Archives for 2007

Lawmakers Debate Funding Children’s Health Insurance

July 16, 2007 | by

The Washington Post is reporting that the decade-old State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which expires in September and was expected to be renewed and possibly expanded, is held up in Congress. The debate is the proper role of government in healthcare.

The $5 billion dollar program annually helps 6.6 million low-income, uninsured American children see doctors when they’re sick. Both the U.S. House and Senate are proposing deals to expand the program and increase funding over the next five years, proposals the President characterizes as attempts to enlarge the federal role of healthcare and reduce private insurance coverage for some children.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Legislation to be Introduced in Congress

July 13, 2007 | by

Spinal muscular atrophy legislation, “The SMA Treatment Acceleration Act”, will soon be introduced in both the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

What is spinal muscular atrophy?

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive (meaning the disorder is inherited by receiving one gene from both mother and father) neuromuscluar disorder that affects motor neurons of the spinal cord and brainstem. Motor neurons are responsible for supplying electrical and chemical messages to muscle cells. Without proper input from motor neurons, muscle cells don’t function properly and become much smaller (atrophy), producing symptoms of muscle weakness and affecting the ability to swallow, breath and move limbs.

Health Highlights – July 10th, 2007

July 10, 2007 | by

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

Health Highlights

The Highlight HEALTH Web Directory

July 6, 2007 | by

The Highlight HEALTH Web Directory, a companion site of Highlight HEALTH, is a searchable categorized directory of quality health-related websites, including health & medical blogs, research journals, personalized medicine and health 2.0 resources.

What is a Web Directory?

Web directories or as they are also known, search directories, existed before the popularity of search engines. A web directory is not a search engine nor does it display a list of web pages based on keywords. Instead, it displays a list of web sites by category. Web directories are large collections of links to websites, arranged in different categories.

Second-hand Smoke Exposure Linked to Psychological Problems in Children

June 29, 2007 | by

The first evidence linking mothers’ second-hand smoke exposure while pregnant to their child’s attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder has been published in the current issue of Child Psychiatry and Human Development. ADHD and conduct disorder behaviors are called externalizing psychopathology with symtoms that include aggressive behavior, ADHD, defiance and conduct disorder.