http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/health/ en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 13:33:29 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286448/posts Before taking her job as the White House health reform director, Nancy-Ann DeParle earned more than $6 million serving on the boards of major health care corporations, some of which were accused of fraud, mismanagement and regulatory violations during her tenure, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University reports on MSNBC.com. Some critics say the corporate relationships could be a conflict of interest for DeParle. Also, while there's no evidence DeParle was involved in or aware of allegedly fraudulent activities, in three cases, she served on board committees overseeing the companies' legal and regulatory compliance. Kaiser Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286448/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 13:33:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286443/posts Achieving comprehensive health reform has emerged as a leading priority of the President and Congress. President Obama has outlined eight principles for health reform, seeking to address not only the 45 million people who lack health insurance, but also rising health care costs and lack of quality. In Congress, a number of comprehensive reform proposals have been announced as the debate begins over how to overhaul the health care system. This interactive side-by-side compares the leading comprehensive reform proposals across a number of key characteristics and plan components. Included in this side-by-side are proposals for moving toward universal coverage that... Kaiser Family Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286443/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 13:26:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286266/posts Scientists have uncovered powerful evidence that caffeine not only helps to stave off the disease but can treat it. They hope soon to follow up the initial results from animal experiments with human patient trials. US neuroscientist Dr Gary Arendash, who led the research, said: "The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective strategy. "That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process." A key aspect of Alzheimer's is sticky clumps... Sky News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286266/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 03:32:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286020/posts So when he tells you he's interested in debating the issue, he's lying to you. Am I wrong? Look at the left. They no longer have Bush to blame. There are no Republicans in power. So they revert back to the only thing they know how to do. Throw temper tantrums and throw blame. Even if they're only blaming themselves. President Obama, strategizing yesterday with congressional leaders about health-care reform, complained that liberal advocacy groups ought to drop their attacks on Democratic lawmakers and devote their energy to promoting passage of comprehensive legislation. The Big Feed http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286020/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 18:03:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285829/posts Report says NKorea's Kim convalescing by the sea Sun Jul 5, 2:46 am ET SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been living at an east coast villa since mid-May and is likely convalescing after reportedly suffering a stroke last year, a newspaper said Sunday citing U.S. and South Korean intelligence. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285829/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 10:42:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285771/posts Enlarge ImageEvolving evidence. In a massive study, C-reactive protein didn’t boost the risk of heart attacks.Credit: Wikipedia A new study may be the last word in a controversy that's plagued cardiovascular disease research for years: whether a marker of inflammation known as C-reactive protein (CRP) drives heart attacks and strokes. In a survey of more than 128,000 people, researchers have found that genes that raise CRP levels don't make cardiovascular disease more likely. Although the study arrives at the same conclusion as earlier work, its massive size makes it statistically the most powerful test yet of this question and... ScienceNOW Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285771/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 05:05:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285387/posts Medical care in the United States is derided as miserable compared to health care systems in the rest of the developed world. Economists, government officials, insurers, and academics beat the drum for a far larger government role in health care. Much of the public assumes that their arguments are sound because the calls for change are so ubiquitous and the topic so complex. Before we turn to government as the solution, however, we should consider some unheralded facts about America’s health care system. 1. Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers. Breast cancer mortality is 52 percent... Hoover's Digest http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285387/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 13:14:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285305/posts I went through Obama’s Townhall video, and I did some research on some of the things he said. Here’s what I found: What Obama said: About 2/3 of the cost of the reform that we're proposing is just re-allocating the money that's already in the system. You, the taxpayer is already paying for it. Now, 1/3 of it, we're going to have to pay for it by increased revenues. What I've proposed is that if we capped the itemized deductions, that very wealthy people, the top 2% use on their income tax so that they're getting the same tax breaks... Obama Information http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285305/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 06:55:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284833/posts Please excuse the vanity. This is a serious question I have. I am seriously distressed at what is going on in our country. I know that I am too into politics, which makes it worse. To some extent seeing the fall of this country and the current administrations push towards socialism is really stealing some of my joy in life. I know there are obsessive political type on FR who feel the same way. How do you deal with it? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284833/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 14:20:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284700/posts Cell tracking shows that axolotl cells in a regrowing leg retain distinct roles. The amazing axolotl - legless, but never for long.Wikimedia Commons Salamanders have the ability to regrow amputated limbs – but what stops a tail growing from the stump, instead of a leg? A team of scientists are now a step closer to the answer. They studied tissue regeneration in axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum), salamanders endemic to Mexico. The creatures heal so well because the muscle, bone and skin cells nearest to the amputation site revert into a more generic form, forming a clump of adult stem cells called... Nature News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284700/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 09:31:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284539/posts A research group from Bristol has found that a naturally occurring protein, known as nerve growth factor, can dramatically improve the survival of heart cells and reduce heart cell damage following a heart attack in mice. The researchers hope that this treatment could also benefit humans and prevent heart attack victims from suffering further damage to their heart muscle. Nerve growth factor - healing broken hearts Growth factors are naturally occurring molecules produced by the body to regulate cell division and cell survival processes. Some growth factors are known to influence many different cell types, whereas others are considered... thefutureofthings.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284539/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 01:15:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284466/posts Canada's in the spotlight as debate on health care reform rages in the U.S.Published Thursday July 2nd, 2009 Lee-Anne Goodman, THE CANADIAN PRESS WASHINGTON - It's rare that anything to do with Canada is front and centre in the minds of Americans, but the Canadian health-care system has been a hot topic of discussion over the past few weeks as Capitol Hill legislators work on a massive health-care overhaul. From hair salons to hospital waiting rooms and Georgetown dinner parties, Americans have wanted to know: "What's health care really like in Canada?" "Is it true no one can get a... Canada East http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284466/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:25:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284446/posts Senate bill fines people refusing health coverageBy RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR – 58 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage.... AP via Google http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284446/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:18:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284430/posts ]-->Army Capt. Jason Smith listens to an infant's breathing at the last "Bring on the Docs" cooperative medical engagement at the Jassan Health Clinic in Iraq's Wasit province, June 23. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson, Multi-National Division - South. FOB DELTA — Soldiers serving with a medical task force here completed nearly a year's worth of missions last week, satisfied that they've helped to improve health care in Iraq's Wasit province. Soldiers from Task Force Gunner Med wrapped up Operation "Bring on the Docs" with a recent visit to the Jassan Health Clinic for a cooperative medical engagement."It... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284430/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:50:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284233/posts Senate Democrats unveiled their plans to create a government-run public health insurance option and require most employers to provide healthcare benefits to their workers Thursday, partially filling in the blanks on two of the biggest unsettled questions in the effort to reform the healthcare system. According to Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, their legislation would extend health insurance coverage to 21 million uninsured people over 10 years at a net cost of $611.4 billion. Combined with separate legislation being developed by the Senate Finance Committee, senators said their healthcare reform plan would bring the... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284233/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:26:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284068/posts JOHN Stossel is telling his own network "Give me a break!" after it pulled his health-case insurance segment off the air to give more time to the death of Michael Jackson. New Yawk Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284068/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 14:29:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283903/posts NEW ORLEANS — An international committee of experts has endorsed the use of the hemoglobin A1c assay to diagnose diabetes, at a level of 6.5% or above. The 21-member international committee, chaired by Dr. David M. Nathan, was appointed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Their consensus report—presented in a symposium at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association and published simultaneously online in Diabetes Care—has not yet been officially endorsed by the three organizations. “This is the first major departure from the... Family Practice News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283903/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 07:12:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283900/posts ORLANDO — Fewer than half of childhood cancer survivors who are deemed to be at high risk of secondary breast, colon, and skin malignancies follow cancer-screening and surveillance recommendations as adults, according to a new analysis of the large, longitudinal Childhood Cancer Survivors Study. High-risk survivors were the least compliant with colonoscopy recommendations: Only 11.5% of 794 survivors who were considered vulnerable for colorectal cancer had a colonoscopy during the 5 years before they were surveyed, Dr. Paul Nathan reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Skin cancer is the most common radiation-associated second malignancy... Family Practice News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283900/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 06:59:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283894/posts COLORADO SPRINGS — Pressure is mounting to routinely screen all children for autism early because evidence increasingly demonstrates that intervention before age 3 years results in far better outcomes, Dr. Ann Reynolds said at the annual conference of the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians. “It's so important to get those services going. Children with autism who begin treatment before age 3 have a much better chance of having functional language,” explained Dr. Reynolds, a pediatrician at the University of Colorado and director of the child development unit at the Children's Hospital, Denver. American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines recommend an autism-specific... Family Practice News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283894/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 06:35:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283660/posts FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, July 1, 2009 – Soldiers serving with a medical task force here completed nearly a year’s worth of missions last week satisfied that they’ve helped to improve health care in Iraq’s Wasit province. Army Capt. Michael O’Leary checks a patient’s eye during an examination at the last “Bring on the Docs” cooperative medical engagement at the Jassan Health Clinic, June 23, 2009, in Iraq’s Wasit province. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers from Task Force Gunner Med wrapped up Operation “Bring on the Docs” with... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283660/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 23:01:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283420/posts Liberal health reform advocates have talked about ramming a reform plan — including a Medicare-like public insurance option — through the Senate with only 51 Democratic votes. But a leading Senate player says it won’t work. Roll Aall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283420/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 18:06:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282996/posts Karl Greenfeld’s painful, eloquent memoir lays bare the disease’s toll.Boy Alone: A Brother’s Memoir, by Karl Greenfeld (Harper, 368 pp., $25.99) In the 1988 film Rain Man, Dustin Hoffman plays an autistic adult named Raymond Babbitt, a role for which he received an Academy Award. Hoffman’s performance has another distinction: 21 years later, it remains the phoniest portrayal of autism ever put on screen. Those who suffer from that affliction, unlike Raymond, aren’t all cuteness and intuition. Their rages don’t last three picturesque minutes; they can go on for days. In infancy, those stricken most severely retreat into themselves, never... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282996/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 03:29:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282723/posts Last week, a team of eight cyclists completed the coast-to-coast bike marathon called the Race Across America in record time. It was quite an achievement under any circumstances, but what made it extraordinary was something all eight of them had in common: Type 1 diabetes. Type 1, sometimes called juvenile diabetes, poses special challenges for athletes. A person with Type 1 can’t produce insulin and must take regular injections to control blood sugar. But exercise can also lead to precipitous, even deadly, drops in blood sugar. (Type 2 diabetes, by far the more common form of the disease, typically develops... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282723/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:01:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282274/posts Photo Stirs Speculation on North Korean Leader By CHOE SANG-HUN SEOUL, South Korea — An image of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, shown recently on government-run television appears to be a doctored version of an earlier photo, raising the possibility that Mr. Kim’s health has deteriorated to the point where he has had to skip public appearances, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday. On June 14, the state-run Central TV showed what it said was a still photo of Mr. Kim posing with a group of soldiers indoors during a visit to a military unit. The Chosun Ilbo,... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282274/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:10:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281796/posts TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Billy Mays, well known for pitching a variety of products in U.S. television commercials, had heart disease but did not appear to have suffered head trauma in a rough airplane landing prior to dying in his sleep on Sunday, a medical examiner in Florida said on Monday. The bearded, black-haired Mays, 50, who gained fame as an enthusiastic TV "pitchman" advertising an array of commercial products, was found dead by his wife at their home in Tampa, Florida. On Saturday, Mays was among the passengers aboard a U.S. Airways flight from Philadelphia that landed roughly at... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281796/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:32:22 GMT