Australian researchers have unveiled a new immunotherapy technique
to help prevent the progression from HIV infection to AIDS.
We all know there is a need for effective immunotherapy's for HIV,
as the therapies we have now are too expensive, impractical, and
often highly toxic.
That is where OPAL comes in. OPAL therapy--Overlapping Peptide-pulsed
Autologous CeLls--a reinfusion of fresh blood cells
incubating with overlapping SIV peptides. The OPAL technique was
successfully tested in animal trials for stimulation of immunity,
control of virus levels, and prevention of AIDS.
Vaccination diminished the levels of virus 10-fold lower than in
controls, and was shown to be durable for over one year past initial
vaccination. Therefore, viral replication was shown to be prolonged
and more manageable, resulting in fewer deaths from AIDS.
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Canada orders at www.canadapost.ca
Australia orders at www.auspost.com.au
More
on Medicare
Congress has
drastically cut Medicare Part B physician payments that have been
proposed each year since 2002. They have also managed to avert those
cuts with a temporary fixes followed by hollow promises to take a
good look at the serious funding problems in Medicare.
At the end of 2007, with a 10.6 percent cut looming, Congress
delayed action again until July 1, 2008. Even if they delay it
again, an additional 5 percent cut is scheduled for January, 2009.
Throughout the country, many medical clinics and physicians in
private practice are not accepting new Medicare patients. What's the
reason? Medicare reimbursement has never covered the real cost of
services.
It's been suggest that the typical clinic loses about $12 on every
Medicare visit, not including physician's wages. Some have suggested
it's actually more. Medicare, on average, pays about 54 percent of a
recipient's health care costs.
That's why, after they deduct the cost of Part B (which went up
again this year) from Social Security, most people still pay up to
$178 more per month for supplemental insurance to help cover medical
expenses and another $25 or $30 for the prescription drug benefit.
This fact should make aging boomers worry as at 78 million strong
they are quite close to their Medicare eligibility.
Think about it. If their doctors retire before they do, who will
agree to take them on as Medicare patients? How much will be
deducted from their Social Security for Part B? How much will they
have to pay for supplemental insurance? You can believe it sure
isn't going to be cheaper.
In March, the Medicare trustees issued a report saying reserves in
the Medicare trust fund that pays hospital benefits will be wiped
out by 2019. For the second year in a row, the trustees' report
required the president to recommend solutions for dealing with the
shortfall in Medicare taxes and projected benefits. President Bush
recommended, among other things, that wealthier Medicare
beneficiaries pay higher monthly premiums for Part D prescription
coverage. No action on that yet, either.
There are bills in Senate committees now that will stop the proposed
cuts: S2708 in the Senate Finance Committee would increase Medicare
patients to primary care physicians; S2785, the "Save Medicare Act"
was introduced in March. It would replace proposed Medicare cuts
with increases in physician's payments through Dec. 31, 2009.
Given that this is an election year, you can bet one of these bills
will pass so the folks in Congress can announce that they saved
Medicare, so voters should re-elect them by a landslide. The
president we elect in November must come with a fiscally responsible
health care plan that addresses Medicare's continuing problems.
It must be fair to physicians and hospitals as well as the millions
of older Americans and disabled folks who are Medicare recipients
now, and also to those who cannot afford health insurance. He or she
must also have a commitment from Congress that members of both
parties in the House and the Senate will work diligently to pass
legislation implementing such a plan.
As taxpayers -- and, more importantly, as voters...it's our job to
hold these folks accountable. No more temporary fixes!
Welcome to the newly redesigned XLPharmacy Health Blog of Health
Articles. In
each current months issue XLPharmacy Health Blog of Health Articles provides a wealth of up-to-date medical
news we hope you find helpful and informational. At XLPharmacy we
care about you and your family and we believe that everyone should
have fast and reliable access to affordable high quality medications
in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Staying in touch with the
latest in health news is only part of what we do. Be sure to
sign up for XLPharmacy's RSS or OPML health news feeds with your
news reader below so you don't miss a single issue or health news
story in today's ever-changing world of health care. XLPharmacy Health Blog and Health Articles will discuss everything from Medicare to Social Security, Cancer
to New Cancer tests, Erectile Dysfunction and Medications like
Viagra with Sexual Health, Smoking to Mental Health and so much
more...(check for our coupon code each month - This month's coupon
code is AFF10, see savings information
below)
Featured
Articles - New Study on HPV and Young Women 14-19
A new CDC study estimates that one in four (26 %) young women
between the ages of 14 and 19 in the United States – or 3.2 million
teenage girls – is infected with at least one of the most common
sexually transmitted diseases (human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia,
herpes simplex virus, and trichomoniasis). The study, is the first
to examine the combined national prevalence of common STDs among
adolescent women in the United States, and provides the clearest
picture to date of the overall STD burden in adolescent women.
The study also found that African-American teenage girls were most
severely affected. Nearly half of the young African-American women
(48 %) were infected with an STD, compared to 20 % of young white
women. The two most common STDs overall were human papillomavirus,
or HPV (18 %) and chlamydia (4 %).
High STD infection rates among young women, particularly young
African-American women, are clear signs that women must continue STD
screening and early treatment to prevent some of the most
devastating effects of untreated STDs.
The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for sexually active
women under the age of 25. The CDC also recommends that girls and
women between the ages of 11 and 26 who have not been vaccinated or
who have not completed the full series of shots be fully vaccinated
against HPV.
Featured
Videos and Story - Good Intercourse - Minutes...Not Hours!
Satisfactory sexual intercourse for couples lasts from 3 to 13
minutes, contrary to popular fantasy about the need for hours of
sexual activity, according to a survey of U.S. and Canadian sex
therapists.
A recent study done by Penn State Erie researchers Eric Corty and
Jenay Guardiani conducted a survey of 50 full members of the Society
for Sex Therapy and Research, which include psychologists,
physicians, social workers, marriage/family therapists and nurses
who have collectively seen thousands of patients over several
decades.
Thirty-four, or 68 % of the group responded and rated a range of
time amounts for sexual intercourse, from penetration of the vagina
by the penis until ejaculation, that they considered adequate,
desirable, too short and too long.
The average therapists' responses defined the ranges of intercourse
activity times: "adequate," from 3-7 minutes; "desirable," from 7-13
minutes; "too short" from 1-2 minutes; and "too long" from 10-30
minutes.
"A man's or woman's interpretation of his or her sexual functioning
as well as the partner's relies on personal beliefs developed in
part from society's messages, formal and informal," the researchers
said. ""Unfortunately, today's popular culture has reinforced
stereotypes about sexual activity. Many men and women seem to
believe the fantasy model of large penises, rock-hard erections and
all-night-long intercourse."
Past research has found that a large percentage of men and women,
who responded, wanted sex to last 30 minutes or longer.
"This seems a situation ripe for disappointment and
dissatisfaction," said lead author Eric Corty, associate professor
of psychology. "With this survey, we hope to dispel such fantasies
and encourage men and women with realistic data about acceptable
sexual intercourse, thus preventing sexual disappointments and
dysfunctions."
Corty and Guardiani, then-undergraduate student and now a University
graduate, are publishing their findings in the May issue of the
Journal of Sexual Medicine, but the article is currently available
online.
The survey's research also has implications for treatment of people
with existing sexual problems.
"If a patient is concerned about how long intercourse should last,
these data can help shift the patient away from a concern about
physical disorders and to be initially treated with counseling,
instead of medicine," Corty noted.
Latest
Medicare News - Climbing Steadily and Baby Boomers
Medicare Part B spending is expected to climb steadily, in part
because both beneficiaries and services provided are increasing.
Part B
expenditures
(in billions)
Growth
2008
$187
4.5%
2009
$194.3
3.9%
2010
$204.6
5.3%
2011
$215.6
5.4%
2012
$229.1
6.3%
2013
$251.2
9.6%
2014
$261.3
4.0%
2015
$278.2
6.5%
2016
$297.7
7.0%
2017
$325.3
9.3%
The first wave of baby boomers will become eligible for Medicare
in 2010.
Boom coming
Medicare enrollment, now at about 44.9 million, is expected to
double in a little more than 40 years.
Enrollment
2010
46.7 million
2020
62.0 million
2030
78.6 million
2040
86.1 million
2050
90.3 million
Source: 2008 Medicare trustees report
OVERPAYING FOR YOUR
PRESCRIPTIONS VIDEO
Are you overpaying for your medications?
Be sure to watch this video from Yahoo News On the Price of your
Prescriptions.
Articles
of the Month -
Fibroid Tumors and Endometriosis Update!
Women with fibroids and endometriosis facing the possibility of
hysterectomy may now choose less invasive treatment options to
preserve fertility, according to Yale professor Aydin Arici, M.D.,
who will direct a scientific session exploring these alternatives.
"Our goal is to educate general obstetricians on ways to tailor new
treatment techniques to the needs of individual patients," said
Arici. "For women in their 30s and 40s, preserving reproductive
potential while treating fibroids is often desired. In the past,
ovarian function was suppressed by inducing sudden menopause to
shrink fibroids. Novel medications that were unavailable a few years
back are now able to do so without unpleasant side effects."
Arici said that conservative treatment options include a medical
approach using selective estrogen receptor modulators and selective
progesterone receptor modulators, uterine artery embolization, MRI-focused
high-energy ultrasound, and conservative surgery using abdominal
myomectomy, hysterectomy to remove the fibroids, but preserve the
reproductive capacity of the uterus.
To read more visit:
Adapted from materials provided by Yale University, via
EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Questions,Answers & Special Notes XLPharmacy
Special Notes:
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70 million are afflicted with STDs in the U.S. alone and an
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When you have Herpes, HPV, HIV/AIDS, or any other STD, it can
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Positive Singles is a warm-hearted and exclusive community for
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Feedback
from visitors
I was looking for articles on Erectile Dysfunction and
came across your feature story this month on how long and how
powerful sex should be. I learned I'm okay, and I do not have
a sexual problem at all. Quality, not quantity. Makes me feel
better knowing the average guy isn't the average guy off TV.
It was helpful. - JayG, Springfield
