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Sufferers Of Lung Diseases May Be Helped By Placenta-Derived Stem Cells
An Italian research team, publishing in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (18:4), which is now available on-line without charge at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct, has found that stem cells derived from human placenta may ultimately play a role in the treatment of lung diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis and fibrotic diseases caused by tuberculosis, chemical exposure, radiation or pathogens. These diseases can ultimately lead to loss of normal lung tissue and organ failure. No known therapy effectively reverses or stops the fibrotic process.
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Washington Post Examines Lobbying Efforts Of Health Information Technology Industry
The Washington Post on Saturday examined the role of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society in lobbying for the national adoption of health information technology as part of health reform efforts. According to the Post, HIMSS has collaborated with various allies, including technology vendors and research groups, "in a sophisticated, decade-long campaign to shape public opinion and win over Washington"s political machinery."HIMSS in the early part of this decade forged a "strategic alliance" with the Center for Information Technology Leadership, a not-for-profit health IT research group in Massachusetts, to develop and distribute data reports on the cost efficiency and benefits of health IT, the Post reports. CITL also had sponsorship ties with several health and technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, Kaiser Permanente and Siemens Medical Solutions. In 2004, CITL issued a report that concluded in part that a national health IT system could reduce spending by as much as $77.8 billion by limiting drug prescribing errors and notifying providers of more cost-effective drug alternatives.According to the Post, the findings of the report were used by the Obama administration in developing the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package, which included billions in new spending for the creation and adoption of health IT systems. Although a Congressional Budget Office report found that the assumptions of CITL report were "overly optimistic" -- a follow-up CBO analysis projected that electronic health records would reduce health care spending by $17 billion over 10 years -- the health IT measures in the stimulus package "represented a triumph" for HIMSS, "whose members now stand to gain billions in taxpayer dollars," the Post reports. The Post notes that HIMSS" "sudden success shows how the economic crisis created a remarkable opening for a political and financial windfall: the enactment of a sweeping new policy with no bureaucratic delays and virtually no public debate about an initiative aimed at transforming a sector that accounts for more than a sixth of the American economy" (O"Harrow, Washington Post, 5/16).Please note: The Kaiser Family Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.
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American Lung Association Applauds EPA For Taking Critical Steps To Protect Public Health From Global Shipping Pollution
Statement of Captain Charles D. Connor, U.S. Navy (Ret.), American Lung Association President and CEO:
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Scientists Map Genome For Parasite Causing Widespread Infections

Scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio have for the first time constructed a genetic map of the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, a chronic intestinal infection that can damage internal organs and, in children, impair growth and cognitive development. Schistosome parasites are flatworms that infect more than 200 million people a year worldwide. Infection results in an estimated 200,000 deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa alone, while 20 million suffer severe disease, according to the World Health Organization. "A genetic map is the essential tool needed for finding the genes that are responsible for drug resistance and pathogenesis in this parasite. In the case of drug resistance, identification of underlying mutations is critical for management of this disease" said Timothy Anderson, Ph.D., of SFBR"s department of genetics. "First, identification of mutations allows us to better understand the mechanism of action of the drugs used, and to redesign drugs to restore treatment efficacy. Second, identification of mutations involved allows us to efficiently monitor the spread of resistance in parasite populations using simple molecular methods." The new study was published in the June 30, 2009 issue of the journal Genome Biology, and was supported by the National Institutes of Health. Anderson, Charles Criscione, formerly of SFBR and now at Texas A&M University in College Station, and Phil LoVerde, now at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio used two adult flatworms to breed 88 S. mansoni offspring. By comparing the genetic information of the offspring to the parents, they generated a genetic map of chromosomes of the pathogen. Key contributers to the study included Claudia Valentim of SFBR and UTHSCSA and Hirohisa Hirai of Kyoto University in Japan. These parasites have a complex lifecycle. Adult male and female worms measuring around half an inch, live in pairs in the blood vessels, and eggs are expelled in the feces or urine. The larval parasites initially develop in water snails and human infection occurs when parasite larvae burrow through the skin of people entering the water. There are an estimated 400,000 imported cases in mainland USA. These parasites are an increasing public health threat in developing countries as a consequence of large scale dam construction projects. The researchers are planning further research using the genetic map to understand why some parasites cause more pathology than others. Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research


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