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UC Irvine Health to use $3.4 million NIH grant to examine "Transition of Care in CKD"

UC Irvine Health will use a $3.4 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to examine the "Transition of Care in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)."

19 Jun 2014

Bill to give veterans private medical care advances in house

The Rules Committee approved the measure Tuesday. In other news on veterans' care, a Kansas senator pushes the administration to keep a pilot project offering some of that same flexibility in rural areas and the White House is turning to experts for help in picking a new leader for the VA.

19 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 18, 2014

Today's headlines include a report that the cost of health law subsidies may push the measure's overall price tag beyond projections.

18 Jun 2014

VA scandal prompts closer look at VA health care around nation

News outlets examine wait times and poor service at clinics in North Carolina, Colorado and Minnesota.

18 Jun 2014

Single dose restores normal cellular signaling in mouse model of autism

In a further test of a novel theory that suggests autism is the consequence of abnormal cell communication, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that an almost century-old drug approved for treating sleeping sickness also restores normal cellular signaling in a mouse model of autism, reversing symptoms of the neurological disorder in animals that were the human biological age equivalent of 30 years old.

18 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Could Congress sue Obama?; abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers

President Obama is setting a dangerous precedent by suspending his enforcement of laws on health care, immigration, drugs, banking and so much else, but the courts may soon be asked to throw a brushback pitch. .

17 Jun 2014

Senate bill could double spending on veterans' health

The proposal is slated to add $35 billion to VA health care spending over the next three years -- mostly from allowing veterans to seek private care.

17 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: VA fix comes with big pricetag; safety outside abortion clinics; questions about Medicaid eligibility

As an example of how the normally sclerotic Congress can act extremely quickly when properly motivated, both chambers passed bills this week to ameliorate the Veterans Affairs health services scandal.

16 Jun 2014

Lung cancer screening with LDCT not associated with long term distress

Examination and review of several studies that evaluated patient-centered outcomes for individuals undergoing low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer found that screening does not appear to significantly influence overall health-related quality of life or result in long-term changes in anxiety or distress, but that positive results in the short-term, do increase distress levels.

16 Jun 2014

Poll: Fixing vets' health care high priority

Elsewhere, a senator defends his vote against legislation to try to improve the VA's health care, and The Associated Press looks at doctor's appointment wait times for all Americans.

16 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: GOP and governing; Va. Medicaid expansion chances falling fast; private care for vets

The forces of political nihilism not only remain alive and well within the Republican Party, but they are on the rise.

13 Jun 2014

Senate backs bipartisan bill to overhaul vets' health care system

The Senate measure, which was approved Wednesday by a 93-3 vote and has gained the White House's nod, has elements in common with a version unanimously approved Tuesday by the House of Representatives.

13 Jun 2014

FBI announces criminal investigation into VA problems

Director James Comey says the FBI has opened a probe into allegations that employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs manipulated waiting lists and delayed care for veterans.

13 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 12, 2014

Today's headlines include stories examining how Eric Cantor's primary defeat will change the House GOP leadership and the Republican strategy to replace the health law.

12 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Cantor was no RINO; battles over Medicaid in Va. and Ind.; reforms moving for VA

Ideas have consequences. Elections sure do, too. David Brat's victory over Eric Cantor is stunning, to state the glaringly obvious. ... Brat's victory also moves the Virginia GOP even further to the right. No one ever could have mistaken Cantor - who organized 50 votes to repeal Obamacare - for a RINO, let alone a limousine liberal. But for many GOP diehards, he was insufficiently confrontational (6/11).

12 Jun 2014

BRI researchers use tetramer technology to find T cells that drive rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason used cutting-edge tetramer technology developed at BRI to find the T cells that drive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). "By using tetramer technology, we were able to examine whether T cells in people with rheumatoid arthritis were increased in number or were unique in other ways," says BRI Associate Director Jane Buckner, MD, who led the study with BRI Tetramer Core Laboratory Manager Eddie James, PhD.

12 Jun 2014

Cancer drug offers protection against thrombosis

Case Western Reserve University researchers have discovered that an existing drug used to help cancer patients has the potential to protect thousands of others from the often-deadly impact of vascular clots.

12 Jun 2014

House unanimously passes bill to revamp VA care

The measure would allow vets to seek private care if they couldn't be seen quickly by the VA and requires an evaluation of the VA health system.

11 Jun 2014

Health tips for global travellers

Nothing ruins a summer vacation faster than getting sick. "Remember that most diseases are transmitted by food, water and insects," says John A. Sellick, Jr., DO, University at Buffalo associate professor of medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System. "So get vaccinated, keep insects off you as much as possible and be careful with what you put in your mouth."

11 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 11, 2014

Today's headlines include a range of stories about the upset of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor -- a Virginia primary election shocker -- as well as continuing coverage of health law implementation issues and congressional responses to the VA's health care troubles.

11 Jun 2014