U.S. hospitals pledged this week to do their part for health reform by accepting $155 billion less in payments. U.S. officials announced plans to improve food safety and declined to ban two common pain relievers. Researchers reported that monkeys live longer on a lot less food. Others found that the vaccine Cervarix can prevent up to 85% of cervical cancers. Finally, surgeons announced an eight-way chain of kidney transplants. Friends and family of people who needed transplants gave kidneys to people they didn't know.
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In the News:

Hospitals Agree to $155 Billion in Savings
U.S. hospitals say they will help pay for health reform by giving up $155 billion in future payments. Vice President Joe Biden announced the deal this week. The agreement would slow down future increases in Medicare payments by $100 billion, the Associated Press reported. Other savings mostly would come from cuts in U.S. payments to care for low-income people and those without insurance. These payments are made through the Medicaid and Medicare programs. Medicaid payment cuts would be about 10% per year. They would begin about 2015.

U.S. Pledges To Step Up Food Safety Enforcement
Food regulators this week announced new rules and other measures aimed at reducing food poisoning outbreaks. The tighter rules will affect eggs and poultry, the Associated Press said. They come from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agriculture Department. Agriculture also said it would increase testing of ground beef. The FDA said it will work with the produce industry to improve safety. It promised to hold the industry to stricter rules within two years. The FDA also will help the food industry improve tracing systems for food to track disease outbreaks. Both agencies said they would improve the ways they communicate with each other.

Monkeys Live Longer on Strict Low-Calorie Diet
A 20-year study has found that sharply cutting calories extends life for some of humans' closest relatives. The study was published this week in the journal Science. The study included 76 rhesus monkeys, the Associated Press said. Researchers divided them into two groups. One group ate the normal diet of a captive monkey. The other group ate a nutritious diet with 30% fewer calories. So far, 37% of the monkeys on the regular diet have died of age-related diseases, researchers said. This compares with just 13% of those on the lower-calorie diet. A few other monkeys died of causes not considered to be age-related. Monkeys eating fewer calories also had less than half of the cancer and heart disease of the normal-diet group. They had less brain shrinkage and muscle loss as well.

FDA Refuses To Ban Darvocet, Darvon
Darvocet, Darvon and their generic clones will remain legal in the United States -- for now. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this week that it would not ban the drugs, known by the generic name propoxyphene. The decision turns down a petition by the consumer group Public Citizen, the Associated Press said. The group asked for a ban because of the dangers of overdosing. Darvon alone was linked to 503 U.S. deaths in 2007. About 1 in 5 was a suicide. Doctors also say these drugs are weak pain relievers. The United Kingdom banned them a few years ago. Support has increased for a ban by other European countries. But for now the FDA will just put a stronger warning on the package about the risk of overdose. The FDA also asked for more research by the drug maker and by U.S. veterans' hospitals.

Chain of Transplants Gives 8 People New Kidneys
Doctors at four hospitals around the country announced this week the completion of eight kidney transplants linked by a chain of donors. Surgeons performed operations on eight donors and eight recipients in the last three weeks. This was the first eight-way swap ever done, the Associated Press reported. The donors knew someone who needed a new kidney. But their kidneys were not a good match for their friend or relative. So instead their kidneys went to other people -- some in other states. Surgeries took place at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, INTEGRIS Baptist Memorial Center in Oklahoma City and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Study: Vaccine Can Prevent 85% of Cervical Cancers
The vaccine Cervarix can prevent up to 85% of cervical cancers, researchers said this week. The vaccine helps to prevent human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. It's designed to protect against two types of HPV, 16 and 18. These two cause about 70% of cervical cancers. But a new study found that it also protects against types 31, 33 and 45. They cause another 11% to 16% of cervical cancers. The 3-year study included 18,000 girls and women. Cervarix is available in 90 countries. U.S. drug regulators have not decided whether to approve it. A similar vaccine, Gardasil, is approved in the United States. The study appeared in the journal Lancet. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services wrote about it July 8.

Used with the permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. The above summaries are not intended to provide advice on personal medical matters, nor are they intended to be a substitute for consultation with a physician.