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Some states limit Medicaid hospital coverage; Food stamp, benefit systems revamped

States, facing budget shortfalls, look for ways to save money on their Medicaid programs, including limiting hospital stays for enrollees. Wisconsin is holding hearings on plans to alter the programs there, and California is looking at restructuring the way health care is delivered to people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Stateline reports that a number of states are using new technology to run their benefits programs.

24 Oct 2011

Using spousal communication to increase family planning in Africa

Helen Epstein, author of "The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS," examines the implications of the world's growing population for Africa in this New York Times opinion piece, writing, "Before this century ends, there could well be 10 billion of us, a billion more than previously expected.

24 Oct 2011

CompCare to distribute innovative lumbar traction DDS belt in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico

Comprehensive Care Corporation, which provides behavioral health, substance abuse and psychotropic pharmacy management services for managed care companies throughout the U.S., today announced that it has acquired exclusive distribution rights to an innovative patented product aimed directly at reducing depression in individuals resulting from chronic back pain.

24 Oct 2011

Sustained 'vigilance and money' necessary to fight malaria

With the RTS,S malaria vaccine trial results showing "moderate" success, helping to reignite "optimism about eradicating malaria entirely," "there are other big hurdles still to surmount," a New York Times editorial states.

24 Oct 2011

MSF suspends measles vaccination campaign in Mogadishu area because of violence

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) last week cut short a three-week measles vaccination campaign intended to reach 35,000 children in the Daynile area near the Somali capital Mogadishu, after intense fighting erupted between the militant group al-Shabab and forces of Somalia's Transitional National Government, backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia, VOA News reports.

24 Oct 2011

With much at stake, lobbyists stay close to super committee

Politico reports that the high stakes that involve everything from the health industry to Native American tribes in the deficit panel's deliberations have created a veritable "swarm" of lobbyists.

24 Oct 2011

Co-branded newsletter for contract research organization industry launched

CenterWatch and Plutus Capital Partners today announce the launch of Clinical Trials Quarterly, a co-branded newsletter for the contract research organization (CRO) industry that expands CenterWatch's reach to financial clients in Asia and Europe.

24 Oct 2011

Tenofovir gel confirmed to be effective against herpes in lab experiment, study shows

Data from lab experiments published online by the journal Cell Host and Microbes last week show that the gel form of the antiretroviral tenofovir, which is being investigated as an HIV prevention method, works to inhibit the reproduction of herpes virus in tonsil and cervical tissue, the New York Times reports.

24 Oct 2011

World Health Summit provides platform to discuss incorporating NTDs into MDGs

In anticipation of next week's 2011 World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Disease, recaps gains in the treatment and prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) around the world through the commitment of the U.S., the U.K. and other G8 countries and makes the case for a global NTD initiative in the network's "End the Neglect" blog.

24 Oct 2011

India polio free for 9 months, raising hopes of eradication, health experts say

"India has not had a case of polio in nine months, raising hopes the country is on the verge of defeating the disease, health officials said Monday," the Associated Press reports.

24 Oct 2011

DNA synbodies, a new class of affinity reagents, gets major NIH boost

An ongoing Arizona State University effort to develop a revolutionary class of reagents that holds great promise for the future of medicine has received a major boost with a three-year, $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health.

24 Oct 2011

Together for Girls Partnership works to end sexual violence

In this post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby writes about the Together for Girls Partnership, an initiative that "generates a powerful advocacy platform to stop sexual violence by supporting countries' efforts to fully understand and cope with the scope of the epidemic."

24 Oct 2011

Social determinants of health conference releases final declaration

The final document of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, which concluded last week in Rio de Janeiro, "calls for better governance for health and development, with transparent decision-making and social participation," and "[g]overnments are urged to develop policies and measure progress towards defined goals," Inter Press Service reports.

24 Oct 2011

Challenging the view that the world's growing population represents power, prosperity

As the world's population approaches seven billion, Joel Cohen, a mathematical biologist and the head of the Laboratory of Populations at Rockefeller University and Columbia University, examines the implications of "the enormous increases in households, cities, material consumption and waste" on health, agriculture, water security, the environment and poverty in this New York Times opinion piece.

24 Oct 2011

VA reviewing millions spent outside the agency on care in Phoenix

The Arizona Republic reports that the Veterans Administration is looking into spending after noting that the system had surpassed its budget for community fee care.

24 Oct 2011

FDA approves intraspinal injections in spinal cord stem cell ALS trial

Neuralstem, Inc. updated the progress of its ongoing Phase I safety trial of the company's spinal cord stem cells in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

24 Oct 2011

Though declared over, CLASS Act still draws attention

A group of House and Senate Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week reiterating earlier criticisms of the long-term care insurance program and noting that ending the program did not completely address their concerns.

24 Oct 2011

Macular degeneration drug may cause increased IOP

Two major drug trials conclude there was little risk from a drug aimed at age-related macular degeneration. Yet a Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist began to note something concerning in some of her patients: an increase in pressure inside the eye. It led to a retrospective study and findings that will be presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Orlando.

24 Oct 2011

House to consider bill to scale back health law's Medicaid expansion

In other Medicaid news, AIDS experts worry that the current model of HIV/AIDS care could be put at risk by fiscal pressures and the changes that will occur as a result of the health law.

24 Oct 2011

NCI awards Metabolomx SBIR contract to develop sensor array system for detecting lung cancer

Metabolomx, a diagnostic company focused on breath analysis for the detection of cancer, today announced the Company was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The $1.14 million combined Phase I/II Fast-Track contract will support the research and development of Metabolomx' sensor array system to detect lung cancer.

24 Oct 2011