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

8 U.S. Medical Centers to Launch Major HRT Trial

U.S. researchers will launch a major new trial on hormone replacement therapy later this year because they suspect, despite a spate of recent negative studies, that the menopausal treatment may still have benefits for younger women.

The New York Times reports that the new study is expected to start in September, last five years and include 720 menopausal women between the ages of 40 and 55 at eight medical centers around the country.

The researchers are hoping to find out whether hormones can protect against artery disease if women start treatment early in menopause and whether there is any advantage to giving estrogen by skin patches instead of the usual pills, and changing the schedule of the other hormone given with it, progesterone.

The hormones must be taken together because estrogen alone has been proven to cause uterine cancer; adding progesterone counters that risk.

The study, funded by the private, nonprofit Kronos Longevity Research Institute in Phoenix, will be lead by Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, a Harvard professor of medicine and chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The seven other centers in the study, all major hospitals and teaching centers, will be announced Tuesday.

The new research hopes to answer some questions left open by the Women's Health Initiative, a major government study that was abruptly halted in July 2002 after Prempro, a widely used pill combining estrogen and progestin, was found to cause small but significant increases in breast cancer, heart attack, stroke and blood clots. Since then, other studies have found similar problems.

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Being Too Clean May Cause Autoimmune Diseases

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute suggest that too much cleanliness could be a cause of diabetes and other diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

If children are too clean, they're exposed to fewer germs. That means their immune system fails to get properly stimulated and produces too few immune cells, the Scripps scientists write in the journal Cell.

They suggest that when the immune system isn't forced to work hard enough, there's a reduction in the number of T cells in the body, BBC News reports.

People with autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus often have low levels of T cells. The Scripps scientists say "priming" a person's immune system by exposing them to bacteria and viruses may reduce their risk of developing these autoimmune diseases.

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Bill Would Require Hospitals to Report Problem Nurses

New Jersey's two U.S. senators have introduced a bill to force hospitals to report disciplinary action against nurses to a federal database. Hospitals would also have to check that database before hiring nurses.

The senators say tighter controls are needed to deal with problem nurses. As an example, they noted Charles Cullen, who claims to have killed as many as 40 patients while working as a nurse in various New Jersey hospitals.

Under this bill, hospitals that fail to forward disciplinary information about nurses or that don't check the database before hiring a nurse would face a $50,000 fine.

The bill has been introduced and referred to the Senate Health Committee.

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Scientists Developing Patch to Cut Desire for Alcohol

A patch to curb the urge to drink is being developed by Duke University scientists.

The patch contains nicotine, which suppresses the desire to smoke, and a compound called mecamylamine, which helps stem the desire for alcohol, BBC News Online reports.

Mecamylamine, which works on brain pathways that are stimulated by alcohol and nicotine, reduces a person's enjoyment of smoking and drinking. Tests with the patch found that it reduced alcohol consumption in light drinkers.

However, a spokesperson for the Society of Chemical Industry said there's no proof that the patch could help heavy drinkers reduce their alcohol consumption.

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FDA Muzzled Antidepressant Critic: Report

Top officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concede the agency prevented an expert from testifying at a February public hearing about his belief that commonly prescribed antidepressants caused children to become suicidal, The New York Times reported Friday.

The officials reportedly stand by their decision, calling Dr. Andrew Mosholder's findings "alarmist and premature," in the words of FDA Associate Director Dr. Robert Temple.

"If you get it wrong and over-discourage the use of these medicines, people could die," Temple told the newspaper, denying that the agency was trying to keep important information from the public.

The U.S. House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee plans to investigate the FDA's actions, according to the Associated Press.

Mosholder, an FDA epidemiologist, had been charged with analyzing 22 studies involving more than 4,000 children and seven antidepressants. He concluded that children on certain medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were almost twice as likely as those given placebos to become suicidal, the Times reported. Frequently prescribed SSRIs include Paxil and Prozac, of which the latter is the only medication in its class to be FDA-approved for use in children.

The FDA said it is conducting its own review of Mosholder's conclusions. In the interim, the agency has warned that patients of any age should be carefully monitored when they begin antidepressant treatment or change dosages.

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HIV Scare Shuts Down Porn Studios

A number of studios that produce pornographic movies have suspended filming for at least 60 days after revelations that two stars tested positive for the AIDS-causing HIV virus, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Actor Darren James and actress Lara Roxx, who worked together in at least one movie, both tested positive this week, the Times said. Several studios -- including the largest one, Vivid -- announced the shutdown, saying actors who worked with either of the pair needed time to get tested.

Since the positive tests, the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, an industry-sponsored health center, has identified 45 actors and actresses who have worked with either actor, and is urging them to be tested, the newspaper reported.

The industry, which employs more than 6,000 actors and production workers in southern California, has recommended that performers get tested every 30 days.

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