CQ Politics | Innovations - Health: August 2008 Archives

Election Likely to Change Stem Cell Policy, Says Expert

August 28, 2008 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Whoever wins the presidential election, he'll likely increase funding for all forms of stem cell research, predicts University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Art Caplan. Caplan tells Wired that, as stem cell research matures and the pile of money available for it grows, questions about ethics are likely to take a back seat to practical considerations. But he thinks there will still be arguments over what use to make of stem cells in humans and when to move them from the lab to actual use.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Scientists Contemplate Biowar Against Mosquitoes

August 27, 2008 12:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found a virus that infects the world's most dangerous type of mosquito. The New York Times reports that the virus in its current form is harmless, but the researchers feel it could be genetically engineered to kill the mosquitoes. The virus targets the type of mosquito that is chiefly responsible for spreading malaria in Africa.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Democrats Preparing for a War on Fat

August 26, 2008 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Shawn Zeller, CQ Staff

LBJ had his war on poverty. Then there was Ronald Reagan's war on drugs and George W. Bush 's war on terror. Public health advocates are hoping a Barack Obama administration will wage war on fat.

They're encouraged by language in the Democratic platform, which for the first time mentions the need to combat obesity -- not just once, but three times.

Continue reading Democrats Preparing for a War on Fat.

Telemedicine Boosts Healthcare, Study Finds

August 13, 2008 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two-way video conferencing between medical specialists and patients can lead to better outcomes than simply consulting over the telephone, according to a study in Lancet Neurology. Ars Technica says the study found that stroke victims in rural or remote areas were correctly diagnosed more often through telemedicine than by phone, 98 percent versus 82 percent.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Ethanol Demand May Pose Health Risk

August 8, 2008 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Iowa farmer Ernie Goebel's fields are among the approximately 90 million acres of corn being planted this season. With the increase in demand, some farmers switched to corn in order to produce the profitable ethanol fuel. (Photo by Mark Hirsch/Getty Images)

In a somewhat round-about way, the increasing demand for ethanol from corn may be leading to an increased risk of lead poisoning in children, some researchers warn. An article in the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science and Technology points out that ethanol demand, as well as increasing demands for food from emerging economies, are driving the demand for phosphates used in fertilizers. Those same phosphates are added to water supplies to prevent lead pipes from corroding, and a shortage could mean more of the metal in drinking water, where it can harm children's cognitive development.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

AIDS Drug Cocktail 'Extremely Effective' for Injectable Drug Users

August 6, 2008 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By CQ Staff

Although some doctors assume otherwise, a cocktail of drugs to slow the development of AIDS works as well in infected individuals who are injectable drug users as in other people with HIV, the AIDS virus, the National Institutes of Health announced Wednesday.

The medical research agency noted that the cocktail has been "extremely effective" at slowing the progression of HIV infection to AIDS and at extending the lives and improving the quality of life of those with the virus.

Continue reading AIDS Drug Cocktail 'Extremely Effective' for Injectable Drug Users .

Study: Health Insurance Sales Across State Lines Would Reduce Uninsured

August 6, 2008 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Whitney Blair Wyckoff, CQ Staff

A study evaluating different scenarios that would allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines found that 12 million previously uninsured people would be able to get insurance if there were competition between states.

The study was presented during an American Enterprise Institute panel discussion on interstate competition for individual insurance as a way to increase access to the uninsured. But it's already generating disagreement from some health policy analysts.

Continue reading Study: Health Insurance Sales Across State Lines Would Reduce Uninsured.

Medical Drugs Proving Successful in Treating Addiction, Experts Said

August 1, 2008 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Whitney Blair Wyckoff, CQ Staff

Growing evidence has shown that vaccines and antibody medications could prove effective at treating drug and nicotine addiction, said scientists at a Capitol Hill briefing.

Research in this field is encouraging -- there have been successful animal trials and a few promising human trials -- but studies would progress faster if pharmaceutical companies were more invested, they said during Tuesday's briefing sponsored by the Friends of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Continue reading Medical Drugs Proving Successful in Treating Addiction, Experts Said .