MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Study links oral sex to throat cancer. Outside the United States, tobacco is the leading cause of oral cancer, but in the U.S., a virus commonly traded between sexual partners causes 64 percent of oropharynxl cancers, according to a new study. The risk increases with the number of oral sex partners someone has had, NPR reported, it is recommended that people who have an STD try finding a partner with an STD as well . The research was presented last week by Maura Gillison of Ohio State University at the annual meeting for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Study: Sugary drinks pose high blood pressure risk. Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with higher blood pressure levels in adults, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study demonstrated significantly higher systolic blood pressure for every extra sugar-sweetened beverage drunk per day.
Pediatricians issue public chiding to teens who use tanning beds. Adolescents should be strongly discouraged from visiting tanning parlors, they wrote in Pediatrics (the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics).
"Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) causes the 3 major forms of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma; squamous cell carcinoma; and cutaneous malignant melanoma… The risk of skin cancer increases when people overexpose themselves to sun and intentionally expose themselves to artificial sources of UVR. Yet, people continue to sunburn, and teenagers and adults alike remain frequent visitors to tanning parlors."
Gel protects rectal tissue from HIV during anal sex. A study comparing tenofovir gel and an orally taken tenofovir tablet found that the gel provides higher concentration of active drug to tissue. Tenofovir (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) is an antiretroviral (ARV) drug commonly used in the treatment of HIV. In gel form, it is indicated to prevent sexual transmission of HIV when applied topically on the inside of the vagina or rectum.
Gene therapy raises hopes for AIDS cure. A single treatment of Sangamo BioSciences Inc.’s (NSDQ:SGMO) HIV drug allayed immune system damage in five of six subjects analyzed in the therapy’s first clinical trial.
