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First Edition: April 7, 2011

Today's headlines include reports that the House Budget Committee yesterday approved the Ryan plan, which includes provisions to reshape Medicare and Medicaid, by a party-line vote. Meanwhile, congressional leaders and the White House seem to be making some progress is talks to reach agreement on current-year spending and avert a government shutdown.

7 Apr 2011

CoMeD urges UN to ban mercury use in pharmaceuticals

While the United Nations actively questions the use of a vaccine preservative that contains the known neurotoxin mercury, the Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs, a Maryland-based, non-profit organization, is urging the UN to ban it.

7 Apr 2011

Study identifies six patterns of child and stepparent relationship development

More than 40 percent of Americans have at least one step relative, according to a recent Pew Center study. Relationships between stepchildren and stepparents can be complicated, especially for children.

7 Apr 2011

Vismodegib is an effective treatment for patients with basal cell carcinomas

A new drug is effective in preventing new basal cell carcinomas in patients with an inherited predisposition to the disease.

7 Apr 2011

Exercising during pregnancy improves child's heart health after birth

Moms-to-be long have been told by their doctors and baby-related books and websites that staying fit during pregnancy is good for both mother and child. When it was reported a couple of years back that exercising strengthens a fetus' heart control, many pregnant women took heed and hit the ground running, literally. Some signed up for prenatal yoga classes; others found new ways to incorporate low-impact aerobic activities into their daily lives.

7 Apr 2011

CEM to reconvene its popular 'Methods in Bioengineering' conference on July 14-15

The Center for Engineering in Medicine -- a bioengineering research institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Teaching Hospital -- has announced it will reconvene its popular "Methods in Bioengineering" conference in conjunction with event organizer Horizon House Ltd.

7 Apr 2011

Parents and schools may contribute to childhood obesity

Two of the biggest influences on children — parents and schools — may unintentionally contribute to childhood obesity. That's the observation of Susan Terwilliger, clinical associate professor in the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University, who studies the problem.

7 Apr 2011

With 2012 budget plan, Republicans hope to transform government's role

The budget blueprint would begin to shift the federal government into a dramatically smaller entity, diminishing its role in health care and other areas.

7 Apr 2011

Roundup: Minn. insurers to return profits above 1% from state plans; Fla. Medicaid managed care costs questioned

In part of the continuing change to Minnesota's business with health insurance plans, the state announced Tuesday that four major health plans agreed to a 1 percent cap on their profits on state business. The one-cap means that the plans -- BlueCross BlueShield, HealthPartners, Medica, and UCare -- will return any profit above 1 percent to the state next April.

7 Apr 2011

Elevated BMI linked to high risk of obesity-related disorders in young adults

A large cohort study following 37,000 teenagers for 17 years found that an elevated, yet normal range Body Mass Index constitutes a substantial risk factor for obesity-related disorders in young adults.

7 Apr 2011

Supplements are less well regulated than drugs and may have side effects, drug interactions and toxicities

Vitamins, herbs and other dietary supplements are sold as natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals and many people turn to them in an attempt to improve their health. Others seek supplements to lose weight or after hearing that they can help with serious medical conditions.

7 Apr 2011

EACPR to host sessions on Cardiovascular prevention in Russia at EuroPRevent meeting

This year's EuroPRevent meeting, 14 -16 April, is taking full advantage of its Geneva location and the close proximity to the European Headquarters of the World Health Organisation, the World Heart Federation, the United European Football Association, and the International Olympics Committee.

7 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Major news organizations on Ryan plan: Solution or 'hypocrisy'?

Give House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan credit for finally putting Republicans' money where their mouths have been for years: His 2012 budget proposal, released Tuesday, would actually begin to produce the smaller government Republicans have always said they wanted, even as they were ramping up federal spending, creating a prescription drug benefit without paying for it, campaigning against efforts to curb Medicare, and turning budget surpluses into titanic deficits.

7 Apr 2011

Hartwell honors UCSD scientists with Individual Biomedical Research Award

Three scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine are among this year's 12 winners of Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Awards, honoring researchers whose work advances children's health.

7 Apr 2011

Busy roads around pregnant woman's home increases likelihood of premature birth of baby

Babies are born earlier when their mothers live near a concentration of freeways and main roads, a study of 970 mothers and their newborn babies in Logan City, south of Brisbane, has found.

7 Apr 2011

Progesterone gel can reduce preterm birth in women with short cervix

A groundbreaking clinical study of a new method for preventing premature birth in millions of women each year, published in the medical journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, shows that the rate of early preterm delivery in women can be reduced by 45 percent - simply by treating pregnant women at risk with a low-cost gel of natural progesterone during the midtrimester of pregnancy until term.

7 Apr 2011

Nuron Biotech announces acquisition of Wyeth's HibTITER vaccine assets

Nuron Biotech Inc., a specialty biologics and vaccines company, today announced that it has acquired assets relating to the vaccine HibTITER from Wyeth LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer Inc, for the U.S. and many other markets, including Japan and Korea. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

7 Apr 2011

Childhood obesity: Positive & negative trends

According to the latest study, fewer Australian pre-schoolers are overweight in recent years compared with the late-1990s and also the social disparities in children's obesity risk seem to be shrinking. These findings were reported in the International Journal of Obesity.

6 Apr 2011

CCF: New findings about diversity in American family life

For their annual conference, "Tipping Point? When Minority Families Become the Majority," the Council on Contemporary Families has collected some of the most important—though often under-reported—new findings about diversity in American family life.

6 Apr 2011

Results of study evaluating potential inhibitory effects of PPIs on Plavix presented at ACC 2011

Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. announced the presentation of new study results, which evaluated the potential inhibitory effects of certain proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) on Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate). The results showed that in healthy subjects, clopidogrel's active metabolite and inhibition of platelet function were reduced less by the co-administration of clopidogrel with dexlansoprazole or lansoprazole, rather than esomeprazole.

6 Apr 2011