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Neurosurgeons Oppose Reform Bill

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) have come out strongly against the health reform legislation currently under consideration in the House. “America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” (H.R. 3200), which includes a public health insurance option, goes too far, according to the groups. AANS and CNS said the public plan could lead the United States to a single-payer, government-run health care system. They also voiced concerns about the high cost of the proposals in the bill and the failure to include medical liability reform. “America's neurosurgeons strongly support improving our nation's health care system by ensuring insurance coverage for all our citizens,” Dr. Troy M. Tippett, president of the AANS, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, as it is currently constructed, this bill goes far beyond what is necessary to fix what is broken with our health care system.” The AANS and CNS are supporting a Republican alternative, the “Empowering Patients First Act” (H.R. 3400). It advocates tax incentives as the way to expand health coverage and would limit noneconomic damages and attorneys' contingency fees in medical malpractice cases.

Huntington's Drug in Phase III

The investigational drug dimebon (latrepirdine) will advance to phase III trials to evaluate its effects on cognition in people with Huntington's disease. Partnering drugmakers Pfizer Inc. and Medivation Inc. said that in preclinical trials, dimebon protected brain cells from damage, perhaps by improving mitochondrial function. For the phase III trial, called HORIZON, researchers will enroll about 350 patients at 50 sites in North America, Europe, and Australia to receive either dimebon (20 mg) 3 times daily or placebo for 6 months. In the meantime, the Food and Drug Administration has granted dimebon orphan drug status for the treatment of Huntington's disease.

NIH Launches Brain Mapping Project

Officials at the National Institutes of Health are launching a $30 million initiative to map the circuitry of the adult brain. The Human Connectome Project will rely on brain imaging and other data from investigators funded at up to $6 million per year for 5 years. The NIH will collect brain images, DNA samples, demographic information, and behavioral data from hundreds of subjects. When all the pieces come together, the information could provide clues as to how brain connectivity is influenced by genetics and the environment, according to the NIH. “Neuroscientists have only a piecemeal understanding of brain connectivity,” Story Landis, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, said in a statement.

Agent Orange–Parkinson's Link Studied

The Institute of Medicine has found limited but suggestive evidence of a link between soldiers' exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War and an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. The IOM reviewed 16 studies that examined Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures among individuals with Parkinson's disease or Parkinson's-like symptoms. The finding of a suggestive link is based on several studies showing that compounds similar to the herbicides used in Vietnam are linked to Parkinson's. The committee couldn't be more definite because it lacked studies that looked at Parkinson's disease specifically in Vietnam veterans. The IOM committee recommended more research, including animal studies of the effects of chemical components of Agent Orange.

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