Actor Fox Urges Congress on Stem Cell Bill
San Francisco Chronicle
Actor Michael J. Fox is pushing Congress hard to lift President Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. "Embryonic stem cell research holds enormous promise," said Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, in remarks prepared for a Capitol Hill news conference on Wednesday. "More federal funding and more lines are needed or progress will stall." The Senate is considering a House-passed bill to lift Bush's 2001 restrictions on federal funding for such studies, but the measure is facing stiff resistance from conservatives who believe the process is unethical because it destroys embryos. Fox is one of many celebrities who have for years urged passage of the bill, including former First Lady Nancy Reagan and actress Mary Tyler Moore, who suffers from diabetes.

Nurses, Hospitals Split On Nurse-to-Patient Ratios Bill
North Adams Transcript
NORTH ADAMS -- Hundreds of nurses, doctors, health-care advocates and citizens will converge on the Statehouse in Boston to debate and rally over the hotly contested issue of nurse-to-patient ratios. A joint Public Health Committee hearing on patient care scheduled for today has become the next flash point for advocates of two separate bills. On one side are nurses and the Massachusetts Nurses Association union, who are advocating for House bill 2663, the Act Ensuring Patient Safety.

Mass. Second State To Consider Nurse Staffing Ratios
EurekAlert!
National research demonstrates that an increase in the number of nurses is associated with fewer deaths, shorter hospital stays, and lower rates of complications such as pneumonia, shock, and cardiac arrest. Despite this fact, there is no consensus among health-care experts that mandating the number of registered nurses is the best course of action. The Massachusetts legislature is only the second in the nation to seriously consider mandatory minimum nurse staffing ratios. California enacted such requirements in January 2004, but it is still too early to evaluate whether this law has resulted in improved patient safety.

Pa.: Nearly 12,000 Patients Got Infections
During Hospital Stay, 1,800 of Them Died
New York Newsday
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- More than 11,600 patients contracted infections during hospital stays in Pennsylvania last year -- and nearly 1,800 of them died, according to a new report by a state agency that tracks health care trends. Pennsylvania is one of at least a half-dozen states that require hospitals to report information on infections, and it is the first state to publicize its findings.

Federal Doctors Promote New Medicare Plan
The Associated Press
SCARBOROUGH, Maine -- The federal government's "dream team" of top doctors kicked off a three-state visit to New England on Wednesday to spread the word about Medicare prescription drug coverage that takes effect in less than six months. Among those skeptical of the new program was Paulette Beaudoin of Biddeford, vice president of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens, who complained to McClellan that it does nothing to curb the rapid rise in drug costs. "Most of the people will fall into that doughnut hole, and once they do it will make things horrendous," she said. "People will spend more than they do now."

Court Considers Canada Cattle Imports
The Associated Press
Whether it's protecting profits or consumer health, the U.S. meat industry has a lot riding on the government's effort to reopen the border to Canadian cattle. The U.S. Department of Agriculture insists it's safe to resume the imports, despite a ruling by a Montana federal judge who sided with ranchers warning about dire economic and health consequences from a mad cow outbreak in the United States. Feedlots and packers maintain that ranchers are only concerned about their profits.

Boston Scientific Stent Problems Persisted
ABC News
Doctors continued reporting surgical problems with a heart stent made by Boston Scientific Corp. even after the company recalled nearly 100,000 of the devices and fixed a manufacturing flaw, according to a published report.

Compulsive Gambling, Sex Linked to Parkinson's Drugs
NationalGeographic.com
Some drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease can cause patients to become addicted to gambling, food, and sex, new research shows. Scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, have found that certain drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease can cause patients to become addicted to gambling. The drugs, called dopamine agonists, also have been found to boost patients' appetites for sex, food, and alcohol. "This is a striking effect," said J. Eric Ahlskog, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic. "Pathological gambling induced by a drug is really quite unusual."

Rare type of breast cancer on the rise in the U.S.
Reuters Health
NEW YORK -- Throughout the 1990s, the incidence of inflammatory breast cancer -- a relatively rare and aggressive form of the disease -- increased and there were only modest improvements in survival, researchers report. They also found significant racial disparities in incidence and survival. Inflammatory breast cancer is characterized by redness, warmth, and swelling, often without an underlying palpable mass.

Teen IQ, Activity Tied to Later Dementia Risk
Reuters Health
NEW YORK -- A high IQ in adolescence and greater participation in various extracurricular activities may decrease a person's chances of developing dementia later in life, according to a study in the current Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study found that persons who were more active in high school and who had higher IQ scores were less likely to have mild memory and thinking problems when they got older. Conversely, those who were lower on the IQ continuum and who participated in fewer activities in high school had a higher risk of cognitive decline.