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Fertility Treatments Becoming More Common, Costly To Health Care System, CDC Says
The number of assisted reproduction procedures, such as in vitro fertilization, continues to increase at a rapid pace, with half of the 54,656 infants born in 2006 being twins, triplets or higher multiples, according to a series of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, HealthLeaders Media reports. Since 2001, the number of live-birth deliveries -- which includes those in which at least one infant was born -- as the result of assisted reproductive technology increased by 41%, and the number of infants born as a result increased by 34%, according to CDC. ART services are offered at 483 medical centers, compared with 421 in 2001.According to CDC, ART procedures are more likely to result in multiple births, which produce higher rates of complication in the infants, such as prematurity, low birthweight and disability. CDC said that the cost of treating complications resulting from ART pregnancies totaled $1 billion in 2005, presenting an economic burden to hospitals and payers. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology recommend that doctors transfer one embryo in women younger than age 35, one or two in women ages 35 to 37, no more than three embryos in women ages 38 to 40 and up to five in older women and "extraordinary circumstances." However, CDC reported that about 16% of ART procedures since 2001 involved four or more embryos, and 5% involved five or more embryos, indicating that these guidelines were not widely followed. According to CDC, "In certain states, ART procedures are not covered by insurance carriers, and patients might feel pressured to maximize the opportunity for live-birth delivery by transferring multiple embryos." The report also noted that physicians might be implanting more embryos to increase the percentage of total live-birth deliveries by their patients. The report said that to "minimize the adverse maternal and child health effects associated with multiple pregnancies, ongoing efforts to limit the number of embryos transferred in each ART procedure should be continued and strengthened."Many hospitals consider ART a lucrative field because most patients undergoing the procedures have private insurance or pay out of pocket. However, health plans pass on the costs of complications to employers and the insured in the form of higher premiums, HealthLeaders Media reports. Thomas Moore, director of Obstetrical Services at the University of California-San Diego, said, "Even though private insurance pays a large percentage of the cost of caring for these newborns, it can be expensive for the health insurance industry overall," adding, "At $2,000 to $3,000 a day for intensive care, which can continue three and four months, that"s a cost that raises premiums across the board" (Clark, HealthLeaders Media, 6/12).
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Discovery Of Neural Stem Cell Differentiation Factor
Neural stem cells represent the cellular backup of our brain. These cells are capable of self-renewal to form new stem cells or differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. Astrocytes have supportive functions in the environment of neurons, while oligodendrocytes form the myelin layer around axons in order to accelerate neuronal signal transmission. But how does a neural stem cell "know" which way it is supposed to develop? On the molecular level receptors of the Notch family play a significant role in this process. So far, only stimulating extracellular ligands of Notch receptors had been described. Biochemists of Goethe University Medical School now describe a long time assumed but not yet identified soluble Notch inhibitor.
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Alzheimer's Disease: Vitamin D, Curcumin May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques
UCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute have found that a form of vitamin D, together with a chemical found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer"s disease.
Medical Devices

Private Health Insurance Coverage At 50-Year-Low, According To CDC

The percentage of Americans with private health insurance is at its lowest level in 50 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. "About 65 percent of non-elderly Americans had private insurance in 2008, down from 67 percent the year before, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the (CDC)." "In the 1970s and early 1980s, nearly 80 percent of Americans had private coverage, according to CDC officials. "Some experts blamed the faltering economy and corporate decisions to raise health insurance premiums - or do away with employee coverage - as the main drivers of the recent data. They say coverage statistics for 2009 may look even worse." Public coverage of adults is rising in some states because of expanding Medicaid eligibility. The CDC estimates - through a survey - that 44 million Americans were uninsured last year, about the same for other recent years. "The CDC also reported on insurance coverage in the 20 largest states, and found the percent of uninsured people ranged from 3 percent in Massachusetts to 23 percent in Texas. Lack of health insurance was greatest in the South and West" (Stobbe, 7/1). All Headline News reports: "The report shows that the number of uninsured children has decreased significantly - almost 14 percent to 8.9 percent - from 1997 to 2008. More than 34 percent of the nation"s children have public health coverage. The CDC also released a second report on health insurance that examined coverage trends from 1959 to 2007. Among its chief findings was that the number of people under 65 with no coverage has increased by more than 20 percent since its lowest point in 1978" (Goodhue, 7/2). 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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