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Teens Need To Hear About 'More Than Abstinence,' Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Says
Although it is "important for other young people to hear" Bristol Palin"s message "about how hard it is to be a teenage mother," her "lesson falls short by suggesting that any teen can successfully avoid premarital sex," a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial says. Palin, who gave birth in December 2008 after an unintended pregnancy and is the daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), has "changed her tune" since she said in a February interview that teen abstinence is ""not realistic at all,"" the editorial states. It adds that Bristol Palin -- now an "abstinence ambassador" for the Candie"s Foundation -- recently said that abstinence is "realistic" and that it is the "harder choice, but it"s the safer choice."The editorial continues that Palin is correct that "[a]bstinence is the only foolproof way to avoid pregnancy" and sexually transmitted infections. However, "any viable lesson about avoiding teen pregnancy should include methods besides avoiding sex, including the use of condoms," the editorial says. Recent studies have shown that abstinence-only sex education programs have had "no measurable impact on delaying teens from having sex for the first time," according to the editorial, which adds that teen pregnancy rates rose 5% between 2005 and 2007 after years of declines. Additionally, three out of 10 U.S. girls will get pregnant by age 20, a figure that increases to more than 50% for Hispanics and blacks. The editorial concludes that teens "need frank talk about premarital sex that includes all of the viable options to avoid pregnancy" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/15).

Developing World Health Care Solutions Help Some U.S. Programs
The Wall Street Journal examines how some U.S.-based health care programs are improving their treatment capabilities by learning from strategies used in developing countries. "When doctors running the AIDS clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham wanted to increase the number of patients who showed up for treatment, they turned to an unusual place for help: southern Africa," Wall Street Journal writes. By using an AIDS clinic in Zambia as a model, the Alabama clinic was able to decrease its no-show rate "from 31% in 2007 to 18% through June 2009."
News of the day
World's First Deep Brain Stimulation Device Approved For Treatment Of Psychiatric Condition In Europe
Medtronic announced that Reclaim(R) Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Therapy has received CE (Conformite Europeene) Mark approval for the treatment of chronic, severe treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is the first time that a deep brain stimulation therapy has gained approval in Europe for the treatment of a psychiatric disorder.
Diagnostics

Are Blood Transfusions Bad For Your Health?

The August issue of the journal Anesthesiology, contains a study on potential long-term adverse effects resulting from blood transfusion and reveals that moderate amounts of transfused blood in patients in patients undergoing cardiac surgery did not lead to long-term health problems or increased death rates for the majority of recipients. "These results demonstrated that 80 percent of patients studied were alive more than 10 years after surgery," said lead study author William M. Weightman, M.B., Ch.B., F.A.N.Z.C.A. About the Study Researchers in Western Australia studied the health outcomes of 1,841 patients who underwent low-risk coronary artery bypass surgery, following the patients up to 12 years after surgery. The study included 1,062 subjects who required blood transfusions before surgery, during surgery or in the recovery period after surgery. Subjects were patients undergoing low risk cardiac surgery, a surgical procedure that typically requires blood-product transfusion in 50 percent of patients. The study determined certain pre-existing patient conditions at the time of surgery reduced long-term survival in subjects: advanced age (over 60 years old), cerebrovascular disease, use of mammary graft, lung disease, kidney dysfunction, heart muscle damage and preoperative anemia] Additionally, previous research suggested blood transfusions could lead to serious health issues including adverse effects on the immune system and spread of tumor cells. "We were also hoping to establish if having a blood transfusion was likely to promote cancer in the recipient of the blood transfusion as some research has indicated this may occur," said Dr. Weightman. "Our results indicate that a moderate blood transfusion does not promote the spread of such cells. Patients who receive a blood transfusion were no more likely to get the disease than those who did not." Anesthesiologists: Physicians providing the lifeline of modern medicine. Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists is an educational, research and scientific association with 43,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of the patient. For more information visit the ASA Web site at http://www.asahq.org. American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)


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