Imperial Valley News Center
FTC Approves Stipulated Order Settling Charges against Gerber Products Company
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- Written by IVN
Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in October 2014 alleging that Gerber Products Company, also doing business as Nestlé Nutrition, deceptively advertised that feeding Good Start Gentle formula to infants with a family history of allergies prevents or reduces the risk that they will develop allergies, and misrepresented that its Good Start Gentle formula qualified for or received approval for a health claim from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Patient Groups Express Strong Opposition to Medicaid Block Grants
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- Written by Michelle Kirkwood
Washington, DC - Proposals for Block Grants or Per Capita Caps in Medicaid Would Harm Patients with Serious and Chronic Health Conditions. Today, 27 patient groups submitted a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma expressing strong opposition to policies that would allow states to apply for block grants or per capita caps for their Medicaid programs. The Administration’s “State Medicaid Director Letter: Medicaid Value and Accountability Demonstration Opportunity” is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget. In addition, the groups released the following shared statement:
Court Urged to Prioritize Patients and Uphold Health Care Law
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- Written by Michelle Kirkwood
Washington, DC - Patient groups are urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to prioritize patient protections, including those for people with pre-existing conditions, when it hears oral arguments in the case Texas v. United States. The case is being appealed after a lower court ruling that the entire health care law should be struck down because Congress repealed the individual mandate’s tax penalty. The case was brought by 20 states and is led by the Texas Attorney General.
NIH study links air pollution to increase in newborn intensive care admissions
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- Written by IVN
Washington, DC - Infants born to women exposed to high levels of air pollution in the week before delivery are more likely to be admitted to a newborn intensive care unit (NICU), suggests an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Depending on the type of pollution, chances for NICU admission increased from about 4% to as much as 147%, compared to infants whose mothers did not encounter high levels of air pollution during the week before delivery. The study was led by Pauline Mendola, Ph.D., of the Epidemiology Branch at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Persistent HIV in central nervous system linked to cognitive impairment
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- Written by Judith Lavelle
Washington, DC - Many people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART) have viral genetic material in the cells of their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and these individuals are more likely to experience memory and concentration problems, according to new data published online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. A study of 69 individuals on long-term ART found that nearly half of the participants had persistent HIV in cells in their CSF, and 30% of this subset experienced neurocognitive difficulties. These findings suggest that HIV can persist in the nervous system even when the virus is suppressed in a patient’s blood with medication.
Extinct human species likely breast fed for up to a year after birth
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- Written by Robert Bock or Meredith Daly
Washington, DC - Infants of the extinct human species Australopithecus africanus likely breast fed for up to a year after birth, similar to modern humans but of shorter duration than modern day great apes, according to an analysis of fossil teeth funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. The findings provide insight into how breast feeding evolved among humans and may inform strategies to improve modern breast-feeding practices. The study appears in Nature.
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