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Lawmakers, Officials Distort The Facts To Support Or Oppose Health Overhaul
"Confusing claims and outright distortions have animated the national debate over changes in the health care system," the Associated Press reports. The AP lists examples:
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Therapy Targets Emotional Eating
According to the latest thinking, eating healthily and taking more exercise are not enough by themselves to combat the nation"s rising obesity levels. Instead we need a better understanding of the issues underpinning compulsive eating so that psychological help can be successfully targeted.
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New York Times Examines Challenges Presented By Growing Number Of Surrogate Births
The New York Times on Sunday examined how the increasing number of surrogate births has created a "modern twist" on explaining pregnancy to children for many parents who used surrogacy. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine estimates that there were 400 to 600 surrogate births annually from 2003 to 2007. However, there is no widely agreed upon number, and many advocates believe the actual figure is much higher. Melissa Brisman, a lawyer who runs an agency that connects surrogates with prospective parents, said that ASRM figures are much too low and that her clients alone gave birth to 300 infants through surrogacy in 2008. She said that 20% of the cases involved gay men becoming parents via surrogacy. Experts believe the number of surrogate births will continue to rise as more people, including gay men, choose the option.Judith Kottick, a licensed social worker in Montclair, N.J., who counsels parents in addressing children"s questions about their surrogacy births, said, "What kids want to know is that they"re in the family they were meant to be in -- that they belong to their mom and dad." The Times included the experiences of several couples who had children via surrogacy (Rimer, New York Times, 7/12).
Endocrinology

First Potential Lupus-Specific Treatment In Sight

Today, Human Genome Sciences (HGS) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced positive results from a year-long clinical trial of BENLYSTA for treating lupus. When the 52-week study concluded, the lupus patients who were treated with BENLYSTA had improvement in overall disease activity without clinically significant flare-ups in one or more isolated organs when compared to patients who received the placebo (inactive agent). The patients receiving BENLYSTA also were able to reduce their intake of steroid medications. The study is the largest ever to be completed for lupus and the first Phase III (late stage) trial of a new biologic immune therapy for lupus to succeed in meeting its primary endpoint and most of its secondary endpoints. Sandra C. Raymond, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) issued the following statement. "For people with lupus and their loved ones, this is an historic day! With no new drugs for more than 50 years, since the Eisenhower Administration, the news today indicates that it is possible to develop new, safe, and effective therapies for lupus. We are greatly encouraged by the positive top-line data which shows that HGS" 52-week BENLYSTA study met its primary endpoint. These results provide hope that this complex chronic autoimmune disease can be brought under control and that, eventually, a cure can be found for the estimated 1.5 million Americans and more than 5 million people worldwide living with lupus. "We look forward to hearing the results, this fall, of a longer-term Phase III clinical study of BENLYSTA. The data from both studies will be evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Should the FDA ultimately approve BENLYSTA, it would become the first drug successfully developed to specifically treat lupus since the disease was discovered more than a century ago. "Lupus is a complex disease and not every therapy will be appropriate for all patients. Each person with lupus is unique and it is likely that successful management of lupus will require a number of therapies, perhaps used in combination with each other. The LFA and its Medical-Scientific Advisory Council urge the federal government and industry to greatly step up their research efforts on lupus so that physicians have a complete arsenal of therapies at their disposal to provide the individualized treatment that lupus requires. "We are grateful to Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline for their pioneering efforts to develop a new, safe, effective and tolerable treatment for lupus, to the physicians who have passionately committed to researching this disease, to the companies who continue to invest in finding new treatments, and to the thousands of people with lupus who have volunteered and participated in clinical studies over the years so discoveries such as this one could be possible. "Meanwhile, the LFA will continue to implement its initiative entitled, A New 21st Century Approach to Lupus Healthcare, to ensure the ongoing advancement of the science and medicine of lupus to meet the multi-dimensional needs of people with lupus. " View a video of Sandra Raymond"s remarks on the LFA website. About Lupus Lupus is an acute and chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system is unbalanced, causing inflammation and tissue damage to virtually any organ in the body. Its health effects include heart attacks, strokes, seizures, miscarriages, and organ failure. Ninety percent of the people with lupus are women, and it is two to three times more common among African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, and Asians. Lupus is unpredictable and potentially fatal, yet no satisfactory treatment or cure exists. LFA


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