The debate over the Merck’s human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil has been “clouded” by “worries about promiscuity,” New York Times reporter Denise Grady writes in a column (Grady, New York Times, 3/6). Gardasil in clinical trials has been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18. [click link for full article]

Caloric Restriction in non-obese people translates into less oxidative damage in muscle cells, according to a new study by Anthony Civitarese, Eric Ravussin, and colleagues (Pennington Biomedical Research Center). As oxidative damage has been linked to aging, this could explain how limiting calorie intake without malnutrition extends life span. [click link for full article]

The New York Times on Sunday published several letters to the editor in response to a Feb. 25 Times column by Nicholas Kristof. According to Kristof, maternal health programs should receive support from the U.S. in part because the country knows how to lower maternal mortality and morbidity. [click link for full article]

Washington state on Monday sued HHS in U.S. District Court over a federal regulation that permanently would require states to withhold Medicaid coverage for newborns until proof of citizenship is processed and approved, the [click link for full article]

Increasing rates of childhood obesity and overweight in the United States may be contributing to an earlier onset of puberty in girls, say researchers at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. [click link for full article]

Vaginal rejuvenation — procedures that aim to enhance sexual gratification by using a laser to repair vaginal tissue damaged during pregnancy — exemplifies the “last frontier” of plastic surgery, a “realm where medical ethics collide with culture, commerce and technology,” some health experts say, the Washington Post reports. [click link for full article]

Despite federal regulations intended to protect them, many teenagers in the U.S. use dangerous equipment or work long hours during the school week, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.The national study was based on telephone surveys of 928 teenaged workers, 14 to 18 years old. [click link for full article]

Vaccines for measles-mumps-rubella and varicella, or chicken pox, are effective in extremely preterm infants, even though preemies’ immune systems are not as developed as full-term babies. This confirms a long-held assumption by pediatricians and neonatologists across the country.”The assumption has always been that it would be OK, that very early babies would have enough immunity, but no one had formally researched the subject,” said Carl D’Angio, M.D. [click link for full article]

Severe stress can damage a child’s brain, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. The researchers found that children with post-traumatic stress disorder and high levels of the stress hormone cortisol were likely to experience a decrease in the size of the hippocampus - a brain structure important in memory processing and emotion. [click link for full article]

What do actresses Britt Ekland, Sally Field and comedian Joan Rivers have in common? They have all been diagnosed with osteoporosis, like millions of other women around the world. [click link for full article]