THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announces $595 Million for AIDS Care in Major Urban Areas
2) Prevention: Knowing about Eating Disorders
3) Science in the News
4) Medicare Minute
5) Personal Health: Keeping your Child Safe in the Car
6) Secretary Thompson's Public Schedule
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announces $595 Million for AIDS Care in Major Urban Areas
Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced 51 grants totaling more than $595 million to the cities hit hardest by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The grants will help these cities provide primary care and supportive services for low-income residents with HIV/AIDS.
"These grants will increase access to quality health care for those Americans living with HIV or AIDS, especially those who need help the most, including minorities, the uninsured and the underinsured," Secretary Thompson said. "This funding will help save lives and improve the quality of life for those affected by this terrible disease."
The grants provide essential HIV/AIDS health care and a wide range of support services to those who lack or are only partially protected by health insurance. Covered services include physician visits, case management, assistance in obtaining medications, home-based and hospice care, substance abuse and mental health services, and other related services.
The grants to the 51 cities are funded under Title I of the Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act. Formula funds are awarded based on the estimated number of people living with AIDS in the city, and supplemental funds are awarded competitively among eligible cities based on demonstration of severe need and other criteria. A portion of the grant awards will fund the Minority AIDS Initiative to bolster care and services among minority populations in cities.
Overseen by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act is Federal legislation that addresses the unmet health needs of persons living with HIV disease by funding primary health care and support services that enhance access to and retention in care. The CARE Act is the Federal Government's largest program specifically for people living with HIV disease.
For a list of cities receiving grants please visit http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004.html
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Prevention: Knowing about Eating Disorders
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, "In the United States, conservative estimates indicate that, after puberty, 5 to 10 million girls and women and 1 million boys and men are struggling with eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or borderline conditions."
Although it is not fully conclusive, eating disorders may stem from a variety of issues, including physical, emotional, familial and social. People with anorexia and bulimia have an intense fear of gaining weight. Those with anorexia eat very little, even if they're already thin. They may avoid mealtimes, pick at their food, weigh their food, track calories, and/or exercise excessively. Those with bulimia eat excessively and immediately purge themselves of the food by vomiting or taking diet pills, laxatives, or water pills. They also may exercise excessively.
Seeking treatment for eating disorders is a personal decision. A person must want to address the problem and get professional help. Only a qualified professional can provide an accurate diagnosis of an eating disorder and prescribe an appropriate treatment.
Parents can play an important role in preventing an eating disorder. They can provide their children with an environment in which to develop healthy eating habits and change existing unhealthy habits. Parents also can teach their children how to identify hunger and help their children to develop a positive body image, self-esteem, and appreciation for different body types. Also, teachers or friends educated about eating disorders can help by politely expressing their concern.
For more information please visit --- http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/highlights/february2004/eating
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Science in the News
NIH Funded Scientists Find HIV-Blocking Protein in Monkeys
Discovery could shorten the path to an AIDS vaccine
A team of researcher supported by the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) identified a protein that blocks HIV replication in monkey cells. Humans have a similar protein, although it is not as effective at stopping HIV, say the researchers whose work is published in this week's issue of Nature.
"Identification of this HIV-blocking factor opens new avenues for intervening in the early stage of HIV infection, before the virus can gain a toehold," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "The discovery also gives us critical insights about viral uncoating, a little understood step in the viral lifecycle. Basic discoveries like this provide the scientific springboard to future improvements in therapies for HIV disease."
The discovery could also shorten the path to an AIDS vaccine by making improved animal models of HIV disease possible. Because monkeys are not susceptible to the human version of AIDS, results of vaccine trials conducted on them are not directly applicable to humans. Now with a better understanding of why HIV cannot successfully infect monkey cells, scientists have a defined target to manipulate and could use that information to develop animal models that more closely mimic HIV disease.
Matthew Stremlau, Ph.D., a member of Dr. Sodroski's team and lead author on the new paper, searched the rhesus monkey genome and isolated a stretch of DNA that encodes the TRIM5-alpha protein. In a series of experiments using lab-grown cells that either possessed or lacked TRIM5-alpha, the scientists determined that TRIM5-alpha is both necessary and sufficient to block HIV replication. Although the precise mechanism of TRIM5-alpha's activity is not fully determined, says Dr. Sodroski, it may be that the protein chops up HIV's capsid and thwarts the orderly uncoating the virus must undergo before proceeding to replicate.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on transplantation and immune-related illnesses, including autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.
Press releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
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Medicare Minute
HHS Secretary Thompson announced that a recent CMS review shows that beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans will see better benefits and lower costs due to significant increases in federal rates.
About 3.7 million enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans will see improved benefits offered by their health plan because of significant increases in federal payment rates, according to a review by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The Medicare beneficiaries who currently are enrolled in private health plans are benefiting in many ways: For example, a plan in New York lowered its monthly premium to $22- down from $140. A plan in Arizona reduced its beneficiary co-payments for certain services, including primary care physician visits, which dropped to $5 from $15.
Increased payments to Medicare Advantage, formerly known as Medicare+Choice, will take effect March 1 and were included in the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003.
For more information on the new Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 please visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site at http://www.medicare.gov/MedicareReform/.
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Personal Health
Keeping your Child Safe in the Car
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children in the United States. In 2002, 1,543 U.S. children ages 14 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes and approximately 227,000 were injured. That's an average of 4 deaths and more than 622 injuries each day.
Of children ages 14 years and younger who were fatally injured in 2002, 50% were completely unrestrained (NHTSA 2003). Most of these injuries could have been prevented.
Placing children in age-appropriate restraint systems reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half. Children should start using a booster seat when they grow out of their child safety seats, usually when they weigh about 40 pounds. They should continue to ride in a booster seat until the lap/shoulder belts in the car fit properly, typically when they are 4'9" tall (CDC 1999).
Booster seats have been shown to decrease injuries for children ages 4 to 8 when compared with seat belt use alone. During 2000, 376 children ages 4 to 8 years died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States. Of these, 46% were unrestrained and 36% were restrained in a car seat belt, without a booster seat (NHTSA 2001).
Seat belts save lives. Remember to buckle up.
Source: CDC National Center for Injury Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/spotlite/chldseat.htm
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Secretary Thompson's Public Schedule:
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Last updated: March 1, 2004
United States Department of Health and Human Services
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