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Burdock Root

University Of Queensland's Physiotherapist Treats World Champion Cyclist, Australia
Using ultrasound imaging, UQ physiotherapist Dr Julie Hides is helping a world-champion cyclist ride her bike pain free.
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Maternal Immunity Not All Good For A Fetus
As a fetus does not mount an immune response to maternal proteins that cross the placenta, it has been assumed that a fetus would not reject non-genetically matched blood cells (specifically allogeneic blood cells) if they were transplanted while the fetus was in utero. The hope is that this procedure, which is known as IUHCT, could provide a viable approach for treating congenital blood disorders. However, studies using a mouse model of IUHCT indicate that most fetal recipients of allogeneic blood cells lose their transplanted cells 3-5 weeks after transplantation. Alan Flake and colleagues, at Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia, have now identified an immune mechanism responsible for graft failure in this model of IUHCT. Surprisingly, although fetal immune cells eliminated the transplanted allogeneic blood cells, they were triggered to do so by immune molecules known as alloantibodies that they obtained from their mother"s breast milk. The maternal alloantibodies were produced in response to IUHCT and so the authors conclude that in the absence of either a maternal immune response or transmission of the maternal alloantibodies to the fetus, transplanted blood cells should not be rejected, leaving open the door for IUHCT as a potential clinical strategy.
News of the day
Recent Release: NASTAD, Kaiser Family Foundation Report Provides 'Inventory' Of HIV Prevention Efforts In The U.S.
The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors and the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report that "provides the first, comprehensive inventory of HIV prevention efforts at the state and local levels" and is based on a survey of 65 state health departments, including all state and territorial jurisdictions and six U.S. cities. The report "is intended to offer a baseline picture of how HIV prevention is delivered across the country. ... " ("The National HIV Prevention Inventory: The State of HIV Prevention Across the U.S.," July 2009).
Diagnostics

Enthusiasm For Medical Homes Gradually Picks Up

Insurers are testing a concept called "medical home" that uses electronic records and coordinates care, and could transform the delivery of health care. Advocates say such medical homes could save consumers time and money and insurers back the idea. Meanwhile, skeptics say financial savings still need to be proven and incentives need to put into the system to encourage such care. CNN reports on patient-centered medical homes: "The model is already being tested in 44 states -- with such big health insurers as UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Medicaid taking part -- and utilizes key components of President Obama"s reform effort. In medical homes, the family physician is like a personal health coach, responsible for managing all aspects of the patient"s health care needs, explained Paul Keckley, executive director of Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a unit of consulting firm Deloitte LLP." And enthusiasm for the concept is gradually picking up. "There are 27 medical home demonstration programs -- collaborations between purchasers, providers and payers -- underway around the country, according to the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC), a trade group that"s spearheading the medical home movement. Medicaid has pilot programs in 31 states while Medicare is gearing up to launch eight demonstration programs, said Edwina Rogers, executive director of the PCPCC" (Kavilanz, 7/23). Meanwhile, CBS 4 Denver reports that Children"s Hospital embraces electronic records that "allow everyone involved in a patient"s care to have all the information at the same time." They also report: "For Children"s Hospital electronic records are working so well they"re planning to expand the system to other Colorado Hospitals" (7/23). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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