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Physician Discusses HIV Testing, 'Frank' Conversations With Teenagers
The Baltimore Sun"s blog "Picture of Health" features comments from Allison Agwu, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Children"s Center, who discussed HIV awareness and testing among teenagers. According to the blog, Agwu said doctors and parents "need to do a better job talking frankly to teens about sex and the risk for HIV, particularly in a city like Baltimore with higher than average rates of the disease." The blog states, "There"s no easy way to combat this, Agwu admits. But engaging teens in a constant frank conversation about the disease is a start" (Brewington, 7/8).
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HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Release Of $6 Billion In New CHIP Funds To Insure Children
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that $6 billion in new federal funds will be made available to states and U.S. territories for fiscal year 2009 to provide health care to millions of children across America through their Children"s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP).
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Obama Highlights U.S. Commitment To Reducing Maternal Mortality, HIV/AIDS In Address To Africa
In a speech before the Ghanaian Parliament, President Obama on Saturday reiterated U.S. support for public health programs that will reduce maternal mortality and the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the New York Times reports. The speech, which was televised across the continent, focused on international relations with Africa and empowering African nations to address problems (Baker, New York Times, 7/12).In a portion of the speech about strengthening public health, Obama said that there has been "enormous progress ... in parts of Africa" in recent years. He continued, "Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs they need. But too many still die from diseases that shouldn"t kill them." He added, "When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made." Obama said that "incentives often provided by donor nations" often compel doctors and nurses to "go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease," which "creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention." He also said that Africans must "make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries."Obama noted that the U.S. has committed $63 billion "to meet these challenges." He added that the U.S. will not "confront illnesses in isolation" but instead "invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children" (AP/USA Today, 7/11). Obama also visited a women"s clinic to highlight U.S-backed programs to fight infant and maternal mortality (New York Times, 7/12).
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St. Jude Medical Applauds MADIT-CRT Trial

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) commends the efforts of investigators in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (MADIT-CRT). The early results of the trial indicate that early intervention with CRT-D therapy can slow a patient"s progression from early stage heart failure (NYHA Class I-II) to late stage heart failure (NYHA Class III-IV). The trial, led by Arthur J. Moss, M.D., principal investigator and Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, demonstrated cardiac resynchronization therapy is associated with a significant 29 percent reduction (p=0.003) in death or heart failure interventions when compared to traditional implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy in high risk, asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I and II patients. About 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed every year, according to the American Heart Association. Currently, patients are typically only given a CRT-D after they have reached NYHA class III or IV heart failure, a much more serious condition. Expanded indications for CRT-D devices based on the MADIT-CRT data would improve the health of many patients in earlier stages of heart failure (NYHA class I and II) by allowing them to receive a CRT-D device. "The MADIT-CRT trial has shown that if intervention is conducted early enough, the outcome for the patient will be better over time," said Mark Carlson, M.D., chief medical officer of the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division of St. Jude Medical. "The next step for our industry is to ensure physicians and patients are aware of the clinically proven effectiveness of this treatment and that they benefit from the currently available cardiac resynchronization therapies." Cardiac resynchronization therapy is used to treat the symptoms and complications associated with certain types of heart failure (HF). CRT is administered using a pacemaker, called a CRT-P, or an ICD with pacing capabilities, called a CRT-D. A CRT-D has the added ability to defibrillate the heart if a patient is at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias. CRT stimulates both of the heart"s lower chambers so that they are "synchronized" and more efficient in pumping blood to the body. The stimulation takes place via a pulse generator (the ICD or pacemaker) and pacing leads, which are placed next to the heart"s tissue and deliver electrical impulses to the heart. St. Jude Medical


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