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Complications Of Image-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation Of Renal Cell Carcinoma: Causes, Imaging Features And Prevention Methods
UroToday.com - Radiofrequency (RF) ablation of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been accepted as a minimally invasive treatment for patients who are not able to undergo surgery1. These patients have such poor medical conditions that they can have a higher risk of postoperative morbidity or mortality compared to the general population.
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Sociologist Finds That Religious Devotion Does Not Impact Abortion Decisions Of Young Unwed Women
Unwed pregnant teens and twenty-somethings who attend or have graduated from private religious schools are more likely to obtain abortions than their peers from public schools, according to sociological research published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
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Notre Dame Controversy, Supreme Court Selection Test Obama's 'Balancing Act,' NYT Reports
The New York Times on Friday examined how two events -- controversy surrounding President Obama"s upcoming commencement speech at University of Notre Dame on Sunday and the selection of a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter -- are testing the "delicate balancing act" the president has pursued on abortion rights. Notre Dame"s invitation to Obama to deliver the commencement speech and receive an honorary degree has sparked ongoing protests from abortion-rights opponents, and Obama is now forced to decide whether he will recognize this opposition in his address on Sunday. According to Anita Dunn, the president"s communication adviser, Obama likely will "make reference to the controversy" in his speech but will not "allow it to become the focus of a day that"s actually supposed to be about the graduates." Meanwhile, the pending Supreme Court vacancy has "galvanized backers of abortion rights," according to the Times. Although both sides expect that Obama will select a nominee who supports abortion rights, advocates "are taking no chances," the Times reports.Obama has attempted to present a nuanced approach to abortion-rights issues and expressed that he intends to form consensus around reducing unintended pregnancies and promoting adoption. In addition, his policy moves to date have attempted "to straddle the abortion divide" by creating a dialogue with religious conservatives, avoiding contentious legislative fights and taking a gradual approach to reversing the policies of former President George W. Bush, the Times reports. Obama has named abortion-rights supporters to head jobs, such as his nomination of Dawn Johnsen, a former legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, to lead the Justice Department"s Office of Legal Counsel. He also repealed the "Mexico City" policy, which prohibited federal funding for international groups that provide abortion services or information; lifted some limits on embryonic stem cell research; proposed decreasing funding for abstinence-only sex education; and took action to rescind the Bush administration"s HHS provider "conscience" rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide services they find morally or religiously objectionable. However, the president has stepped away from some abortion-related issues, including the Freedom of Choice Act, which would effectively codify Roe v. Wade. Although Obama said in a 2007 speech to Planned Parenthood that he would sign the bill if elected president, he said in a press conference last month that it is not his "highest legislative priority."Meanwhile, Obama"s top domestic policy adviser, Melody Barnes, is convening a series of meetings with leaders from both sides of the abortion rights debate to discuss policy ideas, with an aim of drafting recommendations by late summer. David Gushee, a Christian ethics professor at Mercer University who has participated in the talks, said the president is signaling to moderate Catholics and evangelicals that "he clearly knows what the bright red lines are and is trying to avoid stepping over them." However, some religious conservatives and abortion-rights opponents who have not been included in the discussions contend that "Obama is trying to have it both ways," according to the Times. Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, said coming to a consensus would entail the president advocating for restrictions such as parental consent requirements for minors and bans on certain abortion procedures. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who opposes abortion rights, called Obama"s strategy "[m]oderate rhetoric, hard-left policies."Polls show that U.S. residents remain "deeply conflicted" over abortion rights, with support declining over the years, the Times reports. About 60% of U.S. residents believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases in a 1995 poll; a recent Pew Research Center poll showed the number declined to 46% (Stolberg, New York Times, 5/15).
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Senate HELP Panel Begins Mark Up Of Bill Placing Tobacco Under FDA Oversight

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday began marking up a bill (S 982) that would allow FDA to regulate tobacco products, CongressDaily reports. The bill would allow FDA to place larger, color warning labels about the health risks of smoking on cigarette packs, as well as to regulate the marketing of tobacco products and advertising to children. The agency could not ban tobacco products or eliminate nicotine from cigarettes, but it could regulate their production and ban flavored cigarettes other than menthol. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said, "Over the years, this bill has been reviewed; it has been vetted; it has been debated, over and over and over again. The time has come to act." The House in April passed its version of the bill, 298-112 (Hunt, CongressDaily, 5/20). The committee by voice vote approved an amendment proposed by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) that would give FDA priority to review products that contain nicotine, such as candies. Committee ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) proposed two amendments, one that would have given regulatory authority over tobacco to CDC and another that would have ordered FDA to study which flavors to ban, instead of a current provision that bans specific flavors. Both amendments were defeated. Enzi said, "I think the FDA is the wrong regulator. It approves cures, not poisons." The only Democrat who opposed the bill was Sen. Kay Hagan (N.C.), who said the measure would harm the tobacco industry in her home state (Armstrong, CQ HealthBeat, 5/19). The panel"s other member from North Carolina, Sen. Richard Burr (R), said he would filibuster the bill. He said, "I put my fellow senators on notice: This is something that will be a much longer time on the floor than it will be in this hearing" (CongressDaily, 5/20). The committee plans to continue marking up the bill Wednesday and possibly Thursday.The Obama administration has expressed its support for the bill (CQ HealthBeat, 5/19). FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg also has said her agency should regulate tobacco (Armstrong, CQ HealthBeat, 5/18). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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