The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has said YES to an in home HIV test with a 17-0 approved vote.  The in home test is an over-the-counter home HIV test by OraQuick.

It is estimated that around 2.8 million people will use the in-home HIV test by OraQuick Technologies, and is estimated that around 45,000 new positive test results could be detected averting more than 4,000 HIV transmissions in a year. This would be the best-case scenario according to Blaine Hollinger, MD, chairman of FDA’s Blood Products Advisory Committee and professor of medicine, molecular virology, and epidemiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Although the test isn’t perfect, out of 5,558 clinical trials there were 8 people who received false negative results, which could lead to 3,800 false negative tests in individuals who wouldn’t of otherwise been tested.  Also, the test could deliver one false positive for every 3,750 true negative results, according to a briefing documents.

The FDA thought the in-home HIV test should be approved regardless of the above mentioned test results.  The Food and Drug Administration hopes that this will give high-risk people the opportunity to be tested for HIV who wouldn’t of otherwise been tested.

The injury the man sustained inhibited his brain from communicating with his hand, this meant all movement control was gone.

Surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, were able to re-route nerves in the man’s hand giving him the capability to move his hand again.

He is now able to feed himself and is starting to write again!

Exciting and innovative news for those suffering from severe nerve damage.

In honor of Mother’s Day we would like to share another moving article by Maria Lin.  Earlier this week we featured an article she did titled  7 Things You Don’t Know About A Special Needs Parent.  She had such an overwhelming response to the piece, that she followed it up with another titled 9 Ways You Can Help A Special Needs Parent.

We have provided links to both articles and encourage you to take the time to read them.  They both contain honest insight into not only motherhood challenges but also a glimpse at parenting a child with special needs.

We hope all you mothers out there have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

7 Things You Don’t Know About A Special Needs Parent: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-lin/special-needs-parenting_b_1314348.html

9 Ways You Can Help A Special Needs Parent:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-lin/special-needs-parents_b_1338169.html

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day was celebrated on May 9, 2012 in our nation’s capital.  It is sponsored as part of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services campaign Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health.   The campaign is raising awareness of how important a child’s mental health is to the child’s healthy development.  Communities around the country held their own Awareness Day with a variety of events focusing on the national theme.

We would like to share an excerpt from Attorney General Eric Speaks’ speech he gave on Wednesday at the national event.  We feel it goes hand in hand with our firm’s policy toward protecting our most vulnerable.

-Recent analysis by Casey Family Programs – one of our nation’s leading child welfare foundations – provides a vivid illustration of what we’re up against.   According to their findings, every 24 hours – on average – approximately 2,000 children are victims of child abuse and neglect.  That’s more than three times the number of people in this auditorium – an alarming, unacceptable number; and a problem that demands innovative, aggressive, and collaborative solutions.

As Attorney General – and as the father of three teenagers – protecting the safety, and the potential, of our nation’s young people has long been both a personal and professional priority.  From the landmark Defending Childhood Initiative – which we launched in 2010 – to the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention – which we plan to expand from six to ten cities across the country – I’m proud to report that today’s Department of Justice is partnering with state officials, local leaders, and stakeholders at every level to develop and implement tailored strategies for combating youth violence.  Through the efforts of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, led by Melodee – and the groundbreaking research supported by the Office of Justice Programs – over the past few years, we’ve helped shed new light on complex youth violence issues.   And we’ve learned a great deal about the impact of specific practices and policies.

In close partnership with HHS and other key agencies, we’re also developing new strategies for understanding and disrupting some of the most urgent challenges our children face.   For example, we’re currently working with the Department of Education to address the “school-to-prison pipeline,” that, in far too many communities, transforms our schools from doorways to opportunity into gateways to our correctional system.

On this and other critical issues, we can all be proud of the progress that’s already been made.   But, without question, we have more to do.  And we all have a critical role to play.   From civic leaders to local businesses – from law enforcement to academia – this work must involve a host of willing partners in – and far beyond – this room.-

CCSVI is a narrowing of veins in the chest and neck, and it may cause or contribute to the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).  It may cause MS by impairing blood drainage from the brain and upper spinal cord.  However, studies are inconclusive on the association between CCSVI and MS.

“Because there is no reliable evidence from controlled clinical trials that this procedure is effective in treating MS, FDA encourages rigorously-conducted, properly-targeted research to evaluate the relationship between CCSVI and MS,” said William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., chief scientist and deputy director for science in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Patients are encouraged to discuss the potential risks and benefits of this procedure with a neurologist or other physician who is familiar with MS and CCSVI, including the CCSVI procedures and their outcomes.”

Liberation therapy uses a balloon angioplasty to widen narrowed veins in the neck and chest.  Death, stroke, damage to treated veins, detachment and migration of the stents, blood clots, abdominal bleeding and cranial nerve damage have been reported to the FDA as side effects of the treatment.   Balloon angioplasty and devices and stents are not approved treatment by the FDA for use in treating CCSVI.

Investigators planning on conducting clinical trials using medical devises to treat CCSVI must comply with FDA regulations and be FDA approved.

Personal Home Care Dangers

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has found an “epidemic” of mistreatment of defenseless people by personal home care providers.

A personal home care facility is something between an assisted living home and a boarding house.  It provides food and lodging, help with bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting and supervision of medication administration.   They are not authorized to provide medical services.

The demand for this type of care has increased greatly the past decade.  A driving force of the fast growth is the increase of people 65 and older.  Also, the federal government has pushed to get mentally and developmentally disabled out of mental institutes and into community care homes.

Vulnerable people in need of community care are targets for unscrupulous opportunist.  These people in need are seen as easy money, with Social Security and government payments to go towards their personal care.  Sadly, many of these people end up in abusive situations.

To illustrate the severity of this problem, here are three cases taken from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article:

‘– A DeKalb County woman pleaded guilty in September to trolling a downtown Atlanta homeless shelter for people who appeared old or disabled. She would cash their government support checks in return for lodging them in deplorable conditions — locking one man for five months in a windowless, roach-infested basement with no toilet.

– Last month, Gwinnett County police arrested the operator of two licensed and five unlicensed homes. She is accused of subjecting as many as 70 residents to dangerous conditions and siphoning off their money for personal luxuries such as a fancy car and foreign travel.

– In Barrow County, two women who operated unlicensed homes were arrested in November for allegedly moving four mentally ill adults into a vacant house with nothing but some fast food and a cellphone.’

This investigation was based in Georgia, but unfortunately it is not an isolated problem.

As the severity of the problem grows, government is finally taking notice.  Some worry it is too late to be abel to get on top of the problem.

Be a voice for voiceless. If you know of abuse, please report it!

REPORT ABUSE:  http://www.apsnetwork.org/Abuse/index.html

The Justice Department and several states reached a settlement with Abbott Laboratories on Monday for claims that Abbott illegally marketed anti-seizure medication Depakote for uses not approved  by the Food and Drug Administration.

As per the agreement, Abbott will pay $800 million for civil cases, $700 million in criminal penalties and $100 million to states for consumer protection resolution.   $84 million of the civil share will be paid to the whistle-blowers under a provision of the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf the United States and share in any recovery.

The civil complaints claim the company unlawfully marketed Depakote to treat ailments including autism, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychiatric conditions in children and adolescents. Depakote was also branded to treat dementia and schizophrenia patients.  And although research showed no proof of the drug’s effectiveness, Abbott waited another two years to publish findings.  The company will plead guilty to one misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for misbranding.  Abbott has also agreed to a five year probation period in which it must report any probable violations to the probation office.

“We are pleased to resolve this matter and are confident we have the programs in place to satisfy the requirements of this settlement,” Abbott General Counsel Laura Schumacher said in a statement. “The company takes its responsibility to patients and health care providers seriously and has established robust compliance programs to ensure its marketing programs meet the needs of health care providers and legal requirements.”

As the Justice Department continues to crack down on the ‘misbranding’ of products, this is the second largest payout in recent years.

At Maher Law Firm we would like to honor all Mothers and thank them for all they do.

We would also like to  share  a link to a very  powerful article by Maria Lin, Editor-in-chief, LearnVest.

Lin opens up about the personal struggle she deals with as a mother of a special needs child.  Honest.  Moving. Authentic.

You do not have  to be a mother, or a father, to appreciate her revelations.

Please take a moment to read this article.

7 Things You Don’t Know About A Special Needs Parent:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-lin/special-needs-parenting_b_1314348.html

Online activity and exercise help to keep senior minds alert says an article by Todd Neale of MedPage Today.

Individuals that did moderate exercise and had moderately used a computer within the last year had a 64% less chance of experiencing mild cognitive impairment compared to those who did neither activity according to the Mayo Clinic’s Yonas Geda, MD.

Mild cognitive impairment is an intermediate stage between normal aging and dementia and persons with it are a high-risk group for the development of dementia.  The case-control study suggest that a combination of exercising and using a computer, although presumably not at the same time,  may protect older adults against mild cognitive impairment.

“The combined presence of having participated in both physical exercise and computer use may be a marker of a healthy and disciplined lifestyle,”  wrote Yonas Geda and colleagues.  ”On the other hand, it is possible that the combined activities may have direct beneficial effect on the brain,” they continued. “Physical exercise may target a particular circuit in the brain (e.g., increasing the production of brain-derived  neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus), whereas cognitively stimulating activity (e.g., computer use) may enhance functional connections contributing to cognitive reserve.”

Public Health Threatened by Agricultural use of Antibiotics

A federal judge ruled in March that the Food and Drug Administration study  from 1977 on antibiotics and agriculture must be acted upon.  The three decade old study concluded that feeding healthy livestock, hogs and chickens a daily dose of antibiotics could promote antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could infect people.

No longer is it okay to give healthy animals antibiotics on a daily basis.  Of course, if an animal is sick then it should be treated by all means.  However, antibiotics in healthy agricultural animals can reduce the effectiveness of the drug when used on humans.

The “landmark victory” is being credited to consumer groups  Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.  Thanks to the dedication of these groups the misuse of antibiotics will be put to an end.

“The world is heading toward a post-antibiotic era,” the director-general of the World Health Organization has warned, “in which many common infections will no longer have a cure and, once again, kill unabated.”

Over 70,000 Americans die annually due to antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.  A leading source of  this type of bacteria is now found in our food supply.