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European Food Safety Authority Publishes Its First Report On Pesticide Residues In Food
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its first Annual Report on Pesticide Residues, which provides an overview on the pesticide residues in food observed throughout the European Union (EU) during 2007 and assesses the exposure of consumers through their diets. The report showed that the majority of the samples complied with the legal maximum residue levels (MRLs) of pesticides and made a series of recommendations to further improve the collection of data required for pesticide exposure assessment.

Economic Recession, Emerging Diseases Should Not Replace Efforts To Fight HIV/AIDS, IAS President Says
Concerns regarding the H1N1 flu strain or the current global economic recession should not take attention away from the long-term fight against HIV/AIDS, Julio Mantaner, head of the International AIDS Society, said recently, VOA News reports. Mantaner said global health issues need to be "put ... into the proper perspective," adding, "No doubt that ... whatever new flu or any other epidemic that may show up the day after tomorrow ... is something that we need to respond to. But it cannot be at the expense of a proven, established killer" like HIV/AIDS. He said that although it is important to remain vigilant in detecting emerging epidemics and infectious diseases, "we"re (doing) ourselves a very serious disservice" when res are taken away from combating HIV/AIDS and given to "the next new potential epidemic."Mantaner said that although it is "clear that we failed to meet original targets" in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, there has been an increase in the number of HIV-positive people in developing countries receiving antiretroviral treatments from about 500,000 in 2003 to more than three million by the end of 2007. In addition, he said that antiretrovirals are "saving lives of people" and "preserving the social network, the family structure ... that is so severely compromised by HIV and AIDS." Despite this progress, Mantaner said that "[w]e need to recognize more [people] are being infected every day by a factor of nearly two than the number of people accessing antiretroviral therapy."Mantaner urged members of the World Health Assembly -- who recently met in Geneva -- to honor HIV/AIDS commitments, noting that the gains in fighting the pandemic cannot be reversed. He said that he is concerned the global recession, worries over the H1N1 flu and other "competing needs or hypothetical epidemics" could lead to donor nations "losing their interest" in fighting HIV/AIDS. Mantaner said that he is disappointed with President Obama"s recent $63 billion, six-year proposed global health initiative, adding that it falls short of his campaign promises. He said that IAS is asking leaders from the Group of Eight industrialized nations to "refocus their efforts" and "meet their commitments." He warned that if the commitments are not met, "[h]istory is going to judge us very harshly," adding, "We"ve been distracted by the epidemic of the day without recognizing that we have a killer within our midst that we can control" (DeCapua, VOA News, 5/21).
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Prevalence Of Ureaplasma Urealyticum And Mycoplasma Hominis In Women With Chronic Urinary Symptoms
UroToday.com - Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma Hominis are members of a unique group of microorganisms commonly identified in the genital tract of women. With the onset of sexual intercourse the prevalence of Mycoplasma increases dramatically an isolation is strongly dependent on the number of sexual partners. Convincing evidence of an infection caused by genital Mycoplasma is not easy, because they usually are not isolated in pure culture, making the evaluation even more difficult.
Cardiovascular

Daily Women's Health Policy Report Summarizes Studies Examining Ovarian Cancer

The following summarizes recent research related to ovarian cancer.~ Early periods linked to lower survival: Women who start menstruating at an early age or experience more menstrual cycles over their lifetimes appear to have a lower chance of surviving ovarian cancer, according to a study published this month in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, Reuters reports. For the study, researcher Cheryl Robbins and colleagues analyzed the medical data of 410 ovarian cancer patients who participated in the Cancer and Steroid Hormone study between 1980 and 1982. The analysis found that the women who had their first period before age 12 had a 51% greater risk of dying than the women who began menstruating at age 14 or older. The women who had the highest number of lifetime menstrual cycles had a 67% greater risk of dying during follow-up than the women with the lowest number of cycles (Reuters, 7/24).~ Lung cancer risk higher for women after hysterectomy with ovary removal: Women who have had hysterectomies in which their uterus and both ovaries are removed to prevent ovarian cancer appear to have a higher risk for developing lung cancer, according to researchers at the University of Montreal, the New York Times reports. The researchers discovered the connection while looking for links between lung cancer and hormones for a study published in May in the International Journal of Cancer. Although they did not find a relationship between lung cancer risk and hormonal factors such as menstruation patterns, child-bearing or breastfeeding, the researchers found that women who had medically induced menopause had 1.92 times greater risk of developing lung cancer than women who had natural menopause (Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 7/24).~ Small tumors present for years before detection: Minute-sized ovarian tumors form and remain in the Fallopian tubes for an average of four years before they grow large enough to be detected, which might suggest why ovarian cancer frequently is diagnosed in its later stages, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine, Reuters reports. For the study, lead researcher Patrick Brown of Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and colleagues analyzed the tumors of women whose Fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed because they had family histories of and genetic risk for ovarian cancer. They found small tumors -- most less than three millimeters in diameter -- that previously had not been detected in the women. In a statement, Brown said, "There is a long window of opportunity for potentially lifesaving early detection of this disease, but the tumor spreads while it is still much too small to be detected by any of the tests that have been developed or proposed to date." According to Reuters, blood tests for the compound called CA-125 may help guide therapy but do not indicate whether a woman has a tumor (Reuters, 7/28). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women"s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company. © 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.


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