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Senate bill offered to allow young adults to stay on parents' FEHBP; Clock ticks on next round for Medicare physician pay fix

This week a senator followed House lawmakers' lead by introducing a bill that would let the children of federal employees remain on their parents' health insurance until age 26, starting this year. Under the health reform law President Obama signed in March, the cutoff age would have increased from 22 to 26 in January 2011 for Federal Employees Health Benefits Program participants, due to laws that prevent the Office of Personnel Management from making midyear changes.

14 May 2010

Health reform implementation issues: Emergency room costs, consumer websites and small business questions

Kaiser Health News: The new health reform law guarantees insurance companies must cover emergency care for their beneficiaries at hospitals in- or out-of-network at the same rate. "The law also bars health plans from requiring prior authorization for emergency services. And it mandates that plans follow the 'prudent layperson' rule.

14 May 2010

Nationwide Children's Hospital offers new gastric sleeve surgical weight loss procedure

A new weight reduction surgical option is now available through the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital. The newest surgical weight loss procedure offered by the Center is the "gastric sleeve," named as such because a large part of the stomach is removed and the remainder is closed to make a tube-like "sleeve."

14 May 2010

Mild-mannered organelles can detect virus invasion signals: Researchers

Within cells, an ancient antiviral duo can deliver a one-two knockout to thwart invading viruses, report researchers who have just unmasked the cellular sidekick that throws the first punch. The findings mean scientists must rethink the design of antiviral immunity and how the body fends off viruses of all types, including influenza and HIV.

14 May 2010

Scientists study impact of Hurricane Katrina on ecology, human health

Scientists studying the environmental impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans have revealed the ecological impact and human health risks from exposure to chemical contaminants. The findings, published in a special issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, demonstrate how Hurricane Katrina caused significant ecological damage by altering coastal chemistry and habitat.

14 May 2010

UGA researchers discover SERS method to identify rotavirus strains, genotypes

Using nanotechnology and a patented signal enhancing technique developed at the University of Georgia, UGA researchers have discovered a rapid, sensitive and cost-effective method to detect and identify a number of rotavirus strains and genotypes in less than one minute with greater than 96 percent accuracy.

14 May 2010

Minnesota lawmakers debate budget, Medicaid expansion

More budget talks were expected Thursday as Minnesota's legislative session hurtled toward a midnight Sunday deadline with no deal on a $3 billion deficit. The Democratic-controlled Legislature defied another veto threat from Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty late Wednesday and sent him a health and welfare package he opposes.

14 May 2010

New laparoscopic procedure for hernias

Christopher Haarstad, 36, was surprised at how well he felt a couple of hours after having laparoscopic surgery for a hernia in March.

14 May 2010

HIV disease tends to progress at faster rate in infected individuals who consume more alcoholic drinks

HIV disease tends to progress at a faster rate in infected individuals who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day, according to an important new paper in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

14 May 2010

Calcium deficiency may make people more prone to osteoporosis, obesity in later life: Study

There's no denying that people need calcium for strong, healthy bones. But new research from North Carolina State University suggests that not getting enough calcium in the earliest days of life could have a more profound, lifelong impact on bone health and perhaps even obesity than previously thought.

14 May 2010

Being physical and mental activity delays onset of Huntington’s disease: Research

Melbourne researchers report in a study that regular physical and mental activities can delay the onset of the dreaded genetic Huntington's disease. This disease is hereditary and it goes on to destroy the brain and nerve cells leading to loss of all or most faculties. It affects one in 10,000 people between ages 30 and 50 and there is no cure. Since it is passed on to the children at least 50% of the time the decision to have children also becomes an agonizing one for many sufferers.

13 May 2010

Adults with SCA show poorer performance on neurocognitive tests: Study

Compared with a group of healthy study participants, adults with sickle cell anemia showed poorer performance on neurocognitive tests, which was associated with anemia and age, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.

13 May 2010

Researchers to discuss various implications for personalized medicine during one-day symposium

On May 27, researchers with the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Cancer Institute, along with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and Henry Ford Health System, will debate and discuss that question during the one-day symposium "Multiplex Initiative: Implications for Personalized Medicine."

13 May 2010

Children and young adults account for as many as 10% of all stroke cases

The news that Vice President Joe Biden's 41-year-old son has suffered a stroke is highlighting the problem of strokes in young people.

13 May 2010

Additional benefits of LAIAs over long-acting human insulin not been proven

It has so far not been proven that the long-acting insulin analogues (LAIAs) insulin detemir (trade name: Levemir) and insulin glargine (trade name: Lantus), which are approved for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, offer patients an additional benefit versus long-acting human insulin. This applies to adults as well as to children and adolescents. This is the result of the final report published by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) on 19 April 2010.

13 May 2010

Florida weighs next steps for small business insurance exchange; N.J. considers COBRA eligibility expansion; Other highlights

When Republican lawmakers created the Florida Health Choices program in 2008, they billed it as a way to deregulate the health-care market for small businesses. Two years later, Florida Health Choices has still not started offering coverage, and its leaders and lawmakers face a philosophical choice that could determine whether the program survives.

13 May 2010

New Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary valve helps congenital heart defect patients avoid multiple surgeries

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of major birth defect in the U.S., affecting about 25,000 babies each year. Now, a new valve being used at the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital Congenital Heart Center can help patients delay or avoid multiple surgeries.

13 May 2010

Research sheds light on prenatal heart formation, chromosome 22q.11 deletion syndrome

Researchers studying the common genetic disorder chromosome 22q.11 deletion syndrome have identified key proteins that act together to regulate early embryonic development. One protein is essential to life; in animal studies, embryos without the protein do not survive past the first few days of gestation.

13 May 2010

Advances in vaccine delivery and efficacy discussed at National Immunization Conference

Advances in vaccine delivery and efficacy were discussed at the 44th National Immunization Conference sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A research study by each of the four directors from the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children's Hospital was presented.

13 May 2010

World Bank announces five-year plan to reduce maternal deaths, fertility rates in 58 low-income countries

During the release of its five-year plan to help drive down high maternal death and fertility rates in low-income countries, the World Bank on Tuesday said "that family planning and other reproductive health services have fallen off the radar of many governments, donors and aid agencies," Reuters reports.

13 May 2010

Children News and Research

Senate bill offered to allow young adults to stay on parents' FEHBP; Clock ticks on next round for Medicare physician pay fix

Health reform implementation issues: Emergency room costs, consumer websites and small business questions

Nationwide Children's Hospital offers new gastric sleeve surgical weight loss procedure

Mild-mannered organelles can detect virus invasion signals: Researchers

Scientists study impact of Hurricane Katrina on ecology, human health

UGA researchers discover SERS method to identify rotavirus strains, genotypes

Minnesota lawmakers debate budget, Medicaid expansion

New laparoscopic procedure for hernias

HIV disease tends to progress at faster rate in infected individuals who consume more alcoholic drinks

Calcium deficiency may make people more prone to osteoporosis, obesity in later life: Study

Being physical and mental activity delays onset of Huntington’s disease: Research

Adults with SCA show poorer performance on neurocognitive tests: Study

Researchers to discuss various implications for personalized medicine during one-day symposium

Children and young adults account for as many as 10% of all stroke cases

Additional benefits of LAIAs over long-acting human insulin not been proven

Florida weighs next steps for small business insurance exchange; N.J. considers COBRA eligibility expansion; Other highlights

New Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary valve helps congenital heart defect patients avoid multiple surgeries

Research sheds light on prenatal heart formation, chromosome 22q.11 deletion syndrome

Advances in vaccine delivery and efficacy discussed at National Immunization Conference

World Bank announces five-year plan to reduce maternal deaths, fertility rates in 58 low-income countries

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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