NEW YORK (AP) — A few months ago, Dr. Thomas Einhorn was treating a patient with a broken ankle that wouldn’t heal, even with multiple surgeries. So he sought help from the man’s own body. Einhorn drew bone marrow from the man’s pelvic bone with a needle, condensed it to about four teaspoons of rich red liquid, and injected that into his ankle. Four months later the ankle was healed. Einhorn, chairman of orthopedic surgery at Boston University Medical Center,…

The doors are closing on the AIDS virus. The scientific community continues to strive to find the formula that will halt the advance of one of the viruses that has sparked most scientific interest over recent years. A study by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and led by Mr Felix Goni, director of the Biophysics Unit at the CSIC-University of the Basque Country Mixed Centre, has developed a method of attack against the AIDS virus. The method involves…

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA is greatly concerned that groups that are promoting discredited theories about immunisation are exposing Australians to the devastating effects of preventable illnesses. Dr Hambleton said that recent media reports outlining the views of the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) show that this organisation has drawn the fire of the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC). “It is important for parents to have their children immunised. Immunisation saves lives,” Dr Hambleton…

WASHINGTON (AP) — More medical care won’t necessarily make you healthier – it may make you sicker. It’s an idea that technology-loving Americans find hard to believe. Anywhere from one-fifth to nearly one-third of the tests and treatments we get are estimated to be unnecessary, and avoidable care is costly in more ways than the bill: It may lead to dangerous side effects. It can start during birth, as some of the nation’s increasing C-sections are triggered by controversial fetal…

Smoke-free air laws have been shown to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke among adults, and a new study shows a similar association in children and adolescents who do not live with a smoker at home. The study, “Smoke-free Air Laws and Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Nonsmoking Youth,” published in the July print issue of Pediatrics (published online June 7), examined data from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. It found children who live in a county with extensive…

06-08-2010 – By TODD ACKERMAN – HOUSTON CHRONICLE Gleevec was the first big breakthrough drug in targeted cancer therapy, turning a fatal disease into a manageable chronic one, but Houston researchers are reporting that two second-generation leukemia smart drugs are actually far superior. University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center scientists released two studies Saturday showing that Tasigna and Sprycel provided chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients quicker, better and gentler results as first therapy than the highly touted Gleevec. The…

The growing number of obese pregnant women in the U.S. may be contributing to a record-high number of cesarean section births, as well as more birth defects and maternal and infant deaths, the New York Times reports. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in five women are considered obese — having a body mass index of at least 30 — at the start of their pregnancy. Women with a BMI of 35 of higher are…

Families from Pakistan to Argentina to Congo are being battered by surging food prices that are dragging more people into poverty, fueling political tensions and forcing some to give up eating meat, fruit and even tomatoes. Scraping to afford the next meal is still a grim daily reality in the developing world even though the global food crisis that dominated headlines in 2008 quickly faded in the U.S. and other rich countries. With food costing up to 70 percent of…

NEW ORLEANS – The cap on the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico is capturing a half-million gallons a day, or anywhere from one-third to three-quarters of the oil spewing from the bottom of the sea, officials said Monday. But the hopeful report was offset by a warning that the far-flung slick has broken up into hundreds and even thousands of patches of oil that may inflict damage that could persist for years. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the…

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health finds links between mining and the spread of tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa. The study analyzed data from 44 sub-Saharan African countries and found that the greater the mining production, the higher the country’s incidence of TB. The research concluded that as many as one-third of new TB cases – 750,000 cases annually – may be attributable to mining. “We have long known that the conditions on the mines – both…