Efforts to cut risky sexual behavior by U.S. teens stall

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AIDS Conference Update: Man Cured of AIDS, Teens Engaging in Risky Business

That the research around HIV cure is so prominent at AIDS 2012 is proof of where the science has come these past few years, we now actively talk of potential scientific solutions in a way perhaps we weren

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Drunk drivers show risky lifetime drinking habits: study

Reuters – 1 hr 24 mins ago (Reuters) - Many people convicted of drunk driving appear to have a lifelong struggle with risky drinking habits, and using their conviction as a way of getting them into treatment could have long-lasting benefits, according to a U.S. study.

In interviews with 700 adults with a drunk-driving conviction, researchers found that nearly half had either been drinking heavily for the long haul, or had fallen back into heavy drinking after trying to cut down for a time, according to their report in the journal Addiction.

What's more, between one-fifth and one-third of those chronically risky drinkers met the definitions for alcohol or drug dependence, or for mental health conditions like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"A DWI (driving while intoxicated) conviction identifies people at risk," said study leader Sandra Lapham, at the Behavioral health Research Center of the Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"It's a red flag, and an opportunity to intervene."

Some DWI offenders with drinking problems may not believe anything is wrong. Others may want help, but can't pay for it, she added.

Lapham's team interviewed 696 New Mexico adults who'd been convicted of DWI about 15 years earlier, asking them about their lifetime drinking patterns.

Women were considered "risky" drinkers if they habitually had more than seven drinks per week or four or more on any given day. For men, the limits were more than 14 drinks per week or five or more drinks a day.

Overall, 13 percent of the participants had varying drinking patterns throughout their lives. Another 14 percent said they had managed to cut down from heavy drinking to more moderate levels and keep it that way.

And 21 percent said they'd become abstinent, after some period of risky drinking.

But nearly half the group had ongoing struggles. Nineteen percent reported a "Lifetime" of risky drinking and one-quarter said they'd gone back to risky drinking after trying to quit or cut back.

Those people, the study found, had high rates of alcohol or drug dependence as well as other mental health disorders, like depression.

These are people who need "intensive treatment," Lapham said - and getting them into treatment at the time of a DWI conviction could have the bonus of protecting other drivers and pedestrians, since DWI offenders have a high risk of repeat offenses.

"It's a difficult problem with no easy answer," Lapham added. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/KnqktC

(Reporting from New York by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)

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FDA warns MS patients about risky treatment

Reuters – 1 hr 36 mins ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. drug regulators are warning people with multiple sclerosis that an experimental treatment that props open internal veins in the neck and chest can cause death or serious injury.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said at least two people had died from the procedure, which uses stents or balloon angioplasties to widen veins that connect the brain and spinal cord to the heart. One person was permanently paralyzed, and others had bleeding in the brain, suffered strokes, blood clots or other side effects.

It is unknown how many people received the treatment and how many had problems, as stents and angioplasties are not approved for this use by the FDA, the agency said. Stents are steel mesh coils that can keep arteries open, while balloon angioplasties use a balloon at the tip of a catheter to open blocked blood vessels.

The FDA could not immediately identify the stent models being used in such treatments.

The FDA announcement relates to a controversy that has developed in the multiple sclerosis (MS) community about the causes of the chronic, progressive disorder of the brain and spinal cord.

The disease, which affects about 2.5 million people worldwide and has no cure, attacks the central nervous system and can lead to numbness, paralysis and loss of vision. Drugs that treat the condition, from companies like Biogen Idec Inc and Sanofi SA, can often only prevent relapses or slow its progression.

The underlying cause of MS is unknown. Some researchers believe that although it is typically thought of as a disorder of the immune system, it may actually be caused by blood vessel changes. Their theory is that veins bringing blood from the brain and spine back to the heart sometimes become too narrow, making blood leak back into the brain tissue. They say that could trigger inflammation, eventually causing the balance and muscle problems seen in MS.

Other scientists have not been able to show a link between MS and compromised blood flow, which is called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, or prove the condition exists at all.

Meanwhile, MS patients seek new treatments, prompting patient advocacy and research groups to invest in more research studying the link between multiple sclerosis and CCSVI.

"Our position is that the evidence is simply insufficient to determine whether there's a link," said Dr. William Maisel, deputy director and chief scientist of the FDA's devices division. "We want patients to be aware this treatment (with stents or balloon angioplasty) is unproven, that there are significant risks associated with the treatment, (and) the benefits are uncertain."

The FDA said people who want to try the experimental treatment should first discuss the risks with their doctor, or should try the treatment while participating in clinical trials.

(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Michele Gershberg, Maureen Bavdek and John Wallace)

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