At midnight thursday Alaska became the 31st state in America to require health insurance policies to cover treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Rep. Dan Saddler is father to an autistic sun and is elated about the new law."Other families are not going to have to have to face those same challenges(That we did) they'll have funding through their health insurance. Many of them will get the benefits of a good appropriate therapy and education at home, keep their families together and provide better support and provide a better outcome for everybody" A number of legislators and groups helping people with special needs gathered together Wednesday to celebrate. It took two years for a measure with bi-partisan support to make it through. Senate Bill 74 passed through the Senate in February and was passed by the house on the last day of the session. Governor Sean Parnell chose to return the bill to the legislature without his signature which under Alaska state law results in enactment. According to the Key Coalition of Alaska 1 in 88 chidren born in the United States will be diagnosed with Autisim. Go here to see the original: Autism Law Goes Into Effect … Continue reading →

Newswise Baltimore, MD Sinai Hospital has begun use of a new device that provides timely live-saving treatment for acute stroke patients. The Solitaire FR revascularization device is designed to minimize damage caused by blockage of an artery to the brain by mechanically removing blood clots and restoring blood flow. Recently approved by the FDA for use in patients with acute stroke, the device is especially crucial for those who arrive in the emergency room too late for clot-dissolving drugs to be administered. The Solitaire FR represents the next generation in the endovascular treatment of acute strokes, said John C. Brunson Jr., M.D., director of Interventional Radiology/Neurointerventional Services at Sinai Hospital. This condition often leads to long-term disability problems and even death if we do not treat it in time. Many acute stroke patients have a window of only a few hours to receive interventional treatment, so every second counts. This device gives us the ability to open up blocked blood vessels more quickly than ever before. Brunson recently became the first surgeon in Maryland to use the Solitaire FR to successfully treat a patient with top of the basilar artery stroke, a rare condition that almost always results in death … Continue reading →

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability, affecting nearly 800,000 people and costing some $60 billion annually in the United States alone. Providing the best and latest in treatment of stroke is increasingly becoming a national focus, and one Peoria is at the forefront. Adding to the already vast expertise in the field of vascular neurology, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria has received formal accreditation for a fellowship program specializing in stroke. Approval by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, or ACGME, essentially gives the existing educational and clinical structure in Peoria the gold seal. Dr. Thomas Santoro, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, called the fellowship accreditation highly prestigious, adding this fellowship is the embodiment of on-going clinical efforts to grow medical subspecialties within our community. Currently, only 67 such stroke fellowships exist nationwide which are accredited by the ACGME. About a quarter of those were created only within the last couple years. Dr. David Wang, Founder and Director of the Illinois Neurological Institutes Stroke Network at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology for the University of … Continue reading →