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Flu Pandemic Likely To Strike UK In The Autumn Says Expert
A leading expert has warned that the UK can expect to be hit by a swine flu pandemic in the autumn when students go back to school and
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The Cost Of Autism In The UK Is More Than $41 Billion Every Year
Research published this week in the journal Autism, published by SAGE, estimate the annual costs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to be more than ÷£27 billion a year. The costs of supporting children with ASDs were estimated to be ÷£2.7 billion per year, ÷£25 billion each year for adults. The findings were presented at the Autism & Employment Workshop at Goldsmiths, University of London.
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Opinion Pieces Discuss Whether Current Efforts To Fix Health Costs Will Produce Sufficient Savings
David Brooks, New York Times: Health care costs have become "the crucial issue of [President Obama"s] whole presidency," Times columnist Brooks writes. According to Brooks, Obama"s original plan was to fund his priorities, including education and energy, with debt that would be paid off with future savings resulting from health care reform. Brooks writes that Obama"s aides have been discussing "game-changers" -- such as health information technology, wellness programs, preventive medicine, comparative effective measures and altering reimbursement policies -- that would result in cost reductions. However, Brooks writes that most experts do not think such efforts would "produce much in the way of cost savings over the next 10 years" and that "nobody is sure" the efforts would "ever produce significant savings." Brooks writes that because "there are deep structural forces, both in Medicare and the private insurance market" that make it "nearly impossible to put together a majority coalition for a bill" challenging those structures, reform efforts this year likely will produce a "medium-size bill that expands coverage to some groups but does relatively little to control costs." Brooks concludes, "Without serious health cost cuts," Obama"s agenda "will hasten fiscal suicide" (Brooks, New York Times, 5/15).
Health Insurance

Boston Scientific Launches Third-Generation Platinum Chromium Drug-Eluting Stent

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced the launch of the platinum chromium TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in select markets worldwide. The TAXUS Element Stent features a new platinum chromium alloy engineered specifically for coronary stent applications and represents the Company"s third-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) technology. The Element Stent series consists of three distinct versions: the Paclitaxel-Eluting TAXUS Element Stent, the Everolimus-Eluting PROMUS(R) Element(TM) Stent and the bare-metal Element Stent(1). All three versions of the Element Stent are built on the advanced platinum chromium platform and are designed to provide interventional cardiologists improved performance in treating patients with complex coronary artery disease. The Company is anticipating CE Mark approval for both the TAXUS Element Stent and the PROMUS Element Stent Systems in the fourth quarter of this year. The platinum chromium alloy used in the Element Stent System was engineered specifically for coronary stenting, delivering both strength and flexibility. The Element Stent System platform also features a new stent architecture with thinner struts, increased flexibility and a lower profile, designed to improve radial strength, recoil and angiographic visibility. Deliverability to complex lesions is further enhanced through the incorporation of a new highly deliverable dilatation catheter technology. "It is particularly important to have a range of options when selecting the right treatment for patients with challenging coronary lesions," said Dean J. Kereiakes, M.D., Medical Director at The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and The Lindner Research Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and a principal investigator for the TAXUS PERSEUS clinical trial evaluating the TAXUS Element Stent. "The Element Stent series is intended to provide a full range of DES solutions for interventional cardiologists, giving them the option to treat patients with a paclitaxel, everolimus or bare-metal stent. In my experience, the TAXUS Element Stent is a highly deliverable and conformable platform that has the potential to simplify complex procedures and improve outcomes." "Our platinum chromium Element Stent series represents a significant leap forward in drug-eluting stent innovation," said David McFaul, Boston Scientific Senior Vice President, International. "This breakthrough technology combines a new alloy designed for coronary stenting, an innovative stent design and a new delivery system." The TAXUS Element Stent System is currently being studied in the PERSEUS clinical trial program, which compares the TAXUS Element Stent System to the TAXUS(R) Express2(R) Stent System. The program includes the PERSEUS Workhorse and the PERSEUS Small Vessel arms. Both have finished recruiting patients and are estimated to be completed by the end of the year. The PROMUS Element Stent System is currently being studied in the PLATINUM clinical trial program, which compares the PROMUS Element Stent System to the PROMUS(R) Stent System, and is actively enrolling patients in the U.S., Europe and Japan. While the Element Stent platform represents Boston Scientific"s third-generation DES technology, the Company"s fourth-generation DES is currently under development. Initial clinical data were presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics scientific symposium in 2008; global pivotal trials are expected to begin in 2010. This DES employs the Labcoat technology, which has an ultra thin biodegradable abluminal polymer that delivers a very low dose of paclitaxel to the wall of the treated vessel, and no polymer or drug on the inner surface of the stent. Integrating the Element Stent architecture and a platinum chromium alloy with an optimized drug release, the "Labcoat Element" Stent(2) is designed to deliver a powerful combination of procedural and clinical performance. In the United States, the TAXUS Element Stent and PROMUS Element Stent are investigational devices and are limited by applicable law to investigational use only and are not available for sale. The PROMUS Stent is a private-labeled Xience V(R) Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System manufactured by Abbott and distributed by Boston Scientific. Xience V is a trademark of the Abbott Laboratories group of companies. Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. Boston Scientific Corporation


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