Study finds anti-AIDS vaginal ring partially protects women

Researchers say women who inserted a vaginal ring coated with an anti-AIDS drug once a month were partially protected against HIV infection.

Two large studies in Africa found the effect was modest, reducing overall HIV infection by about a third. But surprisingly, the ring worked far better in women 25 and older, leaving researchers wondering if younger women who got little to no benefit simply didn't use the device properly.

Scientists have long sought tools to help women protect themselves from HIV when their partners won't use a condom. While researchers debate the age disparity, the nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides said it plans to seek regulatory approval for more use of the ring in parts of hard-hit Africa.

Study results are being presented at the Retrovirus Conference in Boston.

Hitler suffered from genital deformity, historian claims

Adolf Hitler had a genital deformity that made his penis remarkably small, according to a historian citing previously unknown medical records.

It had been long acknowledged that the fascist had an undescended testicle, but the new revelation could shed light on his maniacal personality.

“Hitler himself is believed to have had two forms of genital abnormality: an undescended testicle and a rare condition called penile Hypospadius in which the urethra opens on the underside of the penis,” according to historians Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie’s book “Hitler’s Last Day: Minute by Minute.”

The condition is often accompanied by an undescended testicle, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Patients “could have problems with abnormal spraying of urine and might have to sit to urinate,” according to the CDC’s description of the deformity.

“In some boys with hypospadias, the testicle has not fully descended into the scrotum. If hypospadias is not treated it can lead to problems later in life, such as difficulty performing sexual intercourse or difficulty urinating while standing.”

The dictator’s personal doctor Theodor Morell used to give Hitler hormones, amphetamines and cocaine in hopes of boosting the Fuehrer’s sex drive, historians said.

Charlie Sheen 's HIV disclosure had big online impact, study says

A new study looks at the public health impact of actor Charlie Sheen's disclosure that he has the virus that causes AIDS.

It found that Sheen's revelation Nov. 17 prompted the greatest number of HIV-related Google searches recorded in the United States since 2004. More than 1 million of them involved public health-related information, including searches for symptoms and testing.

The researchers analyzed Google trends data along with news trends from 2004 until three weeks after Sheen's announcement.

They found there were more than 6,500 HIV-related news stories on Google News alone on Nov. 17. That reversed a decade-long decline in news reporting about the virus.