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Experts Urge Increased Education About Diabetes During Pregnancy
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Diabetes Association next month plan to launch a joint campaign designed to raise awareness about pregnancy-related risks from diabetes, USA Today reports. An increasing number of women are either beginning pregnancies with existing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes -- known as pre-gestational diabetes -- or developing gestational diabetes, according to Sue Kirkman, vice president of clinical affairs for ADA. Kirkman said that diabetes increases the risk for miscarriage, delivery complications, maternal health problems and birth defects. However, these risks can be reduced through preconception counseling, controlling blood sugar and maintaining a healthy weight, she said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost five of every 1,000 women ages 18 to 44 have diabetes. The majority of these women have Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity, USA Today reports. Denise Charron-Prochownik, an associate professor of health promotion at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center School of Nursing and Graduate School of Public Health, said that pre-conception education for women with existing diabetes should begin as early as age 13 but that "it"s not happening."Helain Landy, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital, said that gestational diabetes occurs in about 4% of pregnant women. Landy said, "From an epidemiological standpoint, that is a lot." Florence Brown, co-director of the Joslin Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center"s Diabetes and Pregnancy Program, said that many women with gestational diabetes are unaware that they are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease later in life and have children who develop diabetes (Brophy Marcus, USA Today, 7/6).

New Technology A Dead Cert For Improved Scientific Results
New technology that identifies and removes dead and dying cells from cell populations grown in laboratories is now available to UK scientists. Removing such cells increases the efficiency of growing healthy cells and can yield clearer experimental results in a broad range of life science fields. The kits - called Dead Cert - developed by Edinburgh based ImmunoSolv, are the first of their kind to effectively remove both dead and dying cells without trauma to living cells.
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Liverpool To Strengthen Health Research In Africa
Researchers at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the University of Liverpool will work with universities across Africa as part of a ÷£30 million initiative to strengthen research into science and health on the continent.
Medical Devices

Global Poverty Eradication Efforts Should Start With Health Issues, Opinion Piece Says

"Eradicating global poverty starts with the health of the world"s poor," Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate Majority leader and currently a member of the Millennium Challenge Corporation"s (MCC) Board of Directors, writes in a Charlotte Observer opinion piece. "It starts with empowering them physically to contribute to the vitality of their countries," Frist says, which "makes as much good sense for the world"s poor as for our collective international economic growth."Frist says that Obama"s recent proposal of a six-year $63 billion global health initiative is "bold," and the "smart use of res improves the health of the world"s poorest and strengthens the global economic climate for us all." He writes that it"s important not to overlook "other factors that directly affect global health," such as roads and water and sanitation systems. He points to the U.S. government"s Millennium Challenge Corporation, which "takes a holistic approach to global health, laying the groundwork for poverty reduction and economic development.""By building healthier, hopeful, and productive communities, we build safer and more secure societies that can alleviate global poverty and contribute to global prosperity," Frist writes. "When communities are productive and thriving they don"t become breeding grounds for dangerous extremism" (Frist, Charlotte Observer, 5/14). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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