U.S. News and World Report surveyed 4,861 hospitals and ranked them across 16 specialties, mostly on reputation, death rate, patient safety and care. Johns Hopkins topped the honor roll, ahead of the Mayo Clinic and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
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Health News
Drugs, disease, healthcare, government and lifestyle: health news beyond the plate.
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Miscellaneous
Group sues LA County to require condom use in porn industry
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation sued the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to force it to require condoms on porn sets, after an actress tested positive for HIV. The Los Angeles Times reported as many as 22 performers may have tested positive in five years.
Miscellaneous
What are the Dangers of Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccination?
Mercola traces how Sebelius called H1N1 milder than feared in May, then by June urged schools to prepare as vaccination clinics, and questions another $1 billion for vaccine ingredients. WHO's phase 6 alert reflects how fast a virus spreads, not how severe it is.
Lifestyle
Circumcision not a Factor in Male Transmission of HIV to Female Partners
Johns Hopkins researchers led by Dr. Maria Wawer circumcised half of 922 HIV-infected uncircumcised men and tracked 163 female partners for 24 months, finding circumcision did nothing to lower the women's risk. Their conclusion: condom use is essential either way.
Government
WHO: Spread of swine flu inevitable
The WHO will stop publishing global tables of swine flu case counts, saying lab confirmation has become extremely difficult, and instead asks countries to watch for clusters of severe cases, unusual transmission patterns and surges in emergency room visits.
Healthcare
Many Veterans Need Mental Health Care
A UCSF study of VA records on nearly 300,000 troops back from Iraq and Afghanistan found more than 40 percent of those who visited the VA were treated for mental health disorders, with 62,000 diagnosed with depression and 50,432 with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Government
FDA Reviewing Preliminary Safety Information on Asthma Drug Xolair
Interim data from EXCELS, an ongoing study of about 5,000 Xolair-treated asthma patients and 2,500 controls, suggests a disproportionate increase in heart and cerebrovascular events. The FDA is not changing the labeling or telling patients to stop the drug while it reviews the findings.
Disease
Alzheimer's treatments may be most effective in middle-aged people
A 14-year Mayo Clinic study of 815 people aged 21 to 97 found memory decline separating APOE e4 carriers from non-carriers between ages 55 and 60, earlier than suspected. The authors suggest treatment may need to start before symptoms, and note the gene alone is not enough to cause the disease.
Disease
Australia plans for worst case scenario
Health Minister Nicola Roxon says modelling projects 6,000 swine flu deaths in Australia if nothing were done, a figure she expects action to cut sharply. The virus has infected 10,387 people there, and a Queensland mother became the 22nd death.
Government
FDA Okays new anti-HIV drug
FDA granted tentative approval to Matrix Laboratories' fixed-dose abacavir, lamivudine and zidovudine tablet for treating HIV-1 in adults. Patent rights bar US marketing, but the tablet becomes eligible for purchase under PEPFAR, and fixed-dose tablets cut pill burden and may aid adherence.
Drug
Brain tumors: New gene clues
Two Northwestern studies in JAMA report genetic clues to brain tumours: one identified 31 genes involved in tumour proliferation, and another found patients with only one copy of the tumour-fighting gene ANXA7 may be at a disadvantage. The blood-brain barrier still blocks chemotherapy.
Healthcare
Tele-health plans virtual house calls
UnitedHealth Group and Cisco have launched Connected Care, a national tele-health network linking patients by video and audio to the insurer's 590,000 doctors. A seven-month San Jose pilot drew a 90 percent recommendation rating; a mobile unit is planned for New Mexico.
Drug
Hormone therapy raises ovarian cancer risk
Among Danish women aged 50 to 79 followed from 1995 to 2005, current hormone therapy users were 38 percent more likely to develop ovarian cancer than never-users, and former users 15 percent more likely. Risk did not vary significantly by formulation, regimen or route.
Miscellaneous
Heart transplant may normalize damaged heart in British teen
Hannah Clark received a donor heart at 11 months while her own was left in place. It regained normal function by age 4, and at 10 the graft was removed. She is now off immunosuppressants and in remission from a transplant-related cancer, a Lancet case report says.
Drug
HRT Increases Ovarian Cancer Risk
A Danish study reported in JAMA found women on hormone replacement therapy had a 38 percent greater risk of ovarian cancer than never-users. The absolute risk stays low, about one extra case per 8,300 women, and returns to normal two years after stopping.
Disease
1918 Spanish Flu Survivors Immune to Swine Flu
University of Wisconsin researcher Yoshihiro Kawaoka found that survivors of the 1918 pandemic are immune to the current swine flu, though not necessarily to seasonal flu, and that in animals both viruses multiply more in the respiratory tract than in the head and sinuses.
Miscellaneous
NHTSA Roadside Survey Shows Drunk Driving Decrease
A 2007 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration roadside survey found 2.2 percent of drivers on a weeknight were over the legal limit, down from 7.5 percent in 1973. Between 1 and 3 a.m. the share rose to 4.8 percent. Interviewers were not police and paid volunteers for samples.
Lifestyle
Swearing helps relieve pain
Richard Stephens at Keele had more than 60 undergraduates hold their hands in icy water and found they lasted longer and felt less pain while repeating a curse word than a neutral one. Why swearing helps is unknown; exercise is offered as another option.
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