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GAO Report Finds Veterans Affairs Facilities Do Not Comply With Privacy Standards For Women
All Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics and hospitals are failing to fully comply with federal privacy standards for women, according to a Government Accountability Office report, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The report comes as thousands of female veterans are entering the VA health system after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.GAO auditors said that many VA facilities had gynecological tables that faced the door. In one instance, a gynecological table faced a door opening to a waiting room. The investigation also found cases where women had to walk through waiting rooms to use the restroom -- a violation of VA policy requiring adjoining restrooms. Four VA hospitals did not guarantee women access to private bathing facilities. In two of those cases, the facilities did not have locks.Nearly 20% of female veterans have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and many of them have experienced sexual trauma while serving, according to the report. The report also said that most female veterans at VA facilities are ages 20 to 29. On average, female veterans using VA facilities are much younger than male VA patients, it noted.Randall Williamson, director of health care issues at GAO, said that although top VA officials are committed to improving care for female veterans, facilities are not always taking simple steps, such as repositioning exam tables. Patricia Hayes, chief consultant for VA"s veterans strategic health care group, said that the agency recognizes issues and is making changes to address disparities in care. She noted that VA is creating a long-term plan for construction improvements to address space and building layout challenges (AP/Boston Globe, 7/15).
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New Risk Factor Gene For Rheumatoid Arthritis Identified By Researchers
Scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a team of collaborators from across the country have identified a new risk factor gene for rheumatoid arthritis. The paper will be published in Nature Genetics and the finding brings light to the nature of the disease. The gene, dubbed REL, is a member of the NF-íºB family, important transcription factors that have many roles in the body. The NF-íºB family seems to have a big hand in regulating the body"s immune response as well.
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Sanofi Pasteur Receives Seed Virus To Produce New Influenza A(H1N1) Vaccine
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today it has received the new influenza A(H1N1) seed virus, enabling the world"s leading manufacturer of influenza vaccines to begin the production process for an A(H1N1) vaccine.
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Higher Education Level, Greater Disability Associated With Treatment Timing In Parkinson's Disease

Individuals who have higher levels of education and who are more impaired by Parkinson"s disease appear to require treatment for their symptoms earlier than do other patients, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the September print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Parkinson"s disease is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to significant morbidity, disability and increased likelihood of institutionalization," the authors write as background information in the article. "In view of the potential for short-term and long-term drug complications, symptomatic treatment is customarily delayed in Parkinson"s disease until the severity of motor symptoms results in functional impairment. Therefore, the initiation of symptomatic treatment is considered an early indicator of disease progression in Parkinson"s disease and is used as an important benchmark in clinical trials." Sotirios A. Parashos, M.D., Ph.D., of the Struthers Parkinson"s Center, Golden Valley, Minn., and colleagues in the NET-PD Investigators group analyzed data from 413 patients with early, untreated Parkinson"s disease who participated in two double-blind trials of experimental drugs. "Site investigators used their clinical judgment to determine when participants had reached a level of dysfunction sufficient to require symptomatic therapy in any one of three areas: ambulation [walking], activities of daily living or occupational status," the authors write. After 12 months, the researchers assessed all the treatment groups to identify which patients had started taking medication for their symptoms-including levodopa or dopamine agonists, treatments that regulate the amount of the neurotransmitter dopamine. At this time, 200 of the 413 participants (48.5 percent) had started symptomatic treatment. Those who had higher levels of impairment and disability at the beginning of the study, as measured by several Parkinson"s disease scales, were more likely to progress quickly. Higher education levels were also independently associated with an earlier need for symptomatic treatment. "A possible explanation is that higher education may be associated with greater occupational demands and an increased need for symptomatic control," the authors write. "However, one might expect that occupations placing higher demands on physical abilities (usually associated with lower education levels) would be associated with a more pressing need for symptomatic control. An alternate possibility is that patients with higher education are likely to be better advocates for their health care needs and play a more active role in medical decision-making." "Emotional, psychiatric and quality of life factors at baseline played a smaller role in determining need for symptomatic treatment and did not enter the final model when baseline impairment, disability and education were taken into account," they conclude. "The impact of the patient"s education level on clinical management is an unexpected finding and merits further investigation." Arch Neurol. 2009;66[9]:(doi:10.1001/archneurol.2009.159). Archives of Neurology


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