Hepatitis C: Promising Treatment Developments

Over the past few years, enormous strides have been made in treatment options for people living with hepatitis C, a form of viral hepatitis that causes chronic liver disease. Treatments in the past were difficult to tolerate, produced numerous side effects, and for a large percentage of patients, were often unsuccessful. Promising new drugs, however, will likely reduce the burden of treatment (the work patients do to care for themselves, such as visiting the doctor or going for medical tests), produce quicker results, and cause fewer and less profound side effects. (more…)

Worried About HIV? New Prevention Methods Offer More Options

The HIV prevention landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years. In the past, most health care professionals could only support consistent use of condoms, frequent testing, and risk-reduction counseling for HIV prevention. Today, these approaches can be used in conjunction with new methods that have been developed and are now available to the public to lower risk of HIV infection. (more…)

Super Bowl Safety Tips: Festivities in Metro Area Raise Risk of Violence

As many as 400,000 fans are expected to descend on the New York metropolitan region for Super Bowl XLVIII, to be held February 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. A full lineup of high-profile, big-ticket parties and concerts is scheduled to begin in Manhattan during Super Bowl week. Bars, clubs, concert venues and restaurants all over the tri-state area will get in on the pre-Bowl excitement as well. While such a major event will give the New York metro area a chance show its best to the nation, the influx of people, excessive drinking and drug use that accompany the biggest sporting event of the year also will bring the opportunity for increased crime and violence (including sexual violence) to those living in, working in and visiting the area.

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New Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening

Cervical cancer screening is probably the most successful cancer-screening program ever developed. One hundred years ago, cancer of the cervix was the leading cause of cancer for women in this country. Now it is not even in the top 10. This is largely because of the Pap smear, which was introduced in the 1950s.

Cervical cancer lends itself to a screening test, as the cervix can be directly visualized with simple equipment and its cells can be directly sampled with a relatively painless and risk-free procedure. In addition, cervical cancer is caused by the human Papilloma virus (HPV), which causes changes in the cervical cells that can be detected almost a decade before the onset of cancer. (more…)

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