Thursday, March 18, 2010

In Matters Of Health

In Matters Of Health

Targeting blood vessels, immune system may offer way to stop infection-caused inflammation

Treating virulent influenza, sepsis, and other potentially deadly infections long has focused on looking for ways to kill viruses and bacteria. But new research from the University of Utah and Utah State University shows that modulating the body's own overeager inflammatory response to infection may help save more lives.
In a study published March 17 in Science Translational Medicine, researchers led by U of U cardiologist Dean Y. Li, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine and director of the Molecular Medicine Program, shows that protecting blood vessels from hyper-inflammatory response to infection reduced mortality rates in mouse models of avian flu and sepsis by as much as 50 percent. Specifically, the researchers identified a protein signaling pathway, Robo4, that when activated prevents inflammation from weakening blood vessels, which causes them to leak and can result in life-threatening organ damage.

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Unexpected factors raise stroke risk

Age and gender play a role in these "brain attacks," but so can surprising things such as marital status.

Others

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Debate over dangers of sheepskin boots

The popular footwear may feel great but it may also be causing bigger health problems.

What you should know

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Lose weight without dieting or sweating

Burn more calories effortlessly by doing what city dwellers do most days of the week.

6 easy tricks

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Insurer Fortis targeted HIV patients to drop coverage

From Reuters:

In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV. The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him: On his own initiative, in anticipation of his first year in college, he had purchased his own health insurance.

Shortly after his diagnosis, however, his insurance company, Fortis, revoked his policy. Mitchell was told that without further treatment his HIV would become full-blown AIDS within a year or two and he would most likely die within two years after that.

Previously undisclosed records from Mitchell's case reveal that Fortis had a company policy of targeting policyholders with HIV. A computer program and algorithm targeted every policyholder recently diagnosed with HIV for an automatic fraud investigation, as the company searched for any pretext to revoke their policy. As was the case with Mitchell, their insurance policies often were canceled on erroneous information, the flimsiest of evidence, or for no good reason at all, according to the court documents and interviews with state and federal investigators.

The government should to be able to shut companies like Fortis down for this, or at the very least fine the hell out of them. Then throw everyone involved in jail for attempted murder ... now there's a thought.