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For states working on health law implementation, 'churn' is a matter of concern

California Healthline reports on how life events can cause individuals' incomes to change enough that it will also impact whether they qualify for subsidies to shop for insurance on the state's health exchange, or whether they should apply for Medicaid. It's an issue on which states are beginning to focus.

2 Aug 2013

Deletion of a protein improves ability to fight bacteria in mice with CGD

Deletion of a protein in white blood cells improves their ability to fight the bacteria staphylococcus aureus and possibly other infections in mice with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), according to a National Institutes of Health study. CGD, a genetic disorder also found in people, is marked by recurrent, life-threatening infections. The study's findings appear online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

2 Aug 2013

Georgia seeks 'emergency delay' for approving health exchanges' proposed rates

The state insurance commissioner cited "massive rate increases" in the proposals from seven insurers seeking to do business on these online insurance marketplaces.

1 Aug 2013

FDA recalls Nova Max Blood Glucose Test Strips due to faulty readings

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with Nova Diabetes Care to recall 21 lots of glucose test strips marketed under the brand names Nova Max Blood Glucose Test Strips and Nova Max Plus Glucose Meter Kits. Nova Diabetes Care announced a recall on July 26, 2013.

1 Aug 2013

New NIH projects to target Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction and AMD

The National Institutes of Health has launched three innovative projects that will focus on development of therapeutics for Fragile X syndrome, nicotine addiction, and age-related macular degeneration. These projects are funded through the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network which provides access to a variety of drug development resources.

1 Aug 2013

NIH-funded study finds that rituximab is as effective as standard therapy for severe vasculitis

Administering the drug rituximab once weekly for one month provides the same benefits as 18 months of daily immunosuppressive therapy in people with severe forms of vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels, a study has found.

1 Aug 2013

Obama administration touts slower health care cost increases

According to USA Today, personal health care costs rose at the slowest rate in the last 50 years, based on statistics for the past year ending in May.

31 Jul 2013

Task force recommends annual CT scans for high-risk smokers

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that high-risk current and former smokers get an annual CT Scan to look for cancer. If the draft recommendation becomes final, insurers will likely have to cover the scan at no co-pay cost to consumers.

31 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 30, 2013

Today's headlines include a USA Today story reporting that personal health care costs rose in the 12 months ending in May at the slowest rate in the last 50 years -- a finding that makes the White House happy.

30 Jul 2013

NIH expands CRIC study to identify risk factors for progression of early stage CKD

Researchers from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort study are embarking on another five years of work to identify risk factors for progression of early stage chronic kidney disease, better understand the importance of reduced kidney function in older persons, and learn what role CKD may play in other illnesses that require hospitalization. CRIC is supported by the National Institutes of Health.

30 Jul 2013

Mississippi, Nevada Wrestle with the development of their health exchanges

In other state and local health law implementation news, the health law may prove key to Detroit's efforts to manuever its bankruptcy process. Also, opponents in many states focus on limiting what they see as "the long arm of Washington."

30 Jul 2013

Hepatitis C (HCV) testing for baby boomers: an interview with Dr. Donald Jensen, Director, Center for Liver Diseases, University of Chicago

The USPSTF agreed with the CDC that since most patients (75%) who are currently infected with hepatitis C were born between 1945 - 1965, and since risk-based screening has not been successful in identifying these individuals, that a one time age-based hepatitis C blood test was necessary.

29 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 29, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the White House's strategy for building support for the health law.

29 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 26, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about an effort by some GOP lawmakers to force a showdown over health law funding.

26 Jul 2013

Researchers find how brain cells communicate with each other in different voice tones

Brain cells talk to each other in a variety of tones. Sometimes they speak loudly but other times struggle to be heard. For many years scientists have asked why and how brain cells change tones so frequently. Today National Institutes of Health researchers showed that brief bursts of chemical energy coming from rapidly moving power plants, called mitochondria, may tune brain cell communication.

26 Jul 2013

Supporting cells in the inner ear can help repair damaged sensory hair cells, say researchers

Researchers have found in mice that supporting cells in the inner ear, once thought to serve only a structural role, can actively help repair damaged sensory hair cells, the functional cells that turn vibrations into the electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound.

26 Jul 2013

For many states, Medicaid expansion plans remain unsettled

Federal officials remind Florida lawmakers that it is not too late to opt into the program, while in Virginia, Politico reports the issue could be decided by this fall's gubernatorial election. Also, an Arizona push to get the issue on the ballot in November may fail because of paperwork errors and the Michigan Senate considers a tweaked expansion bill that requires co-pays for new Medicaid enrollees.

26 Jul 2013

FDA allows marketing of Xpert MTB/RIF Assay for treatment of TB

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the Xpert MTB/RIF Assay, the first FDA-reviewed test that can simultaneously detect bacteria that cause tuberculosis and determine if the bacteria contain genetic markers that makes them resistant to rifampin, an important antibiotic for the treatment of TB.

26 Jul 2013

Silk implants placed in brain of animals may help stop progression of epilepsy

Silk has walked straight off the runway and into the lab. According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, silk implants placed in the brain of laboratory animals and designed to release a specific chemical, adenosine, may help stop the progression of epilepsy.

26 Jul 2013

Study reveals that black women with breast cancer continue to have lower survival rate

In an analysis of 5-year survival rates among black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1991 and 2005, black women continued to have a lower rate of survival, with most of the difference related to factors including poorer health of black patients at diagnosis and more advanced disease, rather than treatment differences, according to a study in the July 24/31 issue of JAMA.

25 Jul 2013