UK researchers found that drinking a small amount of alcohol in pregnancy, as in no more than 1 to 2 units a week, does not harm children in that they were at no greater risk of developing behavioural difficulties than children of mothers who abstained while pregnant. Lead author Dr Yvonne Kelly of the Epidemiology & Public Health department of University College London (UCL) conducted the study with colleagues from UCL and other research establishments in the UK.

Many HIV-positive people in China do not seek treatment because of HIV-associated stigma, and stigma also prevents many people from being tested for the virus, Edwin Cameron, a South African Supreme Court justice and HIV/AIDS advocate, said Thursday, Reuters reports.

The Westside Gazette on Wednesday examined the results of a recent National Foundation for Infectious Diseases survey looking at parents' awareness of risks for meningococcal disease.

A New York Times opinion piece by Dorothy Samuels on Thursday examined a 1992 decision by the operating board of Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley's community hospital to bar physicians from performing abortions at the hospital except in cases of rape, incest, when the pregnant woman's life is in danger or when a physician documents "the fetus has a condition that is incompatible with life.

The Lung Association was pleased today by the appointment of Leona Aglukkaq as Canada's new Minister of Health. At the same time, the Association thanked former Minister Tony Clement for his help over the past 2.5 years in advancing the lung health agenda in Canada.

Gardasil®, the four-type (6,11,16,18) human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, has been awarded the 2008 International Galien Prize, a prestigious award for recognising and promoting significant advances in pharmaceutical research which is considered the pharmaceutical industry equivalent of the Nobel Prize. "It is gratifying to be part of the transformation of scientific breakthrough into actual benefits for people's health," says Didier Hoch, President of Sanofi Pasteur MSD.

For the first time on a national scale, voters completing one essential fall ritual, casting their ballot, can simultaneously take part in another: getting vaccinated against the flu. Flu vaccination clinics around the country are being set up within-or nearby-select polling stations. The Vote & Vax program will be operating 250 vaccination clinics in 36 states, including 11 clinics in Connecticut. "This is entirely non-political.

The rate of diabetes in the United States has nearly doubled in the last ten years and the incidence of the disease has been particularly high in the South said a new report from the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who suggest the main culprit is rising rates of obesity.

As one of the most common chronic conditions, diabetes affects nearly 24 million Americans and occurs when the body fails to process sugar correctly. Left untreated, diabetes can affect one's vision, in some cases even causing blindness, due to changes in the blood vessels of the retina. Almost 41% of adults aged 40 and older with diabetes have an eye disease that is known as diabetic retinopathy.

Whether your tastes tend toward bright lights and big cities, quiet contemplation or off-road racing, groups around the U.S. are gearing up to celebrate World Diabetes Day and raise awareness of the growing threat of diabetes.