Tag Archives: medicine

Obama Mandates Hospital Visitation Rights For LGBT Couples

President Obama tonight ordered the Department of Health & Human Services to prohibit hospitals from discriminating against LGBT couples when it comes to visitations rights. Administration officials and gay activists, who have been quietly working together on the issue, said the new rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding, a move that covers the vast majority …

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NEBRASKA: Women Seeking Abortions Must Undergo Screening For Mental Illness

The Nebraska legislature has passed a bill requiring mental illness screenings for women who seek abortion, purportedly to determine if they were pressured into their decision. The bill had the backing of anti-abortion activists seeking to place additional roadblocks and delays into women’s reproductive choices. Republican Gov. Dave Heineman’s office said Monday he will sign the bill Tuesday, along with …

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On The End Of St. Vincent’s

As I mentioned earlier this month, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan’s West Village is set to close in bankruptcy very shortly. New York Magazine’s David France reflects on St. Vincent’s role in the early years of the AIDS pandemic. The obituary for St. Vincent’s, when it is finally written, will recall that the hospital’s greatest moment—and its darkest—came in the …

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NYC’s St. Vincent’s Hospital To Close

St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan’s West Village voted to close itself last night after failing to resolve an estimated $700M in debt. The famed hospital served the gay community as a sort of ground zero during the early years of the AIDS pandemic. The exact timing for the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, which has about 400 inpatient beds, …

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San Francisco Endorses New HIV Strategy: Begin HAART Therapy Immediately

Many HIV+ patients delay beginning anti-retroviral therapy for years after they become aware of their infection, waiting for signs that their immune system has begun to falter before starting treatment. San Francisco’s Department of Health has just endorsed starting HAART treatment immediately upon diagnosis. Behind the policy switch is mounting evidence that patients who start early are more likely to …

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Rep. Alan Grayson Vs. Florida Doctor

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Florida Doctor: Don’t Come To Me If You Voted For Barack Obama

Urologist Dr. Jack Cassell of Mount Dora, Florida has posted a sign telling patients to go elsewhere if they voted for Barack Obama. A doctor who considers the national health-care overhaul to be bad medicine for the country posted a sign on his office door telling patients who voted for President Barack Obama to seek care “elsewhere.” “I’m not turning …

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HIV Hides In Bone Marrow

Researchers have learned that HIV can lie dormant for years in bone marrow, evading drug therapy and later activating to cause disease. The issue of “hidden” HIV has been one of the biggest obstacles to attempts to completely clear the virus from the body. Dr. Kathleen Collins of the University of Michigan and her colleagues report in this week’s edition …

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An Instructive Film About HIV & PEP

Via Pep411.com, here’s a short instructive film about Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). This latest project is targeted to help young men of color, but of course applies to everybody. This clip may be slightly NSFW due to male-on-male making out. PEP stands for Post Exposure Prophylaxis. It is HIV medications, usually 3 or 4 pills, that you take after you think …

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National Institute Of Health To Conduct Unprecedented Study Of LGBT Health

The National Institute of Health is inviting public comment on an unprecedented planned study of LGBT health issues. An insider writes us on how to help: The Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), has been asked by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a report on LGBT health. Nothing like this has …

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New Jersey Approves Medical Marijuana

Yesterday both chambers of the New Jersey legislature approved medical marijuana. The New Jersey legislature voted Monday to make that state the 14th in the country to approve marijuana for medicinal use, pending the governor’s signature. Gov. Jon Corzine, who leaves office next week, has said he would sign the bill. Two years after the bill was introduced to the …

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Dying Mom Denied Blood From Gay Son

A 21 year-old gay man in Scotland was prevented from donating blood to his dying mother. Dij Bentley’s mother Christine, 47, died from acute myeloid leukaemia in August last year. Prior to her death, she had developed an infection and needed a blood transfusion. Friends and family members were asked to give blood to see if they were a match …

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1 Of 6 Americans Have Had Swine Flu

New numbers out today from the CDC indicate that 50 million Americans, or about 1 in 6, have already had H1N1. There have been about 10,000 deaths. The new estimates suggest that the flu, also known as H1N1, has spread through 15% of the U.S. population since it was first identified in April. As of Nov. 17, 200,000 people have …

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97 Meds In HIV/AIDS Pipeline

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association writes us today in advance of World AIDS Day (December 1st) to let us know about the 97 HIV/AIDS medications currently in the research pipeline. Conservatively, an effective HIV vaccine could prevent almost 30 million of the 150 million new infections projected in the coming decades. A highly effective vaccine could even prevent more …

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Poll: One-Third Of Parents Oppose Swine Flu Vaccine For Their Kids

A new poll by the Associated Press reveals that over one-third of the nation’s parents don’t want their kids immunized against the swine flu, despite reassurances from the government that the vaccine is safe. Some parents say they are concerned about side effects from the new vaccine — even though nothing serious has turned up in tests so far — …

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Pozzers Told To Get Swine Flu Vaccine

The San Francisco Department of Public Health is advising that HIV-positive folks get the swine flu vaccine when it becomes widely available later this fall. San Francisco health officials stress there is no evidence to suggest that people living with HIV are any more susceptible to the swine flu than they would be for the seasonal flu. “They should think …

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Antibodies Found That Block HIV’s Progression Into AIDS

More encouraging news on the HIV/AIDS front. After 15 years of futile searching for a vaccine against the AIDS virus, researchers are reporting the tantalizing discovery of antibodies that can prevent the virus from multiplying in the body and producing severe disease. They do not have a vaccine yet, but they may well have a road map toward the production …

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Governator Slashes AIDS Funding

As feared and protested, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has dramatically slashed funding for California’s HIV prevention and AIDS treatment programs. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation laments: Today’s cuts to HIV/AIDS programs include: an 80% reduction in funding for Education & Prevention, a 70% cut in HIV Counseling and Testing, a 50% cut for Early Intervention (that provides primary medical care), a 100% …

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The Magic Of Blue

Urban legend says the green M&Ms make you horny, but there’s something in the blue ones that really might prove useful. The food dye that gives blue M&M’s their colour can help mend spinal injuries, researchers say. The compound Brilliant Blue G blocks a chemical that kills healthy spinal cord cells around the damaged area – an event that often …

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No Purell For Devout Muslims

In the UK, where an estimated 100,000 cases of swine flu are being diagnosed each week, some Muslim health care workers are refusing to use hand sanitizers due to their alcohol content. Some of those employed by St Albans Council in Hertfordshire have complained about the antibacterial lotion, which is considered a key strategy in containing the virus. Officials were …

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