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Novel antibodies can aid in early diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome

Patients suffering from the painful autoimmune disease, Sjogren's Syndrome, will soon be able to be properly diagnosed much earlier, thanks to the discovery of novel antibodies by researchers at the University at Buffalo and Immco Diagnostics, Inc. The breakthrough, described in a paper in the December issue of Clinical Immunology, will allow patients to be treated sooner when they are much more likely to benefit.

14 Dec 2012

Exploring new USAID resilience guidance goals

On the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) blog, Ashley Chandler, deputy policy director at the USGLC, discusses USAID's new guidance on Building Resilience to Recurrent Crisis, writing that the policy "is about using existing development dollars more effectively in disaster prone regions, so that less humanitarian assistance is needed in the future."

14 Dec 2012

States face Friday deadline on health exchanges

States must decide by Dec. 14 if they are going to operate their own health care marketplaces, or if they will defer to the federal government. They have until mid-February to decide whether to partner with the federal government or let the feds do it all. Meanwhile, polls in Missouri and Tennessee show public support for state-run markets.

14 Dec 2012

IRIN examines HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau

IRIN reports on the HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau, writing, "One year after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria reduced funding to the Guinea-Bissau government body in charge of coordinating HIV prevention and treatment activities, health centers outside the capital are facing medicine shortages, patients are not receiving the treatment they need, and the transport of patients to treatment centers has been cut."

14 Dec 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Friday published Issue 206 of its "Global Fund Observer."

14 Dec 2012

'Fiscal cliff' deal: What will the compromise look like?

Right now, news reports indicate that neither side shows much inclination toward making concessions, but a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll indicates that Americans want lawmakers and the White House to reach an agreement. Analysts predict a softening of positions as the deadline for automatic tax increases and spending cuts approaches.

14 Dec 2012

State leaders brace to make mental health program changes

Officials and lawmakers in Wisconsin and North Carolina struggle to reform their mental health programs over delivering care and budgeting.

14 Dec 2012

Liberal Dems line up against raising Medicare's eligibility age

Proposals to raise the eligibility age continue to get traction in the fiscal negotiations between the White House and Congress. But liberal Democrats oppose it and express concern that President Barack Obama has not ruled out.

14 Dec 2012

Philippines passes Reproductive Health Bill on second reading

"After fourteen years of being stuck in Congress, legislators in the Philippines finally put to a historic vote and passed the Reproductive Health Bill before dawn Thursday," Inquirer.net reports.

14 Dec 2012

Will private sector investment in food aid promote dependency?

Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, writes in a Guardian opinion piece, "In order to support investment in agriculture, governments have ... come to rely on private sector investment and development aid -- and increasingly a partnership of the two," and he notes "the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. Agency for International Development and launched in May 2012, will draw more than $3 billion of private sector investment into food security plans in Africa."

14 Dec 2012

GOP govs seek White House meeting to discuss Medicaid expansion

The governors hope to discuss ways to make the health law's Medicaid expansion -- as well as the challenge of setting up health exchanges -- more affordable.

14 Dec 2012

Kentucky REC representatives receive top honors in Washington for health IT implementation

Representatives from the Kentucky Regional Extension Center (Kentucky REC), housed at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, and the Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE), part of the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services, received top honors in Washington, D.C. for exemplary work in health IT implementation.

14 Dec 2012

Sides wage fights over new or proposed abortion laws in Wis., Mich.

Wisconsin Planned Parenthood is challenging a state law in court that could expose doctors who give medically induced abortions to criminal charges. In the meantime, Michigan bills limiting abortion move closer to becoming law.

14 Dec 2012

Continue support of GAVI Alliance and childhood disease prevention

"Last week a global health event took place in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to foster greater political will and explore ways to accelerate results, innovation, sustainability, and equity in the field of immunization," Baroness Hollins, emeritus professor of psychiatry of disability at St George's University of London, writes in the BMJ Group Blog about the GAVI Partners Forum.

14 Dec 2012

New global disease burden data should inform global health spending

"On Dec. 14, the Lancet together with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation [IHME] will release their study on global burden of disease, injuries and risk factors in 2010," Karl Hofmann, president and CEO of Population Services International, writes in a Devex opinion piece, adding, "These 'gold standard' data will quantify the world's health problems by examining statistics for 291 diseases and injuries and 67 different risk factors for 21 regions across three time periods -- 1990, 2005 and 2010."

14 Dec 2012

Gender inequality must be addressed to 'get to zero' in AIDS epidemic

"What does it take to get to zero? While reflecting on the theme of this past World AIDS Day (Getting to zero, Zero new infections, Zero discrimination, Zero deaths), I asked myself this question," Lisa MacDonald, project manager at HealthBridge Foundation of Canada, writes in a Huffington Post Canada opinion piece.

14 Dec 2012

Experts discuss feeding world's growing population at London roundtable

IRIN summarizes a discussion among "agriculturalists, scientists, businessmen, lobbyists, and policymakers convened in London's Chatham House this week to debate how to feed the planet's growing population without degrading the earth's resources -- if such a thing is even possible."

14 Dec 2012

Study examines Medicare out-of-pocket expenses in the last 5 years of life

Should your 82-year-old dad, who has been declining after a stroke, get hip surgery after a fall? Would your 43-year-old sister, fighting late-stage cancer, benefit from an experimental drug that could have serious side effects? These are wrenching decisions.

14 Dec 2012