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120、Urban living linked to higher rates of bulimia
Fri Dec 1, 2006 9:40am ET
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LONDON (Reuters) - Living in big cities raises the risk of suffering from the eating disorder bulimia but not anorexia nervosa, Dutch psychologists said on Friday.

They found women in cities were five times more likely to have the binge-and-purge illness than those who live in villages and hamlets but that there was no difference in anorexia rates.

Although the research was done in the Netherlands, Gabriella van Son, of the Center for Eating Disorders in Leidschendam believes the findings are relevant to other developed countries.

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"Bulimia, which is closely related to anorexia nervosa, is more common in large cities when you compare it with rates in rural areas," she said in an interview.

"The number of newly diagnosed patients with bulimia is about five times higher in cities."

Bulimia and anorexia affect mainly girls and women. Both are linked with an obsessive desire to be thin.

But while anorexics eat very little, bulimics binge and then force themselves to vomit or use laxatives and diuretics to purge food from their body.

Anorexia usually begins during the teen years and bulimia, which affects about one percent of women, can occur at the same time or later. Both can be treated with behavioral therapy and counseling.   Continued...

121、 Warnings, worship mark World AIDS Day By DAVID McHUGH, Associated Press Writer
Fri Dec 1, 1:55 PM ET



BERLIN - World Aids Day was marked around the globe by somber religious services, boisterous demonstrations and warnings that far more needs to be done to treat and prevent the disease in order to avert millions of additional deaths.

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Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko conceded his country was losing ground in the race to curb one of Europe's fastest growing epidemics, saying 100,000 Ukrainians have been officially registered as     HIV-positive. Every day, 40 citizens of the former Soviet nation are diagnosed with HIV, and eight die from     AIDS, Yushchenko said.

"Such figures are shocking," Yushchenko said in a published address timed to coincide with World AIDS Day. "We can't be indifferent to them."

Yushchenko's statement comes as     UNICEF officials warn that of a public health catastrophe in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where 270,000 people are infected, some 90 percent of them through intravenous drug use.

"Eastern Europe stands at the threshold of an AIDS epidemic of catastrophic proportions, which can only be stopped through a broad-based educational campaign," said Dietrich Garlichs, German head of the     United Nations Children's Fund.

In Moscow, dozens of believers lit candles and joined in a prayer service in the small Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr, part of the U.S.-based Orthodox Church in America.

Women lit thin yellow candles tied with the red ribbons that symbolize the fight against HIV and AIDS, while priests led the chanting of prayers.

The Russian Health Ministry said Russia hopes to provide equal access to anti-retroviral drug therapy for all the HIV-infected.

Chief epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko said Thursday that the number of officially registered cases of HIV in the country had reached 362,000. But international agencies and some Russian experts say the true number is closer to 1 million.

Activists allege that Russia, where those infected with HIV are often stigmatized, has dragged its feet in battling the disease. Some scientists say the nation faces a devastating epidemic in the next decade if nothing is done, accelerating an already rapid decline in Russia's population.

In London, the day was marked by services in Westminster Cathedral and a concert by the London Gay Mens' Chorus at St. Pancras Church.

In Copenhagen, artist Jens Galschioet put up an eight-foot sculpture of a crucified pregnant teenager outside Copenhagen's Lutheran cathedral. He called it a protest against the idea that "God allows nothing but chastity and unprotected sex."

City authorities gave the artist permission to erect the statue, named "In the Name of God," outside the cathedral.

Anders Gadegaard, the cathedral's dean, appeared to welcome the message. "It's a good supplement to the crucifix we have inside the church," he said.

President     Bill Clinton warned in an interview with the BBC that India, which has the largest population of HIV infected people in the world, has become the new epicenter of the global AIDS pandemic. The challenge of controlling the epidemic in India, with 5.7 million infected, is "breathtaking," he said, but it can be achieved.

"This is not rocket science," Clinton told the BBC. "We know what to do."

The Clinton Foundation announced Thursday it had struck a deal with two Indian companies to supply 19 antiretroviral drugs for HIV-infected children at steeply discounted prices. Only one in 10 children who needs treatment is getting it, Clinton said in a statement.

The cheap drugs will be available to 100,000 children in 62 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Caribbean by next year.

But the need for additional treatment and prevention programs, health officials say, is still staggering. The global pandemic has killed 25 million people since the first case was reported in 1981, with 40 million currently infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Nations across Asia marked the day with events both serious and lighthearted. In Indonesia, demonstrators marched through the streets of the capital with their faces wrapped in white sheets, some carrying signs that said "No more stigma!" and "Stop HIV/AIDS."

In Thailand, AIDS activists planned Friday evening to create the world's "Longest Condom Chain," intended to raise awareness about the disease. Organizers planned to arrange 25,000 condoms side-by-side on a ribbon placed on the ground, stretching through Bangkok's Lumpini Park.

Thailand is considered a leader in the global fight against AIDS, and has made significant gains in reducing the number of new infections through the aggressive promotion of condom use by men who patronize prostitutes.

In China, schoolgirls decorated classrooms with red ribbons, the international symbol for AIDS awareness. Chinese taxi drivers handed out angel-shaped cards with promoting steps to prevent HIV infections and discrimination against those already infected.

The Chinese Health Ministry said last week that the number of reported HIV/AIDS cases rose by almost 30 percent in the first 10 months of this year, from 144,089 to 183,733. Intravenous drug use was the biggest source of infection, the ministry said.

Health experts estimate that the actual number of cases is four or five times higher than the reported figure.

In Papua New Guinea, the governor general and the health minister took HIV/AIDS blood tests in front of hundreds of people to encourage voluntary testing.

Governor general Paulias Matane and minister Peter Barter attended a rally at the Tabari open-air craft market in Port Moresby and gave blood samples as hundreds of spectators applauded.

Papua New Guinea has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS among Pacific countries, with around 2 percent of the population estimated to be HIV-positive.

Clinton was due to visit the country Sunday to launch a new voluntary testing and counseling program. He is scheduled to visit Vietnam next week, where his Clinton Foundation runs AIDS treatment programs for children.

In Hanoi on Friday, about 450 people participated in an event that brought together about 20 people infected with HIV and hundreds of those not infected, with the aim of reducing the stigma attached to the virus. The group pitched a dozen large tents, where people ate lunch, talked and sang together.

A "Condom Fashion Show" featured outfits stitched together with condoms.

"We really need something like this so that people will understand more about the epidemic," said Nguyen Minh Phuong, 37, who is infected with HIV. "It allows us to do something useful and help prevent the disease from spreading."

In Indian-controlled     Kashmir, meanwhile, public health authorities have found an unexpected ally in their battle against HIV and AIDS in the deeply conservative region.

The Jammu-Kashmir state AIDS prevention and control agency has enlisted hundreds of Islamic clerics to carry the message of safe sexual practices to Muslim believers, officials said Friday.

Top Muslim cleric Mufti Nazir Ahmed usually preaches sermons at a mosque in Kashmir that urge Muslims to avoid promiscuity and homosexuality ― widely believed to be among the major reasons for the spread of AIDS.

"Wherever I deliver a sermon, I talk about AIDS. Methods to prevent AIDS corresponds exactly with the teachings of Islam," Ahmed said Friday. "If one follows the Islamic way, by no means can one contract AIDS."

At least 37 people have died of AIDS in Jammu-Kashmir over the last decade while another 931 people have tested positive for HIV or AIDS, he said.

Associated Press Writer BEN STOCKING contributed to this report.

122、Health Highlights: Dec. 2, 2006 Sat Dec 2, 5:02 PM ET



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

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Fewer Older Americans Struggle With Disabilities: Study


The number of older Americans with a chronic disability has dropped dramatically in the last 20 years, and the rate of decline has accelerated as well.


That's the encouraging news from a new federal study that found the prevalence of chronic disability among people 65 and older fell from 26.5 percent in 1982 to 19 percent in 2004-05. The findings suggest that the health of older Americans continues to improve at a critical time in the aging of the population, the researchers said.


"This continuing decline in disability among older people is one of the most encouraging and important trends in the aging of the American population," said Dr. Richard J. Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA).


"The challenge now is to see how this trend can be maintained and accelerated, especially in the face of increasing obesity," added Richard Suzman, director of the NIA's Behavioral and Social Research Program. "Doing so over the next several decades will significantly lessen the societal impact of the aging of the baby-boom generation."


According to the study, from 1982 to 2004/2005:

Chronic disability rates decreased among those over 65 with both severe and less severe impairments, with the greatest improvements seen among the most severely impaired.
The proportion of people without disabilities increased the most in the oldest age group, rising by 32.6 percent among those 85 and older.
The percentage of Medicare enrollees 65 and older who lived in long-term care institutions such as nursing homes dropped from 7.5 percent to 4 percent.

If the downward trends continue, they could bode well for the Medicare program's fiscal health, suggested the study, a joint effort between the NIA and Duke University. It was published in this week's Proceedings of the     National Academy of Sciences.


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Experimental Ultrasound May Detect Breast Cancer


An experimental ultrasound technique may allow doctors to determine if a woman has breast cancer without having to perform a biopsy, suggest the findings of a study reported this week at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.


The technique, called elastography, measures how easily breast lumps compress and bounce back. The study of 80 women found that elastography was nearly 100 percent accurate in distinguishing between malignant and benign breast lumps, the Associated Press reported.


Elastography correctly identified 105 of 106 benign lumps and 17 of 17 cancerous lumps.


If the same kind of results are achieved in a larger study, the technique could spare many women the discomfort, stress, and cost of having a breast biopsy, experts said.


"There's a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress, a lot of fear involved," with a biopsy, Susan Brown, manager of health education at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, told the AP. "And there's the cost of leaving work to make a second appointment. If this can be done instead of a biopsy, there would be a real cost reduction."


-----


Concerns Raised About Clotting Drug Used on U.S. Troops


The U.S. Defense Department should look into the use of the blood clotting drug Factor VII on wounded troops in     Iraq, two U.S. Senators say.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (news, bio, voting record) (D-Md.) and Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) called for the investigation after reports that the drug may have caused life-threatening clots, the Associated Press reported.

In a letter to Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Mikulski said the     Pentagon should track all patients who receive Factor VII on the battlefield in order to assess whether they are at increased risk for blood clots and other complications. As of Thursday morning, she had not received a reply.

In related news, a group of experts that specialize in hematology and blood clotting says there are "rightful concerns" about the use of the drug on the battlefield, the AP reported.

The seven scientists and doctors made the comment in an editorial they wrote for an upcoming issue of the journal Applied and Clinical Thrombosis/Hemostasis.

"Our soldiers are already in great danger and the availability of a lifesaving drug such as [Factor VII] is welcome," they wrote. "It is, however, equally important to recognize and investigate the reported adverse reactions with its use to avoid additional risk to these Army personnel."

Factor VII was originally designed to treat patients with rare forms of hemophilia. The U.S. military says the drug gives front-line doctors a way to control potentially fatal bleeding in wounded troops, the AP said.

-----

U.S. Workers Prefer Traditional Health Plans

A survey released Friday shows that Americans with employer-sponsored health coverage are more likely to sign up for traditional plans instead of consumer-directed products, which have been promoted as a way to reduce healthcare costs.

When given a choice of at least two plans, 55 percent of workers chose a preferred provider organization (PPO), 40 percent selected a health maintenance organization (HMO), and 19 percent went with a consumer-directed plan, the Associated Press reported.

The survey by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Studying Health System Change also found that 39 percent of the 2.7 million people enrolled in employer-sponsored consumer directed health plans in 2006 were not offered other choices.

Consumer-directed health plans feature high deductibles and tax-advantaged savings accounts. This type of plan is supposed to help reduce health care costs by making patients more accountable for their health spending decisions, the AP reported.

However, the survey findings suggest that Americans don't necessarily want that kind of responsibility, said Jon Gabel, one of the study authors and vice president of the Center for Studying Health System Change.

"Most Americans are risk-averse. They don't like making financial decisions," Gabel told the AP.

-----

Young Adults Who Cook Eat Healthier

Young American adults who buy their own food and prepare meals at home eat fast food less often, consume more fruits and vegetables, and eat a more healthy diet overall than those who don't take part in the planning and cooking of their meals, according to University of Minnesota researchers who surveyed more than 1,500 people, ages 18 to 23.

The survey found that 31 percent of young adults who were heavily involved in meal preparation ate five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, compared with 3 percent of those with little involvement in meal preparation.

But even among those who did take part in buying and preparing food, many did not meet recommended dietary guidelines.

"Cooking skills, money to buy food and time available for food preparation were perceived as inadequate by approximately one-fifth to more than one-third of the sample," the study authors wrote. "To improve dietary intake, interventions among young adults should teach skills for preparing quick and healthful meals."

The study appears in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

123、Iraq conjoined twins stable as operation nears end
Sat Dec 2, 2006 12:31pm ET

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RIYADH (Reuters) - Iraqi conjoined twins undergoing a 21-hour separation operation in Saudi Arabia are both expected to survive, a hospital spokesman said on Saturday as the surgery entered its final stages.

"The girls are stable now, and we are approaching stage 8 of 10 stages, which is that of complete separation ... Then they will be placed on separate tables and their wounds will be dealt with by plastic and pediatric surgery," said Sami al-Shalan of the National Guard Hospital.

"There is now more than a 70 percent chance of success, that both girls survive," he said. "This is considered one of the most difficult operations of its kind because so many organs are shared."

The 11-month-old twins Zahra and Fatima Haidar share the same liver, colon, anus, urinary and genital system and are joined at the chest, abdomen and pelvis.


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Their case has attracted media attention because they are from Sadr City in Baghdad where sectarian fighting has taken the country to the brink of civil war. Saudi state television has carried parts of the operation live.

"The parents made an appeal on Iraqi television. When King Abdullah heard about it he directed us to bring them to Saudi Arabia for the possibility of separation," Shalan said.

The Saudi team, led by surgeon Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, has performed 11 separations of conjoined twins, with a 100 percent success rate so far.

Saudi Arabia wants U.S. troops to remain in its northern neighbor for fear of partition if they leave.

124、600 sickened after eating at N.Y. bar Fri Dec 1, 11:16 PM ET



SYRACUSE, N.Y. - At least 600 people came down with a gastrointestinal illness after eating at a popular biker bar and restaurant, health officials said Friday.

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Bacteria have been ruled out as the cause, meaning last weekend's outbreak linked to the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is probably viral and could have spread through air particles, said Cynthia Morrow, health commissioner of Onondaga County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were notified because the people who may have been affected were from across the country, Morrow said. Patrons from as far away as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and California have reported symptoms.

Some were sickened after eating at the restaurant, while others became ill after being exposed to those who had, health officials said.

The most common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps and chills lasting 12 to 48 hours.

The county health department on Thursday ordered the restaurant closed for at least 72 hours. Workers threw away hundreds of pounds of prepared foods. No specific foods have been implicated.

Restaurant owner John Stage said he plans to reopen Monday.

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Saudi doctors work to separate twins Sat Dec 2, 12:55 PM ET



RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A pair of conjoined Iraqi twins began separation surgery in the Saudi capital Saturday, the state-run news agency reported.

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Fatma and Zahra Haidar, the 11-month-old twin girls, are conjoined from the chest and abdomen and share many vital organs, including the liver, colon and urinary and reproductive organs.

The official Saudi Press Agency said that doctors successfully separated the girls at the chest, liver and colon in surgery that was expected to last 20 hours.

"The twins' condition is stable as the liver was separated without bleeding," chief surgeon Dr. Abdullah al-Rabia said.

The girls' Iraqi Shiite parents, from Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, appealed on Iraqi television seven months ago for assistance to obtain the operation.

Saudi Arabia is paying for the surgery ― the 12th of its kind to be performed at the King Abdul-Aziz Medical City for the National Guard in the Saudi capital.

126、New programs help mentally ill ex-cons By ANGELA DELLI SANTI, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 34 minutes ago



TRENTON, N.J. - Larry Lamb has lived a half-century of failures: three stints in New Jersey state prison, four psych ward confinements, drug and alcohol abuse dating back to adolescence, and more time in county lockups than he can count.

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A year ago, he began racking up successes.

Lamb, 50, hasn't had a drug-tainted urine sample since he enrolled in an intensive program for mentally ill inmates as he was being released from jail. He's taking antidepressants, keeping appointments with his therapist, working when he can find a job and paying off court-imposed fines from his prior life of crime and homelessness.

"I knew I needed help," said Lamb, who traces his troubled and isolated life back to a day when he was 7 and he watched as his 9-year-old brother was run over and killed by a truck. "I never let anybody get close to me."

Advocates for the mentally ill say Lamb's situation is common among the nation's inmates, 55 percent of whom suffer from a mental health problem, according to a study released in September by the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs.

Yet, the availability and intensity of mental health services for people in the nation's criminal justice system varies greatly, said Karen Bower, a lawyer with the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, a Washington-based group advocating for the rights of the mentally ill.

A similar disparity in post-incarceration services exists nationally, with some people receiving comprehensive discharge planning before they leave prison or jail, others being offered limited mental health or social services, and some getting none.

"You are much more likely now than you were 10 years ago to get some sort of assistance at discharge," said Tammy Seltzer, director of state policy with the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, a nonprofit association representing community mental health and addiction providers. "Nationally, we're still very far from where we need to be. There are some wonderful programs, but there are not enough programs to serve everybody who is in this situation."

Services are severely lacking for those with dual diagnoses, like mental illness and drug dependence, said Bower. In one class-action lawsuit filed by Bazelon in New York, mentally ill parolees are suing for access to chemical addiction programs. A prior suit brought by a mentally ill inmate in New Jersey forced the state to revamp its prison psychiatric programs to replace the practice of segregating inmates whose psychiatric disorders made them disruptive.

Without adequate support, or access to medication and counseling, those discharged or paroled with serious mental illness ― defined as schizophrenia, bipolar or major depression ― often wind up cycling back through the criminal justice system, Bower said.

Lamb is among a small group of ex-inmates in New Jersey participating in pilot programs for such parolees. The programs offer comprehensive services ― housing and job assistance, medication management, counseling and education ― aimed at reducing recidivism among this high-risk, high-maintenance population.

Until this year, New Jersey had no services for the mentally ill after they left state prison, and only nine of the 21 counties have any post-incarceration services for those leaving county jails.

"The dilemma was, 'Where do I put a person like this?'" said Kevin McHugh, director of community programs and grant management for the New Jersey Parole Board. "We don't want to keep them in jail, and the likelihood for them to fail on the outside was high."

In New Jersey, a mental health task force created by former Gov. Richard J. Codey last year brought the oft-forgotten mentally ill inmate population into focus and highlighted the need for new partnerships between state agencies such as mental health and parole, said John Monahan, a task force member and president of Greater Trenton Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health services provider.

Two pilot programs have started since the task force issued its report. PROMISE, or Program for Returning Offenders with Mental Illness Safely and Effectively, provides up to six months of post-incarceration services to paroled inmates who have a history of criminal behavior related to untreated mental illness.

The program began in the spring, now has 16 parolees and can accommodate a maximum of 30. So far, five people have completed the program, and two committed parole violations and returned to prison.

Monahan's company runs a second pilot project, called Coming Home, which relies on state, county and grant funding to provide outreach services to state and county inmates. Counselors begin working with inmates three months before discharge to develop a plan for living on the outside and continue to work with parolees until they are self-sufficient.

A three-year, $300,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds the portion of the project dealing with state prisoners. The money will pay for services for 60 state prisoners and underwrites efforts to amend state policy so such services can become widespread and permanent.

"We have to see to it that people who have serious mental illness get the help that they need so they don't wind up incarcerated and they get help before problems happen for them," Monahan said.

Lamb, who is among the ex-Mercer County Jail inmates in Greater Trenton Behavioral HealthCare's Corrections Project, credits his counselor, Anthony Towns, with his success. But Towns says Lamb is modest.

"I haven't done anything more for Larry than I've done for any other client," Towns said. "In any therapeutic relationship, the client and the counselor should have some type of bond. Larry came to me with motivation to succeed. It just so happens that Larry connected with me."

Lamb just moved into his first apartment, is re-establishing a relationship with his teenage son and says he's hoping, one day, to find someone to share his new life.

127、Many unfamiliar with safety, effectiveness of IUDs
Fri Dec 1, 2006 5:23pm ET

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A small survey of young pregnant women found that just half had ever heard of an intrauterine device (IUD), and only a minority was aware of the contraceptives' record of safety and effectiveness.

IUDs are T-shaped devices placed in the uterus that cause changes in the lining of the uterus that prevent eggs from being fertilized. They can be left in the uterus for years and are one of the most effective types of birth control.

While IUDs are popular elsewhere, just 2.1 percent of women in the U.S. use this type of birth control, Drs. Nancy L. Stanwood and Karen A. Bradley of the University of Rochester Medical Center note. Stanwood has worked as a consultant for IUD maker FEI Women's Health, which did not fund the current study.

To investigate young women's perceptions of IUDs, the researchers surveyed 190 pregnant women seeking prenatal care or abortions on their knowledge and use of contraceptives. The average age of the subjects was 20 years old, 47 percent had given birth before and 91 percent said the current pregnancy was not planned.


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The women surveyed said safety and effectiveness were their most important concerns in choosing a contraceptive. Just over half said they wanted to wait at least four years before becoming pregnant again, while 27 percent said they never wanted to become pregnant again.

Of the 50 percent who had heard of IUDs, 71 percent did not know that they were safe, and 58 percent did not know they were effective. Overall, 13 percent said they planned to use an IUD after their current pregnancy.

IUDs only need to be inserted once, making them much easier to use than, for example, the contraceptive pill, which must be taken every day with a prescription refilled every month, Stanwood and Bradley note.

"Young women choosing contraception after a pregnancy would benefit from counseling on the relative safety and effectiveness of IUDs, allowing them to make fully informed contraception decisions," they conclude.

SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology, December 2006.

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Michigan man receives hand transplant By BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Nov 30, 6:17 PM ET



LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Michigan man who lost his right hand in a work-related accident more than 30 years ago became the third successful hand transplant recipient in the United States, doctors said Thursday.

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David F. Savage was doing well the day after the surgery at Jewish Hospital in Louisville.

Doctors said the transplant for Savage, 54, presented unusual challenges because of the length of time between losing his hand in a machine press and the surgery. The blood vessels leading to Savage's hand had shrunk because they were not in use, said Dr. Warren Breidenbach, the lead surgeon.

"It's like closing down your house for 32 years, then deciding to go back in and take a shower. You turn it on, it sputters a little bit, then it works," Breidenbach said.

Of the two dozen hand transplant recipients worldwide, Savage may have gone the longest between losing a hand and having a transplant, Breidenbach said. That amount of time creates a "slightly higher risk" of vascular compromise, when blood stops flowing, because the blood vessels used in the transplant were dormant for so long, Breidenbach said.

"If it stops working, we'll go back in there and get it started again," Breidenbach said.

The procedure involved two surgeries and 32 doctors over 16 hours on Wednesday, the day the anonymous donor died.

Savage, of Bay City, Mich., is also serving as a test case for a drug called Campath to ward off rejection. If Savage's body rejects the new hand, it will happen in the first three to six months, doctors said.

Savage first inquired about receiving a hand transplant six years ago ― shortly after the nation's first such procedure ― and fought his insurance company for three years, Breidenbach said. Then he spent three years on a waiting list for a donor hand.

The first two U.S. hand transplants were also performed at Jewish Hospital, in 1999 and 2001.

business：

129、Berlin says France not blocking EADS ownership deal
Sat Dec 2, 2006 12:27pm ET

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More Business News... Email This Article | Print This Article | Reprints [-] Text [+] BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government rejected a magazine report on Saturday that France was blocking a German consortium from taking over a stake in aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile , Research) from core shareholder DaimlerChrysler (DCXGn.DE: Quote, Profile , Research).

Citing high-ranking Berlin government officials, Spiegel magazine said Paris had refused to agree to the sale of the shares, adding its approval is required under EADS' articles of agreement.

A German government spokeswoman rejected the report, saying: "There is nothing in it."

Berlin government sources told Reuters on Friday discussions were still underway on EADS' share ownership and a date could not be given for an end to the talks.

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Spiegel reported that under a plan being discussed, a 7.5 percent stake in EADS held by DaimlerChrysler could be sold to the consortium without voting rights, which DaimlerChrysler would retain.

The consortium members would commit to holding the shares for 3-5 years, Spiegel said. In return, they would receive a dividend increased by over 100 percent -- if EADS pays a dividend at all.

DaimlerChrysler owns 22.5 percent of EADS shares and has said it intends to sell 7.5 percent. Berlin is eager to retain German influence in EADS, the parent of troubled aircraft maker Airbus, when DaimlerChrysler cuts its stake.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Berlin wants to keep German-French parity in the group.

Her government is worried that reducing DaimlerChrysler's stake could diminish German influence in the firm at a time when Airbus is about to push through substantial cost cuts.   Continued...