About 0.59% Of Vietnamese Fishery Workers Are HIV-Positive, Prevalence Could Rise By 2013, Survey Says

An estimated 33,000 of the total 5.5 million workers in Vietnam’s fishery sector, or about 0.59%, were living with HIV in 2008, according to a survey released Tuesday by Vietnam’s fishery program, VNA/VOV News reports (VNA/VOV News, 5/27). The report also predicted that the number of HIV-positive people in Vietnam’s fishery sector could rise to 58,000 by 2013. According to a second survey, conducted simultaneously, a lack of knowledge about the disease has contributed to the fishery sector’s relatively high HIV prevalence. Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as part of its Strengthening of Fisheries Administration conducted the survey with support from the Danish International Development Agency.

Low Vitamin D Levels In Blacks Could Contribute To Higher Rates Of Cancer, Other Diseases, Researcher Says

Low vitamin D levels in blacks could contribute to health gaps between white and black U.S. residents, Michael Holick, a professor at Boston University and a vitamin D researcher, said recently, the GNS/Chicago Sun-Timesreports. According to Holick, blacks have lower levels of vitamin D than whites in part because the higher amount of pigment in their skin makes it harder for their body to absorb the nutrient, which is produced in response to sun exposure.

Helping Mentally Ill People Find Jobs Could Save Federal Government $368 Million A Year

A national program to help mentally ill people on Social Security disability programs find jobs could spur greater independence while saving the federal government $368 million annually, according to a study by Robert Drake of Dartmouth Medical School and colleagues in the May-June 2009 issue of Health Affairs.

Approximately 27 percent of people who are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are mentally ill. Surveys show that up to 70 percent of people with mental illnesses want to work. Drake and his coauthors say that a national “supported employment” program would help these people, as well as those with mental illnesses who qualify for the separate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, to earn incomes that could total up to $1.6 billion a year.

Shortage Of HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria Drugs In Ugandan District Could Lead To Treatment Interruption, Drug Resistance

A shortage of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria medications in Uganda’s northern Gulu district could cause patients to interrupt treatment and lead to drug resistance, Paul Onek, Gulu director of health services, said recently, IRIN/PlusNews reports. According to IRIN/PlusNews, inadequate management of the country’s drug supply regularly causes shortages.

More than 2,000 TB patients in the district have begun a six-month treatment regimen and about 1,300 HIV-positive people have received a monthly supply of antiretrovirals from Gulu’s largest hospital. However, Onek noted that the district has not received TB drugs since January. Angelo Ojera, HIV focal point in the district, said that some TB patients are taking expired medications and that some HIV-positive people who have malaria have had to purchase drugs from private clinics.

Could this combination of drugs be harmful?

Question:

my uncle is taking these drugs and i wonder if any of them contra indicate any other or could cause a bad reaction thank you

cymbalta duatrol felodur fibsol karvezide notem (could be notan) zoton

Answer:

I am unable to completely answer your question because these drugs are not marketed in the United States under these names.  I was able to find equivalents under US products for all of the names listed except for duatrol.  For the remaining drugs, there are no potential contraindications or interactions between them. 

Arginine Discovery Could Help Fight Human Obesity

A Texas AgriLife Research scientist and fellow researchers have discovered that arginine, an amino acid, reduces fat mass in diet-induced obese rats and could help fight human obesity.

“Given the current epidemic of obesity in the U.S. and worldwide, our finding is very important,” said Dr. Guoyao Wu, an AgriLife Research animal nutritionist in College Station and Senior Faculty Fellow in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University.

Gap In Colorectal Cancer Screening Could Be Filled By Primary Care Physicians

The number of people who need colonoscopies to screen for colorectal cancer is outpacing the number of endoscopists available to perform them, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

A booming aging population has increased the number of people over 50, the age when the American Cancer Society recommends beginning regular screening for colorectal cancer, the third most common and second most fatal cancer in the United States.

Research Could Shed Light On Life Cycle Of Membrane-Bound Viruses Like HIV

Cells are filled with membrane-bound organelles like the nucleus, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticula. Over the years, scientists have made much progress in understanding the biomolecular details of how these organelles function within cells, but understanding the actual physical forces that maintain the structures of these organelles’ membranes continues to be a challenge.

Now, UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science researcher William Klug and colleagues from the California Institute of Technology and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Massachusetts have devised a mathematical procedure for accurately predicting the three-dimensional forces involved in creating and maintaining certain organelle membranes.

Discovery Of ‘Lipokine’ Signaling Could Eventually Lead To New Treatments For Obesity-Related Conditions

Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have identified in mice a newly discovered class of hormones — lipokines, according to a report in the September 19, 2008, issue of Cell. Furthermore, they have implicated a lipokine as a molecule in mice that helps stop or even reverse obesity-related conditions such as insulin resistance and “fatty liver.”

Lipokines are hormones made from lipids, or fats. All other known hormones — chemical signals secreted into the blood that regulate distant cells and organs — are steroid- or protein-based.

Illinois Gov. Blagojevich’s Amendatory Veto Could Jeopardize Bill That Would Grant Uninsured State Residents Discounts On Hospital Care

Final passage of a bill that would give Illinois residents without health insurance a discount on hospital care could be jeopardized because of an amendatory veto by Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), the Chicago Tribunereports. The bill — which would have guaranteed uninsured Illinoisans the “most generous discounts in the U.S.,” capped their annual spending hospital care and applied to an estimated 775,000 families in the state — passed unanimously in the House and Senate last spring after extensive negotiations with the Illinois attorney general’s office.