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Walkers at the Austin, Texas "Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma" walk.

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Scleroderma Legislation

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S. 1545

H.R. 2408

Friday, August 14, 2009– Issue #309

eLetter Archive

FDA Approves TYVASO (Treprostinil) Inhalation Solution for the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

SILVER SPRING, Md. – United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved TYVASO (treprostinil) Inhalation Solution for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) using the TYVASO Inhalation System (which includes the Optineb-ir device and accessories). TYVASO is indicated to increase walk distance in patients with NYHA Class III symptoms associated with WHO Group I PAH, which includes multiple etiologies such as idiopathic and familial PAH as well as PAH associated with scleroderma and congenital heart disease.

FDA Issues Final Rules to Help Patients Gain Access to Investigational Drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration published two rules today that seek to clarify the methods available to seriously ill patients interested in gaining access to investigational drugs and biologics when they are not eligible to participate in a clinical trial and don’t have other satisfactory treatment options.

Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs – Recent Updates

Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for the extra help if they have limited income and resources. The extra help can increase their cost savings by paying for part of the monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments under the new prescription drug program. The extra help is estimated to be worth an average of $3,900 per year.

KineMed Describes Innovative Approach To Discover And Develop Drugs To Treat Fibrosis And Identifies Potential Drug For Lung And Liver Fibrosis

Scientists at KineMed, Inc., describe a new way to measure changes in the rates of deposition and breakdown of connective tissue applicable in animals and man. The methods described fill a critical need for better approaches to enable the discovery and development of drugs to treat a range of life-threatening diseases in which excessive deposition of collagen leading to organ dysfunction (fibrosis) plays a key role. Such advances can facilitate clinical trials for better treatments for such conditions as scleroderma, cirrhosis, pulmonary fibrosis and chronic transplant rejection.

Alleviating Bed Sores Can Be Done
by Marie Santangelo, Staff Writer at Caregiver.com

Pressure sores are also known as decubitus ulcers and occur in patients who have little or no mobility allowing them to change positions and relieve the pressure on the body. Sores can develop over time and may be diagnosed in “grades” of progression. Prevention is the best method of dealing with anything that compromises our health, but bedsores can be alleviated efficiently when they are addressed in early stages.

Enter the Girlshealth.gov Be Heard! Sounding Board Contest

Are you outgoing, passionate, and active in school or your community? Do you stay on top of what’s going on in your world and love to talk to others about it?  Want a chance to make your opinions count in a place where you can really BE HEARD?!

Girlshealth.gov is giving you a chance to be a member of our Sounding Board — a group of girls who share their opinions about everything from what’s going on in their lives to what’s new on the Girlshealth.gov Web site. They’re expanding their "Sounding Board" to 100 girls and we want to invite you to submit your application to be a part of this exciting event.

For an entire year, you will be a part of girls-only blogs, chats, and e-mails where your opinions matter and your voice will be heard.  Win great prizes like backpacks, t-shirts, and baseball hats for participating in these activities!

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