Collaboration research carried out by the teams of Jordi Surrallés, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB); Juan Carlos Izpisúa-Belmonte and Angel Raya, Centre for Regenerative Medicine of Barcelona (CMRB); and Juan Antonio Bueren, Centre for Energetic, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), has resulted in the generation of blood cells from skin cells of patients with a genetic disease known as Fanconi anemia. The process is based on gene therapy and cell reprogramming techniques in which cells similar to embryonic stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be generated. The research article was published in this week’s digital version of Nature.

The research demonstrates that, for the first time, in the case of a genetic disease such as Fanconi anemia it is possible to correct the genetic defect in patient-specific skin cells by converting them into cells similar to embryonic stem cells (iPS cells) which later can be differentiated towards blood cells.

These results are the proof of concept that this new therapeutic strategy has the potential of generating tissues using the very skin of those affected with these genetic diseases. This observation is particularly important in diseases such as Fanconi anemia, where one of the main problems lies in the lack of blood cell in the bone marrow of those affected. However, according to researchers, this new therapeutic strategy can be applied to many other genetic diseases by differentiating iPS cells towards healthy tissues these patients lack.

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Today, U.S. Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) of the Special Committee on Aging examined the long-term care insurance industry. The high cost of long-term care and the current economic instability are creating significant financial planning challenges for baby-boomers, seniors, and individual states. The committee discussed the industry’s current limitations and how to prepare for the growing number of seniors who will be in need of long-term care.

“When planning their financial future, many Americans overlook the possibility of long-term care,” said Martinez, the lead Republican on the Senate Special Committee on Aging. “The number of seniors requiring long-term care is on the rise, and these expenses could cause a person to quickly deplete their finances and become dependent on Medicaid. Personal planning, such as purchasing a long-term care insurance policy, offers a viable way to save seniors’ assets and reduce a potentially large future financial burden.”

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“Advocates for the elderly in California say recent budget cuts are dramatically affecting the ability of social service programs to keep up with demand” at a time when “the state’s elderly population - and the incidents of elder abuse - are exploding,” NPR reports. One example is Contra Costa County, where the Aging and Adult Services Program laid off two-thirds of the staff who “investigate abuse complaints of elderly and dependent adults.” The county is now “turning over virtually all of its self-neglect cases to some other agency - often, the police.” The Contra Costa situation is “so severe that the county grand jury recently concluded that Adult Protective Services no longer has the resources to carry out its legal mandate to investigate physical and financial abuse complaints.” This comes at a time when complaints of elder abuse are on the rise. According to “national studies,” only “1 in 5 elder abuse cases is reported” (Siler, 6/3).

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell is “proposing to allow an additional 30,000 seniors to enroll in the state’s prescription-drug program for older residents, a move called essential to helping them survive the difficult economic times,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Rendell says he is “working with House Democrats to push through legislation that would raise the current income eligibility limits for seniors to qualify for the state’s popular PACENET program.” He says the expansion should be “‘a slam-dunk’ since it won’t cost taxpayers a dime.” The money for the program, which is “funded by the Pennsylvania lottery” would be augmented by “requiring pharmaceutical companies to give the state the same drug rebates that it gives to the federal government’s Medicaid program.”

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As lawmakers return to Washington to tackle health care reform, AARP is pressing them to improve the country’s long-term care system as a part of comprehensive reform. Millions of older Americans rely on Medicaid for the long-term services and supports they need, but the program’s bias toward institutional care prevents most from getting more affordable care where they want it: their own homes.

“It’s shameful that so many people are forced into nursing homes when we could improve their quality of life and typically spend less money by caring for them at home,” said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. “As we overhaul the health care system, we need to build on win-win solutions that expand choices and could save billions of dollars.”

Under current law, Medicaid-the largest payer of long-term care-has an institutional bias. While states must provide coverage of nursing facility services, they do not have to cover most home and community based services (HCBS). On average, Medicaid can pay for three older people in HCBS for every one person in a nursing home. Despite this, HCBS is often one of the first programs to lose state funding during an economic downturn, often forcing more people into higher cost nursing facilities even if they would prefer to remain at home.

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Many childhood cancer survivors aren’t following recommended guidelines on screenings for second cancers as they reach adulthood.

And some survivors suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder years after beating their disease, two new studies show.

Not following screening guidelines can be costly because childhood cancer survivors are more likely to develop a new cancer, and to die of that new cancer, than the regular population, the researchers noted. The findings were presented during a Monday press conference at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, in Orlando, Fla.

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