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New drug to treat chronic pain in SCD patients

A University of Minnesota Medical School research team led by Kalpna Gupta, Ph.D., has discovered that cannibinoids offer a novel approach to ease the chronic and acute pain caused by sickle cell disease.Using a mouse model of SCD, Gupta and University of Minnesota colleagues studied the pain mechanisms by observing animals that exhibited both musculoskeletal pain and temperature sensitivity, symptoms similarly experienced by humans with SCD. The team compared two classifications of drugs in their ability to manage pain sensed by the animals, the traditionally prescribed classification of drugs, opioids, with a new therapeutic approach, cannabinoids, a synthetic compound based on marijuana derivatives. Currently, the only approved treatment for management of severe pain in SCD is opioids.

23 Jul 2010

No COBRA subsidy in Senate-passed unemployment benefits bill

"U.S. workers who lost their jobs as of June 1 won't be eligible for a 65 percent federal subsidy to help pay for health insurance under an unemployment bill the Senate approved yesterday," Bloomberg reports. That provision and other assistance programs were stripped from the jobless bill because of concerns about how to pay for them.

23 Jul 2010

Four areas that impact weight, obesity in women identified

The information gap and general lack of understanding of obesity's unique and disproportionate impact on women contributes to the challenges of the 65 million American women who are considered overweight or obese, said the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance Task Force on Women at a meeting on Capitol Hill today.

22 Jul 2010

Study reveals link between anti-TPO antibodies and placental abruption

Pregnant women with antibodies that can indicate early thyroid disease are three times as likely to have placental separation during labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a study of more than 17,000 women.

22 Jul 2010

Burden of funding, driving research on rare diseases too often falls upon patients, families: NORD

An advocate for people with rare diseases today told a U.S. Senate committee that the burden of funding and driving research on rare diseases too often falls upon patients and their families.

22 Jul 2010

Prototype ring with sensors helps to detect, prevent preterm labor

The birth of a baby is usually a joyous event, but when a child is born too early, worrisome complications can occur, including serious health problems for the baby and steep medical bills for the family. To address this, Johns Hopkins graduate students and their faculty adviser have invented a new system to pick up very early signs that a woman is going into labor too soon.

22 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: U.S. and AIDS; Mass. example on health reform?; Unions and health costs

George W. Bush made an impressive commitment to the international fight against AIDS when he formed the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program. … Thanks to these efforts — and similar initiatives ... the number of African patients with access to AIDS drugs jumped tenfold from 2003 to 2008. Since 2004, the AIDS-related mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa has dropped 18 percent. Yet President Obama added only $366 million to the program this year — well below the $1 billion per year he promised to add when he was on the campaign trail (Desmond Tutu, 7/20).

22 Jul 2010

Vaginal birth after previous C-section may be a safe option say doctors

According to new practice guidelines revealed for obstetricians by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists this Wednesday, a vaginal birth after a Caesarean section (VBAC) or maybe even after two C-sections can be a safe and appropriate choice.

21 Jul 2010

Spectranetics announces product reimbursement approval for SLS II

Spectranetics Corporation today announced that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan has approved product reimbursement to hospitals for the Spectranetics Laser Sheath, which is used for the removal of problematic pacemaker and defibrillator cardiac leads.

20 Jul 2010

Policies that weaken ability of payers to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse must be rejected: PCMA

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) President and CEO Mark Merritt issued the following statement today on the recent U.S. House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee vote to provide the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Justice Department with $561 million for programs designed to combat fraud, waste, and abuse:

20 Jul 2010

N.Y. health officials increase tanning regulations; Colo. extends review of premium increases; Some small Mass. businesses dropping coverage

The Associated Press: "New York health officials are ramping up their regulation of more than 2,000 tanning salons and gyms offering indoor ultraviolet rays even as health advocates push for a law banning exposure by anyone under 18. … Last year, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified tanning as a definite human carcinogen, putting it in the same category as smoking.

20 Jul 2010

MJO Staffing, U.S. Colleges of Health & Human Services announce strategic business collaboration

MJO Staffing, Inc. and U.S. Colleges of Health & Human Services announced today the creation of a strategic alliance. This business collaboration is designed to expand the opportunities for both students and recent graduates with additional internship and externship programs while teaming up with MJO Staffing Inc. to expand their employee pool of qualified talent. MJO Staffing will track the professional progression of experience for graduates maximizing their placement opportunities into a rewarding career.

17 Jul 2010

The Children's Hospital, UCH to jointly establish new center for advanced maternal fetal medicine

The Children's Hospital and the University of Colorado Hospital have finalized an agreement to jointly establish a center for advanced maternal fetal medicine offering state-of-the-art care for high-risk pregnant women and their babies. The two leading academic medical centers have individually provided such services for more than three decades, and by building on already existing adult and pediatric expertise, they together will be able to provide unparalleled care and treatment for the region's most at-risk moms and babies.

16 Jul 2010

Hemispherx publishes report of Japanese government funded program to develop nasally delivered H5N1 vaccine

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced that it was publicizing the full technical (unedited) report in Japanese, prepared by Hideki Hasegawa, M.D. Ph.D., Director, Laboratory of Infectious Disease Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Disease (NIID, formerly Japan's National Institute of Health) and the certified English translation.

16 Jul 2010

Pitney Bowes to deliver customized mailing solutions to RCP

Pitney Bowes Inc. today announced that Revenue Cycle Partners, a leading business process outsource provider for hospitals and healthcare systems nationwide, has chosen Pitney Bowes for customized mailing solutions to further deliver world-class BPO services to its hospital client base while helping to ensure the highest level of healthcare privacy compliance.

15 Jul 2010

Study analyzes supply, demand for various allied health professions in Tennessee

Middle Tennessee State University's Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services recently released the fourth edition of "Allied Health in Tennessee: A Supply and Demand Study."

15 Jul 2010

NUHW files for union election, but refuses to sign agreement

Two weeks after filing for a union election among 46,000 Kaiser workers in California, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) refused to sign an agreement that would allow the election to go forward in the next 60 days.

15 Jul 2010

State and Federal Communications shares report on states’ response to Supreme Court's decision

State and Federal Communications, Inc. -- which provides government affairs compliance information and consulting -- is sharing a report on how states are responding to the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

14 Jul 2010

Experts discuss long-term viability of cost containment measures in health care reform bill

Leading experts in health policy and the economics of health care gathered in Washington, D.C. today to discuss the long-term viability of cost containment measures in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, such as prevention and disease management, in an environment with increasing downward fiscal pressures.

14 Jul 2010

Researchers discover single genetic mutation that accounts for disease

By inspecting the sequence of all 3 billion "letters" that make up the genome of a single person affected with a rare, inherited disorder, a Johns Hopkins and Duke University team ferreted out the single genetic mutation that accounts for the disease.

13 Jul 2010

Labor News and Research

New drug to treat chronic pain in SCD patients

No COBRA subsidy in Senate-passed unemployment benefits bill

Four areas that impact weight, obesity in women identified

Study reveals link between anti-TPO antibodies and placental abruption

Burden of funding, driving research on rare diseases too often falls upon patients, families: NORD

Prototype ring with sensors helps to detect, prevent preterm labor

Today's OpEds: U.S. and AIDS; Mass. example on health reform?; Unions and health costs

Vaginal birth after previous C-section may be a safe option say doctors

Spectranetics announces product reimbursement approval for SLS II

Policies that weaken ability of payers to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse must be rejected: PCMA

N.Y. health officials increase tanning regulations; Colo. extends review of premium increases; Some small Mass. businesses dropping coverage

MJO Staffing, U.S. Colleges of Health & Human Services announce strategic business collaboration

The Children's Hospital, UCH to jointly establish new center for advanced maternal fetal medicine

Hemispherx publishes report of Japanese government funded program to develop nasally delivered H5N1 vaccine

Pitney Bowes to deliver customized mailing solutions to RCP

Study analyzes supply, demand for various allied health professions in Tennessee

NUHW files for union election, but refuses to sign agreement

State and Federal Communications shares report on states’ response to Supreme Court's decision

Experts discuss long-term viability of cost containment measures in health care reform bill

Researchers discover single genetic mutation that accounts for disease

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Exploring the G:Box and for high-quality imaging

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