Babies born into the world addicted to drugs because of their mother’s dependence on pain medication, or opioids, may be weaned off the substance more comfortably, with a shorter hospital stay and at a reduced cost, if the mother receives a new …
Inmates infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, engaged in unprotected sex both before imprisonment and after their release at “exceedingly high rates,” according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study. Seventy-eight percent of N.C. men and women prisoners carrying the virus who had a main sex partner reported unprotected sex with that person in the year before they were locked up, the study showed. Twenty-six percent of them interviewed again soon after release admitted to already having sex without condoms with their main sex partners.
Boosting insulin with vitamins C and E may improve the drug’s effectiveness for treating diabetes. A UC Irvine College of Medicine study has found that the popular antioxidant supplements not only enhance insulin’s ability to reduce blood sugar, but also lower the risks of organ damage that can occur despite insulin treatments. The study appears in the January issue of Kidney International.
When Viagra was introduced in 1999, the drug’s manufacturer warned of a number of visual side effects, including possible nerve damage to the eyes. But a California study rules out some of these risks — even when the drug is taken in high doses. According to Dr. Tim McCulley, assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of California at Irvine, blood flow in the eye does not seem to be reduced by even high doses of the popular erectile dysfunction drug. Since Viagra lowers blood pressure overall, there was persistent suspicion that the drug might cause decreased optical blood flow, which can cause nerve damage.
Man-made chemicals that are distant relatives of marijuana may eventually become new drugs to combat anxiety and depression, according to a California study. The study is the first to show how anxiety is controlled by the body’s anandamide system, a network of natural compounds known for their roles in governing pain, mood and other psychological functions.