LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles residents are notorious for worrying about their waistlines and if two Los Angeles County Supervisors have it their way, calorie counting while dining out in the city may get easier. Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Michael Antonovich will present a proposed ordinance to the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors next week that would force fast-food chains and restaurants to display the number of calories alongside the price of items on their menus.

Gene raises risk of lifetime smoking habit: study

CHICAGO (Reuters) – For most people, the first experimental drags on a cigarette bring on nausea, coughing and other signals from the brain that say, “Turn back. This is a bad idea.” But for some, they bring a wave of pleasure. Those in the second group likely bear a gene type that not only increases their addiction risk, but has been implicated in the development of lung cancer, researchers said on Friday.

Groups still unhappy with abortion proposal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Family planning groups said on Friday they were still planning to lobby against a proposed new regulation aimed at countering state laws that require certain health care workers to provide contraception to women. A widely circulated version of the draft regulation would have cut off federal funds to hospitals and states that attempt to compel medical providers to offer legal abortion and contraception services to women.

Few HIV patients tested for tuberculosis: report

MEXICO CITY (Reuters Health) – A new report suggests that only 1 percent of HIV-positive patients worldwide have been screened for tuberculosis, a curable infection that frequently kills those living with the AIDS virus. The low TB screening rate is “unacceptable,” researchers from the Advocacy to Control TB Internationally (ACTION) coalition said during a press conference at the International AIDS Conference underway here.

U.S. warns of muscle damage when heart drugs combined

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. health officials warned the public on Friday about the risk of a rare type of muscle injury seen when the cholesterol drug simvastatin is combined with the anti-arrhythmia medicine amiodarone. The Food and Drug Administration said it continued to receive reports of rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle injury that can lead to kidney failure or death, despite a 2002 warning about combining the drugs.

Estrogen patch shows promise for prostate cancer

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A patch that delivers estrogen through the skin may prove useful in treating advanced cases of prostate cancer, preliminary research suggests. In a study of 13 prostate cancer patients who were given the Fem7 estrogen patch, UK researchers found that the therapy substantially lowered the men's testosterone levels.

“Found” needles pose low infection risk for kids

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Children who are accidentally stuck with an improperly discarded needle or syringe appear to be at low risk for acquiring hepatitis or HIV, new research suggests. In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, Canadian researchers found that of 274 children with needlestick injuries, none became infected with HIV or the hepatitis B or C viruses.

Doctors fall short on heart disease prevention

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Some doctors are not making the grade when it comes to helping their patients ward off heart disease, a new survey suggests. The survey, of nearly 900 U.S. primary care doctors, found that many do not follow practice guidelines on managing patients who are at elevated risk of heart and blood vessel disease.

Prostate cancer prognosis worse in obese men

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Prostate cancer diagnosis tends to be delayed and surgical treatment more difficult in obese men than in lean men, according to two studies published Friday. The primary reason for the later diagnosis, and consequently poorer prognosis, seems to be that the PSA test used to screen for prostate cancer is “biased” against obese men, according to researchers.

Internet program helps diabetics monitor sugar

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – An Internet-based blood-sugar monitoring program appears to help people with type 1 diabetes better manage their condition, researchers report. Type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, usually strikes people in their teens and twenties, and requires regular insulin injections and close monitoring of blood sugar, or glucose.