Intel head links technology health care

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 02:04:47 GMT
By MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer
DAVOS, Switzerland - New technologies are ready to be used to advance health care, while a plan to bring computers and fast Internet access to the developing world is being undertaken, the chairman of Intel Corp. said in an interview Saturday.
Craig Barrett said that using technological innovation to keep track of medical records in the health care industry was the next logical step, emphasizing the immediate modernizing effect for a traditionally paper-based system.

"When you go to a doctor's office, the first thing you see is rows of filing cabinets," he said. They could easily be digitized and made portable so that a person could literally carry their medical history on a USB flash drive, Barrett said.

Looking at the nature of computer chips, he said that as they become faster, eventually they will be limited by their size, despite how tiny they become.

His comments came after both his company and rival International Business Machines Corp. separately announced Saturday that they had solved a puzzle perplexing the semiconductor industry about how to reduce energy loss in microchip transistors as the technology shrinks to the atomic scale.

Intel and IBM said they've devised a way to replace problematic but vital materials in the transistors of computer chips that have begun leaking too much electric current as the circuitry on those chips gets smaller.

Technology experts said it's the most dramatic overhaul of transistor technology for computer chips since the 1960s and is crucial in allowing semiconductor companies to continue making ever-smaller devices that are also energy-efficient.

Companies are feverishly trying to discover new ways to adhere to Moore's Law, the 1965 prediction by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore that the number of transistors on a chip should double about every two years.

Barrett said that despite that law, "we are getting to the fundamental physical limitations" of the architecture of current chips.

In the spirit of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting, which has focused on bringing the fruits of technology to the developing world, he said a recent trek to countries like Egypt, Chile, Peru, South Africa and China, among others, showed that there is a need for cheap access to computers and the Internet.

"It's a little bit like the education initiatives," said Barrett, who chairs the U.N. Global Alliance for ICT and Development. "Education is the key."

Part of that effort, at least for Intel, is the deployment of programs focused on improving education and speeding up the availability of cheap access to computers and the Internet.

The company has said it plans to train some 4.7 million teachers by 2011 in China, India, Egypt, Latin America, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, through its Intel Teach program.

Intel also plans to donate more than 36,000 computers with Internet connectivity to the education ministries in Brazil, Chile, China, India and South Africa.

"You need inexpensive PCs, you need connectivity and local content," Barrett said on how to make the improvements work.

Parents seek exemption to newborn tests

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:57:36 GMT
By ANNA JO BRATTON, Associated Press Writer
WAHOO, Neb. - Ray and Louise Spiering wanted to observe a period of silence after their daughter Melynda's birth, but what they got was an uproar.
To the Spierings, Nebraska's requirement that newborn babies undergo blood screening within 48 hours of birth is an infringement on their religious beliefs and their right to decide what's best for their four children.

The couple attend a fundamental Christian church and follow some teachings of the Church of Scientology. Louise Spiering said they wanted "that balance of our beliefs included into the births of our children."

It's taken them and another set of parents to the Nebraska Supreme Court and the Legislature in a drive to make the newborn screening law more flexible.

The mandatory test, in which a few drops of blood are drawn from a baby's heel, screens for dozens of rare congenital diseases, some of which can cause severe mental retardation or death if left undetected.

Nebraska is one of four states — along with South Dakota, Michigan and Montana — that don't let parents opt out of the testing.

The Spierings wanted to avoid loud noises after Melynda's birth, and also reduce the pain she experienced in order to protect her physical and mental health. The concept comes from the Church of Scientology — minimizing talking around someone who is in pain, said the Rev. Brian Fesler of Minneapolis, a regional representative for the church.

The church teaches that words spoken during moments of pain and unconsciousness affect physical and mental health later in life, he said. The church encourages silent birth, in which those attending avoid talking.

But the church doesn't discourage parents from having their children tested, Fesler said.

The Spierings, who apply some tenets of Scientology to their faith, took the silent birth concept a step further. They believe newborns are in pain for at least 3 1/2 days, and don't want blood drawn — which they believe would cause more pain — for at least that long.

They asked for seven days to complete the testing to avoid any unforeseen problems, although they would have preferred to skip the test altogether.

The state insisted, and in September a federal judge upheld the law as constitutional. The judge, however, granted the Spierings an eight-day waiting period while the case was pending, so their daughter was not tested within 48 hours.

Along with the Spierings, Mary and Josue Anaya of Omaha are also fighting the test, in their case because they believe the Bible instructs against deliberately drawing blood. According to the book of Leviticus, "the life of the flesh is in the blood," and ignoring that directive may shorten a person's life, they said.

Children's blood is "something precious in my sight and in the sight of God and not to be tampered with lightly," said Mary Anaya, who gave birth to the youngest of her nine children in Iowa to avoid the test.

In 2003, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled against the Anayas. They turned to state Sen. John Synowiecki of Omaha to introduce a measure for a religious exemption.

Armed with a petition including about 100 signatures, Mary Anaya and Louise Spiering testified Thursday before the Legislature's Health and Human Services committee.

Health officials testified that the requirement is one of the state's most cost-effective public health programs.

"Some parents may not comprehend the risks they are taking with their children's health," said Bruce Rieker of the Nebraska Hospital Association.
Many of the diseases covered in the bill are deficiencies, and one, phenylketonuria, can result in severe mental retardation without diet restrictions starting at birth.
One in every 837 babies born last year tested positive for one of the 34 diseases the state tests for, said Julie Miller, manager of Nebraska's Newborn Screening Program. But the incidence is much lower for the eight most serious diseases, with one in 112,000 having biotinidase deficiency, which can cause developmental delays.
The Spierings say changing the law will give parents better options, whatever their opposition to the tests.
"We just want to lay the groundwork so that other parents have better choices than we did," Ray Spiering said. "We weren't so much against the test. We just wanted a short delay. In a sense, we kind of won" when the judge granted the eight-day delay.
But, Louise Spiering said: "There was a very steep cost in terms of the intrusion on our private lives."

Global trade in human eggs thriving

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:53:52 GMT
By EMILY WITHROW, Associated Press Writer
PARIS - Chemotherapy beat back her ovarian cancer, but took Sophie Valot's fertility with it. Her doctor said she had just one option to start a family of her own: Find an egg donor, have children and get a hysterectomy — in five years or less, or risk relapse.
But French fertility clinics were in crisis, unable to meet the demand for donated eggs. Strict egg donation laws have caused a severe shortage of donors, and backlogs at clinics reach five years. So Valot took her search abroad.

After two trips to Spain in 2002 and 2003, Valot has two young boys and the family she always desired. She is among thousands of women and couples willing to travel and pay for eggs. A thriving global fertility industry welcomes them with open arms, promising babies.

Belgian, Spanish and Greek clinics court women on the Internet, flashing images of pregnant bellies, nursing mothers, and frolicking families. They boast large donor pools and competitive rates.

Online forums buzz with women discussing the reputations of foreign clinics and offering advice and support. Associations have sprung up across France that, for a small annual fee, help women connect with clinics abroad and provide discounts to certain centers.

American women use seasoned French organizations to hook them up with clinics in Greece or Spain. Even with air fares and hotels, the costs can be just 10 percent of treatments in the United States.

Couples looking for black donors, a rarity in any country, fly to African clinics in Cameroon or Burkina Faso.

Frozen sperm and eggs can be bought online, ordered from U.S. storage banks by phone and shipped to clinics.

Experts caution that buyers need to be careful about the sources of eggs.

"Women need to do a little checking into the background of the donor. I feel confident that there is deception out there on the part of some people who misrepresent themselves to brokers, and then brokers who don't do a thorough job checking their donors," said Dr. Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "We see a wide variability in success rates, which aren't always explained to customers."

In France, treatment is free. The state foots the bill for recipients and donors, who get only the satisfaction of having helped a couple become pregnant. The government has taken a firm ethical stance against payment for eggs, arguing that human parts are not commodities.

But the ethical high road comes at a cost. French women wanting donations wait years with no guarantee they'll end up pregnant and no clear indication of where they are in line. Doctors give patients priority at their discretion. Recruiting a donor is a known strategy for jumping ahead on the list — an incentive aimed at alleviating the shortage.

In 2004, just 144 women volunteered to be egg donors in France, according to the Biomedicine Academy, the French government agency that oversees egg donation. By contrast, more than 2,000 women traveled to Greece and Spain alone for donated eggs in 2005, paying $3,300-$8,000, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from about 20 clinics in those two countries.

Spain and Greece have looser laws, allowing payment to donors. Clinics insist the compensation is not for the eggs, but for donors' time.

Donating is a lengthy commitment. It requires taking hormones every day for a month and numerous appointments, followed by an invasive, potentially painful and risky procedure to extract eggs from the ovaries. Outside of France, donors are compensated for time lost at work, transportation costs and child care. These criteria define payment, but clinics usually offer a blanket amount to any donor, regardless of individual circumstances.

Where payment is the norm, the amount varies and is largely unregulated, allowing clinics to compete for both patients and quality donors. Standard payment advertised online for donors in New York recently jumped from $5,000 to $7,000 per donation. Chicago clinics quickly followed suit. More money is sometimes offered to donors with a proven track record for producing highly fertile eggs, or for donors with hard-to-recruit ethnicities like Indian or Arab.

"I made a donation, and I hope that it resulted in someone's pregnancy," said a French donor, Marie, who didn't want her last name published because her donation was anonymous. "I don't want to know who or where. It would bother me to know how it went, and if there were another child of mine out there."

Donor eggs are inseminated with the partner's sperm to create embryos. Two to four of the most viable embryos are transferred into a woman's uterus. She waits two weeks, then takes a pregnancy test.
If it works, she carries the baby to term, becoming the biological — but not genetic — mother. When donations are anonymous, clinics carefully protect the secret from both sides. Many doctors hire lawyers to legally preserve the anonymity of the transaction, and some clinics even get a third party to keep their documents on file.
American clinics typically receive more applications than they can accept from women wanting to be donors, allowing them to be selective. Doctors and egg brokers offer patients eggs from educated, attractive women and an array of ethnicities.
Donors are matched with recipients by physical attributes like hair and eye color, but clinics are divided on the details women should get about their donors. American clinics offer more information, with some even allowing women to shop for donors who offer pictures and personal statements.
In Europe, clinics tend to be more restrictive. They keep more of the donors' details private, leaving mothers to play a guessing game as they watch their children grow up.
Elodie Thebaud knew nothing about her donor when she traveled to Greece from her rural home in western France. She had three embryos transferred in hopes that one would work.
"I went from nothing at all to almost too much!" joked the mother of 18-month-old triplets who cry and fight for a place in her lap. But Thebaud is all smiles and laughter.
"With three already, we'll stop here," she said. "I think that's enough for now."
Thebaud plans to tell her children that they came from an anonymous donor. The growing number of women turning to egg donation has helped to break down social taboos surrounding assisted reproduction technology. Self-help and children's books aim to ease family conversations on the subject.
One French association, Child of Hope, holds an annual party so egg- and sperm-donor children can meet. However, most children and their parents will never learn the identity of the genetic parents.
Thebaud figured her donor must have had blue eyes — the one physical trait common to her two daughters and son. At first she thought the eye color came from her boyfriend, whose sperm fertilized the donated eggs. Later she figured the donor must have had them as well.
"But we'll never know, will we?" she cooed to one daughter, Romane, as she hoisted the toddler onto her hip.
___
Associated Press Writer Jessica Bernstein-Wax in Madrid, Spain, contributed to this report.

W.Va. to offer free Weight Watchers plan

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 07:41:09 GMT
By TOM BREEN, Associated Press Writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Facing more than $100 million in annual costs linked to obesity, the Medicaid program in one of the country's most overweight states is turning to a familiar name to help residents slim down.
Up to 75,000 West Virginians will soon be eligible for free weight loss courses through Weight Watchers, thanks to an effort by the state Medicaid program and the health benefits group UniCare, the largest provider of Medicaid coverage in the state.

Medicaid clients of Unicare who obtain a physician's referral and score within specific ranges on the fat-measuring body mass index will be eligible to take up to 16 weeks of courses for free from Weight Watchers. The group is famous for its regular meetings and system of assigning points to different foods.

Advocates of the program — including the state's first lady, Gayle Manchin — hope the partnership will improve the health of residents in the state and serve as a model for other states that face a similar problem. West Virginia has the third-highest percentage of obese residents in the country, behind Mississippi and Tennessee.

"It's not just a West Virginia problem, it's a national problem," said John Monahan, president of state sponsored programs for Indiana-based Wellpoint Inc., of which UniCare is a subsidiary.

If the program is successful in West Virginia, Wellpoint will look at rolling out similar programs in the 14 states where it provides benefits, Monahan said. Those states are California, Colorado Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Last year, Tennessee's Medicaid agency, known as TennCare, completed a pilot program for 1,400 Medicaid recipients who paid nominal fees to participate in Weight Watchers. Over a six-month period, they lost a combined total of more than 8,000 pounds, according to TennCare spokeswoman Marilyn Wilson.

"We feel confident that this could really delay the onset of diabetes, heart disease and even stroke," she said.

If such programs can work on a large scale, it could be a boon not only to the health of residents, but to fiscal stability. Medicaid programs are available to low-income residents, who are also more likely to be overweight and obese than higher income residents.

In West Virginia, Medicaid — at more than $2.1 billion — is the largest single item in the state budget. And in fiscal year 2002, the most recent year for which data is available, the state estimates that it spent nearly $140 million on medical and pharmacy costs related to obesity.

"It's like smoking was years ago," Monahan said, referring to growing prevention efforts. "I think all states are going to have to start addressing this."

Dr. Mary Vernon said states have a vested interest in encouraging weight loss, but isn't sure West Virginia is going about it the right way.

"The statistics would show people that really need help need a more individual and supervised program under a doctor's care," said Vernon, president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, an association of physicians who specialize in obesity and weight loss.

The potential impact of the program also is a relative drop in the bucket considering that about two-thirds of adult West Virginians are overweight or obese and UniCare covers only about 75,000 of the estimated 300,000 to 370,000 residents covered by Medicaid.

It's not clear how much money the state might save from having healthier residents, but state Medicaid spokeswoman Shannon Riley says: "It's not about immediate cost containment. The Medicaid program will see savings down the line, but this is about slowing the growth of lifestyle-induced diseases and disabilities."

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