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New York State Compensation Policy For Egg Donors 'Seems Justifiable,' New York Times Editorial States
Although New York state"s decision to allow state-funded embryonic stem cell researchers to compensate women for donating their eggs "has provoked criticism from some ethicists and runs counter to guidelines issued by" NIH and the National Academy of Sciences, it still "seems justifiable" to pay the women "for undergoing an arduous procedure and to spur progress on potentially important research that has been slowed because of a lack of human eggs," a New York Times editorial states. The state"s Empire State Stem Cell Board last month made the decision to allow researchers to pay women up to $10,000 as compensation.According to the editorial, "[w]omen already get paid comparable sums to donate their eggs to help infertile women have a child through in vitro fertilization," so it "is hard to see why they should not be paid for contributing their eggs for research." The editorial notes that the "money is meant as reimbursement for travel, housing, child care or medical expenses," and it also would "compensate the women for the considerable time, burden and inconvenience of harvesting their eggs, a process that can take 56 hours spread out over many weeks.""The board set reasonable constraints, insisting that the research be rigorously reviewed and approved by oversight committees, that donors be fully informed of potential physical and psychological risks and that they give informed consent to the procedure," the editorial states. It adds, "One concern has been that payments could induce women, especially poor women, to provide eggs without fully considering potential risks." The editorial continues, "In an effort to mitigate that possibility, the stem cell board will follow the guidelines of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, which require justification for payments of $5,000 or more and deem sums above $10,000 inappropriate."The editorial adds, "Human eggs are highly prized for some of the most promising research, notably studies that require matching embryonic stem cells to a particular patient with a particular disease," concluding, "It has proved almost impossible to recruit women to go through the arduous process for free," so the "board was right to allow fair compensation" (New York Times, 7/11).
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Rapid Changes In Clinical Practice For Drug-Eluting Stents Due To Fast Release Of Data
E-mail, search engines, smart phones and other new technologies that can disseminate new medical information quickly led to an almost immediate change in clinical practice for drug-eluting stents, according to a study reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
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La Jolla Institute Discovers Novel Tumor Suppressor
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology researchers studying an enzyme believed to play a role in allergy onset, instead have discovered its previously unknown role as a tumor suppressor that may be important in myeloproliferative diseases and some types of lymphoma and leukemia. Myeloproliferative diseases are a group of disorders characterized by an overproduction of blood cells by the bone marrow and include chronic myeloid leukemia. Lymphoma and leukemia are cancers of the blood.
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Patients With Bipolar Disorder At Increased Risk For Wide Range Of Health Problems, Thomson Reuters Study Finds

A new study from Thomson Reuters found that patients with bipolar disorder were at greater risk for a wide range of medical conditions than a control group of patients with no mental health diagnoses. The study analyzed de-identified insurance claims for more than 600,000 Americans with employer-sponsored insurance. It is available here and an interactive graphic charting bipolar patients" risk of comorbid disorders is available here. Key findings include the following: -- Trauma or Adverse Reactions to Treatment: Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder were 3.13 times more likely than the control group to have a trauma or adverse reaction to treatment. Approximately 7 percent of bipolar cases had at least one such episode in the two-year study period. -- Neurological Episodes: Neurological conditions -- such as headaches and spinal cord injuries -- occurred 2.27 times more frequently among bipolar patients. Approximately one-fourth of all enrollees with a bipolar episode also had at least one episode involving the neurological system. -- Female Reproduction: Conditions involving the female reproductive system -- such as dysfunctional uterine bleeding and breast cancer -- were 25 percent more common among bipolar patients. The study is based on data contained in the 2006-2007 MarketScan(R) Commercial Claims and Encounters Database. The Thomson Reuters Medical Episode Grouper was used to group each enrollee"s claims into distinct episodes of care based on the disease for which treatment was received. "Medication use and behavioral characteristics are known to increase the risk of disease among bipolar patients, but much is still unknown about the reasons for increased rates of comorbidities among this population and ways to reduce them," said William D. Marder, Ph.D., senior vice president and general manager for the Healthcare & Science business of Thomson Reuters and one of the study"s authors. "Our analysis underscores the urgent need for further exploration of how to best increase providers" capacity to address, monitor and ultimately improve the psychiatric and physical health of their bipolar patients." About Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters is the world"s leading of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets, powered by the world"s most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries Thomson Reuters


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