Health Highlights: Oct. 21, 2011

October 21, 2011 RSS Feed Print

Anti-HIV Vaginal Gel Also Protects Against Herpes
Hip Resurfacing Safety and Effectiveness Unproven: Report
Baby Spit-Up Isn't GERD: Expert

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Anti-HIV Vaginal Gel Also Protects Against Herpes

A vaginal gel originally developed to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa is more effective against genital herpes, a new study says.

Genital herpes affects about 21 percent of sexually active women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infection isn't fatal but causes painful blisters that spoil sexual pleasure and can increase the risk of more dangerous infections such as HIV and syphilis, The New York Times reported.

The South African study found that the tenofovir gel reduced HIV infections among women by 39 percent and reduced genital herpes by 51 percent. The findings were published online this week by the journal Cell Host and Microbes.

The gel is not available in the United States but experts believe it would be welcomed by many American women, The Times reported.

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Hip Resurfacing Safety and Effectiveness Unproven: Report

There's not enough evidence to prove that hip resurfacing is as safe and effective as hip replacement, according to a report by the California Technology Assessment Forum.

The statement is a reversal from a position the influential group took just last year. The change of opinion is due to recent findings that some resurfacing devices are failing prematurely and concerns about the health effects of metal debris released as the devices wear, The New York Times reported.

Hip resurfacing preserves more of the thigh bone than traditional hip replacement, enabling patients to remain active and preserving more bone for future hip procedures.

"It is incumbent upon the hip resurfacing community to prove the efficacy and safety of hip resurfacing though clinical trials, said report author Dr. Judith Walsh of the University of California, San Francisco, The Times reported.

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Baby Spit-Up Isn't GERD: Expert

An expert says drug company marketing is one of the reasons why an increasing number of babies are being treated for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) when they spit up and cry, which are common, normal behaviors.

Blame is also shared by parents and doctors who increasingly want to use prescription drugs to solve children's problems, according to Dr. Eric Hassall, a pediatrician at the Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation in San Francisco who specializes in digestive tract problems, msnbc.com reported.

The huge number of TV commercials about drugs to treat GERD has made virtually everyone aware of the condition, Hassall noted in a commentary published Thursday in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Between 40 and 70 percent of babies spit up daily but what they spit up usually isn't acid. It's fine for parents concerned about a baby's vomiting and crying to take the baby to the pediatrician, but they shouldn't assume GERD is the problem, Hassall said, msnbc.com reported.

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