Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Vaccine Protects Against 3 of 4 Dengue Virus Strains
An experimental vaccine against dengue protected children against three of the four strains of the mosquito-borne virus, according to drug maker Sanofi.
The trial of 4,000 children in Thailand found that the vaccine generated antibody responses against all four strains of dengue, but only protected against three. Sanofi said the data is being analyzed in an effort to understand the discrepancy, Bloomberg News reported.
There is no specific treatment for dengue and these test results “represent a key milestone” in efforts to prevent the disease, according to a Sanofi official.
Dengue affects as many as 100 million people worldwide each year. The worst form of the disease can cause severe flu-like symptoms and fatal bleeding. Dengue is common in more than 100 countries and has started to appear in the continental U.S., Bloomberg reported.
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Health Care Law Repeal Would Increase U.S. Deficit: Analysis
Repealing the U.S. health care law would boost the federal deficit by $109 billion over 10 years, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
The repeal of several tax increases within the health care law would be the primary reason for the deficit increase between 2013 and 2022, concluded the CBO assessment of the health care repeal bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month, ABC News reported.
The repeal bill, which is not expected to become law under the current Congress, would reduce federal spending by $890 billion over the 10 years, but would also cut more than $1 trillion in new taxes.
The health care law was passed in 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court in June.
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Man Believed Cured of AIDS Says He’s Still HIV-Free
Reports that he still has the HIV virus are false, says a man believed to be the first person to have been cured of AIDS.
At a news conference Tuesday, Timothy Ray Brown said doctors have told him he’s “cured of AIDS and will remain cured,” CBS News/The Associated Press reported.
Brown had both HIV and leukemia when he received a blood stem cell transplant in 2007 in Berlin, Germany. The stem cells came from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that provides natural resistance to HIV. Soon after the blood stem cell transplant, Brown’s doctors declared him HIV-free.
However, researchers recently found traces of HIV in Brown’s tissues. At the news conference, Brown said any remnants of the virus still in his body are dead and can’t replicate, CBS News/AP reported.
Brown made his comments Tuesday at the International AIDS conference in Washington, D.C.
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Springsteen Reveals Long Struggle With Depression
Bruce Springsteen has fought a long battle with depression, the musician says in an interview with The New Yorker magazine.
Springsteen, 62, said he’s been in therapy since 1982 when depression made him suicidal just as he was on the verge of superstardom, the New York Daily News reported.
However, Springsteen also said his internal demons have actually helped drive his legendary live performances, which are a product of “pure fear and self-loathing and self-hatred.”
“You think, I don’t like anything I’m seeing, I don’t like anything I’m doing, but I need to change myself, I need to transform myself. I do not know a single artist who does not run on that fuel,” the New Jersey native told The New Yorker, the Daily News reported.
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More Than 220,000 Peg Perego Strollers Recalled
About 223,000 Peg Perego strollers are being recalled due to the risk that babies could become trapped and strangle, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
Infants who are not harnessed in the stroller can pass through the opening between the stroller tray and seat bottom, but their head and neck can become trapped by the tray, putting them at risk for strangulation.
In 2004, a 6-month-old boy from California died of strangulation after his head was trapped between the seat and tray of his stroller. In 2006, a 7-month-old girl from New York City nearly strangled when the same thing happened to her, the CPSC said.
The recall involves two different older versions of the Peg Perego strollers, Venezia and Pliko-P3, which were sold nationwide between January 2004 and September 2010. Consumers with the recalled strollers should stop using them immediately and contact Peg Perego USA Inc. for a free repair kit.
For more information, contact Peg Perego at 1-888-734-6020 or go to the company’s website.