Health

November 11, 2009 -- As the nation marks American Diabetes Month, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new report today, Preventing and Treating Diabetes: Health Insurance Reform and Diabetes in America. The report comes one day after Sebelius toured the East Manatee Family Healthcare Center in Bradenton, Fla. At the center, Secretary Sebelius held a roundtable discussion with Floridians with diabetes.

“Americans with diabetes are suffering in our current health care system,” Secretary Sebelius said. “Health insurance reform will help ensure these Americans can get the prescription drugs and supplies they need and bring down premiums so all Americans can have high-quality, affordable health insurance.”    » read more »

13 November 2009 -- As of 8 November 2009, worldwide more than 206 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 6250 deaths.

As many countries have stopped counting individual cases, particularly of milder illness, the case count is likely to be significantly lower than the actual number of cases that have occurred. WHO is actively monitoring the progress of the pandemic through frequent consultations with the WHO Regional Offices and member states and through monitoring of multiple sources of data.

Situation update:    » read more »

Families USA Consumer Guide Outlines Strategies to Deal with Debt and Discusses Rights and Protections for Families Facing Medical Debt and Bankruptcy

November 12, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.—Even as Congress debates health reform proposals, millions of Americans—with and without health insurance—struggle to pay medical bills, and their numbers continue to grow. In response to this crisis, Families USA, the national organization for health care consumers, today released a consumer guide that offers strategies, tips, and warnings to consumers as they struggle to manage medical debt and to avoid bankruptcy.    » read more »

On the heels of a last-minute anti-abortion provision inserted into the U.S. House of Representatives health reform bill, several U.S. Senators have expressed concern about the Stupak amendment.

Planned Parenthood strongly opposes the Stupak amendment. It is an unacceptable addition to the health care reform bill that, if enacted, would result in women losing health benefits they have today.    » read more »

There has been much discussion about what the “real-life” impact of the Stupak-Pitts amendment would be on women’s access to abortion care. The following is an explanation of what this provision will mean to women, if it is enacted. Essentially, the amendment violates the underlying principle of health care reform, as articulated by President Obama, that no one will lose the benefits they currently have.    » read more »

November 16, 2009 -- On the heels of a last-minute anti-abortion provision inserted into the U.S. House of Representatives health reform bill, newspaper editorials from across the country have echoed Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s opposition to the Stupak amendment and have called on the Senate to reject the Stupak amendment.

Planned Parenthood strongly opposes the Stupak amendment. It is an unacceptable addition to the health care reform bill that, if enacted, would result in women losing health benefits they have today.    » read more »

Access to Care for Seniors and Military Families at Stake; Campaign to pass bill includes new radio ads airing today

Nov. 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Urging swift passage of a bill to repeal the broken Medicare physician payment formula that threatens seniors’ access to care, the AMA added a new dimension to its Medicare campaign today with radio ads airing in markets across the nation. In addition to the ads, the AMA is activating its nationwide grassroots network of patients and physicians and intensifying communication to physicians through online and social media.    » read more »

12 November 2009 -- Pinpointing obesity triggers in humans is hard because of uncontrollable genetic, cultural, and environmental factors. Recent studies have thrown another element into the mix: the microbiota—a distinct community of microorganisms that reside in the human gut and play an active role in its environment.

This “living organ” is composed of billions of bacteria that provide a variety of valuable functions to its human hosts, such as degrading and promoting the absorption of food that would otherwise be indigestible.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 11/12/2009 - Over the next several weeks, the U.S. Senate has an historic opportunity to take a major step toward improving food safety for all Americans.

That is why a coalition of public health professionals, consumer organizations and groups representing victims of foodborne illness is sending the message that it is time to “Make Our Food Safe for the Holidays!”    » read more »

November 12, 2009 -- Despite progress in some areas, smoking rates among U.S. adults remained stalled in 2008, halting the nation’s progress in ending the tobacco epidemic, according to a CDC study.

The study, released in advance of the annual Great American Smokeout, found that 46 million Americans (20.6 percent) were current cigarette smokers in 2008, which is virtually unchanged since 2004 when 20.9 percent of adults reported being smokers. The study’s findings indicate an alarming trend, because smoking is the leading preventable cause of death, killing more than 443,000 people every year and costing the nation $96 billion in health care costs annually.    » read more »

A domain of the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor is mapped in exquisite detail

November 13, 2009 --
Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) reports on Thursday their success in solving the molecular structure of a key portion of a cellular receptor implicated in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other serious illnesses.

Assistant Professor Hiro Furukawa, Ph.D., and colleagues at CSHL, in cooperation with the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, obtained crystal structures for one of several "subunits" of the NMDA receptor. This receptor, formally called the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, belongs to a family of cellular receptors that mediate excitatory nerve transmission in the brain.    » read more »

Announces Counties Are Conducting Vaccination Clinics As More H1N1 Vaccine Becomes Available

November 13, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced that county health departments across New York are mobilizing to conduct H1N1 flu vaccination clinics as more vaccine becomes available in the State.

“Due to delays in manufacturing the H1N1 vaccine, our statewide vaccination campaign has not been mobilized as rapidly as we had hoped,” Governor Paterson said. “As we move into the middle of November, more H1N1 vaccine is becoming available, and health care providers are receiving more shipments. Some county health departments have already held vaccination clinics, and others are gearing up to hold them in the next two weeks.”    » read more »

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 13, 2009) – Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley issued the second in a series of online H1N1 (Swine) Flu web updates on H1N1 (Swine) Flu today, including a status update on the spread of the disease and an update on the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines. To date, state officials have ordered 100% of the H1N1 vaccinations available to Maryland distributors, more than 750,000 doses.    » read more »

November 14, 2009 -- AUGUSTA – Two more deaths have been reported linked to H1N1 influenza in Maine, bringing the total to five since August, and a Kennebec County long-term care facility is experiencing an outbreak of H1N1, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control.

A Hancock County resident between the ages of 25 years old and 50 years old and a Kennebec County resident older than 65 years old died last week. Both had H1N1 and both had underlying conditions.    » read more »

Panenza®, non-adjuvanted pandemic vaccine, licensed for use in adults and children 6 months of age and older

Lyon, France – November 16, 2009 - Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) announced today that the French drug agency Afssaps (Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des produits de santé) has granted marketing authorization in France for Panenza®, its non-adjuvanted Influenza A(H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine, produced at Sanofi Pasteur’s facility in Val de Reuil, France. The vaccine was made available to French health authorities.    » read more »