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Missouri Judge Approves Summary, Cost Estimate For Abortion Ballot Proposal
Missouri Judge Patricia Joyce last week dismissed conspiracy allegations against three state officials and approved the summary and cost estimate for a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban public funding for abortions and certain types of embryonic stem cell research, the AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.The Missouri Roundtable for Life proposed the ballot measure earlier this year. Supporters of the measure subsequently argued that a summary written by Missouri"s secretary of state was biased. At the same time, opponents of the measure argued that the original petition was improperly drafted and should not have been allowed to proceed.Joyce dismissed the challenges to the summary and cost estimate, which was prepared by the state auditor. She also rejected the Roundtable"s claims that three state officials -- Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Attorney General Chris Koster and State Auditor Susan Montee -- conspired to violate sponsors" constitutional rights. Joyce ruled that the allegations "are without merit and rise to the level of being frivolous."Steve Clark, an attorney representing the Roundtable, said his clients have not yet decided whether they will appeal. If they appeal and the summary is changed, new signatures will be required to support the new language. Supporters hope to place the measure on the 2010 ballot (Blank, AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/20).

New Mechanism Controlling Neuronal Migration Discovered By St. Jude Scientists
The molecular machinery that helps brain cells migrate to their correct place in the developing brain has been identified by scientists at St. Jude Children"s Research Hospital. The finding offers new insight into the forces that drive brain organization in developing fetuses and children during their first years. Disruption of this brain-patterning machinery can cause epilepsy and mental retardation and understanding its function could give new insight into such disorders.
News of the day
Discovery Of Molecular Cause Of Alzheimer's Disease Could Bring Early Diagnosis, Treatment Closer
A discovery made by researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Research Institute for Medical Research at Montreal"s Jewish General Hospital offers new hope for the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer"s disease.
Diagnostics

Asian Pneumonia Prevention Organization Calls For Required Pneumonia Vaccine In India

The Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) is calling for the pneumonia vaccine to become an official part of India"s required list of immunizations, the Times of India reports. According to the newspaper, Nithin Shah, chairman of ASAP India chapter, said there is an "immediate need to take steps to control and prevent pneumonia morbidity and mortality," which is the leading cause of death among children younger than age five in India, according to international child health experts (7/26). At the Mangalore Pneumococcal Disease Conference, hosted by the ASAP India chapter and the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), the physician Jeeson Unni said, "India leads the world in under-five mortality, with [2,000,000] children dying every year. Of these, four lakh [400,000] deaths are due to pneumonia," PTI/Hindu reports. Shah said, "Half of all severe cases of pneumonia and pneumonia deaths are caused by pneumococcus and almost 40 percent of these deaths i.e. nearly one lakh [100,000] under-five deaths, are preventable by use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the National Immunisation Programme." In Western trials, the vaccine has proven to be 90 percent effective against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), Shah said, adding, "Even in countries like South Africa the trials have shown 80 percent efficacy of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against IPD." Unni added that the disease "kills more children than any other illness - more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined -according to UNICEF data." Srinivas G Kasi, a physician, said though doctors use antibiotics to treat children with pneumonia, increasing incidence of drug-resistant pneumococcus is a cause for concern (7/26). "A note issued by ASAP stated" the successful childhood national immunisation programme with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine "has shown significant benefits passed on to even unvaccinated people of all ages due to the herd immunity," the Times of India writes. ASAP India and IAP have recommended use of the vaccine on "one-to-one basis as per the IAP immunisation schedule," the newspaper reports (7/26). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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