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President Obama Reverses Bush Policy Preventing Consumers From Suing Product Makers In State Courts
President Obama on Wednesday ordered federal agencies to rescind regulations enacted by former President George W. Bush"s administration that protect manufacturers of such products as medical devices from product-liability lawsuits in state court, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decision could affect a wide range of manufacturers and products because the Bush administration "aggressively" encouraged federal agencies to make rules that pre-empt and override state laws, which often meant protecting manufacturers of medical equipment from lawsuits, according to the Journal. Obama in a two-page memo wrote that federal agencies and departments could claim state law is pre-empted by federal law only when there is a well-defined legal basis. The memo stated that state laws are important because they supplement federal regulations. "State and local governments have frequently protected health, safety and environment more aggressively than has the national government," Obama wrote (Mundy/Kendall, Wall Street Journal, 5/21). Obama ordered agencies to review regulations from the past decade and look for possible occasions in which the government improperly declared federal pre-emption (Yost, AP/Kansas City Star, 5/20). According to the Journal, business groups oppose the decision (Wall Street Journal, 5/21).

Women With Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy Have A Substantial And Persistently Elevated Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes Post-Birth
Women who develop gestational diabetes (GD) during pregnancy have a seven-and-a-half times increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes post-birth, which lasts throughout their lifetime. However, there is no agreed policy on the long-term follow up of these women and many do not return for the currently recommended 6-week post-birth diabetes check. An Article in this week"s diabetes special issue of The Lancet says that the strength of the association suggests that both disorders have an overlapping cause-and this should act as an incentive for women to attend the recommended post-birth check. This attendance could be an opportunity to provide advice on diet and exercise, and treatments to delay or prevent onset of diabetes-as well as alerting these women to symptoms of future diabetes, and to alert general practitioners responsible for their long-term care.
News of the day
HIV Transmission In Europe Occurs Primarily In Vacation Destinations, Study Finds
HIV in Europe is transmitted primarily in vacation destinations, according to a study published recently in the journal Retrovirology, the PA/Google.com reports. For the study, researchers led by Dimitrios Paraskevis of the University of Athens analyzed samples of HIV-1 subtype B virus, the most prevalent form of HIV in Europe, from 16 European countries and Israel (PA/Google.com, 5/20). The researchers created a family tree of the virus and examined its genetic characteristics to determine how it has evolved.The study found that tourists are more likely to contract HIV in Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain, which are popular vacation destinations. Meanwhile, HIV-positive people in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg are more likely to have contracted the virus outside of these countries. The study also found that HIV-positive people in Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom contract the virus both within these countries and in other countries. In addition, the study found that in Poland the virus spread mainly among residents through injection drug use. "Viruses move around with travelers -- thus health programs within countries should not only target the national populations, prevention efforts must also be aimed at migrants, travelers and tourists -- who are both major s and targets of HIV," Paraskevis said (BBC News, 5/20). Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said that the findings are not a "surprise," adding, "We"ve known for some time with high levels of mobility in the world these days that it"s very easy for viruses to move around. What it tells us is that you can"t limit HIV prevention and support just to permanent residents" (PA/Google.com, 5/20).
Medical Devices

Biological Link Established Between Tumors And Depression

In a study that could help explain the connections between depression and cancer, researchers at the University of Chicago have used an animal model to find, for the first time, a biological link between tumors and negative mood changes. The team determined that substances associated with depression are produced in increased quantities by tumors and are transmitted to the brain. Additionally, pathways that normally moderate the impact of depression-causing substances are disrupted when a tumor develops. The research further showed that tumors induce changes in gene expression in the hippocampus, the portion of the brain that regulates emotion. Although researchers have long known that depression is a common outcome for people diagnosed with cancer, they had not known if it was brought on by a patient learning of the diagnosis or the result of treatments such as chemotherapy. Now a third may have been identified. "Our research shows that two types of tumor-induced molecules, one secreted by the immune system and another by the stress axis, may be responsible," said Leah Pyter, a postdoctoral fellow and lead author of a paper, "Peripheral Tumors Induce Depressive-like Behaviors and Cytokine Production and Alter Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Andrenal Axis Regulation," which is published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Both of these substances have been implicated in depression, but neither has been examined over time frames and magnitudes that are characteristic of chronic diseases such as cancer," she said. For their research, the team conducted a series of tests on about 100 rats, some of whom had cancer to determine their behavioral responses in tests of emotional state. "Rats are commonly used to test drugs that are being studied for potential human benefits, such as treating depression," said Brian Prendergast, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, and the senior author on the study. "In this case, examining behavioral responses to tumors in non-human animals is particularly useful because the rats have no awareness of the disease, and thus their behavioral changes were likely the result of purely biological factors." The team used tests commonly used in testing anti-depressants on rats and found that the rats with tumors became less motivated to escape when submitted to a swimming test, a condition that is similar to depression in humans. The rats with tumors also were less eager to drink sugar water, a substance that usually attracts the appetites of healthy rats. Further tests revealed that the rats with tumors had increased levels of cytokines in their blood and in the hippocampus when compared with healthy rats. Cytokines are produced by the immune system, and an increase in cytokines has been linked to depression. The team also found that stress hormone production also was altered in rats with tumors. The rats with tumors also had dampened production of the stress hormone corticosterone. The hormone helps regulate the impact of cytokines and reducing its production therefore increases the impact of cytokines. The project was supported by an American Cancer Society fellowship, an NIH grant and a grant from the Brian Research Foundation. William Harms University of Chicago


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