The Washington Post on Sunday examined how, according to a report released last week by Public Citizen, state Medicaid programs “vary wildly in their eligibility criteria, the scope and quality of their care, and the amount they reimburse physicians providing it” (Brown, Washington Post, 4/22). [click link for full article]

The New England Journal of Medicine has published an article about the findings of a multi-center randomized clinical trial that compared transfusion strategies for patients in pediatric intensive care units. The study, led by Dr. [click link for full article]

Insured U.S. women are more likely than men to forgo necessary health care, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, the Los Angeles Times reports. [click link for full article]

The cancerous cells of some individuals with breast cancer lack expression of two cell surface proteins, the estrogen and progesterone receptors, and do not express increased amounts of HER2. Individuals with such breast cancer (known as triple-negative breast cancer) do not respond to treatment with commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs and their prognosis is relatively poor. [click link for full article]

The United Nations World Food Programme said today it had started flying desperately needed food and other humanitarian supplies by helicopter to 20,000 people in northwestern Madagascar isolated after one of the worst cyclone seasons in years. WFP plans to provide 100 metric tons of food and other essential relief items by helicopter over a four-week period from a base in the northwestern town of Antsohihy. [click link for full article]

The new Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Josette Sheeran, today called on farmers, grain traders, and government officials to support WFP in developing “better models with food aid purchases” that can help poor farmers access markets and assist in solving chronic food insecurity. [click link for full article]

With the Mental Health Bill for England and Wales going through Committee stage in the House of Commons, the BMA is concerned that the proposed legislation will harm patients with mental health disorders. Currently two doctors [at least one must be a consultant psychiatrist] have to agree before anyone is detained under the Mental Health Act but the Government is proposing to change this and widen professional roles within this field. [click link for full article]

Statement of John Kirkwood, President and CEO, American Lung AssociationThe American Lung Association is pleased to support the Clean Air Planning Act of 2007. We thank Senator Carper for introducing this bill to strengthen the Clean Air Act by reducing emissions from individual power plants that contribute to local air pollution problems. This legislation would result in broad regional reductions in particle pollution and smog. [click link for full article]

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center have identified a subgroup of hard-to-treat breast cancers that may be sensitive to the drug cisplatin, rarely used in the treatment of breast tumors. They also have discovered the molecular basis of this sensitivity, which may help identify patients most likely to benefit from cisplatin treatment. [click link for full article]

Despite an alarming rise in the incidence of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, more than one in five Americans 40 years and older think critical lifestyle changes to lower their risk for these diseases are “too hard,” according to new research from the American Diabetes Association.To help counter these misperceptions, ADA is launching a bold new primary prevention initiative- CheckUp America. The initative will launch on Wednesday with a radio media tour by Dr. [click link for full article]