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New Jersey Senate, Assembly Panels Advance Autism Coverage Bill
Committees in the New Jersey Senate and Assembly on Monday unanimously approved a bill that would provide insurance benefits of up to $36,000 annually for autism treatments, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The funding, provided to developmentally disabled individuals younger than age 21, would go toward diagnostic services and early behavioral intervention, as well as occupational, physical and speech therapies. The Assembly could vote on the bill as early as Thursday, while the Senate bill is being considered by the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D), who sponsored the Senate bill, said, "I don"t know of any parent who wouldn"t do everything in their power to give their autistic or developmentally disabled child every chance to excel. However, the enormous cost of behavior intervention ... makes it out of the realm of possibility for many families." Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D), who sponsored the Assembly bill, said, "In this economy, every New Jersey resident is struggling, but families with kids with special needs are struggling even more," adding, "They"re maxing out their credit cards and taking out second mortgages" to cover gaps in health insurance benefits.Citing cost issues, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and the New Jersey Association of Health Plans were among those opposed to the bill. Christine Stearns, NJBIA vice president for health and legal affairs, said that the bill would make employer-sponsored insurance more costly and cause firms to drop such coverage, adding, "How, who and what is part of a basic health plan is all part of that." Stearns added that the bill is preferable to previous versions because it mandates that covered services be medically necessary and prescribed, places a reasonable cap on prices and ensures that the cost of educational services provided by schools is not shifted to insurers. Roberts said the bill would save money by delivering earlier treatment that could prevent more costly problems in the future (Henry, Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/19).
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Recent Survey Suggests Complications With Permanent Fillers - 1 In 4 UK Surgeons Have Seen Patients With Complications
A new survey completed by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (BAAPS) suggests that patients may experience higher complication rates with permanent cosmetic fillers than with other types of cosmetic injections. The survey reveals 38.5% of surgeons saw 1-3 patients over the past year experiencing complications with permanent facial fillers, and 23% of surgeons saw 1-3 patients in the past year with complications so severe surgery was needed to treat those complications. "Permanent fillers present challenges, particularly for inexperienced injectors," says Coalition leader Julius Few, MD, a plastic surgeon practicing in Chicago, IL. "In addition to potential complications that may develop years after injection, the challenge of a permanent, synthetic filler is the anticipation of aging changes and the need for outcomes that will not look unnatural over time. To date, fat continues to be the option closest to a permanent filler with a proven safety record."
News of the day
Illumina Launches Multi-Sample Indexing For GoldenGate(R) Assay
Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) launched GoldenGate Indexing, a high-throughput genotyping solution that utilizes multi-sample indexing technology. Researchers may now screen up to 16 times as many samples per reaction as the standard GoldenGate Assay, increasing throughput from 288 samples per day to greater than 2000, while decreasing total reagent consumption. This high-quality genotyping system includes automation control and positive sample tracking through an Illumina Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), creating a turnkey solution for low-complexity screening at an affordable cost per sample. The plexity ranges include 96-plex, 192-plex and 384-plex, which are ideal for screening in the livestock and agriculture market as well as for whole-genome association target validation and quality control applications.
Public Health

Textbook Chronicling Four Decades Of Alzheimer's Research

Two of the world"s leading Alzheimer"s researchers have co-edited a book critically synthesizing the major new developments in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer"s disease. Building upon a 2007 Alzheimer"s disease conference held in Chile, George Perry, dean of the College of Sciences at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Ricardo B. Maccioni, neurology professor at The University of Chile Medical School have edited "Current Hypotheses and Research Milestones in Alzheimer"s Disease," a 254-page text written by academics and medical doctors. The book focuses on the most promising hypotheses that illuminate the path to more effective treatment. Highlights include: * new information about the biology of amyloid-Ãÿ, the main component in the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer"s disease patients, and where the field has concentrated its efforts for nearly 20 years * the Tau Hypothesis, which suggests Alzheimer"s disease is caused by abnormal chemical changes to tau proteins disrupting the normal cell biology of neurons * the Oxidative Stress Hypothesis, which indicates neurons degenerate and die because the brains of patients with Alzheimer"s disease have a disrupted oxidative metabolism leading to decreased neuronal energy supply and increased oxidative damage * neuroimmunological hypotheses linking Alzheimer"s disease to the chronic low level inflammation thought to underlie arthritis, coronary disease and other age-related conditions * the development of biomarkers for early diagnosis * new horizons for the development of anti-dementia drugs "Alzheimer"s disease is the leading cause of dementia in senior citizens," said Perry, also a professor in UTSA"s Department of Biology. "While the scientific community hasn"t been able to pinpoint the cause of the disease, researchers around the world are advancing what we know about the disease and how we might be able to treat it in the future." Perry, ranked one of the top ten Alzheimer"s disease researchers in the world in 2009, joined UTSA in 2006 from Case Western Reserve University, where he was a professor of pathology and neurosciences and the chair of Case Western Reserve"s Department of Pathology. A prolific researcher, Perry is the second-most published Alzheimer"s disease researcher, with 516 publications to his credit. He serves as president of the American Association of Neuropathologists and is on the editorial boards of more than 70 journals including the American Journal of Pathology and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. He also is co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Alzheimer"s Disease, the leading journal for Alzheimer research. Christi Fish University of Texas at San Antonio


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