Go Easy on the Salt Eduardo Pementa from Brisbane, Australia

People with high blood pressure that are not controlled by multiple medications are likely eating too much salt, new findings in the journal Hypertension show. Individuals with so-called resistant hypertension showed sharp reductions in their blood pressure when they dramatically cut their salt intake, Dr.Eduardo Pimenta of Brisbane Australia and his colleagues found.

The Top 18 FAT Fighting Foods Patrick Tsakude LA Health August 2009

Increase your body's fat-burning power by eating these top-fat-fighting foods. #1 Oatmeal, #2, Leafy Greens, #3 Olive oil, #4, Garlic, #5, Tomatoes, #6, Nuts #7, Cayenne, #8, Turmeric, #9,Cinnamon, #10, Flax seeds, #11, Apple, #12, Beans, #13, Green Tea, #14, Grapefruit, #15, Broccoli, #16, Lean Turkey, #17, Hot Sauce, #18, Soup.

Effective Local Therapy and long-term Survival in Breast Cancer Winkfield, Karen MD, PHD, Harvard Medical School

The causal link between local control and long-term survival in breast cancer has become clearer over the past few years. Although the prevalence of breast cancer is high, there has been a steady decline in breast cancer mortality since the early l990's. Improvements in breast cancer-specific mortality are the result of greater emphasis on cancer screening and improved treatment modalities, principally the development of effective adjuvant systemic therapy. Adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) substantially reduces local recurrence rates, and this reduction is even greater when combined with systemic therapy.

Randomized controlled trials and meta-analysis have shown that reducing local recurrence improves overall long-term survival both mastectomy and breast-conserving therapy. Clinical and translational research has began to shed light on new prognostic and predictive markers than can assist in the assessment of an individual patient's risk of local recurrence without RT and the likelihood of a survival benefit with RT. The ability to appropriate tailor therapy to recue local recurrence rates is vital toward continuing the decline in breast cancer mortality.

The increased survival of HIV+ women with antiretroviral therapy has made it necessary for them to be informed about breast cancer, sreening and self examination are the most important preventative measures and being informed about the special doctors who specialize in breast cancer treatment is the next most important fact to know.

AIDS vaccine funding down l0% in 2008.

IAS conference Capetown South Africa July l9-22 2009

Funding for AIDS vaccine research fell by l0% in 2008, the first decline in a decade, according to figures released by the HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Resource Tracking Working Group.

This data was not unexpected. With the failure of the Gov-Merc vaccine trial in Africa known as the Step trial and the CDC calling for a halt in HIV/AIDS Vaccines trials until some more basic research on the virus was completed a vaccine for HIV seems now remote in the near future.

Antiretroviral roll-out results in major TB decline in South African study.

Presented at the IAS conference.

The roll-out of antiretroviral treatment to cover 90% of eligible people has resulted in a significant decline in new cases of TB in a South African township, demonstrating for the first time the potential of antiretroviral treatment to make major inroads into the burden of TB in high prevalence countries.

This is a very important study and good news. TB is responsible for more deaths in the world than any infectious disease including HIV.

Boosted darunavir mono therapy works well in two studies

Presented at the IAS conference in Cape town.

Ritonavir-boosted darunavir alone maintains HIV suppression in most patients who achieved an undetectable viral load on combination antiretroviral therapy, according to two studies presented at this conference.

This is important because now patients have another option after combination antiretroviral therapy has gotten to an undetectable viral load level. Maintenance therapy with daurnavir is an acceptable choice as is atazanavir.
Combination therapy to suppress the virus followed by maintenance therapy is becoming a more and more attractive way of treating HIV+ patients, especially those patients that present with low CD 4 levels.

Antiretrovirals and condoms will have more effect on HIV in south Africa than circumcision, model finds.

From the IAS Conference in Cape town South Africa July 19-22, 2009.

In preliminary results from a mathematical model set up by researchers from the British Columbia Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, male circumcision was found to have a considerable lower impact than condom use or antiretroviral therapy coverage on new HIV infection rates and on death rates in men in South Africa.

This finding support the concept that in countries with high prevalence of HIV+ people that treating people not infected with HIV with antiretroviral therapy is the best way of preventing HIV, not microbicides not vaginal barriers, not condoms, not circumcision, and not the behaviorally unusable concept of abstinence.