A Look at Ascendance Biomedical, Packaging Medical Tourism for Longevity Therapies
Ascendance Biomedical is a fairly new venture, still in the early stages of formalizing its structure and agenda. It is focused on two twofold path of (a) establishing patient-funded trials of potentially useful therapies in the longevity science space, and (b) packaging participation in trials and later purchase of therapies via medical tourism, bundling all of the complications into a single product. The people involved overlap with the principals of the Global Healthspan Policy Institute, and are fairly well connected in our community. The organization is tackling just a few types of therapy to get started, gaining expe...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 29, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Healthy Life Extension Community Source Type: blogs
What ’s Confusing Us About Mental Health Parity
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) has been law since 2008. MHPAEA provided that health plans could not limit mental health or substance use disorder benefits in a way that was more restrictive than how most medical/surgical benefits were limited. This sounds simple enough, but in this year alone there has been a White House task force, voluminous Department of Labor guidance, a SAMHSA best practices manual, and an Energy & Commerce Committee hearing to find out why most people still can’t access care.
We still don’t have all the answers. The issues these efforts have uncovered are numerous:...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - December 22, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Nathaniel Counts, Timothy Clement, Amanda Mauri, Paul Gionfriddo and Garry Carneal Tags: Featured Payment Policy Public Health Quality Behavioral Health Mental Health substance use Source Type: blogs
Treating the primary tumor can improve survival in men whose prostate cancer has spread
This study suggests a different and very novel way of thinking about how to manage men who present with metastatic prostate cancer,” said Dr. Marc Garnick, the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and editor in chief of HarvardProstateKnowledge.org. “There are other cancers where treating the primary cancer in the setting of metastatic disease has been associated with improvements — and this study provides an important impetus to consider this option both in the context of clinical studies and individualized patient selection.”
Related Post:Long-t...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 29, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Charlie Schmidt Tags: Cancer Health Men's Health Prostate Health Source Type: blogs
Transgender healthcare coverage: Prevalence, recent trends, and considerations for payers
The post originally ran on Milliman, Inc. on July 28, 2016.
Recently, the concept of gender identity and what it means from a health insurance coverage perspective has been receiving increased attention. This paper lays out recent trends, including recent federal and state laws affecting health insurance benefits for transgender individuals. We also examine health insurance clinical coverage policies related to gender reassignment surgery as well as prevalence estimates. Finally, we provide future considerations for healthcare payers, including appropriately capturing data relevant to the healthcare needs of the transgende...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - September 9, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Transgender Healthcare Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
How Has MS Affected Your Family Planning or Your Pregnancy?
For many years, there’s been anecdotal evidence that multiple sclerosis activity can slow — and some symptoms even improve — during pregnancy. The evidence was so strong that a multiyear study of the effect of hormone therapy to mimic pregnancy has been undertaken to test whether higher levels of a type of estrogen is behind this phenomenon.
As a man — even a man with MS — I have no way to experience this firsthand. As an “enlightened” man, I wouldn’t even try to comment on it. I suppose it’s not unlike the blog we posted on MS and menopause a number of years ago. I simply cannot make any informed...
Source: Life with MS - September 7, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Trevis Gleason Tags: multiple sclerosis life with MS Living with MS MS and family Source Type: blogs
What if cancer treatment left you completely exhausted?
When I was 38, my life was turned upside down. As a healthy, happy wife and mother of two, I never could have imagined that I would be diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Post-diagnosis was a whirlwind: I had a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy and more surgery.It took a long time to get my health back after treatment, but I discovered that the entire experience took a toll on my metabolism and muscle strength. When I ’d try to exercise, I’d just end up in a pool of tears due to pain and exhaustion.A friend told me aboutLIVESTRONG at the YMCA and it changed my life. Their exercise program fo...
Source: LIVESTRONG Blog - August 18, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: LIVESTRONG Staff Source Type: blogs
Health Affairs Web First: New ACA Coverage Enrollees Increased Prescription Use And Lowered Spending
This study will also appear in the September issue of Health Affairs. (Source: Health Affairs Blog)
Source: Health Affairs Blog - August 17, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Lucy Larner Tags: Costs and Spending Elsewhere@ Health Affairs Featured Insurance and Coverage Medicaid and CHIP chronic conditions Health Affairs journal Web First Source Type: blogs
Video: What ’ s in a Label? Pros and Cons of the DSM
A recent proposal to remove transgender identity from the ICD, the World Health Organization’s manual of medical conditions, has reignited the debate over what should and shouldn’t be a mental health diagnosis.
Many feel that classifying transgender identity as a disorder is unnecessarily stigmatizing. Others argue that leaving it as a recognized medical diagnosis has practical benefits. For example, as a New York Times article on the controversy points out, classifying transgender identity as a disorder has allowed inmates like Chelsea Manning to undergo hormone therapy.
Transgender identity aside, there’...
Source: World of Psychology - August 17, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Neil Petersen Tags: Disorders History of Psychology Psychiatry Video Daniel J. Tomasulo Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders Dsm Dsm 5 icd Marie Hartwell-Walker Mental Health Source Type: blogs
LGBT Protections In Affordable Care Act Section 1557
On May 13, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) issued a historic new rule that codifies nationwide nondiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in health facilities, programs, and activities receiving federal funding. This rule confirms that Affordable Care Act Section 1557 prohibits discrimination against LGBT people in health insurance coverage and health care.
Key provisions of the final rule that relate specifically to LGBT people include:
Interpreting Section 1557’s sex nondiscrimination protections to include explicit p...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - June 6, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Kellan Baker Tags: Costs and Spending Equity and Disparities Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage Medicaid and CHIP Public Health Quality HHS OCR LGBT issues section 1557 transgender rights Source Type: blogs
Hormones, From Puberty to Post-Menopause
The post below originally ran on HuffPost Healthy Living.
If you’re a woman, you probably know that our bodies go through myriad changes during the course of our lives. Hormones play an integral role in those changes at each stage of development, from puberty to post-menopause. This is the first in a four-part series the Society For Women’s Health Research (SWHR®) will be publishing about hormones across the lifespan — read on to learn more!
What exactly are hormones? The Virginia Women’s Center offers a good definition: A hormone is a “chemical communicator or connector” that carries messages to and from all ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - March 18, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Aging Women's Health Source Type: blogs
A Look at One of the Palo Alto Longevity Prize Competitors
The Palo Alto Longevity Prize launched back in 2014, one of a number of research prizes created over the past decade aimed at encouraging greater progress in the application of aging research. This popular press article takes a look at one of the competitors, but note it is garbling the science in a few places. In particular the line on quadrupling mouse life span is probably a reference to a study on a mouse model of multiple sclerosis or similar work on short-lived lineages where any intervention will greatly extend remaining life span by partially fixing the problem that is killing the mice at a young age. Certainly no-...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 26, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Sexism in Science: Bias Beyond the Lab
CONCLUSION
There’s no doubt that we’ve come far in this field and an improved concentration on exploring sex-based biology has resulted in a better understanding of sex differences–but we need to continue to such efforts in order to promote good health for all men and women. Clinical trials need to be designed to ensure not only the inclusion of, but also the recognition of their differences. Working toward inclusivity of medical research will benefit us all by increasing our understanding of what causes various illnesses and how to treat them.
RESOURCES
Primary
Society for Women’s Health Research: History
...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - November 19, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Women's Health Source Type: blogs
TBT: Blind to women’s sexual health
Today’s TBT post ran over two years ago and addressed female dysfunction. Given the FDA’s recent approval of flibanserin, a pill that aims to increase a woman’s desire for sex, we thought it would be helpful to review some of the early conversations on the issue.
A recent article published in partnership with The Investigative Fund and Newsweek questioned the existence of “female dysfunction,” as if to say, who cares about women’s sexual health? If you can’t “see” it, apparently it doesn’t exist. This is one-sided, inaccurate and disparaging of women.
Why is it that when men are impotent it ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - August 20, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Aging Choice gender Women's Health Flibanserin Food and Drug Administration Sexual desire Sexual dysfunction Source Type: blogs
Treating Menopausal Vaginal Dryness
Sex is supposed to be fun, and it’s definitely not supposed to hurt.
But one of the consequences of menopause is vaginal dryness, which for many women means painful sex.
With the loss of ovarian estrogen, vaginal walls that were once elastic, expandable, supple and sturdy can, over time, become tightened and fragile. The vaginal walls can become as thin as tissue paper, unable to withstand the manipulation that occurs with sexual activity, and can tear and even bleed with intercourse.
“Use it or lose it”
When sex becomes painful, the natural response is to begin to avoid intercourse. But without continued sexual acti...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - August 2, 2015 Category: Primary Care Authors: Margaret Polaneczky, MD Tags: Menopause painful sex sex hurts vaginal atrophy vaginal dryness Source Type: blogs
You can never be prepared for a diagnosis of breast cancer
November of last year found me living as best I could with several health issues, the most debilitating of which stems from never having recovered from a serious viral infection in 2001. I’ve been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, a little understood and much-misunderstood illness. It keeps me virtually housebound. For the most part, I’ve made peace with feeling sick all the time. In fact, recently I’d been thinking that I could be OK with the prospect of spending the rest of my life with flu-like symptoms as my constant companions.
Then, totally unexpectedly, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was discov...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 6, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Toni Bernhard, JD Tags: Patient Cancer Source Type: blogs
