The Practical Paraplegic

Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) — Medicare has ended the ability of more than 1,000 suppliers in the Los Angeles and Miami areas to bill the program for medical equipment like wheelchairs and bottled oxygen as a result of a program to combat fraud.
The agency in charge of Medicare, the U.S. government’s health program for the elderly [...]

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My story on the fading prospects for Medicare Part D was the sixth most popular story at this blog during 2008.
(Medicare Part D gave us the “donut hole,” a range of costs where coverage disappears for a time, before re-appearing later.)
My title was stark. Medicare bargains going away. The news peg was a Congressional decision [...]

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CELLS found deep inside the human nose may be able to heal injured spinal cords, tests on rats reveal.
Australian scientists have injected cells from the nostril into the damaged spines of laboratory rodents for the first time and found they can significantly improve movement.
“We think these cells have a lot of potential,” said Dr Catherine [...]

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ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2008) — A new study suggests that mature adipocytes - fat cells - could become a source for cell replacement therapy to treat central nervous system disorders. READ MORE HERE

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Frank Reynolds, the CEO of Cambridge, MA-based InVivo Therapeutics, says he still feels pain in his lower back when he steps off a curb. The pain stems from the spinal cord injury Reynolds suffered in an auto accident in 1992. It’s no coincidence that today he is running a medical technology firm with an implant [...]

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DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec 02, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/af5912/neuronal_stem_pr) has announced the addition of the “Neuronal Stem & Progenitor Cells” report to their offering.
Neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are created. This process [...]

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