Journal of Medicine features UCLA study
A Feb. 6 article of the New England Journal of Medicine
describes how researchers at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer
Center at UCLA and two other cancer centers have discovered a way
to dramatically reduce the likelihood of life-threatening bleeding
for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
The discovery involves quickly restoring blood cells called
platelets to their initial levels after they have been severely
depleted by chemotherapy. Platelets promote clotting in blood.
"Now, for the first time, we have gained control of regulating a
patient’s platelet count," said Dr. John Glaspy, a co-author of the
article and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at
UCLA.
Glaspy is using a new drug called MGDF to increase platelet
counts in cancer patients. MGDF is a molecule related to the
hormone-like protein substance that humans produce to regulate
platelet production. The drug is manufactured by Amgen in Thousand
Oaks, Calif.
"Platelet counts are severely reduced in cancer patients
undergoing chemotherapy," Glaspy explained. "This reduction can, in
its most severe cases, be life-threatening. The condition seriously
impairs patients’ ability to prevent bleeding. It can cause
internal bleeding and external bleeding from the nose, gums and
other areas. Moreover, low platelet counts can prevent oncologists
from employing the most aggressive treatment for cancer."
To quell the risk of bleeding, which frequently occurs due to
low platelet counts after chemotherapy, patients regularly require
platelet transfusions. Those transfusions carry risks of possible
infections and allergic reactions. Furthermore, patients’ immune
systems eventually "learn" to recognize platelets from donors as
foreign bodies and reject them, Glaspy said.
The New England Journal of Medicine article describes how cancer
patients who received a new drug called MGDF showed platelet levels
70 percent higher than those of patients who were not given the
drug.
Aid to substance abusers discontinued
New rules that will cut federal aid for up to 43,000 California
residents who are undergoing drug treatment could significantly
curtail treatment efforts — creating crime and public health
problems  if state and local officials do not help fill the
void, according to a report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy
Research.
Under changes that went into effect Jan. 1, people disabled by
substance abuse are no longer eligible to receive monthly income
payments and health insurance through Medicaid and/or Medicare, as
previously offered through Supplemental Security Income and/or
Disability Insurance. The rules were changed by the Congress
because of concerns about the growing number of recipients and
reports of abuse of the system.
The cutoff of aid will mean less money for treatment because
most people in the program rely on their Medicaid or Medicare
insurance to pay for their treatment. The federal reforms allotted
$50 million over the next two years to support treatment programs,
but the money is not expected to bridge the shortfall, according to
Carole Roan Gresenz, the lead author of the report.
In addition, the aid cutoff eliminates the force motivating many
people to seek treatment for substance addiction.
Previously, recipients could receive aid for rent and other
basic needs only while they were participating in treatment Â
a forceful tool that no longer exists.
The federal cutoff comes at a time when research suggests that
money spent on drug treatment saves costs in other areas. A recent
study sponsored by the state of California concluded that $1 spent
on treatment saves $7 in crime losses, lost productivity and health
care costs.
The federal aid cut off is expected to have its biggest effect
on areas with most substance abusers, including Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno counties.
Compiled from Daily Bruin wire reports