Girl Born To Brain-Dead Woman 'Doing Well'
USA TODAY
Susan Torres, the pregnant cancer patient being kept alive on a breathing device, gave birth to a 1 pound, 13 ounce daughter at a Virginia hospital on Tuesday. The baby, named Susan Anne Catherine Torres, is about 13 1/2 inches long, said the woman's brother-in-law, Justin Torres. The baby, born after about 26 weeks' gestation, was being monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit of Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. A pregnancy is considered full term at 40 weeks.

Nurse Faculty Education Act in the U.S. Senate
U.S. Newswire
WASHINGTON -- The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) applauds the recent introduction of the Nurse Faculty Education Act of 2005 (S. 1575) which addresses one of the leading drivers of the nursing shortage, the insufficient supply of nurse educators. Championed by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D- NM) and John Cornyn (R-TX), this legislation proposes to increase the number of doctorally-prepared nurses needed to assume faculty positions at nursing schools nationwide. "Without increases in the number of nurses with doctoral degrees, our nation faces serious challenges in both the access to and quality of health care," said AACN President Jean E. Bartels.

New Initiative Aimed At Nursing Shortage
Freeport Journal Standard
ROCKFORD -- State officials say a new initiative from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will address severe nursing shortages in the region and improve available health care for residents. The initiative, which includes a nearly $240,000 state grant, was announced at a news conference Monday in Rockford.

Action Call On Global Nursing Shortage
StaffNurse.com, UK
Nursing experts have called for an internationally agreed index to decide which countries need help in recruiting and training nurses. Experts met in Italy at a summit convened at a Rockefeller Foundation centre to assess the extent of the global shortage. Participant Professor Linda Aiken, of Pennsylvania University, USA, said: "Approximately 80 percent of nurses immigrating to the United States are from developing countries. This exodus of nurses from developing countries impacts the ability of these countries to develop sustainable health care systems, provide appropriate care, and manage disease."

Cut in Doctors' Medicare Payments Proposed
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The federal government proposed reducing payments to doctors through Medicare by about 4.3 percent next year. The reduction is mandated by a formula that takes into account substantial growth in overall Medicare spending, officials said. As that spending increases above estimates, and it has the past several years, then the law requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to adjust payments downward for more than 7,000 health care procedures and services.

FDA Approves Celebrex for Spinal Arthritis
San Francisco Chronicle
New York -- Pfizer Inc. said Monday the Food and Drug Administration approved and finalized prescription information of painkiller Celebrex for the treatment of pain associated with ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis that affects the spine. The New York-based drug development company noted ankylosing spondylitis, which usually strikes people between the ages of 17 and 35, marks the sixth approved indication for Celebrex in the United States.

Some Teens Try to Get Buff From a Bottle
Reuters
NEW YORK -- Many teenagers wish for a toned physique, and some turn to dietary supplements or hormones to get one, according to a new study. Researchers found that among more than 10,000 12- to 18-year-olds, roughly 5 percent of boys and 2 percent of girls regularly used some purported muscle enhancer -- most commonly protein powders or shakes, but also dietary supplements such as creatine and amino acids. A handful said they frequently used steroids or other hormonal substances -- namely growth hormone or the over-the-counter supplement DHEA -- and more had at least tried such products in the past year.

Drug Industry Unveils Guidelines On Direct-To-Consumer Ads
Knight Ridder
WASHINGTON - The drug industry's main lobbying and trade group on Tuesday proposed modest, voluntary new controls on ads that its companies aim at consumers. The move came as the Food and Drug Administration prepared to open hearings on drug ads and congressional investigators began to look into the FDA's oversight of drug company advertising.

Study Links Malnourishment, Schizophrenia
ABC News
CHICAGO -- A study of a famine in China more than 40 years ago found that children born to severely malnourished women are more likely to develop schizophrenia. The research bolsters the evidence that environmental factors can trigger the devastating mental illness. Compared with children born before or after the 1959-61 famine, those born during the disaster faced double the risk of becoming schizophrenic later on.