Infectious Disease

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Even in the rural southeast, a high proportion of gay men are using crystal methamphetamine, a drug that promotes risky sexual behavior, researchers said.

ROCKVILLE. Md. -- Women appear to be particularly vulnerable to head-and-neck cancer from smoking, according to National Cancer Institute researchers.

BRISTOL, England -- For universal vaccination of pre-adolescent girls against human papillomavirus, the development of the vaccine was only the first step to wide-scale cancer prevention.

ATLANTA -- Three recent outbreaks of respiratory illness erroneously attributed to pertussis led CDC investigators to urge diligence in confirming that the pathogen is indeed the culprit.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Children infected with HIV at birth appear to maintain normal behavior and academic performance after 10 years of follow-up, researchers reported here.

ATLANTA -- Two new strains of norovirus may be responsible for a nationwide spike in outbreaks late last year that led to 19 deaths, the CDC said.

More than seven out of 10 respondents to a MedPage Today poll say they would wish patients a "bon voyage" if they want to travel overseas for expensive surgery or treatment not available in the U.S.

SEATTLE -- Breathing nitric oxide during liver transplantation helps kick start the grafted organ, researchers reported.

PITTSBURGH -- Hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease can be predicted by monitoring water systems for high levels of the bacteria that cause it, researchers here said.

BOSTON -- Obesity may be caused -- at least in some cases -- by a virus, researchers said here.

GALVESTON, Tex. -- Burn-associated morbidity and mortality in children are driven by an increased hypermetabolic and inflammatory reaction and impaired cardiac function related to burn size.

CHICAGO -- For many older patients, sexual activity doesn't abate but it clearly begins to fade away, found a national survey.

HYATTSVILLE, Md. -- The U.S. death rate fell to a historic low in 2004 and the life expectancy at birth hit a record high, according to the National Center for Vital Statistics here.

AMSTERDAM -- In severe peritonitis, repeat laparotomy done only when the patient's condition demands it cuts down on the number of procedures and medical costs, researchers found.

BOSTON -- Heavy alcohol use appears to speed HIV progression, researchers here said.

NANTES, France -- Geneticists are on the trail of a way to determine which kidney- transplant recipients can be taken off immunosuppressants safely.

ATLANTA -- West Nile virus cases this year are running a little ahead of last year, according to the CDC.

BOSTON -- A cluster of estrogen receptors deep in the brain may hold clues to why women acquire visceral fat at menopause.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has added a boxed warning to the litany of cautions about the use of entacavir (Baraclude), a hepatitis B drug, for certain patients co-infected with HIV.

GHENT, Belgium -- Production of avian influenza vaccine could substantially increase with use of an antigen-sparing strategy that increases levels of neutralizing antibodies, investigators here reported.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Washing hands with antibacterial soap was no more effective at reducing bacteria levels or preventing illness than washing with plain soap, researchers said.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- For microbiologic diagnosis of an infected hip or knee prosthesis, low-energy ultrasound of the device itself may be the preferred approach.

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands -- The incidence of gastric cancer in developed Western nations will decrease by 24% during the next 10 years, investigators have concluded.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The bivalent vaccine that protects against infection with human papillomavirus does not affect HPV clearance in women with pre-existing infections and should not be considered a treatment modality.

PITTSBURGH -- Fatal sepsis in hospitalized pneumonia patients is most likely to occur in the presence of high levels of certain proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, investigators here found.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has warned consumers against using three brands of red yeast rice, a product marketed as a natural remedy for high cholesterol, because they may contain lovastatin, the active ingredient in Mevacor.

NAPLES, Italy -- Not all probiotics stem acute childhood diarrhea any better than standard oral hydration, researchers here found.

GHENT, Belgium -- Noninvasive serum N-glycan profiling might unmask undiagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma in HBV-infected patients with cirrhosis, investigators here said.

OXFORD, England -- Abstinence-only programs to prevent HIV and pregnancy in high-income countries are ineffective, according to a systematic review of 13 U.S. trials.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Zinc lozenges do nothing to prevent or treat the common cold, a systematic review of studies of the over-the-counter treatment suggested.