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New Booklet Helps Patients Better Understand Radiation Therapy
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has recently updated its award-winning patient booklet, Radiation Therapy for Cancer that provides information for people living with cancer and their loved ones who are exploring radiation therapy as a treatment option.
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Comparative Effectiveness Necessary To Weigh New Drugs Against Old Ones, Opinion Piece Says
Patients and physicians "need to know not just whether a new drug outperforms a placebo, but whether it"s a real advance on what"s already on the market," Richard Friedman, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes in a New York Times opinion piece. According to Friedman, "Doctors and patients alike are inundated by drug company marketing." Friedman states he has seen "scores of patients" who are "eager to get the latest antidepressant or mood stabilizer that promised them tranquility on their TV screens." He continues that these new treatments are not necessarily better than older, proven treatments. Comparative effectiveness research would allow "head-to-head trials comparing new and standard treatments," which is why the practice has "provoked strong resistance from the makers of drugs and devices who fear that their fancy new products may not be any better than current ones," according to Friedman. He concludes, "I"d opt for an old drug with a known track record of efficacy and safety over an expensive newcomer with no added benefit -- any day of the week" (Friedman, New York Times, 5/19). Purchase zoloft to treat depression.
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Blood-Borne Molecule Helps Regulate Blood-Vessel Integrity
Although maintaining the integrity of blood vessel walls is essential for life, well-controlled temporary leakage of blood contents through the walls of blood vessels into the tissues is a hallmark of inflammation. Although the molecule S1P is known to act on the cells that line blood vessels (endothelial cells) to regulate the permeability of blood vessel walls, the in vivo of SIP in this process remains unknown, and whether it has a role in inflammation has not been determined. In a new study, Shaun Coughlin and colleagues, at UCSF, San Francisco, have shed light on these issues, revealing that mice that lack S1P selectively in plasma (the liquid component of blood) have increased leakage from the blood vessels in response to a variety of stimuli, including inflammatory ones. As the leakage was reversed by treatment with either S1P-containing red blood cells or an agonist for the protein to which SIP binds, the authors conclude that S1P in the blood regulates blood-vessel integrity and prevents potentially lethal decreases in blood volume after exposure to leak-inducing stimuli.
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HIV Status Not Grounds For Denying People Professional Licenses, Federal Officials Say

The Department of Justice on Thursday said that it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to bar people -- such as barbers, masseuses, and home health care aides -- from receiving professional licenses or training at occupational schools because they have HIV or AIDS, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports. Some states, for example, require that cosmetologists be free of communicable diseases. "The government says that type of regulation is outdated and was not intended to bar people with HIV. The original goal of such a rule was to prevent the spread of tuberculosis and other diseases, not prevent people with [HIV] from working in certain fields," according to the AP/Times. Furthermore, "The Supreme Court has found people with AIDS or HIV are covered under the law barring discrimination against people with disabilities," the article states (7/16). This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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