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La. Gov. Jindal Signs Law Expanding Protections For Health Workers Who Refuse Services
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) on Tuesday signed into law a bill (HB 517) that expands health care provider "conscience" protections beyond abortion to also include refusals to provide emergency contraception or participate in certain other procedures, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The law provides job protection and legal immunity to "any person" who refuses to provide abortion services, distribute "abortifacient drugs," work on research involving embryonic stem cells or cloning, or participate in physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. According to the Times-Picayune, the provision that refers to abortifacient drugs is intended to include EC but not other forms of birth control.Jindal"s administration said the law is necessary to protect the individual rights of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers whose personal beliefs might conflict with their professional duties. Opponents of the law, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that it will restrict patient access to accurate information and timely services (Barrow/Anderson, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7/8).

Hormonal Therapies Offer Effective Solutions For Many Adult Women With Acne
Although acne traditionally has been considered a disease of teenagers, it is also extremely common in adult women. Studies show that acne affects more than 50 percent of women between the ages of 20-29 and more than 25 percent of women between the ages of 40-49 (1). In fact, after age 20, women are far more likely to report having acne than men. While there is no cure for acne, dermatologists are finding that hormonal therapies can help some women fight bothersome acne that occurs in adulthood.
News of the day
Insurers Underpaid 'Billions' In Health Claims
The Senate Commerce Committee has found that a flawed payment database produced by a UnitedHealth subsidiary and distributed to other major insurance companies has led insurers to underpay millions of out-of-network claims, forcing patients to make up the difference of health care providers" fees, the Wall Street Journal reports. Aetna, Cigna, WellPoint, and other large insurers used the data to calculate their "reasonable and customary" charges. They also provided UnitedHealth"s subsidiary, Ingenix, with historic data about their payments, which became the foundation of ongoing versions of the flawed payment models.
Nutrition

Peripheral Nerve Repair With Fat Precursor Cells Led To Wider Nerves And Less Muscle Atrophy

To determine if guided fat (adipose) precursor cells (APCs) could improve nerve regeneration and functional recovery, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) used biodegradable nerve guides to transplant APCs into the injured peripheral nerves of laboratory rats. "Adipose tissues, shown to be multipotent, have also been shown to be an abundant of post-natal precursor cells that are relatively easy to isolate from fat tissue and in sufficient amounts to be injected immediately post-isolation," said Dr. Kacey Marra, lead author of a study published in the current issue of the journal Cell Transplantation (18:2). Adipose precursor cells, said Marra and co-authors, have demonstrated an ability to differentiate in vitro into cartilage (chondrogenic), bone (osteogenic), fat (adipogenic) and muscle (myogenic) cell types. Control groups for this study included those with no treatment, those receiving an autograft but no nerve guide tube, and those receiving an autograft and nerve guide tube but no APC transplant in the guide tube. Researchers noted that the "gold standard" for nerve repair is the autograft to repair nerve gaps. Pre-clinical studies have shown that including Schwann cells within nerve conduits can enhance nerve regeneration. However, the incorporation of Schwann cells requires a second surgery, renders a secondary nerve nonfunctional, and requires Schwann cells in high numbers that are clinically challenging to obtain. According to the researchers, significant differences in the sciatic functional index (SFI) were observed three weeks post-injury in the autografted, APC-transplanted group using nerve guides over a control group in which nerve guides were left empty. Researchers also observed the formation of a more robust nerve accompanied by modestly decreased muscle atrophy in the APC-transplanted group. No differences were observed after 12 weeks, however. "We found that full regeneration of the sciatic nerve occurred in the rats receiving the autograft, the guide, and the guide loaded with APCs. No regeneration was observed in any of the rats in which the defect was left untreated," said Marra. Their results also showed that transplanted human-derived APCs survived for up to 12 weeks in the injured peripheral nerve and formed a more robust nerve with nerve cells more than double the size of those formed using the conduit alone. "The versatility of adult precursor cells, such as those from adipose, for the treatment of a number of disorders is promising and this study demonstrates their potential benefit towards nerve repair," said section editor Dr. John Sladek, professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Notes: The editorial offices for CELL TRANSPLANTATION are at the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, College of Medicine, the University of South Florida and the Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. News Release by Randolph Fillmore, Florida Science Communications. Anita Srikameswaran, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair


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