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Pitt Researchers Find Promising Candidate Protein For Cancer Prevention Vaccines
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals.
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Advocates Call Attention To Rising Teen Pregnancies In Foster Care Programs
Advocates are stepping up efforts to address the high pregnancy rate among teens in foster care programs, Time reports. Although teen pregnancy rates are rising nationwide after years of declines, the numbers in the foster care system are "truly epidemic," according to Time. A University of Chicago study showed that almost half of girls who have spent time in the foster system had been pregnant at least once before age 19, and almost one-fourth had multiple pregnancies in their teens. However, the problem has traditionally received scant attention from children"s health advocates. Last week, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy announced a new campaign to address pregnancy prevention for foster care teens. The groups plan to push the Obama administration to consider the issue as it develops strategies to prevent unintended pregnancies. Planned Parenthood is recruiting and training thousands of peer educators -- including many who are in foster care themselves -- to engage teens in medically accurate discussions about sex. A report released this week by the National Campaign shows that nearly half of the 500,000 children in foster care had sex for the first time before age 16, compared with 30% of all teens. Teens in foster care also were more likely to have had forced sex and less likely to have used contraception.National Campaign Senior Policy Director Andrea Kane said, "Foster parents already go through trainings -- the delivery system exists." She added, "[W]e have people who can teach them how to do this. We just need to put the two together." According to Time, foster parents might assume that children were taught about reproductive health while living with another family. Social workers might also be reluctant to discuss sex with foster children. Advocates say that intended pregnancy also should be addressed as part of prevention efforts. University of Chicago researcher Amy Dworsky said, "For some foster youth, having a child is a way to create a family that they don"t have, or to fill an emotional void" (Sullivan, Time, 7/22).
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Largest Ever Study Of Suicide In The Military
Four of the nation"s leading experts in suicide research, including Dr. John Mann of Columbia University Medical Center, will carry out the largest study of suicide and mental health among military personnel ever undertaken, with $50 million in funding from the U.S. Army. The announcement came today from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which signed a memorandum of agreement with the Army in October 2008 authorizing the NIMH to undertake the investigation with Army funding. Study investigators aim to move quickly to identify risk and protective factors for suicide among soldiers and provide a science base for effective and practical interventions to reduce suicide rates and address associated mental health problems.
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It's Official: No Senate Vote On Health Reform Before Recess

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Thursday said the Senate will be unable to pass health care reform before it leaves for its August recess, which will likely result in changes to the shape of the final bill, The Washington Post reports. "The comments by Reid (D-Nev.) confirmed the growing consensus on Capitol Hill that the White House"s fast-track approach has failed, and that a more plodding and contentious process has taken hold." "When Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee met Thursday morning ... Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) questioned new Medicare formulas that could penalize high-cost states such as his. Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.), who represents millions of elderly constituents, also expressed doubts about Medicare cuts that could add up to $500 billion over 10 years. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (W.Va.) lambasted the panel"s tentative decision to support the creation of member-run cooperatives rather than the government insurance plan that he and many other Democrats prefer." Some Democrats fear dropping the cooperative idea endangers the prospects of securing the backing of the Finance Committee"s ranking Republican Sen. Charles Grassley (Murray, Kane and Fletcher, 7/24). Politico: "Democratic Finance Committee members not directly involved in the bipartisan talks warned Baucus that their votes could not be taken for granted as he works toward a deal with Republicans. "Don"t think we are so desperate. We are not going to fall into line," (Rockefeller) said, describing the message Democrats delivered to Baucus. "I"m not allowed into the meetings, the real meetings they have, what they call the coalition of the willing. It is a really, really bad way to try and develop support and ideas. So the whole philosophy is, if we can get these three Republicans, we can call it bipartisan, but I don"t think any of you (in the media) are going to think it is particularly bipartisan"" (Brown and Frates, 7/24). In the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, acting chairman Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., told The Hill "that even though there won"t be a floor vote until September, the (HELP) Committee should keep working with the Senate Finance Committee on drafting a bill. "That doesn"t excuse, obviously, our committees from doing everything we can over the remaining weeks here before the August break, as well as during that August break, to try and meld our ideas and bills together," Dodd said" (Soraghan and Allen, 7/23). CQPolitics: "Senate Democrats have one silver lining to look forward to, however: Finance Chairman Max Baucus , D-Mont., said he hoped to have his legislation out of committee before Congress leaves ... Baucus welcomed Reid"s decision to wait until after the recess for floor action. "I think it helps a little, because it"s so complicated and Sen. Reid has to be comfortable with what we"re doing," he said Thursday evening. He and Reid are to meet with Obama on Friday" (Armstrong and Wayne, 7/24). Freshmen Senators are still urging Baucus to continue his bipartisan reform talks, Roll Call reports: "In a letter to Baucus, the Senators urge the Montana Democrat to continue his efforts to craft a health care bill that can garner Republican support. They also praised the six bipartisan negotiators" focus on reducing overall health care costs" (Pierce, 7/23). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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