With autism affecting one in 88 children, companies and lawmakers are stepping up efforts to see that treatments are covered by health benefits. By JONATHAN BERR, who has written for national media outlets for more than 15 years. Employees at The Autism Society, a small non-profit dedicated to raising public awareness about the condition, are offered a wide array of benefits -- except, ironically coverage for autism. "It's amazing," said Scott Badesch, the society's president and COO, who is lobbying state officials to change the law. Maryland is behind the times. One in 88 children suffer from autism. Around 30 states have passed laws requiring companies to offer coverage for autism and services such as speech, occupational and behavioral therapies. These laws don't apply in general to large companies whose health insurance plans are self-funded. But even in those cases, there is progress as more of them are helping to cover the costs of these treatments. "I am pleasantly surprised at the rapid growth of the number of companies that are offering autism benefits," said Lori Unub, vice president for state government affairs at Autism Speaks, adding that a German firm was basing its decision on where to locate its … Continue reading →

WHMC Honored For Stroke Patient Care Met Numerous Treatment Guidelines Wyckoff Heights Medical Center (WHMC), a designated stroke center since the programs inception in 2003, has earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Associations Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. As described, the award recognizes WHMCs commitment and success in implementing outstanding care for stroke patients, based upon evidence-based guidelines and nationally accepted standards. In 2011, WHMC was the recipient of the Stroke Silver Award, making it two consecutive years that the hospital has been recognized. To receive the Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, Wyckoff Heights achieved at least 85 percent adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for 24 consecutive months, and achieved at least 75 percent compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care. These measures include the appropriate and aggressive use of tPA (clot-busting medication), antithrombotics, anticoagulants, DVT prevention measures, cholesterol reducing medications and smoking cessation counseling, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients. With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality … Continue reading →

Report finds that adults under 50 are the slowest to respond to stroke warning signs Dr. Michael Hill, Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canadian Stroke Network spokeperson (CNW Group/HEART AND STROKE OTTAWA, June 5, 2012 /CNW/ - Adults under the age of 50 are risking death or permanent disability far too often by not calling 9-1-1 or local emergency number at the first sign of stroke, according to new data released by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Stroke Network. The rest of Canadians aren't doing much better. And that spells trouble because there are 50,000 strokes in Canada each year. "When it comes to stroke, there are two enemies: the clock and the clot," says stroke neurologist Dr. Michaelj Hill, who speaks on behalf of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Stroke Network. "Canadians need to understand that the clock starts ticking at the first signs of a stroke, and every second of delay leads to more brain cell death and greater risk of death or disability." The stats - collected from about 10,000 patient charts at 295 hospitals across Canada found that half of all adults under the age of 50 took longer than … Continue reading →

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) Injecting stem cells into the brain of someone who has had a stroke is a hot button issue. Is it safe? Can it be done? Thats what researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are trying to find out. Because these are cells that have not been injected into the brain before, we need to know whether it is safe to do so, UPMC neurologist Dr. Lawrence Wechsler said. So far, at UPMC, two people have received injections of stem cells from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors. Roger Hill is one of them. In August 2009, he woke up with a stroke. The first thing he noticed was his vision. He couldnt see half of his world and then his left side left him. Something happened with my left leg. I fell down, he said. I couldnt feel my left knee. The problem was in the brain. A stroke most commonly happens because of a blocked artery. Part of the brain dies from a lack of oxygen and blood flow. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. Follow this link: Researchers Testing Stem Cells As Treatment For Stroke Recovery … Continue reading →

EXTON, Pa., June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ViroPharma Incorporated (VPHM) today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 program to evaluate maribavir for the treatment of cytomegalovirus infections in transplant recipients. The planned program will consist of two independent Phase 2 clinical studies that will include subjects at different ends of the spectrum of CMV infection or disease, namely those who have asymptomatic CMV, and those who have failed therapy with other anti-CMV agents. Maribavir was granted U.S. Orphan Drug Designation in May of 2011 for treatment of clinically significant cytomegalovirus viremia and disease in at-risk patients. In addition, an abstract of data collected through the use of maribavir at six French transplant centers as part of a named patient program (NPP) has been accepted for the 24th International Congress of the Transplantation Society to be held on July 15th through 19th in Berlin, Germany. "Physicians continue to see potential value in the novel mechanism of action of maribavir when used at higher doses in critically ill patients, particularly when other options have failed," stated Marc E. Uknis, MD, medical director, ViroPharma Incorporated. "The outcomes seen in a small number of the NPP patients and the previously published experience in … Continue reading →

Public release date: 4-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Mary Jane Gore mary.gore@duke.edu 919-660-1309 JAMA and Archives Journals CHICAGO A 38-year longitudinal study of New Zealanders suggests that individuals with higher genetic risk scores were more likely to be chronically obese in adulthood, according to a report published in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Obesity is capable of being inherited and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have started to uncover the molecular roots of heritability by identifying multiple single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with higher adult body mass index (BMI), the authors write in their study background. "In this study, we asked how SNPs with replicated GWAS evidence for association with adult BMI relate to growth across the first four decades of life and to adult obesity in a birth cohort followed up prospectively from birth through 38 years of age," Daniel W. Belsky, Ph.D., of Duke University, Durham, N.C., and colleagues write in the study background. Study participants were members of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, an investigation of health and behavior in a complete birth cohort. The 1,037 study members (52 percent were male) were born between … Continue reading →

First Bedside Genetic Test Could Prevent Heart Complications A genotyping test from a Canadian biotech company enables timely personalized drug treatment. For some cardiac patients, recovery from a common heart procedure can be complicated by a single gene responsible for drug processing. The risk could be lowered with the first bedside genetic test of its kind. The test shows promise for quickly and easily identifying patients who need a different medication. Quick test: This shoebox-sized device from Spartan Bioscience supports the first bedside genetic test. Spartan Bioscience After a patient receives a heart stenta small scaffold that props open an arteryhis or her doctor will prescribe a blood thinner to prevent platelets from building up inside the device. However, for some 70 percent of patients with Asian ancestry and 30 percent of patients with African or European ancestry, a single genetic variant will prevent one of the most commonly prescribed blood thinners from working. Alternatives exist, but they are more expensive, so hospitals could use an easy way to identify who does and does not need the more expensive drug. Canada's Spartan Biosciencehas developed a near "plug-and-play" genotyping device that allows nurses and others to quickly screen patients at the … Continue reading →