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Viewpoints: Parsing Obamacare numbers; experts on long-term care insurance; French cancer care

The monthly announcement of Obamacare's enrollment figures has become an exercise in confirmation bias, starting with the administration itself. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted the "encouraging trends" in yesterday's release, while House Speaker John Boehner opted to highlight its "embarrassing failures." ... The only debate worth having is how to improve enrollment. ... enrollment numbers for Obamacare aren't some referendum on the president's popularity or lack thereof. They're the best way to tell whether the law is working as planned -- and how to adjust if it isn't (2/13).

17 Feb 2014

Adolescents with psychiatric problems more likely to suffer chronic pain

For the first time researchers have studied the kind of physical pain that troubles adolescents with different mental health problems.

12 Feb 2014

Researchers to highlight biomedical breakthroughs, new discoveries at Biophysical Society Meeting

Ask a question about how the human immune system fights a tropical disease, or how viruses like HIV use genetic tricks to resist drugs, or how plant cells capture light, or how Alzheimer's takes hold in the brain, or how we can better fight diseases like cancer, or why some sperm cells are fertile while others are not, and you may have to narrow your gaze to the nanoscale to find answers.

10 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 7, 2014

Today's headlines include reports from Capitol Hill about the continuing efforts to overhaul Medicare's payment system for doctors.

9 Feb 2014

Washington's insurance exchange is winning, too; N.Y. and Calif. see strong Obamacare enrollment numbers

More than 33 percent of eligible Washington residents have signed up for care on the state's health law online insurance exchange. In New York and California, exchanges see big sign-up numbers. Finally, lawmakers in Florida and Virginia ready plans for insurance exchanges that aren't part of the health law.

5 Feb 2014

Novel approaches could lead researchers to develop new vaccine for East Coast fever, malaria

The Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute announced today that a global consortium supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been formed to develop a new vaccine against a disease that's devastating cattle herds in sub-Saharan Africa. This highly advanced cattle vaccine project could also help malaria and cancer research in humans.

31 Jan 2014

SLU nursing faculty, students receive special training to operate Closed Point of Dispensing

In the case of a bioterror attack, Saint Louis University will operate a medication dispensing station for students, faculty, staff and their families, offering quick access to medicines and easing the burden on local health departments so they can serve residents who lack similar access to lifesaving drugs.

22 Dec 2013

Longer looks: A 'biopsy chaperone;' medical errors at assisted living homes; 'wasting money' on multivitamins

At least 80 times in recent years, employees at San Diego County assisted living homes overlooked serious medical issues, gave the wrong medication or otherwise failed to properly care for vulnerable seniors. The problems arose as a result of the unique position held by the care homes, viewed by many families as health-care facilities even though they lack the required levels of training, supervision and oversight. The new cases were examined by U-T Watchdog as part of an ongoing partnership with the CHCF Center for Health Reporting at the University of Southern California (Jeff McDonald, 12/14).

20 Dec 2013

Individuals still getting errors from health website as notifications to insurers lag

The Wall Street Journal looks at some of the inaccurate assignments that many consumers find when they seek insurance on the new marketplaces. Meanwhile, the enrollment records for 15,000 people were not properly transmitted to insurance plans, according to federal officials.

17 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 16, 2013

Today's headlines include findings from an Associated Press poll probing Americans thoughts about the health law.

16 Dec 2013

Transport of bacterial substrates through injectisome observed almost in real time

When attacking body cells, bacteria, such as salmonellae or Yersinia (plague pathogens), inject specific bacterial proteins through hollow, syringe-like structures - called injectisomes - into the host cells. These substances reprogram the cells and can thus overcome their defense. From then on, they can infiltrate the cells unhindered in large numbers, and trigger diseases such as typhus, plague, or cholera.

13 Dec 2013

Protein in Salmonella inactivates mast cells that fight against bacteria

A protein in Salmonella inactivates mast cells -- critical players in the body's fight against bacteria and other pathogens -- rendering them unable to protect against bacterial spread in the body, according to researchers at Duke Medicine and Duke-National University of Singapore (Duke-NUS).

13 Dec 2013

Frustration with Minn. insurance exchange mounts as officials race to remedy problems

Problems with Minnesota's online health insurance exchange -- long wait times, technology problems and security issues -- are getting extra scrutiny as officials push to fix the website ahead of the new year when coverage is slated to begin for many.

13 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Health law problems plague Calif. too; Obamacare redistribution is from lucky to unlucky; FDA crackdown on genetic testing

While politicians in Washington are hailing California's exchange as proof of the law's success, voters in California don't seem to agree-;and it's not hard to understand why. Policies for about 900,000 Californians are being cancelled because they don't meet the law's benefit mandates.

11 Dec 2013

Maryland's online insurance marketplace plagued by technical issues, discord

The director of the state exchange resigned Friday. Meanwhile, the web portal continues to be marked by operational difficulties that are undermining enrollment efforts.

9 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 9, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about new sticker-shock concerns over costs for coverage purchased through the health law's new online insurance marketplaces.

9 Dec 2013

NIAID awards $4.4M grant to study unknown gene function in bacteria that cause plague, brucellosis

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded the University of Chicago $4.4 million over five years to study genes of unknown function in bacteria that cause plague and brucellosis.

20 Nov 2013

Study suggests potential new treatment for seizures

A study out today in the journal Nature Medicine suggests a potential new treatment for the seizures that often plague children with genetic metabolic disorders and individuals undergoing liver failure. The discovery hinges on a new understanding of the complex molecular chain reaction that occurs when the brain is exposed to too much ammonia.

17 Nov 2013

USA Today reports 140,000 people have enrolled in plans on marketplaces run by 13 states

State officials say the numbers are low because of snags in the websites and because consumers aren't yet worried about the sign-up deadline. Other news organizations examine some of the marketplace issues in states.

11 Nov 2013

Weight loss surgery: The most effective weapon for obese people in the battle against diabetes

Noted bariatric surgeon Michael Feiz, M.D., F.A.C.S., believes that there's no time like American Diabetes Month to point out that weight loss surgery is the most effective weapon obese people have in the battle against diabetes.

5 Nov 2013

Plague News and Research

Viewpoints: Parsing Obamacare numbers; experts on long-term care insurance; French cancer care

Adolescents with psychiatric problems more likely to suffer chronic pain

Researchers to highlight biomedical breakthroughs, new discoveries at Biophysical Society Meeting

First Edition: February 7, 2014

Washington's insurance exchange is winning, too; N.Y. and Calif. see strong Obamacare enrollment numbers

Novel approaches could lead researchers to develop new vaccine for East Coast fever, malaria

SLU nursing faculty, students receive special training to operate Closed Point of Dispensing

Longer looks: A 'biopsy chaperone;' medical errors at assisted living homes; 'wasting money' on multivitamins

Individuals still getting errors from health website as notifications to insurers lag

First Edition: December 16, 2013

Transport of bacterial substrates through injectisome observed almost in real time

Protein in Salmonella inactivates mast cells that fight against bacteria

Frustration with Minn. insurance exchange mounts as officials race to remedy problems

Viewpoints: Health law problems plague Calif. too; Obamacare redistribution is from lucky to unlucky; FDA crackdown on genetic testing

Maryland's online insurance marketplace plagued by technical issues, discord

First Edition: December 9, 2013

NIAID awards $4.4M grant to study unknown gene function in bacteria that cause plague, brucellosis

Study suggests potential new treatment for seizures

USA Today reports 140,000 people have enrolled in plans on marketplaces run by 13 states

Weight loss surgery: The most effective weapon for obese people in the battle against diabetes

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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