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Treatment That Significantly Slows Progression Of Eye Damage In Persons With Type 1 Diabetes - University Of Minnesota
University of Minnesota Medical School researcher Michael Mauer, M.D., has found a treatment that significantly slows the progression of eye injury in people with type 1 diabetes, a common complication caused by this disease. By administering an antihypertensive, medication commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure, Mauer and colleagues were able to slow progression of diabetic eye damage in more than 65 percent of participants involved in the study.
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Breakthrough In The Treatment Of Bacterial Meningitis
It can take just hours after the symptoms appear for someone to die from bacterial meningitis. Now, after years of research, experts at The University of Nottingham have finally discovered how the deadly meningococcal bacteria is able to break through the body"s natural defence mechanism and attack the brain.
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Blogs Comment On Pregnant Women Support Act, NYT Opinion Piece, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ " White House Leaning Toward Pregnant Women Support Act," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s "God and Country": Congressional sponsors of the Pregnant Women Support Act are "growing more optimistic about prospects for White House support," Gilgoff writes. Antiabortion-rights groups like the Southern Baptist Convention and the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops support the bill, as does Democrats for Life. According to Gilgoff, although the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has not officially come out in opposition to the bill, PPFA opposes provisions that aim to convince women to forgo abortion. The group supports informing women of options without attempting to persuade them in any way, Gilgoff writes. He continues that the White House has not publicly commented on the bill and that aides to President Obama are still working to produce a "common ground" policy related to abortion and other reproductive health issues. However, Gilgoff says that he received an e-mail from a congressional close to the bill who wrote that the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships ""reached out to our office at the staff level for information on [PWSA] to begin what would become a larger dialogue on the issue of abortion reduction."" The e-mail added that there has been continued correspondence on the issue and that a meeting is scheduled in the coming weeks with White House and congressional staff. Gilgoff writes that the also told him that the recent appointment of Alexia Kelley -- former president of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good -- to head the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships could be a sign of the White House"s potential support for the bill, as CACG showed support for PWSA under Kelley. Gilgoff concludes, "It seems more likely that the White House could incorporate less controversial parts of the bill into its own plan around abortion; I doubt President Obama would back legislation that would trigger objections from abortion-rights groups" (Gilgoff, "God and Country," U.S. News & World Report, 6/10).~ "God and Abstinence: State Funding for Religious Agendas," Kathryn Royals, RH Reality Check: None of the speakers at a Mississippi Department of Human Services" recent youth event -- called "Abstinence Works: Let"s Talk About It" -- provided any information "on what to do if abstinence fails," Royals writes. Although the speakers at the event "didn"t talk about abstinence," they "sure did chant, cheer, dance, pray and sing about it," she continues. She notes that the "constant and overzealous" Christianity references at the conference were "wrong" not only because they "ostracized anyone who didn"t prescribe to a particular brand of Christianity," they were "wrong because ... [t]axpayer and state money funded the event." She adds that she "would like to know why scientifically valuable and lifesaving information is being censored and made unavailable, and to what end," noting that speakers at the event offered misogynistic comments and medically inaccurate information but no thoughts on the "proper use of condoms or birth control." Royals also notes that Mississippi ranks No. 1 in the U.S. for teen births and has spent more than $16 million in abstinence-only sex education programs. "I tried to put myself in the place of the kids who attended the pep rally -- I mean, summit," Royals writes, concluding, "I would have walked out ... that day humming a new tune or chanting a new cheer, but my level of sexual education would not have improved. In fact, it would have been dangerously stunted" (Royals, RH Reality Check, 6/10).~ "Ross Douthat"s Abortion Solution: Don"t Let Women Have Abortions," Kathleen Reeves, RH Reality Check: New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argued in a Tuesday opinion piece that "that we should reconsider the conditions for legal abortion, and that stricter regulation of (restriction on) abortion, particularly after the
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California Rulings: State Can Cut Medi-Cal Benefits But Not Home Care Wages

"A federal judge on Thursday blocked a $2 hourly wage cut for California in-home care workers that was slated to begin July 1, potentially increasing California"s budget deficit by another $98 million," The Sacramento Bee reports. In an oral injunction, the judge ordered the state "to continue paying up to $12.10 in wages and benefits to In-Home Supportive Services workers, according to parties on both sides of the suit. As part of the February budget deal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature approved a cut to $10.10 per hour - $9.50 in wages and 60 cents in benefits." The lawsuit was filed by The Service Employees International Union, which represents IHSS workers. "IHSS advocates say the system saves the state money because recipients would otherwise use more costly care provided by nursing facilities. But the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes this year also found that the IHSS program lacks sufficient oversight and suffers from fraud and abuse" (Yamamura, 6/26). Meanwhile, "The Sacramento County Superior Court has ruled in favor of the state in a last-minute lawsuit that sought to block an attempt to eliminate nine optional Medi-Cal benefits," The Record Searchlight reports. "In his ruling, which affects almost 20,000 Shasta County residents, Judge Timothy Frawley said it was not a violation of federal law for the Legislature to eliminate some Medi-Cal benefits, including adult dental care, in an attempt to save the state money as it faces a $24 billion budget deficit." The suit was filed by two California community clinics and the California Primary Care Association. "The cuts remain effective July 1 and include adult dental, podiatry, optometry, psychology and speech therapy benefits" (Winters, 6/25). In other California news, "The Schwarzenegger administration has rejected a plan designed to end years of litigation over inmate medical care in California"s prison system," The Associated Press reports. "In a letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate tells a court-appointed receiver that the state cannot afford the $1.9 billion fix Cate agreed to last month." In 2007, Schwarzenegger signed legislation to provide "$8 billion for prison construction, including $1 billion dedicated to health care improvements." And "the federal courts, which have ruled the care in California prisons is so poor that it violates inmates" civil rights, have threatened to take money directly from the state treasury to fix the system." But "Schwarzenegger said in a statement Thursday that California cannot afford the additional cost" (Thompson, 6/25). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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