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Blogs Comment On Media Coverage Of Abortion Issues In Health Reform Debate, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Mainstream Media Reinforces Unexamined Arguments Against Public Funding for Abortion," Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check: It "seems that mainstream media s ... believe that abortion is an effective cudgel to beat health care reform to death," Marcotte writes. According to Marcotte, the "unvarnished truth" is that there is "no way that any kind of public health care plan will have elective abortion coverage. Nor is there any real chance of abortion becoming mandated coverage." However, "you wouldn"t know it to read the media coverage of this issue," she writes, continuing that "we"ve got the toxic mixture of pants-on-fire lying anti-choicers and cowardly media outlets that give the opponents of health care reform an opportunity to lie about the potential for taxpayer-funded abortions." Those who defend health care reform are "so busy trying to shut down the misinformation about abortion coverage that we"re not having the more interesting discussion about whether or not abortion should be covered," Marcotte says. She adds, "And by not having that discussion, we"re allowing the belief that some people"s moral objections to abortion should dictate federal policy lay unchallenged," she continues. She writes that she "suspect[s] that anti-choicers latched onto taxpayer-funded abortions because they can count on a lot of the public to imagine the government funding female licentiousness." Marcotte concludes that the "good news is that this contempt for female sexuality has receded enough that the media debate hasn"t -- yet -- turned to whether or not health care reform should cover contraception" (Marcotte, RH Reality Check, 7/28).~ "Privileging Opposition to Abortion," Jamison Foser, Media Matters for America: Some reporters "have skewed their reports in favor of those who oppose" coverage of abortion in federally subsidized insurance plans, according to Foser. For example, Foser writes that on a recent episode of MSNBC"s "Hardball," host Chris Matthews asked Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) "leading questions that encouraged them to state their opposition to insurance coverage of abortion" but never asked them "one simple question: Why shouldn"t abortion be covered, given that the procedure is legal?" Foser adds, "Nor has he asked if there are any other legal procedures that shouldn"t be covered." The "premise that taxpayers who oppose abortion shouldn"t have to pay for them with their tax money carries obvious implications the media ignores," Foser writes. He adds that the "idea that taxpayers shouldn"t pay for insurance that covers medical services they don"t support is fundamentally incompatible with the very concept of insurance." He continues, "If every interest group wields veto power over the medical care insurance can cover, insurance simply can"t work." However, this is not the "only logical inconsistency on the part of abortion foes that the media fail to examine" in their coverage of abortion issues in the health reform debate, he writes. "Many of those who are most adamant that the government not allow abortion to be paid for by health insurance plans are the same conservatives who argue against health care reform by warning of the prospect of a government bureaucrat getting between you and your doctor," according to Foser. He continues that the "same people who want a government ban on insurance coverage for a legal medical procedure turn around and demagogue about government bureaucrats making medical decisions," which is "a pretty obvious inconsistency, the kind any reporter should be able to spot easily." However, the "tension between those two positions has gone unexplored in news reports about the abortion controversy," Foser concludes (Foser, Media Matters for America, 7/24).~ "Obama Abortion Backtrack Shows He"s All Rhetoric, No Fight," Bonnie Erbe, U.S. News & World Report"s "Thomas Jefferson Street": "[O]ne thing we know will not be incl
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Plumper Heart Disease Patients Do Better, Live Longer
Being overweight or obese is a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated risk factors; however, in patients with established CVD, obesity appears to play a protective role. In fact, data suggest obese patients with heart disease do better and tend to live longer than leaner patients with the same severity of disease, according to a review article published in the May 26, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
News of the day
Sedatives May Increase Suicide Risk In Older Patients
Sleeping tablets have been associated with a four-fold increase in suicide risk in the elderly. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Geriatrics have shown that, even after adjusting for the presence of psychiatric conditions, sedatives and hypnotics were both associated with an increased risk of suicide.
Diagnostics

New Paper Highlights Antimicrobial Effectiveness Of Medical-Grade Honey In Topical Wound Care

According to a recent paper published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiological Infectious Diseases, a certain kind of honey can be an effective agent in topical wound care, particularly where antibiotic resistance is an issue. The irony is that this most exciting new treatment has been around since the dawn of history-honey was first used as a first aid treatment four thousand years ago in Ancient Egypt. Entitled, "The unusual antibacterial activity of medical-grade Leptospermum honey: antibacterial spectrum, resistance and transcriptome analysis," the report describes the palliative effects of Leptospermum honey, a particular kind of honey indigenous to New Zealand and Australia. Leptospermum honey has been shown to possess unique plant derived components that make it an ideal wound dressing, including novel antimicrobial and immune-modulatory compounds. In addition, the honey has several properties that also aid in wound healing. Among these properties are the honey"s low pH levels, its ability to help remove non-vital tissue from the wound area, the stimulation of new tissue growth, and reported reduction in scarring and pain levels. What is also key is that all these benefits exist without any toxicity to healthy tissue. "There is an urgent need for new, effective agents in topical wound care," the report begins, "and selected honeys show potential in this regard." The paper also describes how medical-grade honey might be a strong combatant against antibiotic resistant pathogens such as MRSA and vancomycin-resistant strains (VRS). "Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most commonly acquired pathogens in both the community and the hospital settings, and it is particularly problematic in skin and wound infections. The emergence of methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and, more recently, vancomycin-resistant strains, has seriously compromised treatment options," the report states. "Multi-drug resistance limits treatment options and results in the use of more expensive or more toxic drugs, with corresponding increases in patient morbidity and mortality. . . The current issues surrounding antibiotic resistance, and a growing body of evidence supporting the use of honey as a dressing for a wide range of wounds, has increased interest in its use in the clinic." MEDIHONEY dressings, a unique line of products containing active Leptospermum honey, provide a moist, occlusive environment conducive to optimal wound healing and contain a high percentage of honey, enabling them to work effectively in the presence of wound fluid, blood, and tissue, promoting an optimal healing environment. Available in dressings and gel form, MEDIHONEY products, leading brand of Princeton, New Jersey-based Derma Sciences Inc., are indicated for the management of lightly to heavily exuding wounds such as: Diabetic foot ulcers, venous stasis leg ulcers, arterial leg ulcers, leg ulcers of mixed etiology, pressure ulcers (I-IV), first and second degree burns, donor sites, traumatic and surgical wounds. "The paper also shows that MEDIHONEY is effective against antibiotic resistant strains," says Edward J. Quilty, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Derma Sciences Inc. "Although this has been demonstrated before, this article does a great job of showing that not only is it effective against these strains, but that the same amount of MEDIHONEY is necessary for the non-resistant strains as is required for the resistant strains. This is unusual, as more antibiotic or antimicrobial is typically necessary for the antibiotic resistant strains." The paper also demonstrates that use of MEDIHONEY at sub-lethal levels (levels too low to kill bacteria) does not induce resistance. This is unusual because this is precisely what causes resistant strains to form after sub-lethal antibiotic / antimicrobial concentration exposure. Further, a gene expression analysis was undertaken to see if MEDIHONEY"s effect was different than that of traditional antibiotics. The conclusion was "when compared to the published data on the effects of various antibiotics on the gene expression of E. coli, active Leptospermum honey produced a unique expression signature, suggesting that it works by a different mode of action to the other inhibitors." "The data presented here argue for a greater use of medicinal-grade honey in wound care, particularly where antibiotic resistance is an issue," the European Journal of Clinical Microbiological Infectious Diseases paper concludes. "Our study suggests that it is unlikely that resistance to honey will develop, even with increased use. . . The gene expression signature of E. coli cells exposed to active Leptospermum honey indicates that it has a mode of action that is distinct from conventional antibiotics. Further investigations into the mode of action of the non-peroxide antibacterial activity of this honey are warranted, as these may lead to new classes of antimicrobials, which are desperately needed." Derma Sciences


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