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Australian Medical Association: Put Increased Tobacco Tax Into Health
The AMA welcomed a proposed increase in tobacco tax. The AMA has always supported increased tax and price signals on products that are bad for your health in order to reduce consumption. This is an opportunity to make health gains for individuals, and the revenue could support essential health care for the increasing unemployed.

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).
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Z-Cube And Yissum Research Development Company Ltd. Sign A Licensing Agreement
Z-Cube Srl, the corporate venture arm of Zambon Company SpA, and Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced today that they have entered into a license agreement for Z-Cube to develop and commercialize an innovative nanotechnology drug delivery system for the treatment of pain. The technology was invented by Professor Elka Touitou from the Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Medicine, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Public Health

Why Don't All Insurance Plans Cover Ankle Replacements When The FDA Has Approved Them?

It"s been a decade since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first total ankle-replacement system for patients with severe ankle arthritis. But several insurance companies still deny coverage, Loyola University Health System orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Michael Pinzur writes in a FootForum commentary in Foot & Ankle International, the official journal of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. "It seems curious that the FDA agrees with the [foot and ankle society] that total ankle replacement is a reasonable treatment option . . . while several insurance providers do not find ankle replacement as a reasonable treatment option for ankle arthritis," Pinzur writes in the June issue. An ankle replacement is an option for certain patients who suffer severe osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or injury-related arthritis that does not respond to more conservative treatments. In such patients, arthritis has destroyed cartilage, so the ankle joint is bone-on-bone. An ankle replacement is similar to a knee or hip replacement. An implant is attached to the bottom of the tibia (shinbone) and to the talus (the first large bone of the foot). The smooth plastic surface of the tibial implant rotates on the polished metal surface of the talar implant. Since approving the first total ankle-replacement system in 1999, the FDA has approved two other systems and given tentative approval to a third system. In 2003, the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society issued a statement that said a total ankle replacement "is a viable option for the treatment of ankle arthritis." And Medicare routinely covers ankle replacements. Nevertheless, several insurance companies still deny coverage. They base their decision on a "meta-analysis" that concluded an ankle replacement was not a preferred treatment option. The meta-analysis compiled data from previous studies. It was sponsored by insurance companies and based on studies published in 2002 or earlier, Pinzur wrote. "Should insurance companies make decisions on what treatments are appropriate and what treatments are deemed experimental?" Pinzur"s commentary asks. Pinzur is a professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. He has performed more than 50 ankle replacements. Jim Ritter Loyola University Health System


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