Health Insurance
Statement by APTA President R. Scott Ward, PT, PhD
More than 40 scientists, bioethicists, lawyers and science journal editors are calling on their colleagues, policy makers and the public to begin developing guidelines for the research and reproductive use of stem cell-derived eggs and sperm, even though such use may be a decade or more away.
UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another.
A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic explanation for why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to person less effectively than other flu viruses.
A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform. The optical trap is the latest innovation from researchers at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who are developing new sensor technology for biomedical analysis and other applications.
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. The research appears online this month in the journal Diabetes, a publication of the American Diabetes Association.
Homeopathy risks being subsumed by modern medicine, argues a historian of science. Not only does this means that homeopathy"s heroes have become mere footnotes in history, but it could limit homeopathy"s potential to contribute to the treatment of today"s pressing medical problems, she says.
New research from the US and Japan showed that giving the caffeine equivalent of five cups of coffee a day to aged mice with symptoms of
Women in Nepal face the highest risk of maternal death in South Asia. The country"s high rates of maternal death and reproductive morbidity will be discussed at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) South Asia Day. The conference gathers together a group of international experts to discuss ways to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 (reduce child mortality) and 5 (improve maternal health).
Despite recent internal conflict, Sri Lanka has emerged as a success story in promoting safer childbirth. The country"s significant decline in maternal deaths will be presented today at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) South Asia Day. The conference gathers together a group of international experts to discuss maternal and child health in South Asia.
For the first time, researchers have identified genetic variants commonly found in the population that can increase an individual"s risk of developing glioma, the most prevalent brain tumour. The findings are published today in the journal Nature Genetics.
A new imaging technique can monitor, in living mice, the HER2 protein found in above-normal amounts in many cases of breast cancer as well as some ovarian, prostate and lung cancers. This new approach, once validated in mice and pending further experiments, could provide a real-time noninvasive method for identifying tumors in humans who express HER2 and who would be candidates for targeted therapy directed against this protein. It may also provide real-time information that will help clinicians optimize treatment for individual patients. The study, published in the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, was conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, both parts of the National Institutes of Health.
With rapid change taking place in the surgical environment as the range of interventional and minimally invasive procedures continues to expand, Royal Philips Electronics (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG) today announced the availability of the Veradius X-ray system. A mobile C-arm with a super thin, flat detector, Philips Veradius is designed to give the surgeon more flexibility and to improve patient care by streamlining workflow and improving image quality. The system also includes an additional monitor on the C-arm stand, enabling the operator to have an unobstructed view of the live image.
Leading interventional pain physicians from key U.S. centers gathered at a special clinical symposium to share their experience with Vertos Medical"s mild (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression), the least invasive surgical procedure for treating lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), with no implants left behind.* Their early clinical experiences suggest that mild may be an appropriate treatment alternative earlier in the LSS progression, as mild patients have shown favorable results when comparing post-treatment improvement at three months to open surgical procedure patient results at one year1. Moreover, mild leaves future surgical options open.
In the hope of stemming one of the biggest public health crises in Southeast Asia, Yale University is partnering with the University of Malaya to fight the spread of HIV among drug users in Malaysia who are completing prison terms and transitioning back into the community. The two universities recently signed a letter of intent expressing their continued commitment to this partnership, which is funded by a $4.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Media coverage of skin cancer advice and sun awareness campaigns may have generated a 47 percent increase in diagnoses of melanoma in just one year, according to research due to be released at the British Association of Dermatologists" Annual Conference next week.
Diabetes UK is concerned that more than half a million people with diabetes in England are still not been screened for retinopathy.
While Lands End and John O"Groats may be poles apart geographically they"re side by side when it comes to generosity.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Alimta (pemetrexed), the first drug available for maintenance therapy of advanced or metastatic lung cancer.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is facing a budget shortfall of about $3 billion, Marcela Rojo, a Global Fund spokesperson, said on Friday, Reuters reports. Rojo said the Global Fund needs $170 million to pay for the programs it committed to supporting last year, and the organization will need between $2.5 billion and $3 billion to maintain and finance programs planned for 2010. "The Global Fund will need a substantially higher amount than the one pledged at the last replenishment in Berlin in 2007 ($10 billion)," Rojo said, adding, "The decisions that are made in the next 18 months will be critical for sustaining the gains achieved in global health so far and further scaling up programmes."
The 2 million Pakistani refugees forced from their homes due to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley continue to be at high risk for diseases "as they cope with damaged water and sewage systems in towns and villages," according to the U.N., Bloomberg reports. "Displaced people are threatened with diarrhea, measles and respiratory infections as a result of the strain on the health service, [Eric] Laroche, [assistant director-general of the Health Action in Crises Cluster of the WHO], said. So far, the WHO"s early warning system has managed to identify and control more than 30 potential communicable disease outbreaks, he said," Bloomberg writes (Tighe/Qayum, 7/3).
Mid-Missouri Group Sees Increase In People Seeking HIV/AIDS Services, Patients Testing Positive For HIV
The Iowa Independent looks at the complexity of changing Iowa"s HIV transmission law. The Independent writes that Iowa "isn"t a state with a high percentage of people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Prosecutions related to this particular law are often highly publicized as much for their uniqueness as for a public"s need to know. In addition, of the statute"s 24 convictions since its inception, three have been appealed and subsequently affirmed by the Iowa Supreme Court." The article features comments from a former state legislator and a member of the legislative study committee that could potentially reconsider this law (Waddington, 7/3).
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that, at the request of the FDA, in view of a potential restriction on the availability of the current approved and marketed treatment for Gaucher Disease patients, it has filed a treatment protocol for velaglucerase alfa, its enzyme replacement therapy in development for the treatment of Gaucher Disease.
Unisense FertiliTech A/S announces that the EmbryoScope(TM) Embryo Monitoring System and EmbryoSlide(TM) tray have received CE approval as class IIa medical devices for use in IVF. Unisense Fertilitech A/S also received the DS/EN ISO13485:2003 and AC:2007 quality system certificate for production, installation and servicing of IVF incubators and related accessories.
Health professionals are required to provide help for victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), yet many do not even discuss the issue with their patients, according to a University of Pittsburgh study in the current issue of Violence and Victims.
Thousands of people are "now telling their stories on videos, ads and Web sites on both sides of the health care debate," The Associated Press reports. Proponents and "foes of expanding government-run health care" are posting "stories of real people on YouTube and in advertisements," as well as building up banks of the stories online. "Voters and lawmakers may be moved by the stories or turned off by what they see as emotional pandering. But in the weeks to come, the airwaves and blogosphere are sure to be populated by real people telling what happened to them when they got sick." For example, "Obama"s political operation, Organizing for America, put up a Web site last week where people can post their own health care tales and read the stories of others."
High-deductible health insurance plans coupled with health savings accounts (tax-advantaged funds for covering medical costs), are becoming the plan of choice for Connecticut"s small businesses newly offering insurance to employees, Hartford Business reports. The plans, called "consumer-directed health plans," make up 60 percent of the insurance company Aetna"s new small business sales. Nationally, the number of people with these plans rose from 3.2 million in 2006 to eight million this year.
HELP Is On The Way New York Times
Aine Brady, T.D., Minister for Older People, officially launched the "Directory of Services for Older People in the Stoneybatter Area".
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning businesses across Britain not to be duped into buying unnecessary and overpriced copies of its health and safety law poster.
The amino acid N-acetylcysteine appears to reduce symptoms of compulsive hair-pulling in patients with a condition known as trichotillomania, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have collaborated to uncover important new insights into the neurological basis of autism. Their new study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, examined patterns of movement as children with autism and typically developing children learned to control a novel tool. The findings suggest that children with autism appear to learn new actions differently than do typically developing children. As compared to their typically developing peers, children with autism relied much more on their own internal sense of body position (proprioception), rather than visual information coming from the external world to learn new patterns of movement. Furthermore, researchers found that the greater the reliance on proprioception, the greater the child"s impairment in social skills, motor skills and imitation.
An assistive technology that enables individuals to maneuver a powered wheelchair or control a mouse cursor using simple tongue movements can be operated by individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries, according to the results of a recently completed clinical trial.
The active form of vitamin D3 seems to have anticancer effects. To try and understand the mechanisms underlying these effects, researchers previously set out to identify genes whose expression in a human colon cancer cell line was altered by the active form of vitamin D3. One gene identified in this previous study was CST5, which is responsible for making the protein cystatin D. Now, a team of researchers, at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas-Universidad AutÃönoma de Madrid, Spain, and the Universidad de Oviedo, Spain, has studied this protein in detail and determined that it has tumor suppressor activity that likely accounts for some of the anticancer effects of the active form of vitamin D3.
HEPATOLOGY: Immune cells linked to severe infant liver disease
Antibodies to a wide range of substances that can aggregate to form plaques, such as those found in Alzheimer"s patients, have been identified in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of healthy people. Levels of these antibodies decline with age and, in Alzheimer"s patients, with increasing progression of the disease.
An electronic system with personalized patient information shared by diabetes patients and their primary care providers improved diabetes care and clinical outcomes, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) .
Patients who survive an initial diagnosis of breast cancer often succumb to the disease years later when the cancer shows up in a different part of the body. Now, scientists have identified key signals that support the long term survival of breast cancer cells after they have spread to the bone marrow. The research, published by Cell Press in the July issue of the journal Cancer Cell, may lead to development of treatment strategies that decrease the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence in the bone and other organs.
The worldwide economic downturn has exacerbated a global food crisis that started in 2007, leading to a significant increase in the number of people who are malnourished. The Institute of Medicine will convene top experts at a three-day workshop to explore the implications of the food crisis on nutrition and health. Participants will discuss the effects of the economic crisis and escalating food prices on nutrition, country and global responses, U.S. policies, and actions to mitigate food crises now and in the future. Speakers include representatives from the World Bank, World Food Program, UN Task Force on Global Food Security Crisis, academic health centers, and organizations from Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, and other countries.
Primary Health Care Trusts (PCTs) the length of England could soon find themselves in the High Court over the pitiful lack of appropriate treatment being offered to those with severe alcohol problems following an audit carried out by pressure group UK Advocates.
Last week, New York became the first state in America to allow scientists to pay women for donating their eggs for use in stem cell research, triggering further ethical debate. Professor Loane Skene of the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne and Deputy Chair of the high-profile Lockhart Committee on Human Cloning and Embryo Research (2005) says women should be paid for the invasive procedure.
The recent global swine flu outbreak has underscored the critical need for good surveillance and access to rapid epidemiological data. The US military, starting with early monitoring efforts in the 1970s, has developed a broad-based influenza monitoring system. In an article published in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers describe this little-known national jewel that has repeatedly made notable contributions to global influenza control through close collaboration with CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the WHO, and many other partners.
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: KG) announced additional information regarding the resubmission plan for the REMOXY(R) New Drug Application (NDA). The Company is not required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct clinical trials in order to provide additional safety or efficacy data in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic pain. However, as part of the resubmission plan, and in order to strengthen the NDA, King plans to conduct a likeability study and a pharmacokinetic trial in volunteers. The Company continues to anticipate the resubmission could occur mid-year 2010.
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: KG) and Pain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PTIE) announced that on July 2, 2009, King met with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the Complete Response Letter regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for REMOXY(R). The outcome of this meeting provided King with a clear path forward to resubmit the REMOXY(R) NDA and to address all FDA comments in the Complete Response Letter.
Despite the increase of breast reconstruction procedures performed in 2008, nearly 70 percent of women who are eligible for the procedure are not informed of the reconstructive options available to them, according to a recently published report. Newly released statistics by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) shows there were more than 79,000 breast reconstruction procedures performed in 2008 - a 39 percent increase over 2007. But in spite of this, current research suggests that many breast cancer patients are missing out on a key conversation that should take place at the time of diagnosis.
More men and women are seeking to donate sperm and eggs as a way to make money during the continuing recession, according to sperm banks and egg donation agencies, USA Today reports. Compensation for donations varies by region, state and donor agency, according to USA Today. David Battaglia, lab director for Oregon Health and Science University Fertility Consultants, said that sperm donors receive $100 per collection and can donate twice per week, while egg donors -- who undergo an outpatient extraction process -- can receive $5,000 for a donation. Battaglia said his lab has seen "easily a 25%-30% increase in calls in the last nine months." Kim Springfield, vice president of sales for donor referral service Health News, said that the company"s donations have seen "a definite spike" of about 40% since February. Robin van Halle, president of Alternative Reproductive Res, which works with egg donors, said, "Our calls have just about doubled." However, she noted, "It"s not a quick buck."Springfield said that many prospective donors choose not to begin the process once they learn that medical and psychological screening can take weeks or months and rules out most interested people. Egg donors must be screened for mental and physical health, then chosen by prospective parents. Battaglia said that OHSU Fertility Consultants require that egg donors are between ages 21 to 32 and that sperm donors are between ages 20 to 39 to improve fertility odds. Von Halle noted that the rise in donors is giving infertility patients more choices. However, because in vitro fertilization can cost thousands of dollars, economic concerns are forcing many to postpone their plans, she said (Keen, USA Today, 7/7).
The Obama administration released final regulations governing stem cell research on Monday. The New York Times reports that the rules will allow many older stem cell lines to be eligible for federally financed research. "The changes came in response to criticism from scientists that the rules that the administration proposed in April - requiring that donors of fertilized eggs sign extensive consent forms - would have made even some of the stem cell lines approved by the Bush administration ineligible for further money," the Times reports. "Scientists using stem cell lines created before Tuesday may seek review by a group of the Advisory Committee to the Director."
"Buying health insurance has become such a complex decision that Blue Cross and Blue Shield Florida is trying a new sales tactic: storefronts near big malls," the St. Petersburg Times reports. "By year"s end, the Jacksonville insurer will open two 4,000-square-foot Florida Blue stores in Tampa and Orlando." Successful pilot stores "draw about 100 people a day in Jacksonville and Pembroke Pines. "With more options than ever and Obamacare on the horizon with the promise of open competition from a new government plan, some experts think the direct sales will be a competitive necessity as more employers let employees fend for themselves. So far Blue Cross affiliates in two states have copied the Florida test." The stores are supposed to work "like Apple Stores. A concierge greets you and self-serve kiosks are there for do-it-yourselfers. Or you may seek private cubicles stocked with salespeople. The stores also have a kids" play area, a juice bar and space for wellness programs. Each store has a registered nurse waiting to help sort out information on pending treatment decisions," (Albright, 7/7).
UK scientists have announced this week that they have found a way to make human sperm from embryonic stem cells in a laboratory, a
A new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare/University of Sydney report on General Practice highlights the critical role GPs play in keeping the Australian community healthy, AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today.
New data demonstrate that maintenance therapy with RISPERDAL(R) CONSTA(R) (risperidone) Long-Acting Treatment (RLAT) significantly delayed the time to relapse compared to placebo in patients with Bipolar I Disorder. Results of the study were presented this week at a major medical meeting.
Nurses play a key role in supporting general practice and giving people access to primary health care services, the Australian Practice Nurses Association (APNA) and Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) said after the release today of two reports on general practice and practice nurses in Australia.
Progressive resistance strength training not only helps older adults become stronger but also makes their everyday life easier, a Cochrane Review suggests.
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. In a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers identified 20 genes that are involved in this process. Besides giving scientists a better idea of where to look to uncover the mechanisms that ensure cholesterol balance is maintained, the discovery could lead to new treatments for cholesterol-related diseases.
The first findings from a one-of-a-kind, patient-driven effort to provide lung tissue for research might help doctors predict when patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are becoming dangerously ill and also could point the way to interventions that could sustain them until life-saving transplants can be performed.
Surgical teams at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit successfully completed the first eight-way, multihospital, domino kidney transplant. The transplant involved eight donors -3 men and 5 women along with eight organ recipients - 3 men and 5 women. "All Johns Hopkins patients are in good condition and are recovering as anticipated," according to Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center.
A new Northwestern University-led study of human colon, pancreatic and lung cells is the first to report that cancer cells and their non-cancerous cell neighbors, although quite different under the microscope, share very similar structural abnormalities on the nanoscale level.
MEDRAD Interventional(TM)/Possis(R) announced that it has reached key milestones in bringing the Paccocath(R) Technology closer to market as an option for the over 14 million patients in the United States and Europe who suffer from Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). These milestones include the selection of physician investigators for U.S. clinical trials and the completion of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
Patients across the country are voicing a growing desire for greater engagement in, and control over, their own medical care. A new study led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) will examine the impact of adding new layer of openness to a traditionally one-sided element of the doctor-patient relationship - the notes from patients" doctors" visits.
As leaders at the G8 summit in L"Aquila gather to discuss global
Even though it may sound like it, heart failure does not necessarily mean that the heart has failed. Heart failure is a serious condition in which the heart is not pumping blood around the body efficiently. The patient"s left side, right side, or even both sides of the body can be affected. Symptoms will depend on which side is affected and how severe the heart failure is - symptoms can be severe.
ARYx Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARYX), a biopharmaceutical company, announced results from its Phase 2/3 clinical trial, EmbraceAC, comparing its novel anticoagulant agent tecarfarin (previously ATI-5923) with the leading oral anticoagulant warfarin. In this trial, tecarfarin demonstrated efficacy essentially the same as in earlier Phase 2 studies but did not achieve the primary endpoint of superiority over warfarin, as measured by time in therapeutic range (TTR). This was due to the virtually unprecedented performance of warfarin in this trial. Using the International Normalized Ratio (INR), which is the standard measure of anticoagulation to evaluate TTR, the patients in the trial who were administered tecarfarin stayed within the target therapeutic range 74.0% of the time treated as compared to those patients receiving warfarin who stayed within the target therapeutic range 73.2% of the time (p=0.506). The result for the warfarin group was unexpected based upon the extensive history of prior studies and published literature for the drug. Tecarfarin appeared to be well tolerated by the patients in this Phase 2/3 clinical trial.
The Narconon drug rehab program has noticed a trend of many drug addicts being involved with drug related charges due to their addiction. "You can have the everyday functioning addict who is battling a drug addiction, and just one day gets caught by police for possession of a small amount," comments Nick Hayes, a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres. "This is an all too common situation for many people who are involved in a drug addiction." More people are using illicit drugs in Canada, in fact Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, where the Narconon drug rehab program is located, is one of the leading cities in Canada for drug crimes. "There are so many youth in Trois-Rivieres who are addicted to different drugs like speed, ecstasy, marijuana, and even cocaine. These teens get caught up with the law and start heading down the wrong path at a very young age," says Nick.
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) announced results of a national survey that reveals the inability to pay for cancer care is among Americans" top fears about the disease. Seven out of ten report being very concerned about paying for cancer treatment if they developed the disease (69%), the same proportion who are very concerned about dying of it (68%). Only the cancer consequences of having a poor quality of life (75%) and being in pain (72%) evoke slightly more concern.
Scientists in Japan are reporting development of a faster, less expensive version of the fabled polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a DNA test widely used in criminal investigations, disease diagnosis, biological research and other applications. The new method could lead to expanded use of PCR in medicine, the criminal justice system and elsewhere, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the July 15 issue of Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal.
The IFPMA was invited to attend a special session of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva on health in Africa and other least developed countries, organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC). Michael D. Boyd, Acting Director General of the IFPMA, gave a briefing on the research-based pharmaceutical industry"s contribution to improving health in the developing world, speaking to an audience which included foreign ministers of UN Member States and senior UN officials.
AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued the following statement on the agreement reached by the hospital community, the Obama administration, and the Senate Finance Committee in support of health care reform:
America"s hospitals have long been committed to expanding coverage to the millions of
In a bid to reduce levels of undiagnosed HIV in Brighton & Hove, HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is encouraging gay and bisexual men who may have been at risk to attend a local service offering one-hour HIV testing. One in four people who have HIV in the UK are undiagnosed, and there are now more people living with the condition than ever before.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that stillbirth occurs in about one in every 160 pregnancies in the U.S., but physicians rarely warn pregnant women or their partners about the possibility, Washington Post staff writer Alan Goldenbach writes in an article discussing his experience when his wife"s pregnancy ended in stillbirth. In the U.S., the clinical definition for stillbirth is the death of a fetus after 20 weeks" gestation or weighing 350 grams if the age is unknown.There are about 26,000 stillbirths annually in the U.S., according to CDC. Goldenbach writes that this is "10 times the number of deaths attributed to sudden infant death syndrome, which has been identified as a key public health issue, and four times the incidence rate of Down syndrome, for which prenatal testing has become almost ritual." He continues that many doctors told him and his wife "that they don"t see any point in discussing stillbirth, that it"s a catch-all term for an event, and one that is frequently unexplained." Doctors contend that if they knew the causes or signs of stillbirth, they would warn patients or take preventive action, he adds. Noting that awareness of SIDS spurred research into preventive measures, Goldenbach writes that "[w]e can"t know if improved technology or more stringent standards of monitoring can lower stillbirth rates unless we do the research."Ruth Fretts, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical School and chair of the scientific committee for the International Stillbirth Alliance, said, "It"s a trade-off -- you are going to frighten a lot of people" by discussing stillbirths. According to Fretts" research, the leading cause of fetal death after 28 weeks" gestation is an unexplained . Goldenbach writes, "Several doctors told us privately that many ob-gyns fear charges of malpractice following a stillbirth, leading them to avoid citing a cause of death."Stillbirth Legislation in Development Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) is drafting legislation similar to a stillbirth prevention bill that then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) introduced in June 2008. According to s familiar with the bill, it will be brought to the Senate floor before the August recess. The legislation will expand stillbirth registries already in operation in Iowa and metropolitan Atlanta. The bill"s supporters hope to have as many as 12 states participating in the registry and installing a standard protocol for data collection after each stillbirth. Another provision would create a campaign to increase public awareness and strengthen grief support services, Goldenbach writes (Goldenbach, Washington Post, 7/6).
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recently published new guidelines on electronic fetal monitoring in an attempt to increase consistency in the way physicians interpret and act on the results, the New York Times reports. Electronic fetal monitoring, which was introduced in the 1970s, is used during labor for more than 85% of the four million infants born alive in the U.S. annually, the Times reports. According to the Times, use of fetal monitors became standard obstetrical practice before it was known if the benefits outweighed the risks. The new guidelines refine the meaning of various readings from fetal monitors and could help doctors make better decisions about whether to intervene during labor.According to experts, the widespread adoption of fetal monitoring has produced both negative and positive consequences, including significant increases in caesarean deliveries and the use of forceps during vaginal deliveries. Monitoring has not been found to reduce the risk of either cerebral palsy or fetal death resulting from inadequate oxygen to the fetal brain, as it was intended to do. Furthermore, lawyers commonly use monitoring results to support malpractice cases that might have little merit, which in turn has driven rising malpractice insurance costs and prompted some obstetricians to stop delivering infants.The new guidelines divide monitor readings into three categories to help doctors interpret readings more consistently. The old guidelines had two categories -- reassuring and non-reassuring -- and it was up to the obstetrician to determine whether a non-reassuring reading required intervention. Under the new guidelines, the first category applies when tracings of the fetal heart rate are normal and no specific action is required. The second category is for indeterminate tracings that require evaluation, continuous surveillance and re-evaluation. Obstetricians treating patients in this category should consider other clinical factors that could affect the fetus and whether the patient could be safely moved to category one, according to Catherine Spong of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which produced recommendations on which the guidelines are based. The final category is for abnormal tracings that require immediate evaluation and efforts to reverse the abnormal heart rate. The Times reports that more refinements to the guidelines are expected to be released in 2010 (Brody, New York Times, 7/7).
Thirteen people charged with "disruption of Congress" for standing and shouting pro-single-payer system slogans during a health care reform committee hearing settled their cases, The Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune reports.
The Elephant In The Room On Health Care Minneapolis Star Tribune
The American Lung Association and The CHEST Foundation are partnering to further clinical research to benefit the estimated 22.9 million of Americans living with asthma.
The GMC is calling for people to give their input on guidance that doctors must follow when filming or making audio recordings of patients and undertaking research.
How does Hollywood impact radiation perception? Can we treat cancer with microscopic particles acting like a Trojan horse? How does the radiation exposure our astronauts receive during space travel compare to their routine diagnostic radiology exams?
-- The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows low levels of influenza activity in all parts of Wales. Further detail can be found on the NPHS website.
The anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin could hold promise as a treatment for Alzheimer"s disease, says a Saint Louis University doctor and researcher.
A hyper-realistic Einstein robot at the University of California, San Diego has learned to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning. The UC San Diego researchers used machine learning to "empower" their robot to learn to make realistic facial expressions.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that survival among women with ovarian cancer is influenced by age of menarche and total number of lifetime ovulatory cycles.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service"s (HHS) Indian Health Service (IHS) announced $90 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for improved access to vital drinking water and wastewater services in the American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The funds will be invested in "shovel ready" infrastructure projects designed to better protect human and environmental health in Indian Country and to create jobs.
As swine flu spreads across America, good data can make all the difference in controlling it.
The Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation recently awarded 13 grants totaling more than $191,000 to encourage the development of interventional radiology research. Grant proposals were reviewed during SIR"s 34th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Diego.
John Csernansky wants to take your measurements. Not the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. No, this doctor wants to stretch a tape measure around your hippocampus, thalamus and prefrontal cortex.
People with dementia and their families will get more support throughout the course of the illness as the first dementia advisors started work on Wednesday.
Wiley-Blackwell, the scientific, technical, medical and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc (NYSE: JWa), (NYSE: JWb), has announced that the inaugural issue of its new journal, Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, is now live online.
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that Schering-Plough K.K., the company"s country operation in Japan, has received marketing approval for ASMANEX TWISTHALER (mometasone furoate dry powder inhaler) for the treatment of bronchial asthma in adults.(1)
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. announced the successful treatment of the first patient of its IDE feasibility trial. The case, which was performed at The Ohio State University Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery, marks the first natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) procedure involving the company"s investigational devices. NOTES is a surgical method in which external incisions are eliminated, potentially leading to reduced pain, a quicker recovery and a faster return to normal activities for the patient.
Life Spine announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given 510(k) marketing clearance to the FS3 Minimally Invasive Spinal System.
A potential vaccine for Alzheimer"s disease also has been shown in mice to slow the weakening of muscles associated with inclusion body myositis, a disorder that affects the elderly.
Specialty care physicians can improve the health of high-risk patients by reviewing electronic health records and proactively providing e-consultations and treatment plan recommendations with primary care physicians, according to a Kaiser Permanente paper published online in the British Medical Journal.
The "outstanding" work of Julia Hippisley-Cox, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and General Practice at The University of Nottingham, has been recognised by the Royal College of General Practitioners.
The most recent statistics on programs funded in 140 countries through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria released Wednesday reveal "[m]ore than 2 million people living with HIV have been reached with life-saving treatment," the UN News Centre reports (7/8).
Four researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and their colleagues at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine are advocating the use of systems biology as an innovative clinical approach to cancer. This approach could result in the development of improved diagnostic tools and treatment options, as well as potential new drug targets to help combat the many potentially fatal types of the disease.
-- The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows low levels of influenza activity in all parts of Wales. Further detail can be found on the NPHS website: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=457&pid=38241
EpiCept Corporation (Nasdaq and OMX Nordic Exchange: EPCT) today announced the start of a post-approval clinical study with Ceplene® (histamine dihydrochloride) following Ethics Committee and Competent Authority approvals in Sweden, Belgium, and France. This study will fulfill the post approval commitments requested by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) in granting marketing authorization. Ceplene® is indicated for remission maintenance in adult patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in first remission. Ceplene®is to be administered in conjunction with low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2).
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine identified a novel link between ITCH, a gene known to regulate inflammation in the body and NOD2, a gene which causes the majority of genetic Crohn"s Disease diagnoses. ITCH, when malfunctioning, causes widespread inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, gastritis, uncontrolled skin inflammation, and pulmonary pneumonitis. Derek Abbott, M.D., Ph.D., and his team of researchers found that ITCH also influences NOD2-induced inflammation. These findings, published in the August 11th issue of Current Biology, suggest a common pathophysiology exists between multiple inflammatory diseases. The unexpected finding of the interaction between these genes offers the possibility of a new drug target, which would be effective in treating Crohn"s disease - a chronic disorder causing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Foresight Biotherapeutics, Inc. announced data from a pre-clinical study designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the topical administration of FST-100 in a highly regarded Ad5 NZW rabbit model of adenoviral conjunctivitis. FST-100 demonstrated a clinically and statistically significant reduction in signs of adenoviral conjunctivitis versus all other groups including the current experimental "gold standard", topical cidofovir. The study was conducted at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Science Center, LSU Eye Center in New Orleans, Louisiana by Professor James M. Hill and colleagues, in the Departments of Pharmacology, Microbiology, Ophthalmology and Neuroscience.
Although the fact that we generate new brain cells throughout life is no longer disputed, their purpose has been the topic of much debate. Now, an international collaboration of researchers made a big leap forward in understanding what all these newborn neurons might actually do. Their study, published in the July 10, 2009, issue of the journal Science, illustrates how these young cells improve our ability to navigate our environment.
Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC recently won a first-place achievement award from the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) in patient safety for achievements in researching and improving the process for elective induction of a woman"s labor.
In a May 15 letter to Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), 31 Republican Indiana state senators asked the lawmakers to oppose the confirmation of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen, President Obama"s nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department, due to her support for abortion rights, the AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The state senators wrote that Johnsen"s support for abortion rights "is more than simply pro-choice" and that "she is pro-choice in an extremely radical way," citing Johnsen"s statements and writings. The letter, which was signed by all but two of the state"s Republican senators, asked Bayh and Lugar to consider what Johnsen"s nomination "could mean for the future of the country." Indiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R) said, "It"s a statement from a very strong pro-life caucus," adding, "It is not based on the fact she is pro-choice, it is based on the fact that she is radically so." According to Long, the letter originated with a request from Indiana Right to Life to urge Bayh and Lugar to oppose Johnsen"s confirmation.Johnsen in an e-mail said that as a nominee she would not make public comments to the media. White House spokesperson Amy Brundage said that Johnsen "will bring unquestioned integrity and a commitment to non-partisan interpretation of the law to the Office of Legal Counsel, and we"re pleased that both of Indiana"s senators have expressed support for her nomination." Lugar spokesperson Andy Fisher on Monday in an e-mail said that although the senator has said he would not oppose Johnsen"s confirmation, Senate Democrats currently do not have enough support to move forward with the confirmation process. Bayh supports Johnsen"s confirmation, according to Bayh spokesperson Eric Kleiman (Smith, AP/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/18).Senate Confirms Hamburg as FDA CommissionerThe Senate on Monday by voice vote confirmed the nomination of Margaret Hamburg to be FDA commissioner, CQ HealthBeat reports (CQ HealthBeat, 5/18). According to the AP/Washington Post, Hamburg"s priorities include leading the development of a swine flu vaccine and overhauling the U.S. food safety system. During her confirmation hearing, Hamburg, a bioterrorism expert, said that she wants to increase consumer confidence in the agency by increasing transparency and accountability. Previously, Hamburg served as an assistant health secretary under President Clinton (AP/Washington Post, 5/19).
Dharma Therapeutics, Inc., ("Dharma") Seattle, WA (a subsidiary of the Transcu Group Limited, a company listed on the Singapore Exchange Limited) announced that its improved active transdermal delivery technology, which administers lidocaine and epinephrine through the skin via a mild electric current, has demonstrated safety and efficacy in a Phase 2 clinical trial.
Nine-year-old Martha sits in front of a poster that depicts a single chocolate chip sitting on top of five pounds of grapes. After several weeks participating in a University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing research program on healthy eating and weight management the message is not lost on her. The chocolate chip has the same amount of fat grams as the grapes.
Different types of work site exercise programs have multiple benefits, including reduced neck and shoulder pain for employees who do all-around exercise and lowered heart disease and stroke risk factors for those who do strength training, reports a study in the July Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
The "hard truth of our economic turmoil is almost at term," as hospitals are beginning to report a decrease in the number of births, about nine months after "American banks first admitted their collective crisis," author Lauren Sandler writes in Slate"s "The Big Money" column. Sandler writes that the trend is "hardly unprecedented," noting that the contraception business "was just about the only one booming" during the Great Depression. She asks, "Are market forces the great contraceptive?" Sandler continues that in the first few months of 2009, Nielsen reported a 10% increase in U.S. sales of condoms and emergency contraceptive pills. Additionally, sales of the permanent female contraceptive Essure have increased 28% over the past year, and clicks on physician profiles on Vasectomy.com have risen 40%. According to Sandler, Vasectomy.com"s chief operating officer, Maya Wank, reports that many urologists say that vasectomies are increasing because patients" salaries are down, with many men seeking vasectomies out of fear of job or health insurance loss.Sandler writes that the "tanking economy has delivered an awakening" that the "choice to have a child is probably the most serious, not to mention one of the most costly, that you"ll ever make." According to Sandler, a Gallup poll found that 12% of women say they know someone who has delayed a planned pregnancy because of the recession. The poll also found that one in five women reports that she is more concerned about unintended pregnancy than she was one year ago, and the same number reports being more "conscientious" about using birth control. Additionally, the poll found that, compared with one year ago, 13% more women who use hormonal contraception are concerned that they will be unable to afford their birth control. Since 2008, there has been an increase of 15% in the number of U.S. residents who say they had to cut back on medications due to cost.Sandler writes that it is "not surprising" that the National Network of Abortion Funds reports a fourfold increase in the number of calls from women who need assistance paying for abortion procedures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recently announced that teen birth rates are up after a 14-year decline. "In other words, the recession could result in a drop in birth rates for women with easy access to contraception and abortion," Sandler writes, adding that experts believe that women with "more limited access ... may see the rate climb." Sandler concludes that "it"s not unreasonable to consider what things will look like if the middle class reduces its reproduction, while men and women who are struggling to even afford condoms expand their numbers despite their personal choice" (Sandler, "The Big Money," Slate, 5/17).
Medical information of more than 35 million persons from the general European population will be studied with the goal of better guiding clinicians how to balance the risk of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular events when prescribing NSAIDs.
A study published recently on bmj.com concludes that an easy training program, based on a sequence of balancing movements, can be useful in cutting the risk of recurrent ankle sprains by 35 percent. This could reflect in huge savings in medical and lost productivity costs.
UroToday.com - Increasingly surgical education is being focused on specific procedural training techniques. These researchers at the University of Minnesota have shown the importance of breaking the procedure down into its specific steps and deconstructing the various tasks applied to each step of the procedure.
UroToday.com - Dietary micronutrients are a common component of people"s diet as they seek to prevent cancer and other diseases. Micronutrients protect against cellular oxidative damage by neutralizing oxygen free radicals. In the May 2009 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, Dr. VasundaraVenkateswaran and associates tested the effects and timing of the micronutrients vitamin E (E), selenium (S), and lycopene (L) on the development of prostate cancer (CaP) in the Lady transgenic model.
New York state"s decision last month to allow state-funded embryonic stem cell researchers to pay women for donating their eggs had drawn support from many scientists and doctors but fueled debate among some ethicists, Long Island Newsday reports. The state"s Empire State Stem Cell Board said that researchers can pay women up to $10,000 as compensation for their time and the invasive nature of the procedure.Scientists and research advocates say the decision could boost important research into cures of serious diseases while attracting investments and new jobs to the state. Opponents raise ethical concerns about using taxpayer money for research that some people find morally objectionable. Some also contend that payment might exploit low-income women, according to Newsday. The National Academy of Sciences and NIH do not permit payments to research participants beyond reimbursement.Thomas Berg -- director of the Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person and a Roman Catholic priest opposed to embryonic stem cell research -- cast the sole dissenting vote in the stem cell board"s decision. Berg said the board ignored his suggestions to open the discussion to the public. However, Samuel Packer -- a member of the board and chair emeritus at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System"s Department of Ophthalmology -- said the decision was made during a public meeting following a "long, lively debate." Packer said, "At some point the dissenting voice can"t stop the progress of science or anything else in society." He added, "There is a direct link between having better eggs and doing better research" (Ochs, Long Island Newsday, 7/9).
"The Senate dealt a blow to the drug lobby Thursday by voting to permit people in the United States to order lower-cost drugs from Canada over the Internet," the Associated Press/Arizona Republic reports. The drugs in question are often made in the U.S., and then sold abroad for lower prices than at home because because of government policies in many other countries. The bill would make it legal to re-import those drugs more readily. The drug provision passed as an amendment to a Department of Homeland Security funding bill and was introduced by Republican Louisianna Sen. David Vitter (Taylor, 7/9).
The Health Care Follies CBS News /The New Republic
The WHO announced Thursday it had approved a second cervical cancer vaccine, opening "U.N. agencies and partners [to] now officially buy millions of doses of the vaccine for poor countries worldwide," where an estimated 80 percent of the 280,000 annual deaths from cervical cancer occur each year, the AP/Google.com reports (7/9).
"HIV/AIDS has literally become a state of emergency in the [b]lack community and our leaders, organizations and institutions can no longer afford to remain silent," Lisa Fager Bediako, project coordinator for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation"s ACT! Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, writes in the Florida Courier. She continues, "Over the past three years that I have been involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and advocacy, one thing has become apparent: the crucial need for expanded dialogue about HIV/AIDS within the [b]lack community." Bediako writes, "In order to reach a larger audience, we need to have hard conversations, creative outreach and committed support from leadership organizations and media outlets," concluding, "We cannot afford to ebb and flow our conversations of HIV/AIDS while this preventable disease continues to devastate our community" (Bediako, 7/10).
Marking a unique milestone in prostate cancer surgery, the director of urologic oncology at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) has completed his 500th robotic prostatectomy at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), the Flagship Hospital of CINJ, which is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
The destructive cellular pathways activated in Alzheimer"s disease are also triggered following traumatic brain injury, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). They say this finding suggests that novel therapy might successfully target both conditions.
Researchers in the US found that the destructive cellular pathways that occur following traumatic brain injury are the same as those activated in