July 17, 2012
High Doses of Hormones Faulted in Fertility Care
Two days after Debra Demidon underwent in vitro fertilization, she gained more than 30 pounds in fluid and suddenly was struggling to breathe. (NY Times)
Monthly Archives: July 2012
July 17, 2012
Taliban’s vaccine ban may affect 280,000 children
A ban on polio vaccinations imposed by the Taliban could affect about 280,000 children living in tribal areas of northwest Pakistan, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. (CNN)
July 17, 2012
The deadly world of fake medicine
Everyone knows about the risks that narcotics pose and the lethal war waged against them. But there are probably far more deaths caused by dangerous therapeutic medicines. (CNN)
July 17, 2012
India investigates Chhattisgarh ‘womb removal insurance scam’
India’s Chhattisgarh state is investigating reports that thousands of women had unnecessary hysterectomies so hospitals could make insurance claims. (BBC News)
July 16, 2012
HIV-prevention drug Truvada approved by US
US health regulators have for the first time approved a drug to prevent HIV infection. (BBC News)
July 16, 2012
Conflict Potential Seen in Genetic Counselors
Genetic testing raises some vexing ethical questions, like whether it will cause unnecessary anxiety or lead to more medical procedures, including abortions. (NY Times)
July 16, 2012
17-yr-old egg donor dead, HC questions fertility centre’s role
Not much is known about Sushma Pandey’s death, except that she was 17 years old, died suddenly and had visited a fertility clinic just two days earlier — at least the third time she was doing so in 18 months. … Read More
July 13, 2012
Assisted Dying: Experts Debate Doctor’s Role
Peggy Sutherland was ready to die. The morphine oozing from a pump in her spine was no match for the pain of lung cancer, which had evaded treatment and invaded her ribs. (ABC News)
July 13, 2012
Womb transplants could be a reality in Britain within two years: surgeon
The operation could offer hope of a normal family for 14,000 women in Britain who are born without a womb or have had an early hysterectomy due to diseases such as cancer. (Telegraph)
July 13, 2012
Growing IVF loan business helps families finance their fertility
Jill and Tom Clinton knew they wanted to have kids after they got married in 2006 – and they weren’t getting any younger. So, after a miscarriage, the couple turned to a fertility clinic. (MSNBC)
July 12, 2012
41% of Americans voice confidence in health care system
The general population has more faith in the health system than it did a year ago, according to a Gallup Poll about confidence in U.S. institutions released June 28. (American Medical News)
July 12, 2012
Insurers Pay Big Markups as Doctors Dispense Drugs
When a pharmacy sells the heartburn drug Zantac, each pill costs about 35 cents. But doctors dispensing it to patients in their offices have charged nearly 10 times that price, or $3.25 a pill. (NY Times)
July 12, 2012
Israeli jailed for illegal US kidney transplants
An Israeli convicted of arranging US kidney transplants for profit has been given a two-and-a-half-year sentence. (BBC News)
July 12, 2012
Rabbis say German court’s ruling on circumcision threatens religious freedom
A German court’s decision that ritual circumcision amounts to criminal bodily harm threatens religious freedom in Europe, a group of European Orthodox rabbis said Thursday. (Washington Post)
July 11, 2012
Patients want technology to manage their health — but with a personal touch
The majority of patients are interested in using online tools to help self-manage their health care, but not if it means sacrificing face time with their physicians to do so. (American Medical News)
July 11, 2012
Levels of Dutch euthanasia have changed little since 2002 legalization, study finds
The frequency of doctor-assisted euthanasia in the Netherlands has changed little since the longstanding practice was legalized in 2002, according to a new study. (Washington Post)
July 11, 2012
Cord Blood Stem Cells Restore Toddler’s Hearing
A virus infection Stephanie Connor acquired during pregnancy put her unborn daughter at significant risk for brain damage and lifelong hearing loss. (ABC News)
July 11, 2012
Australian scientists make IVF breakthrough
A study of more than 50,000 births in Australia and New Zealand found the chance of a baby being stillborn or dying within a month of birth was 53 per cent higher when two embryos were transferred to the mother’s … Read More
July 11, 2012
IVF: the older women who have become mothers
Women could remain fertile indefinitely after successful ovarian transplants lead to births and delay the menopause, doctors have told a conference. Here are the women who have become mothers later in life following IVF. (Telegraph)
July 10, 2012
Patients seek stem-cell compensation
In what could be a landmark case, six patients in California are suing one of the world’s largest stem-cell companies for allegedly misleading them about the effectiveness of its stem-cell treatments. (Nature News)
July 10, 2012
Aging boomers to face hard time finding mental health care; report urges geriatric training
Getting older doesn’t just mean a risk for physical ailments like heart disease and bum knees: A new report finds as many as 1 in 5 seniors has a mental health or substance abuse problem. (Washington Post)
July 10, 2012
Study Says Meeting Contraception Needs Could Cut Maternal Deaths by a Third
A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University shows that fulfilling unmet contraception demand by women in developing countries could reduce global maternal mortality by nearly a third, a potentially great improvement for one of the world’s most vulnerable … Read More
July 10, 2012
In the end, it may not be about medicine
For cancer patients, a good death may have more to do with simple human values than with the latest medical treatments, a new study suggests. (Reuters)
July 10, 2012
Minority patients less interested in hospice care
Racial and ethnic minorities are less likely than white patients to choose palliative care in the last six months of life, says a study of Medicare beneficiaries published in The American Heart Journal. (American Medical News)
July 10, 2012
Law spurs regulators to heed patients’ priorities
When the prescription weight-loss drug Belviq (lorcaserin) was approved on 27Â June, onlookers wondered what had changed. Two years ago, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected the drug because of the possibility that it can damage heart valves, like … Read More
