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GlaxoSmithKline And Genmab Announce Top-line Results For Ofatumumab In Rheumatoid Arthritis
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Genmab A/S (OMX: GEN) announced preliminary top-line results from a Phase III study of ofatumumab administered intravenously for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients who had an inadequate response to methotrexate. The study met the primary endpoint, ACR20 at 24 weeks, which indicates a 20 percent or greater improvement in the number of swollen and tender joints, as well as improvements in other disease-activity measures.

Obama Highlights U.S. Commitment To Reducing Maternal Mortality, HIV/AIDS In Address To Africa
In a speech before the Ghanaian Parliament, President Obama on Saturday reiterated U.S. support for public health programs that will reduce maternal mortality and the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the New York Times reports. The speech, which was televised across the continent, focused on international relations with Africa and empowering African nations to address problems (Baker, New York Times, 7/12).In a portion of the speech about strengthening public health, Obama said that there has been "enormous progress ... in parts of Africa" in recent years. He continued, "Far more people are living productively with HIV/AIDS, and getting the drugs they need. But too many still die from diseases that shouldn"t kill them." He added, "When children are being killed because of a mosquito bite, and mothers are dying in childbirth, then we know that more progress must be made." Obama said that "incentives often provided by donor nations" often compel doctors and nurses to "go overseas, or work for programs that focus on a single disease," which "creates gaps in primary care and basic prevention." He also said that Africans must "make responsible choices that prevent the spread of disease, while promoting public health in their communities and countries."Obama noted that the U.S. has committed $63 billion "to meet these challenges." He added that the U.S. will not "confront illnesses in isolation" but instead "invest in public health systems that promote wellness and focus on the health of mothers and children" (AP/USA Today, 7/11). Obama also visited a women"s clinic to highlight U.S-backed programs to fight infant and maternal mortality (New York Times, 7/12).
News of the day
Some Small Businesses Must Cut Employee Health Benefits Or Lay Off Workers Amid Economic Recession
Small businesses increasingly are eliminating their employee health coverage plans because of rising health care premiums and declining revenue attributed to the current economic recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. About 10% of small companies are considering ending their employee health coverage plans over the next year, compared with 3% of small businesses in 2005, according to a recent survey by the National Small Business Association. In 2008, 38% of small companies offered health coverage, compared with 41% in 2007 and 61% in 1993, according to NSBA. According to a Hewitt Associates survey, 19% of all U.S. businesses plan to halt providing health care benefits to their employees in the next three to five years.A rise in health care coverage premiums has contributed to employers eliminating plans, according to the Journal. Premiums for single policies increased by 74% for small businesses from 2001 to 2008, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. According to Scott Krienke, senior vice president of product lines for Assurant Health, health insurance premiums for small businesses increase by 8% to 16% annually on average, with smaller firms often having the highest increases. According to the Journal, many employers are choosing to eliminate health coverage instead of eliminating jobs or closing down their business. Some businesses have chosen instead to shift more health care costs to workers, change health insurers, switch prescription drug plans to encourage employees to purchase more generic drugs or offer employees wellness plans that encourage healthy habits as a strategy to reduce health care costs, the Journal reports (Mattioli, Wall Street Journal, 5/26).
Sexual Health

Child's Body Composition May Be Shaped By Breastfeeding Duration And Weaning Diet

Variations in both milk feeding and in the weaning diet are linked to differences in growth and development, and they have independent influences on body composition in early childhood, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society"s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Previous studies suggest that the early environment may be a significant factor in childhood obesity. This study used dual x-ray absorptiometry to make direct measures of body composition in children at four years of age whose diets had been assessed when they were infants. The findings showed that children who had been breastfed longer had a lower fat mass which could not be explained by differences in family background or the child"s height. "Most studies linking infant feeding to later body composition focus on differences in milk feeding, but our study also considered the influence of the weaning diet," said Dr. SiÃþn Robinson, PhD, of the MRC Epidemiology Re Centre, University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and lead author of the study. "We found that, independent of the duration of breastfeeding, children with higher quality weaning diets including fruits, vegetables, and home-prepared foods had a greater lean mass at four years of age." In this study, researchers assessed the diets of 536 children at six and 12 months of age. Diet was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire that was administered by trained research nurses to record the average frequency of consumption of specific foods. The age at which solid foods were introduced into the infant"s diet was also recorded. In this study "weaning" is defined as the period of transition in infancy between a diet based on milk feeding to one based on solid foods. The subjects" body composition was assessed at four years by dual X-ray absorptiometry. "These findings are enlightening," said Professor Cyrus Cooper, Director of the MRC Epidemiology Re Centre. "An influence of qualitative differences in the weaning diet on childhood body composition had not been described before." Other researchers working on the study include Lynne Marriott, Sarah Crozier, Nick Harvey, Catharine Gale, Hazel Inskip, Janis Baird, Keith Godfrey, and Cyrus Cooper of the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and Catherine Law of University College London in the United Kingdom. The study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council, University of Southampton, British Heart Foundation and the Food Standards Agency. The article "Variations in infant feeding practice are associated with body composition in childhood: a prospective cohort study," will appear in the August 2009 issue of JCEM. Aaron Lohr The Endocrine Society

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17.05.2012


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