Millions of women with low bone density take bisphosphonates, a class of drugs used to prevent osteoporosis. But a new analysis by the FDA may lead some of these women, and their doctors, to rethink their treatment plans: The review suggests that certain women may be better off taking these drugs for a shorter period of time, instead of on a long-term basis and some should stop taking them altogether.

A new report presented to the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the WHO s decision in 2008 to endorse the use of thimerosal as a preservative for multidose childhood vaccines in the developing world is indeed scientifically valid. Some had previously claimed that there was a connection between thimerosal in vaccines and autism, but that link has since been debunked. And, as Dr.

For the first time, an advisory committee to the FDA has recommended that the agency approve a drug to prevent the transmission of HIV. The drug Truvada, a combination of two antiretroviral drugs, is not new and has actually been in use to treat HIV since 2004. However, this would be the first pharmaceutical method used in HIV-negative people to reduce an individual s risk of contracting the virus.

A recent prospective study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) chemicals commonly found in non-stick pans and food packaging reduces immune responses to tetanus and diphtheria vaccinations among children aged 5 to 7 years old. But before you start worrying about protecting your children from these supposedly dangerous chemicals, it s important to note that the research, led by Dr.

Last week, Patricia Krentcil made headlines as the tan-a-holic mother of four who was accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth, where the child allegedly suffered from severe burns.

So-called me-too drugs are iterations of existing medications that are similar in structure with only minor differences. Such medications typically result from pharmaceutical companies tweaking existing drugs to develop newer and usually more effective therapies. Alhough this mode of research sounds like a great idea, me-too drugs commonly get a bad rap for being non-innovative, especially from critics like Marcia Angell of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Josh Bloom, Medical Progress Today Spotlight Feature 5/10/12
Me-too? Says who?

Most people don't think of cancer as a result of infection. However, a study just published in The Lancet Oncology has estimated that 16 percent of all cancer cases worldwide in 2008 were due to potentially preventable or treatable infections.

Is there a causal relationship between depression and dementia? The association exists, according to a study just published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. The question, however, is whether depression can actually cause dementia.To investigate the association between these two conditions, researchers at Kaiser Permanente of Northern California examined data from over 13,500 long-term Kaiser Permanente members.

As we reported earlier in the week, a new study from the CDC projected that 42 percent of American adults would be obese by the year 2030. And the current 34 percent obesity rate is hardly something to cheer about. So, who or what is responsible for the increased number of overweight and obese Americans over the past four decades?