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7337. jexster - 6/10/2008 2:52:28 PM Adam and Steve Happier than Adam and Eve? 7338. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 6/20/2008 2:52:37 PM "I Speak Insurance . . ."
7339. David Ehrenstein - 6/25/2008 11:50:40 PM Hey guess what? The Lancet says not only is AIDS far from "over,"it hasn't even stabilized!
"Last week, at a press conference at the UN High-Level Meeting on AIDS in New York, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said that the number of new HIV infections per year in the USA was closer to 50000 than 40000. He told reporters: “In the United States we still have a significant problem…we have over 750000 AIDS cases…and over half a million deaths. The very disturbing aspect of the situation in the United States is that we have about 40 to 52000 new infections each year.” He said that this level of new infections had stayed the same for the past 14 years and that the USA had hit a wall in not being able to get any lower.
Fauci's statements, reported by Reuters have caused uproar, because the 52000 figure he refers to has not yet been publicly released. AIDS campaigners have been calling for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to release the latest (2005) data for HIV incidence since last year. On Nov 26, 2007, the CDC issued a letter to advocacy groups, which stated that the information would be released in the “coming months”. The letter also stated that the data had been submitted to an academic journal for peer review and that the CDC anticipates publishing the new data in early 2008. Yet, as The Lancet went to press, nothing had been released.
What is more, when we contacted the NIAID and CDC, both said that Fauci had been talking about published data on the number of people diagnosed with HIV in 2006 but not necessarily infected that year. However, as the UN's webcast of the press conference shows, Fauci does not talk about diagnoses but new infections. He says that 52000 is a new number that will soon become an official statistic. He explains that the number does not mean that HIV incidence has increased but that new methodology being used by the CDC is producing a more accurate estimate.
Either way, the figure shows that US efforts to prevent HIV have failed dismally. The CDC must not fail US citizens further by delaying the release of the data behind this fact."
7340. wonkers2 - 6/30/2008 3:14:40 AM MRSA 7341. thoughtful - 7/2/2008 2:16:29 PM Hey Arky! Maybe all you need is some worms!
After Dr. Pritchard’s self-infection experiment, the National Health Services ethics committee let him conduct a study in 2006 with 30 participants, 15 of whom received 10 hookworms each. Tests showed that after six weeks, the T-cells of the 15 worm recipients began to produce lower levels of chemicals associated with inflammatory response, indicating that their immune systems were more suppressed than those of the 15 placebo recipients. Despite playing host to small numbers of parasites, worm recipients reported little discomfort.
Trial participants raved about their allergy symptoms disappearing. Word about the study soon appeared online among chronic allergy sufferers, and a Yahoo group on “helminthic therapy” sprung up. 7342. alistairconnor - 7/2/2008 3:22:36 PM And a tapeworm for weight loss? 7343. arkymalarky - 7/2/2008 9:46:52 PM Hey, and I can get that free around here--just stay barefoot outside!
I wonder if you could just eat anything you wanted if you had a tapeworm. Might cure bulemia. 7344. wonkers2 - 7/2/2008 10:11:58 PM I lost my virginity today without even being awake to enjoy it--my first and I hopw last colonoscopy. Fortunately no problems other than one small polyp. 7345. arkymalarky - 7/2/2008 10:38:03 PM Congrats, Wonk! Bob and his two best friends went through that for the first time this year (not together--they're not THAT close) and they all had good reports and no problems. 7346. Wombat - 7/3/2008 3:32:50 AM Preparing for a colonoscopy is much worse than the colonoscopy itself. 7347. wonkers2 - 7/3/2008 3:42:24 PM Very true! 7348. thoughtful - 7/3/2008 5:25:38 PM Doing a lot of reading lately about importance of waist as a sign of health. For women health risks start to rise at waists over 31.5 inches and rise substantially at over 35 inches.
For men it's 37 inches and 40 inches. Guess what really loads on the middle fat...carbs!
I think I need some chocolate about now....
:) 7349. thoughtful - 7/8/2008 1:43:06 AM 
7350. robertjayb - 7/8/2008 4:52:21 PM Elizabeth Edwards to front health care effort...
(HuffPost)- A consortium of progressive groups, think tanks, trade unions and activists are set to launch a $40 million health care campaign to prepare the ground for the next president to sign expanded care early in 2009.
The work of Health Care For America Now was first made public late last week. But the group, with Elizabeth Edwards as a figurehead, offered expanded insight into the details of its campaign during a meeting on Monday. In addition to spending $40 million -- $1.5 million of which will be put behind an initial ad buy (national TV, print, and online) -- the group will be sending organizers to 52 cities, blasting out emails to 5 million households, airing spots on MSNBC and CNN and submitting op-eds to major papers (officials hinted at the New York Times piece to come).
.................................................
"The focus of the campaign is on national legislation. "This year, however, it is also a referendum: do you support quality, affordable, health care for all, or an alliance with the private insurance industry?"
Perhaps the effort will wean O away from his apparent affection for insurance companies.
7351. arkymalarky - 7/8/2008 8:30:27 PM Wombat, I think it was, mentioned this when we were talking about weight loss a while back, and it's worked best for both Bob and me:
Keeping a food diary doubled weight loss in a study 7352. thoughtful - 7/8/2008 9:12:45 PM It is an important part of weight watchers, as well as weighing and measuring to maintain portion control. 7353. judithathome - 7/9/2008 1:52:00 PM I've hit a plateau at 28 pounds lost. I'm just going to wait it out like I did the others...ha! So long as I don't "weight" it out, I should start to lose again. 7354. arkymalarky - 7/9/2008 4:04:20 PM 28lbs is great! That's what I did after losing during school. I'm trying to jump on down during the summer about another 15lbs or so, but right now I'm nursing a sinus infection. At least I'm not eating much, but exercising is out until at least tomorrow. That's my worst thing. Getting into an exercise routine. I'm of the Martin Mull school of exercise. He said he took up jogging, but he kept spilling his martini and his cigarette kept going out. 7355. thoughtful - 7/9/2008 4:38:50 PM 28lbs is great!
Wasn't it phyllis diller who said her idea of exercise was a good, brisk sit? 7356. thoughtful - 7/16/2008 5:09:17 PM Concerning news about drugs to prevent osteoporosis:
The concern rises mainly from a series of case reports showing a rare type of leg fracture that shears straight across the upper thighbone after little or no trauma. Fractures in this sturdy part of the bone typically result from car accidents, or in the elderly and frail. But the case reports show the unusual fracture pattern in people who have used bone-building drugs called bisphosphonates for five years or more.
I'm telling you, stay away from doctors...it's the only way to stay healthy!
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