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Centrist Dems Say Abortion Issues Must Not Delay Health Reform; Conservatives Step Up Criticism
Five centrist House Democrats, led by antiabortion-rights Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio), on Tuesday issued a proposal that would neither require nor ban private insurers from covering abortion services as long as federal dollars are not used, the Washington Post"s "Capitol Briefing" reports. In a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Ryan and Reps. Dale Kildee (Mich.), James Langevin (R.I.), Artur Davis (Ala.) and Kendrick Meek (Fla.) said that their proposal "maintains the current status quo in the private market" and would not "preempt constitutionally permissible" state restrictions related to abortion, such as parental notification laws. The representatives called their proposal a "common ground solution." Current federal law prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services in nearly all circumstances. The lawmakers said that they are "increasingly concerned about potential roadblocks around the issue of abortion" in the health reform debate in Congress. According to "Capitol Briefing," antiabortion-rights Democrats are concerned that health reform legislation could lead to indirect federal funding of abortion services through private insurers participating in a proposed health insurance exchange (Eggen, "Capitol Briefing," Washington Post, 7/21). In the letter, the representatives said that they would like to include language in the final health reform bill "that makes clear that no insurance company will be required to pay for an abortion except in extraordinary circumstances." In addition, insurance providers would not be prohibited from paying for abortion services "so long as health insurance plans offered in the exchange that choose to provide abortion coverage pay for those services with funds that are separate and distinct from any federal subsidies," the letter said. Ryan said he hopes the proposal will be introduced in committee on Wednesday as an amendment (Smith, Politico, 7/21).House Members Step Up Efforts To Exclude Abortion CoverageMeanwhile, antiabortion-rights House members are intensifying their efforts to exclude abortion coverage from the chamber"s health reform bill (HR 3200), which they said includes a "hidden mandate" that would allow federal money to cover the procedure, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said that he plans to join other antiabortion-rights House members at a news conference on Wednesday to criticize the legislation. Stupak helped draft a June 25 letter to Pelosi saying that he and 19 other Democrats would not support any health reform bill "unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." The bill does not mention abortion, which supporters say means that the legislation is neutral on the issue (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/22).Antiabortion-Rights Coalition Launches CampaignA coalition of antiabortion-rights groups this week is launching a three-week campaign aimed at excluding abortion coverage from health reform legislation, Politico reports. The coalition includes James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention; David Bereit of 40 Days for Life; and Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life. Yoest said AUL intends to send a letter to President Obama on Thursday citing its "belief that the bills are intended to include abortion."Laurie Rubiner, vice president for public policy and advocacy at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said that abortion is "not mandated any more than any other service or procedure in health reform." She added that excluding abortion coverage could result in women losing the coverage they currently have under private plans. The abortion-rights opponents" demand to exclude abortion coverage "violates the first principle of health care reform, which is: Don"t make people worse off under health care reform than they are today," Rubiner said (Smith, Politico, 7/22).

Study Results Show That Minimally Invasive Therapy Is Successful For Over Two-Thirds Of Stroke Patients Treated Outside The Standard Eight-Hour Window
When minimally invasive endovascular (through the vessel) therapy made its debut two decades ago, stroke care underwent a major shift as the "window of treatment" for patients suffering a stroke was expanded to eight hours within symptom onset, rather than the standard three-hour window required by the FDA-approved intravenous tPA therapy. Now, a new retrospective, multi-center study shows that endovascular therapy beyond the eight-hour window restored blood flow in the brain in approximately 74 percent of patients suffering ischemic (caused by a clot) stroke. Presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) 6th Annual Meeting in Boca Raton, FL, the data suggests that this treatment is safe and potentially leads to improved outcomes for a select number of late-presenting patients, including those who awake with stroke symptoms.
News of the day
Mutant Genes In High-Risk Childhood Leukemias Identified
A research team has pinpointed a new class of gene mutations, which identify cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that have a high risk of relapse and death. The finding suggests specific drugs that could treat this high-risk leukemia subtype in children, particularly because such drugs are already in clinical trials for similar blood diseases in adults.
Oncology

Abbott And AstraZeneca Submit New Drug Application To The FDA For CERTRIAD™, An Investigational Treatment For Mixed Dyslipidemia

Abbott Park, Illinois (NYSE: ABT) and London, UK - Abbott and AstraZeneca announced that the companies have submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an investigational compound for the treatment of mixed dyslipidemia, a combination of two or more lipid abnormalities including high LDL- cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol), high triglycerides and low HDL-cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol). The NDA submission for this investigational compound, containing the active ingredients of CRESTOR® (rosuvastatin calcium) and TRILIPIX® (fenofibric acid), is supported by data from multiple studies, including efficacy and safety studies with the 5mg, 10mg and 20mg doses of rosuvastatin combined with fenofibric acid. Pending approval of the NDA, the treatment will be marketed as CERTRIAD™. "The NDA submission is an important milestone in the development of CERTRIAD and demonstrates our commitment to developing treatments for dyslipidemia," said Howard Hutchinson, chief medical officer, AstraZeneca. "We look forward to continued discussions with the FDA about this potential new medicine." "Patients with mixed dyslipidemia are an underserved segment of the dyslipidemic population," said Eugene Sun, M.D., vice president, Global Pharmaceutical Clinical Development, Abbott. "If approved, CERTRIAD could become an important treatment option for physicians looking to provide comprehensive management of mixed dyslipidemia to their patients." According to the American Heart Association, more than 100 million adults in the United States have dyslipidemia. Of those, approximately 34 million people are affected by mixed dyslipidemia. Treatment guidelines endorsed by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have called for more aggressive management of lipids, including a lower LDL goal for many patients, as well as more aggressive management of HDL and triglycerides. About CERTRIAD™ CERTRIAD is an investigational compound containing the active ingredients of CRESTOR and TRILIPIX under development by Abbott and AstraZeneca for the treatment of mixed dyslipidemia. Phase III studies, which have been presented at multiple scientific forums, were designed to evaluate the effect of CERTRIAD on HDL and triglycerides compared to rosuvastatin monotherapy and the effect on LDL compared to fenofibric acid monotherapy in patients with mixed dyslipidemia. About CRESTOR CRESTOR is indicated as adjunct to diet to reduce elevated total-C, LDL-C, ApoB, nonHDL-C, and triglycerides and to increase HDL-C in adult patients with primary hyperlipidemia or mixed dyslipidemia, and to slow the progression of atherosclerosis in adult patients as part of a treatment strategy to lower Total-C and LDL-C to target levels. CRESTOR is not approved to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. For patients with hyperlipidemia and mixed dyslipidemia, the usual recommended starting dose of CRESTOR is 10 mg. The 40-mg dose of CRESTOR is reserved only for those patients who have not achieved their LDL-C goal utilizing the 20-mg dose of CRESTOR once daily. When initiating statin therapy or switching from another statin therapy, the appropriate CRESTOR starting dose should first be utilized, and only then titrated according to the patient"s individualized goal of therapy. Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information. For more information about CRESTOR, visit www.crestor.com About TRILIPIX TRILIPIX (fenofibric acid) delayed-release capsules is a prescription medicine used along with a low-fat and low-cholesterol diet in adults to lower triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol, and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. TRILIPIX can be used alone. It can also be used to lower triglycerides and increase HDL cholesterol in patients with heart disease or who are at risk of heart disease and who are taking a statin medicine to control their LDL cholesterol. TRILIPIX has not been shown to prevent heart disease or heart attacks or stroke more than a statin alone. About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of meaningful prescription medicines and in the supply of health care services. AstraZeneca is one of the world"s leading pharmaceutical companies with global health care sales of $31.6 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology, and infectious disease medicines. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $13.5 billion dollar health care business. For more information about AstraZeneca in the US or our AZ&Me™ Prescription Savings programs, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com. References 1 Prescribing Information for CRESTOR. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Wilmington, DE. 2 Data on file, DA-CRS-01. Abbott Laboratories


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