The New York Times reported on the Food and Drug Administration's announcement last week of a new system to track already-released drugs' effectiveness. Called the Sentinel Initiative, many bodies such as the Institute of Medicine have recommended such a system for years. Additionally, the Sentinel Initiative is supported by recently-released research showing fast-tracked approval of new drugs leads to problems down the road. However, there are also many criticisms regarding the system's method of collecting data and its accuracy.
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29
November
I strongly believe that Medical Marijuana has many beneficial uses for coping with illness.
Finally there appears to be more support for medical marijuana in America. Medical marijuana is legal in more than 12 of the states.
New Mexico recently announced that they are passing a law which legalizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Do you think it is positive that more and more states in the USA are legalizing medical marijuana?
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28
November
Facing a projected $14 billion budget shortfall, California lawmakers are right to consider how the landmark health care reform bill, ABX1-1, will affect the deficit. But ABX1-1 brings in new money for health care that could not be used to plug the gap in the general fund, as well as limiting health care costs moving forward. And as the past shows, if it is not passed, short-term cuts without an eye towards systemic reform are likely to increase costs (more...)
10
November
Women who quit smoking lower their risk of dying from coronary heart disease by 47% within five years of smoking their last cigarette. The risks associated with dying from other smoking-related diseases also decreases, but after different lengths of time, depending on the disease. The findings are the result of new research recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
On average, a smoker's overall risk of dying returns to the level of a typical non-smoker approximately 20 years after his or her quitting date. Although regaining one's health does take a substantial length of time, researchers note that current smokers face a tripled overall death risk in comparison to non-smokers.
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7
November
Weight Loss Surgery OverseasScott MacStravic, writing on WorldHealthCareBlog, has an interesting post on the addictive nature of weight loss drugs, and associated side effects. "What could be better, from a money-making perspective, than coming out with an expensive drug that would be taken by the majority of the (more...)
7
November
Why is breastfeeding considered the preferable method for feeding a newborn?
Breast milk is a complex and living fluid and discoveries continue to be made about its unique properties.
Breastfeeding is considered the best start in life because it:
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2
November
Statement by Mike Russo, Health Care Advocate and Staff Attorney for CALPIRG: “With the Assembly convening on Monday and new amendments made to the health care reform bill, the pieces are in place for California’s leaders to close a deal on reforms that could greatly expand coverage, contain the surging costs of health care, and give consumers a fair shake when buying insurance.“Reform is more important than ever in the face of (more...)
1
November