THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS
AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS awards $30 million to help level playing field for faith-based and community institutions
2) Secretary Thompson rides for the Combined Federal Campaign
3) HHS dedicates funds, research to fight major depression
4) Los Estados Pueden Proveer Cobertura a Través del Programa SCHIP Para Cuidados Prenatales
5) Los Estados Pueden Proveer Cobertura a Través del Programa SCHIP Para Cuidados Prenatales
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HHS awards $30 million to help level playing field for faith-based and community institutions
The Bush Administration is providing $30 million in grants for a new initiative to help level the playing field for faith- and community-based organizations seeking to obtain funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. The funds come from the Compassion Capital Fund, which is part of President Bush's effort to better support groups that deliver health and social services to people in need. The Compassion Capital program will support only technical assistance and non-religious social services.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the grants Thursday, Oct. 3.
“Faith- and community-based organizations are often the most effective groups in carrying out the purposes of HHS programs, yet many do not have the staff or expertise to successfully apply for our funding. With these awards, we begin a new effort to help faith- and community-based organizations get a fair and equal opportunity to compete for HHS funds,” Secretary Thompson said.
The awards from HHS' Compassion Capital Fund include $24.8 million divided among 21 intermediary organizations to provide technical assistance to help faith-based and community organizations effectively access funding sources, operate and manage their programs, develop and train staff, expand the reach of programs into the community and replicate promising programs.
Intermediary organizations will also issue sub-awards to faith- and community-based organizations to support start-up costs, operations or expansion of programs. Priority for sub-awards will be given to programs that address homelessness, hunger, the needs of at-risk children, transition from welfare to work and those in need of intensive rehabilitation such as addicts or prisoners.
"We've seen a lot of good people doing great work with no help from the government," said Bobby Polito, director of the HHS Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. "Hopefully with this new funding more needy Americans will be touched by the compassion of the people of this great nation."
President Bush first announced the faith- and community-based initiative in January 2001. Through this initiative, the administration is working to remove unnecessary barriers that may prevent these organizations from competing fully for federal funding and to create a "level playing field" between faith-based and community organizations and other groups that receive federal funds to provide social services.
HHS is the largest grant-making agency in government, awarding more than $200 billion every year, more than all other federal agencies combined.
More information about the President's initiative and the HHS Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is available at http://www.hhs.gov/fbci.
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Secretary Thompson rides for the Combined Federal Campaign
Rockville, MD — HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson urged all HHS employees to contribute to the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) on Wednesday, Oct. 2. HHS has a $3.4 million goal for CFC fundraising this year. At present, HHS employees contribute more to the CFC than the employees of any other government agency.
“The theme for the 2002 CFC campaign is ‘Caring is Sharing.’ This year, more than ever, we have an important opportunity to show how much we care for our neighbors and how generously we will share with our fellow Americans. I know that the employees of this great Department will rise to the challenge as they have done so many times before, and I look forward to the most successful Combined Federal Campaign ever in 2002,” Secretary Thompson said.
The Combined Federal Campaign is a government-wide voluntary effort that allows Federal employees to donate a portion of their paychecks to the charity of their choice. Thousands of needy Americans have benefited from services like food, shelter, and counseling that CFC-beneficiary charities provide.
Secretary Thompson also participated in a Harley ride at the event. Other attendees included Capt. Susanne Caviness of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), the 2002 HHS Campaign Manager for CFC; Charles Curie, SAMHSA Administrator; Surgeon General Richard Carmona; Dr. Betty Duke, HRSA Administrator; Dr. Lester Crawford, Deputy Commissioner of the FDA; and Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
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HHS dedicates funds, research to fight major depression
HHS’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is at the forefront of the fight against major depression. NIMH has made dramatic progress that is giving new hope to sufferers of the disorder. In 2001 NIMH initiated a strategic research plan for studies of mood disorders (predominantly major depression and bipolar disorder). Involving 130 scientists and public representatives, the study analyzed the most current knowledge and research on mood disorders in 10 broad areas of science ranging from genetics to service delivery.
HHS is also funding, through NIMH, a $23 million, five-year grant study of bipolar disorder — the largest such study ever mounted. It includes 2,400 current patients at 18 sites across the country. It will eventually enroll 5,000 people and will help researchers and physicians understand every facet of the disorder and its treatment.
At a major gala to raise funds for research into manic depression, Secretary Thompson said that recent scientific efforts are producing “real hope” for persons struggling with this illness. The Secretary made his remarks at a dinner in Michigan benefiting the Heinz Prechter Fund for Manic Depression, named for a leading industrialist who died in 2001 after battling manic depression for roughly 30 years.
“Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, afflicts more than 2 million Americans aged 18 and older. It is a brain disorder – not an arbitrary mood swing, a brain disorder - that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function,” Secretary Thompson said.
Bipolar disorder in particular has serious health consequences. A fourth of those with bipolar disorder attempt suicide at least once, with 2 percent killing themselves each year. The disorder cuts life expectancy by 10 years and shortens productive adult life by eight years. It consumes a fifth of the money spent to treat mental illness.
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Los Estados Pueden Proveer Cobertura a Través del Programa SCHIP Para Cuidados Prenatales
El Secretario del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los Estado Unidos (HHS), Tommy G. Thompson recientemente emitió una nueva norma que permite a los estados utilizar el Programa Estatal de Seguros de Salud para Niños (SCHIP, por sus siglas en inglés) para proveer cobertura de salud para cuidado prenatal y de parto a las madres y a sus niños desde antes de su nacimiento, de esta manera ayudando a garantizar que las madres de bajos recursos económicos tengan embarazos saludables y que sus niños nazcan fuertes y sanos.
La regulación permite a los estados introducir una enmienda al plan estatal para utilizar fondos disponibles de SCHIP para cubrir a los niños desde la concepción hasta el nacimiento, y hasta la edad de 19 años. Además, la regulación permite a los estados ofrecer este beneficio a las madres sin tomar en consideración su estado inmigratorio.
“El cuidado prenatal es una de las inversiones más importante que podemos hacer para asegurar la buena salud a largo plazo de nuestros niños y de sus madres”, dijo el Secretario Thompson. “Esta es una medida que demuestra compasión y sentido común, para garantizar que todos los niños nacidos en este país lleguen al mundo tan saludables como sea posible.”
“Con esta nueva norma, los estados pueden ofrecer cobertura prenatal inmediatamente, sin necesidad de esperar que HHS considere y apruebe una exención”, añadió el Secretario Thompson. “Esta nueva norma representa una opción rápida para los estados que deseen hacer mas para asegurarse que las madres reciban los cuidados críticos prenatales que aumentarán las posibilidades de tener niños saludables”.
Dado que ambos fueron gobernadores anteriormente, el Presidente Bush y el Secretario Thompson han convertido en una prioridad el simplificar y hacer más fácil la forma en que los gobernadores presentan las solicitudes de exenciones de Medicaid y de SCHIP, y hacer que estas solicitudes sean consideradas con mayor rapidez. Desde enero del 2001, HHS ha aprobado exenciones y enmiendas a planes, que han extendido la elegibilidad a más de 2 millones de personas y han mejorado los beneficios para más de 6 millones de personas.
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Researchers Successfully Deliver Drugs to the Primate Brainstem
Current drug treatments of brainstem tumors are largely unsuccessful, because the drugs often fail to bypass the blood vessel lining protecting the brainstem. Now, an NIH study shows that researchers can effectively deliver drugs to the primate brainstem and monitor how the drugs spread inside the brain. The study provides hope for improving treatment of brainstem tumors and other brain diseases.
In the new study, researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) used a technique called convection-enhanced delivery (CED), which was developed at the National Institutes of Health, to deliver a tracer molecule to the primate brainstem. They then used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to track the the tracer’s movement throughout the brain. The study appears in the October 2002 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery1 .
“It’s difficult to safely treat the brainstem with available techniques because it’s so intricate and complex, and because of the blood-brainstem barrier,” says NINDS neurosurgeon and researcher Russell Lonser, M.D. “These findings suggest that we can reach the brainstem to treat diseases, and we can ensure that treatment is targeted to the critical region by monitoring it in real time.” The blood-brainstem barrier is a type of lining in blood vessels that protects the brainstem against potentially harmful substances.
Co-author Edward H. Oldfield, M.D., chief of the Surgical Neurology Branch at NINDS, and colleagues developed CED in 1994. The technique uses small differences in pressure to make infused molecules flow through solid tissue. This enables large molecular weight molecules, such as those used in drugs, to penetrate the brainstem. Researchers have refined and expanded the uses of CED during the past 8 years, but until now, there has been no way to track precisely where the drugs were going and therefore no way to predict or prevent adverse side effects.
In the new study, Dr. Lonser and his colleagues first tested the safety of the tracer molecule, called Gd-albumin, by infusing it into the brainstems of rats. Gd-albumin molecules are similar in size to the molecules of most tumor-killing drugs. The rats showed no loss of function after 60 days, and tissue analyses showed only a normal amount of gliosis, or scar tissue, in the area immediately surrounding where the needle was inserted during the infusion.
The researchers then used a needle to target and deliver Gd-albumin into the pontine region (pons) of the brainstem in three healthy adult monkeys. Tumors in the pontine region are the most common type of brainstem tumor found in children. The animals were imaged in a magnetic resonance scanner during the infusion and 1, 2, 4, and 7 days after infusion.
The imaging studies showed a steady perfusion of the tracer through the brainstem with uniform concentrations throughout the perfused area. CED distributed amounts of the tracer that were comparable to the amount of drugs needed to treat brainstem diseases. Tests up to 35 days after infusion showed no neurological abnormalities, and the brainstem tissues appeared normal, except for a small amount of scar tissue near the site where the needle was inserted during the infusion, as was seen in the rodent model.
The brainstem consists of the midbrain, pons and medulla, structures located deep in the back of the brain. Tumors that arise in the brainstem are called brainstem gliomas and account for more than 10 percent of pediatric brain tumors. Since chemotherapy and other existing treatments for brainstem tumors are largely ineffective, more than 90 percent of children with these tumors die within 18 months of diagnosis, according to the National Cancer Institute. Brainstem tumors are less common in adults but account for more than two percent of adult brain tumors.
Drug delivery imaging with CED may ultimately be able to improve outcomes for children with brainstem gliomas, the researchers say. If it’s proven safe and effective, the technique might also be used to treat other neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, other tumors, epilepsy, and pain disorders. “This kind of imaging should provide novel treatment paradigms not only for brainstem gliomas, but also for other diseases for which treatment involves targeted delivery of therapeutic agents across the blood-brain barrier,” says Dr. Lonser.
The researchers are currently testing several drugs for toxicity and effectiveness using CED and MRI in animal studies. “Once we show that these drugs can safely be given to animals in this manner and that they’re effective, we can move on to human trials,” says Dr. Lonser. “Right now, this method looks promising as a potential method for treating pediatric brainstem gliomas.”
The research team also recently signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Kaleidos Pharma, Inc., of Seattle, Washington, to test CED and an experimental drug called TGF-alpha in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease.
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