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Index to Measure Diabetes in U.S.
An online database of 30,000 maps, charts and graphs will give users a new, comprehensive picture of the prevalence and cost of diabetes in the United States, said it sponsors. The U.S. Diabetes Index, available through the Web site USDI Report (
HEART Bill Reintroduced
A bill intended to end the shortage of women-specific data on cardiovascular conditions has been introduced again by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The Heart Disease Education, Research and Analysis, and Treatment (HEART) for Women Act would require health data that has been reported to the federal government to be broken down by sex, race, and ethnicity. The bill (S. 438), which the senators have introduced in past congressional sessions without success, would also require the secretary of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report to Congress on women's access to quality care for cardiovascular disease. “Unfortunately, a majority of women and even some physicians are unfamiliar with the symptoms, diagnoses, and dangers of heart disease in women,” Sen. Stabenow said in a statement.
New Plan for Diabetes Research
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases announced a 10-year plan to combat type 1 and 2 diabetes by guiding diabetes-related research. “By setting priorities and identifying the most compelling research opportunities, the strategic plan will guide NIH, other federal agencies, and the investigative community in efforts to improve diabetes treatments and identify ways to keep more people healthy,” said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, in a statement. The plan focuses on 10 diabetes research areas, including the relationship between obesity and type 2 diabetes, autoimmune mechanisms of type 1 diabetes, and the biology of beta cells.
Drug Risk High for Older Adults
Drugs such as pain relievers and anxiety and insomnia medications were the cause of about one-fourth of emergency department visits by adults aged 50 years or older for adverse drug reactions in 2008, according the Drug Abuse Warning Network. Among medications acting on the central nervous system, narcotic pain relievers accounted for 9% of the year's 1,112,000 drug-related emergencies in this population and nonnarcotic pain relievers made up nearly 8%. In a separate category, psychotherapeutic drugs accounted for 5% of the emergencies. The study appeared in The Dawn Report, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Nearly one-third of 50-and-older adults going to emergency departments for drug reactions in 2008 were admitted to the hospital.
Court Passes on 'Pay for Delay'
The Supreme Court has refused to consider whether drug companies violate antitrust laws when they pay generic competitors to stay out of the marketplace. The high court's rejection of the case in March allowed companies to continue the practice, known as “pay for delay.” In this case, Bayer AG, which makes the antibiotic Cipro, paid generic competitor Barr Laboratories $398 million to not make a version of the drug. Leading up to the ruling, such deals have come under increased scrutiny. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission condemned the deals, and estimated that they will cost consumers about $35 billion over the next decade. There is also legislation pending in Congress (S. 27) to ban pay for delay.
Index to Measure Diabetes in U.S.
An online database of 30,000 maps, charts and graphs will give users a new, comprehensive picture of the prevalence and cost of diabetes in the United States, said it sponsors. The U.S. Diabetes Index, available through the Web site USDI Report (
HEART Bill Reintroduced
A bill intended to end the shortage of women-specific data on cardiovascular conditions has been introduced again by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The Heart Disease Education, Research and Analysis, and Treatment (HEART) for Women Act would require health data that has been reported to the federal government to be broken down by sex, race, and ethnicity. The bill (S. 438), which the senators have introduced in past congressional sessions without success, would also require the secretary of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report to Congress on women's access to quality care for cardiovascular disease. “Unfortunately, a majority of women and even some physicians are unfamiliar with the symptoms, diagnoses, and dangers of heart disease in women,” Sen. Stabenow said in a statement.
New Plan for Diabetes Research
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases announced a 10-year plan to combat type 1 and 2 diabetes by guiding diabetes-related research. “By setting priorities and identifying the most compelling research opportunities, the strategic plan will guide NIH, other federal agencies, and the investigative community in efforts to improve diabetes treatments and identify ways to keep more people healthy,” said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, in a statement. The plan focuses on 10 diabetes research areas, including the relationship between obesity and type 2 diabetes, autoimmune mechanisms of type 1 diabetes, and the biology of beta cells.
Drug Risk High for Older Adults
Drugs such as pain relievers and anxiety and insomnia medications were the cause of about one-fourth of emergency department visits by adults aged 50 years or older for adverse drug reactions in 2008, according the Drug Abuse Warning Network. Among medications acting on the central nervous system, narcotic pain relievers accounted for 9% of the year's 1,112,000 drug-related emergencies in this population and nonnarcotic pain relievers made up nearly 8%. In a separate category, psychotherapeutic drugs accounted for 5% of the emergencies. The study appeared in The Dawn Report, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Nearly one-third of 50-and-older adults going to emergency departments for drug reactions in 2008 were admitted to the hospital.
Court Passes on 'Pay for Delay'
The Supreme Court has refused to consider whether drug companies violate antitrust laws when they pay generic competitors to stay out of the marketplace. The high court's rejection of the case in March allowed companies to continue the practice, known as “pay for delay.” In this case, Bayer AG, which makes the antibiotic Cipro, paid generic competitor Barr Laboratories $398 million to not make a version of the drug. Leading up to the ruling, such deals have come under increased scrutiny. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission condemned the deals, and estimated that they will cost consumers about $35 billion over the next decade. There is also legislation pending in Congress (S. 27) to ban pay for delay.
Index to Measure Diabetes in U.S.
An online database of 30,000 maps, charts and graphs will give users a new, comprehensive picture of the prevalence and cost of diabetes in the United States, said it sponsors. The U.S. Diabetes Index, available through the Web site USDI Report (
HEART Bill Reintroduced
A bill intended to end the shortage of women-specific data on cardiovascular conditions has been introduced again by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The Heart Disease Education, Research and Analysis, and Treatment (HEART) for Women Act would require health data that has been reported to the federal government to be broken down by sex, race, and ethnicity. The bill (S. 438), which the senators have introduced in past congressional sessions without success, would also require the secretary of Health and Human Services to submit an annual report to Congress on women's access to quality care for cardiovascular disease. “Unfortunately, a majority of women and even some physicians are unfamiliar with the symptoms, diagnoses, and dangers of heart disease in women,” Sen. Stabenow said in a statement.
New Plan for Diabetes Research
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases announced a 10-year plan to combat type 1 and 2 diabetes by guiding diabetes-related research. “By setting priorities and identifying the most compelling research opportunities, the strategic plan will guide NIH, other federal agencies, and the investigative community in efforts to improve diabetes treatments and identify ways to keep more people healthy,” said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, in a statement. The plan focuses on 10 diabetes research areas, including the relationship between obesity and type 2 diabetes, autoimmune mechanisms of type 1 diabetes, and the biology of beta cells.
Drug Risk High for Older Adults
Drugs such as pain relievers and anxiety and insomnia medications were the cause of about one-fourth of emergency department visits by adults aged 50 years or older for adverse drug reactions in 2008, according the Drug Abuse Warning Network. Among medications acting on the central nervous system, narcotic pain relievers accounted for 9% of the year's 1,112,000 drug-related emergencies in this population and nonnarcotic pain relievers made up nearly 8%. In a separate category, psychotherapeutic drugs accounted for 5% of the emergencies. The study appeared in The Dawn Report, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Nearly one-third of 50-and-older adults going to emergency departments for drug reactions in 2008 were admitted to the hospital.
Court Passes on 'Pay for Delay'
The Supreme Court has refused to consider whether drug companies violate antitrust laws when they pay generic competitors to stay out of the marketplace. The high court's rejection of the case in March allowed companies to continue the practice, known as “pay for delay.” In this case, Bayer AG, which makes the antibiotic Cipro, paid generic competitor Barr Laboratories $398 million to not make a version of the drug. Leading up to the ruling, such deals have come under increased scrutiny. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission condemned the deals, and estimated that they will cost consumers about $35 billion over the next decade. There is also legislation pending in Congress (S. 27) to ban pay for delay.