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The death toll from the Marburg virus epidemic in Angola has risen to 114, according to news reports, and health officials fear the disease may spread in the country's capital city, Luanda, where two people have died. One of the latest victims reportedly was an Italian doctor who had been treating victims of the rare hemorrhagic fever in Uige, the epicenter of the outbreak..

FDA Approves Once-a-Month Osteoporosis Pill
The US Food and Drug Administration www.fda.gov (FDA) has approved a new drug for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis that can be taken just once monthly in a single tablet. Oral Boniva (ibandronate sodium) for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, manufactured by Roche www.roche.com and GlaxoSmithKline www.glaxosmithkline.com (GSK), has been shown effective in improving bone density..

Pfizer Signs with Coley to Develop New Cancer Drug
Pfizer www.pfizer.com has agreed to pay $50 million to Coley Pharmaceutical Group http://www.coleypharma.com/ with the potential for up to $455 million in additional milestone payments, plus royalties, in an exclusive global license agreement to develop, manufacture and commercialize Coley's anti-cancer drug ProMune..

CT Screening for Lung Cancer May Do More Harm Than Good
Annual CT scans for lung cancer may not be useful in extending patients' lives, suggests new research conducted by a Mayo Clinic team and published in the April issue of the journal Radiology radiology.rsnajnls.org/ . In fact, they may lead to unnecessary surgery as a result of false-positives, which can have a negative impact on patients' lives..

UK Government Committee Okays Choosing Baby's Sex
The UK Commons Science and Technology Committee www.parliament.uk has endorsed the idea of allowing prospective parents who are using in vitro fertilization to achieve a pregnancy to have the option of choosing the sex of their child..

Genetic Profile Useful When Prescribing, Says FDA
With the goal of speeding development of new medical products through the science of pharmacogenomics, the Food and Drug Administration www.fda.gov (FDA) has issued guidance for health care providers, "Pharmacogenomic Data Submissions.".

Oral Health Is Factor in Miscarriages
High levels of an oral bacterium associated with tooth decay and cavities place pregnant women at greater risk for delivering preterm low birth weight (PLBW) babies, according to a study published in the Journal of Periodontology www.perio.org..

Tuberculosis on the Rise in Africa Due to AIDS Link
The battle against tuberculosis is succeeding in most of the world, but in Africa, the disease is on a rampage, reports the World Health Organization www.who.int/en/ (WHO). There, TB has reached alarming proportions, and a growing number of TB cases and deaths are being linked to HIV..

Menopause Should Not Be 'Medicalized,' Says Panel
A group of experts has determined that menopause is not a disease. Many women move through the menopausal transition with few disabling symptoms, says an independent panel convened this week by the the National Institutes of Health www.nih.gov/ ..

Sleep Apnea Worsens Heart Problems at Night
The hours between 10 pm and 6 am are the window of highest risk of death from heart attacks or other cardiovascular causes for people who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to findings of a Mayo Clinic study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine content.nejm.org

India's Parliament Passes Controversial Drug Patent Law
India's Parliament has approved a drug patent law that critics argue will restrict access to life-saving drugs worldwide. Because it bolsters the rights of patent holders at the expense of generic drug manufacturers, say opponents, the new bill will prevent millions of poor people from obtaining life-saving drugs at affordable prices..

Deadly Skin Cancer Risk Soaring Among Young People
Unless the current sun-tanning trend is reversed, today's youth could be three times more at risk of eventually acquiring malignant melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- than their grandparents were..

Emotional Stress, Physical Exertion Can Cause Heart Attacks
There is new, compelling evidence that physical exertion and emotional stress can trigger heart attacks -- some of them fatal -- in people with a history of heart disease..

FDA Seizes Hazardous Hospital Beds
Certain hospital beds can be lethal, warns the US Food and Drug Administration http://www.fda.gov (FDA). The agency has initiated seizures of the Vail 500, 1000, and 2000 Enclosed Bed Systems made by Vail Products, Inc., located in Toledo, Ohio, saying they pose a public health risk: Patients can become trapped in them, causing suffocation that could result in severe neurological damage or even death..