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Child's Body Composition May Be Shaped By Breastfeeding Duration And Weaning Diet
Variations in both milk feeding and in the weaning diet are linked to differences in growth and development, and they have independent influences on body composition in early childhood, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society"s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
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Study Reports Early Diagnosis Of Mental Disorders From New Computer Test
A group of doctors in Pittsburgh have developed the Computer Assessment of Mild Cognitive Impairment (CAMCI) to identify cognitive difficulties easily and reliably. In an article in the March issue of Postgraduate Medicine entitled "Computer Assessment of Mild Cognitive Impairment," the program creators detail the procedures and the benefits of the new test, which they claim is sensitive enough to notice the smallest amount of forgetfulness. By conducting a controlled study with 524 people >60 years old, they were able to demonstrate the ease and effectiveness of the testing system.
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Blogs Comment On Health Care Reform Legislation, Congressional Funding For D.C., Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "Just the Facts, Sir: The False Dichotomy of Catholics vs. "Pro-Choice" on Common Ground," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: In anticipation of the release of the White House"s "common ground" proposal to reduce the need for abortion and help prevent unintended pregnancies, "numerous members of the male pontificator commentariat are trying to spark anxiety by claiming Obama will have to make a choice between "the Catholic vote" and "the pro-choice community,"" Jacobson writes. However, "[n]othing could be further from the truth," she states, noting that Obama received the majority of the Catholic vote in the election and that a "majority of Catholic voters approve of [his] performance to date." There is "no danger" of Obama losing Catholic support "on this particular issue, as long as the administration makes clear its values and principles and goals and objectives, and as long as it sticks to the facts," Jacobson continues. She lists several steps that the White House should take with its proposal, including making it clear that the administration is "committed to evidence-based policies in public health" and that "the best way to reduce unintended pregnancies, and hence the need for abortion, is to provide universal access to prevention services." By focusing on evidence-based public health policies, the Obama administration "can, in the long run, actually bring profound change to this debate," Jacobson writes. She concludes that "evidence-based policies put into practice will achieve many of the goals we seek and take the air out of the ideological fight in which we have been engaged" (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 7/2).~ "Is Denying Women Abortions the Price of Bipartisanship?" Igor Volsky, Think Progress" "The Wonk Room": Volsky writes that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Republican colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee reportedly are pushing health care reform legislation that would require insurers participating in a new national health insurance exchange to exclude coverage for abortion services. According to Volsky, the committee"s version of the bill would be the only piece of health care reform legislation "that specifically prohibits -- takes away, rations, if you will -- a medical service." Meanwhile, health care reform legislation being considered by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the House"s three committees that govern health care "leaves the coverage decisions -- the design of the so-called essential benefit packages" -- to the HHS secretary or an expert committee. Volsky notes that approximately one in three U.S. women will have an abortion by age 45 and that private insurers usually cover the procedure. He writes, "As Republicans often argue, Congress should leave benefits decisions to the medical professionals." He adds that "if denying abortion services to women is the price of bipartisanship, then perhaps winning those one or two Republican votes isn"t worth the price of jeopardizing women"s health and well-being" (Volsky, "The Wonk Room," Think Progress, 7/6).~ "House Moves To Lift Bans On Abortion Funding, Needle Exchange, Domestic Partnership and Medical Marijuana in D.C.," Choice Words: The fiscal year 2010 appropriations bill currently under review in the House "would lift a number of reproductive justice-related funding bans" in the District of Columbia, including a ban on using locally-raised funds for abortion, the blog entry states. "Access to abortion in D.C. has been severely limited by anti-choice Congresspeople playing politics with the district," the blog says, noting that Congress has "supreme authority" over the district"s funding. The bill also would end bans on using funds for certain other purposes, such as domestic partnership registration and benefits, according to the blog. The blog concludes that the "fight to lift these funding bans is just beginning" and is an "important first step towards protecting reproductiv
Oncology

Radiofrequency Ablation Durable After 2 Years, Compares Favorably With Endoscopic Resection For Advanced Disease, Reduces Risk For Cancer Progression

Results from a number of clinical trials were presented during the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in Chicago this week, revealing new outcomes data related to endoscopic radiofrequency ablation using the HALO ablation system for eradicating a pre-cancerous esophageal condition known as Barrett"s esophagus. Among them, reports included durability outcomes from a randomized sham-controlled trial, safety and efficacy outcomes from a large U.S. registry of 429 patients, a randomized trial comparing ablation to endoscopic resection, and the largest European series to date in patients with high-grade dysplasia and early cancer. As the DDW meeting commenced, the New England Journal of Medicine published a landmark paper entitled, "Radiofrequency Ablation for Barrett"s Esophagus Containing Dysplasia." This is a U.S. randomized sham-controlled trial demonstrating high rates of complete eradication of Barrett"s and dysplasia in the ablation group as compared to control, as well as a significant reduction in cancer progression. At DDW, researchers presented new data from this now published trial, showing that the ablation effect achieved at 1 year follow-up was highly durable at the 2-year follow-up. In the largest patient series to date, "Radiofrequency Ablation of Barrett"s Esophagus: Outcomes of 429 Patients from a Multi-center Community Practice Registry," U.S. investigators reported a low stricture risk (about 1%) and no serious adverse events. After an average of 2 ablation procedures using the HALO ablation system and 20-month follow-up, 77% of patients were cured of their Barrett"s disease. For those patients that had baseline evidence of dysplasia, 100% had complete eradication of all signs of dysplasia. These data comport with published data from predominantly tertiary referral centers. A European multi-center randomized trial included 47 patients with Barrett"s containing dysplasia and early cancer that were randomized to receive either endoscopic resection or radiofrequency ablation with the HALO ablation system. While both interventions had very high complete eradication rates (95-100%), endoscopic resection was associated with a significantly higher risk of complications. Based on these results, investigators concluded that the optimal approach is to focally resect visible lesions followed by radiofrequency ablation for complete eradication of the remaining Barrett"s tissue. In the largest European series reported to date, "Radiofrequency Ablation for Eradication of Barrett"s Esophagus Containing High-Grade Dysplasia or Early Cancer: A Prospective Series of 73 Patients," researchers combined a baseline focal endoscopic resection for disease staging, and then applied serial RFA with the HALO ablation system. A complete response was achieved in 95% of patients without occurrence of serious adverse events. "Barrett"s esophagus places a patient at a significantly higher risk for developing esophageal adenocarcinoma," commented David S. Utley, M.D., chief medical officer for BARRX Medical. "Researchers at this national meeting are reporting the results of a number of well-designed clinical trials using endoscopic radiofrequency ablation to completely eradicate the Barrett"s tissue. Each unique study design offers new data that continues to establish an evidence-based role for radiofrequency ablation in managing this disease state." BARRX Medical, Inc.


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