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Calif. Senate Advances Bill To Ban Health Insurance 'Gender Rating'
The California Senate last week approved a bill (S.B. 54) that would prohibit health insurance companies from charging different rates for individual insurance policies based on gender, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/15). The state Assembly last Monday voted 48-29 in favor of a similar measure (A.B. 119). Insurance companies maintain that the practice, known as gender rating, is justified because younger women typically seek health care services more frequently than men. According to a report by the National Women"s Law Center, women can pay up to 20% more than men for the same individual coverage. Federal law already prohibits employers that offer health plans from charging different rates based on gender, and ten states have similar laws that apply to individual plans. However, the remaining 40 states allow the practice.State Sen. Mark Leno (D) authored the Senate legislation after San Francisco filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to outlaw gender rating. The lawsuit is on hold pending the outcome of the two bills (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/14).
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DNA Binding Compound That Kills Bacteria In 2 Minutes Could Lead To New Antibiotics
A synthetic DNA binding compound has proved surprisingly effective at binding to the DNA of bacteria and killing all the bacteria it touched within two minutes. The DNA binding properties of the compound were first discovered in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick by Professor Mike Hannon and Professor Alison Rodger (Professor Mike Hannon is now at the University of Birmingham). However the strength of its antibiotic powers have now made it a compound of high interest for University of Warwick researchers working on the development of novel antibiotics.
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ASGT 12th Annual Meeting: Incorporate Gene Therapy To Make Stem Cell Treatment Safer, More Effective
Gene therapy should be used in tandem with stem cell therapy to enhance the reliability of stem cells, provide an opportunity to limit adverse effects and increase treatment success, according to research presented at the American Society of Gene Therapy"s 12th Annual Meeting, May 30.
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Post-Surgery Distress In Children Eased By Hormone Treatment

A scary unknown for many children, the prospect of surgery can cause intense preoperative anxiety. While some amount of stress is normal, what many parents do not know is that extreme anxiety before surgery can contribute to the occurrence of emergence delirium, a distressing incidence of acute behavioral changes experienced when "waking up" from anesthesia. Now in the July issue of Anesthesiology, physicians focused on reducing anxiety in children and their families report that oral treatment with melatonin before surgery can significantly reduce the occurrence of emergence delirium in children. Affecting up to 20 percent of children who undergo surgery, emergence delirium in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) consists of acute behavior changes including crying, thrashing and need for restraint. According to researchers, this can also lead to the development of behavioral changes outside the recovery suite with the onset of nightmares, bed wetting and separation anxiety. "Studies conducted in adults have revealed that oral administration of melatonin before surgery beneficially reduced anxiety levels, but relevant similar treatment data for children undergoing anesthesia and surgery are limited," said study lead author Zeev N. Kain, M.D., MBA, Chair of UC Irvine Anesthesiology and Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. Seeking confirmation of additional options for anxiety management, researchers first set out to determine if melatonin could decrease anxiety levels when compared to midazolam, a sedative widely used to ease preoperative anxiety. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, regulates sleep, moods and reproductive cycles. Secretions of melatonin increase during exposure to light. In a study group that consisted of 148 subjects between the ages of 2 and 8 undergoing outpatient surgery under general anesthesia, children were randomly assigned to receive midazolam or melatonin orally before surgery. Children were followed throughout their surgical experience as researchers measured anxiety and secondary study outcomes of anesthesia administration compliance and emergence behavior. Behaviors were measured using the Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPass), the Induction Compliance Checklist and the Keegan scale. "Results indicated that preoperative melatonin administration did not effectively reduce anxiety levels," said Dr. Kain. "However, it was found that melatonin significantly reduced the incidence of emergence delirium in these children. As 3 million children undergo surgery in the U.S. each year, these findings reveal noteworthy health care and treatment implications." Melatonin showed a direct dose dependent effect on emergence delirium. Children in the melatonin premedication group received any of three doses of melatonin: 0.05 mg/kg, .2 mg/kg and 0.4 mg/kg, while the incidence of delirium at each dose was 25 percent, 8.3 percent and 5.4 percent. Midazolam remains the recommended premedication for anxiety reduction in children scheduled for surgery. Tom Vasich University of California - Irvine


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