Prevention Advance: A pill now used to treat HIV infections can also be used to prevent them in men who have sex with men, with a 73% lower risk of acquiring the virus for those who took the medication every day as directed, the WSJ reports. The pill, Truvada, is a combination of drugs and is made by Gilead. In the study of nearly 2,500 men, those receiving the drug as well as those given a placebo were instructed to also use condoms, though not all complied.
Declining Coverage?: A new poll finds 53% of 707 registered voters surveyed believe members of Congress who ran against the health-care overhaul law should turn down the government-sponsored coverage that is part of their congressional benefits, Politico reports. Meantime, NPR’s Shots Blog reports on the congressman-elect who ran against the health bill and then asked at orientation why his own coverage would take 28 days to kick in, and whether he could purchase government insurance in the meantime.
Combine and Conquer: A study published in JAMA shows that type 2 diabetics who regularly do both aerobic exercise and strength-training — but not either activity alone — lowered blood-sugar levels, the WSJ reports. Doing both forms of exercise also better promoted fat loss. The advice to do a combination of exercises applies to everyone, not just diabetics, the study’s lead author tells the paper.
Trimming the Salt: More packaged food companies — including Butterball, Snyder’s of Hanover and Hostess — have pledged to reduce salt levels in their products by 25% over the next five years, the Associated Press reports. Health departments in NYC and other cities are pushing the initiative, which with the new signers-on has 22 participants thus far, the AP says.
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