection (full text) - journal article (PLoS Biology)

►April 2008 - Bioethics Grows Up (full text) (book review) - journal article (PLoS Biology)

►April 2008 - Modelling within-Host Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Invasive Bacterial Disease (full text) - journal article (PLoS Biology)

►April 2008 - Cellular Conductors: Glial Cells as Guideposts during Neural Circuit Development (full text) - journal article (PLoS Biology)

►April 2008 - Cytological and Transcript Analyses Reveal Fat and Lazy Persister-Like Bacilli in Tuberculous Sputum (full text) - journal article (PLoS Medicine)

►April 2008 - Why We Sleep: The Temporal Organization of Recovery (full text) - journal article (PLoS Biology)

►April 2008 - The Reversal of Fortunes: Trends in County Mortality and Cross-County Mortality Disparities in the United States (full text) - journal article (PLoS Medicine)

►April 2008 - Estimating Incidence from Prevalence in Generalised HIV Epidemics: Methods and Validation (full text) - journal article (PLoS Medicine)

* ►April 2008 - Pesticides and Other Pollutants in Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Resistance, and Diabetes - Advances in Autism Research compiled by Teresa Binstock for ARI via www.autism.com

►January 25, 2008 - Trends in the Prevalence of Pre-Existing Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus among a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Population of Pregnant Women, 1999-2005 - journal article (Diabetes Care)

►Volume 14 Issue 2, 2008 - Genetic contributions to influenza virus attenuation in the rat brain - journal article (Journal of Neurovirology)

►Volume 14 Issue 2, 2008 - West Nile virus-induced acute flaccid paralysis is prevented by monoclonal antibody treatment when administered after infection of spinal cord neurons - journal article (Journal of Neurovirology)

►Volume 14 Issue 2, 2008 - Nectin-1 (HveC) is expressed at high levels in neural subtypes that regulate radial migration of cortical and cerebellar neurons of the developing human and murine brain - journal article (Journal of Neurovirology)

►Volume 14 Issue 2, 2008 - Cortical maldevelopment in congenital cytomegalovirus infection transmitted by a woman with preexisting immunity - journal article (Journal of Neurovirology)

►Issue 2, 2008 - Vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella in children - journal article (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews)

* ►2006 - Could low-level background exposure to persistent organic pollutants contribute to the social burden of type 2 diabetes? - journal article (Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health)

* ►November 29, 2005 - A cross-sectional study of the association between persistent organochlorine pollutants and diabetes (full text) - journal article (Environmental Health)

►The First Annual Autism Conference in Pittsburg Kansas - Jenny McCarthy Keynote Speaker - June19, 2008 For Law Enforcement, EMS, Firefighters - June 20, 2008 for Parents, Educators, Anyone Affected by Autism - Pittsburg High School, Pittsburg, KS - www.kansasautism.org

►Online autism seminar with Wendy Lawson - Live from 6 May 2008 - AWARES Conference Centre

* ►Saying No To Vaccines - A Resource Guide for All Ages by Dr. Sherri J. Tenpenny - website

Posted April 28, 2008

* ►May 12, 2008 - Influenza vaccination among primary healthcare workers - journal article (Vaccine)

* ►May 12, 2008 - Report of the third meeting on “Influenza vaccines that induce broad spectrum and long-lasting immune responses”, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 3–4 December 2007 - journal article (Vaccine)

* ►May 12, 2008 - Effectiveness of hexavalent vaccines against invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b disease: Germany's experience after 5 years of licensure - journal article (Vaccine)

* ►May 12, 2008 - What can HIV vaccine trials teach us about future HIV vaccine dissemination? - journal article (Vaccine)

* ►May 12, 2008 - Impact of different case definitions for acute otitis media on the efficacy estimates of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 12, 2008 - A vector-based minigene vaccine approach results in strong induction of T-cell responses specific of hepatitis C virus - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 12, 2008 - Development of a travelers’ diarrhea vaccine for the military: How much is an ounce of prevention really worth? - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 12, 2008 - Delivery of vaccine peptides by rapid conjugation to baculovirus particles - journal article (Vaccine)

* ►May 5, 2008 - AMA urges more safeguards in federal patient safety rules - The proposed regulations would create a voluntary medical error reporting system. - www.ama-assn.org

* ►May 5, 2008 - Lawyers' misconduct triggers new liability trials - Two courts found that breaches of courtroom etiquette inappropriately influenced case outcomes. - www.ama-assn.org

* ►May 5, 2008 - Ambiguously ill pose challenge for doctors - Scenario: How should you respond to a patient whose trustworthiness you doubt? A patient appears at the emergency department with chest pain, nausea and profuse sweating. The patient has a long history of medical deception, but is that reason enough to assume that he is not having a heart attack? - www.ama-assn.org

* ►May 5, 2008 - Food safety falls short of national goals - The latest CDC numbers find that progress has stalled. Rates are flat or starting to increase. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - MedPAC advises raising primary care pay - If Congress approves the plan, physicians who are not designated as such would be paid less by Medicare. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - GAO: CMS violated law with SCHIP eligibility directive - The agency, however, says most of the 17 states affected by the order likely are meeting its standards and can receive funding for expanded enrollment. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Baby boomer time bomb: Too many aging patients, too few geriatricians - An IOM study predicts severe work force shortages, fueled in part by low reimbursements. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - State-by-state analysis ties lack of insurance to earlier death - People without health coverage are at higher mortality risk because they skip preventive care and necessary treatment, researchers say. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Practice trends influencing charity care - Income pressures on doctors over the last decade have caused a shift away from solo practice and practice ownership. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Public pleas for organs fuel ethical qualms - Experts at a transplant ethics conference weigh the pros and cons of allowing strangers to donate to patients who plead their cases on the Internet. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Physicians examine the role of annual checkups in prevention - A study found that 80% of preventive care occurred outside such yearly visits, prompting a closer look at their importance, content and even timing. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Texas court finds board exceeded its authority and podiatrists' scope - Physicians and podiatrists disagree on the impact of the appellate court's ruling. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Part-time doctors - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Quest for new antibiotics leads to novel sources - Clay and alligators are among things researchers are exploring to stop resistant infections. Physician groups continue to stress the importance of appropriate prescribing. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - EMR success stories: Practices that are thriving after the changeover - Physicians who have seen an electronic medical records system pay for itself within a year share how they, and their systems, made it happen. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Colorado moves to regulate tiered networks - The state's bill follows national agreements by health insurers to make physician-rating systems more transparent and based less on costs. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Ohio lifts the veil on insurer contracts - The state's new, sweeping law on health plan contracts sends a message that "take it or leave it" approaches by health insurers are not acceptable in physician negotiations. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Convenient care clinics merit a closer look by physicians - A message to all physicians from Edward L. Langston, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Hip, knee replacement surgery rates skyrocket over 7 years - The operations have proven to be cost-effective, but concern is growing that the burgeoning need will overtax the health care system. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Starving for perfection: The changing face of anorexia - Anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders pose new diagnostic and treatment challenges as they affect younger and older patients. - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - Letters to the Editor - Number doesn't tell whole story of how psychiatrists view health plans - It's up to the woman if a pregnancy creates 1 patient or 2 - EMRs have 2 strikes against them - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - News in brief: Health & Science - Bone loss tied to diuretics for men - Antibiotics have little effect on sinusitis - No antihistamine support for kids with chronic cough - DASH diet cuts heart disease, stroke risk - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - News in brief: Government & Medicine - Specialty hospital ban dropped - CMS offers $50 million in grants to boost primary care access - Massachusetts EMR project extended - www.ama-assn.org

►May 5, 2008 - News in brief: Professional Issues - Medical home concept gains support - N.J. doctors likely to see losses after insurer insolvency - Insurer faces lawsuit over policy cancellations - Survey: Mich. doctor supply tightens - Council calls for physician, nurse supply conference - www.ama-assn.org

* ►May 2, 2008 - Safety and reactogenicity profile of an adjuvanted H5N1 pandemic candidate vaccine in adults within a phase III safety trial - journal article (Vaccine)

* ►May 2, 2008 - Bioneedles™ as vaccine carriers - journal article (Vaccine) - "Bioneedles are small hollow mini implants fabricated from biodegradable polymers which can be filled with antigen. Bioneedles can be used for vaccination without syringes and needles. Formulations have been prepared containing tetanus toxoid with and without aluminum phosphate."

* ►May 2, 2008 - Alum boosts TH2-type antibody responses to whole-inactivated virus influenza vaccine in mice but does not confer superior protection - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 2, 2008 - Long-term immunogenicity of a single dose of acellular pertussis vaccine in paediatric health-care workers - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 2, 2008 - Dynamics and control of measles in Portugal: Accessing the impact of anticipating the age for the first dose of MMR from 15 to 12 months of age - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 2, 2008 - Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of the Na-ASP-2 Hookworm Vaccine in unexposed adults - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 2, 2008 - Safety evaluation of pulmonary influenza vaccination in healthy and “asthmatic” mice - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 2, 2008 - The effect of pre-existing immunity on the capacity of influenza virosomes to induce cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity - journal article (Vaccine)

►May 2, 2008 - Level of protection of chickens against highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus with Newcastle disease virus based live attenuated vector vaccine depends on homology of H5 sequence between vaccine and challenge virus - journal article (Vaccine)

* ►May 2008 - Cortical activity patterns predict speech discrimination ability - journal article (Nature Neuroscience)

►May 2008 - Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain - journal article (Nature Neuroscience)

►May 2008 - Double dissociation of 'what' and 'where' processing in auditory cortex - journal article (Nature Neuroscience)

►May 2008 - Survey of parents on the use of naturopathic medicine in children—Characteristics and reasons - journal article via (Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice)

* ►April 29, 2008 - Mass intestinal virus infection sickens 1199 children, kills 20 - Xinhua via China View

►April 29, 2008 - Climate change in central Europe presents a ticking time bomb for holidaymakers' health (requires subscription for full article) - The Scotsman

►April 29, 2008 - Unique vaccine unit for Bangalore - For the southern states hit by severe attack of FMD (foot and mouth disease), a mortally affecting disease affecting the cattle, the commissioning of Biovet's Rs 196 crore biosafety level 4 manufacturing facility at Malur, Bangalore will come as a relief. - Deccan Herald

* ►April 29, 2008 - Government leaves vaccine space for private companies - Economic Times, India

►April 29, 2008 - Texas A&M Student Hospitalized for Bacterial Meningitis - A Texas A&M student has been hospitalized after being diagnosed as having contracted bacterial meningitis. This is the university’s only known active case at this time. The diagnosis has been confirmed by Public Health officials. The name and/or health status of the student are being withheld due to privacy laws. - press release - PressZoom

* ►April 28, 2008 - NIH Invitation to California Autism Advocates - Age of Autism - "ATTENTION: CA Parents/Caregivers/Clinicians YOU ARE INVITED!  NIH wants YOUR opinion on what is needed in autism research! The NIH Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) cordially invites parents who are affiliated with SafeMinds, the National Autism Association (NAA), the Autism Research Institute and Defeat Autism Now!, the M.I.N.D. Institute, FEAT, TACA, Generation Rescue, Autism Society of America and any other local or national groups chapters to a Town Hall Meeting. The meeting is free and open to the public. Advance registration is not required....WHEN? Saturday, May 3, 2008. 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m."

* ►April 28, 2008 - Nassau Looks At Possible Vaccines-Autism Link - AP via http://wcbstv.com - "Nassau County officials are looking at a potential link between children vaccines and autism. Legislator David Mejias and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg are meeting Monday with parents of autistic children who claim the combination of vaccines given to young children can cause autism. John Gilmore of Autism United says new research has indicated the link. He says a federal court ruled in favor of a 9 year old girl who began exhibiting autism symptoms immediately after receiving immunizations."

* ►April 28, 2008 - Nassau County New York Vaccine Safety Press Conference - Age of Autism

* ►April 28, 2008 - WSJ Tackles Special Needs Costs - Age of Autism

* ►April 28, 2008 - Crist favors Florida Senate version of autism insurance bill - The News Press - "Crist said he's been greatly influenced and affected by conversations with former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, who has an autistic son. After learning how much early therapy helped that boy, Crist said, he became even more convinced that the problem needs to be dealt with early and strongly."

* ►April 28, 2008 - The day I could no longer cope with my autistic son - When her son Dale was three, Nuala Gardner contemplated suicide. She reveals the hidden despair facing full-time carers - and how she kept going - The Guardian, UK

* ►April 28, 2008 - A voice for autism - Radio personality Jenn Jordan has some personal reasons for taking up this cause - Cincinnati Enquirer

►April 28, 2008 - As autism strains family, private school comes to aid of sleepless mom - The Grand Rapids Press via MLive.com

►April 28, 2008 - Recognizing April as Autism Awareness Month - Laurel Leader Call

►April 28, 2008 - A family's fight with autism - Nassau Guardian

►April 28, 2008 - Woodford Grn: Doctor 'did not know children's treatment guidelines' - Epping Forest Guardian

* ►April 28, 2008 - 'Israel must do more to raise awareness about autism' - Jerusalem Post - "Suzanne Wright talks in numbers. For her, the world is clearly measured in the percentages of children and adults who suffer from the neurobiological development disorder known as autism, and for her those figures speak louder than a thousand words....'Its roughly one percent of the male population globally,' continues Suzanne, who together with her husband Bob founded one of the US's fastest-growing nonprofit organizations, Autism Speaks, three years ago."

* ►April 28, 2008 - University students play vital role in aiding children with autism - LSU The Daily Reveille - "There can be no cure for autism with no known cause, said Dr. Stephanie Cave, who has treated more than 8,000 patients with autism from 10 countries since 1996.  Researchers and doctors disagree over whether vaccinations could be a cause. Cave believes they are because of their 'heavy metals like mercury and aluminum.' 'In medical practice, we tend to give too many vaccines on the same day,' she said. 'I do not think that the immature immune systems are ready to handle an insult of this proportion.'"

►April 28, 2008 - Lee University program helps autistic children - Chattanooga Times Free Press

►April 28, 2008 - Knowledge, support key to caring for autistic child - The Grand Island (Neb.) Independent via MetroWest Daily News

* ►April 28, 2008 - Major changes to child vaccine schedule - Irish Health - "New vaccinations for infants and small children are to be introduced in Ireland later this year, along with changes in the timing of vaccinations. A new vaccination for hepatitis B is to be introduced, and babies will in future receive a 6-in-1 vaccination at two, four and six months. They will also receive another new vaccine, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), at 12 months along with the measles, mumps and rubella  (MMR) vaccine. There will also be changes to the timing of the booster Hib and meningococcal C vaccines and these will now be given at 13 months."

* ►April 28, 2008 - IAC Express Issue number 727 - Immunization Action Coalition

* ►April 28, 2008 - CDC Withdraws Study on Impacts of Chemical Pollution - NaturalNews.com

* ►April 28, 2008 - Pfizer seeks settlement over drugs trial: Nigerian official - AFP via Yahoo! - "A source close to the talks who asked not to be named told AFP that Pfizer offered to pay 10 million dollars (6.4 million euros) to the alleged victims of the drug test while Kano insisted on 1.75 billion dollars compensation. 'Pfizer offered to give 10 million dollars to the families of the victims, upgrade the Infectious Diseases Hospital where the drug trial took place, build a paediatric ward in any one public hospital and resuscitate Kano's ailing drug manufacturing company,' the source said."

►April 28, 2008 - Pfizer resumes settlement talks with Nigeria state over drug trial lawsuit - JURIST

►April 28, 2008 - The Frightening Heparin Case - editorial (requires registration) - The New York Times

* ►April 28, 2008 - $11 Million Grant Provides HPV Vaccine to 30,000 Women and Girls in  Missouri - Feminist Daily News

►April 28, 2008 - Detection and prevention of cervical cancer - Lake County News Sun

* ►April 28, 2008 - Fourteen Abstracts Featuring MedImmune's Influenza and RSV Therapeutic Areas to Be Presented at Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting - Results Provide Insights into Infectious Disease Prevention in Children - press release - MedImmune via PRNewswire

* ►April 28, 2008 - U.S. Government Accepts $192 Million of Sanofi Pasteur H5N1 Bulk Vaccine Antigen for Pandemic Stockpile - Vaccine for new strain of virus broadens government readiness program - Sanofi Pasteur via PharmaLive via www.medadnews.com

►April 28, 2008 - State unveils pandemic flu planning kit - South Florida Business Journal

►April 28, 2008 - Tripping up avian flu - DNA rings hinder virus reproduction in chicken embryos - Science News

►April 28, 2008 - Daily reporting system on lethal virus infection installed in E China - Xinhua via China View

►April 28, 2008 - China steps up monitoring of deadly virus outbreak - Reuters

►April 28, 2008 - Health officials urge vigilance, protection - Mexico Ledger

►April 28, 2008 - Espanola Nursing Home in lockdown due to virus - Midnorth Monitor

►April 28, 2008 - Measles outbreak in Camborne - Falmouth Packet, UK

►April 28, 2008 - Canada's polio eradication funding dwindling; Conservative government reducing money for global effort - Niagara Falls Review

►April 28, 2008 - Meningitis epidemic kills 10 in Mali - Afrique en ligne

►April 28, 2008 - DeafBlind and Rubella Association serves as eyes and ears of disabled - Telegraph Journal

►April 28, 2008 - Global Challenges | Second Conference About HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe, Central Asia Scheduled for May in Moscow - www.kaisernetwork.org

►April 28, 2008 - European Commission grants full approval of HIV protease inhibitor, tipranavir (Aptivus®) - press release - Boehringer Ingelheim via WebWire

►April 28, 2008 - Nassau, Suffolk lawsuit restores HIV/AIDS funds - Newsday

►April 28, 2008 - HIV fund says 100,000 more children to receive cheap drugs this year - AP via International Herald Tribune

►April 28, 2008 - BHIVA: No evidence of a hepatitis C epidemic in HIV negative gay men - Aidsmap

►April 28, 2008 - Bristol-Myers's Baraclude found effective in hepatitis study - Datamonitor via COMTEX via Trading Markets

►April 28, 2008 - Roche presents favorable data on hepatitis drug Pegasys - MarketWatch

►April 28, 2008 - Clinical Update - Debio 025 in Hepatitis C - Presentation of Phase IIa Efficacy Results - press release - Debiopharm Group via PRNewswire

►April 28, 2008 - Silver nano-particles can rein in replication of hepatitis B virus - Xinhua via China View

►April 28, 2008 - Chinese Ants Show Promise For Fighting Arthritis, Other Diseases - American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS via ScienceDaily

►April 28, 2008 - Vaccine E75 May Improve Survival for Low HER2-expressing Breast Cancer - Cancer Consultants

►April 28, 2008 - Rush studies vaccine for Alzheimer's - Chicago Flame Online

►April 28, 2008 - Hundreds of Diabetes Advocates Come to Washington to Urge Increased Federal Funding for Diabetes Research and Prevention - Advocates will also urge Congress to extend Special Diabetes Programs and protect people with diabetes from discrimination. - press release - American Diabetes Association via PRNewswire-USNewswire via EarthTimes.org

* ►April 28, 2008 - Blood Substitutes Spur Death; FDA Inaction Criticized - Bloomberg - "Artificial blood raised death risks by 30 percent and almost tripled the odds of heart attacks in 16 clinical trials analyzed by researchers who say U.S. regulators should have stopped the studies eight years ago. Five trials involving substitute blood products are ongoing, and a new one is about to begin, the researchers reported."

* ►April 28, 2008 - Merck says FDA rejects its new cholestrol drug - Reuters

* ►April 28, 2008 - The ADHD drug Strattera: Lilly to issue warnings - The manufacturer, Eli Lilly, is to change the label for Strattera in Europe to include warnings about onset of “psychotic reactions, hallucinations, mania and agitation”. - TransWorldNews

* ►April 28, 2008 - Osteoporosis drug may be associated with irregular heartbeat - JAMA and Archives Journals via www.eurekalert.org

* ►April 28, 2008 - Studies shed light on risks of commonly used drugs - Reuters via The Guardian, UK - "The studies, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, underscore the need for patients to weigh the risks and benefits of drugs carefully, said Dr. Jane Cauley of the University of Pittsburgh, who wrote a commentary."

►April 28, 2008 - FDA takes a look at BPA (requires registration) - The Checkout Blog via Washington Post

►April 28, 2008 - How to cure blindess - The Telegraph, UK

►April 28, 2008 - How the Black Death Changed the World - LiveScience

►April 28, 2008 - Rabies vaccine bait to be dropped in Northeast Ohio - Akron Beacon Journal via Ohio.com

►April 28, 2008 - StarLink Testing Guidance Withdrawn - Farm  Futures - "Friday's Federal Register published an announcement from the Food and Drug Administration withdrawing the recommendation that corn dry millers test all inbound corn for Cry9C protein associated with StarLink corn hybrids."

* ►April 28, 2008 - Swedish anti-nicotine vaccine to be tested in Nordic countries - AFP - "The vaccine, called Niccine, has been developed over the course of 10 years by Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute, under the guidance of professor Torgny Svensson who founded Independent Pharmaceutica."

* ►April 28, 2008 - Maybe kids need a less-sterile environment - Deseret News - "Compared to the dangers we unknowingly grew up with, it seems that kids today live in a sterile bubble. As parents, many of us do whatever we can so our kids won't suffer. We get them immunizations for who-knows-what. We structure kids' play dates so they are never without a friend, drive them around so they never have to walk or get themselves anywhere, and even interfere with their competitive games so they won't feel bad if they lose or, better yet, avoid the experience of losing altogether."

* ►April 28, 2008 - At WHO Meeting, Patient Group Has Pharma Ties - Pharmalot - "In a report issued today, the advocacy group notes that six of seven advisory board members at Patients and Patents have connections to drugmakers, as do 61 of the 110 people who signed its declaration, according to an advance copy obtained by Essential Action. (Here is the list). The P&P group, by the way, share the view of the patent system espoused by pharma."

* ►April 28, 2008 - Medical School Group Urges Freebie Ban - Pharmalot

* ►April 28, 2008 - Pfizer: Letters From Nigeria OKed Trovan Trial - Pharmalot - "At issue are charges that Pfizer illegally conducted an unauthorized trial on more than 100 children at a government hospital during a triple epidemic of measles, cholera and meningitis in which 12,000 people died. The episode led to the death of 11 children and various deformities - including deafness, blindness, paralysis and brain damage - in 189 others. Pfizer denies doing anything illegal and insists government permission was granted."

►April 28, 2008 - Has Vytorin Created New FDA Approval Hurdles? - Pharmalot

►April 28, 2008 - This flu season one of worst - Only one viral strain in the vaccine matched up illnesses in long season - Akron Beacon Journal

►April 28, 2008 - Attrition fever grips pharma sector - There is high attrition at the first line, field-force level, with poaching by financial institutions and insurance companies that offer fancy designations. - Business Line

►April 28, 2008 - Biotech in space? (requires registration) - The Scientist

►April 28, 2008 - Exceptions and Alternative Procedures Approved Under 21 CFR 640.120 - FDA/CBER

►April 28, 2008 - Diagnosis and management of asthma. - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement via www.guideline.gov

►April 28, 2008 - Diagnosis and treatment of otitis media in children. - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement via www.guideline.gov

►April 28, 2008 - Diagnosis and treatment of respiratory illness in children and adults. - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement via www.guideline.gov

►April 28, 2008 - Inflammatory bowel diseases share genetic risk factors - Several genetic risk variants are identified for the common inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis, in two studies published online this week in Nature Genetics. Some of these variants also predispose to Crohn's disease, a related chronic disorder of the intestine. - Checkbiotech

►April 28, 2008 - Daycare Attendance Early In Life Cuts Childhood Leukemia Risk By 30 Percent, Analysis Finds - Children who attend day care or play groups have about a 30% lower risk of developing the most common type of childhood leukaemia than those who do not, according to a new analysis of studies investigating the link. - Children With Leukaemia, via EurekAlert! via ScienceDaily

►April 28, 2008 - Helping the Body Heal Itself - Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine & Regenerative Biomedical Technologies via Ivanhoe

►April 28, 2008 - Diabetes Natural Treatment - What Are Some Effective Remedies? - American Chronicle

►April 28, 2008 - Pathway Found That Lets Mosquitoes Fatten Up, Slow Down For Winter - Two genes that help insulin regulate mosquitoes’ growth have been identified as key contributors to how the insects enter a dormant state to survive winter’s cold. The research finding broadens the understanding of the mosquito life cycle and appears to shed some light on how other insects and invertebrate species weather the winter months. - Ohio State University via ScienceDaily

►April 28, 2008 - An Alternative to Medicinal Marijuana - HealthDay News via The Washington Post

* ►April 27, 2008 - The Vaccine Court Saga Continues; New Case Fans the Flames of Controversy (autism blog) - About.com:autism - "As written, this story certainly suggests that the Vaccine Court is deliberately choosing not to "test" cases that relate to mitochondrial disorder. It COULD be construed that they are doing so with ulterior motives. Or - they might simply be choosing to focus, instead, on cases that relate entirely to vaccines. At this point, it's hard to see through the fog - but there's no doubt that more information will be coming along - if not from the Vaccine Court itself then surely from other sources. Stay tuned."

* ►April 27, 2008 - Making miracles happen - Persistence pays off for parents in getting autism diagnosis, help - Antelope Valley Press - "Caidon was diagnosed with autism shortly before his third birthday. The long road to his diagnosis was filled with phone calls to health care facilities, visits to the pediatrician, hours of worrying and frustration and dead ends at every turn. 'He met every milestone as a baby. Everything was great until his vaccinations,' said Amber, an active member and instructor in the autism community. 'He got really sick.' Her son came down with whooping cough and developed respiratory problems after receiving routine vaccinations. After the shots, Caidon was a little different but nothing too bad, Amber said."

►April 27, 2008 - Hard Choices About a Child's Special Needs - The Wall Street Journal

►April 27, 2008 - Utah doctor on CDC vaccine safety panel - Salt Lake Tribune

►April 27, 2008 - Uganda: As Epidemic Ravages Acholi, Govt Dithers - The Monitor (Kampala) via AllAfrica.com - "Residents and their political representatives say Hepatitis E epidemic, which initially struck Madi-Opei sub-county of Lamwo County is now intensifying. "

►April 27, 2008 - HIV/AIDS: Send strong signal - editorial - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

►April 27, 2008 - Sun lamps help unborn babies beat osteoporosis - The Sunday Times, UK

* ►April 27, 2008 - Children hit by playground superbug - The Sunday Times, UK

►April 27, 2008 - Hospital cleaning 'can help superbug' (requires subscription for full article) - The Scotsman

►April 27, 2008 - Pollution, wetlands permits remain an issue - Duluth News Tribune

►April 27, 2008 - Homeowners get out from under pesticide fog - AP via Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

►April 26, 2008 - UK C. diff deaths 'rise sharply' - There are 10 times more deaths across the UK from the superbug Clostridium difficile among over 65-year-olds than in any other country in the world, figures suggest. - BBC

►April 26, 2008 - Taking baby the earth-friendly route - A growing number of Canadians are harnessing green philosophies and consumption patterns in their new roles as moms - Vancouver Sun via Canada.com

►April 26, 2008 - Baxter Chief says company's reputation damaged by heparin scandal - Chicago Tribune

►April 26, 2008 - FDA turns down application for combo allergy drug - AP via Yahoo!

* ►April 25, 2008 - AstraZeneca pushes for reviews of TV drug ads - Reuters via Yahoo!

* ►April 25, 2008 - Ritalin may help seniors stay steady on their feet - Journal of the American Geriatrics Society via Reuters Health via Yahoo! - "To investigate whether methylphenidate might offer a strategy for fall prevention, the researchers had 26 healthy, independently living seniors complete tests of fall risk and executive function before and after taking a single dose of the drug or an inactive placebo. After taking the drug, study participants completed the "Timed Up and Go" test significantly more quickly. In the test, a person gets up from a chair, walks for three meters at a normal pace, turns around and walks back, and sits back down. Fall risk rises with the amount of time it takes a person to complete the test."

►April 25, 2008 - Update to Healthcare Facilities and Healthcare Professionals about Heparin and Heparin-containing Medical Products - FDA/CDRH

►April 25, 2008 - US Patent Office Rejects Pfizer Lipitor Patent Request Again - DowJones via CNN Money

►April 25, 2008 - Progenics, Wyeth constipation drug gets FDA approval - Progenics to get $15 million payment from partner Wyeth after constipation drug is approved - Wyeth via Progenics via AP via CNN Money

►April 25, 2008 - Mercury Fillings Banned In Norway - Crusador via www.healthtruthrevealed.com

►April 25, 2008 - Immunization important - CentralOhio.com

* ►April 24, 2008 - HIV vaccine research: crisis of faith? (requires registration) - The Scientist

►April 24, 2008 - MOH given wider powers to curb spread of infectious diseases - ChannelNews Asia

►April 23, 2008 - Scientists Clarify a Mechanism of Epigenetic Inheritance - “Silent” DNA stays that way as a result of RNA interference during chromosome replication - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory via Biocompare

* ►April 23, 2008 - Update from CDC: Hib vaccine shortage (pdf) - CDC

►April 16, 2008 - Top CO2 emitting counties in the United States identified - Purdue University

* ►April 8, 2008 - The FDA Is Not Protecting Our Children - The Whole Child

* ►April 2008 - Immunization Works! - CDC - "Pink Book, New Printing: The second printing of the 10th Edition of CDC’s immunization textbook, Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 'The Pink Book,' has been completed and is now available online 'The Pink Book' provides comprehensive information about routinely recommended vaccines, vaccine-preventable diseases and much more."

* ►April 2008 - Parents Pack Newsletter - Possessing, Accessing and Communicating Knowledge About Vaccines - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia - "Dr. Caplan argued that in certain cases liberty can ethically be restricted. These include:
- Cases in which individuals do not have enough information to make informed decisions - Despite popular belief that everyone can be an expert by accessing information on the Internet, there are cases in which experts must be relied upon for the best interests of society.
- Cases involving destruction of the common good - When something enjoyed by all will be destroyed by invoking individual liberties, the common good should take precedence. Preservation of public parks would be an example.
- Cases in which one person's individual liberties would inhibit another person's space - As stated by Oliver Wendell Holmes, "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." In other words if my personal decision will affect your person or property, I should not be allowed the liberty.
 - Cases in which the decision is being made for people who do not have the liberty of deciding for themselves - Decisions being made on behalf of children or members of society who cannot otherwise represent themselves would be included in this reasoning. 
Based on these criteria for revoking individual liberties, Dr. Caplan went on to argue that vaccine mandates are justified because they fall into all of these categories."
 

Comment:  Scandals: Forced Vaccinations - Musings On What The Road To Hell Is Paved With, Scandals On cheating "the other guy" and Scandals: Is the theory of "herd immunity" flawed?

* ►March 26, 2008 - Should the Government Make You Do it? Vaccine Mandates and Children - The first in a series of public forums on vaccine science, ethics and policy, tackles the issue of government mandates and children, featuring experts in vaccine science, public health, pediatrics and bioethics from throughout the Delaware Valley. - podcast MP4 - The Franklin Institute

* ►March 21, 2008 - DRAFT Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Immunization Safety Office Scientific Agenda: Background Document - “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science” Albert Einstein - Immunization Safety Office Office of the Chief Science Officer Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (pdf) - CDC

►Mitochondrial Disease - The Cleveland Clinic

►Special Needs Alliance - website