The Year In Medicine From A to Z

a

AIDS

Hoping to sharply cut HIV/AIDS transmission rates in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took the unusual step of recommending that doctors ask all patients from ages 13 to 64 whether they want to be tested for the virus. One in four Americans living with HIV don't know they are infected; for them, early diagnosis could mean early treatment and longer lives. Antiretroviral drug therapy has already saved nearly 3 million years of life in the U.S. alone. Meanwhile, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS around the world continues to grow, to 40 million, according to estimates released last week by the U.N.

ANOREXIA

When Madrid barred ultrathin models from the city's fashion week in the aftermath of a model's death, it was clear acknowledgment that culture can fuel unhealthy body images. But genes play a role too. Researchers studying 31,406 identical and fraternal twins born in Sweden from 1935 to 1958 found that if one identical twin suffered from anorexia, the odds were significantly higher that the other did as well. Just because someone is genetically predisposed to anorexia, however, doesn't mean she or he will develop the disorder. The next step will be to figure out which genes are involved and how they affect the brain.

ANTIBIOTICS

Bacteria are on the march. Researchers found that nearly 75% of serious skin infections treated at clinics in Atlanta were resistant to the antibiotics that are normally used to cure such infections. The bacteria responsible, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), used to be seen mostly in hospitals but are now turning up all across the U.S. MRSA can still be treated with other antibiotics, but the Infectious Diseases Society of America has called for Congress to pressure the pharmaceutical industry to develop new, stronger drugs to fight the superbugs.

ASTHMA

Nearly 5,000 deaths a year in the U.S. are attributed to asthma. But on the basis of a statistical analysis of 19 trials involving some 35,000 patients, researchers believe that 4,000 of these deaths are actually being triggered by two drugs found in inhalers sold under the names Serevent, Advair and Foradil. The drugs relieve symptoms but can, without warning, increase dangerous bronchial inflammation. Asthma, on the rise since the 1980s, afflicts more than 20 million Americans.

BACON

Bacon may be a staple of the American breakfast, but it's probably not a terrific idea to eat it every day. Or sausage or corned-beef hash, for that matter. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm pooled data from 15 studies and found that eating just over an ounce of these smoked and processed delicacies each day increased the risk of developing stomach cancer from 15% to 38%. The culprit may be the high salt content of such meats, which could irritate the lining of the stomach, or perhaps the nitrate and nitrite additives, which are known to have cancer-promoting qualities.

BREAST CANCER