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New Survey: Health Care Leaders Say Need For Reform Is Urgent; Broadly Support Public Health Care Option, Provider Payment Reform
By a wide margin, health care leaders believe that individuals should have a choice of public and private health plans, and strongly support other central components of health reform such as innovative provider payment reform and a national insurance health exchange with strong standard-setting authority. In addition, two-thirds (68%) of opinion leaders feel it is urgent to enact comprehensive health care reform this year, according to the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey.

Proteolix, Inc. Drug Candidate, PR-957, Prevents Disease Progression In Rheumatoid Arthritis Models By Selective Inhibition Of The Immunoproteasome
Proteolix, Inc. announced that in an article published in Nature Medicine, Proteolix"s selective immunoproteasome inhibitor PR-957 was shown to block disease progression in mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis in a dose-dependent manner and to completely eliminate visible signs of disease at the highest dose. The anti-inflammatory effect induced by PR-957 was rapid and long-lasting, lowering expression of multiple inflammatory mediators, including TNF-a and IL-6. Disease regression was evident 24 hours after dosing and a complete amelioration of disease was achieved with a single dose. When compared to anti-TNF-a therapy (etanercept), PR-957 mediated a more rapid resolution of clinical symptoms, including joint inflammation, and was more effective than etanercept in a model of aggressive arthritis.
News of the day
USA Today Examines 'Incendiary Debate' Over Abortion Rights
Nearly 40 years after the Supreme Court"s decision in Roe v. Wade, the "incendiary debate over abortion rights endures" and continues to manifest itself in a number of ways, USA Today reports. According to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll, 78% of U.S. residents want abortion to be legal under at least some circumstances, with 21% saying it should be legal under any circumstance. According to the poll, 18% of respondents said that they want abortion always to be illegal. The poll also found that 46% of U.S. residents self-identify as "pro-choice," while 47% self-identify as "pro-life."Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said, "The enduring divide represents the reality that there are fundamental religious differences on the issue of abortion that do not exist on, say, campaign finance or even on health care." Americans United for Life President Charmaine Yoest said that abortion-rights opponents are mobilizing to urge congressional lawmakers to exclude abortion coverage and funding from any federal health reform legislation.During the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the judge said that she does not believe previous court rulings on abortion rights have ended the national controversy surrounding the issue. According to USA Today, Sotomayor, who has never ruled on the issue, declined to reveal her personal position on abortion rights. Several antiabortion-rights advocates also protested during Sotomayor"s hearings (Biskupic, USA Today, 7/24).In addition, the Center for Reproductive Rights this week released a report that found physicians and employees of health care clinics providing abortion services in six states -- Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas -- face an increasing level of harassment and death threats. The report was based on a four-month investigation (AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/23). The report was tied to the murder of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller (USA Today, 7/24). Operation Save America Director the Rev. Flip Benham, whose group is mentioned in the report, said the center is trying to limit the free-speech rights of abortion-rights opponents (AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/23).
Nutrition

Free Cancer Information CDs Now Available

Healthcare professionals can now order a number of Macmillan Cancer Support"s free, high-quality cancer information booklets in CD format. Macmillan has produced 37 audio CDs for people living with cancer who have any disability or visual impairment which may make reading difficult, or who simply prefer information in audio format. Sue Green, Senior Information Development Nurse at Macmillan Cancer Support, says: "Following a diagnosis of cancer, people often feel confused, anxious and afraid. High-quality information can help people affected by cancer to feel more in control and able to plan their lives, and can take away some of the fear and isolation they may feel. "People may struggle to take in everything they"re told about their treatment and the side-effects it may cause so information to have at home is really important. They can take information away and listen to it in their own time, in the comfort of their own home." The CDs give information and advice about specific types of cancer, different types of treatment and possible side-effects, and the emotional effects of cancer. Cynthia Higgins, a retired nurse, has had difficulty reading since being treated for Ocular Melanoma in 1997. She says: "Macmillan"s new CDs give people with visual impairment a degree of independence and a sense of privacy. It"s very difficult to ask, even a loving relative, to continually go over a passage they are reading to you, or to find a section you want to hear again. It also allows people the opportunity to react to the information in private." To order from Macmillan"s range of audio CDs, visit be.macmillan.org.uk Macmillan Cancer Support


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