Good News for Disabled Individuals at the End of 2016

As of December 19, 2016, the two year anniversary of enactment of the federal law that authorized states to create the programs, Virginia’s ABLEnow program has gone live. The program permits eligible disabled individuals to invest up to $14,000 a year without endangering their Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income benefits.

The Most Expensive Drugs of 2016

Prescription drug prices have gotten out of control for many Americans and many insurers, with some medications costing as much as premium sports cars, according to health-care investments analyst Keith Speights, writing for The Motley Fool. Speights recently reviewed the five most expensive drugs of 2016.

Lsu LB Kendell Beckwith recovering from torn Acl suffered in November

LSU Tigers linebacker Kendell Beckwith walks off the field after being check on by trainers during first half action against the Florida Gators in Baton Rouge on Saturday, November 19, 2016. (Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com LSU senior linebacker Kendell Beckwith limped off the field in his final game at Tiger Stadium when he suffered a knee injury against Florida on Nov. 19. Now, the severity of the injury is known as Beckwith tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Semicolon tattoos offer a way to raise awareness of suicide

For the fourth time over the last year, a local tattoo artist has volunteered his services to raise money for a local organization dedicated to reducing the risk of suicide. Throughout the month of December, Rich Nelson of A Thin Line Tattoo shop in Batavia will donate the money raised through the creation of semicolon tattoos.

Routine Testing for Genital Herpes of Little Benefit: U.S. Experts

Routine blood test screening for genital herpes is not recommended for teens and adults — including pregnant women — who don’t have any signs or symptoms of the sexually transmitted disease , a panel of U.S. health care experts says. After reviewing available evidence, the group concluded that the potential harms of screening outweigh the benefits.

New Study Finds Patients With Female Doctors Live Longer

Here’s yet another reason we need more female doctors in this country-according to a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association- Internal Medicine , Medicare patients aged 65 and older treated by female doctors are less likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital than patients treated by male doctors. The researchers found that female and male doctors actually approach practicing medicine differently.

Blackhawks’ goalie Crawford hopes to play Friday

Before going to bed in a Philadelphia hotel room on Dec. 2, Corey Crawford felt like he was coming down with the flu. When he woke up the next morning, though, team trainer Mike Gapski and Dr. Michael Terry quickly deduced something more serious was happening to the Blackhawks’ starting goalie, and they rushed him to a nearby hospital.

Trump immigration plan could cost the U.S. billions

President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to overturn an executive order that provides temporary protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children could cost the country tens of billions of dollars, a new study finds. Put in place by President Obama six years ago, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has helped hundreds of thousands of young people – known as the DREAMers – come out from the shadows and get valid driver’s licenses, enroll in college and legally secure jobs.

TIMELINE: The tumultuous 155-year history of oil prices

Most recently, after two years of depressed prices, OPEC agreed to curtail output by 1.2 million barrels per day at its meeting in Vienna in late November in an attempt to end the global supply glut. Several non-OPEC producers including Russia tagged along in December, agreeing to reduce output by about 560,000 bpd .

Dalton Wins U.S. Army Contract

Dalton Pharma Services has entered into a contract service agreement with the United States Army Medical Materiel Development Activity to support its product development program for the treatment of severe or complicated malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum. Dalton will provide cGMP sterile powder filling, aseptic liquid filling, quality control release testing and ICH stability services.

Health Highlights: Dec. 20, 2016

The therapy features lasers and a drug made from deep sea bacteria, and does not cause severe side effects, BBC News reported. A clinical trial of 413 prostate cancer patients at 47 hospitals across Europe found that 49 percent had no remaining trace of cancer after undergoing the treatment.

Literatus: Narcolepsy at a high place?

… are working night shifts in business process outsourcing companies, such as call centers. Google brought me a 2008 health advice column by two physicians who responded to a reader’s query on similar symptoms: “This can happena most embarrassingly, …

FAO: Horn of Africa Braces for Another Hunger Season [video]

Growing numbers of refugees in East Africa, meanwhile, are expected to place even more burden on already strained food and nutrition security. Currently, close to 12 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in need of food assistance, as families in the region face limited access to food and income, together with rising debt, low cereal and seed stocks, and low milk and meat production.

Under Trump, America Will Turn Into Poland? Nahhh — America Will Be Worse.

In The Washington Post , Anthony Faiola describes what’s happening in Poland, and strongly suggests that America under Donald Trump could be very similar: In the land of [the] Law and Justice [Party], anti-intellectualism is king. Polish scientists are aghast at proposed curriculum changes in a new education bill that would downplay evolution theory and climate change and add hours for “patriotic” history lessons.

Akebia sells rights to anemia drug to Japan’s Otsuka

Drug developer Akebia Therapeutics Inc said on Tuesday it had signed a co-development and marketing deal worth up to $1 billion with Japan’s Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd. Akebia said the deal would give it the funds needed to develop vadadustat, its experimental drug to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease. Akebia’s shares were up 17.1 percent at $9.78 in early trading.

Beer company touts higher alcohol content in Milwaukee ads

Miller Coors says advertisements touting the alcohol content of one of its cheapest beers are aimed at transparency so consumers can make informed choices. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports billboards along the city’s freeways say the alcohol content of Milwaukee’s Best Ice is now 6.9 percent, up from 5.9 percent.

Mumps hitting state’s Marshallese hard

The breadth of the outbreak of mumps in Northwest Arkansas appears to be linked in part to that area’s community of Marshall Islanders, the director of the state Department of Health said Monday. Meanwhile, the region’s high rate of unvaccinated schoolchildren compared with the rest of the state doesn’t appear to be a factor in the unusual size of the outbreak, said Nate Smith, director of the state Department of Health.