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Potential new drug to treat common inherited kidney disease

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have demonstrated in the laboratory that a new drug is effective in treating a very common kidney disease -- although it will be a few years before it becomes available for clinical testing. The findings resulted from a collaboration between UCSB and a biotech firm based in Indiana. The study is published in this week's Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

3 Aug 2012

Summer camp pairs 'smores and anti-abortion activism

State news on abortion focuses on a summer camp that trains anti-abortion activists and a Kansas City Planned Parenthood whose charges of performing illegal late-term abortions were dismissed in order to narrow a case against it.

3 Aug 2012

Widespread use of current technologies 'essential' to improve global health

Noting that this week's issue of the Lancet explores the theme of "[a]ccess to beneficial health technology, including essential medicines and medical devices, for those most in need," a Lancet editorial states, "Maximizing use of current health technologies (drugs, devices, biological products, medical and surgical procedures, support systems, and organizational systems) is essential to improving global health."

3 Aug 2012

Science, Lancet articles examine efforts to eradicate polio

In a series of "News Focus" articles in Science, the magazine examines the global effort to eradicate polio. One article examines the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) -- a partnership of the WHO, Rotary International, UNICEF, the CDC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- and recent reports on the program by an Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), "an oversight body" that provides feedback and guidance.

3 Aug 2012

New role for oncogenic signaling pathway in embryonic stem cell self-renewal

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the University of Manchester, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center have found a new role for an oncogenic signaling pathway in embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal and in reprogramming adult cells into an ESC-state, which will aid in the development of future cancer therapies.

3 Aug 2012

U.S. announces additional $12M in humanitarian aid to Syria

"The United States announced Thursday it would hike its humanitarian aid to Syria, adding another $12 million to provide food, water, medicine and other necessities for battered and displaced people" affected by violence in the Syrian conflict, the Los Angeles Times blog "World Now" reports.

3 Aug 2012

Research roundup: Massachusetts health reform; Role of race and insurance in kidney transplantation

Access to Care After Massachusetts' Health Care Reform: A Safety Net Hospital Patient Survey -- Policy analysts have long said that Massachusetts and its 2006 health reform law provide great insight into the federal health law and how its expansion of insurance coverage will play out.

3 Aug 2012

Outsourcing trend emerging in health care industry

Outsourcing, an established but fairly static practice in the U.S. health care industry, may grow in scope as the country experiences major shifts in health care delivery.

3 Aug 2012

DNA inherited from mother can speed up male ageing

Women outlive men by about five to six years but why? By age 85 there are roughly six women to every four men and by age 100 the ratio is more than two to one.

3 Aug 2012

Gilead Sciences signs deals with 3 Indian pharmaceutical companies to promote low-cost HIV drugs in developing countries

Gilead Sciences Inc. announced Thursday that it plans to partner with Mylan Inc., Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. and Strides Arcolab Ltd. "to promote access to high-quality, low-cost generic versions of Gilead's HIV medicine emtricitabine in developing countries," the Wall Street Journal reports.

3 Aug 2012

Examining the role of collaborative partnerships in global response to HIV/AIDS

In this post in the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) "Smart Global Health" blog, Rhonda Zygocki, executive vice president of policy and planning at Chevron, responds to questions about Chevron's presence at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C., last week, writing that such questions "give me an opportunity to talk about the critical role everyone plays in the global fight against this epidemic, including Chevron, as well as the ways collaborative partnerships will lead to the elimination of AIDS."

3 Aug 2012

August issue of WHO Bulletin available online

WHO Bulletin features an editorial on performance-based financing in low- and middle-income countries.

3 Aug 2012

Egypt ends use of animals for trauma training program with human-patient simulators from PETA

In a landmark move, Egypt has completely ended the use of animals in its leading trauma training program, thanks to a donation of state-of-the-art TraumaMan human-patient simulators from PETA.

3 Aug 2012

Obama pushes record on women's issues

President Barack Obama's talking points on the campaign trail highlight his positions on women's health issues including his support for Planned Parenthood.

3 Aug 2012

Komen ads overstate benefits of mammograms, professors charge

Two Dartmouth health policy experts criticize the national breast cancer charity for using misleading statistics to promote breast cancer screening.

3 Aug 2012

TAT-ARC fusion protein helps treat acute liver failure

Acute liver failure is a life-threatening disease, characterized by a sudden, massive death of liver cells. Unfortunately, few treatment options exist, especially for advanced-stage liver failure. As a last resort a liver transplant may be the only remaining option.

3 Aug 2012

Highlights: Report finds Mass. Medicaid managed care doesn't reduce fees; Calif. delays nonprofit status requirement for adult day centers

Insurers that contract with the state to manage the care of low-income Medicaid patients are expected to save money, in part by negotiating lower prices with health providers. But a new report by the state inspector general found that the plans pay higher fees to many hospitals and doctors than the traditional Medicaid program pays for the same services.

3 Aug 2012