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APHA supports passing of healthcare reform legislation

"Thanks to today's Senate vote, we are one step closer to bringing much needed reform to our nation's health system," said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of the American Public Health Association.

28 Dec 2009

Masimo expands corporate headquarters

Masimo, the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, today announced the expansion of its Irvine, California headquarters with the addition of an adjacent 32,000 sq. ft. building--the company's third building at its corporate campus. Expanding its corporate headquarters is a natural progression for Masimo, which continues to post double-digit growth increases.

28 Dec 2009

Blog underlines link between fitness and healthcare outcomes

The following blog post was published on December 24, 2009, by Shafeen Charania, author of the synthesis blog, winner of the 2008 Weblog award for best new blog, and Time.com's 25 best blogs of 2009.

28 Dec 2009

GOP assails 'widely hated legislation'

"Republicans were withering in their criticism of what they deemed a budget-busting government takeover," NPR reports. "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky blasted the bill, saying it 'fails to lower costs.'" He said Republicans would continue to battle the legislation.

28 Dec 2009

Findings may shed light on the origins of autism and attention deficit disorders

Like a spotlight that illuminates an otherwise dark scene, attention brings to mind specific details of our environment while shutting others out. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that the superior colliculus, a brain structure that primarily had been known for its role in the control of eye and head movements, is crucial for moving the mind's spotlight.

28 Dec 2009

USCM felicitates U.S. Senate on passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Today, The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) congratulates the U.S. Senate on taking an important step forward to provide health care for millions of the uninsured. In a historic Christmas Eve session, by a vote of 60-39, the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

27 Dec 2009

American Medical News examines PEPFAR five-year strategy

American Medical News examines the future of PEPFAR, as outlined in a five-year strategy released Dec. 1. "The plan's five-year strategy report calls for strengthening other countries' abilities to lead [a] response to the AIDS epidemic and other health issues, and expanding prevention, care and treatment,"

27 Dec 2009

Opinion: Food aid; HIV vaccine, microbicide research; Global Tobacco Surveillance

In a Washington Post letter to the editor, Alan Bernstein, executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, and Rafi Ahmed, science committee chairman of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, challenge a recent Washington Post editorial that questioned the scientific progress being made in the search for an HIV vaccine and microbicide. "The search for a safe and effective method to prevent HIV infection and AIDS is a long journey in which we should expect both success and failure," the authors write, before highlighting the lessons learned from the recent microbicide gel study and AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand.

27 Dec 2009

PhRMA applauds Senate for passing health care reform

"We applaud the Senate for taking an important and historic step toward expanding high-quality, affordable health care coverage and services to tens of millions of Americans, many of whom are struggling today financially. While considerable work remains to be done in reconciling differences between the Senate and House bills, we remain convinced that comprehensive health care reform, if done in a smart way, will benefit patients, our economy and the future of our nation.

27 Dec 2009

AMA supports passage of Senate health care reform bill

"Today, the Senate took an historic vote to improve our nation's health care system by expanding coverage to millions of Americans and strengthening the private insurance market to better serve the patients who rely on it.

27 Dec 2009

UNICEF chief to step down after term ends in 2010

UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman will not seek a second term as head of the agency after her term expires in a few months, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced "with great regret" on Wednesday, Xinhua reports. In a statement, Ban said that Veneman "fulfilled her mandate with immense dedication, and I have been impressed by her extraordinary energy and determination to improve children's health, education and well-being around the world" (12/23).

27 Dec 2009

Medicare reimbursement for DXA tests restored

Passage of health care reform legislation today in the U.S. Senate will help provide older Americans with easier access to quality osteoporosis diagnosis, prevention and treatment services. Included in the Senate health reform bill is a provision restoring Medicare reimbursement for dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), the leading diagnostic tool for the early detection and management of osteoporosis.

27 Dec 2009

AARP commends passing of health care reform; looks forward to improve legislation in conference committee

AARP CEO A. Barry Rand released this statement after this morning's passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The vote allows members of the House of Representatives and Senate to begin merging their respective bills and enact health reform legislation early in the New Year.

27 Dec 2009

Steroids not superior to laser treatments for DME

Researchers led by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute have found that injecting a corticosteroid, triamcinolone, directly into the eye may slow the progression of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that frequently leads to blindness.

27 Dec 2009

Both Democrats and Republicans plan blitz to shape public perceptions

The Wall Street Journal reports: "Both parties are gearing up for a big push next year to shape public perceptions of the health legislation, after the Senate's passage of its bill Thursday makes final approval increasingly likely." Democrats hope to change the tide of criticism over the legislation as it moves forward, presumably amplified with "images of a historic floor vote, a White House signing ceremony and President Barack Obama's State of the Union address."

27 Dec 2009

Discovery of protein transport promotes new research on spinal defects

Spinal cord disorders like spina bifida arise during early development when future spinal cord cells growing in a flat layer fail to roll up into a tube. In the Dec. 6 issue of Nature Cell Biology, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine team with colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley to report a never-before known link between protein transport and mouse spinal cord development, a discovery that opens new doors for research on all spinal defects.

27 Dec 2009

Sen. Byrd casts vote for 'my friend' Ted Kennedy

In the Senate vote on health care Thursday, long-serving Democrat, Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., cast his "aye" vote "for my friend Ted Kennedy," the late senator from Massachusetts, according to The New York Times (Pear, 12/24).

27 Dec 2009

Self-seeding process of cancer cells can enhance tumor growth, says study

Cancer progression is commonly thought of as a process involving the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs.

27 Dec 2009

Obama says liberal critics are overlooking gains in health bill

In an interview with NPR, "President Obama hit back at critics within his own party over the landmark health care overhaul packages moving through Congress."

24 Dec 2009

Children's Health Fund lauds Reid over release of the final Senate health care legislation

Irwin Redlener, MD, President and Co-founder of the Children's Health Fund, a national organization that advocates for and develops primary care programs for disadvantaged and medically underserved children, today released the following statement on release of the final Senate health care legislation by Majority Leader Harry Reid: "First and foremost, we applaud the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on producing this historic health reform bill which will provide millions of currently uninsured children access to comprehensive health insurance coverage.

24 Dec 2009