Washington Times Examines Problems With New Orleans Mental Health System May 4, 2006
The Washington Times on Monday examined how the New Orleans mental health system -- "once regarded as excellent" -- currently is "in disarray" and is "only going to get worse in the coming months" as more Hurricane Katrina survivors begin to experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Times, almost all New Orleans mental health facilities have closed, which has left private hospitals, such as Tulane University and Toureau hospitals, to "pick up the slack… click link for more info.
Residents Report Less Fatigue, Better Care Under 80-hour Work Week Mandate
Residents whose 80-hour work week conforms to new duty-hour requirements report less fatigue interfering with their care of patients, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. The 80-hour-week mandate went into effect nationwide in 2003, but little research has been done to evaluate the impact on residents… click link for more info.
Advocacy Organizations, U.S. Government Should Overcome Disagreements On Approach To HIV Prevention Efforts, Editorial Says
There is an agreement among organizations fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic to promote the ABC prevention method -- which stands for abstinence, be faithful and use condoms -- but "getting the right balance of the three has led to unproductive disputes," a Boston Globe editorial says. "Two recent developments offer hope that barriers between organizations fighting AIDS might be breaking down," including the Vatican’s possible examination of condom use by married couples in which one partner is HIV-positive and a meeting in Washington, D… click link for more info.
Over 3 Million Stillbirths Every Year But Little Data Is Available
One large group of deaths yet to count or to be counted are stillbirths - babies born dead during the last 12 weeks of pregnancy, according to an Article published online (May 2006) by The Lancet.There is little information available for stillbirths, and no systematic national estimates have previously been published… click link for more info.
Increased Access To EC Would Reduce Unplanned Pregnancies, Abortions, Opinion Piece Says
Expanding access to contraception and making Barr Laboratories’ emergency contraceptive Plan B available for nonprescription sales would help to prevent "hundreds of thousands" of unplanned pregnancies in the U.S. annually and would reduce the U.S. abortion rate, columnist Nicholas Kristof writes in a New York Times opinion piece… click link for more info.
More Stem Cells Are Better - Expanding Hematopoietic Stem Cells With HOXB4
Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs, the cells that can give rise to all blood and most immune cell types) can save patients whose own hematopoietic system is defective or has been destroyed (often through radiation or chemotherapy of cancer). HSCs are very rare, and it is often hard to obtain enough of them for a successful transplant… click link for more info.
States Should Be Limited In Liens On Medicaid Beneficiary Settlements, Supreme Court Rules
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states can take only a limited amount from the legal settlements of Medicaid beneficiaries as payment for medical expenses, AP/CongressDaily reports (AP/CongressDaily, 5/1). In the case, Arkansas sought payment for medical expenses from Heidi Ahlborn, a former Medicaid beneficiary who later received a $550,000 settlement in a personal injury lawsuit after she became permanently disabled in a 1996 accident… click link for more info.
Seasonal Childhood Anaemia In West Africa Is Associated With The Haptoglobin 2-2 Genotype
In a study done in West Africa, Dr. Sarah Atkinson and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London showed an association between a particular type of haptoglobin (Hp2-2) and anemia in children, in an area where malaria is very common. Haptoglobin is a protein that picks up the free hemoglobin which is released after red cells are damaged by malaria… click link for more info.
AP/San Jose Mercury News Examines Implications Of Schering-Plough’s Exclusion Of Blacks In Hepatitis C Drug Trial
The AP/San Jose Mercury News on Sunday examined the implications of Schering-Plough’s decision to exclude black people from the Phase II clinical trial of its experimental hepatitis C therapy (Jordan, AP/San Jose Mercury News, 4/30). The Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project and the Hepatitis C Action and Advocacy Coalition in March said the pharmaceutical company was discriminating against black people by excluding them from the trial… click link for more info.
Obesity Levels In US Are Grossly Underestimated
The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. states has been greatly underestimated. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) analyzed data from health surveys, which are used to estimate obesity levels in states. Because people tend to provide incorrect information about their weight and height, especially in telephone surveys, the researchers concluded that estimates of obesity in individual states have been too low, by more than 50%… click link for more info.