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DPP-4 inhibitors may reduce risk of autoimmune diseases

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors commonly used to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes may also reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases in these patients, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

28 Oct 2013

Children born to mothers with lupus have twice the risk of autism spectrum disorders

According to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego, children born to mothers with lupus may be at twice the risk of autism spectrum disorders than those born to mothers without the disease.

28 Oct 2013

Study shows low uptake of HPV vaccination among patients with autoimmune diseases

The number of children and young adults with autoimmune diseases receiving the HPV vaccination is profoundly low despite studies showing the vaccine to be safe and effective, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego. Given the increased incidence of HPV in people with autoimmune diseases, this research suggests that increased public health efforts are needed.

28 Oct 2013

GOP officials press for health law delay, Sebelius to resign; Democrats urge patience

The troubles with the health website took center stage on the Sunday news shows and in the Saturday weekly addresses from the president and the Republicans.

28 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 25, 2013

Today's headlines include reports and analyses of yesterday's Capitol Hill hearing, which featured website contractors talking about the troubled rollout of healthcare.gov.

25 Oct 2013

Research brings hope of new treatment for asthma patients resistant to corticosteroids

New research from Japan brings hope of a new treatment for asthma patients resistant to corticosteroids. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences and Keio University in Japan report that a type of lymphocytes called natural helper ells plays a critical role in corticosteroid resistance and demonstrate that the anti-psychotic drug Pimozide can be used to overcome resistance to steroids in severe asthma patients.

25 Oct 2013

State highlights: 'Habilitation' an essential benefit, but what is it?; Va. gov. candidates differ on mental health system; Calif. pays $2.7M for late hearings

A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, California, Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Texas.

25 Oct 2013

A closer look at HHS Sec. Sebelius' health law role

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' role in the problems the health law's insurance marketplace is having, and the subsequent calls for her ouster, are examined. Sebelius' absence would mean a key post in implementing Obamacare would be vacant.

25 Oct 2013

Men treated by self-referring urologists more likely to undergo unnecessary IMRT

A comprehensive review of Medicare claims for more than 45,000 patients from 2005 through 2010 found that nearly all of the 146 percent increase in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer among urologists with an ownership interest in the treatment was due to self-referral, according to new research, "Urologists' Use of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer," released today in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) for its October 24, 2013 issue.

25 Oct 2013

Potentially active forms of HIV hiding in infected immune T cells may be 60-fold greater, say experts

Just when some scientists were becoming more hopeful about finding a strategy to outwit HIV's ability to resist, evade and otherwise survive efforts to rid it from the body, another hurdle has emerged to foil their plans, new research from Johns Hopkins shows.

25 Oct 2013

Hill Panel seeking to put price tag on marketplace website, but some estimates may be too high

A tally from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform suggests HHS spent between $400 million and $600 million to build the troubled website, but The Washington Post Fact Checker and a government watchdog group say the true cost may be much lower.

25 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Republicans new-found interest in the workings of the health website; fixing the problem crucial to Obama's presidency

Republicans are apoplectic about Healthcare.gov, the official Web site for the Affordable Care Act. They are trying desperately to change the subject from their disastrous government shutdown by ranting about the failures of a government Web site that cost a tiny fraction of what was lost as a result of the shutdown. Republicans are pretending that they care about the problems encountered in signing up for a system that many of them are bent on destroying (Charles M. Blow, 10/23).

25 Oct 2013

Johns Hopkins joins with imec to advance silicon applications in health care

Researchers and physicians at The Johns Hopkins University will collaborate with Belgian nanoelectronics research center imec to advance silicon applications in health care, beginning with development of a point-of-care device to enable a broad range of clinical tests to be performed outside the laboratory.

25 Oct 2013

UC San Diego celebrates topping out of UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center

The University of California, San Diego today celebrated the "topping out" of UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center, the largest hospital project in southern California. UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla also announced a $25 million challenge gift for the project from an anonymous donor.

25 Oct 2013

Use of IMRT for prostate cancer doubles when self-referral's financial incentives involved

A comprehensive review of Medicare claims for more than 45,000 patients from 2005 through 2010 found that nearly all of the 146 percent increase in intensity-modulated radiation therapy for prostate cancer among urologists with an ownership interest in the treatment was due to self-referral, according to new research, "Urologists' Use of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer," released today in The New England Journal of Medicine for its October 24, 2013 issue.

25 Oct 2013

Will Obamacare website be able to transfer Medicaid enrollment data?

Politico raises questions about whether the transfer of Medicaid enrollment data to 36 states participating in the federal exchange will go smoothly Nov. 1 when it's slated to begin. The Los Angeles Times looks at how Ohio Gov. John Kasich's decision to pursue Medicaid expansion in defiance of the right wing of his party may affect his political future.

25 Oct 2013

House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on HealthCare.gov billed as oversight, likely to focus on blame

Among those who will appear before the congressional panel will be Cheryl Campbell, senior vice president of CGI Federal Inc. She will likely be asked about the company's involvement in the bungled rollout of the online enrollment process.

25 Oct 2013

CBS finds misleading prices on federal marketplace 'shop and browse' feature

News outlets give deeper detail on the continuing problems with the federal government's online insurance system.

25 Oct 2013

Paying living donors for kidney transplantation could result in incremental cost savings

A strategy where living kidney donors are paid $10,000, with the assumption that this strategy would increase the number of transplants performed by 5% or more, would be less costly and more effective than the current organ donation system, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

25 Oct 2013

Longer looks: Website problems 'could be worse;' why poor people take more health risks; preventing suicide

[President Barack Obama's] advisors shouldn't be surprised -- the success rate for large, multi-million dollar commercial and government IT projects is very low. The Standish Group, which has a database of some 50,000 development projects, looked at the outcomes of multimillion dollar development projects and ran the numbers for Computerworld. Of 3,555 projects from 2003 to 2012 that had labor costs of at least $10 million, only 6.4% were successful. The Standish data showed that 52% of the large projects were "challenged," meaning they were over budget, behind schedule or didn't meet user expectations. The remaining 41.4% were failures -- they were either abandoned or started anew from scratch (Patrick Thibodeau, 10/21).

25 Oct 2013

Health Care News and Research

DPP-4 inhibitors may reduce risk of autoimmune diseases

Children born to mothers with lupus have twice the risk of autism spectrum disorders

Study shows low uptake of HPV vaccination among patients with autoimmune diseases

GOP officials press for health law delay, Sebelius to resign; Democrats urge patience

First Edition: October 25, 2013

Research brings hope of new treatment for asthma patients resistant to corticosteroids

State highlights: 'Habilitation' an essential benefit, but what is it?; Va. gov. candidates differ on mental health system; Calif. pays $2.7M for late hearings

A closer look at HHS Sec. Sebelius' health law role

Men treated by self-referring urologists more likely to undergo unnecessary IMRT

Potentially active forms of HIV hiding in infected immune T cells may be 60-fold greater, say experts

Hill Panel seeking to put price tag on marketplace website, but some estimates may be too high

Viewpoints: Republicans new-found interest in the workings of the health website; fixing the problem crucial to Obama's presidency

Johns Hopkins joins with imec to advance silicon applications in health care

UC San Diego celebrates topping out of UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center

Use of IMRT for prostate cancer doubles when self-referral's financial incentives involved

Will Obamacare website be able to transfer Medicaid enrollment data?

House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on HealthCare.gov billed as oversight, likely to focus on blame

CBS finds misleading prices on federal marketplace 'shop and browse' feature

Paying living donors for kidney transplantation could result in incremental cost savings

Longer looks: Website problems 'could be worse;' why poor people take more health risks; preventing suicide

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