Health Tip: Is LASIK Right for You?

Title: Health Tip: Is LASIK Right for You?
Category: Health News
Created: 9/20/2008 2:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 9/22/2008

Separately, it is ironic for Washburn to complain that WARF is asserting its patent rights while, at the same time, CIRM will be seeking to obtain patent rights to enforce against others. Although the patent royalty distribution under Proposition 71 is muddied by federal tax issues associated with the planned use of tax exempt bonds, California voters were told that there would be income from patent royalties.

Obliquely, Washburn suggests that California's CIRM should challenge the validity of WARF's patents: "The Foundation
for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, based in Santa Monica, has urged California's stem cell agency to challenge the Wisconsin patents."

Washburn wrote: "The foundation's [WARF's] patents are based on the work of James Thompson, a University of Wisconsin professor who was the first scientist to isolate embryonic stem cells, in 1998. But the patents are so broad -- unreasonably broad -- that they cover all human embryonic stem cell lines in the U.S., not just the specific lines developed by Thompson."

The basic WARF patent is US 5,843,780 (issued 1 Dec 1998 to James A. Thomson, based on application 591246 filed 18 Jan 1996; the application was a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/376,327 filed Jan. 20, 1995. This invention was made with United States government support awarded by NIH NCRR Grant No. RR00167. Thus, if California's CIRM were to challenge the '780 patent, one would have state taxpayer money of California used to challenge a patent held by a Wisconsin agency (WARF), based on research paid by for by the federal National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is doubtful that state taxpayers in California or in Wisconsin, or federal taxpayers, would find this a useful expenditutre of money.

Los Angeles Times Article Way Off Base on Stem Cell Issues

Lawrence B. Ebert is a registered patent attorney located in central New Jersey. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford, a J.D. from the University of Chicago, maintains a blog at IPBiz.blogspot.com, and is the author of LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE HWANG MATTER: ANALYZING INNOVATION THE RIGHT WAY, published in the Journal of the Patent & Trademark Office Society [88 JPTOS 239 (March 2006)]. Ezine draft submitted April 12, 2006.

The previous ezine article stated: An important message to appreciate is that money from state-funding of stem cell research intended to create new horizons in medical treatment may be directed to paying off holders of already-created rights. It may well happen that there are valid patent rights in the stem cell area, and states working in the area must negotiate with the holders of those rights. Separately, the Hatch-Waxman Act created in 35 USC 271(e)(1) a safe harbor for research used to furnish information to federal agencies (such as the FDA). The Supreme Court gave this safe harbor great breadth in the case Merck v. Integra.

Sinus Headache Symptoms
Sinus Headache Symptoms
Blood Pressure Headache May Be Sinus
Treatment of Acute Sinusitis
allergic sinusitis infection

Drug Combo Fights Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Cell Growth

Title: Drug Combo Fights Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Cell Growth
Category: Health News
Created: 9/19/2008 2:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 9/19/2008

*poor weight gain, weight loss, failure to thrive

Is It Colic, Infant Reflux, Or GERD? Learn How To Tell The Difference

*running nose, sinus infections

Some common symptoms of uncomplicated reflux can include:

*erosion of dental enamel

The easiest way to determine whether a baby has colic or reflux is to look at the definitions and symptoms of each. Then compare them to your child's symptoms.

*chronic hoarse voice

In contrast, GER (Gastro Esophageal Reflux) is referred to as GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) when complications arise. GERD is a pathological process and the complications can be typical (failure to thrive, feeding and oral aversions, esophagitis, etc) or atypical (wheezing, pneumonia, chronic sinusitis, etc). Patients with GERD have complications arising from their GER that necessitate medical intervention. GERD is also referred to as "Pathogenic GER". It is estimated that approximately one in three hundred children will present symptoms of GERD and is more common in children with neurological impairments.

COLIC

Colic can be defined as uncontrollable, extended crying in babies who are otherwise healthy and well-fed. All babies cry, but when they cry for more than three hours a day, three to four days a week, they are said to have colic.

*wet burp or frequent hiccups

*chronic ear infections

The main symptom is continuous crying for long periods of time. This crying can occur at any time of day but it usually gets worse at night. It's not believed that colic is caused by pain although a colicky baby may look uncomfortable or appear to be in pain. They may lift their head, draw their legs up to their abdomen, pass gas and become red-faced. Poor sleep habits is also common.

GERD

*apnea

*poor sleep habits typically with frequent waking

*neck arching (Sandifer's Syndrome)

*swallowing problems, gagging, choking

REFLUX

*frequent red, sore throat without infection present

*frequent ear infections or sinus congestion

*food/oral aversions

*irritability and pain

*bad breath

*small meals or liquid

Symptoms indicative of Reflux Disease or GERD:

*excessive drooling

It can sometimes be difficult for a parent to understand whether the baby has colic or reflux (and even GERD) since some of the symptoms (eg. poor sleep, constant crying) can be similiar. It's also extremely important to rule out reflux as a cause of this crying, as it's becoming widely acknowledged that many cases of colic are actually undiagnosed and untreated cases of reflux. In these cases, simply treating the reflux may eliminate the colicky behavior.

*constant or sudden crying or colic like symptoms

*anemia

*respiratory problemspneumonia, bronchitis, wheezing, asthma,
night-time cough, aspiration

*gagging themselves with their fingers or fist (sign of esophagitis)

The term reflux is a shorter way of referring to GER (Gastro Esophageal Reflux) and is simply defined as the backward flow of stomach contents up the esophagus. GER is a physiological process that happens to everyoneyoung and oldfrom time to time, particularly after meals and many times we are not even aware it is happening. In babies it generally occurs from immaturity of the LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) which is the muscle between the stomach and esophagus.

*refusing food or accepting only a few bites despite being hungry or the exact opposite requiring constant

*arching their necks and back during or after eating spitting-
up or vomiting

treatment methods for allergic sinusitis
Sinus Headache Symptoms
treatment methods for allergic sinusitis
allergic sinusitis methods
Treatment of Acute Sinusitis