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Viewpoints: Premium support disadvantages; GOP candidates & the individual mandate; Stop fight over high court recusals?

Republican politicians are touting the virtues of market competition and calling for a "premium support" plan that would give beneficiaries a set amount of money to shop among private plans for their own insurance. What they do not say is that private plans have long been more costly than traditional Medicare and have shown far less ability to slow spending.

5 Dec 2011

Veterans' access to mental health services remains a concern

Access questions and concerns are deepening as more men and women end their tours of duty and need therapy upon returning to the U.S. In other news, NPR reports on the debate surrounding the costs of military retiree benefits.

5 Dec 2011

British American Tobacco buckles up to fight plain packaging legislation

British American Tobacco (BAT) has challenged the High Court against the cigarette plain packaging legislation. BAT argues the ban is invalid because the federal government is trying to acquire valuable intellectual property without compensation. BAT lodged the writs launching its challenge in the High Court Sydney registry on Thursday. The date for hearing is likely to be no earlier than the second quarter of next year.

4 Dec 2011

CDER, Shire enter agreement for ProAmatine clinical trial to treat symptomatic orthostatic hypotension

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that it has reached an agreement with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct additional clinical trials to confirm the clinical benefit of ProAmatine (midodrine HCl), a medicine approved in 1996 under Subpart H for the treatment of symptomatic orthostatic hypotension (SOH).

3 Dec 2011

Foster children on Medicaid are overly medicated, says report

A study of five states found that foster children are more likely than other kids to be given mind-altering drugs, including antipsychotics and antidepressants.

3 Dec 2011

New insight into why aminoglycoside antibiotics cause deafness

Peter Steyger's research on hearing is very personal. That's because Steyger - a research scientist with the Oregon Hearing Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University - is deaf. Now Steyger has published groundbreaking research that is as personal as it gets. The study gives scientists new insight into why a specific class of antibiotics causes deafness - the same class of antibiotics that caused Steyger's deafness as a child in England 48 years ago. The study was published this month in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature Publishing Group.

2 Dec 2011

World AIDS Day marks progress, but much work remains

News reports detail emerging strategies to prevent infection, but also examine lagging treatments and the populations that continue to have the highest incidence rates.

2 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 1, 2011

In today's headlines, Republicans in Congress advance plan to charge wealthy beneficiaries more for Medicare in order to cover the costs of the proposaed payroll tax extension.

1 Dec 2011

House Committee expected to vote Wednesday to repeal CLASS Act

The Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to approve, along party lines, a measure to repeal the long-term care insurance program. Meanwhile, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is being pressed to lift his hold on legislation to fund children's hospitals. He has been blocking the measure's progress because he still hopes to add an amendment that would expand it to children's psychiatric hospitals.

1 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Entrenchment on Capitol Hill; Medicaid's woes; Presidential mistake on Berwick

Last week's failure of the budget super committee, despite its super powers, is only the latest breakdown in an attempt at compromise in Washington. Politicians keep trying to fashion failsafe solutions to the capital's uncompromising mind-set, without understanding that there is no external escape from an environment that rewards those who stand tenaciously on their principles and demonize their opponents. Members of Congress need to change their minds about compromise, or voters will need to change the members of Congress.

1 Dec 2011

Hospice family caregivers require unique care needs

A study led by the University of Kentucky researcher Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles found that hospice family caregivers are "second order patients" themselves and require their own unique care needs.

1 Dec 2011

State roundup: Wis. physician shortage predicted; CVS blacklisting some Fla. docs; 'Ambitious' Baltimore HIV initiative

The state needs to train or recruit an additional 100 physicians a year through 2030 to meet the projected demand for health care, according to a new Wisconsin Hospital Association report. ... The group says the state must act immediately ... Primary care physicians - doctors who specialize in family and internal medicine and pediatrics - will account for 80 percent of the projected shortage.

1 Dec 2011

New review article: Pitch center does not exist in auditory cortex

The perceptual feature of sound known as pitch is fundamental to human hearing, allowing us to enjoy the melodies and harmonies of music and recognize the inflection of speech. Previous studies have suggested that a particular hotspot in the brain might be responsible for perceiving pitch. However, auditory neuroscientists are still hotly debating whether this "pitch center" actually exists.

30 Nov 2011

More neural connecting pathways in the language network than originally thought

While it has long been recognized that certain areas in the brain's left hemisphere enable us to understand and produce language, scientists are still figuring out exactly how those areas divvy up the highly complex processes necessary to comprehend and produce language.

29 Nov 2011

Partisanship a part of demands for certain justices to recuse themselves from health law case

House Democrats recently demanded that Justice Clarence Thomas step aside while Senate Republicans have increased their calls for Justice Elena Kagan to take herself off the case. Meanwhile, lobbying efforts are expected to increase as part of efforts to shape the high court's decision.

29 Nov 2011

IsoRay initiates shipment of GliaSite radiation therapy system

IsoRay, Inc. announced today it has shipped its first GliaSite radiation therapy system. The Company initiated sales after receiving final approval this week from the State of Washington Department of Health to manufacture its GliaSite radiation therapy system.

28 Nov 2011

Democrats ask Obama not to dilute contraceptive benefits

Democratic lawmakers, fearful that President Obama is on the verge of significantly diluting a proposed regulation that would give millions of women access to birth control without out-of-pocket insurance charges, are furiously lobbying the White House to hold the line.

24 Nov 2011

Body-conscious Shakespeare: Sensory disturbances in troubled characters

Shakespeare was a master at portraying profound emotional upset in the physical symptoms of his characters, and many modern day doctors would do well to study the Bard to better understand the mind-body connection, concludes an analysis of his works, published in Medical Humanities.

24 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Blame for super committee mess, Supreme Court recusal is the judges' call

What's clear is that committee Democrats moved awfully far in the name of compromise. They offered more in Medicare cuts than Simpson-Bowles did -; or than Obama did with Boehner, for that matter -; and accepted less in the way of tax increases than those two proposals. For their part, Republicans moved off their position of complete intransigence on taxes. Then they refused to budge.

24 Nov 2011

State roundup: Another Medi-Cal lawsuit; medical homes in Tenn.; Pa. moving forward on exchanges

Some California hospitals would take a significant and long-lasting hit from Medi-Cal reimbursement cuts recently approved by CMS, according to the California Hospital Association, which this week filed a petition in federal court to put a temporary halt to those reductions. CHA's lawsuit and injunction request are separate from the court action taken earlier this week by the California Medical Association and other provider organizations.

24 Nov 2011

Hearing News and Research

Viewpoints: Premium support disadvantages; GOP candidates & the individual mandate; Stop fight over high court recusals?

Veterans' access to mental health services remains a concern

British American Tobacco buckles up to fight plain packaging legislation

CDER, Shire enter agreement for ProAmatine clinical trial to treat symptomatic orthostatic hypotension

Foster children on Medicaid are overly medicated, says report

New insight into why aminoglycoside antibiotics cause deafness

World AIDS Day marks progress, but much work remains

First Edition: December 1, 2011

House Committee expected to vote Wednesday to repeal CLASS Act

Viewpoints: Entrenchment on Capitol Hill; Medicaid's woes; Presidential mistake on Berwick

Hospice family caregivers require unique care needs

State roundup: Wis. physician shortage predicted; CVS blacklisting some Fla. docs; 'Ambitious' Baltimore HIV initiative

New review article: Pitch center does not exist in auditory cortex

More neural connecting pathways in the language network than originally thought

Partisanship a part of demands for certain justices to recuse themselves from health law case

IsoRay initiates shipment of GliaSite radiation therapy system

Democrats ask Obama not to dilute contraceptive benefits

Body-conscious Shakespeare: Sensory disturbances in troubled characters

Viewpoints: Blame for super committee mess, Supreme Court recusal is the judges' call

State roundup: Another Medi-Cal lawsuit; medical homes in Tenn.; Pa. moving forward on exchanges

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Shaping the Future of Neuroscience: A Conversation with Atlas Antibodies on the MolBoolean™ and the Impact of SfN 2024

How the Arts Reshape Brain Function: Susan Magsamen on the Future of Neuroaesthetics

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