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Sen. Kennedy Circulates Draft Of Health Reform Legislation
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating an outline of health care overhaul legislation that includes a requirement that all individuals obtain coverage and requires contributions from employers, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, the legislation "closely resembles" the Massachusetts health insurance law enacted in 2006, the Post reports. According to the draft summary, the bill calls for a public, government-sponsored health insurance option that would compete with private insurers. The measure also would expand Medicaid eligibility, according to the Post. Kennedy spokesperson Anthony Coley said that the outline is not yet finalized. He said, "We are still actively negotiating with members" of the Senate HELP Committee. According to a top White House official, Kennedy is expected to introduce his measure on Monday. A timetable released by Kennedy"s office calls for Senate HELP Committee Democrats to meet June 2 (Connolly, Washington Post, 5/29). A bipartisan walk-through of Kennedy"s bill is scheduled for June 5 and June 9. Hearings on the bill would then take place on June 10 or June 11. The mark up of the bill is scheduled from June 16 through June 25 (Bogardus, The Hill, 5/28). If Kennedy holds to the schedule, he will be ahead of other congressional Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), on proposing overhaul legislation (Washington Post, 5/29). Coley said, "These are target dates that are not set in stone." Although Senate Democrats are hoping to pass health care reform legislation before the August recess, several senators have questioned whether that timeline is feasible (The Hill, 5/28). Reform Supporters Call For Removal of Ad

Helping Mentally Ill People Find Jobs Could Save Federal Government $368 Million A Year
A national program to help mentally ill people on Social Security disability programs find jobs could spur greater independence while saving the federal government $368 million annually, according to a study by Robert Drake of Dartmouth Medical School and colleagues in the May-June 2009 issue of Health Affairs.
News of the day
Potential Prenatal Origins For Poor Sleep In Children
A study, "Prenatal Origins of Poor Sleep in Children," in the Aug.1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and small body size at birth predict poorer sleep and higher risk of sleep disturbances in 8-year-old children born at term. Findings are clinically significant, as poor sleep and sleep disturbances in children are associated with obesity, depressive symptoms, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and poor neurobehavioral functioning.
Endocrinology

UAB Total Joint Replacement Research Collaboration Supported By New NIH Funding

Newly announced National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding will expand the reach of ongoing University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) research into a unique nanostructured coating to improve the performance and longevity of total joint replacement components. The broadened UAB research opportunity is funded by a four-year, $790,931 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant through the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). UAB"s research, titled Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) in Total Joint Replacements, will explore next-generation technology to improve the service life of total joint replacements, which UAB researchers believe could dramatically cut the number of recurrent surgical procedures performed each year, said Yogesh Vohra, Ph.D., the BRP"s principal investigator and director of the Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB) in the UAB School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Vohra said the BRP opportunity will unite his UAB interdisciplinary research team with professionals at Smith and Nephew Inc., an international leader in the development of advanced medical devices. The company is known globally for its OXINIUMTM oxidized zirconium material for joint replacements. "We have been researching our nanostructured multilayer diamond coating for a number of years inside our UAB facilities but there have been limitations to just how rigorous the testing could be," Vohra said. "The funding to partner with Smith and Nephew expands our research options because it offers us access to the company"s res and talent." Among the benefits, Vohra said, the BRP allows access to Smith and Nephew"s hip and knee simulators, which offer UAB researchers the most realistic testing conditions to date for their coating technology. Working with the multi-million dollar simulators should strongly indicate how well the team"s nanostructured multilayer diamond coatings reduce the friction and wear on the metal components of orthopaedic devices, Vohra said. The team also will be able to examine the cellular and tissue responses to the technology and confirm that there is no toxicity effect from any wear debris that is generated. "This partnership is central to advancing our research toward more reliable and efficient joint replacements," Vohra said. "We are gaining access to state-of-the-art testing equipment while benefitting from Smith and Nephew"s experience as the industry leader in advanced bearing-surfaces for joint replacement implants." The BRP also helps put the UAB coating technology on the fast track for commercialization, as it will foster the private industry relationship necessary to secure investment and production capacity, Vohra said. The overall clinical impact of the BRP research is to drive down the number of recurrent surgical procedures for joint replacement recipients, who are living longer and pushing the longevity limits of their devices, Vohra said. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports that 15 to 20 percent of annual total joint replacement procedures are recurrent, or revision, surgeries. Vohra said the nanostructured diamond-coated devices should reduce the metal ion release to the surrounding tissues and perform better during long-term implantation in the human body, which could significantly cut the follow-up surgery rate. The UAB interdisciplinary research team for the project includes Vohra, Susan Bellis, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology and biophysics, Aaron Catledge, Ph.D., research assistant professor of physics, Alan Eberhardt, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering and David Moore, M.D., Division of Orthopedic Surgery. Andrew Hayenga University of Alabama at Birmingham


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