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Food And Drug Administration Moves Towards Greater Openness
The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps towards greater openness. The Associated Press reports that FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg "announced Tuesday she has created a task force to make recommendations on how the agency can release more information in such areas as drug evaluation and enforcement matters. She wants a report in six months." Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein will head the task force, which will represent all of the FDA"s major divisions as well as its law enforcement branch. It will hold two public meetings with the first on June 24. "The FDA has long operated under strict confidentiality rules," the AP reports, and in opening up information, one sensitive issue will be what to do with unpublished clinical trial data from drug manufacturers. Despite such concerns, "Hamburg said she believes the need for secrecy may have been taken too far, and is harming the FDA"s credibility within the medical community and among consumers" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/2).

Racial Disparities In Breast Cancer Mortality Are Not Driven By Estrogen Receptor Status Alone
Black women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher probability of dying from the disease than white women, regardless of their estrogen receptor status, according to research from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Differences in breast cancer mortality may reflect racial differences in access and response to innovative breast cancer treatments, as well as other biological and non-biological factors, according to the report. In addition, the researchers found that differences in outcomes in the first few years post-diagnosis make up nearly all of the disparity. These results were published online July 7, 2009 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Wiley-Blackwell Publishes Inaugural Issue Of LUTS (Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms)
Wiley-Blackwell, the scientific, technical, medical and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc (NYSE: JWa), (NYSE: JWb), has announced that the inaugural issue of its new journal, LUTS (Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms), is now live online.
Endocrinology

David Cameron Makes Autism Pledge And Backs Autism Bill

Commenting on today"s speech by Conservative Party Leader Rt Hon David Cameron MP at the Research Autism Conference in London, Lesa Walton - Care & Development Director of specialist Autism care provider Brookdale Care - said today: "Brookdale Care is delighted that David Cameron chose to draw special attention to the issues surrounding Autistic Spectrum Conditions today. We hope that Mr Cameron"s speech represents a landmark day for Autism and its social importance. "Brookdale Care has long been pressing for what Mr Cameron described as the need to lift "the fog of confusion that hangs over Autism" and to ensure that people who can play an active part in society are not unnecessarily locked out through public misunderstanding of Autism and its associated conditions. "Brookdale Care is committed to acting as a catalyst for positive change and creating a society in which people with Autism are supported, trusted and respected. "We agree with Mr Cameron in that further research on Autism needs to be undertaken so that we can better understand the condition, the needs of people with the condition and their families and, most importantly, the services that can assist people. There also needs to be greater understanding of the services that are available and how they can be accessed with as little bureaucracy as possible. "To do this, all organisations - Local Authorities, PCTs, voluntary organisations, Central Government, independent sector care providers and GPs - need to work collaboratively and share expertise without delay. Brookdale Care has been working hard to do this and we welcome efforts to further integrate our work with other agencies. Such joint working would particularly assist in improving transition arrangements for people with Autism, as Mr Cameron rightly noted. "As Mr Cameron stressed, it is of crucial importance that people with Autism and their families are listened to because they are the people that really understand their individual needs, a sentiment that Brookdale Care shares. We realise how important it is to listen to service users and always want to offer people choice and control over every aspect of their lives. "We hope that Mr Cameron will continue to listen to people with Autism, their families and others seeking to provide support. We are pleased that he reaffirmed support for the Autism Bill and hope that the Conservative Party will continue to place Autism at the top of the policy agenda." Brookdale Care


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