May 2015 Highlights

Seasons May Tweak Genes that Trigger Some Chronic Diseases

The seasons appear to influence when certain genes are active, with those associated with inflammation being more active in the winter, according to new research released Tuesday. A study involving more than 16,000 people found that the activity of about 4,000 of those genes appears to be affected by the season, researchers reported in the journal Nature Communications. The findings could help explain why certain diseases are more likely than others to strike for the first time during certain seasons, the researchers say... ”

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ― Mark Twain

New House Bill Calls for a Transition Period for ICD-10, But Not a Delay

A new bill has been introduced into the US House of Representatives that calls for a required ICD-10 transition period following the code set’s implementation on October 1. The bill, H.R. 2247, the Increasing Clarity for Doctors by Transitioning Effectively Now Act (ICD-TEN Act), would “require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide for transparent testing to assess the transition under the Medicare fee-for-service claims processing system from the ICD-9 to the ICD-10 standard, and for other purposes...

When will ICD-10 Truly Go Live?

The American Nurses Association, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), and health care safety experts urged health care employers to implement common-sense, comprehensive programs to protect health care workers from career-ending injuries, and safeguard patients from falls at a briefing today on Capitol Hill. “Nurses and health care workers experience the highest rate of non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses, including the manufacturing and construction industries. Every day, nurses and other health care workers suffer debilitating musculoskeletal disorders, due to manually lifting patients,” ANA President Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, told congressional officials. “In no other profession would we ask workers to lift 90 pounds or more without mechanical support. Nurses and health care workers should not be the exception...

The American Nurses Association

By his own admission, former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw has lived a charmed life. "In the seasons of life I have had more than my share of summers," he writes on the opening page of his new memoir, A Lucky Life Interrupted. But two years ago, Brokaw's good fortune turned when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that has led to bone fractures and pain unlike any he'd known. "It was paralyzing in a way," he tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "There were times when I simply couldn't get out of bed." The cancer is now in remission, but Brokaw is on a chemo maintenance program that requires him to take a low-dosage chemotherapy pill every day for the rest of his life.

Tom Brokaw

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