Archive for January, 2008
Vph: the beautiful face of globalization
By Dov Michaeli MD, Ph.DA study published in the online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) caught my eye. Here is the essence of it:The combined supercomputing power of the UK and US ‘national grids’ has enabled University College London (UCL) scientists to simulate the efficacy of an HIV drug in blocking a key protein used by the lethal virus. The method – an early example of the Virtual Physiological Human Project in action – could one day be used to tailor personal drug treatments, for example for HIV patients developing resistance to their drugs. The study ran a large number of simulations to predict how strongly the drug saquinavir would bind to three resistant mutants of HIV-1 p…
No commentsBreast size may predict type 2 diabetes risk
Young women with larger breasts are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes later in life, even after accounting for differences in weight and waist size, a study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests.
The risk for diabetes “isn’t just about abdominal obesity, but also the contribution of fat tissue in another place,” Joel Ray, the lead author of paper, told the Toronto Star.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 90,000 American woman participating in the Nurses Health Study II, comparing the rate of diabetes in middle age with bra-cup size at age 20. After accounting for differences in BMI and waist circumference, the researchers found that risk increased with breast size, with women who reported wearing …
Increased Health Care Costs, Aging Population Pose Long-Term Financial Concerns, Comptroller General Says
Comptroller General David Walker on Tuesday at a Senate Budget Committee hearing said that increased health care costs and an aging population have placed the federal budget on an “imprudent and unsustainable path” and that “passage of time only serves to worsen this situation,” CongressDaily reports.Original post by Pharmalot
No commentsKaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Health Care-Related Funding In Delaware, Georgia Budget Proposals
The governors of Delaware and Georgia recently released their fiscal year 2009 state budget proposals. Summaries of health-related budget issues appear below.Delaware: Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D) on Thursday proposed a $3.4 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year that includes additional spending on Medicaid, the Original post by Pharmalot
No commentsStudy Finds Improvements In Access To Health Care For Minority Children
Health care disparities remain between white and minority children, but the gaps narrowed over the past 20 years, according to a report sponsored by the Foundation for Child Development and released on Wednesday by the New America Foundation, Original post by Pharmalot
No commentsCalifornia Regulators Issue $3.5M Fine Against UnitedHealth Subsidiary For Alleged Claims Processing Violations
California health insurance regulators on Tuesday issued a $3.5 million fine against PacifiCare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, the Sacramento Bee reports (Chan, Sacramento Bee, 1/30). The state Original post by Pharmalot
No commentsDefeat Of California Health Care Legislation Highlights Difficulties States Face In Establishing Universal Coverage
The defeat of a $14.9 billion proposal to overhaul California’s health care system “underscores a difficulty states face in achieving universal insurance coverage” and “their inability to slow the upward trajectory of health care costs,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Marian Mulkey, senior program officer at the Original post by Pharmalot
No commentsGlucosurfer.org, etc. - what do you think?
So I noticed that some of you are only interested in Health 2.0 stuff if it’s all-diabetes, all-the-time. OK, then. Here are two more new sites aimed directly at us PWDs: * WeAreDiabetic.org - yet another social support network for… (Source: Diabetes Mine)Original post by Diabetes Mine
No commentsIntegration Of Family Planning, Reproductive Health, Antiretroviral Services Could Reduce HIV/AIDS Cases In Africa, Experts Say
Integrating family planning, reproductive health and antiretroviral drug services could reduce the number of new HIV cases in Africa, experts said recently at the fifth African Population Conference in Arusha, Tanzania, the New Vision/AllAfrica.com reports.Original post by Pharmalot
No commentsFinding That Oral Contraceptive Use Reduces Ovarian Cancer ‘Worth Celebrating,’ Opinion Piece Says
The recent finding that the risk of developing ovarian cancer declines the longer a woman takes oral contraceptives is “worth celebrating, partly because health claims about the pill are often much harder to parse,” Slate columnist Amanda Schaffer writes in an opinion piece (Schaffer, Slate, 1/29).For the study on ovarian cancer, published Friday in the Lancet, Valerie Beral of the Original post by Pharmalot
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