| More than 600 AIDS Patients on Waiting List for Drugs |
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WASHINGTON - More than 600 low-income AIDS patients in 11 states are on waiting lists for medicines as funding for assistance programs falls short, a report released Wednesday said.
Ten other states have had to limit drug coverage or take other steps to control costs for their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, or ADAPs.
Paid for mostly by the federal government, ADAPs often are the last resort for patients with no other funding for their medicines. About 136,000 people annually receive ADAP services.
Overall, ADAP budgets rose 11 percent in fiscal 2004 from the previous year, thanks to increased state funding, drug rebates and higher federal appropriations. Thirty-eight states were able to provide more people with medicines, the report said.
But 11 states had to close enrollment, leaving 627 patients as of March 2005 on waiting lists for prescription drugs to suppress the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
“The growing number of people who need HIV medications, and rising drug costs, continue to exceed available resources,” said Jennifer Kates, director of HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit health research organization.
The foundation compiled the report with the National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.
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| New Food Pyramid is for All - Apr 21, 2005 16:53 IST |
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At some point, you’ve seen the food pyramid. Whether it was in a nutrition class or on the wall of your elementary school cafeteria, you likely remember the building blocks of the pyramid suggesting what your daily diet should look like. For years, this shape has ruled over our eating habits: guiding food labels, school lunch programs and diet plans. But today, Americans are more overweight than ever, which tends to suggest that the old food pyramid wasn’t very useful, or even followed. So, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given the old food pyramid an overhaul, creating MyPyramid, a personalized tool to give Americans a new way to organize their daily eating and exercising habits.
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| Marburg Update - 221 of 243 Infected Have Died in Uige says WHO - Apr 20, 2005 17:19 IST |
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Angola - Bowing and curtsying have replaced handshakes and hugs in northern Angola as health workers battle a deadly viral outbreak that has killed 237 people and left victims too scared to go to hospital.
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| Marburg Update - Death Toll Reaches 237 - Apr 20, 2005 9:26 IST |
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Two more people have died in northern Angola, bringing the death toll from the deadly Marburg virus to 237 people. Health officials continue to warn area residents of the dangers of this disease, which is spread through bodily fluids. Unfortunately, many of the earlier victims may have infected family members who cared for them during their illness or who may have had a part in their burial ritual. Death normally occurs less than ten days after the symptoms first appear.
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| First Successful Transplant of Insulin Producing Cells - Apr 19, 2005 22:6 IST |
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The first successful transplant of insulin-producing cells from a live donor — a mother to her daughter — is being reported today by Japanese scientists, raising hopes for a cure for severe diabetes.
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| Happiness and Health may Overlap - Apr 19, 2005 7:43 IST |
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In a recent study of British civil servants, the happiest participants had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Their hearts kept a mellower pace than those of less happy participants, and they didn’t flip out as much during a mental stress test.
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| Avastin Helps Those with Breast Cancer, Study Shows, Genentech shares jump. - Apr 18, 2005 12:58 IST |
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Genentech Inc.’s pioneering colon cancer drug Avastin, already showing potential as a lung cancer treatment, delivered significant benefits to breast cancer patients in clinical trial results announced Friday by the company and the National Cancer Institute.
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| 214 known cases of Marburg in Angola - Apr 17, 2005 19:56 IST |
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The Angola outbreak involves 214 known cases so far. The focus is on detecting infections early, isolating those infected, training local hospitals on infection control and removing dead bodies, which can spread the disease, said WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng.
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| FDA Orders Levitra Ad Pulled; Seniors Should Read Objections - Apr 17, 2005 7:22 IST |
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The FDA yesterday notified the makers of Levitra (vardenafil HCI) their television ads for the erectile dysfunction drug must be withdrawn from the market. The regulators called the ads “misleading” and say they fail to disclose “major side effects.” This and other erectile dysfunction drugs are widely used by senior citizens, who should pay careful attention to the message from the FDA.
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| Scientists Scramble To Destroy Flu Strain - Apr 16, 2005 7:11 IST |
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Scientists around the world were scrambling to prevent the possibility of a pandemic after a nearly 50-year-old killer influenza virus was sent to thousands of labs, a decision that one researcher described as "unwise."
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| Human Genome Sciences Hepatitis C Drug Passes Test - Apr 15, 2005 3:23 IST |
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NEW YORK - Human Genome Sciences Inc. on Thursday said its experimental drug for hepatitis C met its primary goal in a mid-stage trial of patients who had not previously been treated for the liver-damaging virus.
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