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WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Medicinal marijuana helps relieve neuropathic pain in people with HIV, says a University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine study.

It included 28 HIV patients with neuropathic pain that wasn't adequately controlled by opiates or other pain relievers. The researchers found that 46 percent of patients who smoked medicinal marijuana reported clinically meaningful pain relief, compared with 18 percent of those who smoked a placebo.

The study, published online Aug. 6 in Neuropsychopharmacology, was sponsored by the University of California Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR).

"Neuropathy is a chronic and significant problem in HIV patients as there are few existing treatments that offer adequate pain management to sufferers," study leader Dr. Ronald J. Ellis, an associate professor of neurosciences, said in an UCSD news release. "We found that smoked cannabis was generally well-tolerated and effective when added to the patient's existing pain medication, resulting in increased pain relief."

The findings are consistent with and extend other recent CMCR-sponsored research supporting the short-term effectiveness of medicinal marijuana in treating neuropathic pain.

"This study adds to a growing body of evidence that indicates that cannabis is effective, in the short-term at least, in the management of neuropathic pain," Dr. Igor Grant, a professor of psychiatry and director of the CMCR, said in the UCSD news release.

More information

The American Medical Association has more about medical marijuana  .

TUESDAY, Aug. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Many new mothers in the United States struggle with chronic emotional and physical problems, often with little or no support from their husbands or partners, all the while trying to meet the needs of their newborns, and in some cases the pressure to return to work, a new report finds.

"Mothers of young children in the United States are in a rather untenable situation," said Carol Sakala, an author of the report and director of programs for Childbirth Connection, a national not-for-profit organization that works to improve the quality of maternity care.

"Mothers are so isolated in our society. There is not an appreciation for the extent to which this is a very challenging time for this large population," she said.

The report, called New Mothers Speak Out, National Survey Results Highlight Women's Postpartum Experiences, surveyed 903 new mothers, ages 18 to 45, who gave birth in 2005.

Among the findings: After six months, 43 percent of the women still felt stressed; 40 percent reported problems controlling their weight; 34 percent had trouble sleeping; 26 percent had no sexual desire; and 24 percent suffered from chronic backaches.

During the first two months after giving birth, 44 percent of the women said that their physical or emotional condition interfered with taking care of their baby.

What's more, many women didn't feel they got the support they needed from their spouse or partner, with 73 percent saying they provided more of the child care than their husband or partner.

Even the 49 percent of women who had full-time jobs said they provided most of the child care, with just 3 percent of husbands or partners providing most of the child care, according to the report.

Twenty percent of the women with a husband or partner said their mate provided little, if any, affectionate, emotional, enjoyment or practical support.

"We were surprised at how quickly the women were back to employment -- over 80 percent by 12 weeks postpartum," Sakala said. "They didn't get the maternity leave that they wanted. They felt they had to be back at work earlier than they wanted. They weren't able to achieve their breast-feeding goals.

"They are trying to do the right thing, but they are not getting the support they need in terms of time to recover and the financial support they need to be at home with their babies," Sakala added.

Just 40 percent of working mothers said they received paid maternity leave benefits. Among those receiving paid maternity leave, 50 percent said they received 100 percent of their pay. Among full-time workers, 23 percent got at least six weeks of full pay, and 38 percent received six weeks at half pay.

More than one-third of the working women were back on the job six weeks after giving birth, and 84 percent were back working after 12 weeks of maternity leave.

Almost half of the women -- 48 percent -- said they hadn't remained at home as long as they wished. The main reason they went back to work was that they couldn't afford more time off, the report found.

Most of the working women said the ideal amount of time off would be seven months. Only 1 percent of the women had fully paid leave for four months or more.

Once the women returned to work, many challenges still remained. Seventy-nine percent described being away from their baby as a challenge. Problems making child-care arrangements affected 50 percent of the new mothers; breast-feeding issues affected 37 percent; 36 percent struggled with issues of support from their partner or spouse; and 29 percent said they experienced lack of support in the workplace.

"There is a major awareness challenge. We aren't really aware of the situation that mothers are in," Sakala said. "We need to extend the supports we have offered to mothers. We need to build awareness among women that they are not alone. These are common issues, issues for which they can get help. They are entitled to help."

Dr. Ruta Nonacs is a staff psychiatrist with Massachusetts General Hospital's Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Clinical Research Program. She thinks the new survey is another piece of evidence that more attention needs to be paid to help new mothers.

Part of the problem, Nonacs said, has been changes in society that leave new mothers more isolated. "Most women don't exist within extended families and need other forms of support, because there is not an extended family that can pick up the extra responsibility," she said.

Longer maternity leaves and more flexible return-to-work policies would be one way of helping new mothers, Nonacs said. "That would be very helpful in reducing the level of stress," she said.

Also, new mothers expect more of themselves than they did in the past, Nonacs said. "With all the emphasis on 'appropriate parenting,' there is pressure on women to be 100 percent available, which is simply not possible. Women's expectations have increased dramatically," she said.

These heightened expectations add to the stress of new motherhood, Nonacs said. "Especially, when there is a disconnect between how one thinks a mother is supposed to behave and how grueling it actually is. That sets up people for disappointment and feelings of inadequacy. It does create stress," she said.

"Throw away your parenting books," Nonacs advised. "Get all the support you can muster -- if you pay for it or recruit various family members and friends. The first year in a child's life is very demanding. One needs a lot of support, and one also needs to take care of oneself," she said.

More information

To see the full report, visit the Childbirth Connection  .

FRIDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Once-daily treatment with atazanavir/ritonavir (A/R) is as effective as twice-daily treatment with lopinavir/ritonavir (L/R) in HIV patients who are starting antiretroviral treatment for the first time, a European study shows.

Based on their findings, the researchers recommended once-daily A/R as a first-line treatment option for treatment-naive HIV patients since it has a number of advantages over the currently recommended twice-daily L/R.

The study included 883 treatment-naive HIV patients who were randomly assigned to receive A/R 300/100 milligrams once daily (440 patients) or L/R 400/100 milligrams twice daily (443 patients). Both regimens were in combination with tenofovir/emtricitabine 300/200 once daily, as is standard.

After 48 weeks of treatment, 78 percent of patients receiving A/R and 76 percent of those receiving L/R had a viral load of less than 50 copies per milliliters in their blood, and both groups showed similar increases in the numbers of immune system CD4 cells. Six percent of patients in both groups failed on the treatments, and two patients in the A/R group developed resistance mutations to treatment, compared with none in the L/R group.

Serious side effects were reported in 12 percent of the A/R patients and 10 percent of the L/R patients, but fewer A/R patients experienced treatment-related diarrhea (2 percent vs. 11 percent) and nausea (4 percent vs. 8 percent). None of the L/R patients developed jaundice, which occurred in 4 percent of A/R patients.

"In treatment-naive patients, atazanavir/ritonavir once-daily demonstrated similar antiviral efficacy to lopinavir/ritonavir twice daily, with less gastrointestinal toxicity but with a higher rate of hyperbilirubinaemia...the results of this study support the use of once-daily atazanavir/ritonavir as a recommended first-line treatment option, with a number of patient benefits over the currently recommended ritonavir-boosted twice-daily lopinavir for the treatment of HIV-infected antiretroviral-naive patients," the researchers concluded.

The study appears online in The Lancet, and was expected to be published in an upcoming print edition of the journal.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about HIV medicines  .

WEDNESDAY, July 9 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to sex, grandma and grandpa are having more of it these days, new Swedish research suggests.

According to the study, the last quarter century has seen a dramatic rise in the frequency of sex among the 70-year-old set, whether married or unmarried. And as an added bonus, seniors today (particularly women) say they're much more satisfied with their liaisons than the previous generation -- facing less sexual dysfunction and feeling more positive about the experience.

"Our study shows that a large majority of elderly consider sexual activity and sexual feelings a natural part of late life," said study author Nils Beckman, a doctoral candidate with the neuropsychiatric epidemiology unit at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology at Gothenburg University. "It is thus important that health professionals and others take sexuality into consideration, irrespective of age."

The findings are reported online in the British Medical Journal.

Beckman and his team reviewed surveys concerning sexual behavior and attitudes that had been completed by more than 1,500 healthy 70-year-old Gothenburg residents over a 30-year period.

The polls had been conducted in 1971-1972, 1976-1977, 1992-1993, and 2000-2001.

Between the first survey and the last, the frequency of sexual intercourse was found to have increased among all groups. Among married men, 68 percent said they were engaging in the practice in the latest poll, compared with 52 percent in 1971, while among married women the number had risen from 38 percent to 56 percent.

Among unmarried men, the jump went from 30 percent to 54 percent in the same 30-year span, while among unmarried women the observed bump was from just under 1 percent to 12 percent.

Women seemed to make the most headway in terms of increasing their sexual satisfaction. While men expressed more positive attitudes about sex in 1971, by 2001 the gender difference had evaporated.

As well, more 21st-century women said they were highly satisfied with their sex; fewer said they had low satisfaction; more said they experienced an orgasm during sex; and fewer said they had never had an orgasm.

Regarding the degree to which the respondents said they felt "very happy" about their relationship, the three-decade trend also moved in a similarly positive direction for both genders: rising from 40 percent to 57 percent among men, and from 35 percent to 52 percent among women.

Beckman and his colleagues speculated that, in part, the findings might simply reflect the degree to which Western societies have become more comfortable in dealing with sexual matters frankly and openly -- perhaps leading to a greater willingness to honestly report sexual encounters.

"(And) maybe it has become more permissible to leave an unhappy marriage today," suggested Beckman. "And even for widows [and] widowers to establish new relations."

Whatever the explanation, S. Jay Olshansky, a professor of public health and senior research scientist at the Center on Aging at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), said the findings closely mirror the results of similar research conducted at UIC and elsewhere.

"Probably the addressing of physiological problems with the development of medications like Viagra explain some -- but not all -- of the upward sexual activity trend," he said. "But the most important point being made here is that when it comes to sex, clearly it doesn't matter what age you are. At least most men and many women still have a desire to have it as they age."

More information

For more on seniors and sex, visit the U.S. National Institute on Aging  .