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Plan to close independent HIV/AIDS xlinics in Mozambique raises concerns, protests

Advocates in Mozambique recently protested outside a hospital in the capital of Maputo against the announcement that specialized care units for HIV/AIDS treatment in the country will be closed, the SAPA/Times reports.

30 Mar 2009

Rhode Island House Committee holds hearing on bill that would eliminate written consent requirement for HIV testing

The Rhode Island House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare last week held a hearing on a proposed amendment to a state requirement that physicians obtain written consent before administering an HIV test, the Providence Journal reports.

30 Mar 2009

$78 billion spent for heart disease care in 2006

Opening blocked arteries, trying to keep heart attack victims alive, fixing defective heart valves, and treating other heart ailments cost $78 billion in 2006 - roughly 8 percent of the more than $1 trillion spent on all medical care for the community population, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

30 Mar 2009

Increased awareness and diagnosis of celiac disease would bring health care costs savings

A study published in Journal of Insurance Medicine by members of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center has demonstrated an economic benefit to the diagnosis of celiac disease in a national managed-care population in the United States.

30 Mar 2009

Drug-coated stents lower risk of heart attack and death

Heart disease patients 65 and older who receive stents coated with medicine to prevent blockages are more likely to survive and less likely to suffer a heart attack than people fitted with stents not coated with medication, according to a new study supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the American College of Cardiology's National Cardiovascular Data Registry.

30 Mar 2009

Childhood obesity may begin in early infancy

As childhood obesity continues its thirty-year advance from occasional curiosity to cultural epidemic, health care providers are struggling to find out why-and the reasons are many. Increasingly sedentary environments for both adults and children, as well as cheap and ubiquitous processed foods no doubt play a role, but researchers are finding more evidence that the first clues for childhood obesity may begin as far back as early infancy.

30 Mar 2009

Male circumcision reduces men's risk of contracting HPV, herpes, study says

Male circumcision can reduce a man's risk of contracting the sexually transmitted infections human papillomavirus and herpes, according to a study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Mar 2009

Cepheid announces new TB test for use in developing countries

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company Cepheid on Tuesday announced it has developed a rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis that it will sell at a reduced cost in developing countries, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The test was developed in partnership with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

30 Mar 2009

Tanzania hopes to eradicate Malaria by 2015, health official says following release of global malaria map

The Tanzanian government has expressed hope that the country will be able to eradicate malaria by 2015, Aisha Kigoda, deputy minister for health and social welfare, said Tuesday following the release of a global malaria map that identifies areas at high risk of malaria, the Guardian/IPP Media reports.

30 Mar 2009

$44 billion needed by 2015 to control TB, health officials say at close of stop TB partnership forum

About 1,300 health officials on Wednesday at the close of the 3rd Stop TB Partnership Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said that $44 billion is "needed from now until 2015 to reach" World Health Organization targets aimed at controlling the disease in the 22 countries with the highest TB burden worldwide, AFP/Google.com reports.

30 Mar 2009

Scientists, health officials increasing efforts to fight apread of drug-resistant malaria along Thai-Cambodian border

Scientists and health officials are increasing efforts to curb a drug-resistant malaria strain along the Thai-Cambodian border that is becoming increasingly resistant to artemisinin, an ingredient in artemisinin-based combination therapies, IRIN News reports.

30 Mar 2009

Florida senators introduce bill to prevent Medicaid fraud

Florida Senate Health Regulation Committee Chair Don Gaetz (R) and state Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee Chair Durell Peaden (R) at a news conference on Wednesday "expressed confidence" that lawmakers will pass legislation (SB 1986) aiming to prevent and detect Medicaid fraud, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

30 Mar 2009

Obama discusses health reform during internet town hall meeting

President Obama on Thursday fielded questions from U.S. residents on a range of topics, including health care, at a town hall meeting that was broadcast on the Internet and cable news channels, Politico reports (Gerstein, Politico, 3/26).

30 Mar 2009

Senate panel hears from witnesses detailing insurer practices that limit transparency of payment rates

Witnesses at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on Thursday discussed the need for increased consumer protections that would limit the practice of insurers underpaying for out-of-network medical services, CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Mar 2009

Senate measure would allow generic versions of biotechnology drugs after five years

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Thursday introduced legislation (S 726) that would allow FDA to approve generic versions of biotechnology drugs after a five-year period of brand-name patent exclusivity, the New York Times reports.

30 Mar 2009

Hoyer to coordinate committees on health care legislation process

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Thursday announced that he will coordinate the efforts of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee in drafting a comprehensive health reform bill, The Hill reports.

30 Mar 2009

Senate committee advances budget resolution; debate remains over whether to use reconciliation to fast track health reform

The Senate Budget Committee on Thursday voted 13-10 along party lines to approve a $3.5 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget resolution that does not include budget reconciliation instructions for comprehensive health care reform legislation, CQ Today reports (Clarke et al., CQ Today, 3/26).

30 Mar 2009

Health Care News and Research

Plan to close independent HIV/AIDS xlinics in Mozambique raises concerns, protests

Rhode Island House Committee holds hearing on bill that would eliminate written consent requirement for HIV testing

$78 billion spent for heart disease care in 2006

Increased awareness and diagnosis of celiac disease would bring health care costs savings

Drug-coated stents lower risk of heart attack and death

Childhood obesity may begin in early infancy

Male circumcision reduces men's risk of contracting HPV, herpes, study says

Cepheid announces new TB test for use in developing countries

Tanzania hopes to eradicate Malaria by 2015, health official says following release of global malaria map

$44 billion needed by 2015 to control TB, health officials say at close of stop TB partnership forum

Scientists, health officials increasing efforts to fight apread of drug-resistant malaria along Thai-Cambodian border

Florida senators introduce bill to prevent Medicaid fraud

Obama discusses health reform during internet town hall meeting

Senate panel hears from witnesses detailing insurer practices that limit transparency of payment rates

Senate measure would allow generic versions of biotechnology drugs after five years

Hoyer to coordinate committees on health care legislation process

Senate committee advances budget resolution; debate remains over whether to use reconciliation to fast track health reform

Education sector faces severe impact from HIV/AIDS, Ugandan official says

Kenya to launch yearlong national HIV/AIDS strategy

Boston Globe examines center that provides services to children living with HIV, other conditions

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

Single-cell proteomics: Revealing proteome diversity from cellular heterogeneity to non-canonical biology

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