Saturday, Oct 25th
Last update01:49:42 AM GMT
Health Glance
Chuck Stauffer’s insurance covered the surgery to remove his brain tumor. It covered his brain scans. And it would have paid fully for tens of thousands of dollars of intravenous chemotherapy at a doctor’s office or hospital.
But his insurance covered hardly any of the cost of the cancer pills the doctor prescribed for him to take at home. Mr. Stauffer, a 62-year-old Oregon farmer, had to pay $5,500 for the first 42-day supply of the drug, Temodar, and $1,700 a month after that.
It was a crisp and brilliant autumn day last October when the medical and financial crises with which my family had successfully, if barely, coped for seven years became a catastrophe.
The Environmental Appeals Board of the U.S. federal government has granted the DuPont corporation a three-year extension on its obligation to conduct a comprehensive assessment of a widely used chemical believed to expose consumers to the toxic substance perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
A new drug halts the devastating progress of Alzheimer’s disease, say British scientists.
It is said to be more than twice as effective as current treatments.
A daily capsule of rember, as the drug is known, stops Alzheimer’s disease progressing by as much as 81 per cent, according to trial results.
A new DNA test for the virus that causes cervical cancer does so much better than current methods that some gynecologists hope it will eventually replace the Pap smear in wealthy countries and cruder tests in poor ones.
Not only could the new test for human papillomavirus, or HPV, save lives; scientists say that women over 30 could drop annual Pap smears and instead have the DNA test just once every 3, 5 or even 10 years, depending on which expert is asked.
Doctors may soon be able to patch up damaged bones and joints anywhere in the body with a simple shot in the arm.
A team at Keele University is testing injectible stem cells that they say they can control with a magnet.
The Food and Drug Administration ordered 14 drug makers to stop using what it called misleading ads on Internet search engines. The agency faulted the companies for failing to identify product names and side effects in sponsored search results, according to its Web site.Page 193 of 231
