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South African President Addresses Increased Access To Antiretrovirals, Reduction In HIV Incidence
South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday said he wants to have 80 percent of HIV-positive South Africans who need antiretrovirals (ARVs) on them by 2011, BuaNews reports (BuaNews/allAfrica.com, 6/3). The announcement was part of Zuma"s first state-of-the-nation address, when he discussed ways the government would strive to "step up measures to improve health care in Africa"s strongest economy," Reuters writes. "We have set ourselves the goals of reducing inequalities in health care ... and step up the fight against the scourge of HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases," Zuma said (Roelf, Reuters, 6/4).
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Abstinence-Only Movement Seeking Relevancy In Face Of Potential Funding Cuts, Opinion Piece States
Advocates of abstinence-only sex education -- "[w]ell aware that their cause is in trouble and unpopular" -- are "revamping their image to appear more mainstream," Jessica Valenti, author of "The Purity Myth: How America"s Obsession With Virginity Is Hurting Young Women" and editor of the blog Feministing, writes in an opinion piece in The Nation. She writes that "high on the list of priorities" for abstinence-only proponents is "developing a strategy for continuing to receive federal dollars." Although President Obama "has brought some measure of sanity to public health policy" by reducing funding for abstinence-only programs in his fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, "with Obama"s faith-based initiative lending an ear" to abstinence-only proponents, their strategy "might just work," according to Valenti.Valenti writes that abstinence-only proponents have launched what she terms a "virginity movement." Backers of this movement included "antifeminist think tanks," such as the Independent Women"s Forum and Concerned Women for America, as well as abstinence-only groups, religious leaders and certain conservative lawmakers, Valenti says. She adds that the movement "is much more than the same old sexism; it"s a targeted and well-funded backlash hellbent on rolling back women"s rights using modernized notions of purity, morality and sexuality."Valenti continues that the groups" effort includes "appropriating the language and tools of comprehensive sex education and its advocates," while also "attempting to legitimize its message by rebranding itself as science-based." For example, Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, said during a recent Capitol Hill briefing that abstinence-only ""talks about contraception"" and offers ""medically accurate information."" In reality, "the only time abstinence-only classes will talk about contraception is when they discuss failure rates -- often exaggerating those rates or spreading misinformation about the dangers of contraception," Valenti writes.The "good news in all of this" is that most funding for abstinence-only education would be redirected to "teen pregnancy prevention programs" under Obama"s budget plan, Valenti writes. However, the "bad news" is that one-quarter of the money allocated for teen pregnancy prevention in the proposal would be available to abstinence-only programs, and "the language in the budget doesn"t make room for initiatives to curb sexually transmitted infections," she continues. "So while the virginity movement re-evaluates its image and messaging, progressives have to be just as prepared to battle back with renewed energy, with any eye toward legislative and policy gains and toward assuring that these groups don"t regain their cultural footing," Valenti writes.The issue is "about a lot more than bad-faith messages about condoms and pregnancy," she writes. It is "about stopping a movement committed to the regression of women"s rights, enforcing gender norms and teaching America"s youth -- especially young women -- that sexuality is wrong, dirty and dangerous," according to Valenti. She concludes, "Now that there is a new administration in Washington, we need to ensure not only that we hold our leaders accountable but that we direct the national conversation about sex, gender and health" (Valenti, The Nation, 6/17).
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Weight Guidelines For Women Pregnant With Twins
Healthy, normal-weight women pregnant with twins should gain between 37 and 54 pounds, according to research from a Michigan State University professor who helped shape the recently released national guidelines on gestational weight gain.
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Vyvanse CII Significantly Improved ADHD Symptoms For Children 13 Hours After Administration

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, has announced that a study published online in the peer-reviewed journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health found once-daily Vyvanse® (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) CII significantly reduced the symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 to 12 from the first time point measured (1.5 hours) up to the last time point assessed (13 hours) after administration. In this pediatric analog classroom study, treatment with Vyvanse was associated with significant improvement in behavior and attention in children at each time point measured, with improvement at 13 hours after administration. "Pediatric patients may require ADHD symptom improvement both at school and after school," said Sharon Wigal, PhD, lead investigator of the study, clinical professor of pediatrics and director of clinical trials in the Child Development Center at the University of California, Irvine. "These published data are the first to have shown duration of effect of an oral ADHD stimulant in children aged 6 to 12 at 13 hours after administration. Physicians and caregivers who are seeking a long-acting medication that provides ADHD symptom improvement from morning through homework and family time may want to consider this Vyvanse study data." On May 22, 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a change to the prescribing information for Vyvanse to include supplemental data that demonstrated significant ADHD symptom improvement in children aged 6 to 12 from the first time point measured (1.5 hours) up to 13 hours postdose. Vyvanse is now the first and only oral ADHD stimulant treatment to have efficacy at 13 hours after administration for pediatric patients included in its product labeling. "Shire is proud to be at the forefront of ADHD research and treatment development and is committed to providing patients with effective ADHD medications, such as Vyvanse," said Liza Squires, MD, Research and Development Business Unit Leader for Shire. "These findings provided further support that Vyvanse can be an important treatment option for children who require duration of ADHD symptom improvement throughout the day." Vyvanse Demonstrated Significant Symptom Improvement at 13 Hours After Administration The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, analog classroom study that assessed the efficacy and safety of Vyvanse in 129 children aged 6 to 12 years with ADHD. Following a four-week, open-label, dose-optimization phase with Vyvanse at 30 mg, 50 mg, and 70 mg doses, patients entered a two-week, double-blind, crossover phase where they were randomized into two groups. One group received their optimal dose of Vyvanse the first week and placebo the second week. The second group received placebo the first week and their optimal dose of Vyvanse the second week. The primary objective of this study was to assess the time of onset of Vyvanse compared with placebo, as measured by the Swanson, Kotkin, Agler, M-Flynn, and Pelham Deportment (SKAMP-D) rating scale. Secondary objectives included assessment of the duration of efficacy of VYVANSE compared with placebo, as measured by the SKAMP-D scale, and assessment of efficacy and time of onset of Vyvanse compared with placebo as measured by SKAMP Attention (SKAMP-A), and Permanent Product Measure of Performance (PERMP) scales. In the study, Vyvanse demonstrated significant efficacy versus placebo at 1.5 hours, the first time point measured. Further, Vyvanse treatment was associated with significant efficacy as measured by both subjective (SKAMP-D and SKAMP-A) and objective (PERMP) assessments from the first time point (1.5 hours) through the last time point (13 hours) assessed during the classroom day, and at all time points in between (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, and 12.0 hours). Safety was also evaluated during the study. The adverse event profile for Vyvanse was similar to other currently marketed stimulants. The most frequently reported adverse events (greater than or equal to 10 percent) in the dose-optimization phase for patients taking Vyvanse were decreased appetite, insomnia, headache, irritability, upper abdominal pain, and affect lability. Vyvanse, which was introduced in the United States in July 2007 for the treatment of ADHD in children aged 6 to 12 years and approved in April 2008 to treat ADHD in adults, is currently available in six dosage strengths of 20 mg, 30 mg, 40 mg, 50 mg, 60 mg, and 70 mg. To date, more than 6 million Vyvanse prescriptions have been filled, bringing the current US market share to over 12 percent based on weekly branded prescription volume. Additionally, Shire has executed agreements with 10 of Shire"s top 11 managed care organizations (MCOs) to cover Vyvanse in a preferred formulary position. Vyvanse is a therapeutically inactive prodrug, in which d-amphetamine is covalently bonded to l-lysine, and after oral ingestion it is converted to pharmacologically active d-amphetamine. The conversion of Vyvanse to d-amphetamine is not affected by gastrointestinal pH and is unlikely to be affected by alterations in GI transit times. Additional information about Vyvanse and Full Prescribing Information, including Medication Guide, are available at http://www.vyvanse.com. Matthew Cabrey Porter Novelli


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