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Brenda Wilson Brenda Wilson is a Science Desk Correspondent and Editor for National Public Radio. Based in Washington, Wilson reports on national and international public health, legislation, the White House, and current political and social issues.
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Brenda Wilson

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Friday

Should Boys Also Get Vaccinated For HPV?

There's a debate among scientists about whether to immunize boys for HPV. Sanofi Pasteur MSD/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Sanofi Pasteur MSD/AFP via Getty Images

Children's Health

Should Boys Also Get Vaccinated For HPV?

The HPV vaccination rate among girls in the U.S. has been low: Just 11 percent now get all three doses of the vaccine. Some experts suggest that also immunizing boys could enhance the vaccine's effectiveness. But others say there's not much benefit in giving the shot to boys.

Should Boys Also Get Vaccinated For HPV?

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Friday

Friday

FDA Panel Mulls Restrictions On Menthol In Cigarettes

Gedwyn Power smokes a menthol cigarette in Miami in late March. On Friday, an expert panel will wrap up deliberations about advice to the Food and Drug Aministration on whether to ban menthol as a cigarette additive. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

FDA Panel Mulls Restrictions On Menthol In Cigarettes

The cooling sensation of menthol may help young people pick up the smoking habit. Now a panel of experts is looking at whether the FDA should restrict the ingredient.

Health

FDA Reviews How To Regulate Menthol Cigarettes

The Food and Drug Administration is studying whether there is something about the manufacturing, marketing or properties of menthol cigarettes that would warrant banning them. The industry says studies show that menthol cigarettes are no more harmful than regular cigarettes. But scientific advisers to the FDA expressed their doubts about what the industry does to make the product attractive.

FDA Reviews How To Regulate Menthol Cigarettes

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Tuesday

Health

New HIV/AIDS Plan Calls For Reducing Infections

The Obama administration wants to get the U.S. HIV-AIDS epidemic under control. It's introducing a new national HIV-AIDS strategy to reduce new infections, target the most vulnerable groups -- such as gay men and African-Americans -- and address disparities in care and treatment.

New HIV/AIDS Plan Calls For Reducing Infections

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Wednesday

AIDS Waiting Lists Grow Amid Economic Woes

A person who relies on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program marches to protest millions of dollars in cuts to lifesaving AIDS services proposed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, June 5, 2009. States are facing increasing demand for AIDS treatment, but little new money is available. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

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David McNew/Getty Images

Health

AIDS Waiting Lists Grow Amid Economic Woes

There's a growing list of people who need assistance in paying for AIDS medicines in the U.S. Federal and state assistance under a program call ADAP is falling short by $126 million. Because of the economy, that has led to greater demand from people laid off from work, and shrinking state and federal budgets.

AIDS Waiting Lists Grow Amid Economic Woes

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Wednesday

Tuesday

Health

New Rules Take Effect For Tobacco Industry

New rules are in place a year after Congress gave the Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco. Most of the rules are aimed at keeping tobacco products out of the hands of young people. For example, it's now against the law anywhere in the United States to sell cigarettes to anyone under 18.

New Rules Take Effect For Tobacco Industry

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Thursday

Global Health

Obama Plan Helps Countries Create Health Systems

The Obama administration will soon name countries that would receive additional assistance under his Global Health Initiative. That's where all global health programs come under the same umbrella, and the focus is on helping poor countries provide better health care. AIDS still gets most of the money. But critics complain the noble idea will cut into funding for AIDS treatment.

Obama Plan Helps Countries Create Health Systems

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Tuesday

Global Health

Maternal Health Tops Development Agenda

Each year an estimated 340,000 women die in childbirth. The vast majority of those deaths occur in developing countries. Women's groups and health experts, meeting in Washington this week, are seeking $12 billion to improve women's rights and health.

Maternal Health Tops Development Agenda

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Sunday

Education

Proven Sex-Ed Programs Get A Boost From Obama

The U.S. is shifting gears on teen pregnancy prevention. Everyone is still on-message that abstinence should be the core message of any federally funded program, but this year's federal budget will favor comprehensive sex education programs that show they can actually reduce teen pregnancy.

Proven Sex-Ed Programs Get A Boost From Obama

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Wednesday

Children's Health

Survey: Teens More Tolerant Of Single Motherhood

A new survey of teenagers and sex signals some big changes in attitudes. For example, an overwhelming majority of teens now say that having babies outside of marriage is OK. But the new attitudes haven't carried over into changes in actual sexual behavior -- the rate of sex among teenagers has remained the same for about a decade.

Survey: Teens More Tolerant Of Single Motherhood

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Monday

Study: A Cigarette A Month Can Get A Kid Hooked

Teens who bum cigarettes every now and then find that addiction can happen before they know it. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Children's Health

Study: A Cigarette A Month Can Get A Kid Hooked

Occasional smoking among middle-schoolers can lead to tobacco addiction, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics. Of the young people in the study who said they had inhaled from a cigarette, nearly two-thirds said they smoked at least once a month. Half experienced symptoms of dependence.

Study: A Cigarette A Month Can Get A Kid Hooked

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Monday

Tuesday

Tuesday

Black Lung Compensation An Uphill Battle For Miners

Mike Kasavich, a lifelong coal miner, exits "the hole" after a 10-hour morning shift at the Mathies coal mine in western Pennsylvania. Black lung disease is increasing among miners, yet they are struggling to get disability reimbursement for the illness. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Health

Black Lung Compensation An Uphill Battle For Miners

Black lung disease is on the rise, yet compensation for those disabled by it is decreasing. Miners must fight for medical care compensation, and their black lung diagnoses and disabilities are often challenged. They go through numerous appeals, and an average claim takes about seven years — or longer.

Black Lung Compensation An Uphill Battle For Miners

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Friday

The Quiet Deaths Outside The Coal Mines

These human lung samples show (from left) a normal lung, a lung with mild pneumoconiosis or "black lung" and one with complicated pneumoconiosis. NIOSH hide caption

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NIOSH

Health

The Quiet Deaths Outside The Coal Mines

While mine disasters like last week's deadly explosion in West Virginia are certainly tragic, black lung disease claims roughly 700 miners' lives each year and gets far less attention. The disease has been on the rise in recent years, possibly because miners are working longer hours, with more exposure to coal dust and other toxic materials.

The Quiet Deaths Outside The Coal Mines

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Tuesday

Health

FDA's Tobacco Panel Targets Menthol Cigarettes

In its first meeting Tuesday, the new Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is tasked with examining the good, the bad and the ugly of menthol cigarettes — and determining whether they should be treated differently than regular tobacco.

FDA's Tobacco Panel Targets Menthol Cigarettes

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Monday

Hypertension: A Growing But Often Hidden Problem

A recent report found that 85 percent of people who see doctors regularly have undiagnosed and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Your Health

Hypertension: A Growing But Often Hidden Problem

Nearly 1 in 3 adults in the United States has hypertension, which puts a person at risk for strokes and heart disease. Yet a recent report found that high blood pressure is undiagnosed and uncontrolled in 85 percent of people who see doctors regularly.

Hypertension: A Growing But Often Hidden Problem

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Thursday

Health

Panel: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Not Common

Cesarean birth rates are steadily rising and still less than 10 percent of women have successful vaginal births after cesareans. A National Institutes of Health panel has been examining the clinical risks and benefits of vaginal births after cesareans — as well as legal, ethical and economic considerations.

Panel: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Not Common

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Monday

Your Health

Smokers Need More Than Motivation To Quit

It's been nearly half a century since U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry declared that smoking was linked to lung cancer and was hazardous to health. Since then, smoking in the United States has been on the decline. How have most smokers left the habit behind? Some need medications like nicotine gum and patches to kick the habit.

Smokers Need More Than Motivation To Quit

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Tuesday

Science

Study: Abstinence Education Yields Results

A new study in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine finds that an abstinence-only intervention was effective in getting very young teens to delay sexual initiation. But the program is not the same as the abstinence-until-marriage programs funded by the Bush administration.

Study: Abstinence Education Yields Results

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National

A Look At U.S. Policy On Family Planning Abroad

During the Bush administration, conservatives opposed even the use of the term "reproductive health services." U.S. support for family planning abroad declined significantly. Now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says that under the Obama administration, millions of women worldwide will have greater access to family planning, contraception and HIV counseling and treatment.

A Look At U.S. Policy On Family Planning Abroad

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Monday

Menthol May Be Nicotine's Partner In Addiction

According to a new study, people who smoke menthol cigarettes seem to have more difficulty quitting than those who smoke regular cigarettes. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Health

Menthol May Be Nicotine's Partner In Addiction

Nicotine is definitely addictive, but scientists are still debating menthol's role in hooking people on tobacco. Some studies suggest that menthol allows smokers to take deeper drags or puffs on cigarettes, drawing in a greater amount of nicotine and its byproducts. Other researchers say there's no proof.

Menthol May Be Nicotine's Partner In Addiction

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