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CDC:
U.S. Flu Season Starting Slowly
The
U.S. influenza season is starting slowly but it is still too early
to tell how severe the outbreak will be as the nation faces a
vaccine shortage, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) said on Sunday.
Texas
and New York have reported some localized outbreaks, and sporadic
cases have turned up in some other states, Dr. Julie Gerberding told
reporters at the American Public Health Association's annual
conference. No states yet have widespread activity, and some states
have not reported any flu cases.
Click
here to read CNN's complete information.
Cuban
Cancer Drug Finally Coming to America
 When
the president of a small California biotech firm heard of a
promising new treatment for lung cancer, he was intrigued.
"It
stimulates a very strong immune response in patients," said
David Hale, chief executive officer of CancerVax Corp.
There
was just one hitch — the drug, referred to as SAI-EGF — is made
in Cuba as part of Fidel Castro's $1 billion biotech program. Still,
Hale was determined to bring the drug to the United States.
To
learn how Hale and CancerVax brokered U.S. use of what could
the most promising lung cancer drug to date, read the ABC
News article.
Skin-Prick
Flu Shot as Effective as Deep Jab
Injecting
flu vaccine into the skin instead of muscle could stretch limited
supplies, two studies reported Wednesday.
Researchers
injected less than half the standard flu vaccine dose into the skin.
Yet, in young to middle-aged healthy people, they were able to
generate roughly the same immune response as conventional flu shots,
which are injected into muscle.
Click
here to find out what effect this information might have on this
season's flu vaccine shortage.
White
Bread Linked to Diabetes
 Eating
white bread is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes,
according to a new Australian study.
After following the diets and health records of more than 36,000 men
and women in Australia for four years, researchers say they found
white bread and starchy foods were linked to diabetes.
Learn
more about the study at CBS
News.
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Support
Hose For Your Heart
 A
simple fabric device that looks like fishnet hose but acts like
support stockings helped weak hearts pump more efficiently and even
shrink back to a more normal size, researchers reported at an American
Heart Association conference.
The
device is targeted at people with heart failure, which happens when a
weak or damaged heart can't pump as forcefully as it should. The heart
enlarges, fluid backs up into the lungs, and people get more and more
short of breath and tired, often making many trips to the hospital
until their hearts eventually give out.
Learn
specifics about how this amazing device works at the CBS
News website.
California
Measure Fuels Stem-Cell Gold Rush
 A
21st-century gold rush is on in California after the voters approved
$3 billion for human embryonic stem cell research.
At
least one out-of-state biotech company is already making plans to move
to California. Stem cell start-up businesses are expected to emerge.
And universities are hoping to recruit some of the field's brightest
minds to take part in the biggest state-run research project in U.S.
history.
Click
here to read MSNBC's
coverage of this issue.
Medicare
Could Cover Weight Loss
As
America comes to terms with ever-increasing weight gain in its
population, votes by a Medicare coverage advisory committee last week
may have broad implications for what treatments are available to
patients nationwide.
Meeting
in Baltimore, the expert committee voted on how effective bariatric,
or weight loss, surgery was in comparison with non-surgical medical
management.
To
understand what will be covered, read USA
Today's coverage.
Celebrex
May Treat Breast Cancer  A
popular arthritis drug shrinks breast cancers in mice and eventually
may become a part of breast cancer treatment in humans.
Researchers
say the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex appears to reduce the size of
breast cancers by encouraging cancer cell death and stalling the
growth of new cancer cells.
Read
the Fox
News information to find out more.
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