MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Artificial pancreas could make pregnancy safer for diabetic women. Pregnant diabetic women treated with an artificial pancreas have a lower chance of fatal complications and healthier babies, according to research published in Diabetes Care, reports the BBC. Meanwhile, “[r]eversing diabetes is possible,” according to CNN.
Florida healthcare decision looms. A ruling in the Florida lawsuit against President Obama’s healthcare reform law, a case that represents more than two dozen states, should be announced today, according to Reuters. The Atlantic‘s legal expert, Andrew Cohen, predicts everyone will overreact to what he considers a virtual lock that the Florida judge will reject healthcare reform.
The bigger news, he says, is that a recent Supreme Court ruling “confirmstothe worldthat no more than seven votes on the Supreme Court are still in play over the constitutionality of the federal health care measure.”
Government to people: Eat less salt. The U.S. government is telling half of the population to slash their daily salt intake and wants the food industry’s help, reports The Associated Press. The Boston Globe takes questions on how to reduce sodium levels in the body.
Gates and Abu Dhabi prince pledge funds for vaccine at Davos. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said two-thirds of the total $100 million will go toward a two vaccines for fighting pneumonia, diphtheria, whooping cough and other sicknesses afflicting children in Afghanistan, reports The Washington Post.
Electronic health records cash crunch? Electronic medical records vendors are “spending money like crazy” even as providers are slow to adopt and a subscription-based business model requires flush bank accounts some vendors don’t have, says Software Advice CEO Dan Fomes.
FDA approvals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Novartis’ Menveo meningitis vaccine for children ages 2 to 10, but the company must reapply to use it in younger children. Also, the FDA approved Roche’s Rituxan/MabThera as a first-line treatment for particular lymphoma.
Meet the stetheadphone. Headphones shaped like a stethoscope.
Material from MedCity News was used in this report.
