Daily Rounds: Bloomberg's $250K To Planned Parenthood; Romney Flip On Contraception; Losing Lap-Bands; Malaria Count Doubles

Bloomberg Donating to Planned Parenthood After Komen Cuts - NYTimes.com (NYT: City Room) "Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, responding to the controversy over a breast cancer advocacy group that cut off most of its grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening, said Thursday that he would make up a large part of the missing money. Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire with a long-term interest in public health, said he would give Planned Parenthood Federation of America a $250,000 matching gift — he will donate $1 for every new dollar Planned Parenthood raises up to $250,000."

Mitt Romney caught in inconsistency in blast at Barack Obama for forcing Catholic institutions to provide insured birth control - The Boston Globe (boston.com) "Mitt Romney accused President Obama this week of ordering “religious organizations to violate their conscience,’’ referring to a White House decision that requires all health plans - even those covering employees at Catholic hospitals, charities, and colleges - to provide free birth control. But a review of Romney’s tenure as Massachusetts governor shows that he once took a similar step. In December 2005, Romney required all Massachusetts hospitals, including Catholic ones, to provide emergency contraception to rape victims, even though some Catholics view the morning-after pill as a form of abortion."

Allergan halts Lap-Band sales to 1-800-GET-THIN clinics - latimes.com (Los Angeles Times) "Irvine-based Allergan Inc. said it will no longer sell its Lap-Band weight-loss device to companies affiliated with the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing company. The move comes amid state and federal investigations of surgery centers affiliated with the ad campaign. Five Southern California patients have died since 2009 following Lap-Band surgeries at clinics affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN, according to lawsuits, autopsy reports and other public records. The California Department of Insurance is investigating the surgery centers for alleged insurance fraud, said David Althausen, a spokesman for the state agency."

Researchers Say Malaria Deaths Are Twice The Official Count : Shots - Health Blog : NPR (npr.org) "The World Health Organization estimates that 655,000 people died of malaria in 2010. But a new report says no, the real total is twice as high — 1.24 million people. If the new numbers are right, it means there's little chance that malaria deaths can be cut to near-zero by 2015, just three years from now. That's the official goal set last year by the World Health Organization. "We estimate that if decreases from the peak year of 2004 continue, malaria mortality will decrease to less than 100,000 deaths only after 2020," write Christopher Murray and his colleagues in this week's edition of The Lancet."

Sex and the Elderly: STD Risk Often Ignored (WebMD) "The rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has more than doubled among middle-aged adults and the elderly over the last decade, but the reasons for this are unclear. One cause may be the increased popularity of erectile dysfunction drugs that have made sex possible for millions of aging men. Or it could be the determination of baby boomers, who ushered in the sexual revolution, to stay sexually active as they age.Or it might be the low rate of condom use among older couples, who no longer worry about pregnancy and may not think they are at risk for STDs."