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Liberty University's challenge to the health law has a day in appellate court

Mathew Staver, the university's lawyer, told the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that Liberty would face millions of dollars in penalties if it refuses to provide employee health insurance that violates its religious beliefs. [More]

Many Texas women who find abnormality on routine mammogram end up in surgical breast biopsy

Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. [More]

Women with family history of cancer need to have proper counseling, testing

In the wake of actress Angelina Jolie's public announcement that she recently underwent a preventive double mastectomy, Loma Linda University Medical Center urges women with a family history of cancer to have proper counseling and testing, if indicated, to see if they are at similar risk. [More]
First Edition: May 17, 2013

First Edition: May 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the GOP vote to repeal the health law -- for the 37th time -- as well as how the current IRS scandal is being connected to the health law's implementation. [More]

Women with chronic physical disabilities do become pregnant, new study finds

Like the general public, health care professionals may hold certain stereotypes regarding sexual activity and childbearing among women with disabilities. But a new study finds that women with chronic physical disabilities are about as likely as nondisabled women to say they are currently pregnant, after age and other sociodemographic factors are taken into account. [More]
Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

In medical school, we were taught not to withhold information from our patients or to be "paternal" in making decisions for them. We internalized the idea that fully informed patients are better equipped to make treatment decisions. [More]
Roundup: N.D. abortion clinic sues to stop new law; Health care savings close budget hole in Conn.; Calif. counties struggle to expand mental health care

Roundup: N.D. abortion clinic sues to stop new law; Health care savings close budget hole in Conn.; Calif. counties struggle to expand mental health care

The running battle over the regulation of abortions entered a North Dakota courtroom on Wednesday, as the state's sole abortion clinic sued to block a new law that it says could force it to shut down. The law, requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, was promoted by anti-abortion legislators, who argued that it would mean better care for women who suffer medical emergencies (Eckholm, 5/15). [More]

Long-term success rates of surgery to treat pelvic organ prolapse are lower than expected

Research conducted by the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network, an initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health, has revealed that the long-term success rates of a surgery to treat pelvic organ prolapse are lower than expected. Nearly one-third of women develop anatomic or symptomatic treatment failure within five years of undergoing sacrocolpopexy for pelvic organ prolapse, according to a study published in the May 15 issue of JAMA. [More]

Preclinical study shows PLX cells may help reverse symptoms associated with preeclampsia

Could the answer to repairing the ailing placenta in preeclampsia lie within the stem cells of a healthy placenta? New promising evidence may lead scientists to answer that question. [More]

Appeals court to hear Liberty University health law challenge

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., will hear arguments on Thursday related to the lawsuit brought by the Christian university. [More]
First Edition: May 16, 2013

First Edition: May 16, 2013

Today's headlines detail the Senate confirmation of Acting Chief Marilyn Tavenner to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. [More]

Roundup: Democratic opponents arise over Calif. governor's health care budget cuts; Veto of medical charity tax break scrutinized in Ga.

But Brown vowed to continue to resist pressure from fellow Democrats and interest groups to restore some money to adult dental care and to doctors who treat the poor. … Sacramento will oversee the expansion this year of Medi-Cal, California's health care program for the poor, to more than 1 million Californians who do not have health insurance now. [More]

Viewpoints: Controversy taints IRS efforts on health law; Another chance to 'gut' the overhaul in the courts; Salt wrongly accused

Even as the politicized tax enforcement scandal expands, the Internal Revenue Service continues to expand its political powers thanks to the Affordable Care Act. A larger government always creates more openings for abuse, as Americans will learn when the IRS starts auditing their health care in addition to their 1040 next year (5/14). [More]
New guidelines to reduce early elective deliveries cut NICU admissions by 50%

New guidelines to reduce early elective deliveries cut NICU admissions by 50%

New guidelines to reduce early elective deliveries at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies have cut by 50 percent the admission of late pre-term newborns (37-38 weeks gestation) into the neonatal intensive care unit, resulting in healthcare cost savings. [More]
Women in 40s continue to undergo routine breast cancer screenings despite new recommendations

Women in 40s continue to undergo routine breast cancer screenings despite new recommendations

Women in their 40s continue to undergo routine breast cancer screenings despite national guidelines recommending otherwise, according to new Johns Hopkins research. [More]

Angelina Jolie's choice underscores screening and treatment costs

News outlets report on the cost of and questions surrounding Angelina Jolie's decision to have genetic testing and then to undergo a double mastectomy as preventive surgery. [More]
Breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy show improved executive function after cognitive training

Breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy show improved executive function after cognitive training

Women whose breast cancer had been treated with chemotherapy demonstrated improved executive function, such as cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency and processing speed after using exercises developed by Lumosity, the leading online cognitive training program. [More]
Abdominal sacrocolpopexy procedure effectively provides relief from POP symptoms

Abdominal sacrocolpopexy procedure effectively provides relief from POP symptoms

Results after seven years of follow-up suggest that women considering abdominal sacrocolpopexy (surgery for pelvic organ prolapse [POP]) should be counseled that this procedure effectively provides relief from POP symptoms; however, the anatomic support deteriorates over time; and that adding an anti-incontinence procedure decreases, but does not eliminate the risk of stress urinary incontinence, and mesh erosion can be a problem, according to a study in the May 15 issue of JAMA. [More]

First Edition: May 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the latest Congressional Budget Office projections could further stall efforts to reach a grand bargain that includes changes to Medicare and other entitlement programs. [More]

Search, Share, Spare campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer surgery options

Studies have shown nearly 70 percent of patients with breast cancer do not discuss all surgical options with their surgeon before their initial surgery and that such a discussion significantly affects a woman's treatment decision. [More]