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Washington Post Details Six Senators To Watch On Health Care; Politics Of Fear Gain Prominence
The battle over health care reform will happen in the Senate, even though President Obama keeps getting all the attention, The Washington Post"s The Fix reports.
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White House Emphasizes Need To Reduce Health Care Costs, Improve Access To Care Among Blacks
During a White House teleconference last week, Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office on Health Reform said that reducing health care costs is "particularly important for the [black] community because on average, they spend a higher percentage of their income on health care costs, compared to their white counterparts," the Washington Informer reports. Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the office, at a press conference last week said that reducing health care costs is "particularly important for the [black] community because on average, they spend a higher percentage of their income on health care costs, compared to their white counterparts." She added that blacks spend about 16.5% of their income on health care, while whites spend about 12%. In addition, blacks "continue to face disparities in terms of the (quality of care) they get," DeParle said. According to DeParle, blacks tend to visit hospitals that "provide lower-quality care." She added that higher health care costs are "especially troubling" to the black community because blacks "suffer from higher percentages of chronic diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes, that are due in part to a lack of access to quality care."According to the Informer, $1 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package that President Obama signed in February will be allocated to prevention efforts and public health campaigns (Michaels, Washington Informer, 5/21).
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Protein Isolated That May Be 'Boon' To Medicine
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have isolated a unique protein that appears to have a dual function and could lead to a "boon in medicine." The findings are published in the August issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.
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Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Repair Heart

In a proof-of-concept study, Mayo Clinic investigators have demonstrated that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be used to treat heart disease. iPS cells are stem cells converted from adult cells. In this study, the researchers reprogrammed ordinary fibroblasts, cells that contribute to scars such as those resulting from a heart attack, converting them into stem cells that fix heart damage caused by infarction. The findings appear in the current online issue of the journal Circulation. "This study establishes the real potential for using iPS cells in cardiac treatment," says Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., first author on the Mayo Clinic study. "Bioengineered fibroblasts acquired the capacity to repair and regenerate infarcted hearts." This is the first application of iPS-based technology for heart disease therapy. Previously iPS cells have been used on only three other disease models: Parkinson"s disease, sickle cell anemia and hemophilia A. The ultimate goal is to use iPS cells derived from patients to repair injury. Using a person"s own cells in the process eliminates the risk of rejection and the need for anti-rejection drugs. One day this regenerative medicine strategy may alleviate the demand for organ transplantation limited by donor shortage, the researchers say. "This iPS innovation lays the groundwork for translational applications," comments Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic physician-scientist and senior author. "Through advances in nuclear reprogramming, we should be able to reverse the fate of adult cells and customize "on demand" cardiovascular regenerative medicine." From Damage to Repair The Mayo Clinic team genetically reprogrammed fibroblasts via a "stemness-related" human gene set to dedifferentiate into an iPS cell capable of then redifferentiating into new heart muscle. When transplanted into damaged mouse hearts, iPS cells engrafted after two weeks, and after four weeks significantly contributed to improved structure and function of the damaged heart, in contrast to ineffective ordinary fibroblasts. Compared to non-engineered fibroblasts, the iPS cells: -- Restored heart muscle performance lost after the heart attack -- Stopped progression of structural damage in the damaged heart -- Regenerated tissue at the site of heart damage The Mayo research team included Almudena Martinez-Fernandez, Pharm.D.; Satsuki Yamada, M.D., Ph.D.; Carmen Perez-Terzic, M.D., Ph.D.; and Yasuhiro Ikeda, D.V.M., Ph.D.; along with Lois Rowe and Jonathan Nesbitt. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, National Hemophilia Foundation, La Caixa Foundation Graduate Program, Marriott Individualized Medicine Program, Marriott Heart Disease Research Program, and Mayo Clinic. About Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each year. Mayo Clinic


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