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Dr. Harper: Gardasil and Cervarix not tested for efficacy or safety on children.
There is a new controversy on whether or not to vaccinate young girls for cervical cancer — Is the drug effective and is it actually safe? “Harper: Controversial Drug Will Do Little To Reduce Cervical Cancer Rates” Dr. Diane Harper, lead researcher in the development of two human papilloma virus vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, said the controversial [...]

Meet the critters inside your mattress
The mattress can be a jungle of dust mites and bedbugs, milling around among dried remnants of blood, saliva, sweat and basically all the other bodily fluids.

Lou Gehrig's victim: Kill me for my organs
A Georgia man suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease says he wants to die by having his organs harvested rather than wait for his degenerative nerve ailment to kill him.

Calcium supplements may boost heart attack risk
The millions of people who take calcium supplements to strengthen aging bones and ward off osteoporosis may be putting themselves at increased risk of a heart attack, a new study has found.

Clone farm goal: Disease-resistant animals
Cloning has been a controversial issue since German embryologist Hans Spemann first made a pair of adorable, genetically identical salamander twins out of a single egg, way back in nineteen-dickety-two.

Hoarding called public health issue
In extreme cases, hoarders' obsession has led to fires, attracted vermin, endangered their families, that experts describe it as a growing public health problem.

Emerging evidence-based physical rehabilitation for Multiple Sclerosis - Towards an inventory of current content across Europe
In Europe, theoretical approaches to physical therapy and rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis (MS) often appear significantly different. While there is general agreement that rehabilitation plays an important role in maintaining and improving function in persons with MS (PwMS), no consensus exists on what may be the most effective approach to achieve the best possible functionality within an individual's limitations.The objective of this paper is to initiate an analysis of currently applied physical interventions for people with MS (PwMS) throughout Europe during inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation programs. A study of the content of rehabilitation may show presently performed treatment methods revealing the basic considerations that nowadays guide clinicians implicitly or explicitly in the treatment of PwMS. Following this first step, comparative studies can be set up.

Quality of life of children and their caregivers during an AOM episode: development and use of a telephone questionnaire
Background: The negative consequences of acute otitis media (AOM) on the quality of life (QOL) of children and their families need to be measured to assess benefits of preventive interventions. Methods: A new questionnaire was specifically designed for use in telephone surveys. A random sample of Canadian families was selected using random-digit dialling. Caregivers of children 6-59 months of age who experienced at least one AOM episode during the last 12 months were interviewed. Multidimensional severity and global QOL scores were measured both for affected children and their caregivers. Internal consistency of scores was assessed using standard tests. Results: Of the 502 eligible caregivers who completed the survey, 161 (32%) reported at least one AOM episode during the last 12 months and these cases were included in the analysis. Average severity was 2.6 for children and 2.4 for caregivers on a 1 to 4 scale (maximum severity). Cronbach alpha values were 0.78 and 0.81 for the severity score of children and caregivers respectively. Average QOL was 3.4 for children and 3.5 for caregivers on a 1 to 5 scale (best QOL). There was moderate to high correlation between severity and QOL scores, and between these scores and duration of AOM episodes. Conclusions: The questionnaire was easy to use during telephone interviews and results suggest good reliability and validity of the different scores to measure AOM severity and QOL of children and their caregivers during an AOM episode.

The effect of peer-lead education on the life quality of mastectomy patients referred to breast cancer- clinics in Shiraz, Iran 2009
Background: Breast cancer among women is a relatively common with a more favorable expected survival rates than other forms of cancers. This study aimed to determine the improved quality of life for post-mastectomy women through peer education. Methods: Using pre and post test follow up and control design approach, 99 women with stage I and II of breast cancer diagnosis were followed one year after modified radical mastectomy. To measure the quality of life an instrument designed by the European organization for research and treatment of cancer, known as the Quality of Life Question (QLQ-30) and it's breast cancer supplementary measure (QLQ-BR23) at three points in time (before, immediately and two months after intervention) for both groups were used. The participant selection was a convenient sampling method and women were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group was randomly assigned to five groups and peer educators conducted weekly educational programs for one month. Tabulated data were analyzed using chi square, t test, and repeated measurement multivariate to compare the quality of life differences over time. Results: For the experimental group, the results showed statistically significant improvement in all performance aspects of life quality and symptom reduction (P<0.001), while the control group had no significant differences in all aspects of life quality. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that peer led education is a useful intervention for post- mastectomy women to improves their quality of life.

Do urinary tract infections affect morale among very old women?
Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is among the most common bacterial infections in women of all ages but the incidence increases with older age. Despite the fact that UTI is a common problem it is still poorly investigated regarding its connection with experienced health and morale. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of a diagnosed, symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) with or without ongoing treatment on morale or subjective wellbeing among very old women. Methods: In a cross-sectional, population-based study, 504 women aged 85 years and older (range 84-104) were evaluated for ongoing UTI. Of these, 319 (63.3%), were able to answer the questions on the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) which was used to assess morale or subjective wellbeing. Results: In the present study sample of 319 women, 46 (14.4%) were diagnosed as having had a UTI with or without ongoing treatment when they were assessed. Women with UTI with or without ongoing treatment had significantly lower PGCMS scores (10.4 vs 11.9, p=0.003) than those without UTI, indicating a significant impact on morale or subjective wellbeing among very old women. Depression (p<0.001), UTI (p=0.014) and constipation (p=0.018) were the medical diagnoses significantly and independently associated with low morale in a multivariate regression model. Conclusions: As UTI seems to be independently associated with low morale or poor subjective wellbeing, there needs to be more focus on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of UTI in old women.

How do children at special schools and their parents perceive their Health Related Quality of Life compared to their peers?
Background: There has been some debate in the past as to who should determine values for different health states for economic evaluation. The aim of this study was to compare the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in children attending open schools (OS)and children with disabilities attending a special school (SS) and their parents in Cape Town South Africa. Methods: The EQ-5D-Y and a proxy version were administered to the children and their parents were requested to fill in the EQ-5D-Y proxy version without consultation with their children on the same day. Results: A response rate of over 20% resulted in 567 sets of child/adult responses from OS children and 61 responses from SS children. Children with special needs reported more problems in the Mobility and Looking after myself domains but their scores with regard to Doing usual activities, Pain/discomfort and Worried/ sad/ unhappy were similar to their typically developing counterparts. The mean Visual Analogue Scale score of SS children was (88.4, SD18.3, range 40-100) which was not different to the mean score of the OS respondents (87.9, SD16.5, range 5-100).The association between adult and child scores was fair to moderate in the domains. The correlation in VAS scores between Open Schools children and female care-givers' scores on the VAS were significant but low ( r=.33, p<.001) and insignificant between Special School children and adult (r=.16, p=.24) .DiscussionIt would appear that children with disabilities do not perceive their HRQoL to be worse than their able bodied counterparts, although they do recognise their limitations in the domains of Mobility and DUA. Conclusions: This finding lends weight to the argument that valuation of health states by children affected by these health states should not be included for the purpose of economic analysis as the childs' resilience might result in better values for health states and possibly a correspondingly smaller resource allocation. Conversely, if HRQoL is to be used as a clinical outcome, then it is preferable to include the children's values as proxy report does not appear to be highly correlated with the child's own perceptions.

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