by Deborah Franklin

Dr. Zibin Guo leads a tame version of wheelchair tai chi in Beijing, but he envisions a more competitive version someday /University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

 

Wheelchair athletes have been racing the pavement -- and basketball, rugby, and tennis courts -- for years. NPR's Joe Shapiro says that when you spend a little time with these jocks, as he has for a number of stories, your image of life in the chair changes fast.

"Think about what it takes to propel a manual wheelchair around all day," Shapiro says. "A gym membership and hours of dumbbell curls couldn't get you a ripped body any better."

Some colleges, he says, now offer athletic scholarships for players of "quad rugby," the full contact sport immortalized in the 2005 movie "Murderball."

Recently we learned of a slightly less murderous variation on that theme out of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Continue reading "Taking Wheelchair Tai Chi To China" >

by April Fulton

We've heard a lot this week from doctors suggesting that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's Type 1 diabetes is no big deal.

But for patients, Type 1 diabetes requires constant blood sugar monitoring and frequent insulin shots -- a major life adjustment by any standard.

Noah Kernis, 17, of New York City, was diagnosed just a month ago and spoke with NPR's Rebecca Davis for a segment in the Health Podcast this week about the puzzling symptoms he experienced prior to his diagnosis:

Continue reading "What A Diabetes Diagnosis Feels Like" >

by April Fulton

President Obama loves us, he really loves us istockphoto.com

This is what it's come to. Washington is so hungry for a President who eats out in public that prominent D.C. journalists are giving us the blow-by-blow, or more precisely, the bite-by-bite, on President Obama's lunch on Twitter.

At about 12:40 p.m. today, CBS News Radio White House Correspondent Mark Knoller (@markknoller) began tweeting about Obama's pit stop at local burger chain outpost in Southeast called Five Guys.

Apparently, the President ordered a cheeseburger, fries, jalapenos, tomatoes and mustard.

Through his next 16 tweets, Knoller describes the crowd reaction ("Oh My God!"), speculates on the ethics of whether Obama's guest, NBC's Brian Williams should pay his own way ("Alert Columbia Journalism Review") and wonders whether Obama was there to check on cybersecurity or whether he is endangering the vegan vote.

He also offers helpful historic insights, like the fact that this is Obama's second known burger run in D.C., and that President Clinton once stopped his motorcade to use a Pizza Hut bathroom.

No discussion of nutrition or food safety here, just a fun Friday note.

By Deborah Franklin

Two astronauts--Miss Baker the squirrel monkey and Mr. John Glenn--inside their respective space capsules/NASA

 

The story by NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. animals to fly and survive a space flight is drawing a lot of comment from listeners. Many rightly point out that there's a big difference between a man or woman volunteering for such a mission, and a monkey getting volunteered.

But the photo of the little squirrel monkey, Baker, also brought to my mind another iconic photo of one of the first astronauts in NASA's Mercury program.The human quarters for those missions, just a few years after the monkey flights, were cramped, too.

The "Man in the Can," some insiders called the program. As John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, joked to Time Magazine in 1962, "you don't get in [the Friendship 7 capsule], you put it on."

Continue reading "Space Is Tight In Space" >

by Deborah Franklin

Too big a buzz is bad for kids petesimon/flickr

Just because caffeinated gum looks like candy, doesn't mean it's harmless, especially for kids and pint-sized teens.

A 13-year-old from Naples, Italy recently had to be hospitalized with rapid breathing and heart rate, high blood pressure, a stomach ache, and high anxiety, after chomping a couple of packs of caffeinated gum over the course of about four hours at school. The doctors who related his case in the current issue of The Lancet, say the gum contained 320 mg of caffeine-- slightly more than is in three cups of strong coffee, or four Red Bulls. Next day the boy was discharged with a slow heart beat and sluggishness that kept him from school for several days.

A quick check of caffeinated gums sold in the U.S. shows that at least one brand--Jolt--boasts that just one pack (12 pieces) of its gum is the equivalent of six cups of coffee.

Continue reading "Do You Know What's In Your Gum?" >

by April Fulton

Would looking at this make you less likely to buy cigarettes? WHO thinks so. /WHO

 

Most of us know smoking and tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death. Many of use also know it is often accompanied by long-term debilitation from heart disease, lung disease, and stroke, not to mention various mouth and throat cancers.

Yet we're still smoking. Chalk it up to denial.

WHO has a new idea, just in time for World No Tobacco Day on Sunday, May 31: Instead of just putting vague health warnings on cigarette packs, manufacturers should include gruesome photos.

"Health warnings on tobacco packages are a simple, cheap and effective strategy that can vastly reduce tobacco use and save lives," says WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Ala Alwan.

"But they only work if they communicate the risk. Warnings that include images of the harm that tobacco causes are particularly effective at communicating risk and motivating behavioural changes, such as quitting or reducing tobacco consumption," he says.

Continue reading "Show And Tell On Tobacco Disease" >

by April Fulton

Good Morning.

Swine flu is still making headlines today as officials say a vaccine could become available as early as October. As NPR's Dick Knox points out, there's still so many questions in search of answers, such as who should receive the vaccine and how much to give.

The Washington Post tells the story of travelers' time in quarantine in China. Patient Miguel Gomez says everyone's faces were covered in masks and he had a choice of Chinese food (chicken and rice) or American food (chicken and rice prepared another way) slipped under the door.

Liver Gets Some Love

We thought the kidney was the organ getting all the attention these days, what with the donation theme song and all, but apparently it's liver's turn to get a little love.

Continue reading "Morning Rounds: Swine Flu, Liver In The Limelight, Hold The Ice Cream" >

by Richard Knox

Will we all be lining up for swine shots soon?/Toby Talbot/AP

The big push to make a swine flu vaccine is on.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is starting to ship vials of "seed" viruses to drug companies so they can begin making vaccine against swine flu.

Important decisions loom. Many are technical and complex. How much vaccine needs to be in each dose? Should a booster substance be added to make the vaccine go further? How many people should get vaccinated? Who?

Then there's the really big decision: Should hundreds of millions of people get vaccinated next fall against swine flu?

To make the best decision, policymakers need a good sense of how severe a disease this swine flu is. But that may be almost impossible to know, experts warn.

Continue reading "Swine Flu Forecast: More Uncertainty Ahead" >

by April Fulton

The diverse bacteria found in 20 different places on the skin may deepen our understanding of disease /NHGRI

Speaking of cells, did you know just how much diversity there is in the bacterial cells that live on our skin, or why you should care?

NPR's Richard Harris reports on a new article published in the journal Science today:

The [skin] bacteria are part of genuine ecosystems -- akin to life on the savannah, or the ocean, or the rich life of a tropical rain forest.

The National Human Genome Research Institute sampled the bacterial wildlife from 20 spots on the bodies of 10 volunteers.

National Geographic notes, "armpits are 'rain forests' for bacteria."

Continue reading "Bacteria Cells On Skin Diverse As Earth" >

by April Fulton

Sometimes things aren't what they seem, noted Alice in Wonderland when she fell through the looking glass.

This slideshow, posted by our sister blog, The Picture Show, is a preview of an art exhibit entitled "Tiny: Art From Microscopes at UW-Madison."

It offers a side of cells and molecules many of us may have never given much thought to -- their beauty.

The tiny picture show opened, appropriately enough, at the tiny Dane County Regional Airport last month.

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by April Fulton

Health care costs continue to rise, everyone has ideas on how to curb them AMagill/Flickr

Earlier today we brought you data on the cost of doing nothing to curb health care costs. Now we bring you ideas on how to reign in health care costs.

Two nuggets to put in the hopper today:

Much to the consternation of medical device and drug companies, HHS is proposing to consider the cost of care as part of its definition of comparative effectiveness research.

Continue reading "Curbing Care Costs" >

by Deborah Franklin

House calls on flu live today from NYC's Dr.Susan Kansagra /NYC Health Department

Come on, 'fess up: Even if you feel swamped by all the media coverage of the H1N1 flu, don't you wish you could sit down with a doctor and ask a few nagging questions of your own? Here's your chance.

The New York City health department this morning deployed one its docs, internist Susan Kansagra, M.D., to take your questions and answer as many as possible today and tomorrow in their blog. The service is aimed at New Yorkers, but health department says everybody's welcome. So log on already, and let us know what you learn.

by Julie Rovner

Health care costs may break the bank, whether we address them or not istockphoto.com

How to pay the eye-popping cost of a major health overhaul bill is Topic A around Washington these days. Taxes on sugary soft drinks, on health insurance premiums, and on beer and wine are all under consideration.

But there is an equally alarming cost to consider: The cost of not doing anything at all.

One study from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and published in an online version of the policy journal Health Affairs today looks at what might happen to the number of uninsured Americans if Congress does not address it this year.

It's not a pretty picture.

Continue reading "The High Cost Of Standing Still" >

by April Fulton

Good Morning. Diabetes is in the spotlight as physicians weigh in over whether U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's Type 1 diabetes should affect her eligibility.

NPR's Richard Knox and the BBC report today that Type 1 -- requiring frequent monitoring of blood sugar levels and regular injections of insulin -- is expected to double by 2020 in children under 5. And no one knows exactly why.

Listen to Knox's radio story here:

Continue reading "Morning Rounds: Diabetes Debate, Private Insurance Benefits, Hugging Bandits" >

by Deborah Franklin

Genes from the Crystal Jelly (Aequorea aequoera) were used to create glow-in-dark monkeys and that could eventually help people with Parkinson disease. Gabriel Bouys, AFP

 

You'll hear about glow-in-the dark monkeys tonight on NPR's All Things Considered, and it's a medical story. Really, it is.

NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports on the success of Japanese researchers who have managed to take a glow-in-the-ultra-violet-light gene from jellyfish and insert it into marmoset embryos. And that's not even the impressive part. The real trick was successfully getting those little embryos to grow up into adult monkeys that passed along the "glowing" gene to their offspring and descendents.

It's not just a party trick. (Scientists who figured out how to use the glow-in-the-dark substance as a label got a Nobel prize last fall.) The goal is to create a good animal model of human disease, a target that's been elusive for many devastating illnesses.

Continue reading "Monkey's Uncle Gets A Human Gene" >

by April Fulton

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Clay Condrey, Carlos Ruiz, and Shane Victorino celebrate after the Phillies defeated the Yankees 4-3 in New York on Sunday, May 24, 2009. Kathy Willens/AP

 

We're not talking about the Yankees v. Phillies games last weekend, we're talking about Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox's latest quest to stop insurance companies from raising rates.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Blue Cross of Michigan is seeking 56 percent rate increase for non-elderly people buying their own insurance; 42 percent for group conversion policyholders who purchase coverage they once had at work, and a 31 percent increase for seniors with supplemental Medicare policies.

"Blue Cross should stop putting profits over people and focus on its mission as the insurer of last resort," Cox says.

Continue reading "Two Out Of Three For Michigan AG?" >

by April Fulton

Drug industry-sponsored education on the line istockphoto.com

Do I sense a trend?

Congress and the states appear to be taking an increasingly skeptical view lately of pharmaceutical industry gifts to doctors and their potential influence on prescribing, but now a prominent group of doctors is kicking it up a notch by banning industry-sponsored education.

The American Psychiatric Association's Board of Trustees voted to phase out drug industry-sponsored educational programs and industry-supplied meals at annual meetings and educational seminars.

APA says industry-sponsored educational meetings have "invited a concern that the sessions may be biased in favor of the sponsoring company's medications."

Continue reading "Getting Off The Drug Money Train" >

by Deborah Franklin

Tobacco's the big health risk, toxicologists say. Plastics not so much. iStockphoto.com

You say health hazard, I say overblown hysteria...at least in many cases. That's the word from the Society of Toxicology, the leading professional association for the folks who study chemical health risks for a living.

In a Harris poll conducted this spring, the scientists came down hard on environmental activists and media for muddying the message--overplaying relatively small health risks like certain chemical additives in food and baby bottles, while underplaying the relative risks of some pesticides and tobacco. Industry got plenty of blame, too, for generally underplaying the risk of their products.

Continue reading "Toxicologists Weigh In On Chemical Risks" >

by April Fulton

Good Morning.

When it comes to informing the public about risk, prescription drug ads tend to scroll through the bad news quickly and turn up the background music. This confuses consumers, says FDA, and is the most frequent reason the agency issues warning letters.

Since the FDA issued new guidelines yesterday to help pharmaceutical companies advertise without running afoul of the law, we thought we'd share the above video with you. It is a drug ad parody for a new product to treat Blackberry addiction, developed by former drug marketer who ought to know.

Continue reading "Morning Rounds: Drug Ad Advice, Health Hurdle, Perils Of Texting" >

by Brenda Wilson

Global Health Council President and CEO Jeff SturchioGlobal Health Council

Pharmaceutical execs don't often garner the praise of people who promote global health, but newly-named Global Health Council President and CEO Jeff Sturchio is the exception.

Dr.Jeff Sturchio, a long time executive at Merck, was tapped to lead the world's largest international membership organization of groups working in global health today. He takes over from Dr Nils Daulaire who led the Global Health Council for a decade.

Anybody who's spent time in global health circles in the past decades has grown accustomed to the quiet presence of Sturchio on the sidelines. His last job was to run Merck's philanthropic efforts, including its HIV/AIDS access programs.

One close observer says: "If it wasn't Jeff, I'd be worried."

The Council credits Sturchio with helping to build treatment programs for people with HIV/AIDS in Botswana and expects Sturchio to bring a much needed perspective to the job, including "creating partnerships among governments, private sector groups and NGOs, especially in Africa," the council says.

He may still need to win over some folks. Global AIDS Alliance Executive Director Paul Zeitz "welcomed Jeff to the advocacy community," but added that he hopes Sturchio "makes clear his independence from pharmaceutical corporate interests."

By Deborah Franklin

Daniel Carasso, son of the founder of the yogurt company Danone (known as Dannon in the US), at the company's 90th anniversary celebration in April 2009, in Barcelona. JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP/Getty Images

Pause a minute over your afternoon smoothie or tube of GoGurt to remember Daniel Carasso, the man the Washington Post today calls "the father of modern yogurt." Carasso died this month in Paris at 103.

It was Carasso and pals at Dannon who, in 1947, shoveled some strawberry jam to the bottom of the traditionally sour snack, and advertised it as a "healthy dessert." (That sounds a lot better than soured milk pumped up with "good-for-you" bacteria.) Sales took off and kept climbing.

Continue reading "Even Yogurt Has Its Limits" >

by April Fulton

The incoming FDA commissioner and her deputy have been hailed by some as rescuers of a drowning agency and others as bean counters seeking more rules, but there is no doubt Commissioner Margaret "Peggy" Hamburg and Principle Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein dream big.

In fact, they laid out their Aquarian Age aspirations in a New England Journal of Medicine piece published today.

They detail several of the challenges facing the agency and promise to "minimize risks through education, regulation and enforcement" and explain their actions to the public clearly.

They indicate they will avoid the appearance of political influence on agency decisions that plagued the last administration (i.e. Plan B):

"For these communications to have credibility, the public must trust the agency to base its decisions on science.

And they give a shout-out to would-be whistleblowers:

"We recognize the importance of a mangement approach that respects the exertise and dedication of the FDA's career scientists."

Hamburg and Sharfstein also acknowledge the importance of interagency cooperation.

They say they will work closely with CDC on food safety and infectious disease outbreaks, work with the CMS to get novel treatments to patients, and work with NIH and the pharamceutical industry to develop cures.

by April Fulton

Appeals Court Judge Sonya Sotomayor shares a laugh with President Obama as he announces her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court today. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

 

Are questions about President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's health fair game during her vetting process?

That question is being posed in blogospheric circles at the moment because the appeals court judge has Type 1 diabetes, often referred to as juvenile diabetes. She was diagnosed with the disease when she was 8.

Type 1 diabetes, occurs when the body's immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin -- a hormone that helps the body process glucose. Diabetics need to monitor their blood glucose levels frequently and make sure they are getting enough insulin, usually through injections.

Continue reading "A Matter Of Health For SCOTUS Nominee" >

by April Fulton

Edgar Hernandez, 5, soon to have a statue erected in his honor Alexandre Meneghini/AP

Good Morning after a long holiday weekend.

Here are the stories we found of interest this morning:

We know tourism in Mexico has been suffering, thanks to swine flu fears, but this effort to boost the country's image seems a bit of a stretch:

The governor of Veracruz, Mexico is comparing the five-year old La Gloria boy suspected of harboring and surviving the first known case of the new H1N1 virus to the legendary cheeky Belgian boy who defeated enemy troops by urinating on them.

"La Gloria is now an important tourist destination. Next week we'll inaugurate a statue of the child Edgar Hernandez that resembles the Manneken Pis in Brussels, Belgium, for having carried out a similar exploit," Governor Fidel Herrera Beltran told AFP on Sunday.

Meanwhile, WHO reports at least 46 countries have confirmed nearly 13,000 swine flu cases. Mexico reports 83 deaths, the U.S. 12 deaths, and Canada two deaths as officials race to develop a vaccine.

Continue reading "Morning Rounds: Swine Flu Statue, Vexing Vaccines, Hamburg Stocks" >

by April Fulton

What's lurking in your burgers? nutmeg via Flickr

This weekend, millions of backyard grills will sizzle and smoke with juicy hamburger patties, signaling the official launch of summer.

But as usual, there's a little food safety caution to keep in mind as you're tossing back a cold one and tending the fire: E. coli is back in the headlines.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that a 7-year-old girl died on Sunday and several other people in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois have become ill from complications of E. coli.

E. coli is one of the nastier foodborne bugs that sickens people unless it is killed during the cooking process. It can cause stomach pains, bloody diarrhea, and unfortunately, sometimes death.

Continue reading "Not So Thrillin' Grillin'" >

By Scott Hensley

Elmo and HHS's Sebelius say, "Wash your hands." Getty Images

The feds said today they will spend $1 billion to pave the way for a potential swine flu vaccine.

"The actions we are taking today will help us be prepared if a vaccine is needed," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

Some of the money will go toward clinical tests of batches of vaccine this summer to figure out the right dose.

Continue reading "HHS Puts $1 Billion Toward Swine Flu Vaccine" >

by Deborah Franklin

Now, you too can compare gallbladder surgery prices! timparkinson via Flickr

Californians can now hunt down the best prices for common surgeries online, thanks to a Web tool the state released this week.

Get ready for sticker shock. UC San Francisco Medical Center, for example, says it charges $205,324 to replace a heart valve. Just a few blocks away, St. Mary's Medical Center charges $338,353 for the same procedure. Ouch.

Continue reading "Shopping For California Surgery Prices Online" >

by April Fulton

"So you think you can out draw me, huh?"

That was one of my mother's favorite lines, which she exclaimed with glee whenever she figured out one of her kids' crazy schemes before it could be executed.

Dueling pistols for Washington health overhaul message gurus istockphoto.com

The line might be from the mid-1960s cartoon, "Quick Draw McGraw" about a lovable, goofy mustang who was the sherriff of a lawless Western town. Or it could have come from a similarly-themed competitor, "Deputy Dawg," but in any case, it spoofed the Wild West obsessions of a previous generation.

The line could have been going through the head of Democratic strategist Paul Begala as he crafted a point-by-point counterargument (thanks, Politico) to Republican Frank Luntz's recent memo on health care messaging.

Continue reading "Quickest Draws In Washington" >

by Scott Hensley

AstraZeneca will give you a peek at its payments to doctors--next year. cesarastudillo via Flickr

Here comes AstraZeneca, maker of those popular purple pills for heartburn, with a promise to start disclosing what it pays U.S. doctors to talk up the company's products.

But it's going to take a while before you'll get a peek at who's getting paid to say what. The twice-a-year reports won't get rolling until next year. The debut edition, covering the first six months of 2010, won't appear on the company's Web site until a year from August.

Continue reading "AstraZeneca Joins Big Pharma Disclosure Parade" >

By Richard Knox

Up close and personal with the new H1N1 virus. CDC

 

Margaret Chan, the World Health Organization's director-general, has decided not to declare that the world has entered the first flu pandemic of this century.

But she's leaving open the question -- for now -- of changing the definition of a pandemic.

Chan declared on April 29 that a flu pandemic is "imminent." But she's been under increasing pressure from WHO's member-states to hold off declaring that a pandemic has arrived, based on the WHO's own definition.

Chan now says there's no doubt swine flu will continue to spread -- within the 42 countries already affected and beyond.

By saying that, Chan essentially acknowledges what many have been saying: This genie is out of the bottle.

Continue reading "Why No Flu Pandemic? Define Pandemic" >

by Scott Hensley

Kids between classes at a New York school.

Associated Press

 

Worried parents are flocking to New York hospitals to have their kids checked for swine flu, clogging ERs around the city.

Take, for instance, Schneider Children's Hospital in Queens, where more than 200 patients a day--four times the usual number--have been checked in the ER since last Saturday, the New York Times reports. It's a quintessential New York story featuring a "polyglot of unease, Orthodox Jews in sheitels and skullcaps, Muslim women in headscarves, Asian people, black people and white people," the Times writes.

Continue reading "Flu Fears Behind The Masks At New York Hospitals" >

by Scott Hensley

J&J has its eyes on Cougar digitalART2 via Flickr

Good morning. Here are a few health stories that caught our eye first thing today.

The Washington Post reports on the possibility of a new federal tax on health benefits provided to workers by their employers. The controversial idea, opposed by unions and many Democrats, got traction during a closed-door meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, a key battleground for health reform. Opposition is softening as legislators and the Obama administration look for ways to raise an estimated $1.2 trillion to pay for reform over the next 10 years.

Continue reading "Taxing Health Benefits; Reform Outlook & A Cougar Takeover" >

by April Fulton

Access to gorgeous veggies like these can lead to better health. Kaiser hopes so. NatalieMaynor/Flickr

 

Kaiser Permanente is making it easier for some of us to get our veggies and eat them, too.

Over the last six years, the health insurance giant has attracted 30 farmers markets to its medical facilities in four states, according to the L.A. Times.

The link between better nutrition and better health has been well documented, but physicians are often more focused on disease than this kind of prevention, says Dr. Preston Maring, an OB-GYN from Oakland who has been with Kaiser for nearly 40 years.

For the farmers and for Kaiser, that means a whole lot of new people checking out cabbage and corn on their way to a colonoscopy who might not otherwise have access to the fresh fruits and vegetables.

by Scott Hensley

Forget about these FDAers arvindgrover via Flickr

 

The Food and Drug Administration won't be handing out gift cards as attaboys to its employees for a while.

Acting FDA Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein put the kibbosh on the informal bonuses yesterday, telling the Washington Post he wanted to learn more about the awards. About 15%, or 1,500, FDA employees got gift cards last year.

"My perspective is, we're the new team coming in," he told the Post. "We are responsible for how the agency money is being spent. It's really important that we're comfortable."

Continue reading "FDA Says No More Gift Cards For Now" >

by Richard Knox

One of the most striking things about the nation's current epidemic of swine flu is that fewer than one percent of cases involve people over age 60.

Figuring out why is a top priority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A new study doesn't provide the answer, but it does offer an important clue.

It turns out that one in three people born before 1948 already has antibodies that recognize the new swine flu virus. Among young adults, fewer than one in 10 have these antibodies.

How can that be? Didn't scientists say this is a unique viral creature, made up of swine, bird and human virus components in a never-before-seen mashup?

Yes, but CDC scientists say that the new virus apparently resembles one circulating around mid-century or before more closely than it resembles current H1N1 flu viruses...even though the swine flu virus circulating now is also in the vast H1N1 family.

But this doesn't mean, they caution, that people over 60 are necessarily protected against the new swine flu. It could mean, for instance, that young people just got exposed to the new virus earlier and spread it at school, which is a great flu incubator.

Continue reading "Have We Met? I'm The Flu" >

by Julie Rovner

Have a seat. Wait, not you! Collin Anderson/Flickr

 

As the Senate Finance Committee heads for a make-or-break attempt at a health overhaul bill next month, Democratic Chairman Max Baucus of Montana likes to repeat his mantra that "everything's on the table" for discussion.

But pressed by a reporter at a breakfast session Thursday, Baucus conceded that there's at least one major proposal that's not: Single-payer, which involves having the government pay all health bills, eliminating the role of private insurance.

"That's the only thing that's not," Baucus said, "because it cannot pass. And I don't know two or three members of Congress who privately, honestly tell you that it can pass."

But Baucus, who directed Capitol Police to arrest single-payer supporters who launched loud protests at his last two public hearings on a health overhaul, didn't want that to be his last word on the subject.

Continue reading "Is Everything REALLY On The Table?" >

by April Fulton

Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

Many countries are questioning why the WHO has not moved the new swine flu pandemic threat level from an imminent pandemic to an actual one.

The H1N1 situation in Japan now seems to qualify for a WHO move to "Phase 6." That is, there is evidence of ongoing transmission among people in the community, not just among close family members.

But as NPR's Richard Knox reports today:

This isn't a question of semantics or science; it's mainly a question of politics within the WHO.

Plus, a redefinition of pandemic may be in the works. Stay tuned.

by Scott Hensley

Let's establish right from the start that we are fully aware that astronauts testifying before the Senate from orbit is a space-age stunt. But it's kind of a cool stunt and maybe the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis will say something significant to Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), chairman of the subcommittee overseeing NASA's budget.

With that in mind, we'll live-blog the testimony from the crew of STS-125 below. Here goes.

by Scott Hensley

Is it time for a nap? iStockphoto.com

The medical equivalent of the weather may be work hours for doctors in training. Everyone questions how long medical residents should work at a stretch and nobody can seem to agree on an answer.

Yes, it's true that in 2003 the medical education establishment put out rules limiting work hours in an effort to reduce errors by sleep-deprived medical newbies. But have they worked?

A cutely titled editorial ("To Nap or Not to Nap? Residents' Work Hours Revisited") in the latest New England Journal of Medicine says there's no consensus in the medical literature that they have. What's more, the effect of the rules just hasn't been studied systematically, the editorialists write.

Continue reading "How Long Should Medical Residents Work?" >

by Scott Hensley

iStockphoto.com

No one can fault the parents of autistic children for seeking a cure for their kids. Unfortunately, as the Chicago Tribune reports, some are turning in desperation to a drug usually prescribed for men battling prostate cancer.

The medicine, called Lupron, inhibits production of the hormone testosterone. Supporters of its controversial and unproved use for autism base their approach on a purported link between mercury, testosterone and the developmental disorder.

But critics say the treatment is irresponsible. They warn Lupron can disrupt childhood development, interfering with puberty and jeopardizing kids' heart and bones.

Continue reading "Critics Say Lupron Is No Miracle Cure For Autism" >

by Scott Hensley

Company X considered a deal for Schering, too. iStockphoto.com

Ahh, more deal-making intrigue unfolds in Big Pharma land.

A remarkably detailed account of negotiations between Merck and Schering-Plough over their planned merger reveals that a mysterious "Company X" could have prevailed in taking over Schering. (See Schering's filing with SEC late yesterday for the nitty gritty, starting on page 48.)

Advisers to Schering said the mystery company had the greatest interest and wherewithal besides Merck to make a deal. So, in early January, about a month after top execs from Merck and Schering began chatting about a transaction, Schering CEO Fred Hassan called the CEO of Company X to see whether he was interested in talking about an alternative mashup.

Continue reading "As Merck Moved, Company X Mulled Deal For Schering-Plough" >

By Scott Hensley

Good morning.

Here are some health stories that captured our interest first thing.

The Boston Globe tells the moving story of James Maki, the U.S.'s second recipient of a face transplant. After the 17-hour operation, Maki, who was disfigured in a subway accident, told the lead surgeon, "I can't believe you made me look so close to what I used to look like." A press conference about the transplant is scheduled for today at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the latest effort by Republicans to counter Obama's plans for health reform. Some lawmakers in the GOP put forward legislation yesterday that would give Americans tax credits to buy health insurance--$2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families.

Continue reading "Boston Face Transplant; Republican Health Plan & More NY Schools Closed" >

by Scott Hensley

Where are Tubbs and Crockett when you need them? Associated Press

Miami Medicare Vice was such a hit, the feds are taking specialized strike forces to fight health fraud on the road.

Teams of Medicare fraud busters that debuted in South Florida two years ago and rolled into Los Angeles last year will soon descend on Detroit and Houston.

Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the expansion along with a broader initiative to fight health fraud that the goverment wants you to call "HEAT." How you get HEAT from "Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team" beats us. Maybe someone lifted a few letters from the acronym?

Continue reading "Feds Broaden Medicare Fraud Fight" >

By Julie Rovner

Capitol Hill blooms with bills aussiegal/Flickr

 

Finally, along with the azaleas, health care overhaul bills are starting to sprout on Capitol Hill.

But they're not the bills most people have been waiting for -- the ones from Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA)or Max Baucus (D-MT), chairs of the committees that will make or break the president's top priority.

Still, the new bills are notable because they're coming from some of the naysayers in the process -- Republicans who have been complaining that the proposals being espoused by President Obama and his followers are too expensive and too bureaucratic.

The big bill of the day comes from Sens. Tom Coburn (OK), and Richard Burr (NC), and Reps. Paul Ryan (WI) and Devin Nunes (CA). The "Patients' Choice Act" raises no new taxes, creates no new government-run health program, and, in fact, would turn back much of the Medicaid program for the poor to the states.

They are billing it as an alternative to "Obamacare."

"We are showing that America can have a system of universal health care access without the government running it," said Ryan.

Continue reading "Republican Health Bills Bloom in Washington" >

by Scott Hensley

Better safe than sorry Photo by denn via Flickr

Uh oh, this isn't supposed to happen. An Indiana hospital allowed somebody to twice donate blood despite being flagged for hepatitis C infection in a screening test, the Food and Drug Administration says in a warning letter that was just released publicly.

What's more, some of the components from red blood cells donated by the unnamed person at Elkhart General Hospital in Indiana were transfused into patients, the FDA wrote.

That's a big no-no. A positive hep C result is supposed to disqualify a person from giving blood and further testing of blood is required as another safeguard.

Continue reading "FDA Slaps Indiana Hospital Over Blood Handling" >

by Scott Hensley

CDC's test kits for swine flu virus. CDC

 

The swine flu continues to spread, with confirmed cases worldwide now hitting 10,243. Deaths attributed to the infection stand at 80.

North America remains the hotbed for H1N1, according to the World Health Organization's latest stats. Case reports are highest in the U.S., where 346 newly identified cases bring the count to 5,469. One new death attributed to the viral infection put the total at 6. The statistics were unchanged in Mexico, where the case count is 3,648 cases and death total is 72. Canada comes in with 496 confirmed cases and 1 death.

Forty-one countries now have been hit by swine flu. After the U.S., Japan reported the biggest jump in cases--51--bringing the country's total to 210 so far, according to the WHO update. The increases there have come despite Japanese efforts to stop the virus at the borders.

Continue reading "Swine Flu Cases, Deaths Rise" >

by Richard Knox

NPR Health Editor Joe Neel diagrams how the new H1N1 virus might reassort into something more dangerous. April Fulton/NPR

 

More than half the flu viruses infecting people across the nation are the new swine flu strain, and that has health officials fretting.

The latest worry is that the new H1N1 virus will pick up resistance to the only two drugs effective against it -- oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamavir (Relenza) -- by mixing it up with the wrong crowd, i.e. viruses that are already resistant.

It would work like this:

One of the older seasonal flu viruses that's still around, also in the H1N1 family, is already resistant to these antiviral drugs. If somebody got simultaneously infected with one of the older viruses and the new swine flu, the viruses could exchange genes within that person's cells.

This is called reassortment. Flu viruses are good at it, because their genes are segmented into neat mix-and-match packets.

The resulting "reassortant" virus could be drug-resistant, says Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is a really important issue," she said at Tuesday's CDC swine flu media briefing. " If those two strains reassorted and we got a new strain that was a combination of the two, we would hate to see this novel strain become resistant through that mechanism."

That would leave doctors with no effective drug against the novel strain. All those Tamiflu stockpiles would be worthless.

The longer both these H1N1 flu viruses are circulating throughout the country, the greater that chance favors the emergence of such a resistant virus. It can happen quickly. Flu experts were surprised at how fast the old, seasonal H1N1 acquired resistance to the mainstay antiviral drugs.

by April Fulton

This puppy looks like he's reading. He may even be reading a new study on health insurance mergers. istockphotos.com

 

In many parts of the country, only one or two health insurers control the market, health insurance premiums are rising faster than inflation, and many insurers don't follow the rules.

This is according to a new report issued by Health Care for America Now, a grassroots group pushing for major health reform this year.

NPR's Julie Rovner got a sneak peak at it last night and says the report is likely to spark debate as Congress crafts legislation to overhaul the nation's health system, even if the information in it has been publicized before.

She notes HCAN's savvy strategy:

"If you want to make an important point in an ongoing debate, it helps to have a new study. Even if that study says something most of the in-the-know people already know."

by April Fulton

Salmonella like these examples inside macrophage cells, say gimme some sugar, baby Isabelle Hautefort/IFR

 

If you know what a bacteria eats, you can stop it.

That's the theory espoused by the British scientists who recently discovered that the food poisoning bug Salmonella loves it some glucose.

Their discovery of Salmonella's preference for feeding on the sweet stuff could provide a new path for a vaccine to guard against it.

It could potentially reduce the numbers of people who get infected and die every year worldwide, which is nothing to sneeze at. Twenty million people get sick and 200,000 die each year from Salmonella infection complications.

"This is the first time that anyone has identified the nutrients that sustain Salmonella while it is infecting a host's body," says Dr. Arthur Thompson of the Institute of Food Research and one of the study's authors.

Continue reading "Salmonella Hearts Sugar" >

by April Fulton

Good Morning.

One more reason to lose weight: NPR's Richard Knox reports that obese people may be at a higher risk for a complicated case of the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, according to the CDC. A survey of people hospitalized in California recently indicates that obesity may be as a much of a risk factor as heart disease, pregnancy and diabetes, the Washington Post reports.

Also, CDC's Anne Schuchat told NPR's Melissa Block on All Things Considered last night, there are likely 20 times more swine flu cases than are being reported in the U.S. Many are mild, she said.

Still, there is at least one likely new U.S. death today, which would bring the U.S. total to seven. Reuters says a 44-year-old Missouri man diagnosed with H1N1 died in a hospital Tuesday, although officials are still investigating whether the virus was the cause of his death.

Doctor Gifts a No in Vermont

In what some argue can be a life or death situation, or at the very least, create the appearance of a conflict of interest, states are ramping up regulations on drug and device company gifts to physicians.

Vermont recently passed a law requiring the manufacturers to publicly disclose the dollar amounts they give to docs and other health care providers. It takes effect July 1, and also bans nearly all gifts, including meals. Massachusetts and Minnesota already have tough restrictions in place.

The New York Times story says:

"The action by Vermont has been watched around the country, as national legislators and medical groups look for links between industry marketing and health care costs."

In other words, the bill Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WS) introduce every year requiring drug and device industry gift disclosure might get more traction now, especially if there's a health overhaul bill on which to attach it.

Hamburg Can Get To Work

The medical industry is closely tracking the gift ban legislation and is also watching to see what regulations newly-confirmed FDA Chief Margaret Hamburg will make a priority. She will likely tackle a flu review first, and has said her priority will be improving food safety and medical product safety.

Hamburg, 53, a bioterrorism expert and former assistant health secretary under President Clinton, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate yesterday. She will be sworn in today as the embattled agency's 21st commissioner.

by Joe Neel

So far, young people have been the most likely victims of swine flu, but that could change, says Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, the interim deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Science and Public Health Program.

As she tells All Things Considered's Melissa Block, children and young people are much more social and that helps promote the flu, which spreads mainly through coughs and sneezes. But as the flu enters adult social networks, it could take off and spread like the regular seasonal flu does.

Schuchat says that the new H1N1 flu virus is "at least as virulent as the regular seasonal flu," but it's still not known whether it could be more lethal. CDC estimates there are about 100,000 cases of swine flu in the U.S. right now.

Whether we're in for an unusual "summer flu" season isn't clear. It could stop spreading soon, or it might persist for weeks in North America, she says.

The CDC will be watching to see if this H1N1 strain takes on new characteristics as it moves into the Southern Hemipshere and through more human populations in the coming months. That will determine whether the world will face a deadly pandemic on the order of 1968, 1957 or even the great 1918 pandemic. The jury's still out on what'll happen.

For more of Block's interview with Rear Adm. Schuchat, listen to today's ATC on your local NPR station. (Find it here.)

And a shout out to Mark Memmott of NPR's newest news blog, "The Two-Way" for his help on this.

by April Fulton

If only it were this easy istockphoto.com

Many Republicans and Democrats want to tax your health benefits to help pay for a health overhaul, but not everyone's sold on the plan, namely, the President.

And what does taxing your health benefits mean, exactly? It means changing the tax code, which currently makes employer-sponsored health care tax free for employees.

End it, says Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former health care guru to former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

The current tax treatment of health benefits is unfair because it goes only to those who receive their insurance from their employer, not those who purchase their own health insurance, Holtz-Eakin says. He adds:

"Moreover, the subsidy is of greater value to the more affluent (who have a higher tax rate and thus avoid more taxes) than to the less affluent. It also distorts decisions about health insurance and, by implication, health care."

Holtz-Eakin suggests replacing the tax-free health benefit law with a phased-in credit of $4,500 for those who have private health insurance, plus the very non-conventionally-Republican idea of expanding Medicaid and federal subsidies to states who address a significant portion of their uninsured.

The Washington Post Editorial Page today largely agrees, adding:

Furthermore, the exclusion is counterproductive: tax-free health benefits encourage employers to provide more compensation in the form of health insurance and encourage insured individuals to use more health care than they would if they had to pay with after-tax dollars. The result is higher health-care costs.

But labor groups and President Obama have been chilly to the idea.

Continue reading "Show Me The (Tax) Money" >

by April Fulton

Women worry more about virus says CNN poll WebMD

According to a new CNN/Opinion Research Poll, 63 percent of Americans say they have never worried that someone in their family will get the swine flu, a.k.a. the new H1N1 virus.

What's interesting is what happens when you break those nonchalant responses down by gender. Among men, 71 percent said they have never worried about flu. Among women, 55 percent say they never worried, according to the poll. That's a big gap.

By way of explanation, CNN Polling Director Keating Holland says: "Women are more likely than men to worry about the flu, possibly because women tend to fill the role of 'health monitor' in American families."

by April Fulton

Forget about acquiring hot clothes, designer jewelry and piles of money to attract girls.

This woman's next booty call is reserved for a man flaunting comprehensive health care benefits.

What really turns her on? Optometry, shiatsu, acupuncture, podiatry and dentistry.

Some highlights of the lyrics:

"See these are troubled times. A bad economy. I got some health issues and medicine, well, it ain't free."

"Let's start a family. And you can be the boss. Just prove to me that you've got Aetna, Kaiser or Blue Cross."

"You don't gotta to kiss me. And I don't need no hugs. Just want a discount when I need to get prescription drugs."

"If you really want to be my man, let me get all up in your health care plan."

Thanks to the Kaiser Family Foundation for tipping us.

by April Fulton

Good Morning.

Swine flu continues to stalk people around the world, but are we seeing more of the flu or just looking harder for it?

NBC reports this morning that officials are investigating the death of a baby in New York City as a possible case of swine flu. The New York Times talks with a lot of worried parents who are pulling kids from school and lamenting a lack of guidance on how to slow the spread of the new H1N1 in schools. The city closed five more schools yesterday after an increase in reports of students with symptoms.

Reuters reports today that the Thai public health minister says a German tourist who died in Thailand this week did not test positive for H1N1. Thailand has no reported deaths from the flu.

Making an appearance at the World Health Assembly in Geneva yesterday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius thanked WHO General-Director Margaret Chan for her leadership on swine flu.

But she also reminded the assembly that there are other diseases challenging the health of the globe:

"We recognize that the United States has an important role to play in both the response to this outbreak and in our shared work to improve the health of our people and our nations. Together, we have succeeded. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the United States' work to fight malaria and tuberculosis have saved over a million lives in countries around the world.

Continue reading "Morning Rounds: Possible Swine Flu Death, Sexing Up Science" >

by April Fulton

Music may have the power to heal, but it definitely has the power to make people smile and it touches many lives.

This elderly couple, Marlow and Frances Cowan, was caught on film, playing the piano and hamming it up in the atrium at the Mayo Clinic to an enthusiastic and impromptu crowd.

The woman who took the video was visiting the clinic with her mother after her mother's jaw surgery. Her mother laughed, and later that day, took a bite out of a sandwich for the first time in 25 years.

The musical couple, now a You Tube sensation, tells the Des Moines Register that they don't even own a computer.

By Richard Knox

Please use the door, not the floor, to exit. And wash your hands. BRAYDAWG/Flickr

You know that scene in "Slumdog Millionaire" where our little slumdog gets locked in a privy and, umm, takes the only available route out?

Not a good idea for any number of reasons. But it may be especially inadvisable if swine flu goes pandemic.

The World Health Organization is officially worried about the global implications if swine flu turns out to be transmitted via the fecal route.

"A striking feature of some of the current outbreaks is the presence of diarrhea or vomiting in as many as 25 percent of cases. This is unusual," said Dr. Margaret Chan, the WHO's Director-General at this week's World Health Assembly in Geneva.

"The significance could be especially great in areas with inadequate sanitation, including crowded urban shantytowns," she said.

Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC says about one in four U.S. cases of the new H1N1 flu has involved diarrhea and vomiting. Young children seem to be especially prone to intestinal symptoms, which are not usually seen with seasonal flu.

Schuchat says there's no evidence yet that virus can be "shed" in feces, but it's something that might inspire us to redouble our handwashing efforts.

"It's certainly a question we have, since that definitely can happen with viruses," she says.

by April Fulton

A cross section of a kidney, the new pop culture phenom courtesy 3dscience.com

Kidneys are small yet vital organs that help flush waste from our bodies. They often go ignored unless there's a problem, much like those quiet kids from good neighborhoods who shock everyone when they grow up to commit violent crimes.

Lately, the media has been making kidneys and kidney donation cool.

First, kidney donation got its own theme song, courtesy of a music video pairing TV's 30 Rock stars and several actual rockstars, which we wrote about here on Friday.

Today, for the first time ever, a nurse at Children's Medical Center in Dallas Tweeted the successful kidney transplant in a toddler. John Gilbreath, 3, received his new organ from his dad, Chris Gilbreath.

Here are some of the Tweet transplant highlights:

"Rise and shine! It's a beautiful day for a kidney transplant."

"The radio is on in John's OR and the band Boston is playing."

"The kidney is in the ice chest. It's being transported to Children's by UT Southwestern resident Dr. Jacqueline Lee."

"Dr. Desai is tying off the main vein where the kidney will go"

"The OR nurses at Children's are sending a blood sample from Chris to the lab to reconfirm his blood type as part of a safety check."

Believe it or not, Children's has 1,845 followers on Twitter.

Do you think other organs might start getting jealous of all the attention?

by April Fulton

Health industry CEO future fashion statement?Rob Lee/Flickr

If health plans and drug makers are looking for ways to control costs as they prepare to make a deal with Congress on a major health overhaul this year, they might start with what they're paying their CEOs.

FierceHealthcare reports on health plans' CEO compensation based on data gathered from the SEC.

Aetna's Ron Williams takes the top spot. His compensation package of $24.3 million is double that of his closest competitor, Cigna's H. Edward Hanway, who takes in $12.2 million.

Three, four and five, respectively, are Angela Braly of WellPoint at $9.8 million; Dale Wolf of Coventry Health Care at $9 million, and Michael Neidorff at Centene, who got $8.8 million in compensation last year.

Yet the health plan CEO compensation packages practically pales in comparison to pharmaceutical industry executive pay.

Continue reading "Looking For Health Savings? See CEO Salaries" >

by April Fulton

Can eating star anise protect you against swine flu? We don't know, but it's tasty. Louisa Lim/NPR

 

When Egypt slaughtered its pig population to protect the country against swine flu a few weeks ago, many scientists dismissed it as an overreaction. There is no evidence eating pork gives you swine flu.

However, as NPR's Louisa Lim reports today on Morning Edition, the sweet and smoky licorice-flavored spice known as star anise may have an actual link to swine flu -- a potentially powerful one.

As a result, the price of the spice in China, where 90 percent of the world's star anise is produced, has shot up.

Turns out that an important ingredient in Tamiflu -- one of the key drugs being used to fight symptoms of the swine flu and many other flus -- is a specific acid developed from star anise called shikimic acid.

Lim reports that shoppers in China are using more star anise because the health minister Chen Zhu suggested at a news conference recently that using star anise while cooking pork would be "a very good option to deal with swine flu."

We don't know about that, but pork and star anise are an excellent flavor pairing.

by April Fulton

Good morning.

Over the weekend, President Obama addressed abortion head on in his commencement speech at Notre Dame, attendance was at an all time high at the National Rifle Association convention in Phoenix, and a filly won the Preakness for the first time in 85 years.

But let's get on to health.

Swine Flu

The 62nd World Health Assembly kicked off this morning in Geneva. Topic 1: Whether the world is ready to tackle swine flu.

As of Sunday, 39 countries have officially reported 8,480 cases of A/H1N1 flu infection, including 72 deaths, the WHO said.

So far, there is still no strong evidence showing community-level transmission of the virus in regions outside of North America.

New York City reported its first death from swine flu late last night -- a city school assistant principal Mitchell Weiner of Queens.

Also, NPR's Richard Knox talked with World Bank employee Todd Johnson who brought back a probable case of swine flu from a trip to Mexico in mid-April, before the bug was officially identified. He says the world is overreacting. Listen to Knox's Morning Edition piece here.

Health Policy Overhaul

The Detroit Free-Press has a good Q&A on what President Obama's proposal to overhaul health care might mean to us regular folks, including what it might mean for our taxes.

We'll be watching and listening as Congress continues work on drafting its health overhaul bill this week.

Tobacco

As Congress considers whether to boost regulation of cigarettes, a new study suggests smoking today's cigarettes may be riskier than in years past as researchers note an increase in a certain kind of lung tumor since lower tar cigarettes were introduced.

The new tumors are lower and deeper than previous types of cancers, suggesting smokers inhale more deeply now.

The report is preliminary and circumstantial, but it is sure to be a topic of discussion when the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee holds a hearing on a bill on Tuesday to discuss giving the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco.

by April Fulton

David Greenberger is on a mission to speak for people living with Alzheimer's and other memory loss diseases, but he's not lobbying Congress or soliciting online donations. He's simple telling their stories.

After a post-art school gig in a Milwaukee nursing home 30 years ago, Greenberger traded in his paintbrushes for the spoken word. He empowers Alzheimer's patients by giving voice to their stories and setting them to music.

Some of the patients' stories embody deep loneliness and others project an incredible optimism, despite the gravity of the illness.

"One of the things I found to be true through this whole project, was that no matter how profound the memory loss was, everybody who agreed to sit with me and talk still possessed something of the dynamic of how a conversation works," Greenberger tells NPR's Joseph Shapiro in a piece to air this weekend on All Things Considered.

The video above shows Greenberger and his guitarist collaborator Paul Cebar rehearsing "Swung," the story of a woman who, at age 8, had the last laugh when her sister scolded her for twirling around too freely in a new dress.

Check NPR Music for more.

by April Fulton

Health Futures Inc. President Jeff Goldsmith has some controversial views on the biggest sticking point in President Obama's health care overhaul plan. Namely, he says dump the whole public plan idea.

In a Health Affairs blog post today, Goldsmith suggests that Obama give up the idea of creating a new Medicare-like public health insurance plan to compete with private plans if he wants to get a bill passed this year. He says:

"...the Obama team and congressional leadership will have to forswear the potential for an ideologically polarizing fight with a fragmented industry. That fight might please a resurgent Democratic base, but it could also galvanize providers and insurers, as well as risk-averse consumers, and lead health reform back to gridlock."

Instead, he says, leverage the State Childrens' Health Insurance Program and expand Medicare to more of the uninsured, accept health industry concessions, and implement the new technologies that will streamline the medical system.

by April Fulton

Organ donation is not inherently funny, but last night's 30 Rock teamed up with a few aging rock stars (Cyndi Lauper, Elvis Costello) and some younger wannabes (Clay Aiken) to produce "He Needs a Kidney" video last night.

If you're not old enough to remember the earnestness of 80s rock stars singing about starving Ethiopians in the "We Are the World" video, you may not get all the campy references, but it's still pretty funny.

This clip contains the whole episode, but you can download just the video on iTunes to benefit the National Kidney Foundation.

Thanks to NPR's Brenda Wilson for tipping us.

Officials in Nueces County Texas have said that a 33-year old Corpus Christi man died from the swine flu earlier this month. The man, whose identity was not revealed, died in early may and had "multiple medical conditions, including heart problems, that made it more difficult for him to survive any viral illness," the AP reports.

by Vaughn Ververs

Take two numbers and call us next year.

A new study examining the wait time for five medical specialties in Boston shows that it's increased over the past five years and now averages 50 days, the Boston Globe reports.

Wait Time For Some Doctors Is Up istockphoto.com

The study looked at the time it takes to get a non-emergency appointment for dermatologists, obstetrician-gynecologists and orthopedic surgeons can be as long as a year for some doctors. The wait time has gone down for cardiologists over the five-year period, now averaging 21 days.

Doctors said that there were several factors in the increase in wait time but the implementation of the 2006 health insurance law has probably added to the bottleneck. The study was conducted by Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a consulting and physician recruiting firm and surveyed 1,162 doctors' offices in the Boston metro area. From the Globe:

"The survey did not address whether delays hurt patients, or why Boston is generally worse than other cities. But the authors also pointed to the more than 400,000 newly insured residents flooding doctors' offices, and said the long waits in Boston 'may signal what could happen nationally in the event that access to healthcare is expanded through healthcare reform.'"

by Vaughn Ververs

Just because we're broadening the scope of this health blog doesn't mean we've forgotten about the swine flu epidemic that continues to spread throughout the United States and the world. And, there is a bit of news on that front today, here's a sampling:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Flu Concerns Shut Down Three Schools in Queens: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the closing of three public schools after hundreds of students were sent home sick this week. The schools are closed for at least one week and crews are cleaning and disinfecting the buildings.

Mitch Wiener, assistant principle at the Susan B. Anthony middle school, has been hospitalized with swine flu and is in critical condition, according to his family. Mayor Bloomberg said Wiener "may" have had pre-existing health problems but the principle's son, Adam, said that was not the case. "The only pre-existing condition he has is gout, which is unrelated to complications he's experienced now," he told the AP.

WHO Says Virus Is Not A Lab Accident: After investigation by a panel of experts, WHO Deputy Director Keiji Fukuda said that the swine flu virus was not created in a laboratory, as at least one scientist has suggested. Australian virologist Adrian Gibbs claimed his studies of the virus suggested it had been produced in a lab. But Keiji refuted the claim. "We took this [claim] very seriously," he said. "But the evidence suggests that this virus is a naturally occurring virus, not a laboratory-derived virus." More in the New York Times.

Britain Orders 90 Million Vaccines: The British government announced this morning it had ordered 90 million doses of a swine flu vaccine from producers such as Baxter International and GlaxoSmithKline. There is no vaccine currently in production and it will take months for them to be available once the process begins. The UK Department of Health said the orders "will enable production of pre-pandemic vaccine to begin as soon as possible." More from the Department: "The agreements could provide enough vaccine to protect the most vulnerable in our population before a pandemic is likely to arrive."

by Vaughn Ververs

Actress Farah Fawcett's battle with cancer goes public when "Farrah's Story," a personal glimpse at her struggle with the disease, airs on NBC tonight. But plenty of information (and misinformation) about her medical history has been out there for a long time, courtesy of the celebrity tabloids.

Farrah Fawcett In 2006 AP Photo

In an interview published in the Los Angeles Times this week, Fawcett described how she eventually uncovered the source of the leaks which turned her painful health journey into tabloid fodder. And, as Washington begins the process of overhauling the nation's health system, it's a story that brings concerns about privacy into focus amid the push towards electronic medical records.

Fed up with information about her health turning up in the National Enquirer, Fawcett told the paper she suspected it was coming from inside the UCLA health system. When she discovered that her cancer had come back after initial treatment in the spring of 2007, Fawcett said she deliberately withheld the information from almost all her friends and family. "I set it up with the doctor," said Fawcett. "I said, 'OK, you know and I know' ... I knew that if it came out, it was coming from UCLA."

She didn't have to wait long for the Enquirer to report that her cancer had returned. "I couldn't believe how fast it came out," she said. "Maybe four days."

Continue reading "Farrah Fawcett's Cautionary Privacy Fight" >

by Vaughn Ververs

Good morning.

We start out with some news today -- President Obama has nominated Dr. Thomas Frieden, Commissioner of New York City's Health Department, to be the new Director of the CDC. "America relies on a strong public health system and the work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is critical to our mission to preserve and protect the health and safety of our citizens," Obama said in a statement announcing the appointment.

Dr. Frieden With NYC Mayor Bloomberg AP Photo

"Dr. Frieden is an expert in preparedness and response to health emergencies, and has been at the forefront of the fight against heart disease, cancer and obesity, infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and AIDS, and in the establishment of electronic health records," he added.

Obama also thanked acting-Director Rich Besser and "the women and men throughout the CDC for their superb work, especially over the past weeks." The president said he was "pleased" that Besser would be returning to his old position leading the CDC's Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response.

Updated 12:14pm: NPR's Richard Knox elaborates on the choice of Frieden:

He'll jump into a thicket of problems in deciding whether to make and distribute a vaccine against a potentially pandemic flu virus. He'll be at the forefront of efforts to make the food supply safer. He's expected to nationalize his aggressive campaign to regulate smoking.

In New York City, Frieden led a crusade to ban smoking in restaurants and bars. He pushed doctors to make H-I-V testing routine. And he got the health department to track undiagnosed diabetics like an infectious disease.

Continue reading "Obama Picks NY's Frieden To Be New CDC Director" >

by April Fulton

Slate's The Big Money posted this hillarious clip where crusading food and nutrition author Michael Pollan gets a big zetz from talk show host Stephen Colbert.

"What's wrong with fake food?" Colbert screams, defending the flavor of American cheese and goading the baldheaded Pollan into a lecture on what processed foods do to our bodies.

Suddenly Colbert lurched forward, tugs on his thick black hair and says, "This is what high fructose corn syrup gets you."

by April Fulton

Magic: Not Cured Yet. Getty Images

 

Earvin "Magic" Johnson still has HIV, But nobody told 37 percent of African Americans surveyed recently by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

They either think he's been cured of HIV, or they're not sure he still has it, despite his activism on the issue.

How is this possible?

In 1991, the legendary basketball player announced that he had been diagnosed with HIV and then abruptly retired from basketball.

NPR Public Health Correspondent Brenda Wilson, did a commentary for All Things Considered when the story first broke, expressing confidence that he would approach his diagnosis in the same way he moved the basketball down the court:

Continue reading "Magic is Magic, But He Still Has HIV" >

by Vaughn Ververs

What kind of city council would take away the primary nutritional delivery system of its youngest citizens? One that's worried about the effects of baby bottles made with the chemical bisphenol A, according to its members.

City Wants Rid Of Some Like These istockphoto.com

In an unanimous vote, the Chicago City Council banned all baby bottles and infant cups made with BPA, which has been linked to cancer and other diseases in studies. The FDA says that the levels of BPA found in plastics that hold food and liquids are too low to cause a threat to people.

[For much more on BPA, check out NPR's series on the topic, including this explainer]

But Chicago Alderman Manny Flores isn't convinced. "The FDA has dropped the ball. They've been wishy-washy at best, at worst, they're playing hanky-panky with the [plastics] industry" Flores told the Chicago Sun-Times. Pointing out the letter sent to General Mills this week by the FDA warning about the health claims the company makes for Cheerios, Flores asked, "what's wrong with this picture?"

The ban applies to products used by children under age 3 and carries potentially hefty penalties for stores that ignore the ban. But Chicago Mayor Richard Daley sounded less concerned with enforcing it, telling reporters, "it just sends a message out. ... Companies are not gonna violate it."

by April Fulton

We've all seen celebrity endorsements for medical products and wondered, "Do they really use that?"

No one can forget Bob Dole's stint with Viagra, as much as we might want to, but even lesser celebs can get caught up in the glamour of a fat pharmaceutical industry paycheck.

That's what apparently happened to Andy Behrman, author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania, a book about his experience living with bipolar disorder.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Behrman was paid nearly $400,000 between 2004 and 2005 to develop a video for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s bipolar drug, Abilify. At first, Behrman says, the product worked for him.

"There was no dullness, no grogginess," he said in one of the videos.

But then his side effects ramped up. Still, he kept endorsing Abilify because of the money.

So what's the author doing next? Writing a tell-all book about his experiences, of course.

Here's the WSJ video:

by Vaughn Ververs

Pfizer says the company will continue to provide 70 of its most widely prescribed medications for free to those who have lost their jobs, the AP reports. The company said it will continue to provide medications for those who lost their employment since January 1st of this year and who have been on the same medication for three months or more.

AP Photo

"The move could earn Pfizer some goodwill" in the debate on overhauling the health care system, the AP notes, "after long being a target of critics of drug industry prices and sales practices. The program also likely will keep those patients loyal to Pfizer brands."

Those applying for the free medications must show that their jobs were terminated and sign a statement claiming financial hardship. Company officials said they did not know how much the plan will cost but that they "haven't put a cap on spending for it." Drugs available are to include some of the company's biggest, including Lipitor, Celebrex and Viagra.

by Vaughn Ververs

Here's an interesting piece in the New York Times about the escalating arms race among sunscreen makers when it the SPF levels in their products. Once upon a time, 30 SPF was the highest level you could find on the shelves. Today, companies are making products with SPF levels of 70, 80 and now, even 100+. But does it really matter? From the article:

Does SPF Level Matter? istockphoto.com

"If adequately applied, sunscreens with sky-high SPFs offer slightly better protection against lobster-red burns than an SPF 30. But they don't necessarily offer stellar protection against the more deeply penetrating ultraviolet A radiation, or so-called aging rays."

More:

"No SPF, not even 100+, offers 100 percent protection. What's more, both UVA and UVB radiation can lead to skin cancer, which is why dermatologists now advise using sunscreens with an SPF of at least 15 and UVA-fighting ingredients like an avobenzone that doesn't degrade in light or Mexoryl SX."

More important than the SPF levels, the article suggests, is applying sunscreen frequently, regardless of the number. Something to think about when stocking up for the beach this summer.

by Vaughn Ververs

Good morning.

We're not yet past the swine flu but already there are warnings of another global health threat -- climate change. A new report out is getting plenty of attention. Here's that and some other morsels to get us started this morning:

-- Bloomberg -- Global Warming May Exceed Infections as Health Threat:
A new report from University College London and published in The Lancet journal warns that global warming is "the biggest public health threat of the 21st century, eclipsing infectious diseases, water shortages and poverty." More: "A warmer planet will flood cities, leading to mass migration of coastal-dwelling residents and triggering wars as resources such as food and water become scarcer, the researchers said. Rising temperatures will spread diseases like malaria and increase deaths from flooding, drought and more intense storms," according to the report.

-- Reuters -- New Tool Can Help Predict Alzheimer's Risks:
"U.S. researchers have developed a checklist that can accurately predict whether a person over 65 is at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease within six years. The checklist of risk factors like slowness of mind or movement predicted about half the cases of dementia that developed in a group of elderly people over a six year period, the researchers reported in the journal Neurology on Wednesday."

-- Associated Press -- Swine Flu Update:
According to WHO, there have now been some 6,298 confirmed cases of swine flu in 33 countries, including 3,352 in the United States. Sixty three deaths have been attributed to the virus and 58 of those were in Mexico.

-- NPR's Jason Beaubien -- Swine Flu Takes Toll On Mexico Tourism Industry:
"Mexico's economy is heavily dependent on revenue from foreigners. But swine flu hit the country hard and, in turn, damaged Mexico's image abroad. Mexico's tourism minister, Rodolfo Elizondo, predicts that the number of international visitors could drop in the coming weeks to 'almost zero.'"

by April Fulton

Does an appeal to a sense of collective equity matter when it comes to raising taxes?

When President Obama proposed in February to limit the rate at which families making more than $250,000 a year can take itemized deductions on their taxes as a major means to pay for a health care overhaul, the squawking began immediately around the country's dinner tables.

Members of my family, most of whom don't make the $250,000 per year salary at which the new rate would kick in, and don't itemize many deductions, complained bitterly about "paying more taxes."

Congress isn't sold either, and charitable organizations are steamed.

But Budget Whiz Kid Peter Orszag is trying a new approach -- fairness, and an explanation that doesn't require a tax law degree.

In a blog post Saturday (yes, the Office of Management and Budget has a blog), he explains it this way:

If you're a teacher making $50,000 a year and decide to donate $1,000 to the Red Cross or United Way, you enjoy a tax break of $150. If you are Warren Buffet or Bill Gates and make that same donation, you currently get a $350 deduction--more than twice the break as the teacher. Limiting itemized deductions for high-income Americans would help restore balance to the tax code, and any effect on charitable giving is likely to be swamped by other Administration policies.

by Vaughn Ververs

Attorneys for Steve Trunnell has filed a court petition seeking to discover what role a U.S.-owned pig farm played in the outbreak of swine flu that claimed his wife as the first American fatality of the epidemic, the Austin American Statesman reports today.

Conditions At Pig Farm Questioned istockphoto.com

The suit blames U.S.-based Smithfield Foods Inc. of keeping "horrifically unscientific conditions" at a pig farm the company owns near the village of La Gloria in eastern Mexico where the epidemic began in late February. "The conditions in which they allow this pig farm to operate ... would not be allowed in the United States" said Trunnell attorney Marc Rosenthal. From the Statesman:

"Medical authorities have not determined the origins of the swine flu outbreak. Rosenthal said the petition will enable the law firm to investigate the outbreak and gather evidence for a potential wrongful death lawsuit. Damages of up to $1 billion will be sought, he said."

by Vaughn Ververs

After meeting with President Obama at the White House this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters she is "quite certain" that there will be a health care overhaul bill on the floor by the end of July, before Congress departs for their August recess.

"We've got to get it done this year," the president urged. "And we don't have any excuses. The stars are aligned." Obama met with a group of Democratic House leaders this morning to discuss health care legislation, the third straight day his agenda has included some health care-related event.

Obama said any plan to overhaul the health care system should address three things: lowering costs; allowing patients choices on picking their doctors and health plans; and providing access to quality and affordable care.

The Hubble Space Telescope is getting a long-awaited visit today by astronauts on board space shuttle Atlantis, NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports:

Hubble Telescope NASA

Atlantis blasted off on Monday. This morning, the shuttle's commander, Scott Altman, reported seeing what he called a star in view, the star being the shiny orbiting telescope off in the distance, as the shuttle approached.

The astronauts will rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope and grab it with the shuttle's robotic arm. It will be lowered into the shuttle's open payload bay. Tomorrow is the first of five planned spacewalks. Astronauts will be installing new scientific instruments and repairing old ones. This will be the final repair mission to the nineteen year old telescope.

Update (3:00pm): NPR's Greenfieldboyce reports that the crew of the Atlantis has successfully captured the Hubble Telescope: "The telescope will rest in the shuttle's payload bay for about a week, as astronauts do spacewalks to repair Hubble's science instruments and install new equipment."

by Vaughn Ververs

Increasing taxes on alcohol, tobacco and even soft drinks might not be the most popular ways for Congress to finance efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system and such measures would make a small dent in the price tag, according to most estimates. But such taxes could be more politically palatable than another idea floating around the debate -- limiting the tax deductions for employer-provided health care benefits.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus has indicated that he would be open to changing the rules on how benefits are taxed as a way to help pay for an overhaul estimated to cost $1.5 trillion over ten years. Updated 3:10: NPR's Julie Rovner reports on the discussion over taxing health care benefits at the Finance Committee hearing, listen to it here:

As has been pointed out several times this week, it's an idea that was proposed by Sen. John McCain during last year's presidential race -- and one attacked heartily by President Obama's campaign.

The AP reports that White House aides now say the president is "open to suggestions from Congress," on how to finance the plan. As this idea continues to percolate, expect Obama's campaign opposition to be a part of the discussion. And, you might be seeing this ad a lot more often:

by Vaughn Ververs

The FDA is advising Americans to avoid using water-based face paints distributed by the Oriental Trading Co. in Omaha, Nebraska. The company is recalling the product after reports that the paints caused irritation in some users. From the alert:

"The FDA has learned of a cluster of adverse events in children exposed to various colors of the face paint. All exposures occurred on the same day at an organized event and included rashes, itchiness, burning sensation, and swelling where the face paints were applied. Significant microbial contamination was indicated in most of the products in testing by an FDA laboratory."

For more information and a list of the specific products recalled, visit the FDA Web site.

by Vaughn Ververs

Good morning.

Swine flu remains in the news as the virus continues to spread and health officials worldwide continue a close watch but attention is shifting to Washington, where the debate on health care overhaul continues and the warning is being sounded on financial state of Social Security and Medicare. Here are some other morning headlines:

-- Reuters -- Health Authorities Urge Limits On Flu Drugs:
"The two drugs used to treat influenza should be used carefully and only when needed for the chronically ill, pregnant women and other vulnerable patients, global health officials said on Tuesday. The new H1N1 swine flu appears to be a little more contagious and a little more severe than seasonal influenza but only patients who need them the most should get the drugs, in part to keep the drugs working well in case the swine flu becomes more dangerous, said Dr. Nikki Shindo of the World Health Organization."

-- Christian Science Monitor -- Why China Is Acting Aggresively On Swine Flu:
The Chinese government drew criticism for its reaction to SARS six years ago. But "nobody could accuse Beijing of a coverup over swine flu. The national TV evening news Monday, when the first confirmed case was reported on the mainland, reported little else, and the authorities broadcast a very public manhunt. Within 24 hours, they had tracked down and quarantined more than 80 percent of the people who had come in contact with the victim between Tokyo and the provincial Chinese city where he was hospitalized. If all this seems rather like overkill, it illustrates just how determined China is to be above reproach in its reaction to this public-health scare after failing so badly over SARS."

-- Wall Street Journal -- Soda Tax Weighed To Pay For Health Care:
"Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system. The taxes would pay for only a fraction of the cost to expand health-insurance coverage to all Americans and would face strong opposition from the beverage industry. They also could spark a backlash from consumers who would have to pay several cents more for a soft drink." The CBO estimates that a 3-cent tax on such drinks would generate $24 billion over the next four years.

-- Associated Press -- FDA Takes Issue With Cheerios Health Claims:
The Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to General Mills "scolding" the maker of Cheerios for health claims made in promotion of the cereal. One claim that is included on the packaging is that the cereal can "lower you cholesterol 4 percent in six weeks."

-- NPR's Joanne Silberner -- Bill Would Let Patients Sue Medical Device Makers:
In case you missed it, NPR's Silberner looks at the legislative effort by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) to restore rights for patients to sue makers of medical devices when faulty. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled "that an OK from the Food and Drug Administration for a high-tech medical device is all a manufacturer needs to avoid being sued in state court." You can read and listen to the report here.

by Julie Rovner

Stop shaking this, and you could save the country money on health careL. Marie/Flickr

When Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, gathered some of the nation's top economists to talk about how to raise the funds to pay for a health care overhaul, he thought knew what to expect.

Most of the suggestions were ones that have been around for a while: Start taxing employees' health insurance and pay health care providers based on quality, not quantity.

Then came Michael Jacobson. The longtime head of the Center for Science in the Public Interest had a very different list, including "lowering the sodium levels in food."

Too much salt causes or exacerbates a long list of medical ailments, he said, and curbing it could reduce medical spending by some $20 billion dollars a year. While Congress is at it, he said, it could curb trans fats in food and tax sugared soft drinks.

Replied Baucus after Jacobson was finished -- apparently without irony -- "parts of the calculus here are what's politically palatable."

by Joanne Silberner

If you understand the difference between percent and percentage points, give your math teacher an apple today Sister72/Flickr

 

A coalition of health care industry leaders have promised President Obama that they'll hold health care costs down.

Great. We can all use a break.

But how much of a break might we be getting? The numbers have been very confusing.

Consider the following descriptions:

"The industry says it can shave 1.5 percent off the annual rate of growth through voluntary efforts." (New York Times, 5/12/09)

"President Barack Obama, however, praised the promise to slow spending 1.5 percent a year, for $2 trillion of savings over 10 years, as a 'watershed event' in health-care reform efforts." (Hartford Courant, 5/12/09)

"In short, the coalition has agreed to reduce the annual health care spending growth rate by 1.5 percentage points for the next 10 years" (5/11/09 posting on the White House Blog)

Percent and percentage points -- They're NOT the same thing. You can skip the rest of this post if you're getting the heebie jeebies, but if you're still with me, I'm going to make up some numbers to illustrate the difference between percent and percentage points.

Continue reading "Fun With Health Care Numbers" >

by Richard Knox

For anyone trying to understand the flu situation we're in --- and what we may confront in the coming months --- a new analysis rushed into online publication by Science is required reading.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

It's a tour de force collaboration by a group called the WHO Rapid Pandemic Assessment Collaboration. Scientists from Britain, Mexico and the World Health Organization sifted various kinds of data from the swine flu epidemic in Mexico to address several critical questions:

-- How fast does this new virus spread as it debuts in a human population?

-- What proportion of a community falls ill when the virus gains a foothold?

-- What percent of infected people get seriously ill or die?

There's still a lot of uncertainty. But the group offers some first-approximation answers to these questions.

First, on efficiency of transmission, the evidence shows the new swine-derived H1N1 virus spreads substantially faster than seasonal flu viruses -- but less efficiently than the 1918 version of H1N1.

Continue reading "First Glimpse At The Big Picture On Swine Flu" >

by Vaughn Ververs

The swine flu continues to spread and some studies are predicting that a full one third of the world's population (we'll have more on that very soon). But in Mexico, health officials say the worst is over. From the AP:

Mexico's toll rose Tuesday to 58 deaths and 2,282 confirmed cases of swine flu -- a rise of two deaths and 223 more cases since Monday -- but Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said this reflects a testing backlog: The last confirmed case was May 8.

The more cases Mexico confirms, the less deadly the virus appears, Cordova said. And 92 percent of people sickened or killed in Mexico showed symptoms "before we knew that we were fighting against a new germ," and knew how to properly treat them, he added.

by Vaughn Ververs

While we continue to ponder a new name for this blog to reflect a broader focus on general health news and developments, it might be worthwhile to check out the recently-released list of the most popular baby names for 2008.

This naming business is a tricky one, giving someone (or something) an identity isn't to be taken lightly. When it comes to the blog, we'll be reaching beyond the swine flu to whole host of health-related issues -- from healthy, veggie-eating Swedes to the latest FDA studies to the debate on overhauling the nation's health care system.

So we're calling out to you again for some suggestions on what to name this ambitious young blog. Leave your suggestions in the comment box or send them to us here. You can start the creative juices flowing by checking out this YouTube video for a more in-depth look at the hazards of picking the right name:

Now onto last year's baby names for some more inspiration:

Continue reading "More From The Name Game" >

by Allison Aubrey

Do the Swedes have a secret? istockphoto.com

Swedish women are steroptypically taller and blonder than we are, but many of them are healthier, too, because they eat better.

If you need evidence, look no further than a new study including 36,000 Swedish women in this week's Archives of Internal Medicine.

Those who followed a diet rich in fruits and veggies, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and protein; plus one that's low in saturated fats and added sugars cut their risk of heart failure by 37 percent, according to the Swedish study.

By the way, the Swedes aren't the only ones measuring the effects of this kind of diet. Here in the U.S.,several clinical trials have shown that following the DASH DIET (as outlined above) can lower blood pressure and lower LDL--the "bad" cholesterol.

Continue reading "Swedes Eat Their Veggies, Stave Off Heart Failure" >

by Vaughn Ververs

Interested in trading in on flu futures? The Iowa Electronic Health Markets (which specializes in developing unconventional futures markets) is doing just that, according to this post on Scientific American.

The group opened a market for the swine flu on April 28th looking for some consensus on the severity of the flu. "Overall, the conclusion to draw from the market is that the outbreak would spread quickly and broadly but not be too serious," said University of Iowa economist Forrest Nelson, who helps run the site. More from Scientific American (hat tip to our friend Scott Hensley):

In these markets, participants buy and sell contracts predicting outcomes to carefully worded questions. The price at which these trades take place is thought to reflect the likelihood of these outcomes at any given point in time. When the market closes, winning bets pay one dollar, while losers get nothing.

Within days of opening, for instance, contracts predicting high U.S. mortality (>5%) from swine flu were trading at less than 5 cents. Meanwhile, most participants were banking on mortality levels below than 1%. Those contracts traded at 61 cents.

by Vaughn Ververs

Good morning.

There's still a fair amount of swine flu news but this morning and heading forward, we'll begin mixing in a lot more general health news, some science and whatever else strikes our fancies into the morning updates. Let's get to it.

-- Bloomberg -- Swine Flu Is as Severe as 1957 Pandemic, Study Shows:
There's a lot of coverage of the study that NPR's Richard Knox tipped us off to yesterday suggesting that the swine flu that continues to spread around the world could end up being as severe as the "Asian flu" pandemic in 1957 that killed 2 million: "Scientists are trying to determine whether swine flu will mutate and become more deadly as it spreads to the Southern Hemisphere and back. The virus is more contagious than seasonal flu, the Geneva-based WHO said yesterday. A 'moderate' pandemic like the 1957 Asian flu could kill 14.2 million people and shave 2 percent from the global economy in the first year, the World Bank said in October. 'While substantial uncertainty remains, clinical severity appears less than that seen in 1918 but comparable with that seen in 1957,' the Science study authors wrote."

-- The Wall Street Journal -- China Confirms a Swine Flu Case; Starts Quarantine:
After a 30-year old university student was diagnosed with the swine flu, Chinese health officials are continuing their search for his fellow travelers. The student flew to China from the U.S. Saturday via Tokyo and officials are trying to locate those who were on his final flight into the country. "About 120 of the 143 passengers on the flight from Tokyo have been contacted, including several dozen foreign nationals. So far, none are known to have symptoms, but the officials said they were 'persuading them to take quarantine measures.' It was unclear how many are already in quarantine."

-- Reuters -- Mexican tourism could lose $4 billion from flu scare:
"Mexico could lose up to $4 billion (2.65 billion pounds) in tourism income after foreign visitors cancelled trips to popular beach resorts and colonial towns due to the flu scare, Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo said on Monday."

-- Associated Press -- Cuba confirms its 1st swine flu case:
Cuba's Health Ministry confirmed its first case of the swine flu in the island nation, saying the young man diagnosed with the virus became ill while on vacation in Mexico. In a column posted on a government Web site, Fidel Castro accused the Mexican government of not disclosing the presence of the flu until after U.S. President Barack Obama's recent visit. "Mexican authorities did not inform the world of the presence (of swine flu), while they waited for Obama's visit," Castro wrote.

-- The New York Times -- Obama's Push for Health Care Cuts Faces Daunting Odds:
While yesterday's gathering of health industry groups has gotten high marks for what it symboliozed, there are plenty of questions about the ability of their promises to rein in health care costs: "If history is a guide, their commitments may not produce the promised savings. Their proposals are vague -- promising, for example, to reduce both 'overuse and underuse of health care.' None of the proposals are enforceable, and none of the savings are guaranteed. Without such a guarantee, budget rules would normally prevent Congress from using the savings to pay for new initiatives to cover the uninsured. At this point, cost control is little more than a shared aspiration."

by April Fulton

The ups and downs of health care cost controls Altman/Health Affairs

 

In case you think we're alone out here, questioning the ability of policymakers to significantly save money while overhauling the health system, we offer you this prescient paragraph:

The problem of rising health care costs is reemerging as a national issue. Unfortunately, costs are rising as the economy sputters, the federal surplus dwindles, and the nation is focused on the war against terrorism and its ripple effects here at home. It will now be much harder to make much progress on big-ticket health problems such as expanding health coverage for the uninsured and providing drug coverage for seniors.

That was none other than health experts Drew Altman and Larry Levitt, in an article they wrote for Health Affairs published on January 23, 2002.

The article is pessimistically titled: "The Sad History Of Health Care Cost Containment As Told In One Chart".

The above graph is Exhibit 1, showing health spending's ups and downs as Medicare and Medicaid passed in the mid-1960s, wage and price controls of the 1970s, the last "Voluntary Effort" of the health industry in the late 1970s, and the impact of managed care in the 1990s.

Altman and Levitt go on:

What the analysis of private health spending reported in Exhibit 1 shows is that no approach our nation has tried, over the past thirty-five years, to control health costs has had a lasting impact.

by Richard Knox

There's the daily flu case count and then there's elusive reality.

The reality is much bigger, says Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest official count is about 2,600 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu in 43 states plus the District of Columbia. Of those, 94 required hospitalizations and three people have died.

"The cases we're confirming are the tip of the iceberg now," Schuchat says.

That's because, as with any kind of flu or respiratory disease, most people who get sick don't get tested. The CDC has been urging state and local health officials to test mainly those who are sickest with flu-like symptoms. That leaves a lot of illness out.

Those illnesses are overwhelmingly likely to be mild cases of flu. But gauging the extent of those mild illnesses is important, Schuchat says. It sends an important signal about the capacity of the new H1N1 virus to spread efficiently. And even if it causes mainly mild illness now, that's not to say it won't get fiercer in the fall.

That's why the CDC is turning more attention to scanning for respiratory illnesses and deaths above the usual baseline. That could indicate how much of swine flu iceberg is below the surface.

One important new clue comes from the CDC's tracking site, called FluView.

Its most recent weekly posting shows that 20 percent of the 14,330 specimens tested were that new swine flu virus. And another 20 percent "could not be subtyped." That is, they could not be identified by lab tests for ordinary flu viruses. Most of those "un-typable" cases could well turn out to be the new flu too.

by Richard Knox

The world has been hovering on the apparent brink of the next flu pandemic for 12 days now. The only thing that would tip the World Health Organization into declaring it a pandemic is evidence that the new H1N1 virus is spreading throughout some community outside of North America.

Some think that's happening in Europe, where two dozen countries have so far confirmed cases of swine flu. Some involve clusters of infection, such as a school in south London where six students and an adult staff member have gotten the new flu.

So what's the WHO's threshold for deciding that the situation has gone from what it calls Phase Five (pre-pandemic) to Phase Six (actual pandemic)? I asked Dr. Keiji Fukuda at today's daily media briefing.

"When you begin to see people who are getting infected and it's just not clear where they're getting infected from," Fukuda says.

That's what's happening across the United States right now, he adds, where "many of the cases cannot be traced anywhere." It's like what happens during a regular flu outbreak, when you get sick by just being out and about and have no idea where you got the virus.

from WHO website

 

Continue reading "The Dog That Didn't Bark...Yet" >

by April Fulton

Dr. Lauro Halstead examines polio survivor Julie Lewis, who contracted the disease at age 9 in 1963, probably from the vaccine Jessica Goldstein/NPR

We don't hear a lot about polio anymore. It's one of those diseases that many people think has gone the way of the Model-T.

But there are an estimated half a million or more polio survivors still alive in the United States, and they've each got their own story.

NPR's Joe Shapiro reports today on polio survivor Dr. Lauro Halstead, who is also one of the last remaining doctors in the country specializing in treating people with the debilitating and often paralyzing disease.

Halstead's story begins when he contracted polio as an 18-year-old college student touring Europe.

In his own words, here's how he describes his early treatment, squeezing his 6-foot frame into a primitive child-sized wooden "iron lung" to help him breathe:

by April Fulton and Julie Rovner

President Obama strides purposefully past reporters after a White House meeting on health reform todayCharles Dharapak/AP

 

There was a lot of buzz at the White House today when President Barack Obama met with health care providers to discuss ways in which they could help reduce health care costs and help -- rather than thwart -- reform efforts.

Here's what the President said after the meeting:

...what's brought us all together today is a recognition that we can't continue down the same dangerous road we've been traveling for so many years; that costs are out of control; and that reform is not a luxury that can be postponed, but a necessity that cannot wait. It's a recognition that the fictional television couple, Harry and Louise, who became the iconic faces of those who opposed health care reform in the '90s, desperately need health care reform in 2009. And so does America.

And in its letter to the President, the industry groups commit to changing their ways, including:

Reducing the cost of doing business by addressing cost drivers in each sector and through common sense improvements in care delivery models, health information technology, workforce deplyoment and development, and regulatory reforms.

But just in case you were starting to inhale, remember the Congressional Budget Office assessment from December, which is sure to punch a little hole in your balloon: These things will definitely help make health care better, but they won't likely save the federal government money.

See slide 12 of the charts.

by Vaughn Ververs

Humor is an oft-relied upon coping mechanism so it's really no surprise that the "swine flu" comedy has proliferated so quickly over the past couple of weeks. It's a pretty safe bet that most people have gotten some version of a flu joke in their in-boxes in addition to all the late-night humor.

But flu as a fashion fad? USA Today provides us this tidbit today:

"Flu fashion statements abound. I Kissed a Girl singer Katy Perry blogged about her new, bejeweled flying pig ring, snapped up at Miami's Big Drop boutique last week. Perry said swine flu is 'super-trendy.' Big Drop manager Michelle Gagliardi, who sold Perry her bling, says the ring sold out quickly."

Swine flu, it's the "new black?"

As flu news wanes, this blog is taking a new turn (as careful readers have doubtless discovered by now). As a result, we're in the market for a new name.

Flu Shots will remain a category and we'll be keeping a close eye on all flu-related events but we're also expanding the scope of the blog into a broader range of health news -- whether it's the debate on health care overhaul or the latest advancements in medicine and everything in-between. We'll also be dabbling in the latest science news and pretty much anything that catches our fancy.

As Flu Shots gets downgraded from Defcon 5, we need your help in coming up with a catchy new name for the blog. So get those creative thinking caps on and give us a hand. Leave your suggestions in the comments section below or e-mail them to us here.

We're all ears!

NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports:

The Hubble Telescope gets ready for a final makeover.NASA

 

The Hubble Space Telescope is about to get its final make-over. NASA is counting down to a space shuttle launch at 2:01pm Eastern that will mark the last time astronauts repair the aging telescope, which has been orbiting the Earth since 1990.

Although it's been repaired several times before, it's been seven years since Hubble's last tune-up and things have started to break down. A crew of astronauts will spend about a week with the telescope. They'll repair two existing instruments and install new ones. They'll also give Hubble fresh batteries and gyroscopes.

If all goes well, Hubble will be more powerful than ever before and it should be able to take stunning images of far-away galaxies and stars for at least another five years. After that, if it breaks, there will be no more repair missions. NASA will move on to newer space telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be launched in 2014. That one will be in an orbit about a million miles away from Earth--so don't expect any astronaut crews to ever go out and repair that one.

For more on the Hubble Telescope mission and a look at the toolbox that will be used for the repairs, check here and here.

by Vaughn Ververs

The medical community may have a new bug to worry about, one far removed from the virus spreading swine flu worldwide. The San Jose Mercury News reports security experts are "alarmed" after discovering that the "Conficker" computer worm has "crawled into hundreds of medical devices at dozens of hospitals" in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Researchers tracking the computer virus say over 300 MRI machines have been "compromised" by the bug since March and that they can't be "patched" for 90 days because of FDA rules. The machines were infected via the internet. There have been no reported problems for patients but a computer security analyst says the worm could pick up and spread information about patients' health.

by April Fulton

Rows of empty lounge chairs in front of empty resorts line Cancun beaches like this one. Jason Beaubien/NPR

 

If you've ever wanted to vacation at a five-star resort in Mexico, you just might find a deal right now.

Our correspondent in Mexico, Jason Beaubien, says Cancun and other Mexican towns that rely heavily on tourism are practically deserted these days due to fears of swine flu. He offers Flu Shots photos like the one above to illustrate just how empty the beaches are.

He reports that hotel occupancy rates, normally at 70 percent this time of year, have dropped to around 20 percent.

Beaubien is working on a piece for Tuesday that will detail how the tourism trade south of the border is suffering.

Several leading health care groups will come together today to announce a voluntary effort to reduce the projected increase in health care costs by $2 trillion over the next decade. Stay tuned because we'll have much more on that later.

The event should be a boost for the Obama administration's plans to overhaul the health care system because it signals a willingness on the part of some disparate groups to acknowledge the need for cost containment. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman calls it "tremendously good news" but adds a note of skepticism:

"Before we start celebrating, however, we have to ask the obvious question. Is this gift a Trojan horse? After all, several of the organizations that sent that letter have in the past been major villains when it comes to health care policy."

"I've already mentioned AHIP [America's Health Insurance Plans]. There's also the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the lobbying group that helped push through the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 -- a bill that both prevented Medicare from bargaining over drug prices and locked in huge overpayments to private insurers. Indeed, one of the new letter's signatories is former Representative Billy Tauzin, who shepherded that bill through Congress then immediately left public office to become PhRMA's lavishly paid president."

"The point is that there's every reason to be cynical about these players' motives. Remember that what the rest of us call health care costs, they call income."

by Vaughn Ververs

Good morning.

Let's take a few moments this morning to catch up on all the latest flu news, there is a fair amount of it on this Monday morning.

-- Reuters -- U.S. Has Over 2,500 Confirmed Cases:
The Centers for Disease Control Sunday announced there are now 2,254 confirmed cases of the swine flu in the United States and three confirmed deaths. The World Health Organization says there are now 4,500 confirmed cases worldwide in 29 countries. The virus has "moved into the southern hemisphere, where influenza season is just beginning, and could mix with circulating seasonal flu viruses or the H5N1 avian influenza virus to create new strains, health officials said."

-- The Los Angeles Times -- Government Response Blends Into Mexican Campaign:
Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his 2006 opponent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are sparring over the government's response to the flu outbreak in advance of that nation's mid-term elections. "The epidemic, apparently ebbing as a medical phenomenon, has become a political weapon. It may carry outsize impact because of its timing: The virus occurred just as the country prepared to turn its attention to midterm congressional elections, scheduled for July. The campaign officially opened Sunday, though the parties were barred from holding rallies, as a way of preventing the spread of infection."

-- The BBC -- Swine Flu Found On China Mainland:
A 30-year-old student who recently flew in from the United States has become the first confirmed case of swine flu on China's mainland. "The Chinese Ministry of Health says it has asked authorities across the country to track down anyone who may have come into contact with the patient on his journey. About 130 people from the patient's flight to Chengdu have already been quarantined, state media says."

-- The New York Daily News -- Flu Not Off-Limits At Big Dinner:
President Obama didn't shy away from a flu reference in his comic monologue at the annual White House Correspondents' dinner in Washington Saturday night. The president referenced his past rivalry with now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before noting how close the two have since become and told of Clinton's recent trip to Mexico. "The second she got back from Mexico," he joked, "she pulled me into a hug and gave me a big kiss and told me I better get down there myself."

by Vaughn Ververs

The swine flu may have slipped down a notch on the list of hot topics this week but we're taking our cues from public health officials who are still clearly concerned about the new H1N1 virus (the CDC today said there are now 1,639 cases in the United States, up from 896 on Thursday after all).

We'll be taking a break from the blog for the weekend but will be back bright and early on Monday morning to give you the latest developments on the swine flu -- and plenty more health and science information to boot.

In the meantime, take the opportunity to scroll through the week's worth of archives to brush up on all that happened this week, get your questions answered, get educated and prepared.

And have a little fun watching the "snot gun" video, playing the "sneeze" game (extra credit for anyone who can tell us how to get past level 10) and learning how to turn your Mr. Coffee into a Mr. Beer.

Most importantly, don't forget to take time to thank all those mothers in your life. Have a happy weekend, we'll see you back here bright and early on Monday.

by Richard Knox

After two weeks of scary flu news, Americans are taking the threat of swine flu seriously. But they're also keeping their cool.

A new government-commissioned poll finds two out of three people are washing their hands more often. Over half of Americans are thinking about how they'd manage to stay home if someone in the family got the flu. Over a third have avoided someone with flu-like symptoms.

 

At the same time, most Americans say they're not worried about swine flu striking their household in the next 12 months. In fact, more people are unconcerned this week -- 61 percent -- than a week earlier, when a similar poll found 53 percent who doubted they'd get the new flu.

Continue reading "Poll: Americans Paying Attention, Taking Precautions" >

By Scott Hensley

Ale or lager? iStockphoto.com

It's Friday, the swine flu press conferences are over, and the local tavern is just a few turns of the hour hand away.

But what would we do if happy hour struck and we were stranded far from the bar on some boozeless ship at sea?

Well, if we were as smart as the grad students behind the blog Southern Fried Science, we would have turned Mr. Coffee into Mr. Brewery long ago.

Believe it or not, you can make passable beer with an electric drip coffee maker with a hot plate, a coffee filter, some sort of grain, a little malt -- Vegemite works -- and a few other common ingredients and tools.

Continue reading "How To Turn Your Coffee Maker Into A Brewery" >

by Brenda Wilson and April Fulton

The names of University of Maryland's Robert Gallo and French scientist Luc Montagnier, who separately discovered the HIV virus 25 years ago, have become inextricably linked, whether they like it or not.

Also, Montagnier was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the discovery in 2008, Gallo was not. (Interesting explanation of their roles in the discovery here.)

While many of us have been focused on swine flu lately, the odd couple who came to Washington today to offer us a little perspective on what a real epidemic is.

While we can do better on swine flu, said University of Maryland researcher Robert Gallo, "It's not something you need to figure out as a mystery -- there are loads of experts on it," he said.

The pair appeared to share the stage at the National Press Club peacefully today, praising each other, even sharing a smile as Montagnier introduced Gallo as his "longtime friend" and urged us not to forget the continuing and devastating impact of HIV/AIDS.

"We are still facing a big epidemic," Montagnier said. The epidemic is not in the past. There is no cure, and the virus is spreading," he said.

Some sobering stats:

While just over 1,000 people have become infected with swine flu since it was discovered, and only a handful have died.

Meanwhile, 25 million deaths have been attributed to HIV/AIDS since its discovery at a rate of 2 million per year. Plus, there are 56,000 new cases in the U.S. diagnosed each year.

And there is still no cure.

Here's Gallo on why swine flu doesn't compare to AIDS in terms of research need:

Here's Montagnier on why AIDS is still a major problem:

by Vaughn Ververs

During a Spanish-language town hall meeting at the White House today, President Obama warned that the swine flu remains a serious concern. "We are seeing that the virus may not have been as virulent as we at first feared," the president said. "But we are not out of the woods yet. We still have to take precautions."

by Vaughn Ververs

If trying to rescue the banks, save the American auto industry, stimulate the economy via a $787 billion stimulus package, managing a troop increase in Afghanistan and facing off with pirates and swine flu seemed time consuming, wait until President Obama really gets going on health care.

President Obama and HHS Sec. Sebelius gear up for health care push. Brendan Smialowski/Bloomberg News

The president has said he wants something done on "comprehensive health reform" this year but appears happy to set broad parameters for the moment, leaving the details for Congress to work out. But that doesn't mean the administration is taking a passive approach by any means and this week provided a glimpse of the push that's already begun.

The president's budget set the marker for health care as a top priority for the year, setting aside about $600 billion in spending over the next ten years as a down-payment for an overhaul of the system. That's about half of what the experts say it will cost.

And there were signals all around that the administration is pushing to shape the debate to come. In her first appearance in front of Congress since being confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius Wednesday said that the president isn't looking for a government takeover of the health care system but does support a publicly financed component. "Dismantling the private market and having an entirely public option ... I think is not something that the president supports."

Continue reading "Health Care Push Ramps Up With Budget Rollout" >

Today's briefing comes from Dr. Sylvie Briand, acting director for the Global Influenza Program at the World Health Organization. Here we go.

By Richard Knox

On Thursday night Brazilian Health Minister Jose Temporao went on national television to announce the first four cases of swine flu in the country were identified after diagnostic testing kits arrived there.

Swine flu spreads in Southern Hemisphere. Photo: Delcio G.P. Filho via Flickr

All were young adults who had traveled to North America -- three to Mexico and one to Florida. One remains hospitalized, the other three have recovered.

Argentine Health Minister Graciela Ocana held a press conference to announce the first confirmed case there, a tourist who had been to Mexico. She said that patient has been released from the hospital after treatment.

The findings underscore concerns about swine flu's march into the Southern Hemisphere, where seasonal flu is soon expected.

Brazil is reportedly testing 15 more suspected cases. "Here we go, the epidemic has arrived in Brazil -- officially," Dr. Evelyn Eisenstein of the State University of Rio de Janeiro writes in an email.

Continue reading "Swine Flu Heads South, Hitting Brazil, Argentina" >

By Scott Hensley

Some of the FDA's harshest critics have laid a big part of the blame for the agency's failings on its inadequate budget. That gripe may soon be history.

President Obama asked Congress to hike the agency's funding by $300 million to $2.35 billion, the largest annual jump in its history. Add user fees FDA collects from industry, and the budget grand total would hit $3.04 billion for fiscal year 2010. (See the FDA budget details here.)

Continue reading "Obama Asks Congress For $300 Million More For FDA" >

By Scott Hensley

Good morning.

Flu headlines are slowing, but there's still plenty of material to sift through. Here are some highlights:

-- The Atlanta Journal Constitution -- Swine Flu Lull Likely; Return, Too:
As the weather heats up, cases of swine flu are expected to drop. Summertime is siesta time for flu bugs in most places. "The whole question of seasonality is one that's fascinated influenza researchers and the public alike," Dr. Nancy Cox, influenza chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Keep an eye on the Southern Hemisphere, where fall and winter, the traditional flu seasons, loom.

-- The Washington Post -- Mexico Raced To Build Flu Testing Laboratory:
A big reason there were so many unanswered questions early on about the bug causing trouble in Mexico was a lack of the right equipment in the country's central lab. The Post tells the story of how the the Mexicans built a state-of-the-art lab in less than a week.

-- The Associated Press -- US Swine Flu Victims Had Chronic Health Problems:
The AP covers a CDC report that the two people who have died from swine flu in the U.S. deaths had chronic health problems that may have made them vulnerable. A Mexican toddler had myasthenia gravis and a heart defect. A 33-year-old woman who died had asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. See the publication of the CDC's findings in the New England Journal of Medicine here.

by Vaughn Ververs

Feed a cold, starve a fever and ... intentionally try to contract the swine flu? The new addition wouldn't quite have the same ring as the old adage but it's a discussion that has begun, thanks in large part to an article in today's New York Times.

The paper examines an emerging debate over the wisdom of deliberately trying to catch the swine flu in an attempt to give oneself protection against a more devastating strain of the virus down the road.

The thinking is this: If the current strain appears to be relatively mild at the moment and could become more severe somewhere down the road, is it better to be get it now and build up a natural immunization?

Cornell University flu specialist Dr. Anne Moscona tells the paper where she stands on the idea: "I think it's totally nuts. ... I can't believe people are really thinking of doing it. I understand the thinking, but I just fear we don't know enough about how this virus would react in every individual. This is like the Middle Ages, when people deliberately infected themselves with smallpox."

Continue reading "Experts Warn Against Swine Flu Self-Infection" >

By Richard Knox

The World Health Organization tells us to call the newly discovered flu virus sweeping the world A/H1N1. The U.S. government recommends H1N1.

What about me? Photo by jere-me via Flickr

But scientists who know a thing or two about flu viruses are bugged, as it were, about dropping the swine from the flu moniker.

University of Arizona virologist Michael Worobey calls the decision to switch to H1N1, "a little bit silly" and possibly confusing, considering similar names for some seasonal flu strains. Aren't more than 11,000 other H1N1 viruses enough?

Enter Oliver Pybus, an infectious disease researcher at Oxford University, with something completely different. How about the Gallimaufry Virus?

Continue reading "You Say 'H1N1.' We Say 'Gallimaufry'" >

By Allison Aubry

The Food and Drug Administration has announced a "black box" warning label for testosterone gels following reports of children being harmed by inadvertent exposure to the hormone.

FDA officials say they've received multiple reports of young children -- under the age of 6 --showing signs of puberty after coming in close contact with adults using testosterone gels.

As a result, the FDA is requiring the manufacturers of the drugs AndroGel and Testim to add the black box warning, the toughest type available. The drugs already carried precautions about the problem.

"These drugs are approved for an important medical need, but can have serious, unintended side effects if not used properly," Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. "We must ensure that the adults using them are well-informed about the precautions needed to protect children from secondary exposure."

Continue reading "Warnings Slapped On Testosterone Gels: Danger To Kids" >

by Vaughn Ververs

To continue today's musical theme (and our attention to the burgeoning health care discussion in Washington), we thought it appropriate to point out a new strategic memo making the rounds.

For the political debate to come over one of President Obama's signature agenda items, the lyrics could be as important as the melody, and Republicans are getting some early advice on how the chorus should sound.

NPR's Julie Rovner has more:

Republicans can stop the "Washington takeover" of healthcare, but only if they learn to use the magic words. That's the latest advice from pollster/messaging maven Frank Luntz, the man credited for helping rename the inheritance tax the "death tax."

The new memo says Republicans must acknowledge that there IS a health crisis, need to be "vocally and passionately on the side of reform," but at the same time warn that Democrats' plans will center around "politicians," "bureaucrats," and "Washington."

Continue reading "Singing From The Songbook, Part 2: Messaging Matters " >

by Vaughn Ververs

Senator Hatch tickles the ivories. Cameron Craig/AP

 

We thought we'd give you a break from swine flu for a moment to ponder the relationship between Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)'s songwriting career and the emerging debate about overhauling health care.

Confused?

NPR's Julie Rovner tells us more:

Most people know that Senator Hatch is a successful senator. Fewer know he's also a successful songwriter, having penned tracks recorded by the likes of Brooks and Dunn, Gladys Knight, and John Tesh.

Now Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew Altman has provided what he's calling -- tongue firmly in cheek -- "an in-depth analysis of the heretofore unexamined link between Sen. Hatch's songwriting and health reform."

Continue reading "Singing From The Health Songbook?" >

By Scott Hensley

Another day, another World Health Organization news conference on swine flu.

Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO's Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment is talking to journalists from Geneva today.

By Scott Hensley
The Centers for Disease Conrol and Prevention is cooking up a lab test to assess the level of potentially protective antibodies against swine flu in people's blood.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The test won't be ready for a few weeks at least. But if scientists give a thumbs-up, the test could help figure out which people might benefit the most -- and least -- from a vaccine.

The assay might also help settle a puzzling question: Are older people less prone to H1N1 infection because of immunity conferred by previous exposure to similar viruses?

Maryn McKenna has the details on the Web site of the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, or CIDRAP.

Continue reading "Lab Test In Works To Probe Possible Swine Flu Immunity for Seniors" >

By Scott Hensley

So, we have to ask: How do you think the media are doing in covering swine flu?

USA Today and Gallup turn the microscope on the media. Orin Optiglot via Flickr

A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted May 5, 2009, found a split decision among Americans.

The money question: "Do you think the news media are exaggerating the dangers of swine flu, not taking the danger seriously enough, or are the news reports about right?"

The verdict: 46% said the reporting is about right; 45% said the dangers were exaggerated; 6% said the media weren't taking the threat seriously enough.

Continue reading "Swine Flu: Media Edition" >

By Scott Hensley

Good morning.

A scan of the news media shows a fresh crop of flu stories in the headlines:

-- The Washington Post -- Mexico City's Restaurants Reopen
For the first time in nearly two weeks, people in the city at the center of the swine flu epidemic were able to dine out again yesterday, as some restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of illness are eased. Today, high schools, universities and museums are set to reopen.

-- The Wall Street Journal -- Decision on Flu Vaccine Looms
In weeks, the Obama administration will face a decison on whether to push for mass producton of swine flu vaccine. An FDA official said preparations are already underway and that companies could start making vaccine quickly if the government decides mass vaccination against the swine flu makes sense.

-- The San Francisco Chronicle -- Officials Note Youth of Serious Flu Cases
While the data aren't strong enough to declare that young people are more vulnerable to swine flu, the figures so far have raised the question. The median age of the 35 people hospitalized due to the flu in the U.S. is 15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said younger people may have been more likely to travel to Mexico and older people may have some immunity from exposure to similar viruses.

By Frank James

You know what really ticks off Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano? Neither do I.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

But she was clearly unhappy with how some school children and their parents responded to the swine flu-related closures of their schools.

In nearly every media briefing she's had in the past week, she has mentioned that the closing of a school with one or more identified swine-flu cases was no excuse for healthy students with free time on their hands to gather elsewhere, like parks or shopping malls.

She mentioned it again today, saying that federal officials are going to turn up the on the need for students to avoid each other and stay home, especially if the swine flu returns with a vengeance next fall.

Continue reading "Good Luck With Anti-Flu Plan To Keep Teens From Malls" >