Health Highlights: Nov. 14, 2008

Discussion Policy

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

Friday, November 14, 2008; 12:00 AM

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Gardasil Protects Men Against Genital Warts: Study

A new study says the anti-cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil also reduces men's risk of genital warts, which can lead to cancer of the penis and anus.Gardasil protects against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV).

The 30-month study of 4,065 males, ages 16 to 26, found that those who received the vaccine were 90 percent less likely to develop genital warts.The findings were presented Friday at a meeting of the European Research Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia, Bloomberg news reported.

The study was funded by Merck & Co., which plans to use the results to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to sell Gardasil as a vaccine for males. Currently, it's only approved in the United States to protect women against HPV, which can cause cervical cancer. Gardasil is approved for males in 40 countries.

HPV may be associated with about 1,500 cases of penile cancer and about 1,900 cases of anal cancer in men a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency also said men who have sex with men are 17 times more likely to develop anal cancer from HPV, Bloomberg reported.

-----

10% of U.S. Hispanics Have Type 2 Diabetes

One in 10 Hispanics in the United States has type 2 diabetes. And one in three of those with diabetes doesn't know he or she has the disease, according to report released Friday by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

The report, released on World Diabetes Day, also said Hispanics are nearly two times as likely as whites to develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime.

"It is unacceptable that in today's health system we have the tools to help people prevent and treat diabetes yet complications like blindness and lower extremity amputations still occur," Jane L. Delgado, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, said in a news release.

"The Hispanic population is aging and without a renewed national commitment to prevention and treatment, the number of diabetes cases can be expected to increase," she added.