The amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in a man’s bloodstream at the time of his prostate cancer diagnosis or its rate of change over the course of the disease does not adequately predict lethal prostate cancer, according to a study in the April 4 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.Although men with untreated localized prostate cancer have high long-term survival rates, many patients undergo treatment anyway. [click link for full article]

Celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), did not prevent cancer in patients with Barrett’s esophagus in a placebo-controlled study.The incidence of Barrett’s esophagus - a precancerous change in the lining of the esophagus that increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer - is on the rise in the United States. Previous studies have suggested that aspirin and other NSAIDs might decrease the risk of esophageal cancer. [click link for full article]

Use of certain common antiviral drugs during a recent influenza B epidemic in Japan showed the development of viruses with partial resistance to the drugs, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA.Two antiviral drugs, zanamivir and oseltamivir, which are a type of drugs known as neuraminidase inhibitors, have been effective against influenza and are used extensively. [click link for full article]

Have you ever awoken with an itchy rash? Is the rash in a small grouping or linear pattern? If so, then you may have been bitten by bedbugs. Bedbug bites…

For overweight and obese individuals, the incidence of asthma increases by 50 percent, as compared to those of normal weight, according to a meta-analysis of seven studies on severe asthma involving 333,102 patients.The results appear in the first issue for April 2007 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.E. Rand Sutherland, M.D., M.P.H. [click link for full article]

Among a group of mostly older male veterans suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an illness that offers a greater susceptibility to lung cancer, researchers found that regular use of high dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) lowered the risk of developing lung cancer.The results for this study appear in the first issue for April 2007 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society. [click link for full article]

The federal government is delaying final approval of a Medicaid agreement with California while officials debate whether the state will begin requiring low-income women to prove they are legal residents or citizens before they can receive family planning services, the Sacramento Bee reports (Benson, Sacramento Bee, 4/4). [click link for full article]

Newspapers recently reported on Medicaid developments in Missouri and Virginia. Summaries of the coverage appear below.Missouri: The Missouri Senate on Wednesday gave tentative approval to legislation that would overhaul the state’s Medicaid program, the Kansas City Star reports. [click link for full article]

Current predictions of the future incidence of asbestos-related disease have been substantially underestimated, according to new modelling to be presented in Melbourne recently by an epidemiologist from The Australian National University. [click link for full article]

Heart disease does not just strike men, it is also the biggest killer of women in the USA. Approximately 40% of all women who die are struck by heart disease or stroke. More women die this way than from the total of all cancers, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Despite attempts to educate women about the risk of cardiovascular/heart disease, 45% of US women still do not know that their greatest health risks are from heart disease and stroke. [click link for full article]