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Yale Researchers Identify Gene's Role In Promoting Atherosclerosis
Yale University researchers have found that a single gene plays a key role in the development of atherosclerosis in mice. The research provides insight into the causes of atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries caused by a buildup of plaque.
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New Jersey Senate Passes Bill Requiring Pharmacists To Tell Consumers If Generic Drugs Can Replace Brand-Name Prescriptions
The New Jersey Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation (A 2030) that would require pharmacists to inform consumers when they have substituted generic drugs for brand-name prescriptions, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. The General Assembly approved the legislation in February and it now moves to Gov. Jon Corzine (D).If Corzine signs the bill, the law would take effect within 180 days, making New Jersey the first state in the U.S. to have such a requirement. State Sen. Christopher Bateman (R) said, "We"re hoping that other states will follow our lead" (Megerian, Newark Star-Ledger, 5/22).
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World Leaders Must Take Action To Support Commitments To Lower Maternal Mortality, Opinion Piece Says
"I stood up and applauded for women everywhere when I heard the news" that the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the U.S., "recognized maternal death as a human rights issue," CARE President and CEO Helene Gayle writes in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion piece. Gayle writes that governments for the past 15 years "have failed to meet the commitments made and targets set to reduce the more than half a million maternal deaths every year."According to Gayle, preventing maternal death "requires three well-coordinated actions: sustain political leadership, secure adequate res and strengthen health systems." She adds that the resolution "is a positive step" but that it is "only effective if it translates into action." She continues, "It"s great to see the Obama administration places women and girls high on the agenda," adding that many members of Congress also support these issues.Reducing maternal mortality "requires significant res," Gayle writes. She adds, "To be blunt, an estimated global commitment of $39 billion over 10 years is needed to make significant progress." Such a commitment would be "an investment in women, their families and the economic productivity of nations," according to Gayle."The cost of not investing is far greater," Gayle continues. She notes that women "do two-thirds of the world"s work and produce nearly 60% of the world"s food." In addition, "children who lose their mothers are 10 times more likely to die in childhood than children with mothers," and maternal and newborn deaths "represent an estimated annual loss of $15.5 billion in productivity," according to Gayle. "Clearly, other development goals cannot be met without healthy mothers," she adds.She continues that the "most tragic and infuriating point" is that the "death of a woman in childbirth is one of the most inexcusable deaths on earth." Because high maternal mortality is a "barometer of weak health systems, often reflecting the low status of women," strengthening health systems to improve maternal health will therefore enable the system to "address other health needs," Gayle writes. She adds that countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Peru have improved mortality rates "through four lifesaving programs: family planning, skilled and culturally sensitive care during pregnancy and childbirth, emergency care for complications and postpartum care."Gayle writes, "The U.S. can spearhead a comprehensive maternal health action plan and, by doing so, set an example for world leaders to join and invest in." She concludes, "The actions we take now can make maternal death a problem of the past and not one of our children"s future" (Gayle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/10).
Cardiovascular

Smokeless Tobacco Safer Than Smoking

Smokeless tobacco products, as used in Europe and North America, do not appear to increase cancer risk. A large meta-analysis, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, has shown that snuff as used in Scandinavia has no discernible effect on the risk of various cancers. Products used in the past in the USA may have increased the risk, but any effect that exists now seems likely to be quite small. Peter Lee and Jan Hamling, from P.N. Lee Statistics and Computing Ltd, carried out the analysis of 89 studies from the United States and Scandinavia. They found that, after adjustment for concurrent smoking, any effect of current US products or Scandinavian snuff seems very limited. According to Lee, "It is clear that any effect of smokeless tobacco on risk of cancer, if it exists at all, is quantitatively very much smaller than the known effects of smoking". In 2005 in US men aged 35 or over, there were a total of 142,205 deaths from seven cancers considered to be caused by smoking. If these people had never smoked, Lee and Hamling estimated that the numbers would have reduced by 104,737, with the reduction in lung cancer deaths, 79,195, being the major contributor. If smokeless tobacco was introduced to a similar population of never smokers, this meta-analysis shows that any increase in risk would be negligible compared to the lives saved by reducing cigarette use. Lee said, "Our paper shows very clearly that, in marked contrast to smoking, smokeless tobacco use carries little or no risk of cancer. Concerns about possible effects of smokeless tobacco on oral cancer are answered by our analyses showing a lack of relationship based on the combined evidence from those 14 studies published since 1990 which allow adequate control for effects of smoking." Notes: Systematic review of the relation between smokeless tobacco and cancer in Europe and North America Peter N Lee and Jan S Hamling BMC Medicine (in press) http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/ Graeme Baldwin BioMed Central


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