Health Highlights: Oct. 14, 2008

Oct. 15 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Economic Turmoil May Affect HIV Vaccine Research

Worldwide economic problems could lead to reduced AIDS research funding and add to the many difficulties hampering efforts to develop an HIV vaccine, according to leading scientists attending the international AIDS vaccine conference in Cape Town, South Africa. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.

The U.S. government has cut its spending on AIDS research, and "the increases in the budget that we hoped for will not be forthcoming," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Associated Press.

He and others also said the global financial turmoil may cause cutbacks in AIDS research funding from philanthropic organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The new money worries heighten the sense of gloom caused by recent HIV vaccine research failures. For example, a recent study showed that a potential vaccine doesn't prevent infection and may actually increase the risk of contracting HIV, the AP reported.

It's impossible to predict whether an effective HIV vaccine will ever be developed, Fauci said.

"Will there be a guarantee that we will get a vaccine in the classical sense? Realistically, you can't say that. But that doesn't mean we are going to give up trying," Fauci told the AP.

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Gas Stove Emissions Aggravate Children's Asthma

High indoor levels of emissions from unvented gas stoves can aggravate asthma among inner-city children, says a Johns Hopkins University study that included 150 Baltimore children, ages 2 to 6 years.

The researchers measured nitrogen dioxide levels in the children's homes and compared the intensity of coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath among the youngsters, United Press International reported.

Asthma flare-ups were directly associated with high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the homes. Each 20-point increase in nitrogen dioxide levels led to 10 percent more days of cough and 15 percent more days with limited speech due to wheezing, the researchers found.