Results from a study out of the University of Minnesota have added to the ongoing debate over the most effective approach towards the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage prostate cancer. The study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, compared men with early-stage cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy with a group that was followed non-invasively, using active surveillance. The findings?

I couldn't let this one go by. Just too slanted and inaccurate. And it's all over the news today.
"Aspirin Isn't a Wonder Drug," is a fine piece of science fiction by "The People's Chemist," Shane Ellison. Ellison also wrote "Over-The-Counter Natural Cures." His credentials, such as they are, consist of a Masters degree in organic chemistry .
Sounds impressive, but it really isn't. Pretty much anyone with the intellectual capacity of plankton can get one.

And just in case you ve been experiencing any withdrawal symptoms from the witty blog posts of ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom, you re in luck. Dr. Bloom has a new post over at Medical Progress Today, in which he identifies a multitude of inaccuracies found in Shane Ellison s Over-The-Counter Natural Cures. Among other claims in his book, Ellison argues that Big Pharma didn t invent aspirin. Mother Nature did.

Last month, the FDA approved Arena Pharmaceuticals Belviq (lorcaserin) the first weight-loss drug to hit the market in over a decade.

When it comes to adopting effective strategies for implementing HPV vaccination programs, we could all take a lesson from Australia. In a statement released last week, Tanya Plibersek, Australia s minister of health, announced that, through the National Immunization Program-sponsored school-based initiative, Australia would be the first country to extend use of the Gardasil HPV vaccine to boys aged 12 to 13.

More welcome news from the 2012 Alzheimer s Association International Conference in Vancouver: Results of an extended phase II trial find that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVG), which consists of an extract of pooled blood antibodies, prevents declines in cognition, memory, daily functioning, and mood.

In April, we lauded the FDA for ignoring chemophobic hype when the agency refused to ban the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging, cans, and other consumer products. Despite activist pressure including a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council the FDA stuck to its scientific guns and determined that BPA posed no health threats to consumers.

Last week, we were less than pleased by FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg s empty boasting about the success of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This week, ACSH scientific advisor Dr. Michael Siegel, who is on the faculty of Boston University s School of Public Health, does us one better.

A study just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has reached a somewhat tautological conclusion: Following restrictions on the use of partially hydrogenated fat (trans fat) in New York City chain restaurants, the trans fat content of patrons purchases decreased. Well, okay. But does this fairly predictable result translate to improved health among New Yorkers?

A spate of new findings on Alzheimer s disease is making news at the Alzheimer s Association International Conference this week in Vancouver. And while last week, breakthrough research on the neurological underpinnings of the disease made news, this week a series of findings on preventive measures are generating headlines.