Archive for the ‘MedicareCard Replacement’ Category
Catheter ablation, a common cardiovascular procedure, appears no more effective than drug therapies in preventing strokes, deaths, and other complications in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, patients who get the procedure experience much greater symptom relief and long-term improvements in the quality of life, including fewer recurrences of the condition and fewer hospitalizations, than those who get only drugs. The findings are from two new studies published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
NIH research confirms effective treatments for opioid use disorder are underutilized.
An NIH-funded study found that treatment of opioid use disorder with either methadone or buprenorphine following a nonfatal opioid overdose is associated with significant reductions in opioid related mortality. The research was co-funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
Additional research needed to determine if role is causative.
Analysis of large data sets from post-mortem brain samples of people with and without Alzheimer’s disease has revealed new evidence that viral species, particularly herpesviruses, may have a role in Alzheimer’s disease biology. Researchers funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, made the discovery by harnessing data from brain banks and cohort studies participating in the Accelerating Medicines Partnership – Alzheimer’s Disease (AMP-AD) consortium. Reporting in the June 21 issue of the journal Neuron (link is external), the authors emphasize that their findings do not prove that the viruses cause the onset or progression of Alzheimer’s. Rather, the findings show viral DNA sequences and activation of biological networks — the interrelated systems of DNA, RNA, proteins and metabolites — may interact with molecular, genetic and clinical aspects of Alzheimer’s.
On ShareofCost.com you can learn about and buy an individual, couple and family dental insurance plans that fits your personal needs. Some of our dental insurance plans require you to stay within a network of dental care providers. Where as other of our dental plan options will let you choose your own dentist or go out side their provider list. The premiums may be a bit higher for this type of plan and you may have to pay more at the time of service depending on how your dentist files claims.
According to the National Association of Dental Plans, approximately half of the U.S. population does not have an affordable dental plan. The cost for affordable dental insurance can vary. Therefore, it is important to understand all your options in obtaining the most affordable dental plan coverage.
The company where you work may provide the most affordable dental insurance plan options. Dental insurance plans for individual and families are usually an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) or a PPO (Preferred Provided Organization) and operate much like traditional health insurance organizations.
Affordable Dental Plans – HMO
Affordable dental insurance plans from an HMO have a limited pool of dentist to select, but it is a more affordable insurance plan. If you are self employed and looking for a more affordable dental plan, a discount dental plan may be an alternative.
Discount dental plans are not dental insurance plans. A discount plan partners with dentists to provide customers with a savings on visits to the dentist office. The downside to discount dental plans is that they are not regulated and you have limited recourse if you experience dental plan problems.
Affordable Dental Plans – Where to Buy
You can obtain quotes for more affordable dental insurance plans from companies online and through your local insurance agent or broker. Please keep in mind that there are many web sites who give the appearance of selling dental insurance but instead only offer a dental discount plan which is not insurance.
Your dentist may also have affordable dental plan options available to patients. Ask the receptionist if they partner with a dental plan company and see if one might be right for you.
Affordable Dental Plans – Other Alternatives
If you belong to a professional association, you might be eligible for a dental insurance or discount dental plan. Many associations partner with a PPO to provide their members with dental plans that offer very comprehensive insurance coverage at more affordable prices.
Finally, dental schools may offer affordable dental services. Dental schools seem to be safe, but can be inconvenient and treatment for one problem may have to be addressed in multiple office visits.
National Institutes of Health researchers have identified a naturally occurring lipid—a waxy, fatty acid—used by a disease-causing bacterium to impair the host immune response and increase the chance of infection. Inadvertently, they also may have found a potent inflammation therapy against bacterial and viral diseases.
National Institutes of Health researchers have identified a naturally occurring lipid—a waxy, fatty acid—used by a disease-causing bacterium to impair the host immune response and increase the chance of infection. Inadvertently, they also may have found a potent inflammation therapy against bacterial and viral diseases.
NAVIGATE will launch at 12 VA facilities across the nation.
Veterans with cancer who receive treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will now have easier access to clinical trials of novel cancer treatments, thanks to an agreement between VA and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers will investigate environmental and genetic factors related to aggressiveness of prostate cancer in African-American men.
The largest coordinated research effort to study biological and non-biological factors associated with aggressive prostate cancer in African-American men has begun. The $26.5 million study is called RESPOND, or Research on Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry: Defining the Roles of Genetics, Tumor Markers, and Social Stress. It will investigate environmental and genetic factors related to aggressiveness of prostate cancer in African-American men to better understand why they disproportionally experience aggressive disease — that is, disease that grows and spreads quickly — compared with men of other racial and ethnic groups.
NIAID-supported discovery could lead to therapy for deadly illness.
Recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks, including the 2013-2016 epidemic that ravaged West Africa and the 2018 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, highlight the need for licensed treatments for this often-deadly disease. ZMapp, an experimental therapy comprising three monoclonal antibodies, has shown promise in a clinical trial, but it targets only one of the five known species of Ebola virus. Now, scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have discovered a set of powerful, broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) in the blood of EVD survivors. In animal studies, two of these antibodies provided substantial protection against disease caused by Zaire ebolavirus, Bundibugyo ebolavirus and Sudan ebolavirus, the three species known to cause fatal human illness.
NIH-funded study could lead researchers to rethink how to treat the disorder. Mutations in the gene LRRK2 have been linked to about three percent of Parkinson’s disease cases. Researchers have now found evidence that the activity of LRRK2 protein might be affected in many more patients with Parkinson’s disease, even when the LRRK2 gene itself is not mutated. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine and was supported in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
With the growing incidence of tickborne infections in the United States, it is essential that public health officials and researchers develop a strong understanding of pathogenesis, create better diagnostics, and develop preventive vaccines, say researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Obesity, which increases influenza disease severity, also extends by about 1.5 days how long influenza A virus is shed from infected adults compared to non-obese adults, according to a multi-year study of two cohorts of Nicaraguan households. The findings implicate chronic inflammation caused by obesity as well as increasing age as reasons for extended viral shedding, which puts others at risk of infection.
Researchers have found that a group of viruses that cause severe stomach illness — including the one famous for widespread outbreaks on cruise ships — get transmitted to humans through membrane-cloaked “virus clusters” that exacerbate the spread and severity of disease. Previously, it was believed that these viruses only spread through individual virus particles. The discovery of these clusters, the scientists say, marks a turning point in the understanding of how these viruses spread and why they are so infectious. This preliminary work could lead to the development of more effective antiviral agents than existing treatments that mainly target individual particles
NIH-funded study shows clinicians reduced prescriptions following behavioral “nudge”. Clinicians were more likely to reduce the number and dose of opioid drugs they prescribed after learning that one of their patients had died from an overdose from a controlled substance than those not notified, according to a recent study appearing in the August 10 issue of Science. The study was funded in part by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health.
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) are financed by state, county, and federal funds. Depending on your countable income, you may have to pay for a portion of the cost of services. This is known as share of cost.
If you work, you may qualify for no-cost IHSS even if you think you have to pay a share of cost. That’s because if you have a disability, you could sign up for Medi-Cal’s Working Disabled Program (WDP).
In a new study, researchers developed a gene expression predictor that can indicate whether melanoma in a specific patient is likely to respond to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a novel type of immunotherapy. The predictor was developed by Noam Auslander, Ph.D., with other researchers in the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and the University of Maryland, College Park. The study was published Aug. 20, 2018 in Nature Medicine.