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MedImmune funds study on RSV disease among premature infants

MedImmune continues to advance its commitment to pediatric research with today's announcement of the first observational prospective study designed to assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among preterm infants 32-to-35 weeks gestational age (GA) in outpatient settings during their first year of life.

30 Jun 2009

Epigenetic modulation at birth - altered DNA-methylation in white blood cells after Caesarean section

Swedish researchers have discovered that babies born by Caesarean section experience changes to the DNA pool in their white blood cells, which could be connected to altered stress levels during this method of delivery, according to the July issue of Acta Paediatrica.

30 Jun 2009

Health care ads leave Washington, follow lawmakers home during break

Roll Call reports that "several major industry stakeholders" will be "noticeably absent from the advertising airwaves over the July Fourth recess.

30 Jun 2009

Long-term care program would provide revenue - at first

A long-term care program could produce some needed dollars, at least in the short range, CQ Politics reports: "A new insurance program for long-term care that Democrats have included in a Senate health overhaul bill would produce about $58 billion in revenue for the government over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, helping to offset the cost of the legislation.

30 Jun 2009

Democrats are increasingly confident about health reform

Despite costs and public skepticism, Democrats are increasingly confident that they'll enact a vast health care overhaul. McClatchy reports: "The White House is ramping up its behind-the-scenes lobbying of Congress.

30 Jun 2009

In South Florida, risk of unemployment would accompany health reform benefits

The Miami Herald reports that healthcare reform could acutely affect South Florida and provide both benefits and risks.

30 Jun 2009

A painless way to hold down health costs?

NPR reports on a way to reduce national health care costs: "Getting doctors and hospitals in the parts of the country that spend the most on medical care now to bring that spending more in line with that of lower-spending regions."

30 Jun 2009

Stimulus money working for homeless teenagers' health in Colorado

Some homeless teenagers in Colorado are getting dental work done for free as part of the economic stimulus that has expanded service to more poor and uninsured, The Associated Press reports.

30 Jun 2009

Small businesses wary of health care legislation

"Rising costs and a weak economy" are leaving small business employees "with higher out-of-pocket health costs," USA Today reports. Those small companies are "exactly what the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had in mind this month when it estimated as many as 15 million people could lose the benefits they currently receive through their jobs under a Democratic proposal to overhaul health care.

30 Jun 2009

Sometimes insurance no match for health costs

Americans with serious illnesses who must often choose between paying a mortgage or their health premiums and deductibles are often going broke, The Seattle Times reports.

30 Jun 2009

White House remains open to taxing health benefits, Obama plans town hall meeting

The White House remains open to taxing some health benefits to help pay for health care reform despite campaigning against the move last year, The Washington Post reports.

30 Jun 2009

Health reform questions continue to loom

Reuters reports that "President Barack Obama's drive to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system may be back on track thanks to Senate efforts to cut the price tag to $1 trillion, but a bipartisan deal on the sweeping proposal still is far from certain ... Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was upbeat last week after announcing that panel members had found ways to bring the price tag to about $1 trillion over 10 years, down from an earlier estimate of a staggering $1.6 trillion ... Instead, the core group of negotiators -- three Democrats and four Republicans -- issued a tepid statement on Thursday merely affirming their commitment to continue negotiations."

30 Jun 2009

Think tank releases new health care framework

The Center for American Progress proposed a "fail-safe" mechanism designed to ensure that a health care overhaul wouldn't add to the federal deficit today. The plan, part of a financing proposal for health care legislation that was released at a breakfast with reporters, is aimed at addressing concerns that a revamping might not produce expected cost savings over the long run, leading to a big increase in the budget gap.

30 Jun 2009

U.S. Vaccine Advisory Committee considers response to H1N1 spread

The CDC convened a national vaccine advisory committee Friday to discuss the best response to the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) with an estimated 6,000 new cases in the U.S. last week alone, Reuters reports.

30 Jun 2009

U.S.-backed program trains Iraqi women to be nursing aids

Fox News examines a U.S.-supported program in Iraq that is equipping women with the skills they need to become nursing aids.

30 Jun 2009

Newsweek, Boston Globe examine ways to combat mosquito-borne illness

Newsweek examines the genetic modification of mosquitoes in an effort to stem the spread of dengue fever and malaria. Dengue fever, which is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, "is spreading fast," according to the magazine, with more than 100 million people afflicted yearly. "There is no vaccine, no cure and no solution," it reports.

30 Jun 2009

New York Times examines one American's efforts to help Pakistanis with health care

The New York Times profiles the Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services (CDRS) hospital in Chikar, Pakistan, which was started by American Todd Shea after the 2005 earthquake in that country. The aspiring musician's life was turned over to rescue efforts after September 11, when he used his van to "ferry meals to firefighters at Ground Zero," according to the New York Times.

30 Jun 2009

News reports examine patients unable to pay health bills in Kenya's "cash starved" hospitals; "bad shape" of Uganda's facilities

The Los Angeles Times examines several stories of patients too poor to pay their hospital bills in Kenya that were held in a "makeshift patients' prison," until they escape or settle their debt. "Tragically, healthcare horror stories are common in Africa, where developing countries rarely have medical safety nets for the poor. But an increase in cases of cash-starved public hospitals and mortuaries detaining patients and even corpses over unpaid bills is spurring outrage in Kenya," writes the newspaper.

30 Jun 2009

Discovery of new trigger for chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis

A signal molecule made by the human body that triggers the immune system into action may be important in rheumatoid arthritis, according to new research published today in Nature Medicine. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London, say that if scientists could block this signal, it may be possible to develop more effective arthritis treatments.

29 Jun 2009

Insect venom shots work for severe "local" sting reactions, too

The same bee and other insect venom shots that doctors use to prevent deadly systemic reactions to insect stings can also tone down large local allergic reactions that, while not dangerous, can be painful and inconvenient, a Johns Hopkins study shows. Results of the study are published in the June 2009 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

29 Jun 2009