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GOP divided over health law repeal as White House readies midterm push

In the run up to November's midterm elections, President Obama will tout the new health law, hoping the consumer-friendly provisions taking effect this week will help erode ill will toward the overhaul, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Starting Thursday, insurers officially must adhere to about a half-dozen key changes under the law, including eliminating co-payments for preventive services and allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance policy until their 26th birthday.

21 Sep 2010

Bariatric surgery rates rise among adolescents

According to recent surveys more and more adolescents need bariatric surgery for morbid obesity. This procedure was earlier reserved only for adults. Researchers say that from 2005 to 2007, the rate of gastric banding has jumped nearly seven-fold among youths aged 13 to 20. The process involves placement of a band around the upper part of the stomach using a laparoscope. The study appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

21 Sep 2010

Childhood obesity linked to common cold virus

A new study has shown that obese children are more prone to carrying a common cold virus than slimmer children. The virus in question is adenovirus 36 and if the link is true then someday new obesity treatments might be tailored to attack the virus to treat or prevent childhood obesity. Childhood obesity affects 17% of American children and adolescents. The report appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

21 Sep 2010

U.N. launches largest humanitarian appeal to aid Pakistan flood relief

The U.N. on Friday launched an appeal for $2 billion in flood relief for Pakistan, Bloomberg reports. The request is the "largest appeal for humanitarian relief ever made by the world body," the news service writes (Varner, 9/17).

21 Sep 2010

Danya International unveils new website for autism spectrum disorders

Danya International, Inc. (Danya), a communications, research, and technology company, unveils the new AutismOnline.com Web site encompassing research-based products and resources for individuals of all ages with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The AutismOnline.com Web site was introduced during a launch event today at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.

21 Sep 2010

Methylphenidate drug prescriptions are on the rise

Hyperkinetic disorders among children and adolescents are becoming increasingly common. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Ingrid Schubert of the PMV Research Group at the University of Cologne and her colleagues address the question how this has affected the frequency of prescriptions for methylphenidate, a stimulant drug that is used to treat such disorders.

21 Sep 2010

HHS efforts to enroll more kids clash with struggling state budgets

The Department of Health and Human Services' efforts to enroll more eligible children in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program "are being hurt by the financial reality of state budgets," American Medical News reports.

21 Sep 2010

Six3 gene safeguards future retina

New research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators adds to evidence that the Six3 gene functions like a doorman in the developing brain and visual system, safeguarding the future retina by keeping the region where the eye is forming free of a signaling protein capable of disrupting the process.

21 Sep 2010

Opinions: MDGs

"The overarching and noble goal [of this week's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) summit in New York] is reducing global poverty. But the most compelling and achievable objectives - huge reductions in maternal and child mortality worldwide - will be severely undermined if the Obama administration either directly or covertly integrates abortion into the final outcome document," Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

21 Sep 2010

Dengue fever vaccine in the pipeline

Australians researchers are moving towards producing the first ever vaccine for dengue fever, the potentially life-threatening infection spread by mosquitoes in the tropics. At present late stage clinical trials are underway for a vaccine that would protect against all four known strains of the disease. Participants are now being recruited in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.

20 Sep 2010

Medicare receives increased scrutiny regarding fraud, payment issues

USA Today: "Proposed regulations being unveiled today seek to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud by subjecting operators of certain medical firms to fingerprinting and stopping payments when credible fraud allegations are made, documents show. The rules would give federal health officials key powers to identify fraud early and reduce the estimated $55 billion in improper payments made each year in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, said Peter Budetti, director of the new anti-fraud office at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services" (Young, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010

Biomarkers may help predict children at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Children who have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes might be identified earlier by way of tell-tale genetic indicators known as biomarkers. Some of those new biomarkers might be pinpointed in research led by Nancy F. Butte and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's National Institutes of Health.

20 Sep 2010

Head-circumference charts for infants and toddlers may be inaccurate

The most common charts used by pediatricians to measure head growth in infants and toddlers may be inaccurate, potentially leading to delayed diagnoses, unnecessary tests, and parental worry, according to new research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

20 Sep 2010

Examining the first wave of health overhaul changes coming this week

Houston Chronicle: Wider access and protections for health care consumers kick in on Thursday as a set of health law provisions take effect. "Most of this month's changes apply directly to the 12 million Texans covered by private health insurance plans, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Insurers may no longer charge co-payments, deductibles or co-insurance for preventive services.

20 Sep 2010

Today's OpEds: Detailing what is and is not working with health reform

Many reformers undoubtedly believe that passage of the health overhaul law laid the issue to rest. But policy's wheels continue to turn, and the process is anything but over. … From where we sit, with the withering campaign that must be in the works, the odds of the new law remaining intact, with teeth, are questionable. For reforms to succeed, then, steady vigilant hands, focused on the nation's larger interest, will be critical (Brian Klepper and David Kibbe, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010

Actress Claire Danes joins thumbprint mosaic in Save the Children's EVERY ONE campaign

Emmy award winning actress Claire Danes will join millions of people who've added their thumbprints to an innovative and unique global petition at Grand Central Terminal, lead by global humanitarian organisation Save the Children.

20 Sep 2010

MultiStem multipotent adult progenitor cell therapy preserves 'blood brain barrier'

Athersys, Inc. announced today the publication of a key study in the October issue of Experimental Neurology conducted by researchers at Athersys, the University of Texas Medical School, the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices, and Texas A&M University.

20 Sep 2010

Sanofi-aventis releases Lantus(R) study results for type 2 diabetes

Sanofi-aventis announced today results of two studies presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 46th Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

20 Sep 2010

Prestige Brands agrees to acquire Blacksmith Brands stock for $190 million

Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc., a leading marketer of branded consumer products, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the stock of Blacksmith Brands Holdings, Inc., for $190 million in cash.

20 Sep 2010

Hain Celestial launches Earth's Best, Zhi Ling Tong organic infant products in China

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.,a leading natural and organic products company providing consumers with A Healthy Way of Life, today announced the launch of its co-branded Earth's Best and Zhi Ling Tong organic infant formula in China through its Hutchison Hain Organic Holdings Limited ("Hutchison Hain Organic") joint venture.

20 Sep 2010